“My entertainment.”

Rakna's body shone as the Resonance came to an end, separating him from Pronos who emerged in his full size, promptly plunging into the water and only sticking out his heads joyfully.

The now untransformed therian rolled his shoulders with an impassive expression. "That was an interesting experience," he muttered as the high of Pronos' emotions died down. At the same time, he casually lifted the corpse of the World Boss with his Valkals while the kill notification rang. He also checked the one he had gotten for the clone.

⠀

❮ ◈ ❯

⠀

Lv.620 Yin-Born Dark Sea Krymog Dragon killed.

You have killed a P.100 Class Wild World Boss. Major Plateau Bias Confirmed.

Due to the level difference, rewards will be increased exponentially!

⠀

---

⠀

Lv.620 Liminal Dark Sea Krymog Dragon killed.

You have killed a P.100 Class Wild World Boss. Major Plateau Bias Confirmed.

Due to the level difference, rewards will be increased greatly!

Due to the powerful nature of the evolution, rewards will be increased greatly!

Due to the subjugation difficulty, rewards will be increased greatly!

⠀

---

You are rewarded with 30 Instant Level Ups, the Skill Card 'Inner Blade', the Red Rarity Set 'Armor of the Krymog', and 250 Million Talys!

---

You have gained a new Title; Dragon Slayer!

---

⠀

Level up!

Level up!

…

Level up!

+54 Free Points.

+9 STR, SPD, INT.

⠀

---

Requirement for level up updated.

Current progress: 125/4 864

---

⠀

You have reached Level 300!

The Experience required to level up has increased by 30%.

Your Magic Circuit Pathways have widened! Your Spell Cooldowns have been reduced.

Your body's metaphysical weight has increased.

⠀

---

3rd Factor Genome Updated: Five Layers Unlocked. Next Layer: Lv. 304/Lv.400

Currently Accessible Layers: Antanasia, Onera, Enkata, Anastrofa, Katastra.

---

⠀

Katastra

⠀

The Lands of Ruin is the Fifth Layer of Enthymio and an external type. Once called upon, Katastra will manifest through a physical surface that the user is touching.

Whether it be a living being or not, ruin will befall them like a plague. Depending on how attuned the user is to the dimension or how long contact is maintained, the spread will vary.

The toll of Katastra among the Seven Layers is only second to Anastrofa. For it is not strain that is subjected to its user, but an omen. One should not play with ruin too much lest it bites you back.

⠀

❮ ◈ ❯

⠀

'That's pretty much what I would expect,' Rakna thought and briefly checked the rewards. 

The Skill Card was essentially an inferior version of the World Boss' Nirvana Skill and the armor had the features of the coat of scales it had been using as limbs and then wings afterward.

'It has interesting effects, but I don't need the skill. Maybe Flavia or Nyx could do something with it. As for the armor, it'll make good 'food' for Allegro. I haven't evolved it in a while.'

As he thought that, he extended his claws and plunged his hand into the dead Wilden. He gripped its heart and held it tight. Lilia raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled at her before engulfing the carcass with soul flames; sending it to his storage, separating it from the heart which went directly into a spatial ring.

"I hope you don't mind," the therian said and she slowly shook her head.

"…how?" She spoke up, seemingly asking something else while she undid her Manifestation.

"Hm? You mean how your curse didn't activate when I used my spells at the end?" Rakna inquired back and she nodded twice.

"No, no, how did you even know what she was asking? Varq interjected in disbelief as the whole guild approached them.

The therian glanced at the red-haired man and shrugged before pointing at his seventh tail, which he had yet to dismiss. "You felt it earlier, no? This thing makes me stronger in general and boosts my magic, soul power, and transmutation. It also gives me the ability to read souls and thoughts." 

"…huh?" Varq didn't know what else to say.

On the other hand, Lilia's eyes sparkled. 'Efficiency Master!' She cried out internally and apparently, she was somewhat heard as Rakna sweatdropped.

"Yes… though, to be fair, I don't have a great handle on it quite yet," he added. "I could barely use it to read which target that dragon meant to attack. And, at my stage of mastery, I can only read thoughts if they are especially 'loud'."

'So? How?!' Lilia asked with full concentration and he snickered.

"Your Eye of Cauchemar had a 62% chance to make my spells and skills backfire, and it's true that my multi-cast basically entails casting eight spells at the same time. I also didn't have the room to use Infinity to alter it. Nonetheless, Lazy Actor hit you at a 100% rate and my other attacks also went through. The explanation is very simple…"

The young woman gazed at him expectantly and he grinned

"I'm just that lucky," he declared and she froze on the spot with a stunned expression. He shrugged at her reaction. "What can I say? 20 Luck goes a long way," he smiled teasingly.

Gray burst out laughing and Lilia pouted, looking away with a huff. 

"Wait a minute, did you just say 20 Luck?" Lux blinked.

"To be exact, I have 10, but it doubles when I use this tail," Rakna clarified and then allowed his tail to disappear. Even if the Tenth Tail's toll was much lesser than the demonization, he wasn't going to keep it out just for fun.

And, though he was embarrassed to admit it, every time he caught a glance of Svanya while it was active, it would give him a headache. Unsurprisingly, directly watching a soul flicker in and out of existence was severely perturbing.

That aside, while his sense of smell didn't work on her, going by the smile on her face, he could also tell that she was quite happy for some reason.

"You look awfully perky," he remarked with a curious tone. "Was there something in this fight that got you satisfied?"

Her grin widened, accentuating her regal beauty. "You protected me," she stated.

"Well, that's the point… oh," he exclaimed. He realized what she meant. Now that he thought about it, he did remember teleporting in front of her to deflect one of the dragon's stray attacks at some point.

It seemed that even Ganymede had not been spared by her 'ability', so he had been forced to do it personally after noticing the lack of defense around her. Thankfully, Lilia and her dragon had also been affected, so they obviously couldn't take advantage of it.

"This is the first time it ever happened," she continued with a wistful tone. "Thank you."

Rakna didn't have anything witty to say. Her gratitude was genuine. "…you're welcome. I'll protect you any time."

Svanya smirked slightly. "Is that so? You've got quite the tongue on you. No wonder there are so many rumors going around about you being a womanizer."

The therian flinched. "Seriously?"

"Oh, seriously serious," Gray cackled. "Every girl you're seen with in public nowadays is said to be in a relationship with you. Even the fox matriarch, which, by the way; is it true?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes," the clown grinned.

"Okay, okay, lay off the chit-chat for now," Lux waved his hand and looked at Ensis. "So, boss, what do you think? The test was well passed?"

The old warrior huffed gruffly. "In a single word; yes."

Rakna had no change of expression at the verdict. In fact, with how deadpan his face was, all of his guild mates would be willing to bet he was thinking something along the lines of 'If I hadn't gotten in, how the hell would you even have members?'. Which… frankly, they agreed with.

"The long version…" Ensis raised five fingers with a grunt. "You're exceptionally strong. That is not a secret and it was never in contention. In fact, I would say you can defeat an army-less Lilia if you both were to go all out."

Lilia puffed her cheeks and Rakna smiled in amusement.

Ensis lowered one finger. "You have exceptional talent. Compared to some of us, there's no denying you lack some experience, but your sheer instinct goes above and beyond what it would get you." Another finger down. "Your battle plans are efficient despite their occasional flashiness and you're bold enough to bend the conditions to your advantage. Your probability control was a pleasant surprise."

The therian slowly nodded, accepting the praise.

The third finger was lowered. "You were cool-headed and patient. You were also considerate of the test and didn't overdo our defenses so you would need to extend yourself more. You also didn't try to move us to a more secure location so that the rules would have more impact. It speaks much of your personality," he said and lowered the fourth finger.

"…"

"Finally," Ensis lowered his hand entirely. "You never compromised with yourself."

Rakna actually tilted his head at that one. "What do you mean…? That I didn't want to circumvent the rules?"

"Wrong. That you did not want to surpass the rules," the old warrior said and the therian only had more questions.

"...hey, my 'efficiency mastery' isn't working here," Rakna glanced at Lilia. "What is he saying?" He asked and she helplessly shrugged.

"I believe the leader implies a lack of displeasure on your part," Vegas spoke up as he fixed up his glasses. "Fighting under disadvantageous circumstances is generally frustrating. Whether it be in a spar or a battle to the death. In fact, it is more predominant in the former case. When there is no need to fear for your life, you easily start to blame the setting."

"Right, so you mean I lack vanity," Rakna summarized and the doctor let out a smile.

"More or less."

"That kind of test doesn't work really well on me though. You would need to impose much harsher handicaps for me to be frustrated about them."

"But lest we forbid you from basic maneuvers, you would have fun, wouldn't you?"

"…I can't deny that," the therian muttered.

"You already had the qualifications before coming here," Merlina said with a neutral tone. "And we knew of your integrity, but humans have layers. Verifying them was natural."

Caer smiled at her wife's words and waved at Ensis, who let them explain. "Our leader is the kind of person to read everything about a person through how they fight. You could say there is nothing you can keep from him as long as he sees you swing your weapon once. The reason we chose Lilia as your opponent is also to evaluate how you would handle her temperament."

"Teamwork can be essential, but what I value above all is its foundation; trust," Ensis followed up calmly. "Trust is a blend of empathy and indulgence. And truth be told, I already had my answer to your test the instant you went out of your way to sympathize with Svanya."

Rakna's eyebrow twitched. "Then why have me fight anyway?"

"My entertainment," the old warrior fired back with a straight face.

"…even you can make a joke, huh?" The therian uttered. "Well, I suppose it would have been a waste to rescind the whole dragon hunting thing. It was a good fight."

While Rakna took Ensis' words indifferently, Lilia immediately had a pout. She glared at her guild leader, "Useless. Owe me. Material."

"I think she—"

"She's telling you to pay her back for uselessly wasting 'Draggy 1' like that," Rakna translated and completely ignored Caer who was about to do the same.

The pink-haired man's heart broke into a million pieces as he fell to his knees. "He's translating my dear daughter's words faster than me…! Damn! Damn him!" He cursed with crocodile tears while Merlina pacifyingly rubbed his back. "He even used Lia-terminology! How could it be?!"

"The heck is Lia-terminology…?" Varq retorted dumbfounded. "How did you raise your kid?"

Meanwhile, Ensis grunted like an exasperated grandfather. "All right, brat. I'll personally capture a few Wilden in the upper Plateaus for you. But if you can't tame them, it's on you."

Lilia immediately smiled in satisfaction.

"Now then, boy," the old warrior turned toward Rakna. "Let's get you that reward."