Dungeon Predator (WN)

His new form was mostly black, but with streaks of red going through it. It was as though he were covered in red bone armor, with darkness creeping through the openings. Two horns protruded from his beast mask too!

Unfurl!

Kang Oh stretched out his wings, which were larger and a darker red than the Red Demon's. His tail, which had clearly elongated, fluttered through the air.

If his Jet-Black Demon form embodied a beast, and his Red Demon form embodied a bat, then his new Dual Demon form embodied a 'demon'.

[You may now use the powers of the Abyss Predator, Ubist, and the Great Forest's Demon, Blood, as your own.]

[You bear Ubist's ferocity. Landing an attack will deal more damage and leave behind a wound.]

[You bear Blood's thirst. You slowly drain the HP of any nearby enemy. The more HP you absorb, the more powerful you become.]

[You may now use Abyss Prison, Abyss Shield, Abyss Transfer, Abyss Claw, Blood Spike, Blood Spear, and Fresh Blood Wave.]

[You may now use Demon's Roar. Demon's Roar weakens your enemies, preventing them from using their full strength.]

[Stats will be stolen from your enemies. However, there is a limit to how many stats you can steal.]

"Hoh." Kang Oh checked himself out.

'I really like how I look!'

His Dual Demon form looked more powerful and intimidating than either of his previous forms.

What about its abilities? Did it stack up to its appearance?

'It's time to find out.'

Kang Oh looked for the right prey.

A short while later, he saw a group of undead.

There were Hellfire Zombies, Radioactive Ghouls, Elite Skeleton Warriors and Mana Enlightened Skeleton Mages, etc. There were also two Rag Golems there too.

"Tasha," Kang Oh said. 'What happens to Tasha when I use Dual Demon?'

"What?" A familiar voice rang out.

"Ah, I can talk to you when I'm in this form too."

"Seems that way."

"Can you control my wings?"

"What's so hard about that?"

Flap! Flap!

His dark red wings fluttered.

"Can you fly me to the middle of that group?"

"The middle? Why there?"

"I want to see how strong this form is."

"Eh, alright."

Flap!

Kang Oh's body soared into the air. It was way faster than normal!

Swoosh!

His wings had gotten larger and his flying time had increased, but that wasn't all. His flying speed, his rotational speed, etc.; anything 'flying' related had been upgraded.

After he rose into the air, Tasha manipulated his wings, and dive bombed right into the center of the undead group.

Thud!

He fell like a falling star. Just like he wanted, Kang Oh had landed smack dab in the middle of the undead group.

Guoooh!

Rattle, rattle!

'An enemy! An enemy's here!' The undead began rushing towards him.

Kuhaahk!

His beast mask parted, unleashing a strange, horrific roar.

Demon's Roar!

[You have used Demon's Roar.]

[Your enemies are daunted by the immense pressure. All of their abilities have been reduced.]

Festival of Blood!

Demon Sword Blood transformed into a blood sword. By sacrificing half of his HP, his body brimmed with power.

Kang Oh briefly crossed his swords, and then opened his arms wide. He simultaneously swung both Ubist and Blood.

Abyss Claw!

Fresh Blood Wave!

His blades unleashed two auras, one black and one red. The two auras stretched out like two fully extended wings.

Bam! Bam!

The Hellfire Zombies and Skeleton Warriors were the closest. They were caught in the two auras, burst with shards of light, and fell to the ground.

The two Rag Golems couldn't avoid the auras either. The two reeled from the force of the blow.

'Abyss Claw and Fresh Blood Wave have gotten stronger. Then next up is...'

Kang Oh engaged the swarming undead, alternating between Ubist and Blood. He also used Blood Spear, Blood Spike, Abyss Shield, Abyss Prison, etc. to see how they've changed.

Blood Spear and Abyss Shield had noticeably improved.

Blood Spear spiraled through the air now, which increased its penetration and destructive capabilities.

Abyss Shield absorbed an attack like a swamp. However, its functionality had been limited before, as the shield itself was too small. Fortunately, Abyss Shield had gotten much larger than before.

Plus, his Dual Demon form allowed him to use both demon swords' abilities simultaneously.

Blood Bomb!

Everlasting Darkness!

He exploded with blood red energy, and simultaneously unleashed a surging black pillar.

'Using Gluttony with Festival of Blood would be amazing.'

Gluttony doubled all of his abilities if he sacrificed a BB-rank item. An A-rank item or above would triple his abilities.

Festival of Blood amplified his abilities significantly for 30 seconds, in exchange for half of his HP.

What if he used everything in his arsenal while these two buffs were active?

He'd be able to deal even more damage than Helena while she was using Overload and Double Casting.

"Hmph." His beast mask covered it, but he was smiling underneath. Getting stronger was always a good feeling.

"Come at me all at once!"

The dual-wielding Kang Oh went wild amidst the undead group. He was like a typhoon, or a ferocious beast! Kang Oh's assault caused countless undead to fall.

However...!

Stab!

"Ugh."

Unlike usual, Kang Oh was repeatedly hit by the undead.

Getting hit by the Death Knights or the Ruin Knights made some sense, as their attacks were both quick and precise. But with an overpowered ability like Hyper Intuition, coupled with his evasion, he shouldn't be getting hit by something as slow as a Rag Golem.

Why? It was because he was dual-wielding.

Kang Oh had no experience dual-wielding. He had no experience dual-wielding in Arth, had never practiced it in the kendo dojo, and had never dual-wielded in Warlord either.

He was unskilled in it. Moreover, Demon Sword Ubist and Demon Sword Blood were completely different; one was a greatsword, while the other was a one-handed sword. So when he swung one blade, the other would get in the way, leaving him open to attacks.

This wasn't an issue that could be fixed with the flip of a switch. He needed plenty of practice in the field in order to get used to it.

'I'll get the hang of it soon. It shouldn't take that long. After all, this is me we're talking about!'

Kang Oh's eyes were filled with certainty, and the undead came rushing at him from every direction.

* * *

Ten days later...

Kang Oh had trained here for ten days. At the moment, he was fighting the strongest monster here, the Chaos Knight.

Neigh!

The Chaos Knight, Garum, charged at Kang Oh from atop his blue flame wreathed horse.

Charge of Death!

If you didn't dodge this, then you'd die 100%! That's why it was called the Charge of Death.

However, Kang Oh, assuming his Dual Demon form, didn't dodge it. In exchange, he pulled out a BB-rank mass-produced sword and used Gluttony. He also stacked Festival of Blood on top of it.

His body unleashed jet-black darkness, and Blood was coated in blood red energy.

Even he wasn't sure how strong he was in this form. That's why he was fighting the Chaos Knight.

'Let's go!'

Once the Chaos Knight got close, Kang Oh swung his blades, alternating between the two.

He started with an Abyss Claw, and followed that up with a Fresh Blood Wave. He then used Lightning Breath and Everlasting Darkness. He used these all in succession, without a moment in-between.

Bam, bam, bam, bam!

The area in front of him was completely scorched. The Chaos Knight and his steed had fallen to the ground, unable to withstand his attacks.

His power was overwhelming! It was an unbelievable sight!

The Tehorus's flames went out, which meant that it was dead. The Chaos Knight was still alive. However, his armor was cracked everywhere, leaking brown smoke into the air. He definitely wasn't in good shape.

The Chaos Knight stood up with some difficulty.

Kang Oh stretched out his wings, kicked off the floor, and immediately closed in.

"Haaht!" Kang Oh swung downwards with Ubist. The Chaos Knight immediately swung his own sword.

Clang!

Kang Oh thrust Blood. Garum swung his sword once more, deflecting Blood. Then, Ubist came rushing in. There was no way for him to dodge this.

Swish!

Ubist passed right through him. Garum immediately swung his sword, as if saying, 'Now it's my turn.'. However, Kang Oh swung Blood first.

Slash!

Swish!

Shards of light fell from Garum's body once more.

'I'll definitely get you this time!' Garum did his best to counterattack. However, Kang Oh's blade came first.

Transcendent Blade!

Though Garum had swung faster, Demon Sword Ubist had cleaved through him.

After that, Kang Oh didn't give Garum a chance to counterattack, and repeatedly attacked with both of his demon swords. He was like a relentless storm!

Thud!

Ultimately, the Chaos Knight fell to his knees. Even a being as powerful as a Chaos Knight was no match for him in this form.

[You have defeated the Chaos Knight, Garum.]

[You have leveled up.]

[Congratulations. You have reached level 400.]

[The amount of experience points required to level up have increased significantly.]

Kang Oh grinned. 'I've finally hit level 400.'

Levels were great and all, but it was more important that he'd fulfilled his goal; he was satisfied with his skill in dual-wielding now.

It was time to leave the Saul Graveyard. After all, countless dungeons were waiting for him.

'Ah, I should get the dungeon rewards before I go.' Kang Oh walked over to the underground tomb where the Bone Dragon, Akite, slept.

* * *

The Ranking Show was one of VG's flagship programs. It was a show that discussed rankings, rankers, and various other issues.

"Hello, everyone. This is Kim Ho Seon."

"This is Lee Yumi."

The MCs bowed their heads.

"Before we take a look at the rankings, I have some news to share with you," Kim Ho Seon said.

"What kind of news?"

"A while back, I explained how the Numbers' ranks had changed. The ranks have changed again."

"The changes a while back... Are you referring to Predator Kang Oh getting to 5th place, passing the Genius Gamer, Bart in 6th place and Red in 5th place?" Lee Yumi asked.

"Exactly. Normally, the Numbers' ranks don't shift very much. However, Mr. Kang Oh rose by two places. The Great Forest's God of Destruction, Wukong, disappeared at around the same time as his rise in rank. Mr. Kang Oh may have defeated Wukong, causing his rank to rise."

"You're right. But you said that there was a change in the Numbers' ranks."

"There is."

"Could you tell us who today's stars are?"

"It's Mr. Kang Oh and Mr. Bart!" Ho Seon raised her voice. At the same time, the Numbers' ranks appeared on the screen.

Drum roll!

[Numbers]

Rank 1: Emperor Dukeram

Rank 2: Master of Gold, Wang Seo Rim

Rank 3: Black Lion, Raon

Rank 4: Predator Kang Oh

Rank 5: Blood Witch, Helena

Rank 6: Genius, Bart

Rank 7: Murderer, Red

Rank 8: Spear King, Hernandez

Rank 9: God's Hand, Arthand

"As you can see, Mr. Kang Oh, who just recently rose to rank 5, has risen to rank 4!" Kim Ho Seon said.

"Oh, that's amazing. You know how hard it is for the Numbers to ascend the ranks! How did he manage to go straight up? I'd love to talk to him. If you're watching this program, then feel free to contact us at any time, Mr. Kang Oh!" Lee Yumi beamed and said.

"Mr. Bart went up a rank too. Mr. Kang Oh pushed him down to 7th place, but he passed the Worst Criminal, Red, and retook 6th place. As expected of the Genius Gamer! From what I hear, he's in 12th grade, but he doesn't study at all."

"Why would he study when he's this good at games," Lee Yumi rebuked.

"That's true." Kim Ho Seon grinned.

"But I have to ask."

"Yes, Ms. Yumi?"

"Will Mr. Kang Oh be able to rise any further?" Lee Yumi asked.

"I can't say it's impossible. However, it'll be hard."

"Why is that?"

"Arth's ranking system measures a player's power, wealth, strength, influence, fame, achievements, etc., and adds them together to determine one's rank. However, the top three, Mr, Dukeram, Ms. Wang Seo Rim, and Mr. Raon are the heads of large organizations. In other words, Mr. Kang Oh can't match up when it comes to power/influence."

"Hmm, I see. You could also say that he's amazing for getting to 4th place without it," Lee Yumi said.

"Of course. Although he doesn't have much influence, he became one of the Numbers. Mr. Kang Oh, Ms. Helena, and Mr. Bart are all worthy of our respect."

"Exactly! Ah, what if Mr. Kang Oh, Mr. Bart, or Ms. Helena were to assume rank 1? What do you think would happen?"

"They'd become a legend."

"I hope that day comes."

"Now then, let's stop the idle chatter and take a closer look at the ranking changes."

The Ranking Show continued.