A few months have passed since then, and nothing special happened around that time. Everyone is doing their daily life normally.
Izuku is now inside the dungeon of Demon Castle. After a year and a half, he finally reached the 50th floor. The 50th floor is guarded by a boss-level demon with another demon as his bodyguard. A red name floated over his head.
[The Ruler of the Lower Floor, the Avaricious Vulcan]
The devil himself was sitting on a throne made of bones. A big red body, he held a club in his right arm while looking down on his opponent.
Izuku looked at Vulcan, thinking about how big this demon is. He compares himself to Vulcan, although he has to deal with it himself.
' that big guy looked dangerous. I have to deal with him myself '
Izuku raised his hand, ordering the wizards in his army to attack the Vulcan guards.
ring~
[Vulcan guards have detected intruders]
" get rid of them "
As he ordered his shadow soldiers to attack, Izuku activated his Stealth skill. A clash of swords occurred between Izuku's army and Vulcan's guards.
Although his bodyguard is a high-level demon, Izuku's shadow soldiers are equivalent to him. The number of soldiers he could defend increased and became stronger. Since he has improved his intelligence statistics, he should have more than enough mana to allow his soldiers to recover.
' That demon didn't make a single move... I'll finish it off quickly. It will be easier than I thought- '
Or so he thought, Vulcan who used to sit on his throne, is now gone in the blink of an eye. He reappeared in front of Izuku's army and wiped them all out with one blow.
' what?... he is so fast! '
Izuku widened his eyes, surprised, although Vulcan had such a big body, he still could move so fast. Immersed in shock for a moment, Izuku regained his sense when he saw his soldiers being annihilated.
Izuku ran towards Vulcan, he jumped into the air releasing his 'Stealth'. His arm muscles tightened to the point of tearing his clothes, and he clenched his fists while inserting mana into them.
" you bastard... "
BAM!~
Izuku's fist hit Vulcan's side face, it was like a bullet sending him flying towards several buildings ahead. Izuku didn't expect that he would send Vulcan flying with just one hit.
' I did punch him hard, but... I didn't expect to send him to fly that far '
He looked at his fist in disbelief, there was even no scratch on his fist.
" Oh, come to think of it, my status... "
Stats
Strength: 150
Vitality: 109
Agility: 139
Intelligence: 115
Sense: 111
Physical damage reduction: 46
" right, I forgot about it... "
Because he mostly accepted the Assassin class skill and got the Mage Class as his Job, Izuku forgot something.
[Strength: 150]
Although he has invested his points in Intelligence these days, His strength is still a few points higher than his Intelligence.
He noticed it too late because of his slow growth. He only received very few experience points when raiding with other Hunters and he could only hunt alone within the Devil's Castle.
" I... become stronger "
Izuku raised his head to see Vulcan's body trapped between the buildings. But this is not the time to rejoice.
ring~
[The Ruler of the Lower Floor, the Avaricious Vulcan has used the skill: 'Wrath']
[Vulcan will maintain its 'Rage' status]
[Vulcan's stats will increase by 50%]
[Vulcan will feel less pain]
The air around him trembled, a burst of energy that came from Vulcan after he activated his skill.
' that... the same skill that Cerberus used '
The angry Vulcan rushed towards Izuku, the ground rumbling as Vulcan stepped on it. His movements are even faster than before.
' at this rate, I can't block his attack. I'm going to suffer a direct blow '
Izuku glanced at his soldier who was fighting the Vulcan guards behind him. His eyes scanned the battlefield, and amidst the chaos, he spotted Iron.
" IRON!... "
Izuku shouted, and his knight instantly understood the master's order. Iron threw his shield towards Izuku. Izuku caught it and clasped it in his hand. When he turned his gaze forward, Vulcan was already there.
He raised his shield and focused his strength on his arm.
BANG!~
BANG!~
BANG!~BANG!~
BANG!~
The Vulcan wand hit the shield, not once, but in a row. The brutal attack kept pushing him down, but Izuku could still hold it. Thanks to his Power stats, he was able to withstand Vulcan's attacks.
' if this continues I will be destroyed, I must find the right time to fight back, it's not my style to be a Tanker... '
BANG!~
When the Vulcan wand was pulled back, Izuku jumped aimed toward the demon's head. But that's what Vulcan predicted, he swung his club horizontally directly at Izuku.
' he trapped me '
Izuku, who was in the air, couldn't dodge easily. He looked at the Vulcan's club aimed at him in slow motion.
' damn, I can't avoid his attack in the air, if I can move my body somehow... ! '
Suddenly a thought flashed through his head.
' wait! move my body? '
There was no time to think, Izuku rushed to use Ruler's Touch to push himself away from Vulcan's long-range attack. Thanks to the rebound effect of his skills, he managed to dodge the attack.
" phew... that was close, who knows that learning physics can save my life like this "
Izuku, who was relieved, sighed. But on the other hand, Vulcan's face wrinkled with anger. Izuku managed to dodge, but the attack would not have much impact, considering the size of the opponent.
With his current dagger, Izuku could only do damage to Vulcan's head. But he would put himself in too much danger if he predict his movements while also aiming at his head.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, he then came up with an idea. The corners of his mouth raised, and he turned around and started running.
Assuming Izuku tried to escape, Vulcan chased him quickly. Izuku controlled his movements so that Vulcan could follow directly behind him.
Izuku ran towards a certain building whose top was slant and almost collapse. The distance between them was getting closer and closer, and Vulcan began to speed up to catch up with Izuku.
' this should work '
Izuku also increased his speed using the 'Sprint' skill and ran towards the side of the collapsed building. Vulcan could feel something strange, but it was too late to slow down.
Izuku reached the sloping part of the building, Vulcan was already directly below him, he then kicked the building with all his might, breaking the glass window on which it stands.
Under the surprise Vulkan rolled his eyes, looking at Izuku with a smile on his face. Holding the dagger in both hands, Izuku cut a protruding artery on his thick neck.
Slash!~
ROAR!...
A roar sounded as blood dripped from Vulcan's neck, but it was still not enough. Izuku activated Vital Stap to attack him many times, and finally the message he had been waiting for appeared.
ring~
[You have defeated 'The Ruler of the Lower Floor, the Avaricious Vulcan']
[You have gained 150,000 EXP points]
[Vulcan has taken out the Demon Soul from his stomach]
[You get 72 Demon Souls]
[You leveled up!]
[You leveled up!]
Dust billowed in the air as a result of the fall of Vulcan's body. Izuku looked around, he was about to help his soldiers, but they were almost done too. With them working together, they were able to take down the Vulcan guards.
Izuku then left them to finish their battle, he then checked the rewards he got.
ring~
[You have obtained the item: 'Demon Monarch's Earring']
[Item: Demon Monarch's Earring]
Item Class: S
Type: Accessory
Strength +20, Health +20
The set effect will be activated if this item is equipped along with
-Demon Monarch's Necklace
-Demon Monarch's Ring
Set effect 1. (Locked)
Set effect 1. (Locked)
[You have obtained the item: 'Orb of Avarice']
[Item: Orb of Avarice]
Item Class: A
Type: Magic Item
An orb created by the petrified blood of a high-rank demon, Vulcan. It will amplify magic effects to deal more damage.
Effect 'Desire to Destroy': double magic damage
[You have obtained the item: 'Vulcan's Horns']
[Item: Vulcan's Horns]
Item Class: None
Type: Material
An item that can be obtained after fighting Vulcan
[You have obtained the material item: 'Fragment of the World Tree']
[Item: Fragment of the World Tree]
Item Class: ?
Type: Used Wood material
A leftover piece of wood from removing the corrupted part of 'Vulcan's Club', which was created from the World Tree's Branch.
Woods from the World Tree contains powerful magic and are thus used as an ingredient for magic items of the highest quality.
' as expected of the boss level '
Izuku looked at the item information one by one, some items caught Izuku's attention.
[Fragment of the World Tree]
He read the item information, he could feel powerful energy coming from it when he held it. He then decided to keep it, for now, maybe use it somehow, then move on to the next item.
Next is [Demon Monarch's Earring], based on the information of the item it is a set item and increases Strength and Health by 20 points, it is equivalent to leveling up eight times.
Izuku smiled knowing that one piece of a set of items can have this good effect. Since he found it here, the other parts should be on another floor of this place. He couldn't wait to find other things.
After finishing with [Demon Monarch's Earring], Izuku then looked at the red marble the size of a billiard ball in his hand. Based on the description of [Marbel of Avarice] will double the magic damage, but when Izuku looked at the statistics, nothing changed.
" how should I use this?... "
While Izuku was busy arranging his thoughts, Igris approached him with six demon heads in his hands and placed them in front of Izuku.
" ... "
Izuku looked at the knight kneeling in front of him.
" Can you stop doing that? "
Of course, there was no answer from him, he just continued to bow his head respectfully. Not long after Iron also came to them dragging Vulcan's head he cut off, even though Izuku was the one who defeated him. Izuku just sighed when he saw the actions of his soldiers.
" Well, if it weren't for your help, I would have died now- "
An idea suddenly flashed in his mind, what if he gave [Marbel of Avarice] to one of his soldiers like how he used the Iron shield? Izuku then summons one of the shadow mages to approach him. After giving the [Marbel of Avarice] to the mage, he pointed at one of the buildings and ordered the mage to attack.
As Izuku signaled, a fireball that was twice the size of the one he used to see was shaped in the wizard's hand. Izuku widened his eyes as he watched the fireball sweeping across the building.
" Awesome!... "
The shadow mage returned [Marbel of Avarice] to Izuku, he looked at it in awe of its power. He looked back at the remains of the ruins that were once buildings, the fire still burning in the place.
This item can't be compared with the items provided by the bureau, It will make all Mage-class Hunters crazy if they know it.
" let's just keep it for now"
Izuku decided to end it today because he had been in the Demon's Castle for too long. He was already satisfied after receiving such a gift.
After he walked out of the Devil's Castle, the sky was almost dark. He entered the Demon's Castle early in the morning, so he spent the whole day in the dungeon.
Izuku then checked his phone, to see if any messages came in. He saw 3 messages and 5 missed calls from Kiyoko. He then calls Kiyoko because he doesn't want to be scolded for ignoring her call.
" hello... "
" hello Kiyoko-San... "
" Ah!, Izuku-Kun you finally answered, where have you been?, and why can't I call you since the morning?"
" I'm sorry Kiyoko-San, I'm in an area with no signal, so I can't take any calls"
" well then, you didn't forget tonight, did you?"
' that's right, it was tonight '
Izuku suddenly remembered that he had an event tonight. He was too busy clearing the Demon's Castle to forget it.
" of course, I remember "
" well then see you at 7 pm and don't be late "
" okay, see you Kiyoko-San "
He then hung up the phone and looked at the time, it was already 6 p.m., and there was no one else left beside him in Tokyo Tower. He still had an hour left until the event started.
Izuku thought about heading straight for the restaurant, but he later realized that his clothes were covered with dust and torn on his arm. People will recognize him as a beggar in his current state.
" but first, I have to take a shower "
.