Chapter 19

    The Fire Demon, Efrik

    'Shield Charge'

    400

    "Run away, we can't beat it."

    It was Teppanyaki as he rushed to the front of the group and slammed his nearly two-meter-tall shield into Efrik, making it stagger briefly and switch its attack to him.

    "It seems the fire on its body is a problem, Möbius."

    Inari, who was watching the battle, helped Möbius analyze the fire demon they were facing. The flames around its body acted as protective armor, repelling almost all magical and close-range attacks. Normally, hunting Efrik requires a large group with many gunmen and water mages because the fire on its body poses a significant challenge to many classes.

    "Miho, use a scattering fireball. Spread out and detonate it around its body, focusing on the explosion rather than the fireball. Everyone, take cover behind Teppan's shield before the explosion and then attack together afterward. Ms. Tempura, boost Teppan’s strength, and Inari, take care of the rest. Everyone behind Teppan, hold your breath when you see Miho’s fireball."

    Möbius instructed rapidly. Although the group of the five Japanese Food didn't fully understand what he was planning to do, nothing else sounded as planned as this. So, they quickly followed it. Tempura, the priestess, moved close behind Teppanyaki and cast a healing spell on the young warrior who was using his shield to protect everyone behind him.

    At that moment, Gumiho summoned a multitude of fireballs. Though they were large, their flames seemed unusually dim. She hurled them around Efrik, which then exploded in a sequence precisely around the fire demon.

    Boom, Boom, Boom!!!

    300×9

    Whoosh.

    Following the explosions of the fireballs, the blazing flames on Efrik's body miraculously extinguished, leaving the Japanese Food group staring in bafflement at the scene. However, they quickly regained their composure when Möbius shouted loudly.

    "Now. Attack!!!"

    The Japanese Food group charged forward, each utilizing their unique abilities in a dazzling display of elemental powers before unleashing them through their weapons at Efrik. Their attacks—Sashimi's sword slashes, Teppanyaki's shield bashes, Kujikatsu's radiant arrows, Shabu-Shabu's large water orbs, and lastly, Möbius's relentless gunfire from his Thompson gun to the target—caused damage to surge like a fountain.

    "What happened, Möbius? Why did the fire on Efrik's body go out?"

    After Teppanyaki, the leader of the group, fell back to the defensive line, he immediately turned to the young man and asked him, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, although it wasn't really the right time to ask. It seemed impossible that Miho's explosions could have extinguished the fire on Efrik. Before he continued to hold his breath like the others, until his face began to turn green.

    "Ah... you can breathe now. I used the explosive force from Miho's magic to push the oxygen away from Efrik. Without oxygen, there's no combustion, and without combustion, there's no fire. This is called fighting fire with fire."

    Möbius took a deep breath after finishing his explanation. Although he wasn't sure why he suddenly thought of this, it was a timely recollection. Extinguishing the fire on Efrik had ignited a new fire in everyone's heart, boosting their confidence that they could survive together. Kujikatsu even exclaimed,

    "Genius. With this, we can definitely take it down."

    However, their joy was short-lived as Efrik soon reignited the flames enveloping its body, appearing more frenzied than before. Instead of advancing, it jumped back nearly 10 meters and raised both its hands into the air.

    Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh.

    Numerous fireballs appeared in the air around it, growing larger by the second, especially a massive one above its hands that expanded faster than the others, reaching a diameter of more than 5 meters in just a blink of an eye.

    "Everyone, be careful, it's serious now. Let's regroup."

    The young man quickly called his new comrades, who had spread out to attack the target, to regroup urgently. Inari had mentally communicated to him that Efrik's imminent move was definitely a powerful final blow, prompting Teppanyaki's group to swiftly retreat as they had begun to trust in Möbius.

    "Big Bang."

    Inari whispered the name of Efrik's move softly as numerous fireballs floating in the air swiftly converged towards Möbius's group, followed by a larger fireball hurled at them. Shabu-Shabu could only pray internally for Teppanyaki to be able to withstand this assault, otherwise, they would surely be scorched.

    But it was Möbius who ran forward, in front of Teppanyaki's shield, and summoned a multi-barreled machine gun integrated onto a cylindrical metal rod that allowed it to spin, enabling the weapon to discharge bullets at maximum speed. It was the Gatling gun, capable of firing up to 4,500 rounds per minute, and it quickly fulfilled its purpose.

    Whizz... Bang, bang, bang, bang...

    The gun's barrels, driven by a large motor, rotated rapidly before discharging a dense hail of bullets at the small fireballs that were approaching, intercepting them and causing them to explode mid-air before they could harm him. It worked well with the small fireballs, which exploded easily. However, this was ineffective against the larger fireball, which, despite absorbing many bullets, refused to detonate.

    "Be careful, Möbius."

    The clear voice of Gumiho sounded from behind the young man, as she ran forward, twirling her umbrella. She gently nudged the giant fireball with her umbrella, redirecting it upwards, making it roll like a massive ball on top of her spinning umbrella. She immediately warned everyone behind her about the imminent violent event.

    "Everyone, grit your teeth, this is going to be a big blast."

    After speaking, Gumiho quickly pushed her umbrella upwards, sending the giant fireball high into the air before rapidly closing her umbrella and striking the fireball like a baseball. The fireball flew towards the cave wall in the distance. As soon as it hit the wall, it exploded violently.

    Boom... !!!

    Although she had thrown the explosive far away, the tremendous blast still caused nearly a thousand damage points to appear above the heads of Teppanyaki's group, who were hiding behind the large shield. They all fell to the ground from the shockwave, while Möbius, despite using Gumiho's umbrella for protection, also suffered considerable damage.

    "Stay calm."

    Inari used her fan to create two intersecting gusts of wind that emitted a soothing scent and enhanced healing, helping everyone to fully recover their strength. They all took large gulps of their yellow and blue potions. Fortunately, it seemed that Efrik was also worn out from using his ultimate move, leaving only a thin layer of fire on his body.

    "Phew... Next time we might not be so lucky. We need to deal with it as quickly as possible,"

    Gumiho, slightly out of breath, told Möbius. She had expended much energy in delaying the explosion of the giant bomb when she hit the fireball against the wall, unsure if she could handle another such powerful blow with her remaining strength.

    "Everyone, be ready. This time, let's hit it with everything we've got."

    Möbius looked over at the Japanese Restaurant group who were now positioned. However, Efrik didn’t wait for another attempt to follow the plan and charged in to deal with the bothersome large shield-bearer first, with a loud roar.

    "Hmm..."

    "Hold your breath, everyone."

    Möbius shouted to everyone before stretching out his right hand and releasing a scattering grenade from his palm at the charging Efrik, simultaneously preparing to fire his Gatling gun.

    Boom, boom, boom...!!!

    The fire on Efrik's body was extinguished again by Möbius's hand grenade, similar to the first time. Although the hand grenade was less powerful than the fox girl's magic, it succeeded because the fire on Efrik had weakened from the exhaustion of using his final move.

    At that moment, Sashimi's sword glowed green. His high agility was due to his affinity with the element of air, pulling the surrounding air to enhance his weapon. The sleek sword was sheathed, before its owner dashed forward as swift as the wind, circling to Efrik's back at high speed. The sword was drawn with a speed that even the wind couldn't catch, striking the target in an instant.

    3000

    Teppanyaki, holding a large shield, charged forward. A brown light coated the front of his shield, from which small grains of sand emerged and merged into dozens of sharp spikes. When the large man reached the front of his target, he stomped on the ground forcefully, propelling the large, spiked shield against the target with great force.

    1500

    Kujikatsu slightly crouched down and squinted towards the enemy in front. His left hand held the bow horizontally while his right positioned an arrow in the quiver comfortably. Suddenly, a large amount of electricity surged through the right arm of the archer, enhancing his movements to superhuman speed, causing arrows to be fired rapidly at the demon in front of him.

    150×20

    Meanwhile, Shabu-Shabu pulled out a magical water jug, which held much more water than it appeared to, designed for water mages in water-scarce areas. She had enchanted it earlier, and with a gentle tap of her wand on the jug, a vast amount of water surged out and coalesced into a dragon that struck the enemy.

    4500 (Critical hit from element)

    The last young man, seizing the opportunity, pulled out a machine gun with a tremendous rate of fire and sprayed bullets at the wounded demon. Although his shooting was poor, his ability and the frequency of fire compensated, embedding numerous lead bullets all over Efrik's body.

    10×353

    15×132 (Critical hit from ability)

    The combined attack from Teppanyaki's group and Möbius quickly stunned Efrik. The young man secretly hoped this would happen, looking towards Gumiho and Inari and then pointing upwards. Seeing this, both knew what he wanted and immediately released a large number of fireballs towards the ceiling.

    Boom, boom, boom!!!

    Despite the ceiling being bombarded with numerous fireballs, it did not achieve the desired effect. Möbius, holding the Gatling gun, immediately sprayed bullets again. Although the Teppanyaki group was puzzled by his actions, they trusted there must be a good plan. As soon as the bullets hit the target he aimed for, Möbius retracted the Gatling gun and pulled out his handguns to shoot at the ceiling while simultaneously activating his special abilities.

    Repeat shot + Gravity shot – bless

    The bullets, slightly covered in a black aura, shot towards a large stalactite above Efrik's head, which was conveniently dazed. When the bullet hit the center of the stalactite shaped like a giant spearhead, a spherical magic circle enveloped the entire stalactite, greatly increasing its weight. This was combined with the two foxes attacking the ceiling around the stalactite exactly as Möbius had planned.

    The large stalactite fell rapidly from the ceiling, its dark shadow quickly enveloping Efrik. Even though it had recovered from being dazed, when it looked up, its eyes widened in alarm as a huge stalactite was precisely poised above its head.

    Boom...!!!

    45,000

    The weight of the stalactite crashing down on Efrik caused the entire cave to tremble, with a great cloud of dust billowing from where Efrik had stood. When the dust cleared, a large pile of rocks was seen burying the body of the fire demon beneath.

    "Wow, I can't believe it. We've actually defeated the boss Efrik."

    Tempura was about to run over to see what had dropped from Efrik, but Inari, looking worried, held the priestess back. Although the priestess and everyone in the Teppanyaki group seemed overjoyed, it was before Möbius raised his hand to stop them from approaching.

    "Don't be careless; there's no confirmation that it's dead yet. Everyone regroup quickly."

    “Hmm...”

    Suddenly, the pile of rocks exploded, scattering rocks everywhere, revealing Efrik, more ablaze than ever before, bursting forth with numerous fireballs hovering around its two raised hands—a signal that it was about to launch its deadly move again. The light from the flames shone as brightly as the last flicker from a candle, definitely not to be underestimated.

    That it survived was because, in the final second before the sharp end of the giant stalactite could pierce Efrik's head, it had used its horns to catch the stalactite instead, breaking the horns it was so proud of in place of itself. If the stalactite had struck it directly, it surely would have died.

    Everyone was stunned that the fire demon was not dead and was preparing to unleash its deadly move again. However, unlike everyone else, Möbius had run towards the explosion from the start, determined to deal with this boss once and for all.

    "Efrik, no matter how hard you try, you cannot escape the justice of the system that I, Möbius, and my comrades-in-arms will enforce upon you."

    "Are you crazy? What are you doing, Möbius, come back."

    Teppanyaki shouted to the young man who had just charged into the exploding rock cluster. With that speed, if he got hit by even one rock, he wouldn't be able to get up for sure. Before he seemed about to run after him, unlike Inari, who was casually sipping a potion and winking at one young warrior before proudly stating,

    "Don't worry. As you see, when Möbius gets serious, he's really capable."

    Möbius dashed forward with all his might, quickly positioning himself in front of a multitude of hurtling rocks. His gaze fixed solely on his target, even though it seemed far away. With his abilities, he was confident that he would reach it.

    Cronos

    Upon activating this ability, his thoughts accelerated, making everything around him, including himself, seem to slow down. With just a glance, he could accurately predict the trajectory of any rock.

    Grativa

    At the same time, a magic circle just the right size appeared under his feet, indicating he had cast a spell on himself to reduce his weight to a minimum, allowing him to agilely leap through the air, using the incoming rocks as platforms.

    Seeing his small but swift adversary approaching, Efrik unleashed countless tiny fireballs at him. However, the young man's expression remained unaltered, even though his eyes reflected the numerous fireballs that could kill him with a single hit. Yet, nothing could obscure the determination in his gaze.

    "Futile. Even a powerful demon like you cannot stop me."

    He dodged a fireball then summoned his dual pistols into his hands. Agilely dodging left and right, he leaped onto mid-air stone platforms, moving as if he was dancing among hundreds of suns streaking past him.

    Efrik, now fearful of the diminutive human not even half its size, used the remaining small fireballs to form a net-like barrier and hurled it at Möbius, who was charging towards him. It quickly gathered energy to create a massive fireball atop its head to obliterate everything, including itself.

    Möbius rapidly fired his handguns at the fiery net in front of him, blasting a meter-wide hole through it. Now, only this net of fire stood between him and Efrik.

    "Be prepared."

    He pushed the anti-gravity powers of Grativa to their limit, using the last rock as a makeshift rocket base, launching himself as a rocket through the hole in the fiery net in a thrilling maneuver. His right-hand gun transformed into a Cosmo Custom, loaded with water-elemental crystals, and the barrel glowed with intense white light.

    Bang, bang, bang!!!

    Several blue bullets struck Efrik in the neck and head area. The water properties of the bullets not only inflicted significant damage but also extinguished the fierce flames around that area.

    As the young man charged toward Efrik, he grasped the remaining right horn of the beast with his left hand, using his feet to step on the vertebrae like stepping stones. His eyes locked with Efrik's at close range while he aimed the gun in his right hand at the forehead of the large fire demon, before loudly declaring and firing the last water crystal bullet with a fatal blow.

    "Return to where you came from."

    Cool shot

    Boom... !!!

    26,000 (Critical hit from an attack on vital spot and element)

    The blue bullet, glowing brightly, shot from the muzzle of the gun and hit Efrik squarely in the forehead with such force that the giant demon was thrown back. The fireballs it had summoned disintegrated instantly. Möbius then kicked off from the beast, cocking his gun to launch himself back to where Teppanyaki's group watched in awe.

    "Watch your back, Möbius, it's still... !!!"

    Tempura shouted loudly at Möbius, as Efrik was slowly rising again. However, the young man didn't even bother to look back; instead, he casually snapped his fingers, producing a clear sound.

    "Blame whoever dragged you out here."

    Pop

    Boom... !!!

    10,000 (Critical hit from element)

    As he finished speaking, the second stage of the Cool shot activated. The bullet embedded in Efrik's forehead exploded into a giant ice block that engulfed the entire body of the fire demon. Then, Efrik's body and the ice disintegrated into a shower of light particles, accompanied by a system announcement:

    ‘Congratulations, Mr. Möbius and team members, you have successfully eliminated Efrik.’

    ‘Your level, Mr. Möbius, has been raised to 36.’

    ‘Your level, Gumiho, has been raised to 40.’

    ‘Your level, Inari, has been raised to 43.’

    "..."

    Teppanyaki's group was dumbstruck, unable to speak, as they had not anticipated that they could defeat this boss, but it seemed the man in front of them had managed it single-handedly.

    Shush... something fluttered down and landed on the ground in front of Möbius.

    "Eh…What's this?"

    He stooped to pick up a shimmering golden square piece of paper that seemed to have been sent specifically to him, which he never expected to be anything valuable since the system's sense of justice often played tricks, sending him useless items. But as he picked it up, it transformed into a shower of light and absorbed into his hand.

    ‘Player Möbius has acquired the ability to summon Efrik.’

    Ability Window

    No.

    Name

    Ability

    12

    Summon Efrik

    Allows the summoning of the fire demon Efrik. The summoned demon will not disappear unless the ability is canceled, the demon's life force is depleted, or the demon uses its final move (uses 1200 MP) (1-day cooldown from when the fire demon disappears).

    ***Only those recognized by Efrik can acquire this ability.

    "Amazing... Möbius, you have received recognition from Efrik too."

    Kujikatsu said, still in shock. Receiving acknowledgment from such a powerful fire demon is extremely rare. Even the Arc Magic Federation, which has battled Efrik repeatedly, has never been recognized or granted the summoning abilities that Möbius now possesses.

    "What exactly does this 'recognition' mean?"

    Möbius, who was completely new to the game, asked curiously, tilting his head.

    "It's like how I have accepted you and followed you, but the difference is that you earned my acceptance due to special conditions, whereas Efrik's acceptance is because of your power. But allowing Efrik to wander around the city would cause no small amount of damage, right? So, the system has made it a summoning ability like this."

    Inari whispered softly into Möbius’s ear, showing him a rose pendant around her neck to examine closely, indicating her own condition was about asserting ownership, which as the fox mother, she has the right to decide whether or not to accept someone as her owner.

    The loot from Efrik included nearly 40,000 Ryo, a fire element crystal, a Level 6 Fire-infused sword, a pair of Level 6 boots, and a piece of jewelry that reduces damage from fire attacks. Möbius only claimed the fire element crystal for himself, leaving the rest for the Teppanyaki’s group to divide among themselves, believing he had already obtained the best item.

    "Let's head to Paradiso City, Möbius."

    Gumiho, eager to leave the hot dungeon, gently shook Möbius's arm, reaching into the young man’s bag to grab a cold potion to enjoy casually, just as Inari did on the other side.

    As they walked from the dungeon towards the city,

    "Mr. Möbius, which federation do you belong to, to be this skilled?"

    Sashimi, who greatly admired Möbius for his intelligence, leadership, and strength, thought in her mind that he must surely be affiliated with a large federation.

    "Not at all. I'm just a regular player, and I have no intention of joining any major federation."

    Möbius's response left the members of the Teppanyaki’s group slightly taken aback. After that, they no longer asked him about his personal affairs. The young man, who was now traveling with a group that had every profession covered, felt incredibly at ease because he hardly had to do anything. Whenever monsters appeared, Sashimi, with his new fire sword, would strike first. If any survived, they would meet a flurry of arrows from Kujikatsu at high speed, greatly accelerating their travel pace. They soon saw the sunlight at their destination.

    "Ah, it's really comfortable. Next time, let's not go into that mine, Möbius; it's way too hot."

    Gumiho was the first to run towards the mine's exit, unable to stand the heat. She thought that even walking while eating shaved ice was still hot enough to make her sweat profusely.

    "My dear, Miho, that’s the only mine that's this hot because it's next to the volcanic city we just entered."

    Inari followed, holding a cup of shaved ice in her hand, explaining to her daughter before flipping her hair to dry the sweat.

    "Wow... so beautiful."

    Teppanyaki, who could now see the two foxes clearly, was astounded. In the dim light of the mine, he wasn't sure, but now in the sunlight, the beauty of both women shone so brightly that he couldn’t stop staring. Even the usually stoic Sashimi was caught sneaking peeks at them intermittently.

    "Um..."

    Tempura, usually confident in her own appearance, instantly lost her confidence upon seeing the two women clearly. She was also annoyed that Teppan, who normally only had eyes for her, was now not blinking while looking at Inari and Gumiho.

    "Uh, little Möbius, what’s the relationship between you and those two ladies?"

    Kujikatsu, sensing that Gumiho might be the type of woman he found very appealing, asked in a very friendly tone.

    "He is our owner. He owns us both."

    Inari replied as she approached and wrapped her arm around Möbius's in a seductive manner, leaning her beautiful face against his shoulder, which seemed to surprise him as well.

    "Mom, not again, I told you we have to share Möbius."

    Gumiho, seeing her mother clinging to Möbius, hurriedly grabbed his other arm.

    It was as if a knife had struck the hearts of the three Japanese Food men as they realized the beautiful women in front of them were already taken. Yet, they had to accept it, realizing that although Möbius seemed ordinary, with plain clothes and unarmed, they did not want to be his enemy after seeing his battle with Efrik.

    "Hehe, see Tempura, we told you not to worry."

    Shabu-Shabu talked to her friend because she could guess that Inari and Gumiho were definitely something special to Möbius. Although initially unsure, after witnessing Möbius's skills, she was convinced.

    The two Japanese Food ladies walked off to join Möbius, leaving the three heartbroken men, still reeling from the painful sight to head towards Paradiso City, not far from the mine. They lamented why the system's justice would allow two beautiful women to be with Möbius but wouldn’t send anyone to love them.