Demon Castle

Ares prepared himself, and before leaving, he went to his sister to inform her that he would be gone for a few days.

And after that, Lily quickly nodded in response.

"Okay, brother," Lily said in a weak voice as she stayed in her room.

She was busy working on her school project, which she needed to finish on time to pass high school. Seeing this, Ares quickly left, giving her space so he wouldn't disturb her.

He immediately went out and prepared himself, heading to a place where no one could see him.

He needed to open the dungeon alone because if anyone saw him opening the portal like a door in a house, they might judge him as a monster, and he didn't want that.

Additionally, dungeons had been appearing more frequently—not only in their city but in every country.

And there was one more thing that bothered him—his MP capacity. He only had 250, and he didn't know how he could expand it. At best, he could only restore 5 or 6 MP if he was lucky. This was a problem because each time he revived a shadow, it required 50 MP.

Moreover, his shadows had become a hassle for him. All of them were low-rank, giving him only a short window of advantage against enemies. Even if they had been strong in the past, once they became part of Ares's army, their power weakened. If he wanted to make them stronger, he needed to level them up and upgrade their tier.

His shadow ranks were categorized into six tiers.

Soldier Rank – Basic troops, ranging from level 1 to 10. These shadows are the weakest and serve as the foundation of Ares's army. They have minimal abilities and are mostly used for scouting or overwhelming weaker enemies through numbers.

Elite Soldier Rank – Advanced fighters, ranging from level 10 to 20. These shadows are stronger, faster, and more skilled in combat.

Knight Rank – Elite warriors, ranging from level 20 to 30. These shadows possess superior combat techniques, greater endurance, and can fight on par with experienced hunters.

General Rank – High commanders, ranging from level 30 to 40. They are strategic leaders who can command lower-ranked shadows and execute advanced battle tactics.

Marshal Rank – Top commanders, ranging from level 40 to 50. They are among the strongest in Ares's army, leading entire divisions and wielding immense power.

Grand Marshal Rank – Ultimate leader (Level 50+). The strongest shadow, second only to Ares, possessing near-legendary strength and command over the entire shadow army.

To be promoted to the next rank, the shadow must be leveled up ten times per tier. Currently, all of his shadows are at the first tier, with each of them still at Level 1.

Not only that, but when he gains another shadow soldier, their level will always be 1, at least, leaving them behind compared to the shadows that came first.

Ares narrowed his eyes as he searched for another way to increase his MP.

"Damn it! If I only had enough mana to summon them all, I wouldn't be struggling in this situation. And not just that—what if I have to face a strong foe?" Ares thought to himself, realizing how difficult things could get inside.

He let out a sigh, shaking his head as he tried to push the thoughts away.

After pondering for a while, a smile formed on his face as a fascinating thought came to his mind. He opened his system and browsed for an item that could help him, knowing that this was his last hope.

After a few minutes, his face lit up, and his eyes widened. A grin curled his lips the moment he found what he needed.

"This is it!" he thought, quickly purchasing the item.

A blue bottle appeared in his hand.

-500 GP

[Elixir of Boundless Mana]

Item Type -> Consumable

Effect -> Increases the user's maximum MP by 50% for one week. After the effect expires, the user's MP will gradually return to normal over the next 48 hours.

After the elixir appeared in his hands, he immediately engulfed it. The taste was normal, and his body felt refreshed because it was still quite cold.

He quickly sensed his mana increase and checked his status.

HP: 100

MP: 250/250 (Increased max MP by 50%)

Strength: 35

Agility: 15

Sense: 11

Intelligence: 10

Fatigue: 0 

Buff: Mana Surge - MP increase by 50% for 1 week. After the effect ends, MP will gradually return to normal over the next 48 hours.

After a while gazing at the screen, he swiftly got the key in the screen, and while holding it, he rotated it in front of the tree, and a big blue gateway appeared before him.

As he entered the dungeon, a city loomed before him, with buildings on fire and smoke curling into the darkening sky. The air was filled with the aroma of burning wood and ruin.

In the distance, a huge demon castle towered over the chaos. Its jagged spires rose into the stormy sky while dark energy crackled about its walls, casting a frightening shadow on the city below. The castle's gates were wide open, encouraging him to enter the center of the turmoil that awaited.

"It's hot," he muttured, feeling the intense heat inside the dungeon. His face started sweating. As he walked forward and entered through the gates, a huge monster appeared before him.

A monstrous Cerberus prowls. Its three massive heads are wreathed in roaring flames that flicker like torches in the darkness. Its obsidian-black body is covered in thick hide, with every muscle rippling as if forged from raw power itself. Each of its glowing crimson eyes locks onto intruders with an eerie intelligence.

Its level was twenty-five. As Ares gazed at the Cerberus, it growled, signaling an attack. Before he could pull out his dagger, the beast quickly charged at him. However, he dodged in an instant, using one of his shadow summons to shield himself. The Cerberus struck the summon instead.

Thanks to expanding his MP, Ares could now summon multiple shadows to aid him. Before another attack could come his way, he immediately called out to his shadows.

"Come out!" he said in a weak voice, struggling to evade the Cerberus's attack.

In an instant, several shadow orcs emerged around him.

A screen appeared in front of him as the system assigned him a task.

[KILL A CERBERUS]

[Random Reward will be given after completing the task.]

A random reward popped up below the task, indicating he would receive it upon completion.

He was in a hurry after seeing the notification, hoping he would get another skill that would make him even stronger.

He pointed at the Cerberus, signaling his army to attack. Immediately, over 20 of his summoned shadows lunged toward the beast, engaging it in battle. However, despite their huge numbers, the Cerberus easily slaughtered them, Given their level compared to the monster, they couldn't do anything against the enraged beast. Ares expected this, but it was still too early for him to execute his plan. However, he still gave it a shot, hoping the soldiers could endure for a few seconds and drain the Cerberus's stamina.

As the hours passed, Ares' summons were continuously slain by the Cerberus, just as he had expected. His MP was depleting rapidly, and even after increasing it, it still wasn't enough to take the monster down. Realizing he had to fight on his own, he pulled out his dagger and dashed forward to join the battle.

As he neared the beast, his eyes widened—a massive wave of fire erupted from the Cerberus' mouth, scorching everything around it. Wildfires spread rapidly across the ground.

"Damn it… it can still pull off another attack, even after all my shadows wore down its stamina?!" Ares gritted his teeth in frustration. He needed to take it down soon, or he would be the one to fall.

As the Cerberus remained distracted, fighting his summons, Ares focused on activating his Phantom Skill. After a few seconds, he unleashed a swift slash—one of the Cerberus' flaming heads fell to the ground. He let out a breathless laugh, satisfied with his successful strike, and immediately launched another attack.

"You damn—don't push your luck, you cocky monster!" Ares raged as he stretched his body like a leopard.

The Cerberus's second head fell, leaving only one remaining. For his final attack, Ares delivered a swift and smooth strike, ending the beast painlessly. The Cerberus fell silent forever as its body turned to ashes and vanished into the ground.

"All that barking… and this is all you had?" Ares muttered in a confident tone.

Ares had grown stronger since acquiring new skills. Now that he understood the limits of his shadows, he formulated a plan to use them effectively. For now, they were quite useful for his defense.