Ascension of the Nephilim



Emeros spared no time and absorbed the energy of the Krampus as he dragged the body inside the tent.

The moment Emeros entered, he scanned the room for any object.

The first that he saw was a dark orb placed on the pedestal.

"A Dark Core!"

Emeros was shocked. Dark Elemental Cores were objects of power and magic! There were numerous ways to imbue and merge with these. 

Kyros had numerous powerful cores, including the Cores of the Okto-Khefali. As for his allies, the Nephilim Sealing Temple had ways to provide the team with such cores.

When Kyros was separated from his team, the Emberdons improved the formula of the Dark Core using their special knowledge and the knowledge given in the Library of the Nephilim. When the Temple's level was increased later, they improved the Cores to the Mid-Grade level.

Emeros knew for certain that this was a very unique item in this part of the world.

The world did not use Cores but often stocked magic through other means. The Fire ore bombs and other materials were what the kingdom used in replacement of this magic technology.

With Emeros's knowledge of Mage Rorcast, he knew that even Champions don't use Cores but would often find numerous magical stones known as wizard stones that can contain magic.

But Emeros knew better. If Emeros could find a high-quality Wizard Stone and a Soul Source, he could create an Elemental Core!

Never did Emeros think he would find an Elemental Core!

"Why did the Imp Demon leave it here? Unless..." Emeros observed the orb and noticed many dark bindings on it.

"A devil binding spell... This orb only submits to one who the Fallen bestows it... Oh, wait... This place shouldn't have Fallen. Then a Fallen Spawn or the Spawn of a Fallen Spawn. But if it's bindings and vows... then..." Emeros confidently reached out to the orb.

The orb began to tremble as Emeros held it.

The binding spells of the powerful demon were enraged as a hand not worthy had touched it. But as it rebelled, the spell realized that the holder was not a stranger. The inheritor, the legacy holder, the Prince, was touching it!

The orb trembled in submission and suddenly began to merge!

Emeros was surprised. He had read about how people would merge with the Elemental Cores in Kyros's life.

In Kyros's first lifetime, he absorbed Cores and knew how to bring them out. The rest were taught how to, but Emeros didn't have time to practice.

But the Core merged within Emeros's body, and he felt an energy surge. This was the power and energy of the orb!

---

Dark Houdou Core obtained!

---

Dark Houdou Core

A magical elemental core with a sealed Huodou Soul.

Provides Dark Fire Elemental Magic.

Effects:

+20 to Mana to Core user

Minor Fire Resistance

Minor Dark Resistance

Spells:

Dark Flame Manipulation

Dark Flame Weapon Enchanting

---

Emeros saw the stats and couldn't help but tremble. He was taking more steps to be closer to Kyros!

"Of course, that freak naturally had Fire and Dark Resistance... I'm still far off. It seems that this orb only provides me with the ability to wield dark flame. But this also opens up a whole new avenue of spells... However! I don't know any of the specific dark spells that this can be used! If only there were a book or something! But Imps don't have books, do they?" Emeros sighed.

He then turned to the side where a pit was laid. It looked like a bed.

Next to it was a strange book glowing with magic energy.

It read, Grimore of Imp Devilkin Spells.

"...So they do have books!" Emeros praised.

He took the books and quickly scanned for whatever there was left. He found precious ores which he could identify and seven Wizard Ores!

"Wizard Ores! If I use the smelting powers of this, I could create a Wizard Stone!" Emeros was delighted. He took the basket and began to make way his way out.

As he left, he saw several Kallikantzaros approaching.

They saw the wounded Puk and were enraged as he was leaving the tent of the Demon Imp!

"Krampus mad! Fire there! He shouts for you, but you have no answer! Order me to take things out of the tent because fire!" Emeros spoke in Imp's tongue and mimicked the Puk's voice.

The five Kallikantzaros were startled at the words and saw the fire behind them.

Without thinking, the rest ran towards the flame. The fire was intense, spreading fast, and they no longer bothered what the Puk was doing.

With that, Emeros made a run for it and found primitive backpacks used to carry baskets. Emeros covered the basket he was carrying with a lid nearby and went his way out of the camp.

At that time, Perment and the rest had already retreated. They had already used the last bomb as Emeros lit the flames.

Because of the massive explosion, those at the front line didn't notice the fire behind them until the Kallikantzaros decided to make a report to the Krampus.

Hordes of imps and gremlins chased Perment and the rest. Everyone was wounded and ran towards the place where a trap was prepared.

A barrel made with a flammable liquid that Emeros mixed was spilled and lit up, which created a wall of flames that blocked the path of the imps.

The path back was a long way off as they had to run to the underground river nearby and take a deep breath to remove the stench.

And then, they made their way back to the secret base.

Several minutes later, the group was now hiding back at the secret base.

Brent and Tyra were exhausted and could not move from the fight. They had numerous wounds, and they even ran out of potions.

But what horrified them was Serena. They saw her bite and kill many monsters and drink their blood.

Serena did not sit down but, like the rest, followed on their training of juggling small rocks with blades.

"You guys should also continue in training. Our stats can increase to the next level as we push them to the limits. Vitality will increase if you keep tiring yourself out. Dexterity through this. And the daily battles are strength training. Get used to these tiring activities." Wesret told the two.

Perment nodded and began to practice his juggling. He was the most exhausted among the group as he was not used to physical battles despite his high stats.

The doors soon opened, and Emeros walked in carrying a bag.

"How was it?" Perment asked.

"I could only burn so few. But I think I took out a third of their food and burned some weapons and armor. I also painted numerous orc words on the walls to make them believe that the orcs did it. So, I'm sure that the war between the orc and the imps will start soon. This region will be free…"

"So we can leave this mine?" Brent asked.

"And then what? Be killed? They still think that I am responsible for this. I made it look like I was using Emeros for some secret mission and did many sketchy things. No doubt, reports of me smuggling weapons inside are heard. Most likely, we will still be blamed as the cause of this!" Perment shook his head.

"But… we did stop the battle?! Shouldn't we be rewarded?!"

"Naive little girl. You two suspected Emeros and me to be the cause of this. Would you both forgive us so easily? Now that many have died? Not to mention, I already have enemies, and many would blame us for ruining the Duke's business and the hope of this kingdom to be one of the best in the tri-planet."

  "Exactly. We can't go out yet. Our plan is to hunt the remaining mages. And if possible, capture at least two and present the corpse of the other two along with their books."

"This should be easy. You've already killed one, and we are now at the stage where we can challenge and wound level twenty creatures!" Perment smiled.

"It won't be that easy." Emeros shook his head.

"It won't?"

"These four mages were all cursed by the same power source and have become the new seals. And because of that, they know that one of their own has died. They are surely preparing and will be acting more aggressively. And yet, we must attack them. And unlike those other levels of twenty creatures, the remaining ones are quite strong. Worst, they may have sought an alliance with each other."

  "Then… this is a very dangerous mission. We won the last time through sheer luck. But against two or three together, we won't be able to do much." Serena spoke.

"And that is why we need to prepare. First, we must go on a hunting expedition to explore the other regions and find out where they are hiding. This means we might have to explore the other monster kingdoms here."

"So this was the plan! You want to explore the orc region!" Perment realized it.

"Yes. With the chaos in that region, we should be able to sneak in!"