"Wonderful."

Pride swelled in Ashclaw's chest as he watched how easily Ray killed bronze and iron rank demonic beasts.

"He killed them like slaughtering pigs. He has grown up to become a terrifying figure before I even knew it. He is less than 30 years old but he has attained a power comparable to silver rankers. He has a high chance of breaking through to the silver rank before his thirties."

Ashclaw had nothing but admiration for Ray, not knowing he wasn't his son Torvin, just someone disguised as him.

"In the future, perhaps even Silver Ranks would have to fear him… his mutated skills deserve this much praise. Right now they run on magic power, but they can cook Bronze Rank Demonic Beasts alive. Once they run on soul power, they will be even more fearsome."

"…"

Ray sensed the change in Ashclaw's gaze and almost burst out laughing.

'Ashclaw is really in the dark,' Ray thought as Ashclaw was admiring the very person who had killed his son and had also concocted a massive scheme to break his turtle shell and kill him too.

Ashclaw's defense made him unlikable by beings below the gold rank, but Ray's scheme was so terrifying it had a very high chance of putting an end to his life.

"I will go ahead and strike them down. Stay safe, father," Ray smiled at Ashclaw while internally thinking, 'I want to kill you with my own hands.'

Unaware of his murderous thoughts, Ashclaw confidently told him not to worry about him and do what he must.

He was protected by the rune of defense as it still hadn't been used.

It was impossible to catch him off guard and kill him. Not one, not even Ray, could do it until his rune of defense was exhausted.

"Try not to waste the rune of defence. It's crucial for my plan," Ray said to Ashclaw before leaving him behind as he chased after the Dire Wolves who were running through the woods in fear.

Whoosh!

Ray moved fast, his figure cutting through great distance, catching up to the fleeing Dire Wolves in no time. The difference between their speed was simply too massive. The Dire Wolves couldn't outrun him even while giving it their all. As soon as he neared them, his hand wrapped in a thin green layer of extreme sharpness cut through their bodies like a hot knife slicing through butter.

Notifications flooded his vision.

♦️ You have killed 4 Peak Stage Iron Rank Demonic Beasts, 1 Initial Stage Bronze Rank Demonic Beast, and 1 Intermediate Stage Bronze Rank Demonic Beast. You have gained +40,200 EXP.

♦️ You have gained additional EXP for defeating multiple enemies a major realm above you.

More and more points dropped into his EXP bar.

Ray opened his status screen to check how much EXP he had accumulated.

[Experience required to level up Metal King Slime: 200,000]

[Total EXP in your possession: 199,999]

'I've come extremely close to my goal,' Ray thought as he was just one step away from leveling up his Metal King Slime.

Suddenly.

From the depths of the dungeon—

GUWAAAAAHHHHH!!!

A deafening roar erupted.

It tore through the land like thunder.

Ashclaw's face drained of color the instant it reached him.

Surprisingly, the deafening roar carried a palpable, tangible, and terrifyingly ferocious force.

When it reached him, he felt like he had stupidly run into a wall. Then, three things happened.

His old bones rattled!

Blood trickled out of his ears!!

His organs came loose!!! He spat out a mouthful!!!!

Meanwhile, Ray's reaction to the same thing was vastly different.

Only his expression hardened when he heard the deafening roar.

Although it shook him too, as it was too sudden, it did him no real harm. His body, tempered to the level of a bronze-ranked demonic beast, endured it with ease!

"Tch. Too loud," he muttered with clear irritation.

**Tremble** **Tremble**

The ground rumbled as dust rose in the distance. Heavy steps pounded against the earth, each one like a drumbeat of war.

Ray focused his gaze forward.

Dozens, no, hundreds of Dire Wolves had come charging out of the forest's depths. The ground itself trembled under their charge, and their snarls rolled together into an unending growl that made the air quake.

Pretty much all of them looked the same.

Only their sizes varied.

When Ray looked closely at the approaching wave of beasts, he discovered one set of eyes was different. Larger. Brighter. Burning with intelligence.

These eyes... they belonged to a Dire Wolf three times larger than the others, its fur black as midnight, its claws like curved blades of obsidian, its massive body clad in jagged iron plates that clanked with every step. Scars marred its muzzle, proof of countless battles fought and survived. Each step it took shook the earth and left craters on the ground.

"Dire Wolf Commander." Ray recognized it as such, happy to see it. "My plan has worked. Killing the mobs has drawn out the dungeon boss."

Ray glanced over his shoulder.

"Father, get ready to use the rune of defense to separate the commander from its pack at the very first opportunity you get."

Ashclaw met his gaze and nodded. "I won't fail."

"Failure means death," Ray said. "You better not fail."

Immediately after saying these words, he went ahead to confront the enemies.

Aworg!

The Dire Wolf Commander let out a commanding roar.

Two Dire Wolves instantly followed its command.

In front of Ray's eyes, they melted into shadows, vanishing from his sight. In the very next instant, from the shadows near him, they emerged like ghosts breaking free from a horror story and coming to life. They attacked him from his blind spot!

"Look out!" Ashclaw cried out.

Two pairs of fangs came a hair's breadth away from sinking into Ray's defenseless nape, but they never managed to go any further than that.

As if Ray had eyes behind his head, as if he could see it coming, two Azure Wind Blades chopped through the Assassin type Dire Wolves.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.