William was ready to go all out and crush those adventurers.

When they saw that he wasn’t backing off—in fact, that he was walking toward them—they got curious.

They could all feel that his aura was close to theirs. From that alone, they figured his level must be similar to theirs. So why wasn’t he scared?

That doubt crept into their minds. Made them nervous.

“You’re just pretending to be calm,” one of them said. “That kind of bluff won’t work on us. We’re smarter than that. You’re not fooling anyone.”

William chuckled.

“Is that so? Don’t come crying to me later. Once I start a fight… I don’t stop.”

That’s when it happened.

William activated his demonic transformation. It had been a long time since he last used that ability.

Up until now, none of his enemies had pushed him far enough to need it. But this time, against a whole group of powerful adventurers, he had to give it everything he had.

A wave of dark energy exploded around his body. His eyes turned blood red.

But something was different.

The mythical serpent bloodline he had inherited was now stronger, and it affected his transformation. He was no longer at stage one.

[Serpent Demon Transformation – Stage 2]

[+120 to all attributes]

[+200% movement speed]

[+200% health regeneration]

[Enhanced senses]

[New skills unlocked]

His base stats were already high for someone at level 41:

Name: William Velmont

Level: 41

Class: None

Attributes:

Strength: 123

Agility: 145

Stamina: 99

Intelligence: 510

Mana: 360

Demonic Energy: 280

So after the increase in stats, well, his Strength alone was at an incredible 243 points!

An increase of 120 basically doubled all of his physical stats. Only his intelligence stayed much higher, and that was because of a spell he had learned a while back that increased his base intelligence and his learning speed for magic.

This time, he was different. The aura around his body had turned more red than before, and even Asura changed color. The blade became red as well.

William was surprised. He had no idea that something like that would happen.

“This is amazing,” he thought.

The feeling was incredible. It was a feeling of absolute power, like he was capable of doing anything.

While William was enjoying the moment, the adventurers were terrified. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing and feeling.

In just a few seconds, William’s aura doubled. His power level was far above theirs now.

“What the hell is that?” Rena whispered, taking a few steps back.

It was her first time seeing William using that kind of power. The energy coming from his body was overwhelming, and it wasn’t the energy of a regular mage. It was dark, evil.

William started laughing.

“This is great! I told you, you’ll tell me everything I want to know. Get ready to die.”

The adventurers had completely changed their posture. Now, they were trying to avoid a fight.

“M-maybe we should talk a bit more, you know? I don’t think fighting here is a good ide—”

Before the adventurer could even finish his sentence, William dashed forward, appearing in front of him in a second.

His movements were so fast it looked more like teleportation than running.

He made a quick motion with Asura, slashing the adventurer across the chest. He didn’t use full force—otherwise, he could’ve cut the guy in two. William needed them alive to get information.

The other adventurers snapped out of it and started moving. They had no intention of standing still and waiting for William to get to them next.

One of the adventurers began channeling a lightning spell. His casting was fast—surprisingly fast. Not many mages had the talent to accelerate spellcasting like that.

William hadn’t expected it.

The yellow bolt shot forward and struck him right in the chest, sending him flying backward and crashing into the ground.

It was a powerful spell—so strong it left a hole in his chest. When the adventurers saw that he had taken a direct hit, they relaxed a little.

Some of them even started thinking that maybe that power-up had been nothing more than an illusion. It wasn’t uncommon for mages to fake power using tricks like that.

But then, lying on the ground, William started laughing. His laughter echoed through the city.

“Yes, this!” he said.

He got up again and stared at the adventurers. The hole in his chest started healing rapidly, and in less than ten seconds, he was completely healed.

“No way,” one of them said.

One of the adventurers started backing away. They were already thinking of running.

That group had only formed to explore the city. They weren’t friends. There was no reason for them to stay and die over something like this.

The leader of the group started shouting, trying to make them stay.

“If any of you run, I swear I’ll kill you myself!” he screamed.

Even so, they ran—leaving only the leader and the one William had slashed earlier.

William looked at the leader.

“Hold on,” he said. “No one gets to hit me with a spell and walk away like nothing happened.”

The one he really wanted was the lightning mage.

He dashed toward him, even faster than before.

The mage saw William approaching and panicked, trying to channel his lightning again.

“Not this time,” William said, throwing Asura with all his strength.

The sword flew like a red blur and pierced through the mage’s hand, stopping the spell right before it finished.

Then, William arrived with a kick to the mage’s chest. The sound of ribs breaking echoed down the street. The man dropped to the ground.

William looked down at him. The fear in the mage’s eyes said everything.

He pulled Asura from the man’s hand.

“Please, don’t kill me,” the adventurer begged. “I can tell you everything I know.”

William shook his head.

“It’s too late for that. Besides, your leader over there can tell me everything I need. So there’s no reason to keep you alive.”

With one clean strike, William cut off his head—ending it instantly.

Then he turned to the group’s leader.

“Don’t even think about running,” William said. “If you’re willing to talk, I might let you walk out of here alive.”

The leader of the adventurers was absolutely terrified. He had just witnessed the lightning mage die in a matter of seconds—despite getting the first hit.

He knew very well that their powers weren’t too far apart—he himself was slightly stronger than the mage—but that didn’t mean anything anymore. Fighting William was pointless. It would only lead to certain defeat.

William walked toward him, slowly this time. There was no need to rush. Just by looking at the man’s face, he could tell—he had already given up.

“W-What do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything, everything!” the leader said.

That was exactly what William wanted to hear. That complete expression of fear—that’s what he enjoyed seeing.

“Why did you want us out of this part of the city? What’s so special about it?” William asked.

The leader didn’t hesitate. “We believe this is where the portal is—or at least the way to access the next part of the city,” he said. “I’ve spoken to groups who’ve explored almost every other part of the city. Everything points to this area.”

William frowned. “That’s it? If that’s all, I’m going to be disappointed… and we might have a problem.”

He wanted more. If that was really all there was to it, then this man might not live long enough to regret wasting his time. William was already irritated that he hadn’t gotten the kind of information he wanted.

The leader started to stutter. “W-w-wait. I do have more information. We found a special passage. I can show you where it is. What do you think?”

“Oh? Then show me.”

“Of course, follow me.”

The two of them began leaving the area when the man who had been slashed across the chest cried out, begging for help. “You’re just gonna leave me here? I need help!”

William turned toward him with a cold voice. “Say another word, and I’ll kill you. Get lost and find someone else to help you.”

His words sent chills down the man’s spine. He didn’t say another word. Using every bit of strength he had left, he got up and limped away.

Rena had watched everything silently, unsure of what to do.

William seemed… different after that transformation. To her, he looked far more ruthless and decisive. Still, she believed in him. She trusted him. So she decided to follow.

Rena had no idea if she was doing the right thing, but in that moment, she didn’t want to go against William. Deep down, she hoped that whatever that dark, ominous aura surrounding him was… it would disappear. That William would go back to being who he was before.

But even if the transformation wore off, William was no longer the same.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep