Everything began to subside. Kraugel also realized that Reinhard was finished with the Archdolls.
This Holy Knight Commander is quite amazing. I heard it takes a full group of Rank A adventurers to defeat just one Archdoll.
[ Report ]
[ Master, it is recommended to immediately devour the soul of the individual Kyuze for further power enhancement ]
"You can do that, Hermit?!"
[ I can ]
"What do you need me to do?"
[ Normal physical contact is enough, Master ]
Kraugel brought his hand closer to Kyuze's deceased body, receiving a notification:
[ Report ]
[ Soul Point has been evaluated & confirmed ]
[ 10,000 Souls have been consumed ]
[ Would you like to evolve the Unique Skill - Hermit with those Soul Points? ]
"Hmm... Yes, of course!"
[ Permission granted ]
[ Beginning process, please do not lose consciousness ]
Right after Hermit said that, Kraugel's head began to ache uncontrollably.
T-This! What the hell! My head feels like it's being crushed by rubble! It hurts! It's so heavy!
He began to sit on his knees, clutching his head, until Reinhard, who came to him, looked worried. A few minutes later...
[ Report ]
[ Process declared complete ]
[ Unique Skill - Hermit has successfully evolved into a Named Skill ]
Named Skill?? This is the Skill we talked about before, isn't it?? Hermit?
[ My apologies, Master, please call me Solomon for now on ]
Eh? Your name...
[ That's right, I have successfully evolved into「Wisdom King - Solomon」 ]
[ Some Sub-Abilities that have evolved and been newly added for your benefit are: ]
[ Soul Corridor, which I have connected and arranged to your advantage, allowing you to share sight, Magus Energy, & emotions with individuals who are close to you to a certain extent ]
[ Then there's Information Analysis, which I am proud to say can acquire knowledge about any object or individual you do not know, as long as the object, knowledge, or individual does not have a Class above me ]
[ Dial Guards have also been added. Whenever any projectile or attack is analyzed by me and confirmed to be capable of even a scratch ]
[ I will automatically use Thought Acceleration up to 10 times your previous reaction speed ]
[ I also have more freedom to control your other Skills ]
Wait!... I think there's one thing you didn't mention. Your way of speaking has gotten better, hasn't it?
[ That's just your imagination. More importantly, I can now offer you several upgrade options ]
"Oi oi! You're changing the subject!"
"E-Excuse me, Sir Kraugel, are you conscious now?"
Unknowingly, Kraugel had been awake and had his eyes open for about 3 minutes but had not reacted at all to Reinhard's voice. Reinhard was still worried, waving his hands in front of Kraugel's face.
"Are you really all right? I truly underestimated the potential you've been hiding. You just defeated a newly resurrected Archdemon. It would take at least a Rank S adventurer to defeat him."
"N-No, I'm fine. You're really over-praising me. By the way, are you okay yourself after fighting so many Archdolls?" Kraugel asked.
"Ahahaha, I'm fine! The Holy Knights' uniform is equipped with [ Bless of Virtue ], which we Holy Knights learned during training. It ensures that even severe wounds won't instantly kill the user of the uniform."
"Hahaha, you guys are too overpowered. Go report to the King; I'm sure many are waiting for you," Kraugel said.
"Khahaha, very well then. I will report your achievements to His Majesty. Then, I'll take my leave to report."
Reinhard ran quickly, leaving the room inside the dome, but just as Kraugel took a slight breath of relief, he was startled by the arrival of someone standing on the large hole in the dome's wall—the same hole made by the previous shot.
The person who surprised him was a girl with long white hair, two prominent fangs, blood-red eyes, and an ancient noble's dress. She greeted him...
"Kwahahahahaha, so you're the one who defeated this Archdemon, huh?"
"You, who are you?" Kraugel asked.
"Kwahaha, my name is Silica! The son of Ducheos! I'm a Vampire, at the highest class too!"
This kid... just from my Magical Perception, I can tell right away. She's not an ordinary individual; her magical power is overflowing like a giant bonfire.
"No need to be so cautious! I'm not here to fight, anyway. I'm just interested in you. Ah yes, I don't know your name yet." Silica said.
"Kraugel, just call me Kraugel."
"Fumu, Kraudel," Silica said.
"Kraugel."
"That's what I said, Kraudel," Silica insisted.
"K-R-A-U-G-E-L."
"YES! Krauĝel! Enough! By the way, your fight was so quick, wasn't it? It felt quite long when I was in the middle of the Stampede earlier," Silica said.
"You! You were fighting in the middle of the Stampede?!"
"Eh-eh??? Yeah, why?" Silica asked.
"Did you see a little girl with silvery-white hair and wolf ears on her head?"
"Hmmmm... hmm... I think I remember. Ah... yes, yes. The one who moved so fiercely! I tried to advise her, you know! But she said, '
Eh-eh... eeee~ it seems Gumi really listened to my previous advice...
"A-And is she okay?"
"Of course! She was quite interesting, you know; she's a unique Lycanthrope!" Silica said.
"What do you mean 'unique'?"
"Well, because from her physical and non-physical appearance, she seems stronger than other Lycanthropes. But this kind of thing isn't my expertise. I'll introduce you to my friend who's quite an expert on this kind of thing. He's been quite busy lately," Silica said.
"Eh, w-whatever then."
"By the way, earlier..." Silica leaned her face closer to Kraugel's.
"W-What is it?"
"You consumed his soul, didn't you?" Silica said.
She knows?!
"I thought you were a human from your appearance, you know. I was thinking for a moment that there was another human who could rival Minute in his prime," Silica said.
"Prime? Race? What are you talking about?"
"Ah, just forget about the man I mentioned. But about one thing, only Demi-Human & other creatures can become stronger by consuming souls, you know. Humans can only get stronger by training, training, and... well, maybe a few other limited paths. Hmm? It seems our chat time is up. You're probably going to be inaugurated as some kind of Hero, just like Minute, hahahaha. We will meet again someday."
She left by the same way she came, leaving Kraugel sitting alone, leaning against the dome wall.
She's gone, huh? And the two people behind the alley wall I detected earlier have also left, following her. Servants of some kind, perhaps?... Fuuh~ it seems my life is getting even heavier...