Chapter 25: To An Unknown Land

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: To An Unknown Land

Krono crossed swamp after swamp, hill after hill, leaving nothing but an unnatural trail of emptiness in his path.

​Whenever a beast dared to ambush him from the shadows, they did not even have the chance to bleed. With a single touch and a softly whispered command, they simply disappeared from existence.

The Ultimate Devourer System consumed their flesh, their bones, and their very mana.

Krono left absolutely no trace behind.

​Hours later, a veteran party of human hunters cautiously tracked their way through the deepest zones of the great Gorak Forest. They walked with their weapons drawn, fully expecting the usual chaotic roars and bloodthirsty predators that ruled these woods.

​Instead, they found a suffocating, dead silence.

​"Hold up," the party leader muttered, raising a clenched fist to halt his men. "Something is completely wrong here."

​"What is it, Captain? Did you find tracks?" a younger scout asked fearfully.

The captain replied,

​"No. I found signs of a massive ambush. Claws dug deeply into the dirt right here. Broken branches up there. But there is no blood. There are no corpses. There is no scent."

​The scout swallowed hard, looking nervously up into the dense canopy.

"Maybe a larger predator dragged the bodies away?"

​"Nah. It can’t be like that. A predator leaves a trail of gore. This looks like an invisible god simply swept the forest clean. Something completely unnatural is hunting out here. Turn around, boys. We need to leave immediately."

Meanwhile, miles away from the terrified hunters, Krono stood over the dissolving corpse of a mutated wolf.

​His breathing was heavy, and eyes were a little red.

​Spamming his new Mind Corruption skill on so many monsters back-to-back was finally starting to take a toll on his mind. Even invading weaker consciousnesses required intense focus, and he was pushing his mortal limits.

​Still, as he pulled his hand away from the vanishing beast and summoned his status, he knew the pain was entirely worth it.

​[ ULTIMATE DEVOURER SYSTEM (STATUS) ]

​[ Name: Kronor De Volcan ]

[ Age: 7 (39) ]

[ Race: Human (Base) ]

[ Title: Mad Slayer ]

​[ HP (Health): 120 / 120 ]

[ Miasma (Mana): 50 / 100 ]

[ Satiation (Hunger): 100% (Overlimit) ]

​[ Strength (STR): 110 ]

[ Agility (AGI): 100 ]

[ Vitality (VIT): 104 ]

[ Intelligence (INT): 50 ]

[ Willpower (WIL): 37 ]

​[ SKILLS ]

• Mind Corruption (E), Web Weaver (E), Water Breathing (E), Aquatic Camouflage (E+), Tremor Step (D)

​[ INNATE SKILLS ]

• Adult Soul (Passive)

• Photographic Comprehension (Passive)

​[ SYSTEM SKILLS ]

• Absolute Absorption (Active)

He smiled cruelly.

He had finally broken the one-hundred point threshold in his main physical stats. Even better, his relentless massacre had pushed his hunger into an Overlimit state and earned him a brand new title.

Krono tapped a bloodstained finger against the glowing blue text of his new title. The status window rippled, expanding to reveal a detailed description.

​[ Title: Mad Slayer ]

[ Description: Awarded to a being who has massacred over one hundred enemies in a single, unyielding hunt. You have bathed in blood until it became your second nature. ]

​[ Effect 1 - Dread Aura (Passive): Enemies with a lower Willpower stat than yours will experience intense, primal fear in your presence. Their overall combat effectiveness is reduced by 10%. ]

​[ Effect 2 - Blood Frenzy (Passive): For every enemy you kill during continuous combat, your Strength and Agility temporarily increase by 1%. This effect stacks up to a maximum of 20%. ]

​[ Penalty: Your growing bloodlust makes it slightly harder to maintain rational judgment during extended battles. ]

For a beginner, it was not a bad title. Mad Slayer. It had a nice ring to it.

​Just as Krono convinced himself of that, something suddenly caught his keen interest.

​Boink!

​It was a tiny, cutesy creature. It had a crocodile-like head, two wings, four paws, and a rounded belly.

​His eyes widened as recognition finally dawned on him.

​It was a dragon. A red baby dragon.

​It was an offspring of the apex race. They were the embodiment of fierceness, natural calamities, and absolute power.

​Krono’s predatory eyes glinted with greed. If he could absorb it, he could gain the power of their bloodline. Once that happened, he would be even more powerful. Those damn churches wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing to him then.

​"I must get it. I must devour it," he muttered, almost in a possessed tone.

The baby dragon had been waddling along in a happy mood. But as its primal danger instincts suddenly flared, it stopped and turned around. It looked straight toward Krono.

​Their eyes locked.

​The human boy’s red eyes radiated a terrifying, insatiable greed.

​That horrifying gaze thoroughly frightened the little reptile.

​Flap! Flap!

​It instantly beat its tiny wings, desperately trying to flee with frantic, clumsy bursts. However, since it was just a newborn, it couldn’t fly very well. Its speed was pitifully slow.

​Krono gave chase without a second thought. He closed the distance in a flash and snatched it out of the air with a quick jump.

​The creature was surprisingly heavy for its size. It struggled violently to get free, but Krono held it in an iron grip.

​"Hehe, you are going straight into my stomach, little dragon," Krono whispered with an evil smirk.

​The baby dragon shrieked in panic. Suddenly, a bright orange light flared deep within its maw.

​Sizzle! Sssssss!

​A blast of scorching fire erupted, burning Krono’s hands severely. The searing pain forced his grip to loosen just enough.

​"Ahh, fuck, that hurts!" Krono cursed out loud, stumbling backward.

​To make matters worse, the baby dragon wiggled free, flashed its chubby butt right at his face, and began frantically flying away again.

​Krono’s nostrils flared in unrestricted anger.

Ignoring the searing pain in his hands, Krono launched himself forward to initiate the chase.

​And just like that, a frantic game of predator and prey began.

​Krono’s focus was glued so intensely to the fleeing baby dragon that he completely failed to register his surroundings. He did not notice that they had crossed the boundary into a completely new, forbidden territory.

​In this part of the woods, sunlight was a distant memory. The towering trees twisted upward like ghostly entities, and the unseen birds chirped a haunting melody that sounded like weeping ghosts.

​Suddenly, behind a thick wall of dark leaves and tangled branches, a glowing, circular portal revealed itself.

​Seeing the shimmering gateway, the baby dragon yelped in joy. Driven by the absolute fear for its life, it tucked its wings and dove straight through the rippling surface.

​Blinded by his own greed, Krono did not hesitate. He lunged right in after it, completely unaware of the fatal mistake he had just made.

​The portal instantly collapsed behind him with a silent ripple, leaving absolutely no trace of its existence in the quiet forest.

​A fraction of a second later, Aurora burst through the tree line.

"Krono! Don’t!"

She lunged forward with a panicked cry, but her desperate, outstretched hand grasped nothing but empty air.