The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-325

Chapter 325: Dogma (5)

“Damn this world.”

Dogma, a first-year student, was on his way out of the professor’s office after receiving a grade of D on an assignment he had stayed up three nights to complete.

The excuse that someone else had plagiarized his assignment didn’t hold water. Instead, despite being the victim of plagiarism himself, Dogma received the lowest grade and failed.

“Are we born just to grovel at the feet of the nobles? Let this world rot.”

In a deserted alleyway, a few stray dogs scampered away from the sound of human footsteps.

Dogma, cursing vehemently at the sky as the rain poured down on him, suddenly paused as the rain ceased. He turned his head to see a white umbrella being held over him by a female student carrying a bag of dog food.

Dolores. That was the name on her name tag pinned to her chest.

“That’s not true.”

Dolores spoke, accompanied by a melancholic smile.

“Everyone is the protagonist of their own life. And protagonists inevitably carry worries, anxieties, guilt, and burdens. Nobles or commoners, everyone faces the same struggles.”

Upon hearing this, Dogma’s expression turned blank.

Is that so? Is it really?

…No. He had fallen for such lies many times before. He wouldn’t be fooled anymore.

“You can say that because you have everything. You’re pretty, have a good figure, young, good at studying, rich, and from a good family. Surely, you’ll graduate with excellent grades, return to your family, and live a luxurious life! And likewise, you’ll meet a handsome, tall, fit, well-mannered, wealthy, and well-born man and live happily ever after!”

Dogma’s outburst echoed in the downpour like arrows without a target, sharp with hatred.

But Dolores merely smiled wryly.

“…That’s not it.”

With a brief reply, Dogma could only wear his blank expression again upon seeing Dolores’s smile.

Why? Every time he saw her smile like that afterward, his heart felt a pang of unease.

“Don’t laugh like that.”

For three years, Dogma struggled between life and death.

Always hovering around Dolores, relentlessly trying to stand at a similar level, at the same eye level.

Second in his grade. Vice President of the Student Council.

A meteoric rise from a commoner background.

…But deep within, an unquenchable, inexplicable rage simmered.

Why? Why on earth?

After pondering for a while, Dogma soon realized the reason.

The reason was simply…

* * *

“What was I…?”

Dogma’s mouth opened, emitting a twisted voice that was no longer human, resembling that of a grotesque, malformed fairy.

“Why was I angry?”

The demonized Dogma appeared to have significantly diminished intelligence, which had once been his pride.

“Hmm. He’s becoming larger and larger.”

Vikir raised his chin, looking up. Dogma’s body had become quite grotesque.

His arms and legs had elongated more than his body, and a whip-like tail had grown from his buttocks. His entire body was covered in large shark scales, with a large horn on his forehead and a spectacle of teeth protruding from his lipless mouth.

Most striking of all was the giant flame mane engulfing Dogma’s entire body.

[Majin ‘Inferiority like Inferno’]

Danger Level: A+

Size: 8m

Location Found: Black sea, 4th Floor of the Abyss tree.

– Commonly known as ‘Inferiority complex’ or ‘Majin’’

A distorted form resembling a twisted reflection of a student who had suffered many disadvantages at school.

Harboring intense hatred capable of burning down the entire world, it indiscriminately attacks numerous people.

There seems to be no possibility of returning to being human.

“If this were documented in a guidebook, it would probably be described like this.”

Information about demonized humans is fragmented and highly individualized, not included in demon guidebooks, but Vikir could deduce enough information on his own.

[Grrraa… Grrruuuh!]

Meanwhile, the demonized Dogma emitted a terrifying aura as he stood atop a sand dune.

Crash! Swoosh!

A large wave crashed against Dogma’s body, instantly evaporating into black steam.

“It’s getting annoying.”

Vikir clenched his jaw.

Although he managed to defeat a blood-soaked jade flower in the previous stage, it was with the help of a trap, and the Cerberus he defeated in the stage before that relied on the Savic berries and Perfumes.

“…There aren’t many useful allies.”

The commoner faction students had levels and stats too low to be helpful, and the Insect kings were trembling in fear, keeping their distance from the flames.

[Hahaha- They are inherently afraid of fire and rock type attacks. Moreover, they’re even more vulnerable to fire due to the wax coating on their exoskeleton surfaces.]

“Useless information.”

Vikir gripped the Decarabia in one hand and summoned Baalzebub with the other.

“Well, fire can be extinguished with water.”

Fortunately, this place isn’t by the seaside, right?

At that moment,

Whoosh-

A sound of movement came from the side.

HighBro, MiddleBro, LowBro. The three of them were moving away from Vikir and running backward.

[What’s this? Are they running away? They were calling for the lord, but now they’re gone. This is why humans…]

“Probably not running away.”

“What? Then what…”

Just as Decarabia was expressing his confusion, a voice from behind, HighBro, echoed out, “You useless brats! Hurry up and bring out all the candies you have!”

The three brothers from the Baskerville, having regained their strength by consuming blood essence, were now demanding candies from the commoner faction students. However, they knew well that their weakened bodies wouldn’t be much help to Vikir.

Someone who grasps the situation well can solve problems regardless of their strength’s decline.

HighBro, MiddleBro, and LowBro created an atmosphere of fear as they tore open all the strange candies the commoner faction students possessed. Even the Insect king people willingly handed over their candies.

“lord! We’ve brought the candies! Quickly!”

Highbro, MiddleBro, and Lowbro placed the obtained candies on the edge of the sand dune and swiftly retreated.

[Those guys… are quite useful, huh?] Said Decarabia in a smug voice.

“So that’s why I kept them.”

Vikir nodded toward the triplets, and their expressions brightened noticeably.

Crack! Bang!

The flames of Majin began to engulf the entire sand dune. The sand grains melted and became sticky.

.

“You’re surprisingly strong for a Majin who appeared so early in the game. I hope we won’t have to face you again.”

If a mere human like Dogma could transform into such a formidable force when demonized, what would happen if a human with heroic-level power and potential were to become demonized? It was a terrifying thought.

Splat-

Vikir emitted an aura and severed one of Dogma’s ankles. As soon as flames touched his body, he immediately plunged into the shallow sea to cool off before emerging again. The waters of the Black Sea were so cold and heavy that they even cooled down Dogma’s burning flames, the ‘flames of inferiority’.

Bang!

With a roar and a massive amount of steam bursting forth, Vikir dashed away from the sand dune. Eventually, after picking up all the candies the triplets had thrown, Vikir swallowed them all.

His status changed immediately.

[Vikir]

-LV: 1 (%)

-Titles: ‘Rat Hunter’, ‘Hell’s Dogmaster’, ‘Bloodsoacked Jade flower’s Lumberjack’ (NEW)

-Stats

↳ Strength: 260 (+40) = 300

↳ Agility: 229 (+31) = 260

↳ Stamina: 269 (+31) = 300

↳ Physical Resistance: 1

↳ ?: (Locked)

↳ Reflexes: 1

He had adjusted his strength and stamina to reach 300, and he had raised his agility as much as possible.

“I’ll save the rest of the candies to use for obtaining the ‘Three Major Stats’.”

He collected the remaining candies for now. Just reaching 300 in strength and stamina was a significant achievement.

Wriggle!

The much stronger muscular strength flowed into Baalzebub than before.

Although he couldn’t level up, his stats had risen considerably, making him much stronger. This should be enough to inflict fatal damage.

Flash!

Baskerville 4th style. Compared to 8the style, it was like child’s play, but Vikir’s Baskerville 4 was different.

Vikir’s Baskerville 4th style was even acknowledged by Canecorso, the lord of the Ninth Style. It was unparalleled.

Ferocious growls echoed as Vikir’s four fangs fiercely attacked Dogma’s neck.

“Grraaagh!”

Dogma vomited an enormous amount of blood, which bubbled and disappeared into the depths of the Black Sea as soon as it touched the surface.

“Aaaargh!”

Enraged, Dogma relentlessly pursued Vikir. With a calm demeanor, Vikir lured Dogma into the sea.

Splish-splash! Thud! Crash! Plunk!

By Vikir’s swift maneuvers, Dogma’s wrists and ankles were severed, leaving him to sink into the Black Sea.

“Chill out there.”

Vikir ensured Dogma couldn’t escape by cutting off the remaining parts of his limbs. Despite Dogma’s vigorous struggles, he couldn’t rise with only his head, torso, and tail remaining.

Unfortunately, the water’s depth was just enough to keep Dogma submerged, leaving him unable to surface.

“The Black Sea doesn’t offer buoyancy.”

Swimming back to the sandy shore, Vikir observed from a distance as Dogma struggled in the bubbling water. But the depth prevented Dogma from lifting his head above the surface.

Time passed.

Bubbling ceased, steam vanished, and calm returned to the sea. It was a sign that whatever was thrashing beneath had succumbed.

“…Drowned.”

As Vikir murmured softly, indicating Dogma’s demise,

-Ding!

The sound of mission completion rang out.

“[Level 1 Warrior] Vikir has successfully hunted the ‘A+ Rank Mine ‘Majin’ for the first time!”

“Reward for the ‘Awesome’ Achievement will be granted!”

[Mission Completed] – Let’s kill the Majin (1/1)

※ […??? …How on earth did you manage to kill it?]

Eventually, the fairy appeared with a rigid expression.

Inspecting Dogma’s cold, sunken body beneath the Black Sea, the fairy licked its lips.

Flying over to Vikir, the fairy promptly rewarded him for capturing the Mine.

[Oh, you’ve done quite a job, haven’t you?]

It was a reward of 10 Level Candies.

A strange golden candy shimmered as it fell into Vikir’s hand.

“Is this it?”

“Just a moment.”

Vikir halted the disappearing fairy.

“Can I use the candy shop?”

[Hmm? Why?]

“I want to sell the Level Candies for regular stat candies.”

The fairy tilted its head.

Ordinary challengers usually gather 300 regular stat candies to purchase one Level Candy. But for Vikir, it was the opposite.

Exchanging his hard-earned 10 Level Candies for 3,000 regular candies, Vikir found it to be a profitable deal.

In no time, Vikir amassed over 3,000 regular candies, mostly obtained through random trades, with most being red Power candies.

Adding the candies received from the common students and bugs, it amounted to slightly over 3,100.

“Now it’s gacha time.”

Continuously feeding the candies to Baby madam on his wrist, Vikir watched eagerly as she devoured them.

Before long, baby madam consumed all 3,000 candies and produced 30 candies.

Observing the colors of the candies that emerged from baby madam, Vikir couldn’t hide his disappointment.

Mostly red Power candies and blue stamina candies dropped, with sporadic green Agility candies.

However, since it was more beneficial to increase Power by 100 than Agility by 1, Vikir’s gacha continued to result in significant losses.

Eventually, Vikir depleted all 3,000 candies.

The harvest was around 10 Agility candies, with the rest being almost worthless Power and stamina candies.

With only 90 candies left, there was no more gacha to be done.

“It seems luck wasn’t on my side this time. Or perhaps, was this to be expected?”

Vikir decided to gracefully give up. He knew from the start that his expectations were too high, so there was no need to be overly disappointed with the results.

…Right at that moment.

“Lord, I still have 12 candies left.”

Highbro appeared from somewhere, offering Vikir some candies stained with blood.

“What’s this?”

“These are the students who were killed when the Dogma turned into a demon. I retrieved them from the sap.”

Vikir nodded. He hadn’t considered this option, but this meant he could spin the gacha once more.

‘I might be in trouble if I get Power or stamina again this time. If I could get any of the Big Three stats, it would be amazing. But if not, at least Agility would be better.’

Vikir fed another 100 candies to baby madam.

Eventually…

*Squeak!*

Baby madam’s rear end started twitching.

And then…

*Pop!*

A candy fell into Vikir’s palm.

It was a candy with a never-before-seen pure white color, emitting a faint glow.

-[Strange Candy] / Magic Resistance / White

A candy that increases Magic Resistance stat by 1.

It tastes astringent.

-Magic Resistance +1

Upon reading the description of the candy, Vikir’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“Lucky, I suppose.”

Although it was a stroke of luck, it wasn’t quite as good as he hoped.