Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 136: Battle Against the Mummies

The momentary clearance in the swarm, thanks to the onslaught of the ladies, created an opening, an opportunity that Kaiden seized immediately.

“[Warpath]!” Kaiden roared, refusing to disclose he had [Silent Casting]. He planned to hide that ability as his secret weapon meant to only be brought out during times of ultimate need.

His firm muscles tensed as he sprinted forward, fearlessly charging into the group of monsters. Kaiden was fully aware that frontline duties would fall on him, and he was more than happy with said role.

How couldn’t he? Not only did he get to shield his Valkyries from harm, but besides his sole fire spell, he was useless from range.

The magically enhanced dash sent him barreling toward the nearest desert mummy. The monster lifted an arm to intercept his raised war axe’s arc, but the sheer momentum behind Kaiden’s charge made the motion one second too late.

*Crack!*

Listening to Elara’s words of advice, he used the blunt end of his axe to slam into its ribs with a bone-shattering impact. The creature staggered backward as its dried, leathery body absorbed the blow better than any human with the same Vitality stat could, but Kaiden followed up with a second swing. Its force made the mummy shriek with pain while getting tossed high into the skies.

Once finishing its airborne journey, the monster landed with a loud thud, the impact of which was the final drop needed.

[You’ve slain Desert Mummy (Level 8). You’ve gained 1240 XP.]

[Level: 7 – XP: 11/7000] → [Level: 7 – XP: 1251/7000]

A red essence orb materialized on top of its body, and [Harvest], his Gluttony spell that was always active, brought the orb in automatically as if it had a gravitational pull of its own.

{Vitality: 23 +0.1%}

Kaiden grimaced at the sight. It was the first time he saw the buff… he hoped it would be a bit stronger. ‘A red orb gave me Vitality, and only a minor buff at that. [Harvest] will only be really useful if I enter battle with a giant monster horde.’

Luna was stalking right behind Kaiden, acting perfectly in line with her role as the speedy damage dealer of the group who would look for the ideal opportunity to make her move.

Her [Stormblade] crackled with raw power as she jumped and then slashed at another mummy, following up instantly with [Thunder Slash]. A shockwave of electricity tore through the air, striking the target square in the chest, alongside a few scarabs that were attached to its body like living armor.

Despite Kaiden and Luna charging into the fray, the monsters didn’t sit idly by. They made their move by sending a group of scarabs to swarm the backline. There was only so much Kaiden and Luna could do to protect them from the onslaught of such a high number of enemies.

However, Kaiden didn’t need to fear. As his beautiful Moon Valkyrie had informed him yesterday, they were not mere props to make him look good and have fun with during times of peace.

They wished to become proper warrior women, and they were equipped with the proper tools to achieve said wish.

Aria raised her hands, aiming her pointer finger at the front of the swarm. “[Lunar Arc]! [Crescent Volley]!”

A rapid barrage of crescent-shaped projectiles pelted the incoming insects, exploding on impact. The single large blast was followed by numerous small ones that shredded through their ranks, reducing many of the creatures to twitching husks. But some were still ready to fight, and they were closing in.

Nyx extended her hand as she focused all her mental prowess on her next move. Her beautiful eyes glowed with power as she activated [Telekinesis], attempting to seize a cluster of incoming necrocarabs. She gritted her teeth, straining to lift them, but the stubborn insects barely budged. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. Even with all her investments into the Magic stat, her ability to influence living creatures was still lacking.

“Fine. Plan B.”

She invoked [Astral Summon: Earth], this time forgoing her favored daggers. Instead, two solid spheres of hardened stone materialized in her palms, which she hurled at the oncoming swarm. The heavy projectiles slammed into the necrocarabs, and her choice of element—as well as weapon type—was paying dividends when their thick exoskeletons cracked under the sheer blunt force, sending chitin and ichor splattering across the sandstone floor.

Back on the frontlines, another Desert Mummy snarled and lunged at Kaiden with its withered claws. He barely managed to twist his body out of the way, and its [Thirst of the Dead] aura was rearing its ugly head: he could already feel his throat drying up thanks to the debuff. “Fighting these mummies in melee range for extended periods of time is just asking to be sucked dry—and not in the manner I enjoy…”

He grumbled, receiving many eye-rolls, both from his girls and the ladies in the audience who were watching the ongoing battle with rapidly beating hearts and eyes that couldn’t be peeled from the stream.

“[Fiery Burst]!”

A wave of fire erupted from his hand, engulfing the mummy in flames. Its ancient bandages caught fire instantly, and soon, the blaze spread over its entire body. The undead thrashed and wailed, but Kaiden wasn’t about to let it recover.

Raising his weapon high, he activated [Doom Strike], channeling power into his next attack. With a mighty downward swing, he brought his axe crashing into the mummy’s skull, shattering its head completely and ending its existence.

[You’ve slain Desert Mummy (Level 7). You’ve gained 1080 XP.]

[Level: 7 – XP: 1251/7000] → [Level: 7 – XP: 2331/7000]

After a minute of back and forth, the battle was at long last winding down. There were no more mummies left to slay; only a few of their summoned minions remained. They didn’t dematerialize after the demise of their masters, becoming independent entities instead.

Kaiden switched stances, transitioning to Gluttony Mode.

He stepped toward one of the remaining necrocarabs and swung the blunt end of his war axe down on it, crushing the creature’s hardened exoskeleton with a crack.

Now that its natural armor was shattered, he reached down, lifting its twitching body in his free hand. His grin widened.

“Thanks for the meal. [Ravenous Bite].”

His fangs extended, sinking into the exposed flesh beneath the broken shell. Mana and vitality drained from the struggling creature, fueling him. The scarab’s twitching movements slowed before ceasing altogether.

Once the Valkyries dispatched the remaining scarabs, they gathered around their man before eyeing him with deadpan expressions.

“No kissing until you get your hands on a toothbrush,” Luna declared.

“I-I mean…” Aria tried to find the appetite required to be the good girlfriend who was ready to embrace her man’s wild side, but her stomach churned loudly in strong protest. “Yeah, no, I can’t. Sorry, Kai…”

“Kekeke. At least you tried. That’s what matters.”

Hearing Nyx’s words, three pairs of eyes found themselves examining her curiously, wondering if she was down for some freaky action. The Space Valkyrie strongly shook her head. “Nope.”

Kaiden wiped the scarab’s blood from his lips, letting a fulfilled sigh escape his lungs. This recovery ability was amazing, and despite how unappetizing the prospect of draining the blood of monsters appeared beforehand, once he unlocked the ability, it strangely no longer felt like that. It was just him making use of his spells, nothing more, nothing less.

“I gotta say, we’re stronger than I expected,” Kaiden decreed proudly, not bothered by the evident distaste his girls had for his lips smeared with scarab blood. He didn’t come to this dungeon to make out with them but to farm levels.

That was exactly what they did for the next few hours, successfully reaching level 10 after triumphing in lots of dangerous encounters. Besides the mummies and their scarab allies, the monsters they encountered were felines with black furs called khopesh jackals, who used speed and pack tactics to ambush their prey.

The other type of monster that appeared was a large scorpion called doomstinger. Unlike the mummies with their slow-drying debuff, a single sting from this monster would instantly turn the liquid in the body into poison, granted that the recipient didn’t have high enough Vitality stat to resist or potions/abilities with a similar effect.

Vitality was an almighty stat that granted general resistance against all harmful effects, be they poison, damage from a weapon, fall from heights, etc.

“Heeelp!”

“Rebecca!”

“Sister! Noo!!”

Loud shouts sounded from a short distance all of a sudden, alerting the group.