Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 165
Chapter 165: Episode 50. Ifrit (2)
The dragon was very powerful, and it emitted a large amount of the mana of fire.
I suspected that its mana value was over one hundred.
I still had some questions about what Ifrit said.
The monster called itself as a “half,” and told me that the other half was now inside of me. At the same time, I knew that the dragon was in the realm of transcendence. If it was so powerful that it could even enter the realm of transcendence with only half of its power, how did it get caught by the Spirits of Darkness?
I also could not understand why the dragon could not break out of the cage. When I saw it for the first time in the auction, the dragon stared at me with hostility, but it could not get out of the cage. Although the cage was made in the name of the Demon God, no cage could confine those who had entered the realm of transcendence.
“I am in a dream,” I thought.
I snickered after I reached the conclusion. Then I realized that the dragon gave me the biggest hint when it was talking to me. It told me that we were inside of his world verbatim.
Dreams were fake. They hid the truth and showed falsity. In this world of imagination, nothing was impossible.
In other words, only in this world could Ifrit make himself much larger and pretend as though it had entered the realm of transcendence.
When I found out that I was in the dragon’s dreams, I started to discover the loose ends of this world.
Now that I recognized the true nature of this space, I thought that opening the Mind’s Eye would help me discover the truth that the dragon tried to hide. I opened the Mind’s Eye and read descriptions about Ifrit.
Name: Ifrit.
Statistics:
Strength 90 Intelligence 88 Agility 87 Health point 85 Mana 90 Potential (440/500)
Comments: It is one of the nine kinds of fire. They were guardians of the World of Spirits of Fire. However, Ifrit has lost half of itself and its intrinsic skill “Domination.”
Skills: Dream Realization (Epic), Power of Fire (Epic)
Through the Mind’s Eye, I could find out the dragon’s statistics. They were much more inferior than how the dragon tried to project itself. The sense of pressure that I felt when I saw the dragon, too, was fake.
“Are you scared? If you give it to me now, I will let you live.”
Ifrit told me as though he was being generous.
I could not help but laugh at the dragon.
Never had I ever imagined that the Great Quintessence of Fire would try to cheat.
The Spirits of Fire worshiped the dragon, but it was nothing more than a poor swindler.
“You talk too much.”
I told him quietly.
The dragon must have known how demons were after years of experience; the winner took everything and the loser lost everything. If the Quintessence of Fire really wanted to get its half from me, and if it was as powerful as it had boasted, the dragon could simply defeat me and take his half. It did not need to talk so much.
I realized that the dragon was nervous. The dragon must have found out how strong I was, and it realized that it was of no match. However, the Quintessence of Fire did not give up, and it was trying to bluff me to get its half back.
“I am giving you a chance. I do not like to use my power unless it is necessary.”
The dragon was going way too far, and it looked pathetic.
I realized all of my mana in my body and concentrated my force in my neck.
“Reveal your true self, Ifrit.”
When I dropped those words, the world started to shake.
As soon as I realized the truth, Ifrit could not play his tricks anymore. The fake world that Ifrit created was too coarse.
“Ah, it cannot be…!”
Ifrit returned to its original size as though it had never gotten large.
Freaking out, Ifrit took a step back.
However, I was not going to let him go like that.
I took out Rage and the Sword of the Emperor.
“This is a fake world, and you might not die. Perhaps you can’t die at all. You’re a flame.”
Even if Ifrit did not die, I did not care. I was going to slash and stab it until the last moment.
Ifrit quickly surrendered.
“Stop! I admit my loss and your victory.”
Ifrit reluctantly accepted its loss.
Even if both of us were in a dream, I could hurt it badly. Because I had entered the realm of transcendence, the damage that it would receive from my attack would carry on to the real world. Despite the imminent threat, Ifrit did not surrender to me truthfully.
“You have not learned your lesson yet.”
Ifrit seemed to need some punishment.
“P-please…”
Ifrit’s body fell to the ground like a used rag. The monster continued to recover its broken body in the world of imagination. However, I was stronger than its recovering ability.
I destructed its body faster than the monster could recover. After rounds of beating, Ifrit looked terrible. Its hands were on its head, and its face was stuck to its feet.
I sneered at Ifrit. Half smiling, I struck its body once more. The more I hit, the fainter its flame became.
“Stop! Stop! Ahhh!”
A scream echoed.
Ifrit screamed, rolling on the ground in pain.
“Are you going to completely extinguish me? If I vanish, the power inside you will explode! Do you think you’re going to be okay?”
“Watch your attitude.”
“…?”
“You’re one filthy swindler, and you talk so lightly. And everything you say is not true.”
The monster lied so easily. Even if it was right, I would be able to manage myself after it vanished. Controlling the explosion of power inside of me would be hard, but it was not impossible to suppress it.
Bang!
I stepped on Ifrit’s mouth and destroyed it.
After getting beaten up for another hour, Ifrit finally started to change.
“P-please let me live. I must not vanish.”
“Why?”
“I need to meet my son. I have not seen him for the last twenty thousand years…”
“Are you going to continue bullshitting like that?”
I clicked my tongue. Ifrit was a flame, and it could not bear another life biologically.
The monster needed more whipping.
When I raised my sword high, Ifrit cried out desperately.
“The ninth type of fire! The fire that represents ‘courage’ came from me! I have not seen it for twenty thousand years. I am sure it misses me, too.”
“So you want me to let you go?”
“Y-yes, please.”
What Ifrit just said was new information. I took a moment and thought about it.
The Spirits of Fire valued the Great Fire. When the World of Spirits of Fire began, the Great Fire started to appear, and now there were nine kinds of the Great Fire.
If I let Ifrit live, I could perhaps encounter the fire of “courage.” Meeting that fire would make me more influential among the Spirits of Fire.
Nervous, Ifrit continued to speak.
“We can directly communicate with the Spirit King. The current Spirit King of the World of Spirits of Fire is quite friendly… I will make sure that he rewards you if you let me go. The king might ignore me if I ask for the favor alone. However, if my son and I ask together, the Spirit King might listen…”
“I will let you go.”
Ifrit looked very glad.
“Really?”
“However, I cannot give you your other half, which is inside of me. Of course, there is a way you can get it back.”
“…?”
Ifrit realized that he was not going to get his half back easily. The monster’s face hardened.
Pointing at Ifrit with my sword, I spoke.
“Come inside of me. I thought about eating you like Contegnome, but I think there is a better way. After all, you are a spirit, and I believe that you can make a contract with me.”
“That is…”
I made a very smart move, which was making a contract with Ifrit. Having a contract with the Quintessence of Fire would be much more beneficial to me than any other contracts with regular spirits. Thanks to the contract, I would not lose anything to but only took the best out of Ifrit.
The contract with Ifrit would have several advantages. First, I would be able to use Ifrit’s power. Besides, the Spirits of Fire would not dare treat me badly.
Ifrit’s half was already inside of me, and having the half would help me make a contract with the remaining half outside.
I was also looking forward to meeting the fire, which represented “courage.”
“Now you have two choices, which are death and contract. What are you going to choose?”
“The Quintessence of Fire has never made any contracts with anyone. I acknowledge your strength, but making a contract is a different story.”
“Well, then I guess you chose to vanish.”
I stopped smiling and made a gesture to attack.
The Quintessence of Fire chose to disappear. I would first make it unable to resist and then consume it.
I would need to make up stories to tell the Spirits of Fire, but I could always blame Pandemonium or Contegnome that they hijacked Ifrit in the middle.
Ifrit got frightened at my determination and raised its hand.
“Wait! Although the Quintessence of Fire has never made any contracts in the past, there is no law forbidding it. Contract… I will make a contract. However, I will make it so that the contract would expire automatically if you and the Spirits of Fire become enemies.”
“I will never be their enemies unless they turn their backs against me first.”
I shrugged my shoulder.
I would have to stay an ally to the Spirits of Fire for a while.
That did not matter too much; I was going to persuade the spirits to come out to Earth and pressure the Spirits of Darkness anyway.
“I will dedicate my Source of Fire to you. Please don’t refuse it.”
Boosh!
As soon as Ifrit finished his words, a large flame erupted from his back. It then engulfed me.
“It is not hot,” I thought.
The flame felt weird. It was not hot, but it felt warm.
[The Great Quintessence of Fire, also known as “Ifrit”, wants to make a contract with “Randalf Bruciel” the demon.]
[Are you going to accept the contract?]
When I nodded, another message window popped up.
[The contract has been completed.]
[You have accomplished an impossible achievement! You are the first demon to make a contract with the Great Quintessence of Fire. The Spirits of Fire will treat Randalf Bruciel even better.]
[You earn three million points.]
[You are rewarded two thousand achievement points.]
Making a contract with Ifrit would be much more beneficial than eating it forcibly. The contract would be helpful in the future, as I could get help from the Spirits of Fire.
“Unlike other spirits, I cannot go back to the World of Spirits. I must stay in one part of your body.”
Gloomily, Ifrit told me.
“Where is the other half of you?”
“It is in your heart. It is hidden there.”
What Ifrit just told me implied that its other half was hidden inside the heart of the Hell Lord.
I could not fathom why I did not feel its presence before, even though it was hiding in my heart.
I then considered the possible situation where Ifrit decided to harm me while it was living inside of me.
“The contract is very strong. Ifrit cannot kill me, even if it wants to, because the contract forbids betrayal,” I thought.
On top of the contract, the heart of the Hell Lord was very powerful, too.
If Ifrit decided to harm me in any possible way, the heart of the Hell Lord would not let it be. The other half of Ifrit was inside the heart of the Hell Lord, and the heart would act like a cage for it.
Finally, there was Lightning God inside of me. The Lightning God would protect me against Ifrit’s attacks.
Had it been someone else, they would have been frightened to let Ifrit live in their heart. Thanks to the many layers of protection, I was not afraid of Ifrit’s staying in my heart.
“Fine, you can live in my heart.”
Boom!
When Ifrit nodded, the imaginary world started to break down.
When I returned to the real world, I found out that the Quintessence of Fire, which had been in front of me, was now gone.
Following the contract, Ifrit had moved into my heart.
Ifrit had been torn into two, but it had become a whole piece at last. Not only its body but its power had merged into one as well.
“Is this the Power of Domination?” I thought.
Ifrit told me that it was in charge of “domination.” When he entered my body, I felt that I had gained another type of power, which I believed would be the Power of Domination.
[Ifrit, who has been separated in half, has now come together as one piece, and so has its power.]
[The heart of the Hell Lord forcibly put the power of Ifrit together.]
[Ifrit screams. The Power of Domination has transferred to Randalf Bruciel.]
I did not understand the part where the heart of the Hell Lord “forcibly” put the power of Ifrit together.
Despite the contract, I thought that Ifrit was still in charge of using the Power of Domination.
Thanks to the heart of the Hell Lord, the Power of Domination had been transferred to me, and I could use it whenever and however I wanted.
“The heart of the Hell Lord put cuffs on Ifrit,” I thought.
I did not expect that the heart would put together both pieces of Ifrit and transfer the Power of Domination to me. It was a surprise but a good one.
Slightly smiling, I opened my status windows. There I could see the skill of “Power of Domination.”
Name – Power of Domination (Ex Epic, Passive)
Comments: If the user’s opponent is near death, the user can “dominate” their opponent. The chance of success depends on the opponent’s mana and their intelligence. Once the user successfully dominates their opponent, the opponent slowly loses their free will and egos, thereby obeying the user’s orders in the end.
** The skill does not work in the regions where territory proclamation is in effect.
