?The rays of emerging dawn reflected on theke''s serene surface. Theke''s water was sparkling unnaturally. Around it were hordes of monsters. Some were resting, some frolicking, while some were ying with each other.


    Unlike the rest of the forest where monsters fought for supremacy against each other, the surroundings of theke painted a peaceful picturesque scene.


    My brows furrowed looking at the scene. I was standing on top of a tree to scout the situation from far away.


    pαndα,noν?1,сoМ ''The number of monsters is over 200. It''s more than I anticipated.''


    In human settlements, the rumors of Lake of Purity foretold about theke''s ability to purify evil beings by burning them. However, that was a lie. Theke had no such ability.


    Those rumors were created and spread by the ruling ss, the nobles, to hide its actual ability. Although the monsters guarding theke prevented stragglers from using theke and finding its worth, the nobles'' cautious nature made them weave the rumors and manipte the public into believing them.


    ''I should get to work.''


    The sun was peeking from the horizon and I decided to climb down. However, I didn''t move for a few good minutes.


    ''I climbed the tree easily, but how do I climb down?''


    —


    I was massaging my back while rushing through the forest. Indeed, I skipped the narration of my descent down the tree. But I did not do that because I almost broke my back after falling. Nothing like that happened, definitely not.


    Through the corner of my vision I could see a considerable number of monsters only a few hundred meters away. Yet, the monsters did not attack me. Part of the reason was the sound-nullifying trait of forest and part was theke itself.


    Lake of Purity can dissolve magic stones and the mana they contain into itself. This allows those who enter theke to absorb mana directly from the water. Absorbing mana with this method shortens the time needed for advancing through Mortal Awakening ranks.


    Advancing from 1st Mortal Awakening to 2nd Mortal Awakening can take anywhere from 3 years to 5 years, depending on one''s talent. Likewise, the amount of time required for reaching 3rd Mortal Awakening after 2nd Mortal Awakening is roughly 5-10 years on average. If correct conditions are met theke allows one to reach 2nd Mortal Awakening within 1-5 days! And 3rd Mortal Awakening in 3-5 weeks!


    Theke was the reason why the Empire and its nobles clear the outer section of the forest of the monsters regrly. Under the guise of protecting civilians, they use theke to advance their loyal subjects and heirs in a short span of time!


    It wasn''t all rainbow and sunshine, though. There was a reason why the Empire used theke only asionally. The cause were the monsters. The monsters using theke rotate daily with those in the middle section. In other words, a new batch of monsterse to theke every day.


    Even if the Imperial army defeats the monsters guarding theke, they will have to fight new monsters the next day, and again new monsters the next day and again and again. Not only does this cycle continue, but it gets worse. The ascended rank monsterse out of the middle section if the horde of monsters going to theke keep getting killed. When that happens, the Imperial army no longer has a chance to win. They''d get ughtered.


    Thus, the Imperial army and the nobles only attack once every few years to avoid enraging the ascended monsters resting inside the forest.


    It took me a few minutes to reach my destination. I was hiding behind a tree with an enormous trunk. Behind me were two small hills. The path between the hills blocked anyone from attacking from the sides and I was nning to use it.


    I took out the Crown of Massacre from my bag… and wore it.


    <<Bonding with the item ''Crown of Massacre (Cursed)'' in progress>>


    "Ag..rghh"


    My eyes turned bloodshot. Veins protruding on my neck almost seemed to burst. My breathing turned heavy and a cacophony of strange noises erupted inside my mind.


    <<1%... 4%.... 5%...18%....>>


    Kill Burn Murder Destroy Rage Annihte Demolish Obliterate Decimate Wreck Devastate Ruin Shatter Smash Crush Ravage Deste Conquer Consume Overwhelm


    <<25%... 40%.... 59%...89%....>>


    Murder Kill Kill Destroy Kill Murder Kill Destroy Kill Kill Destroy Murder Kill Burn Murder Burn Destroy Burn Murder Burn Burn Burn Murder


    To stop the voices from dominating my mind, I held my sword in inverted grip. I took deep breaths.


    Haaaah—! Haaaah—!


    And with a swift motion plunged the de into my right thigh.


    "!!!"


    Unbridled pain shot through my body. Waves of intense heat pulsed through my body with the injury as a central point. I clenched my jaws tightly to stop myself from shouting.


    After what felt like an eternity the voices dulled.


    <<...100%!>


    <<You have sessfully bonded with the item ''Crown of Massacre(Cursed)''!>>


    Ding!


    —


    <Crown of Massacre><novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Grade: High-Epic


    Kill Points: 00


    Description: The crown stores the resentment of those it has killed. It uses resentment to empower its user.


    *Note: The crown has been afflicted with the curse of madness and bloodlust.


    —


    The voices finally shut-up. It allowed me to take a breather and apply the first-aid on my injury. I checked my wound and sighed in relief. The wound wasn''t deep. I won''t have any problems in fighting ahead.


    Originally, my n was to gather the Coins and buy ''Grace Dew''. After that I would purify and use the crown. But I realized my naivety. I was going to fight hordes of monsters without a back-up. Each of those monsters was stronger than me and a single stray attack was enough to kill me.


    It was humiliating but this was the truth. As of now, I was weak. So, I decided to use the crown.


    The crown cannot be used until it is purified or I have a way to counter the curse. But that wasn''t my goal. Even without being purified the crown will store the numbers of kills. This way, the moment I purify it, I can use it inbat. If I went with my original n, I would''ve gained the kill counts only after purifying it. It would waste all the monsters I was going to kill until the crown was purified.


    ''It will take at least 5-7 days before I''m consumed by the bloodlust.''


    I closed my eyes and listened. The voices hadn''t vanished yet. However, they were barely audible. I had a week before I would lose my sense of self to the crown. It was more than enough. I would gain the Coins to purify it today itself.


    Everything was in ce. I sighed softly and muttered.


    "Release"


    ——


    Monsters flocked to theke of purity in droves. If one was toy their eyes on the scene they would see monsters of all kinds. Bears, kangaroos, typus, zebra, crocodile. The monsters had simr appearance to the animals from Sol''s 2nd life. There was one major difference however. These monsters were massive and frightening to look at.


    Average size of these ferocious monsters went from 3-5 meters to some reaching tens of meters in height. The towering giants covered the area surrounding thekespletely. The monsters numbered less than 300 but more than 200. It was the size of a small army.


    The fact that the majority of monsters consisted of 2nd Mortal Awakening rank and around 50 of them were of 3rd Mortal Awakening rank was even more terrifying. The numbers were enough to wipe out several cities and towns.


    Sol was looking at such a scene with a focused gaze. A whisper left his mouth.


    "Release"


    Three great boars appeared from the cards, in the middle of Sol''s current location and the monsters inhabiting theke. The boars wererge and intimidating, roughly the size of a mini truck. Saliva spilled from their mouth and they charged into the monsters of theke.


    At first the monster did not pay attention to the great boars. They were their own kind, the monsters thought. The great boars however didn''t seem to think the same. With another roar they shed with the first line of monsters!


    Surprised shrieks erupted. The two massive tusks of the boars impaled different monsters each. Flinging their heads aggressively, the boars threw the monsters into the crowd! A frenzy took ce!


    Ding!


    <<You have in Duckbilled Quack, 1st Mortal Awakening>>


    <<You have in Greenfoot Horsie, 1st Mortal Awakening>>


    The monsters finally responded. They growled and circled the three aggressive boars. But despite the numerical disadvantage, the boars didn''t retreat. Instead as if the impossible odds were a sweet nectar, they didn''t hesitate to dive into it!


    Against tens of monsters there wasn''t much the three boars could do. The result was decided swiftly. Yet, the boars killed two more monsters with their dying breath!


    Ding!


    <<You have in Toothhorn Beck, 1st Mortal Awakening>>


    <<You have in Dwarf Giraffe, 2nd Mortal Awakening>>


    <<500 Coins awarded!>>


    << +4 Kill Points! >>


    || +250 Life Points ||


    The monsters were infuriated! The peace in the vicinity of theke was broken! Their anger turned to the boars and they stomped on them… but the boars vanished into thin air!


    They searched for the enemies but found nothing! Amidst their confusion, a distinct shout echoed. It was a human voice.


    "I''m here, my points!"


    A ck haired human was taunting them!