Chapter 182: Hunting a Black Priest

In the darkness of the underground tunnel, there was a heavy silence.

Only the distant echo of water trickling down the stone walls.

Ploc...

ploc...

Somewhere in that underground labyrinth, the Black Priest was running desperately.

The Black Priest had once again activated the Lightness Spell from the necklace around his neck.

A faint magical light surrounded his thin body, reducing his weight and increasing his speed.

Fuuush!

He crossed the tunnels like a shadow.

The uneven terrain didn’t seem to present any obstacle. His thin body continued forward, apparently without losing energy, as he passed from one cave to another.

The underground passage was extremely complicated.

Winding, twisted, and full of forks.

Each cave had dozens of narrow tunnels, some so small that only one person could pass through them.

This outlaw acolyte knew the region.

And he made full use of that knowledge.

In just ten minutes, he had traveled approximately three miles.

Until, finally...

Fuuu...

The glow of the Lightness Spell disappeared.

Then he stopped running.

His thin body leaned against a solid stone wall.

He was panting.

His chest rose and fell rapidly.

Haa... haa... haa...

His breathing sounded like that of a broken bellows.

Even so, his hand remained firmly wrapped around the yellow staff.

He didn’t dare relax.

The tip of the staff contained a glowing crystal.

If any noise emerged from the darkness, he could fire it immediately.

Little by little, his breathing returned to normal.

This outlaw acolyte slowly turned his head toward the tunnel he had just passed through.

He heard no footsteps, sounds of magic, or movement.

He smiled coldly.

—Marsu, could it be that you were actually that lucky? No one is following you?

His voice echoed faintly through the cave as he spoke to himself.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

There was no one there. At least, that was what he believed.

This outlaw acolyte specialized in curses.

And, according to himself, his luck had never been good.

It even seemed as though the Will of the Magical World hated him.

As if fate had decided to turn him into an abandoned and cursed child.

Despite detecting no unusual activity, his anxiety did not diminish.

On the contrary.

He had the feeling that something was hiding in the darkness.

Something that was watching his every movement.

Waiting only for the right moment to devour him.

The outlaw acolyte tightened his grip on the staff.

Marsu needed to keep running.

That was when he took a step.

CHLOP!

His foot sank.

The outlaw acolyte froze.

—What...?

The damp ground beneath his feet began to vibrate.

Brrr... brrr...

Then the earth transformed into a liquid mass.

A pool of earth slowly began to spread.

Both of his legs sank up to his knees.

Marsu gritted his teeth.

—Damn it! It’s a swamp!

He grabbed the Lightness Necklace.

SHIIING!

Magical energy coursed through his body.

His weight immediately decreased.

At the same time, he raised his staff.

Two black elemental shields appeared around his body.

They were triangular and floated close to his skin.

But I knew those barriers were extremely weakened.

I had followed the entire previous battle.

His shields had already suffered too much damage.

Suddenly, my golem made the cave tremble.

Marsu turned his head.

In the distant darkness, a huge shadow began to advance.

It looked like a small hill moving.

SHLORP... SHLORP...

The sound of mud dragging across the ground echoed through the cave.

The strong concentration of Earth elemental particles could be felt even from a distance.

Marsu’s eyes widened.

I smiled.

He finally realized.

—That bastard who was exchanging spells with me on top of the shark golem followed me!

—What an arrogant brat...

—You’re only a newly advanced Level 3 acolyte, and you dare pursue a Consolidated Level 3 acolyte?

SHIIIIING!

Countless black triangles appeared in the air.

They quickly joined together.

WHOOSH!

A huge black cloud advanced toward my golem.

Marsu began reciting his incantations.

His voice was hoarse and unpleasant.

—Kra... shuun... vel...

The crystal at the tip of the staff glowed.

SHIIING!

A bone arrow appeared.

Marsu fired.

FIIIIU!

Then another.

Those weren’t ordinary arrows.

They were bone arrows stored inside his staff.

When they struck something, they exploded.

BOOOOM!

Besides the physical impact, they carried an extremely dangerous magical poison.

A poison capable of corroding even stone.

Marsu expected to hear my scream.

But he had made a mistake.

I wasn’t on the Shark.

I was observing.

Hidden in a dark corner of the cave.

While the golem drew his attention, I remained motionless.

My Biochip locked onto Marsu as the target.

Then I raised my hand.

SHIIIIING!

My light bow appeared.

I pulled the string.

A luminous arrow formed.

FIIIIU!

I released it.

The arrow pierced through the darkness.

For an instant, the entire cave was illuminated by a golden, blazing light.

Marsu’s eyes widened.

I finally revealed myself on the other side of the cave.

The light surrounded my body.

Marsu’s face turned completely pale.

—No...

He stepped backward.

—Please... don’t kill me.

My arrow struck one of his triangular shields.

CRAAACK!

The barrier exploded.

A torrent of golden light enveloped Marsu.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Scorching heat flooded the cave.

Marsu screamed.

—AAAAAARGH!

Three seconds later, he staggered out of the sea of light.

He was in a miserable state.

His thin skin had been burned.

Parts of his flesh were charred.

Half of his remaining magical items had been destroyed.

And the white crystal attached to the top of his staff was cracked.

Crack...

Then it shattered.

CRAAASH!

A quantity of spiritual energy escaped.

The souls imprisoned by the Soul Spell were released.

Marsu looked at me with hatred.

—Boy... you really think you can kill me like this?

He staggered.

—This doesn’t end today! Just wait until we meet again and I will...

His voice stopped.

He had begun digging into the ground with his charred hand.

His arm began to glow red.

An escape spell...

It was his final card.

Marsu had hidden that spell inside his right arm.

The red light became more intense.

SHIIING...

Two more seconds.

That was all he needed.

Then hope appeared in his eyes.

But at that moment...

GRRRRRR...

The stone wall beside him moved.

Marsu froze.

Slowly, he turned his head.

And saw it.

Two enormous, cold eyes.

A gigantic head emerging from the wall itself.

It was a serpent made of black rock.

Its mouth was enormous.

Two rows of crossed fangs gleamed inside it.

SSSSSSS...

Its tongue continuously flicked in and out.

Marsu remained completely motionless.

—Holy shit, is this the end for me??

That was a Black Rock Basilisk.

My true hidden card.

—No!

The Basilisk lunged forward.

Its jaws opened.

CRAAACK!

And devoured Marsu in one bite.

SMASH!

CRUNCH!

The body disappeared inside its mouth.

Blood exploded from the sides.

SPLASH!

The Basilisk chewed a few more times.

Then retreated.

I remained quiet in the corner of the cave.

Everything had happened exactly as I had planned.

The Shark had attracted most of the attacks.

While Marsu was focused on it, I had used a stealth attack to break through his defenses.

But the one who had truly finished him was my Black Rock Basilisk.

It was its first appearance.

And I was satisfied.

The Shark returned.

Its body was completely charred.

Half of its structure had been melted by Marsu’s attacks.

The golem stopped in front of me.

On the other side, the Basilisk crawled along the wall.

Its stone claws scratched against the surface.

It approached me.

Then opened its mouth.

And spat out a broken body.

Marsu’s corpse fell to the ground.

Even dead, a Black Priest was still dangerous.

It wasn’t worth taking risks.

First, I let my golem regenerate.

When the Shark’s body was stable again, I gave an order.

—Search for anything useful.

The golem advanced.

It searched the corpse and swallowed the entire body.

After that, I returned to the battlefield.

When I arrived, some of my companions had already returned.

But few had achieved any truly good results.

Most had returned empty-handed.

It wasn’t difficult to understand why.

The environment of the Subterranean World was perfect for escaping.

It was enough to find a narrow passage.

Cause a collapse, and that’s it.

The pursuer would become trapped.

Besides, the outlaw acolytes were specialists in survival.

Rustil and the Pseudo-Mage from our team had failed to capture the enemy Pseudo-Mage.

However, the other Pseudo-Mage had returned carrying an enemy’s head.

The others had achieved nothing.

Then my Shark opened its mouth.

GLOOOOP!

And spat out Marsu’s corpse.

Everyone fell silent.

Eyes turned toward me.

I immediately noticed the difference.

Before, they could still think that my previous victories had been the result of favorable circumstances, and that this did not necessarily mean I was actually strong.

But now it was different.

I had just returned from a pursuit alone.

And I had brought back the corpse of a Consolidated Level 3 acolyte.

...

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