When Aestrea finally reached the volcano, he didn’t see anything strange.

It was already weird that a dungeon was this big—it was the size of a whole island. But even after pushing his mana out as far as it could go, he still didn’t find anything.

“Ugh… how am I supposed to clear this?” he muttered, sitting down on a big, black rock near the edge.

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, staring at the hot air rising from the volcano’s hole.

“The name of the dungeon is Red Slayer… Red Slayer…” he repeated the name slowly, hoping it might help him figure something out.

But unfortunately, it didn’t.

“Well… the snakes were red, I guess,” he mumbled, scratching the side of his head, saying the kind of random stuff you say when your brain’s stuck and you’re bored.

After a long pause, he stood up and dusted off his hands.

“There’s only one thing left to do, I guess.”

He turned to face the open mouth of the volcano. The heat coming from inside was strong, but he didn’t hesitate.

Without a word, he jumped straight into it.

FWOOOSH!

In the air, he covered his whole body with mana and aura, wrapping himself in a glowing shield before he hit the lava.

SPLASH!!

Thick lava shot upward in every direction as his body crashed into the bubbling pool.

It was boiling and heavy, but his protection held.

He looked around.

Everything was red, glowing, and slow-moving under the lava’s thick weight.

“Alright… let’s go see what’s down here,” he said, and started swimming.

After swimming around for a few minutes…

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

He blinked in disbelief.

“Seriously?” he muttered.

He pulled himself out of the lava pool, steam rising off his glowing shield as he climbed over the edge.

Ssssssshhh…

The heat hissed against the air as it slid off his body.

He stood there, dripping lava and looking annoyed.

“Hah…” He let out a long, tired sigh.

“Did you really expect something dramatic to pop out of the lava?”

He shook his head.

“Damn it… If there’s nothing down there, then where are they?”

He thought back to earlier…

He had only seen monsters in the forest.

That was the only clue.

“Alright. Back to the trees then.”

He turned around and started walking.

As he moved through the burnt stone and ash, he muttered to himself.

“If only I had a skill that made enemies come to me…”

He clicked his tongue.

“Tsk.”

But then, something came to mind.

A simple idea.

He raised his arm, pulled out his scythe, and dragged the blade across his skin.

SHHINK.

Blood poured out, warm and red.

“That should do it. Monsters love the smell of blood.”

And then, almost right away—

HISSSSS!!

ROAAARRR!!

From between the trees, two monsters appeared fast.

One was a huge snake, covered in shiny red diamond-shaped scales. Its tongue flicked in and out as it moved, its eyes glowing yellow.

The other was a gorilla—big and bulky, with thick iron armor on its arms and chest. Its eyes were bright red, and it pounded its fists into the ground.

And if that wasn’t bad enough… more monsters stepped out from behind the trees.

Big ones.

Small ones.

Crawling, flying, slithering.

All of them red.

Dozens of them.

Aestrea didn’t even flinch.

Without waiting, he wrapped his body in a violet aura and silver mana. The two mixed together, turning into a soft, glowing lavender that shimmered across his skin like mist.

He took one step forward.

BOOM!!!

The ground cracked under his foot.

The monsters roared and rushed in all at once.

『 Ice Generation! (✦ 1st-level Spell ✦) 』

The air around him turned cold in an instant.

Frost crept along the grass and trees.

The snake moved first. It slithered fast, aiming to bite into his side.

Aestrea spun to the left, dodging it by inches, and slammed his fist right into the side of its jaw.

CRACK!

The snake’s head whipped sideways as it flew back, scales scattering like broken glass.

But the gorilla didn’t wait, it immediately jumped high into the air, then came down with both arms raised to smash him.

THUD!

Aestrea crossed his arms and blocked, sliding back a few steps.

“Damn it. You’re fucking heavy,” he muttered, shaking off the impact.

『 Ice Wall! (✦ 3rd-level Spell ✦) 』

With a quick motion of his hand, a thick wall of ice shot up in front of the gorilla just as it tried to charge again.

CRASH!!

The beast slammed into it headfirst, cracking the ice but not breaking through.

『 Ice Series: Frost Spikes! (✦ 3rd-level Spell ✦) 』

Dozens of sharp ice spears burst out of the ground beneath the gorilla.

STAB! STAB! STAB!

They pierced through its legs and arms, pinning it in place as it screamed and thrashed.

But from behind, other monsters charged toward him—red wolves, flying bugs, and a lizard with lava dripping from its mouth.

Aestrea dashed forward.

『 Ice Series: Glacial Dash! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

In a blink, he vanished into a blur of cold wind.

WHOOSH!

He reappeared behind the lizard, dragging his scythe across its back.

SLASH!!

Blood sprayed into the air as the monster howled and fell to the ground, twitching.

“Too slow,” he muttered.

But of course, he wasn’t done.

The snake he had punched was getting back up.

He narrowed his eyes.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art Variant…”

『 Fourth Move! (✦ Lunar Collapse ✦) 』

He raised the scythe above his head, then brought it crashing down onto the snake.

BOOOOM!!

A huge shockwave of ice burst outward as the blade struck.

SPLURT!!

Blood sprayed up in a fountain as the snake split open, frozen and broken in half.

ROARRRR!!

One of the red wolves suddenly leaped at him, jaws wide open, aiming for his throat.

Aestrea immediately reacted, ducked low, and drove his elbow right into its chest.

THUMP!

The wolf’s body bent mid-air before slamming into the ground. It tried to get up, but Aestrea didn’t give it a chance.

He brought his scythe down.

Splurt!

The blade cut clean through the wolf’s back.

It stopped moving.

Another came at him from the side.

Aestrea turned, raised his hand, and—

『 Ice Series: Frost Chains! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

CLANK!

Icy chains burst out from the ground and wrapped around the wolf’s legs and neck, yanking it down with a loud snap.

It growled and struggled, but the chains only pulled tighter.

He walked toward it slowly, his scythe dragging behind him, scraping the ground.

SHRRRK…

He raised it, then swung in a clean arc.

Swoop!

Splurt!

The wolf’s head dropped to the side.

Then—BOOM!—something hit his back.

He staggered forward a bit, turning to see the armored gorilla rushing at him again. Blood poured from its body, but it was still fighting.

Aestrea clenched his teeth.

“You’re still alive?”

The gorilla raised a massive fist and threw a punch toward Aestrea’s face.

He dodged to the right.

The fist missed by inches.

WHOOSH!!

Aestrea countered with a punch of his own—straight to the gorilla’s stomach.

THUD!

It bent forward, breath knocked out.

Aestrea grabbed its arm, twisted it, and slammed his knee into its jaw.

CRACK!!

The beast stumbled back, dazed.

『 Ice Series: Frost Crash! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

He raised his hand high.

A ball of freezing light formed in his palm. Then he slammed it into the ground.

BOOOOOOOM!!

The entire area shook as a wave of ice exploded outward in a circle, freezing everything it touched.

The ground turned white.

Trees iced over.

Monsters froze mid-step.

The gorilla’s legs turned solid, stuck in place.

“Time to finish it.”

Aestrea jumped forward, spun mid-air, and brought his scythe down right on the gorilla’s neck.

SPLAT!!

A spray of blood hit the air, and the monster’s body dropped, limp.

Aestrea landed smoothly, breathing hard but steady.

He looked around.

The battlefield was quiet now.

Frozen bodies, cracked ground, and blood everywhere.

He exhaled slowly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Still not the boss, huh…?” he said, glancing into the trees.

Thump…

Thump…

THUMP.

The ground suddenly started trembling.

The trees ahead started to shake. Leaves fell. Branches snapped.

Aestrea turned his head slowly.

From between the trees, something massive stepped out.

It looked like a giant lizard—taller than a house.

Its scales were dark red, glowing like burning coal. Its eyes were gold and narrow, and steam puffed out from its nose with every breath.

Its tail dragged behind it, long and heavy, smashing the ground with every step.

Baam!

Baam!

Aestrea narrowed his eyes.

“Is that an elite monster?”

Without waiting, the monster opened its mouth.

HISSSSS!!!

A stream of fire burst out, straight at Aestrea.

FWOOOOOSH!!

He jumped to the side, rolled across the ground, then slid to a stop behind a rock. The fire swept past where he was standing just seconds ago.

Chunks of trees turned to ash.

The heat was intense.

Aestrea stood up slowly, brushing ash off his shoulder.

“Alright… This one I’ll need to take more seriously.”!

『 Curse Mark 』

『 Wound Aggravation 』

A black skull mark lit up on the monster’s forehead.

It growled, shaking its head as if it felt it—but it was too late now.

Aestrea charged.

『 Ice Series: Glacial Dash! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

He shot forward like a blur, closing the distance between them fast.

The boss raised a clawed arm and swiped down toward him.

SWIPE!

Aestrea jumped to the left and spun in mid-air, dodging the claws. As he passed the side of the monster, he dragged his scythe across its leg.

SHHHHK!

Fwip!

Sparks flew as the blade scraped against the tough scales, drawing a thin line of blood.

The monster roared in pain and swung its tail.

WHOOM!

It hit Aestrea square in the chest.

THUD!!

He flew back, rolling across the ground, dirt and dust flying everywhere.

He coughed once but stood up, wiping a line of blood from his mouth.

“Hah… that was a good one,” he muttered.

Then, Aestrea stabbed the blade of the scythe on the ground, before raising both of his hands, mana gathering around them.

『 Ice Series: Frost Chains! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

CLANK!!

Icy chains shot out from the ground again, wrapping around the boss’s legs.

It roared and pulled hard, trying to break free—but the chains held tight.

“Now…!”

『 Ice Series: Frost Crash! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

He slammed his palm onto the ground again.

BOOM!!

Another explosion of ice burst out, hitting the monster from below. Ice climbed up its legs and belly, freezing skin and scales.

The monster screamed.

Snap!

The monster only heard a snap of fingers.

『 Bleed 』

SPLURT!!!

Blood exploded from every cut on its body. Red lines ran down its legs. The curse mark on its forehead glowed darker.

It roared again, louder now—but its movements were slower.

Aestrea stepped forward, gripping his scythe tightly.

“Time for the finish this.”

He jumped high into the air.

Wind and frost spun around him.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Third Move! (✦ Moonlight’s One Flash ✦) 』

SWOOSH!!

In one clean, glowing strike, his scythe cut through the monster’s neck.

Swoop!

SPLAT!

Blood flew everywhere as the monster’s head hit the ground.

Its giant body swayed… then dropped, shaking the ground one last time.

Aestrea landed softly, his scythe resting on his shoulder.

“Yep…”

“Definitely only an elite boss. The portal didn’t spawn after all.”

Unfortunately, no one was here to witness this scene.

Because if they were, they would have their mouths open because Aestrea had dealt with an S-rank Named Demon Beast alone.

And didn’t even break a sweat while fighting against it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep