My SSS-Rank Class Is Blood Monarch!

For the first hour or so, the trip was very quiet and smooth. Arthur and the others didn't encounter anything dangerous or out of the ordinary, and it put the boy at ease. He wished for this particular trip to go as smoothly as possible until they reached the floating island.

He knew that he would need every single person alive before walking into that place. He knew that as much as he hated it, the chances of people dying were extremely high, and he wanted to minimize the losses as much as possible.

'This is the entire goal of the trip, to minimize losses and make sure I can save as many people as I can. Well, that's a lot easier said than done.' Arthur exhaled a small breath of exhaustion as he looked up.

The scenery hadn't changed much from the moment they left except for the shipwrecks starting to become more scarce in number, indicating that they were slowly leaving the graveyard.

However, apart from giving Arthur more vision, it didn't really serve much of a purpose. The darkness of the void was suffocating enough to keep him on his wits end the entire time, and no amount of wide open space could change that.

"This game could win an award for the best horror game ever made. The feeling of fear is always suffocatingly real." The boy said.

Everything in Divinity Online felt real, down to the smallest details. So, even when Arthur thought it could never be that terrifying, it proved him wrong again and again. The sheer nightmares he had witnessed in the short period of time he had spent in this game was enough proof that Divinity Online can be an extremely horrifying game.

As the group marched in silence, Arthur suddenly picked up a weird noise coming from behind him. Immediately, he stopped and looked back. His hand was on his sword, ready to react in case of an attack.

'Something is there.' Arthur thought to himself as his eyes grew sharper. 'My senses have improved quite a bit. I can sense the presence of things more accurately.'

"Sir?"

"Everyone, pull your weapons out, we have company." When Arthur said that, Germa quickly nudged for the team to move, and so immediately, almost 200 fighters took formation, protecting the weak core of the group and staying on guard, looking in every direction.

Arthur didn't move his eyes from the spot where he heard the noise as he started taking steps forward.

"Be careful, sir."

"Don't worry, I kn-"

In a split second and while Arthur was mid sentence, the boy's vision was obstructed as something appeared out of nowhere.

*BANG*

"Sir!"

A large collision shook the entire area as a cloud of dust rose in the air. Germa immediately tried to rush forward.

"I-I'm… Fine… Get off me!" Arthur spoke through the dust as he swung his sword, sending the monster flying back.

Swinging it again, the wind carried away all the debris and gave him his vision back. There, he saw a hideous lump of flesh standing before him. It looked quite similar to the other hideous monster he had fought except that this one looked far uglier with its body parts compressed into one disgusting amalgamation of flesh.

"Another one of these things. I guess that was expected." Arthur took a fighting stance.

"I will kill it, Germa. Keep your eyes on the group and make sure nothing else attacks us."

"Understood."

After hearing that, Arthur activated Exo-Burst immediately and disappeared. Then, like a formless ghost, he appeared right near the monster with his sword piercing through the air as it traveled to the monster.

The creature screeched as it also used the same ability.

"No, no, you aren't going anywhere," Arthur muttered. as he shifted his grip on the sword and stabbed down. The sword pierced the ground as a layer of ice exploded in every direction, quickly covering the area around the boy.

It all happened almost instantly, so the monster couldn't move far enough, and its feet slipped, making it appear again.

'They might be able to use Exo-Burst, but they're from smart.' Arthur snickered and closed the distance between them, gliding on the ice with immense balance.

The monster tried to quickly stand up, only for it to slip again, unable to stand still on the ice. The nature of this ice made its disgusting body struggle to remain stable. Its ever-moving flesh proved to be a disaster to its center of balance, almost like an unwanted mutation it was struggling with.

So, the moment Arthur reached it, he was able to easily stab the sword into the monster's heart, killing it on the spot.

[Ding!]

[You have killed Level 54 'Human Chimera'.]

[+5 Health, + Mind.]

[You have gained 2 levels.]

[+4 Bonus Points.]

"Nice," Arthur muttered. Then, he absorbed the monster's blood using his Blood Eater skill, gaining 5 more points, 3 in health and 2 in presence.

'My presence attribute is falling a little short behind everything else. I still don't understand what it does exactly, but I'm sure it's beneficial in some way down the line.' He shrugged as he closed the menu and turned around to go back to the group.

Luckily, he found them all waiting for him as they kept their guard up. Nothing had attacked them so the situation was very calm.

"Did anything happen, Germa?"

"No, sir. We are fine." The man replied. "Did you get injured?"

"No, it was actually pretty easy."

'Too easy, actually. Having Exo-Burst had made me so much stronger, even though I'm not that far off from what I was a day ago.' He thought to himself.

The previous battle with the Human Chimera almost killed Arthur, and now he can kill one in basically three moves. The sheer difference was huge.

'I'm getting there, step by step.' Smiling faintly.

"Ok, let's resume moving. We have a long trip ahead of us." Clapping his hands, Arthur brought everyone's attention back to the goal. The trip was supposed to take at least a day on foot or longer if they got hindered. So, Arthur wanted to move as quickly as possible.

No one disagreed, and quickly enough, the group was on the move again.

Slowly, they passed through the shipwrecks, and eventually, they left the graveyard behind, and the vast space of the void opened its arms wide for them. Suddenly, the entire world was before their eyes, and it felt a little… intimidating.

Before, the shipwrecks worked as a way to protect them in a sense. Now, all of that is gone and anything that decides to attack them will find an easy way in. So, naturally, everyone raised their guard even more.

"What a god-awful place. It almost feels like the more we walk, the closer we get from the bottom of this hell." Arthur shuddered with a frown. The sheer discomfort this world gave him was outstanding.

It was almost like he was truly walking through hell itself, unable to recognize any of its features.

"Hell doesn't need the devil, does it?"

A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let's keep it up!