Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 532: The Monster Slaying Begins

They gathered around the floating hologram that came from Kaiden’s artifact, each studying the shifting elevation lines and mana-density readings.

The hotspot was far too unique, sporting unpredictable monster movement. The monsters seemed to be moving around constantly, migrating from spot to spot.

Even so, they noted one sector where the flow of mana signatures suggested a stabilized pocket just large enough for them to strike cleanly. The group traced possible entry points, angles of retreat, and the routes monsters tended to favor when spreading out from a new migration.

Then, once in agreement, they traveled there on foot, taking their time to move quickly but conservatively enough not to affect their stamina, and also let them remain vigilant in case of an ambush.

As they moved, they spotted artifact drones flying by above them from time to time, monitoring the competition. They were exclusively operated by the association; the mountain range was locked down as soon as the event started, not letting anyone else monitor the ongoings.

Once there, they had to note that the actual site looked even harsher in person.

A ravine cut through stone, with pillars of warped crystal jutting from the ground as if the earth itself had tried to cage something inside and failed.

They moved with disciplined caution, checking blind corners and elevation dips, while also scanning tracks.

It took them several minutes to confirm that this was as ideal an ambush point as they were going to get. Kaiden rolled his shoulders once, letting the tension settle into focus, and raised his right hand.

Blood surged around his wrist, gathering. The Blood Monarch’s Gauntlet reacted instantly to his will, without needing to be prompted.

The red mass elongated and reformed, stretching outward until a heavy greatsword took shape. It was dense, long, and built for brutal arcs that could cleave through clusters of enemies.

It had always been his preferred form; with his strength, the weight felt natural, comfortable even, and the reach let him control space with every swing.

Behind him, Calypso’s grin sharpened as she hefted her axe onto her shoulder, while Luna’s stormblade crackled to life with a hungry hum.

The first monsters emerged from deeper in the ravine.

There were no slimes, no mutts, nothing disposable.

These were mid-tier horrors shaped by unstable mana currents: dozens of four-legged brutes covered in plates of hardened bone; sinewy stalkers with elongated limbs that allowed them to lunge across several meters at once; and two hulking creatures whose chests bulged with compressed sacs that burst whenever they inhaled too sharply.

They weren’t apex predators, but each one carried enough raw danger that an unprepared team could be wiped out if they slipped even once.

This was what they wanted: a big challenge but with odds favoring them. After all, killing weak monsters would only ruin their future potential because the number of stat points one gained upon leveling up depended on the might of the entities they’d slain.

Kaiden exchanged a final glance with his girls, and after getting all of their nods and seeing their ready expressions, he began.

”Mode: Wrath.”

His pulse accelerated, his muscles tightened, and a familiar heat roared through his core as his eyes took on a red color. His foot slammed off the ground, propelling him straight into the nearest group.

”Haha!” Calypso matched him effortlessly while releasing a jovial laugh as she brought her axe down with a single decisive chop that split a bone-armored brute clean through the torso.

Luna flanked Kaiden with a fast, sweeping cut of her stormblade, the crackling edge shearing off one of the stalker’s limbs before the creature even realized she had moved.

Aria and Bastet remained behind them, already channeling mana. Aria’s crescent shots curved like disciplined artillery, cutting open the charging ranks, while Bastet layered oppressive heat into the battlefield, her solar barrage forcing several monsters to stumble as their bodies buckled under the sudden temperature spike.

Nyx held the midline, always watching the sides.

Her posture remained calm as she flicked her wrist and launched a cluster of space-bound dagger constructs that tore through the joints of a lunging beast before it got anywhere close to Luna. When another monster tried to circle wide and rush the backline, Nyx’s entire focus shifted, holding it down until Bastet blasted it apart.

It was a formation they’d devised for great efficiency, but it only worked due to the extreme trust they had in each other’s abilities.

The formation required fluid response from all of its members.

Calypso tanked the brunt of the threats, taking on the role of the main melee combatant who could both take and dish out extreme hurt.

Kaiden and Luna were very speedy and versatile, letting them use the demoness’s pull of gravity to make opportunistic strikes but also to flex between offense and mobility. If a monster flanked the backline, one of the pair would have the chance to rush back and help out due to the red-skinned demoness’s addition to the party.

This was something they struggled to do before her arrival, as Kaiden alone could act as a tanker - a mediocre one - and as a result, he struggled to protect the girls, and even Luna was often forced to cull the monsters at the front so he wasn’t overwhelmed.

As for Nyx, she was the most utility-based, most versatile fighter of them all, perhaps save for Kaiden. As such, her being in the middle was perfect. She could attack when free, erect barriers, and provide support in other ways. With her armor, she could also take some hits before folding, and if anyone rushed for the backline, she could use her space powers to slow them momentarily until either Kaiden or Luna took care of the threat if it became too much.

Not that either mage was helpless.

Aria blasted the monsters with a sustained lunar volley, each strike hammering the monsters with focused force, while Bastet unleashed a sudden ascending column of scorching heat that sent one of the larger creatures crashing onto its back before she finished it with a downward blast.

The monsters kept coming, but the team moved like a single body; fast, loud, and relentless. Wrath-enhanced strength carried Kaiden through another devastating swing that shattered a monster and painted the ground with sizzling residue.

[You’ve slain Gorehide Mangler (Level 57).]

[You’ve gained 29,904 XP.]

Then... A new line appeared.

[You’ve gained 2 DMP.]

Kaiden couldn’t help the grin that tugged at his mouth. Now that he was a Dungeon Master, every notable kill meant more than merely getting XP.

Dungeon Master Points were the currency he could funnel directly into empowering his domain, strengthening its defenses, upgrading its layout, even altering the foundation of the dungeon itself. And the good news didn’t stop there.

[Your Sinsworn Valkyrie, Aria Levander, has slain Gorehide Mangler (Level 55).]

[You’ve gained 2 DMP.]

Another notification followed almost immediately.

[Your Subjugated Monster Girl Bastet has slain Gorehide Mangler (Level 56).]

[You’ve gained 2 DMP.]

’What a boon...’ Kaiden muttered inwardly.

He could only reason that the girls weren’t just bonded to him emotionally or through titles; they were tied to his very existence as their Paragon of Sin, the man who either awakened them or subjugated them using the Demonic Pornstar System that had merged with his very soul.

In this way, their whole group was deeply connected, far deeper than one might ever expect, even though seeing the utmost love and trust they held for each other, evidenced by this new development.

Their kills did not feed him XP, but the dungeon still claimed the essence of anything they felled, rewarding him with DMP all the same. It meant that every battle fought by his women, every monster they cut down, every creature that dared cross their path... all of it strengthened his domain along with him.

Calypso laughed as she broke another creature’s jaw with the blunt end of her weapon. Luna darted between them, slashing, parrying, and pulling lightning through the air like ribbons.

It wasn’t a warm-up. It wasn’t a leisurely fight. These were real threats. But the team carved through them with confident brutality, working in perfect synchronization as they advanced, managing to gain ground when faced with a large cluster of monsters.

Notifications continued to pulse against Kaiden’s vision, each one adding more DMP to his growing pool while the rankings across countless holographic displays across the mountain began to shift.

And Kaiden knew full well that this was just the beginning.

Alice hadn’t even started yet.

Giving him a mere ten percent stat boost was far from all she could do.

Now, level 50 was in sight, and excitement for the future swelled in Kaiden’s chest.

He was in the zone.