Meanwhile, Akasei stood calmly on that crimson-tinted ground.
He had only just entered the dungeon instance—
—and was still picking his nose.
BOOM!
The glowing red earth finally split apart!
Blazing molten lava erupted violently into the sky!
[Grand Lava Eruption]
Whoosh!
Kanzaki Rei barely skimmed past the edge of the eruption as he dodged, brushing dangerously close to the rising magma. At the same time, Ice Shields and Wind Shields formed around him, isolating the scorching heat.
Catastrophe-class monsters… they're dangerous.
Such a massive range?
A lava eruption with a 500-meter radius?
Even without taking a direct hit, Rei could already feel his Ice Shield melting rapidly under the sheer heat.
The moment the magma burst upward—
countless beams, blade lights, and projectiles exploded upward from below, rushing toward him.
Besides the Catastrophe-class and King-tier monsters, there were still plenty of Lord-tier monsters and other lesser creatures present.
But compared to the Catastrophe-class giants—
they looked no bigger than ants at their feet.
[Sacrifice — 1000 Souls: Sea of Fire]
Whoosh!
Rei spread a Sea of Fire, intending to clear the smaller monsters first. At the same time, numerous other spells erupted alongside the flames.
With a single sweeping gesture—
a dazzling storm of elemental magic rained down toward the ground:
Projectiles.Rays.Jets.Spear-like spikes.
Everything swept downward in a devastating barrage.
Immediately, a large number of Fourth-Tier ordinary monsters were killed.
However—
the moment the chain of spells finished firing, Rei suddenly felt a shadow engulf him from above.
A city-cleaving greatsword was already descending toward him!
At the same time, a thunderous roar echoed from the distance.
"ROAR!"
Another Catastrophe-class monster—a creature with three lion heads—let out a terrifying howl.
The roar instantly caused Rei's body to stiffen in place.
Tough opponents.
[Death Substitute]
BOOM!
The enormous blade cleaved downward.
The instant it struck—
the body it hit shattered into dust.
But the one that shattered—
was not Kanzaki Rei.
It was the corpse of a monster he had just substituted.
The advancement doctrine of the Death Priest:
Create death.Sacrifice death.Utilize death.
If creating death did not distinguish between humans and monsters—
then Rei could confidently say he was a devout practitioner of that doctrine.
When it came to sacrificing death, Rei even believed that he had done better than the majority of Death Priests.
So far, he had sacrificed over 300,000 Supreme Souls.
And as for utilizing death—
Crack!
Three corpses shattered.
Rei swallowed a vial of [Silent Spirit Water] worth 10 gold coins, isolating his body from sonic attacks.
At the same time, the outer layer of his [Tough Water Ring Shield] vibrated rapidly, dispersing the chaotic sound waves.
BOOM!
Bone spikes erupted continuously from the ground.
After emerging, the spikes twisted and transformed into serpent heads, lunging toward Rei with snapping jaws.
So dodging alone won't solve it…
Buzz—
The earth glowed crimson again.
The giant blade swung down once more, while a blood-colored shadow charged toward him in pursuit.
And another one—
a speed-type Catastrophe-class monster.
Its speed was astonishing—
comparable to the Insect King he had fought before.
Crack!
Another corpse exploded.
Rei switched positions once again.
This time—
he appeared behind the speed-type Catastrophe-class monster.
[Blood-Slaying Needle Bee (Metamorphosed)]
Rei had seen it in the Monster Codex.
Among all Fourth-Tier bee-type monsters, this was the ultimate evolutionary form after advancing from King-tier.
Whoosh!
Almost the instant Rei switched places using Death Substitute, the Blood-Slaying Needle Bee turned around.
Its stinger had already pierced straight through "Rei's" body.
Crunch!
It pierced—
a monster corpse.
So fast.
If Death Substitute couldn't be pre-cast, there would have been no time to react at all.
But fortunately—
the Needle Bee's stinger pierced the corpse.
And the corpse—
began glowing.
Death Spell — [Corpse Arcane Cache] (LV: 201)
Effect:Imprint spells within a corpse.
Upgrade Effects:• Imprint more spells• Spells released from corpses gain greater power• Generate corpse poison• Produce foul miasma• Transmission through contact• Corpses become superior special casting mediums
BOOM!
A cloud of purple poison mist erupted.
At the same time, multicolored elemental magic detonated simultaneously.
By the time the Blood-Slaying Needle Bee escaped—
half its body was covered in frost, the other half burned with raging flames, and patches of charred black scorch marks appeared across its exoskeleton.
What tenacious vitality…
Rei had targeted it first because it was a speed-type monster. He assumed its defense would be weaker than those heavily armored giants.
He hadn't expected—
it would be this tanky.
"AAAA—!"
The Needle Bee broke free and saw Rei again.
It let out a furious buzzing roar.
Its compound eyes shifted from yellow to crimson.
With bloodshot rage—
it charged at Rei once more.
Lost your temper?
Rei weaved and maneuvered across the battlefield.
While evading the monsters' attacks, he also began collecting the corpses of lesser monsters scattered across the ground into his storage space.
Rei had specifically prepared a separate spatial ring—
just for storing corpses.
At the same time, while fleeing, he blasted chaotic bursts of wind everywhere.
He intentionally blew corpses across different parts of the battlefield.
Even if those bodies were chopped into minced meat, Rei could still use them.
Slight charring was acceptable.
But if they were completely incinerated by lava, they would become unusable.
Buzz—
The Needle Bee's wings vibrated violently.
Among the ten Catastrophe-class monsters, it had the strongest desire to attack.
But…
Rei chuckled faintly.
Monsters were still monsters.
Their spiritual intelligence was weak.
In simpler terms—
their brains didn't work very well.
Their intelligence was extremely low.
Only a very small number of special species possessed intellect comparable to intelligent races.
Those creatures usually guarded something important—
or possessed extraordinary origins.
For example, the Blood-Origin King Rei had encountered earlier.
A rare monster capable of speech.
It had been guarding the [Class Advancement Secret Scroll].
Back then, Rei had thought Third-Tier King-tier monsters already possessed the beginnings of intelligence.
But later he discovered—
monsters capable of speech and reasoning were extremely rare.
SWISH!
The Needle Bee chased him down.
Its speed was terrifying.
But unfortunately—
such straightforward pursuit was ultimately useless.
BOOM!
Another corpse exploded.
Inside it were numerous vicious spells Rei had secretly stored:
• Deep Curse Arrow (Sacrifice: 2000 Souls)• Wailing Soul Death Curse (Sacrifice: 1000 Souls)• Soul Rending (Sacrifice: 2000 Souls)
Even a professional Death Priest would call such spells cruel and malicious.
After piercing the corpse—
the Needle Bee suddenly began rolling chaotically in midair, before plunging headfirst into the ground and convulsing violently.
Oh~
Looks like the effect was quite good.
These clever little Second-Tier spells were something Rei had developed while contemplating Root Magic.
During the process of creating them—
he felt himself getting closer and closer to comprehending the essence of Root Magic.
Mm…
At this point, it truly felt like he was only one step away.
Within arm's reach.
Even the Mage and Death Priest classes had now become perfectly integrated in his hands.
Under Rei's control, the two professions had practically become inseparable, strengthening one another mutually.
Chaos continued as Rei relentlessly hunted the monster with spells.
He certainly wasn't the type to spare an enemy when they were in confusion.
Instead—
strike while they're down.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The moment the Needle Bee fell into disarray, a violent tide of spells poured down upon it.
To its credit, the creature's resistances were incredibly high.
After rolling twice, it finally regained consciousness.
Almost in the blink of an eye—
it had already reappeared directly in front of Rei.
In terms of speed, it truly didn't disappoint.
CRACK!
Its tail stinger pierced through "Rei" again.
The substituted corpse exploded under the attack.
And this time—
the stored spell was:
[Soul Explosion].
..
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