The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-319

Chapter 319: Surplus Humans (6)

[Grahhhh- Gaaa-Ughhhh-]

The wail of agony echoed through the air.

The flower part of its head almost split in half, and thrashed about wildly.

Within the abyss of its gaping jaw, deformed fangs were protruding, destroying even steel and asphalt.

Crash! Swish-

The attacks intensified, becoming more ferocious and diverse.

It was only slashing and smashing, but now…

Sssshhh… Crunch

The rocks touched by the roots crumbled into sand as if squeezed dry.

“Its sucking moisture from what it touches. Quite an annoying ability.”

Though not particularly moist, the ability, it seemed, was more about wringing water out than absorbing it.

Thus, the amount of moisture obtained was outweighed by the energy expended, rendering the strategy inefficient.

However…

Shiriririk! Thud! Crackle…

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower continued extending roots towards Vikir.

Spot!

No blood flowed from his wounds where the roots grazed, as an immense amount of blood was drained in that short moment.

Additionally…

Whoosh! Swish-

With each leaf of Bloodsoaked Jade Flower that touched the ground, a toxic gas erupted, making a sound similar to bursting balloons.

When the wilted, widespread leaves are hit hard, they burst open, releasing toxic gas clouds in the shape of skulls.

Contact with this gas caused boils on the skin,

In this manner, Bloodsoaked Jade Flower was armed with various lethal functions, making it the ultimate biological weapon.

…However.

“No matter how powerful the attack, it’s ultimately meaningless if it doesn’t hit.”

Vikir evaded the flying whips, dry air, and toxic gas clouds with ease.

There was a distinct change in his movements. It wasn’t just a matter of agility or stamina.

Whizz- Thud! Crackle!

He effortlessly dodged the swinging roots with minimal movements and flicked away the flying debris with just a few nods.

There was no need to move much or move quickly.

A sense of time slowing down.

The perception that time even seemed to linger freely until the approaching speck became the large dot in front of him!

[Vikir]

– Level: 1 (%)

– Titles: “Rat Hunter”, “Hell’s Dogmaster”

– Stats

– Strength: 260

– Agility: 229

– Endurance: 269

– Physical Resistance: 1

– ?: (Locked)

– Reflexes: 0 (+1) = 1

The stat most difficult to obtain among the “Three locked Stats,” the “Reflexes” stat. It belongs to the realm of innate talent that is impossible to obtain outside of the Tower.

Vikir had acquired it.

“With this, I’ve gathered five out of the six stats. This is already an achievement since we’re only on the 3rd floor. Luck played a part in it, nothing else….”

Even the heroes who obtained these stats, got them really deep down in the tower, at the later stages. While Vikir already had 2 of them while on the 3rd floor.

Vikir’s strides were increasingly imbued with strength.

Thunk-

The Gooey-honey like liquid aura flowed through Baalzebub and sliced off Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’s wilted leaves.

‘This is an air sac.’

What appeared to be a dried, shriveled leaf was actually an air sac.

It resembled the structure of another water plant like the jade flower.

The only difference is that the Bloodsoaked Jade flower has a high concentration of toxic gas in its air sacs.

Swish-

Because it was originally shriveled, the amount of toxic gas emitted was negligible.

‘It’s fortunate that it’s in the tower. If I had encountered a specimen from the source like the blood swamp….’

It would have been as fierce a battle as when he faced Madam Eight-Legs in the past.

Moreover, Bloodsoaked Jade Flower had very strong vitality and could annihilate an entire city if needed.

While Vikir was thinking a voice rang through his head,

[Human. Save your thoughts for later!]

Decarabia’s warning voice echoed.

Vikir snapped back to attention and swiftly reached out his left hand.

Leap!

The spider silk clung to the top of the crumbling tower.

Using it as a platform, Vikir leaped high, avoiding Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’s roots.

“Gigik- Kikkikik!”

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’s agitation seemed to intensify, as it now struggled to control its head properly.

However, it was also true that due to Vikir’s own toughened skin from the aura, it couldn’t inflict any significant damage.

Then, at that moment.

“Gik!?”

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower began to exhibit a peculiar reaction.

There was an irresistible scent wafting from somewhere.

It wasn’t the pungent odor of hellhounds but something smooth, rich, and savory.

Indeed, it was the aroma of human blood and flesh!

“Gyagyagyagak!”

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower quickly began to move.

Eventually, Bloodsoaked Jade Flower stood before a large pit.

The scent was emanating from below.

Freshly slaughtered pieces of meat lay beneath.

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower hastily extended its vines and felt around the bottom of the pit.

Plop! Sticky-

Something warm and gooey was caught at the end of the vine.

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower, thinking it was right, eagerly sucked in whatever it was.

In an instant.

“…Gik?”

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’s head tilted sharply.

The taste was off.

It had expected the smooth, delicious taste of human blood and flesh, and the smell had been similar, but the taste was disappointingly bland.

Bloodsoaked Jade Flower raised the vine to examine what was inside.

It turned out to be a large leather pouch.

Expecting to find human corpses inside, Bloodsoaked Jade Flower was taken aback.

Certainly, the scent matched that of human blood and flesh.

And although the weight was slightly lighter, it was about the right amount.

However.

Inside the leather pouch was something other than human corpses.

Splash! Thud-thud-

There were no human corpses inside. What spread on the ground was a considerable amount of blood, saliva, mucus, tears, urine, and other bodily fluids. Additionally, there were tightly coiled strands of hair, fingernails from hands and feet, calluses and dead skin peeled from elbows and heels, dandruff removed from the entire body, and a considerable number of teeth.

“Does it taste good?”

Vikir appeared behind Bloodsoaked Jade Flower like a ghost.

“When you gather the byproducts of the human body, it adds up quite a bit.”

Vikir opened his mouth wide to show the teeth he had plucked out alive.

Of course, they were rapidly regenerating due to the basilisk’s regenerative abilities.

“Your vines and plant skin seems to get lighter and easier to cut whenever you eat something.”

After finishing his words, Vikir swung his sword as Bloodsoaked Jade Flower sucked up the blood from the ground.

Slash-

This time it struck home.

The sword pierced through the surface of the tentacle, sinking in properly.

[GRaaaahhh!]

As Bloodsoaked Jade Flower lifted its heavy floral head and roared, a deeply engorged eyeball appeared in the depths of its throat, blinded by extreme anxiety, thirst, and rage.

“It’s finally revealed.”

Vikir leaped into Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’s gaping mouth, his mouth wide open to its limit.

At the same time, the aura inflated by increased stats extended all the way to the tip of Beelzebub.

Stabbing was more effective than slashing for delivering a fatal blow in a single strike. The cursed sword Beelzebub, which resembles a spear, was meant for this role.

Although the striking range was narrow, it was deep. Vikir intended to end the battle with one fatal blow.

And in no time, Bloodsoaked Jade Flower chewed up and swallowed Vikir.

Thunk-

Just before the upper and lower jaws clashed violently.

With all his might, Vikir drove the cursed sword Beelzebub into the deep recesses of Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’s eyeball, right in the center.

Squish-

The membrane of the eyeball tore, and a hole appeared in the pupil inside.

The long-extending aura pierced through Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’s throat and eyeball, reaching out beyond the back of its head.

Thunk! Thunk!

Even stronger than animal muscle fibers, the plant fibers attempted to contort Vikir’s entire body.

The teeth, harder than steel, somehow tried to squeeze blood from Vikir’s body.

“You want blood? Sure.”

At the same time, Vikir lightened his body’s aura and emitted the madam eight leg’s poison from his entire body.

The viscous poison flowed through Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’s throat and wounded eyeballs.

[Gigik!? G-gi-gi-gik!]

Only now did Bloodsoaked Jade Flower realize that something was wrong.

But it was already too late.

The spear piercing through the core of life, along with the aura and the madam’s poison spreading through the veins via the wounds, had already decided the outcome.

Thunk!

The pressure crushing Vikir’s body seemed to weaken,

With a faint tremor, Bloodsoaked Jade Flower collapsed its massive body onto the ground.

-Ding!

[Level 1 Warrior Vikir has successfully hunted the ‘S-Rank Demon, Bloodsoaked Jade Flower of the Blood Swamp’ for the first time!]

[Achievement for the ‘Impossible’ accomplishment has been rewarded!]

A loud notification rang in his ears.

A mere Level 1 newbie had defeated an S-rank monster.

He had achieved what even the Tower’s system deemed ‘impossible.’

Finally, the students who had been watching Vikir’s fight from afar began to appear one by one.

“Amazing…”

“I never thought such a strategy would work.”

“Geez, my teeth hurt just thinking about it.”

“My nails… ugh, still, it’s a relief to be alive.”

They were utterly exhausted from extracting about 60 kilograms of hair, eyebrows, beard, various body hairs, blood, saliva, dandruff, excrement, fingernails, and teeth.

Some of the senior students had even cut out pieces of their own flesh.

“Well done.”

Vikir acknowledged their efforts. It wouldn’t have been easy for each of them to put forth the equivalent of 500g of flesh.

Ultimately, it was a collective effort that prevailed. Soon enough, the fairy, taking on the form of a grotesque mass, appeared before Vikir.

It fluttered its decayed lips and greeted, [Did you enjoy the spectacle of Newbie’s bloodshed? Would you like a reward for your efforts? Anticipation good things, aren’t you? It must be quite an exciting reward!]

The fairy rolled its eyes protruding from the center of its lips and gauged Vikir’s reaction.

[Shall I present you with a reward as a token of congratulations? Isn’t it delightful? Feel free to anticipate! It’s truly an extraordinary reward, isn’t it]

Gradually, the fairy closed its eyes, murmuring something, then extended its hand, revealing a sizable pouch.

With a woosh, it emptied the contents onto the ground – candies, shimmering in various colors.

There were a staggering 300 red candies, 150 blue candies, and 75 green candies, totaling a remarkable 525 pieces. Among them were candies of a different color as well.

-Strange Candy / Level / Golden

A candy that increases your level by 1.

It tastes sweet.

-Level +1

A radiant glow unlike anything before, a sweet taste detectable even without putting it in your mouth.

There were also golden candies, 10 of them. Each of them is worth 300 other candies.

525 regular candies and 10 level candies. For any survivor who had endured hardships thus far, this was a reward so dazzling it could make their eyes roll back in their heads.

Indeed, Vikir was displaying a similar reaction. “It’s… it’s amazing.”

Even the most seasoned veteran couldn’t contain his joy, to the point where his voice quivered with excitement!

Vikir’s expression, now much brighter than when he received the silver candy, clearly conveyed just how immense his sense of accomplishment was at this moment.

The fairy, moved by Vikir’s emotion, spread its arms wide. [Well? Will you take all of these? Are they all for you, my lord?]

Having finished speaking, the fairy slowly retreated to allow Vikir to indulge in the pile of candies.

As soon as Vikir grasped the candies, the fairy seemed to slowly vanish. However…

Crunch!

Vikir, as if intentionally, stepped forward and stomped directly on the heap of candies before him.

Thud-thud-thud… the candies, red, green, blue, and golden, scattered in all directions.

Approaching the bewildered fairy with a determined expression, Vikir firmly grabbed the fairy’s floundering body as it attempted to flee.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going? You have to give me my reward.”

Vikir’s gaze was sharp, focused on the worn-out pouch in the fairy’s hand – the same pouch that had just spilled out a massive amount of candies.