My companions and I pushed past the heavy gate, entering a huge, cavernous room. It was still dimly lit, similar to the hallways of the prison, with flaming braziers leading up a huge, black and red stairway. Pillars of darkened stone lay on either side of us, creating a natural pathway forward. A massive, black throne lay at the top of the stairs, and a similarly sized green monster sat idly, as if he could’ve been having more fun doing literally anything else.

  [You have entered the domain of Ragnar, the Goblin King. Be warned, he will definitely eat you!]

  We warily made our way forward, but stopped in our tracks as the Goblin King began to speak with a deep, commanding voice.

  “Finally, some entertainment.” He boomed, standing up from his throne. He was easily twice the height of Zorrack, even with his Warrior’s Might skill activated. He had a massive wooden club, as well as a suit of golden armour. He wore a spiky helmet, sharp bones protruding from the top like a porcupine. Red cloth hung from his neck and groin area, and attached by a chain at his waist were numerous hollow skulls. Perhaps from adventurers who had failed to complete the dungeon.

  “Focus! This one seems strong.” I said, readying my stance, and preemptively sharpening my claws. The two Lesser Fire Spirits hovered near my head, ready to attack.

  [Dragon’s Will]

  The aura of fear that had crippled the goblins outside the throne room emanated from Azazel’s small frame, but the Goblin King continued to stroll forward casually.

  “It seems like that trick won’t work on this guy,” The dragon spat.

  I turned to Zorrack, ready to give orders, but he was already charging in headfirst.

  “Die Goblin!” He screamed, activating his skill and growing larger. He slammed a powerful fist into Ragnar, landing a direct blow to the Goblin King’s chest.

  The Goblin didn’t even flinch.

  He casually swatted the demon away with his club with a sickening crack, and Zorrack careened into a pillar on my left. The stone crumbled instantly, rubble cascading down onto my companion.

  “Zorrack!” Fang yelled out, concerned.

  This thing is the boss of a common dungeon?!

  [You better let me out.]

  Not yet.

  “Zorrack, can you still fight?”

  The demon stuck out a single thumb from the rubble, signaling he was still okay. With that, I leapt into action. I mentally commanded the two spirits to attack, and they flew ahead of us, throwing small fireballs into Ragnar’s eyes. He swatted at them with his off hand, but they were too nimble for him to hit, dodging in and out of range like a pair of insects. Without hesitation, Azazel joined me in the assault, running up from the right side.

  [Dragon’s Rage]

  The blue aura clad Azazel’s body, and he flew upwards with his tiny wings, clawing at the Goblin King’s arms. However, his armour was sturdy, producing a high-pitched screeching sound as Azazel dragged his claws against metal. I ran forward from the left side, dodging underneath a low sweep of Ragnar’s Club. I sliced into his ankle as I passed by, drawing a splatter of bright red blood. He raised a foot, trying to stomp down on me, but I rolled away behind him.

  [Willing Host]

  I aimed the buff skill at Zorrack, who had climbed out from the remains of the pillar. He activated his skills, growing in size and strength. The demon glowed with a red aura, and I could hear him arguing with Joshua out loud.

  “Are you always this annoying?!” Zorrack shouted, holding an arm out to block the heavy swing of the Goblin King’s club. This time, Zorrack held his ground, although his feet slid against the throne room floor, creating two trails of upturned stone. Azazel took advantage of the opportunity, joining the fire spirits in an assault on the Goblin King’s eyes. The dragon spun through the air, slashing at Ragnar’s eye socket, and the Goblin screamed in pain.

  “You insolent demons!” He cried out, clutching his now mutilated eyeball. He staggered backwards, and that's when I struck again, leaping high into the air. My muscles coiled tighter, and I could feel my reflexes sharpening. Time seemed to slow as I plunged both claws into his right arm, embedding deeply into his flesh with a sharp crunch. Blood sprayed ike shattered glass, splattering all over my bare chest and face. The strength behind the blow shocked me, causing more damage than I had anticipated.

  Maybe my power rating increases my base stats as well?

  Fang joined me, biting into the same right leg that I had cut into previously, causing the bleeding to thicken into a torrent of red. Ragnar howled in pain, then activated a skill of his own.

  [Whirlwind]

  A gust of wind emerged from the Goblin King, sending all of us flying backwards and snuffing out the two Lesser Fire Spirits. I tumbled against the ground, bouncing a few times before slamming into a pillar. The stone cracked, but did not break. My HP lowered dramatically, but slowly recovered due to my innate regeneration and the bleed damage from Bloodrazor Claws.

  “You fools dare come to my territory and challenge me, Ragnar the Goblin King?! You will not live to regret your decision!” He screamed with rage, and two gates on either side of the massive stairway began to raise, whatever mechanism controlling them creaking like a doorway that hadn’t been greased in years. Roughly thirty goblins streamed out, a handful of them being Hobgoblins. Each side also had a goblin bearing a tattered red flag mounted atop vicious, snarling Wargs.

  “We’ll see how you handle this!” Ragnar shouted triumphantly, activating a second skill.

  [Goblin King’s Command]

  The goblins cheered, glowing with power from their King’s skill.

  But what he didn’t realize is that this was exactly what we needed to win.

  Are you ready, Joshua?

  [Hmm? Oh, I almost fell asleep.]

  [Parasitic Manifestation]

  The withered copy of me took shape, and once again, I was face to face with Joshua’s new form. “We just need to kill enough to get to level five!” I shouted, and Joshua nodded, sharpening his claws and running forward. Despite only possessing a quarter of my stats, he was a lethal weapon and clearly had battle instincts that I sorely lacked, being just a normal human back in my world.

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  He ran through the horde of goblins like a bolt of lightning, slicing through limbs and other body parts as he made his way towards the Warg Rider on my right. The corpses fell unceremoniously in his wake, and I watched as Azazel, Fang, and Zorrack dealt with the other horde on the opposite side of the throne room.

  “Is that all you got?!” Joshua yelled gleefully, leaping over the mounted goblin, severing its head in one clean motion. Since he was my skill, I received the full exp amount rather than the lower amount whenever a friend or follower killed something near me.

  Huh, I guess I really did get luckier.

  A panel appeared directly after the new quest message, signaling that I had satisfied the conditions.

  Then, my body began to glow with a bright light.

  The battle came to a screeching halt, both allies and enemies alike staring at my figure as I slowly transformed. I felt myself growing taller, approaching Zorrack’s height. My arms and legs grew longer and thicker, clad with muscled fibers. I felt an odd sensation on the top of my head, and I could only guess that it was due to the short horns growing alongside the rest of me. The light coalesced, blinding all those in attendance and illuminating the dark throne room, then suddenly faded with a flash.

  [You have successfully evolved into a Greater Demon!]

  The intimidating aura trait immediately came into effect, as the goblins around the throne room began to quiver, falling to the ground. The Hobgoblins stayed unaffected, however, but were quickly cut down by Joshua, Zorrack, Fang, and Azazel. Joshua was even more powerful than earlier, dashing from goblin to goblin in a blur. It seems he had also gained a buff from evolving into a Greater Demon.

  “What is this?!” Ragnar exclaimed, his eyes worriedly darting back and forth between me and my companions, who were easily decimating his reinforcements.

  I strode casually towards the Goblin King, no longer feeling threatened by the towering mass of green flesh. “How about a deal, big guy, surrender now, and I won’t kill you.” My eyes glimmered threateningly, although I didn’t really feel like killing the poor Goblin. It wasn’t his fault that he was the final boss of the dungeon after all.

  Hopefully, the dungeon will accept his surrender as a defeat and let us out of here.

  But Ragnar didn't give up quite so easily. He slammed his club downwards, aimed right towards my head...

  The club came to a screeching halt, and Ragnar gazed at his weapon, utter confusion spreading on his face.

  I stood, casually holding his attack at bay with a single arm. “Surrender, and I will let you live,” I repeated.

  Ragnar stared down hesitantly at me, then knelt, dropping his club to the floor. He opened his mouth to speak…

  I never had the chance to hear his answer.

  His head tumbled from his body, rolling like a bowling ball down to my feet. Ragnar’s lifeless eyes stared up at me, his jaw agape in shock. His hulking body fell to the ground soon after with a heavy thud, and I looked up at the perpetrator.

  Joshua stood, back turned to me, claws soaked in blood. He angled his head to the side and spoke calmly. “You’re too soft, Carter.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you!” I raged, “He was surrendering! And he would’ve made a good ally!”

  The parasite didn’t even bother to turn to face me, and the timer for the skill ran out as his body slowly withered to dust. “You don’t need them,” He began, his head the last part to crumble away, “you have me.”

  I’m never letting you out again.

  [We’ll see about that.]

  Still frustrated, I turned to face my companions, who were now celebrating our victory. Blood stained the floor like a carpet of fire, and I nearly slipped as I made my way over to them.

  “Good work!” Zorrack exclaimed, hugging the small Warg. Fang wagged his tail, licking at a wound on Zorrack’s arm. Azazel smiled, or at least, that’s what it looked like. On the dragon’s face, it seemed more threatening than anything.

  He climbed back onto my shoulder and almost immediately sensed that something was wrong. “Are you alright, brother?” He asked worriedly.

  “Fine,” I replied, “just annoyed.”

  “Because of that skill you used?” The dragon said knowingly. I only nodded in response, not bothering to elaborate.

  Suddenly, the world around us disappeared, and we found ourselves back in Mount Boom, directly in front of the Warg Den.

  A second part of the Ruler set, and I leveled up twice. Fairly successful, even though I wish I could’ve recruited Ragnar…

  [It’s for the better.]

  Shut. Up.

  I deliberated for a few moments on what to do with my two level-ups, then attempted to upgrade the Willing Host class skill.

  [Class skills can only be upgraded through class upgrades!]

  Damnit.

  Instead, a different idea formed in my mind.

  [Command Lesser Demon has evolved into Command Greater Demon!]

  [Command Greater Demon cannot be evolved without satisfying the requirements!]

  Hmm, I guess I’ll upgrade this instead?

  [Summon Lesser Fire Spirits has evolved into Summon Greater Fire Spirit!]

  I inspected my newly evolved skills, nodding approvingly as I read their descriptions. They seemed rather potent, and I had a good idea for what I should do next.

  It’s time to return to Hell.

  follows, ratings, reviews etc. help outa ton as I try to hit RS!

  [No one cares, dumbass.]