22 Eve

{The user has chosen to not attempt the 'Test' now}

{The user must attempt the test within 20 days or else the System will cease to exist and the user's heart will stop}

(Harsh! The system is so cruel!)

"Haa..."

(I have to level up as much as I can in the given 20 days to be prepared for the worst.)

Sou sighed and looked towards Kakund who was lying without his head on a pool of blood. Sou walked towards him.

"Everyone, come forth."

Shaa~

Sou's shadow fizzled with great intensity and within a second, Sou's shadow engulfed the whole platform and from the pitch-black domain of shadow, creatures of all sorts emerged. Some were mana beasts that were rare in Melim and some were monsters that lurk around in high ranking dungeons. Some roared, some screeched, some clanged their teeth and some flapped their wings- all surrounding Sou and Kakund's dead body. Of course, amongst all of them, Mary, May and Drago were also there, standing beside Sou.

Mary bowed down in front of Sou.

"Master, what shall we do?"

"Nothing."

Mary looked up with a confused face.

"No need to do anything. Just release your aura as soon as I summon this guy. Enough to make this guy yield." Sou pointed towards Kakund.

(I found out that if the summon does not wish to follow me then the summoning will be cancelled. I have lost so many precious mana beasts in that way, but I can't let this one go at any cost. I just need him to pledge his loyalty...)

"As your wish Master."

Mary stepped back to her previous position.

Sou placed his hand on Kakund's body.

(Don't resist and come to papa...)

"Get the fuck up."

Shing!!!

A bright light radiated from Kakund's body. Sou closed one of his eyes and peeked from the other one. The light was so blinding and abundant in mana that it left Sou and Drago who can see the radiating mana in disbelief for a moment, but not for long because they were levels above Kakund.

The light spread to a few meters in the surrounding in quick succession and formed little waves before the light took the shape of a human.

(Good...)

The light dimmed and completely disappeared and from the light emerged Kakund, completely black and dark.

"Ho-"

"You have been brought back to life by me and will live as my servant." Sou cut Kakund in mid-sentence.

"At least let me complete!" Kakund retorted back.

"Why? I already know what crap you are about to babble."

"Tch. And why should I serve you?"

"Ask why you should not."

"What?"

"Look around."

Kakund turned his head.

"Wha..."

Kakund's eyes were filled in fear, a fear being greater than the fear of death. He started to tremble at the sight of hundreds of creatures surrounding him. He was no match for them- no, he doesn't even compare to their number. Maybe if they were in their normal forms, Kakund had a chance, but now... Even though he was Dragon, this number was too overwhelming for him.

"All of them are under me." Sou suddenly, breaking Kakund's daze.

Kakund directed his fearful eyes towards Sou. Sou was standing with a big grin, staring into Kakund's soul.

"A-A-All of t-them..?"

"Yep! All of them."

Kakund again looked at the tremendous number which consisted of rare mana beasts and dangerous monsters releasing a deadly aura, even greater than him. He slightly turned his head to Sou's side.

Thump!

His knees gave up on the sight. There was a Dragon who had God knows how much power. Kakund was brought to his last wits. Every single servant of Sou was releasing such intense aura that it made Kakund sweat profusely and palpitate.

"You..."

"Yep! I made up that 'ancestor' crap. Idiot! Hahahaha!!"

Drago also joined in the laughter while Mary and May stood with their heads bowed.

"I was watching the whole spectacle and honestly, I laughed my ass off. Hahahaha!"

<What a blatant lie! Who was concerned?>

<Just go with the flow Master!>

(Go with the flow, my ass!)

Kakund fumed in embarrassment when he heard such a thing from a fellow Dragon.

"Don't feel too bad. He is just trying to get you relaxed. After all, he and everyone present here is your comrade..."

"Wh-"

"...if you pledge your loyalty to me."

"..."

Kakund stayed silent.

"Fine... Master."

Sou's lips curved from the end and formed into a smile.

"Good!"

***

"Fuu… I think we are safe for now…" A man breathed a sigh of relief as his arse fell on the hard dungeon floor. His muscles were pumping out of his hands and legs, making him look like a giant rather than a human.

"..."

A woman who sat in front of the bulky man scanned the people remaining with her serpentine eyes. Her eyes were calm and serene.

'How can she keep her composure in a situation like this?' The man thought.

"Four." The woman announced the number of people missing with emotionless eyes.

"Really? Fuck…"

The man cursed out loud at the deaths of four of his comrades. He was sure that they were dead.

"Are we just unlucky?"

Maybe they were. After walking and killing monsters for four hours, a monster, no, something even more vicious than a monster popped up and the screams of four of their team resounded in the dark cave. Then, it went away as it came, just like a wind. Even their bodies were not found as if they just evaporated.

"Fuck…"

The man cursed again remembering the scenes from two hours ago.

"Let's go. We can't stay cooped up here." The woman spoke fearlessly. For some reason, she was extremely carefree. It was extremely frightening to the remaining four members.

"What?! You want to go out there and die?!" The man yelled. His voice was shivering and his legs were trembling.

"Bulk." The woman just said his name and stared at him. This shut him up.

"Fuck…"

It was the third time he cursed. He was so helpless when his comrades were dying. Bulk had a guess why the woman was so carefree and emotionless. Maybe she had gone through what Bulk had gone through today, so many times that she got used to it. Bulk knew nothing about the woman's past as she was the only new member of his team.

"Let's go." The woman got up and urged the others.

Having no choice, the others also got up with tired expressions. 

Initially, they had eight members. And now that number was exactly halved by some unknown monster. How could they not feel the impending doom?

"... Stay prudent," The woman, seeing the anxiety of the adventurers, said in a stern tone. The members of the team immediately straightened their spines and gulped hard.

'She is strong.'

Bulk made a mental note. The woman managed to keep her composure up even in this kind of situation, in fact, she seemed relaxed for some reason. She was undoubtedly strong, very strong.

As they continued to walk, Bulk looked at his comrades. 

The healer and the magician were in a bad condition. Their legs were shaking in fear and were on the edge. Even the smallest stimuli made them react rather strongly. 

And Bulk, as the only tanker left, was also in a similar position to him. Even though he tried to refuse it, his body still acted to save itself. 

'Fuck…'

They continued to walk and eventually, they saw light. 

Their expressions brightened, thinking they were finally out.

"..."

But the woman didn't seem to rejoice. Rather, she had a strange look resembling disbelief.

"Hey…"

Bulk called out to the woman, an ominous feeling rising from his guts.

Clang! Clang! 

The sound of metal clashing against each other rang out two times, and then it went silent.

"Ha…"

That was surely a laugh. And that laugh came from the woman's mouth. It was a laugh that lacked energy and carried a tone of disbelief.

Gulp.

Bulk gulped his saliva, thinking that the last moments of his life had arrived.

He peeked over the woman's shoulders.

"..."

He felt silent, making the other members anxious.

"Um… l-leader?"

The magician asked in a low voice. He didn't want to draw the danger to himself.

"..."

Bulk didn't answer. He simply stared at something.

Unable to hold their curiosity any longer, the magician looked at the healer and the healer did the same and nodded at each other.

They walked up to Bulk and peeked from his sides.

They fell silent too.

Squish!

A blade dug into the neck of a monster and held it in the air like it was a prize. The monster's body was in uncountable pieces and only the neck remained intact. Even though it was hard, that monster was certainly familiar to Bulk and his team. It was the same monster that, most probably, devoured their four comrades.

The man, whose stature was like that of a kid's, pulled the blade out fiercely. His white hair tied in a ponytail fluttered elegantly. The blood splattered on his robe and the aesthetic mask he was wearing. His gleaming yellow eyes seemed to resonate so greatly with the way he looked at the monster with contempt.

His eyes then moved to four bodies lying beside the monster. Their skin was mushy with strange mucus. But they were certainly breathing. 

"Rion!"

Bulk shouted and dashed to Rion, who was the other tanker of their team.

The magician and the healer also made their way towards the four. They were in tears. The people they thought had died were still alive. 

Without thinking much, the healer took several potions from her dimensional ring and applied them to them. 

"Hmm…"

The pair of yellow eyes that were looking at the monster with contempt just a moment ago looked at them with amusement. 

"Eve."

The woman called out to him.

"Yeah, let's go."

The woman smiled for the first time.

"Good, the carriage is waiting outside the dungeon."

***