After three hours of non-stop battle, Jaden glanced at the HP bar of the demon.

_______________________

Ekress (King)

Level: 210

HP: 95,113 / 2,488,095 (4%)

_______________________

At this moment, the great demon's previous haughty expression was replaced to that of dread as he barely held his bloodied body together.

Trying to put up a facade, the demon snarled at Jaden. "Human, this is your last chance to back off, by killing this avatar you're asking for a death feud against me, the Great Demon Ekress."

Although he said those words with a fierce expression, his heart was currently palpitating nervously and his back soaked with sweat. 'Damn, who is this kid anyway. He just touched the level of [Gold] ranked power yet he can fight a [King] ranked monster who's also a great demon such as I?!'

Raising his hand, Jaden wiped the blood of the demon that smeared his face before laughing. "No need. I have a mission to slay the source of the Demon Spawns in this forest, and that source is you."

Ekress' face darkened. "Are you not afraid of the retaliation of a Great Demon? You should know that the strength and power of my real body are on a whole different level than this avatar." Demonic flames surged from his body as they roared out angrily as he said these words.

"Why would I be scared? It wouldn't be the first time that I would see someone stronger than a [King] ranked monster."

Jaden wasn't lying, as he spent more time within the EverGuard City, he had met strong people that nearly left him breathless. Fang and Rhold are two examples of said people. While the former always seemed carefree and jovial, Jaden had spent a while training alongside the man; he knew that Fang was akin to a sharp sword that was sheathed, and once taken out, only a slaughter shall remain.

As for the latter, Rhold was even more mysterious. Although Jaden had only met him once, he knew that the blacksmith was monstrously strong despite his benevolent yet indifferent attitude. He also knew that the man was stronger than his master, however, that's because Roland is still young with a lot of potential and latent ability still to be unearthed.

Continuing, Jaden chuckled carefreely. "Although you are strong, I highly doubt that your main body has the power of [Supreme]. I'll just train and improve myself in the meantime, and when I'm stronger, I'll also slay your real body when it comes."

Raising his sword, he pointed Forsaken towards the demon. "I've just reached the power of a gold ranked warrior yet you can't beat me with your [King] power. Do you honestly think you can kill me once I become stronger?"

Ekress: "..."

The great demon was shocked and speechless at the arrogant words of the human before him. However...he really couldn't refute or deny his words since its the truth.

He howled loudly as the surrounding area was burned and torched once more. Bang! The demon slammed his foot on the ground, forming a 100-meter radius fire domain. A torrent of flames cascaded from the demon and rose from the earth, it was as if the world had turned into an inferno.

Nearby monsters and demon spawns were turned to ashes once the AoE spell was activated.

Jaden smiled. "Even though this is stronger than the spells earlier, this battle is over." He then muttered under his breath. "I guess your abilities are really limited in that avatar body huh?"

Ekress' roar reverberated across the whole forest as his gigantic physique blazed with demonic flames. He then dashed towards Jaden with ferocity, cracks and fissures forming on the ground beneath his feet.

Raising the Sword of the Forsaken, Jaden activated his skill [Chop] and the duelist king's gloves' [Fatal Strike].

White and blue luminosity illuminated the surrounding for a brief moment before Jaden disappeared from his spot.

Hou!

Ekress was startled due to the radiance, and a moment later, he then saw a flash of blue and white light mixed together appear in front of his eyes.

[You have dealt 81,450 damage to the target.]

[You have dealt 290.680 true damage to the target.]

Dazed, the surrounding were suddenly moving upside down. He then saw his body, headless, blood spilling out profusely. Before he could even comprehend what just happened, the light in his eyes dimmed for a few seconds before turning lifeless.

Thud!

The sound of the demon's flying head and its headless body hitting the ground was heard.

Silence.

The surrounding forest was silent as the previous demonic howls of monsters had already disappeared, leaving only an eery and gloomy forest, covered in darkness.

In the middle of this darkness, one could see a handsome figure clad in white, holding an obsidian sword in his right hand.

[The target has been slain!]

[Congratulations, you have slain the avatar of Great Demon Ekress! Rewards will be distributed for accomplishing this heroic feat!]

[Ding! ★ Hidden Quest ★ Great Demon Ekress has been completed! You have been rewarded with:

• Title: Demon Slayer

• Skill: [Blazing Chains]

• Ancient Sword Tablet (1 / 3)

• Necklace of Purity

• EXP: 300,000

• Gold: 25,000]

[You have slain a monster 120+ levels higher than you! Experience points gained increases by 750%!]

[You have gained 3,199,001 experience points!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have level...]

[You hav...]

[You...]

[...]

[You have obtained: • Head of Ekress (Quest Item)

• Ekress' Horns x3

• Ekress' Blood Essence x10

• Ekress' Eyes

• ...

• ...]

[Congratulations, you have slain Great Demon Ekress! System Rewards:

• 10,000 World Reputation Points

• 5,000 Glory Points

• Skill: Killing Cleave.]

[Ding! You are the first person to have slain a [King] ranked monster! This achievement shall spread throughout the whole world! Show achievements to the world? Agree or Reject?]

Jaden though for a moment before agreeing.

Right after his confirmation, repeated system announcements suddenly reverberated in his ears.

[World Announcement: The first [King] ranked monster, Great Demon Ekress (Avatar), has been slain! This achievement shall be recorded in the annals of history!]

[World Announcement: Congratulations to player "King" for accomplishing this astonishing feat!]

**********

BOOM!

The minds of all the players currently online suddenly went haywire for a few moments before they raised a clamor, turning the community forums upside down with their uproar.

-[DF Forum]-

Like his other achievements, Jaden's recent feat of being the first playing to kill a [King] ranked monster currently sent the world in mayhem.

"First he created a legendary skill, second he left all the professional players in the dust with his insane leveling speed, and now, he's the first to kill a king level monster too?! What can't this guy do?!"

"The EGC admins have already stated that King isn't cheating! This means that his skills pretty much broke even the vault of heavens."

"Who is this guy?! Most of the professionals are martial arts experts, giving them an advantage in combat prowess and minute decisions, this gives them a big advantage in leveling up and fighting monsters. Who exactly is this King for him to rise above the elites in such a domineering fashion?!"

"I'd say he's a supreme martial artist. But probably a low-key one."

"To the person above, I agree with your speculation. It's impossible for such a player to be a simple mortal like us, who haven't even reached level 10 yet..."

**********

Tresval Empire.

At this moment, in a small courtyard, one could see twelve players sitting across each other in front of a round table. These people clad in fancy armors and robes are the twelve leaders of the guild Glory Empire.

"Flame, do we have any info on this King?" said a handsome man with black hair and sharp features.

Answering his words, a red-haired young man clad in red robe replied. "We've contacted everyone we know, and even hired some investigators. Search units have also been looking around in the empire and the surrounding territories, with no avail."

The man called Sword became silent as his eyes narrowed. "Send a message on every player community platforms, saying that the Glory Empire are reaching out to that King, inviting him to join this guild."

At this moment, a blond individual wearing leather armor interrupted. "I admit that this King is indeed a monster, but Sword, we don't need this person in our guild. His lack of presence in the community means that he doesn't want to be found."

Another person agreed. "Indeed, our resources are being exhausted looking for that person. Who knows where that guy spawned in the beginning. He could be on the other side of the world right now."

"Since we also can't find him in the real world, it's highly likely that his background is great as well. Who knows what power is backing that person."

"Indeed, although we aren't scared of anyone, it's better to not provoke someone with an unknown background like him."

A man with a gigantic shield on his hand also interjected. "Fist is right Sword. It's not like we need him. If he doesn't wanna be found, then leave him be."

The rest of the people nodded their heads, expressing their agreement.

Closing his eyes, Sword tapped on the armrest of his chair and remained quiet. After a few moments, he said. "Alright then, since you all agree with Fist and Guardian, we won't use our resources to find that player." he then looked at the red-haired player. "Flame, give him three days, in the message that I told you to spread, add a note that this offer will only last for three days. If he doesn't answer or contact us, then forget him, we'll focus on our guild's development."

"Okay."

"By the way sword, how's the progress of your hidden class quest?" asked Flame.

Fist, Guardian, and the rest also looked at Sword Emperor, their expression curious.

"It's almost done," replied Sword. "two weeks, give or take, and I'll be able to get the Imperial Sword class."

"Good."

"That's great!"

"Excellent."

Everyone nodded their heads towards Sword, praising and encouraging him.

It was, after all, a hidden class. At this current time of the game, the number of players that have hidden classes is too little. This will then give the Sword Emperor and Glory Empire an advantage over other guilds and players since hidden classes are stronger than normal ones.

They then proceeded to discuss the recruitment of guild members, dungeon raids, boss raids, and so on.

**********

A few hours later, the world was once more in an uproar due to the invitation of Glory Empire to the current top player of Destiny Forged.

'If this guy joined one of the strongest guild, if not the strongest, then won't Glory Empire be unstoppable?'

This was what everyone thought.

But of course, Jaden himself couldn't care less as he continued to look at all the rewards that he received.

_______________________

Title:

[Demon Slayer]

Rating: Unique

Effects: • Damage against all demon-type monster increases by 25%

• Crit chance increases by 50% and Critical damage increases by 100% against all demon-type monsters.

• You can sense all demon-type monsters within a 50-feet radius.

----------

Skill:

[Blazing Chains]

Type: Active

Level: 1 / 5 (0%)

• Stomp on the ground, releasing fiery chains from the inferno, immobilizing all enemies within a 20-meter radius for 5 seconds. The debuff [Burn] will be applied to all chained targets throughout the duration of the skill.

• [Burn]: 500 fire damage per second.

Cooldown: 20 minutes.

----------

[Killing Cleave]

Type: Active

Level: 1 / 5 (0%)

• Deals 200% damage to the target. Damage increases by 1% for every 1% missing HP of the target.

Cooldown: 15 minutes.

----------

[Necklace of Purity]

Rating: Gold

Durability: 90 / 90

• Luck and Wisdom +10

• The skill "Purify" will be generated.

Requirements; Level 50.

-----

[Purify] (Active)

• Removes all debuffs on the user.

Cooldown: 10 minutes.

----------

[Ancient Sword Tablet]

Rating: ???

Description: An archaic tablet from time immemorial. Contains an unknown inheritance. Gather all three tablets to unlock the secrets within and receive the inheritance.

• Tablets owned: 1 / 3

_______________________

"My hauls this time are insanely good!" exclaimed Jaden, his face full of excitement.

Just as he was about to check the materials and miscellaneous items that Ekress' avatar had dropped, a system prompt interrupted him.

[Ding! The mysterious pet egg wishes to devour Ekress' avatar. Agree or Reject?]

'I wonder what creature will hatch from this little thing...' taking out the egg from the ring, Jaden inspected the egg, eyes full of curiosity.

"I agree."

Hong!

Once more, radiant light erupted from the egg, intensifying to a considerable degree. Flying out of Jaden's arms, the 3-feet egg hovered above the great demon's avatar, the lights around it starting to wrap around the gigantic body.

...

"Hey brother Fang, won't you gift my disciple that ancient tablet that you've always kept?" Roland stared at Fang in anticipation.

Smiling wryly, Fang scratched his head before reaching out in the air. In no time, a timeworn black tablet appeared in his hand. It seemed to be made up of a rare foreign material as it looked like a useless antiquity in Fang's hand.

Other than its circular form, a striking dark gold sword could be seen carved in the middle of the tablet. Although it was covered by the black-colored rust, it still couldn't hide the hint of sharpness emanating within.

Fang sighed helplessly. "You know that the last tablet is in that dragon's possession right? Although your disciple is indeed monstrously talented, that dragon is simply too strong. Even if we fight together, we stand no chance in front of that thing."

Roland merely smiled in response. "Let my disciple obtain the last tablet by himself. Although that dragon is eccentric, he doesn't kill anyone that catches his interests, he even rewards them for some reason. You think my disciple isn't enough to catch that dragon's curiosity?" he then glanced at Jaden only to see a stone-looking egg hovering above the demon's body.

Shocked, he exclaimed. "Brother Fang, that egg...is the cub inside that egg what I think it is?"

Fang's eyes sharpened as a bright light erupted from them. He muttered some incomprehensible words before suddenly yelling.

"Damn!! Is the thing inside that egg a little cub of the legendary Victorious Lion Monarch?!"