Episode 325: Underdogma (5)

‘Fucking world.’

Dogma, a freshman. He was on his way out of the professor’s office after receiving a D grade on the assignment he had spent three nights working on.

Explaining that someone else had plagiarized his work didn’t work.

Instead, despite being the victim of plagiarism, Dogma received the lowest grade and failed the class.

‘Is this what life is like for commoners, to be trampled underfoot by nobles? Fuck this world.’

On a deserted road, a few stray dogs run away from human footsteps.

Dogma curses at the sky in the pouring rain.

Suddenly, the rain stops.

He turns around and sees a white umbrella wrapped around his head.

A female student with a bag of dog food in her hand was putting the umbrella on Dogma.

Dolores, the nameplate on her chest patch read.

‘That’s not true.’

Dolores opened her mouth with a smile that felt somewhat sad.

‘Everyone is the hero of their own life, and the hero is often burdened with troubles, worries, guilt, and burdens. It’s the same for everyone in the world, noble or commoner.’

Dogma was stunned.

Is that true? Is that really true?

……No. I’ve been fooled by that sort of thing before. I’m not falling for it anymore.

‘You can say that because you have everything. You’re pretty, you’re fit, you’re young, you’re well educated, you have money, you come from a good family. I’m sure you’ll graduate with flying colors and go back to your family and make it big, and you’ll meet someone equally handsome, tall, fit, good-natured, rich, and from a good family, and you’ll live happily ever after!’

Dogma’s rant, echoing through the rain shower, was like a scream.

A sharp hatred that shot out like an arrow without a target.

But Dolores only smiled bitterly.

‘……No.’

A short answer.

Dogma couldn’t help but go blank again at the sight of Dolores’ smile.

He couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine whenever he saw that look on her face.

‘Don’t smile like that.’

For the next three years, Dogma tried his hardest to keep a straight face.

Always hovering around Dolores, desperately trying to stand in the same place, at the same eye level.

Second in class. Student Council Vice President.

He rose to a remarkable position from a commoner background.

…… But inside him, a thousand fires of unknown origin simmered, never extinguished.

Why? Why?

After pondering for a while, Dogma soon realized the reason.

The reason was……

* * *

[ What was that? ]

Dogma’s mouth opened and a grotesquely distorted voice spilled out.

The pronunciation from the mouth, which was no longer human, was similar to that of a grotesque flesh fairy.

[ Why was I getting angry? ]

Dogma, who had become a majin, seemed to have lost much of his vaunted intelligence.

“……Hmm. You’re getting quite a bit bigger.”

Vikir lifted his head, resting his chin.

Dogma’s body had become quite grotesque.

Two of its limbs had grown longer than its legs, and a whip-like tail had grown from its buttocks.

Its entire body is covered with large shark scales, its forehead has a large single horn, and underneath it is a feast of teeth sticking out of its lipless mouth.

Most impressive of all was the massive mane of flames that burned Dogma’s entire body.

<Majin ‘Inferiority complex like deterioration’>.

Danger rating: A+.

Size: 8 meters

Found in: Hell Tree, Underground Level 4 ‘Black Sea Island’

-Also known as ‘Inferiority Complex’ or ‘Underdogma’

The perverse form of a student who has always been at a disadvantage in school.

They harbor a hatred so powerful that they want to set the world on fire.

There seems to be no possibility of ever becoming human again.

‘This is how they would be described if they were in a book.’

Information on humans who have been transformed into monsters is so fragmented and varies greatly from person to person that it is not included in the monster encyclopedia, but Vikir was able to infer enough information on his own.

[geu-aaa…… geugigig!]

Meanwhile, Dogma, who had become a Majin, stood on the sandbank, spewing out terrifying killing intent.

cheolsseog! puswiiiig-

A large wave crashed into Dogma’s body, vaporizing it into black water vapor in an instant.

“You’ve become a nuisance.”

Vikir pressed his temples.

He had defeated the Daylily of Blood in the previous stage, but it was only a Degradation Version, and the Cerberus he had defeated in the stage before that had been aided by Ginkgo and Perfume.

“……There isn’t much manpower available.”

The students of the commoner faction were too low in level and stats to be of any help, and the insectking were shivering in the distance as if they were afraid of fire.

[Hahahaha- the insectking are basically insect and afraid of fire, moreover, it is more vulnerable to fire due to the wax component coated on the surface of the exoskeleton.]

“Not very useful information.”

Vikir held Decarabia in one hand and the Beelzebub in the other.

“Well, fire can be put out with water.”

Fortunately, isn’t this a beach?

Then.

Whoosh.

There was the sound of something moving next to him.

Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro. The three of them were running backwards, away from Vikir’s side.

[What? Are they running away? You say lord, lord, but you have no faith. This is what humans are……]

“Probably not running away.”

[What? Then what……]

Decarabia is about to express disbelief.

Behind him, he hears Highbro shouting.

“You worthless bastards, get out all the candy you’ve got!”

The three Baskerville brothers regained their strength after drinking from the blood fountain.

However, they themselves knew well that their weakened bodies were of little help to Vikir.

A person who understands a topic well can be of great help in solving problems, regardless of their level of power.

Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro created an atmosphere of fear and tore up all the extra strange candies the commoner students had in their possession.

The insectking were happy to oblige.

“My lord, we’ve got candy, come on!”

Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro placed the candy at the mouth of the sandbar and quickly retreated.

[Those guys, they’re good for something?].

“So you reaped.”

Vikir nodded toward the triplets.

He could see their faces light up.

Quack, quack, quack!

The flames of inferiority spewed by Dogma began to burn the entire sandbar.

The grains of sand melt into a sticky substance, emitting a glittering light.

“You’re quite strong for a majin who appeared so early in the game. I hope we don’t have to face you again.”

If it’s bad enough that a mere Dogma-level human was demonized, what if a human with hero-level power and potential was demonized?

It was horrifying to think about.

Soakduk-

Vikir unleashed an aura and severed one of Dogma’s ankles.

Grumble!

As soon as he felt his body was on fire, he jumped into the shallow water and took a dip.

The water of the Black Sea was cold and heavy enough to chill even Dogma’s hot inferiority complex.

…Boom!

Waves bursting with explosions, and a huge amount of water vapor.

Vikir ran across the sandbar to avoid it.

Grabbing the candy the triplets had thrown at him, Vikir swallowed it whole.

The status bar immediately changed.

<Vikir>.

-LV: 1 (%)

-Title: ‘Gutter Rat Hunter’, ‘Hell Dog’, ‘Daylily Lumberjack’ (NEW)

-Stats.

↳Strength: 260 (+40) = 300

↳Agility: 229 (+31) = 260

↳Stamina: 269 (+31) = 300

↳Physical Resistance: 1

↳?: (unlocked)

↳Reflexes: 1

For now, he has his Strength and Stamina at 300, and his Agility stats up as high as they can go.

‘I’ll save the rest of the candy and use it to get the ‘big three’ stats.’

The little remaining candy was stocked up for now.

For now, it was enough to raise his strength and stamina to 300.

…Wiggle!

His strength was much stronger than before, and he was ready for the day of Beelzebub.

Even though he hasn’t leveled up, his stats have risen considerably, making him more powerful.

This was enough to inflict a fatal wound.

Flash!

4th Baskerville Form. Compared to the 8th, it’s child’s play, but Vikir’s 4th is different.

Even CaneCorso, a master of the 9th Form, recognized the 4th Form of Vikir.

His skill was unrivaled.

Puff-puff-puck!

Four teeth ferociously ripped at Dogma’s throat.

[gigi- keugh!]

Dogma vomited up a huge amount of blood.

The bubbling blood immediately sank to the bottom as it hit the surface of the Black Sea.

[He-agghhhhh!]

Enraged, Dogma relentlessly chased after Vikir.

Vikir calmly entered the sea and lured the dogma away.

Bwaek-bwak!

Dogma, whose wrists and ankles were cut off by Vikir spinning around his body, fell into the water of the Black Sea.

“Cool off there.”

Vikir cut off the rest of Dogma’s limbs so that he could not escape.

Struggling.

Dogma struggled with tremendous force, but with only his head, body, and tail left, he was unable to pull himself up.

The water was just deep enough to completely submerge Dogma’s body, so he continued to sink until he was less than half a foot from the tip of his nose.

“They say the water in the Black Sea is not buoyant.”

Vikir swam up onto the sandy shore.

He could see the water bubbling in the distance, indicating that Dogma was struggling.

But the water is just deep enough that Dogma can’t keep his head above water.

Black water, water that must sink once it falls into it.

Vikir stood on the beach, keeping a close eye on Dogma.

……Finally, how much time has passed?

Bubble Bubble Bubble- Puswiiiiig-

The water stopped boiling.

The erupting steam was gone.

The water was once again calm.

The thing struggling inside was dead.

“……Drowned.”

Vikir muttered in a hushed voice.

-Ding!

The sound of mission completion was heard.

-Ding!

[‘Level 1 Warrior’ Vikir has successfully hunted the first ‘A+ Ranked Majin, ‘Inferiority Like Deterioration’]!

[‘Awesome’ achievement reward granted!]

<Mission End> – Let’s kill a Majin!

-Majin (1/1)

※……??? ……How did you really catch this one?

Next, a fairy appeared, its complexion hardened.

It lifted Dogma’s cold body from the black water and stuck out its tongue.

The fairy swooped down to Vikir and offered him his reward for capturing the demon.

[ Ah, you did it all by yo ur se lf ? ]

It was 10 level candies.

A strange, golden, glowing candy fell into Vikir’s hand.

[ Th at’s it ? ]

“Wait.”

Vikir called out to the disappearing fairy.

“Do you have access to a candy store?”

[ Wh at ? Why ? ]

“I want to sell level candy, with normal stats.”

The fairy scratched its head.

A normal challenger would collect 300 normal stat candies to buy one level candy.

But for Vikir, it was the other way around.

At most, Vikir would trade 10 level candies for 3000 regular candies.

For the fairy, it was a transaction that had no reason to refuse since it was a surplus business.

Soon, Vikir had over 3,000 regular candies in his hand.

Most of them were red strength candies, as candies are traded at random.

Including the ones from the commoner students and the insectking, there were just over 3100.

‘It’s gacha time.’

Vikir continued to feed the little madam on his shoulder with stat candies.

[Nyamnyamnyamnyam- hack hack hack-]

The little madam ate the candies, excited to see if it tasted good.

Eventually, she ate all 3,000 candies and pooped out 30 candies.

Vikir was disappointed when he saw the colors of the candies coming out of the little madam’s butt.

Mostly red strength candies, blue stamina candies, and the occasional green agility candy.

But it’s obviously better to increase Strength by 100 than to increase Agility by 1, so Vikir’s gacha continues to take a heavy toll.

By this point, Vikir had burned through all 3,000 candies.

The harvest is about 10 agility candies.

The rest were all power and stamina candies that were no better than crap.

There are only 90 candies left, so he can’t run the gacha anymore.

“No luck this time. No, this is how it’s supposed to be.”

Vikir decided to give up cleanly. He knew his expectations were too high in the first place, so he shouldn’t be too disappointed with the outcome.

…… Just then.

“Lord. I still have 12 candies left.”

Highbro grabbed a bloodstained candy from somewhere and held it out.

“What’s this.”

“These are the students on Dogma’s side that he killed when he was demonized earlier. I dug them out from under a pool of sap.”

Vikir nodded. He hadn’t realized it, but this would allow him to spin the gacha one more time.

‘I hope it’s not Strength or Stamina again. If it’s any of the three stats, it’ll be great….. and if it’s not, it should at least be Agility.’

Vikir fed the little madam another 100 candies.

Then.

[kkeung-]

The little madam began to twitch.

And then.

…pop!

A candy dropped onto Vikir’s palm.

It was the purest, whitest candy he’d ever seen.

-<Strange Candy> / Magic Resistance / White

A candy that increases your Magic Resistance stat by 1.

Tastes sour.

+1 to Magic Resistance

Eventually, Vikir’s mouth drew a line, even if only slightly, when he saw the candy’s explanation window.

“Lucky.”

Good, but not just good.