The Ultimate Lich King of the Multiverse

"Looks like the monsters on the tenth floor… aren't that big a deal."

Yoru said as he walked over slowly. In his right hand was what Lili still considered a glorified fire poker, and in his left hand, several crystalline ice spears floated in the air.

"Yoru-sama, if you keep being reckless like this, the monsters' magic stones are going to get shattered by the ice again!"

Even as Lili spoke, the giant beastman in front of her crumbled to pieces. But what surprised her was that the monster's magic stone hadn't been destroyed.

"Huh?"

"It's simple. I canceled the magic output before the ice spear hit."

Yoru's mana was overwhelmingly potent. Even if he tried to restrain it, the continuous release of his magic would still cause massive damage. But by canceling the mana output at the right moment, he could control the effect.

After some time using his powers, Yoru had come to understand the nature of his magic.

The first phase was bone-chilling cold, not much different from standard ice magic—it gradually numbed the target's nerves and movement.

The second phase was complete freezing, severing all of the enemy's vitality.

And finally, the third phase was structural annihilation at absolute zero.

By that point, it no longer resembled ice magic at all—Yoru's magic attribute became pure destruction, capable of obliterating anything in its path.

"But if you cancel the mana, how do you even launch the ice spears?"

Lili tilted her head in confusion, and Yoru responded with a faint smile.

"It's easy."

Right as he finished speaking, another beastman came charging through the mist, roaring.

Yoru then did something that made Lili unconsciously hold her forehead in disbelief. He grabbed one of the ice spears floating above his palm and simply threw it at the beastman.

This time, Lili saw it clearly—it wasn't that the ice spear pierced the beastman's heart, but that it physically hit the monster, stuck to its body, and then released a wave of cold that froze it solid.

"Even though it's still powerful… why does it feel so lame…"

Muttering under her breath, Lili started collecting the monster's magic stone from the shattered ice remains.

"As long as the enemy is dead, the method doesn't matter. And besides, this way the magic stones remain intact—what's not to like?"

Tossing the ice spear up and down in his hand, Yoru spoke carelessly.

"You city folk sure know how to play."

Rolling her eyes, the two of them continued exploring through the mist.

"Quite the harvest."

A few hours later, Yoru squinted in satisfaction as he watched Lili count the magic stones. At this rate of income, maybe it wouldn't be long before he could get Hestia a better place to live.

"Yes, a huge haul…"

Lili grumbled with a sour expression. She wouldn't be seeing a single valis of commission from this haul.

Seriously… I'm the one risking my life to lure the monsters!

"Alright, let's go back. It's about time."

As Yoru said this, he began packing their haul. In his rough movements, nearly half the magic stones spilled out of the bag.

"Hey! You dropped a bunch, Yoru-sama!"

"Mhm. Those are yours."

"Eh…? But didn't you say I wouldn't get paid for three days?"

"I did. You're not being paid as a supporter. This is just your share of the loot."

Yoru spoke nonchalantly, then slung his own share over his shoulder and started walking, leaving Lili standing there dumbfounded.

"What the heck… what a dumb guy." After a while, Lili lowered her head and quickly gathered the magic stones from the ground before running after him.

The two of them left the tenth floor and began heading back toward the surface—but as they reached the eighth floor, something unexpected happened.

"This isn't what we agreed on, Lili. You were supposed to lure this guy to us. Why did you take him all the way down to the tenth floor?"

A cold, eerie voice rang out from around the bend in the cave's twisting terrain.

Yoru stopped walking, and Lili's face instantly went pale.

Looking toward the source of the voice, they saw a shabbily dressed adventurer at the entrance of a chamber. On his head were animal-like features similar to Lili's—bear ears, it seemed.

"Friend of yours?" Yoru asked casually, tilting his head toward Lili.

"Yes, we're friends," the man said with a sneer, narrowing his dim, murky eyes. "Very close friends who tell each other everything."

With a twisted grin, the middle-aged beastman pulled something from behind his back and threw it to the ground with a thud. The object rolled in front of them—and made Lili cry out in horror.

"M-Murder Ant…!"

It was a half-dead Murder Ant, with its lower body severed for easier transport. Covered in wounds, its purple blood oozing from every crack, the monster struggled in pain, its single remaining arm twitching weakly.

"Before we catch up with our dear friend, would you mind handing over everything you've got? I heard you're carrying a divine weapon made by Hephaestus herself."

With another couple of thuds, two more upper halves of Murder Ants were tossed into the room.

Two more adventurers appeared behind the beastman, each entering from different passageways. The three half-dead monsters writhed in the chamber, letting out dreadful, groaning cries that echoed like a curse.

"What is this, sound-based psychological warfare?"

Yoru blinked and asked with a puzzled expression, nearly making the terrified Lili stumble.

"Now's not the time to joke, Yoru-sama! When Murder Ants are critically wounded, they release a special pheromone—an emergency distress signal to call their swarm!"

These dying ants were basically walking time bombs, summoning hordes of their kin.

"Oh?"

Yoru raised an eyebrow with interest, but Lili certainly wasn't as relaxed.

"Please take this seriously, Yoru-sama! You must be almost out of magic by now, right? Even you won't be able to handle a swarm of ants like this!"

They had no idea how many monsters Yoru had taken down on the tenth floor. Lili had been amazed at how much magic he'd had to spare… but it had to be nearly empty by now, right?

Yoru-sama was still just an LV1 adventurer—this level of mana usage was already far beyond the norm.

"Magic power?"

Yoru raised a brow. It was true that he had used a lot of mana today, but compared to his total reserves, it was barely a scratch.

---

10% Discount Voucher

FF92E

Active until the 17th.

Please subscribe at patreon.com/dzeref887 and get access to over 500 chapters.