Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

William commanded his summons to tear into the creatures before they could reach the people huddled in the center.

Most of the beasts that showed up early were weak, easily ripped apart by his summons. With every kill, XP funneled straight to William, slowly pushing his level up.

It felt incredible. He didn't even have to lift a finger, yet he was still getting stronger. That was the best part of having an army at his command.

"What the hell is that noise?" Turk asked, scanning the treeline, trying to pin down whatever was grating on his nerves.

He scanned the area, finding nothing. William checked too. Empty.

Then it clicked—the sound came from above.

A massive creature dove straight for them. A giant red bird with four wings, its body pulsing with that same demonic corruption. Its eyes were burning coals, and it screeched without stopping.

"It's fucking huge!" Turk stumbled back, fear written all over his face.

William hadn't expected a monster this strong either. The creature was Level 75. Higher than him.

"This thing is strong," William said, his voice dropping. "I'll handle it myself. My summons will guard the group. Deal?"

Turk nodded quickly. "You sure you can take it?"

William didn't answer. He triggered his demonic energy, shifting into his battle form.

Dark power coiled around him, solidifying into living armor. It looked just like the corruption on the local beasts, but controlled.

Two massive wings tore out of his back. In a heartbeat, he launched himself at the bird, ready for an aerial dogfight.

"Impressive..."

The word slipped out of Turk's mouth as he watched William shoot into the sky.

Fighting the bird in the sky—its domain—was going to be a pain. But it was the only way.

Hitting it from the ground would be impossible. Plus, William needed to draw it away from the group. One area attack from that thing would wipe out half the people below.

So he took to the air. Once the bird locked onto him, William shot away. He craned his neck a few times, checking behind him.

The bird decided to follow. William was now prey. He exhaled.

"Plan worked."

Even with a head start, the creature was fast. Its four wings pounded the air, eating up distance in seconds.

At that rate, it would catch him in no time.

But that wasn't a problem. Once he was far enough from Turk and the others, William stopped. He hovered in place, waiting for the creature to come to him.

The beat of the bird's wings alone kicked up a gale that whipped at William's clothes and hair.

It was so strong he struggled just to hold his position in the air.

The bird's maw gaped open as it bore down on him, channeling a spell.

A massive fireball formed, big enough to look like a miniature sun. The heat was intense—sweat beaded on William's forehead instantly.

The orange flames shifted, corrupted by demonic energy until they turned black. It looked like William's own black fire magic, but on a terrifying scale.

William's confidence faltered. He couldn't block that. A direct hit meant death.

The bird launched the fireball. It screamed toward him. Even if he bolted, the blast radius was too wide. He couldn't outrun it.

Down on the ground, Turk had climbed a tree for a better view. When he saw the attack, his heart hammered against his ribs.

"How the hell is he gonna dodge that?"

The fireball closed the distance. William had one card left to play.

Just before impact, he triggered his portal skill. He vanished, reappearing yards ahead, completely bypassing the explosion!

The attack kept going until it slammed into the earth. A massive detonation. A gigantic crater opened up, incinerating everything in its path.

Even the sky changed—heat clouds formed above the blast zone.

Turk blinked, trying to process what he'd just seen. "How did he... Teleport?"

William exhaled. "That was too close."

He'd nearly been fried. If not for his portal skill, he'd be ash.

The bird wasn't stupid. The creature stared at him, clearly shocked its attack had missed.

Time to strike back.

William didn't wait. He shot forward, closing the distance while the bird was still recovering from its missed attack.

His sword gleamed with dark energy. He poured everything into his next strike.

The bird screeched and dove at him, claws extended. It was fast—but William was faster now that he was in his demonic form.

He twisted mid-air, dodging the claws by inches. His sword flashed.

The creature was massive, making it an easy target. The slash connected with its chest, but to his shock, nothing happened!

The feathers were iron-hard. It was like striking a solid stone wall. The blade skidded off, not even drawing blood.

"What the hell?"

Before he could recover, the bird lunged with its beak. William raised his sword to block, but the size difference was insane. It was like an ant trying to stop a hammer.

The impact rattled his bones. William shot toward the ground like a missile, crashing through trees and plowing a trench into the earth.

Pain flared through every inch of his body. He had to grit his teeth just to push himself up.

The beast was stronger than he'd anticipated. This wasn't going to be a quick fight.

He looked up, ready to dodge a follow-up attack, but the bird was retreating.

That massive fireball had drained it. It was winded. Seeing its nuke fail, the creature decided to cut its losses and flee. It banked hard, flying straight toward the city in the distance.

William let out a breath. He wasn't sure he had the strength to break through that defense anyway.

*

Turk didn't know what to do. He'd watched William get swatted out of the sky. That impact would have killed anyone else.

But he noticed something. The skeletons and golems were still active, still guarding the group.

"Does that mean he's alive? Should I go check?"

"Worried about me?" William materialized behind Turk.

His body was banged up, but nothing serious. The demonic energy coating him had absorbed the impact when he plummeted.

"Saw the whole thing from up there. Damn, thought you were a goner." Turk let out a breath. "That thing was a beast. You see where it headed?"

Turk had watched from the treetop. The city on the horizon—that was their destination. And the bird had flown straight for it.

"Yeah. We'll deal with it when we get there." William brushed off his clothes. "Let's move before something else nasty finds us."

They rounded up the group and pressed on toward the city.

It took them three days to reach the city.

The group couldn't march all day without stopping. They needed rest. Sleep.

Along the way, they fought plenty of creatures. All the same—corrupted by demonic energy.

William never spotted the bird again. And nothing else was strong enough to give him real trouble.

But while they trekked, Zanyi hadn't been sitting idle outside.

Lucas and Thompson had to help him with the magical rift that opened near the city—kept up appearances. Inside, they found the key Zanyi had been hunting.

"What's that?" Lucas asked, playing dumb as he watched Zanyi pocket it.

"Oh, nothing special. Just a key. Might open a chest or something." Zanyi let out an awkward laugh. "I'll look into it later. What matters is we sealed the rift. No more beast attacks. The city's safe now."

"Yeah, exactly." Lucas nodded. "Now, let's go check out that place?"

He meant the mysterious farm where the inheritance entrance was. Where William had already gone.

"Sure, let's go." Zanyi's eyes flickered with interest. "Nobody was there when we checked before, but maybe we missed something."

Obvious. Now that he had the key, he wanted to open that massive door underground.

Lucas and Thompson went with him, following the plan William had set up earlier.

*

Banners jutted from the earth around the city's outskirts. Bodies too. Skeletons still clad in rusted armor.

A massive battle had been fought here. Long ago.

William and the others picked through the old battlefield, their feet crunching over the bones of fallen soldiers.

The city loomed ahead. Built entirely of black stone. Despite the years, it stood intact—no visible damage, no cracks.

William didn't know what to expect. The bird he'd fought was in there somewhere. But what else?

This place held the secrets of his class. The secrets of the inheritance.

It also held danger.

Everyone was afraid to enter. Even the warriors Turk trusted most.

Getting this close, feeling that aura—the fear took hold. Death felt near. Watching them.

Turk and William had to rally them. Give a speech. Push them forward.

"You're all here for a reason." William's voice cut through the silence, loud and clear. "We're taking that inheritance. Every last one of you gets the demonic lineage. We build a new kingdom—peace, prosperity. No more hiding from magic beasts!"

Something ignited inside them.

A collective roar erupted, and they charged toward the city gates.