Chapter 203: Entering The Abandoned Subway Line Dungeon, Slaying The Mutant Rat King!

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While Vladimir was out hunting alongside Riven’s Shadow, Riven decided to share a portion of his own mind with the shadow and control it as if it were a second body.

Thanks to the power of Psionic Avatar, he could now do this with surprising ease. It was an amazing synergy between the talent and the skill. Although the combination still had no official name, Riven simply called it "Shadow Puppetry."

Of course, his Shadow Self was not being forced into the arrangement. The shadow happily allowed the main body to utilize its shadow composition as a second physical form by willingly letting Riven’s mind be channeled into its manifestation. The connection felt natural, almost like slipping into a second skin made of living darkness. Through this link, Riven could see, hear, and act through the shadow while his real body remained elsewhere, resting or handling other matters.

With that dual control established, he was able to help Vladimir and the shadow take down a large group of giant Mutant Rat monsters with relative ease. At the same time he could not resist teasing the former assassin about his current inability to handle even a few ordinary monsters.

Of course, Riven had not taken into consideration that Vladimir had just fought for his life against four deranged werewolves and had received little to no rest since then. As a result the man had been rather sluggish and slower than usual throughout the hunt.

However, after noticing how exhausted Vladimir truly seemed, Riven realized his mistake. He decided to lend a proper hand and let the man rest properly for a while.

RUMBLE!

Before Vladimir could take that break, the ground beneath them suddenly shattered. Large pieces of rock and soil flew in every direction as something enormous forced its way upward.

"SHYAAAAAGGGHHH!"

A massive three-headed Mutated Rat King erupted from the earth, hissing and roaring with pure aggression. It immediately began spewing thick clouds of poisonous gas in every direction while firing deadly toxic spikes that whistled through the air like arrows.

"Wait! Riven!"

Vladimir panicked for a moment and tensed, ready to fight despite his fatigue. He really did not need to worry, however. Riven’s Shadow Self stood calmly in place and began channeling the Poisonous Mana Nature. A massive cloud of dense purple gas rapidly expanded outward, forming itself into dozens of hissing serpentine shapes that coiled and twisted through the air.

As this happened, the Rat King’s poisonous attacks reached them. Riven’s aura and the shadow’s form easily absorbed every spike and every cloud of toxin without the slightest damage.

"Some new types of poisons. Not bad."

Riven smiled through his Shadow Self. In the next instant the shadow blurred forward, closing the distance to the three-headed Rat King in a heartbeat. He swung his arm and transformed it into a giant claw of pure shadow.

SLAAASH!

"SHYAAAGH!"

The boss hissed furiously and roared as it clashed against the massive claw. For a brief moment it matched the shadow’s strength, its three heads snapping and its claws scraping against the darkness. Then its entire arm exploded into pieces under the overwhelming force.

BOOOM!

Naturally, Riven could not channel his full true power into the Shadow Self, so the manifestation remained weaker than his real body. Yet the shadow still possessed a wide variety of other useful abilities.

And it was not as if he had nothing available to him. As he had just demonstrated, channeling his Mana Natures was completely possible through the shared Mana Aura.

Right now that Mana Aura felt particularly powerful. His Titan Mana Heart had recently reached Level 3, and the difference was noticeable in every pulse of energy.

The Rat King roared again and charged forward, its three mouths biting wildly at the air. Riven’s Shadow Self rapidly avoided the attacks, warping through the surrounding shadows with fluid ease. At the same time he began slicing across the creature’s body while summoning more Ghostly Blades formed from pure Mana. The blades rotated in a neat ring behind him, moving at his will like a set of deadly orbiting weapons.

"?!"

The Rat King gasped as it saw the swords coming. It attempted to dig frantically into the ground and escape back into the tunnels it had emerged from.

However, its massive bulk made the creature far too slow.

"Die."

Without hesitation, Riven fired all ten Ghostly Blades toward the monster at the same time. Each blade pierced cleanly through the creature’s body and exploded into ghostly blue-white fire. The flames drained the monster’s remaining energies and burned directly at its soul.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

The gigantic rat was a mighty E-Rank monster, yet against even a limited version of Riven it could not hold a candle. The Ghostly Blades created from his new Mana Nature proved simply too overwhelming. The creature quickly weakened and began to collapse.

"Gryyaaaeergghh...!"

THUD!

With a heavy thud the monster crashed onto the floor, twitching weakly as blood poured from its many wounds. Three of the blades had pierced straight through its three heads, finishing the beast off for good.

"It’s done," Riven said through his Shadow Self while looking toward Vladimir. "How about you rest for a while? I think I’ve pushed you a little too hard if you were already struggling with ordinary E-Rank monsters..."

Vladimir stared at the scene in pure disbelief. He had not needed to do a single thing during the entire fight. Yet Riven’s calm, almost condescending tone made a deep anger rise inside him.

Was this bastard truly pitying him?

He could not allow it. Such open pity was destroying whatever lingering sense of pride he still possessed after everything that had happened to him. Dying, being forcibly revived, turned into a subordinate, and then becoming a traitor to the Fenrir Cult had already stripped him of almost everything. Being looked down upon like this felt like the final insult.

The former Fenrir Cultist smiled with a mixture of disbelief and bitterness. His eyebrows twitched as he admired Riven’s overwhelming strength while hating him with equal intensity. The conflicting emotions still twisted inside him and refused to settle.

"Hah... this damn bastard has grown so strong...! He has completely surpassed my former self...!"

Riven raised an eyebrow at the muttered words. "Hey, Vladimir, I’m talking to you."

"Tsk! I know you’re talking to me!" Vladimir hissed, his voice sharp with restrained fury. "Look, I don’t need your fucking pity, okay?! You gave me an order and I will fulfill it! That’s what Fenrir turned me into — your fucking subordinate. Stop worrying about me, and stop pitying me! Riven Claymore, my hatred against you has gone nowhere! Do you understand me?!"

The air between them grew tense. Vladimir’s fists clenched at his sides as he glared at the shadow that carried Riven’s calm presence. The massive corpse of the Rat King still steamed nearby, a silent reminder of the gap in power that had only continued to widen.

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