Category: I Never Run Out of Mana

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142. Trade with Belkoseu

“Do you know how I lasted in the demonic realm?”

“……”

“This body was not meant to become one of the demonic chiefs or the demon king. At least it was? I was a low ranking monster, similar to the Puppet Goblin that travels with you.”

“Sounds like you’re talking about a past far away?”

“However, now I have become someone that even the demon king wishes not to face. Isn’t that strange? Despite being on the lowest of the food chain in the past, now I am able to stand as equals against the demon king. All monsters have their powers determined at birth. So is the amount of magical energy they can hold……”

“Is it because of your Authority?”

“Kuhu. Guess your race are quick on the uptake. That’s right. Thanks to the Immortal’s Authority, I have made it this far. My first death and kill activated it. I wouldn’t lose to any attacks, and I was able to retaliate against my foes after reviving. However, that wasn’t enough….. Even with my undying body, if my capacity for holding magical energy was low, I would be cursed to live an eternity as one of the weakest creatures.”

“Then, perhaps…”

“That’s right. The monsters that I kill, I can take all their magical energies.”

“So why are you telling me this?”

Belkoseu was far more dangerous that I thought he’d be.

Right now, the conditions required for his growth was not met, but he had enough latent potential to take the title of demon king easily.

Not only immortal, but he had an infinite capacity for growth.

However, to become stronger, he would need strong monsters as sacrifices for him.

For example, those monsters would need to be strong as Zekill or Berdan.

From what I heard from Belkoseu, I assumed that his offensive capability was pathetic at best.

It would make sense, since if he was only able to reach this far with an ability like that, then his attacks had to be weak.

That must be the reason why he wanted to trade with me.

With immortality and a lacking offensive capability, he would be stuck as a weakling for eternity.

With his eyes glued to me, he continued to speak.

“I’ll be straightforward.”

“Yeah. No one likes being overly complicated.”

“Human, become my ally. Obtain what you wish from me.”

“What I want….. The eradication of monsters in the human realm, right?”

“Didn’t you say that’s what you were fighting for? If I become the demon king, I shall do just that.”

“Hm…… Then what do you want in return?”

“I’m glad that we’re on the same page. I want your strength. Use your strength to bring me powerful magical energies, so that I can absorb it. If you do so, I shall defeat Ladin and Jamon that you cannot defeat.”

“I have only taken down the Lich King. You’re judging my powers based off of that?”

“Pfft. You know humility, human. However, how will you explain the magical energy flowing within you? As I said before, I can sense the magical energies of Zekill and Berdan. To put it shortly, it means that you defeated them.”

“The ability for monsters to read magical energies is quite annoying. To think that my lie would be exposed so quickly. So, you need my strength?”

“That’s right.”

“You know how you told me to gather magical energies into you?”

“……”

“What exactly do you mean by that? Do you want me to bring monsters like the Lich King to you?”

“With monsters weak as that, it’s hard to anticipate much growth for me……”

“Then?”

“What I need are monsters born into the fate of becoming the chiefs. Even now, many are being born, and I need their strength…..”

“So you’re not interested in other monsters?”

“That’s right. I think I understand what you’re trying to ask me. When I first saw you, I found one thing amusing.”

“…….”

“Something poured out from the Lich King’s defeat. And it seemed that whatever came out, it was precious enough for you to have your servant rush collecting the items in question.”

“As with your astute observations, I admit that that is one reason why I am agreeing to become allies.”

“The items that pour out only do so if monsters are killed by humans, right?”

“Ha…… You’re sharper than I thought. Seems I’ll need to keep my mouth shut.”

“I shall promise that as well. It doesn’t take much effort to summon monsters of that ranking. Whenever you want and as much as you want, you can kill them to your liking.”

“Good. However …”

“Hm…?”

“You already know how strong I am, but I don’t know how strong you are, right? I understand that you have an Authority that prevents your death. But how about you strength? Don’t you need to show me how strong you are? I can get artifacts from hunting, so there isn’t a reason to just feed you as you wish. I heard that this is how trading is supposed to work.”

“Pfft. Are you telling me to show my strength? Seems the trade is halfway done.”

“Well, you can say that, I guess.”

“Then I shall show you. Come. Give me all you got!”

“I haven’t done any practice fighting before. It could become as dangerous as real fight, ok? So make sure to not die. Don’t regret for not listening to me.”

“Kuhahat! Sure, I shall keep that in mind.”

Finishing our chat, he stopped crossing his arms and prepared to fight.

His eyes that were calm like the still surface of a lake turned into that of a prowling hunter.

It was the same with me. I didn’t have any plans of giving him leeway.

If it was possible to kill him now, I had to do so.

His offer was tempting, but helping him was akin to raising a tiger cub.

Belkoseu wanted magical energies.

Not high ranking monsters like the Lich King and such, but he wanted the magical energies of monsters with the potential of becoming leaders of their race.

I had more than enough strength to take down Berdan, so it was easily doable.

He said that he would rise to the rank of demon king and wanted to take control over the demonic realm and its monsters.

After that, he promised to get rid of monsters appearing on Earth once and for all.

However, who in their right mind would just go ahead and believe that?

I just needed him to trust me for a bit and use him as needed.

If it went as I planned, I would gain a great amount of benefits.

I would be able to obtain a vast amount of artifacts and jewels easily and without having to run around searching for monsters.

And even while I delivered him magical energies to feast on, I would be using Karin to keep tabs on his magical energy levels.

I could not stand by idly and let him grow to a point where I could no longer handle him.

Belkoseu spoke once more.

“What are you doing? Did you say that you wanted to test out my strength?”

“Rightly so……”

“Give me all you got. We don’t want to take too long and risk having the Demon King and Ladin show up to interrupt us.”

“Right. Then let’s…..”

‘Magic resistant? Physical resistance? He probably has one at least.’

I needed to find out which one he was resistant to.

I decided to open up with a physical based attack.

Casting Piercing Sword, I held tightly onto the Butcher’s Sword.

I casted Mana Shield, Reflect Shield, and Iron Skin as well.

I expected his attacks to be pathetic at best, but I needed to stay on the side of caution.

A vast amount of swords with a glowing red aura floated behind me.

Letting out great amounts of killing intent, they seemed to wait for my command.

Strong gusts of wind began to blow around Belkoseu.

I had casted Typhoon Wheel.

He was trapped within a whirlwind of razor sharp winds, spinning at an incredible speed.

With that much rotational force coupled with Piercing Sword, most monsters would instantly perish.

I was already at my limit on how many skills I could cast at once, but he would also have to take on my sword swing backed up by 3 million worth of strength stats.

Running towards him, I let forth a wave of swords behind me rush forwards.

Moving at an incredible speed, all the swords hit him directly.

Typhoon Wheel was also causing constant damage with its razor sharp winds.

While the winds were ripping him apart, I continued my assault.

-Clang!

“Damn….”

“I told you to give it your all……”

My sword was stopped by his armor.

It didn’t even pierce his body and had been stopped dead in its tracks.

Piercing Sword and Typhoon Wheel were meeting similar results.

Chipping away at his armor and cape, both attacks had failed to do any real damage to him.

Kicking him, I retreated backwards to make distant between us.

Realizing that physical attacks didn’t work, I had to make space for my next attempt.

After receiving my first attempt at attacking, he stood there with a relaxed smug grin.

It was to be expected, since he had received my first volley of flashy attacks without taking any damage.

Tossing the cape that had been shredded into a rag, he spoke to me.

“Not sure what happened there. Your attack had no effect on me. The only thing it did was to damage this cape.”

“Physical attack resistance?”

“Hm? Do humans have a lot of limitations in their attacks….”

“Are you beginning to doubt my skills?”

“Pftt. It’s too early to do so. I know you have more attacks to show.”

“You know it. It won’t end with just your cape this time, so you better be ready.”

“I look forward to it.”

My main spell, Meteor, filled the sky.

6 meteors bathed in intense black flames flew down from the sky.

I threw them at him, along with Chain Explosion and Fire Shock at the same time with my two free hands, charging at him.

That’s right. I threw my body towards him, where the meteors would land.

The meteors would deal an insane amount of damage, but as long as my Mana Shield was on, I wouldn’t take any damage from it.

The moment that Meteor struck him, Fire shock followed suit.

And Chain Explosion caused explosions of various elements to come forth from my body towards him.

With my best combination of an attack hitting him, he began to croak out a pained moan.

With these attacking working on him, it confirmed that he only had resistances against physical attacks.

“Kuhack! KUWA!”

“I told you. Told you to prepare yourself.”

“Kuughk….”

---

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140. His Loot Drops

The sound of jewels spilling out was music to my ears.

It brought me joy far beyond that of obtaining bloodstones.

Within the pile were jewels, accessories and skill books as well as weapons and armors.

Now, if those artifacts were equal or greater in stats than the equipment I was wearing, I would be able to taste the bitterness of the incredibly low success rate the jewels have for enhancement.

What was important right now was to decide which of us got what equipment.

Jong Ho and I had the same expression as we looked at the pile of loot.

It was the equivalent of children looking at their own cotton candies being made in front of them.

Hoping for my expectations to become a reality, I used Eye of Insight.

The information on the artifacts were revealed to me, but the thing that I was completely enthralled by were the jewels.

It was important to use them up first.

I urgently called Karin.

“Karin.”

“Kel?”

“Jong Ho hyung and I cannot touch these items yet, you know?”

“Keru.”

“So can you organize them?”

“Keru. I’m doing this only because we’re family.”

“But why is this goblin constantly going on about family all of a sudden?”

“Dunno. Aren’t we family though? We share meals together.”

“I mean, that’s true….. Still, it bothers me. I’m aware, but calling us his family? I don’t think he needs to keep saying that.”

“Just let him be. It’s cute.”

“Well…. Okay.”

“Kerurururu. As I had hoped for, family understands one another. Right, family?”

“Okay. I understand, so could you hurry. You can see it in Jong Ho hyung-nim’s eyes. See how impatient he is?”

“Keheh. I get it. I’ll be done quick.”

Karin moved quickly, as if he was very excited.

His small hands easily hefted up the giant artifacts.

The Awakened cannot lift weapons or armor if they lack the stats to equip them in the first place.

Forget equipping them, as this meant they couldn’t even pick up the loot.

However, it seemed that for a monster like Karin, that rule did not apply.

This meant that he could lift equipments regardless of what stat requirements they carried with ease.

I began to carefully look through the equipment that Karin was sorting out.

As I did, I made sure to note those that would be particularly useful on Jong Ho.

There were a few items in view that made me grin with anticipation.

Jong Ho merely watched my expression.

He must be predicting what the results were from my expressions.

From how pleased I was, he probably guessed that at least a few useful items did drop.

Karin, who wiped his sweat away after finishing the sorting process, spoke.

“Kehel. All done. Is this what you wanted?”

“Yep. Good work, Karin. I’ll get the fire started so that you can have your steak.”

“Kerut. No, family eats together. That’s what I saw at Min-Cheol’s house.”

“…..”

“See, I told you? Despite being annoying at times, he’s really hard to dislike.”

“I see now. Please wait for just a bit, Karin.”

“Kel. Don’t worry about me and check the drops. I noticed that Jong Ho was drooling at them before.”

“Ahem… Did anything good drop, Min-Cheol?”

“Yes, though it seems you already expected it so?”

“I got it all from staring at your expressions.”

“Firstly, I’ll identify the items that I think would be useful to you.”

“This identifying procedure always makes me tense….”

“You weren’t like this back on Earth though.”

“Back then…. The situation wasn’t this dire back then.”

“True. First, the ring over there.”

“This?”

“Yes.”

Jong Ho only picked up the items I pointed out with the utmost caution.

After all, if he accidentally picked up the wrong items, it would bind to him and become useless to me.

Jong Ho’s weapons and armor were sufficient enough already, but it was true that I neglected on getting him decent accessories.

It was because of a lack of time to prepare due to the deadline that required us to go into the demonic realm.

“Hyung-nim, what are the attributes on the accessories you have equipped at the moment?”

“Balrock’s ring…… The ring of revival that mother gave me is gone…… Other than that, nothing much of note, really.”

“I should’ve also taken better care of you in that department as well.”

“I really didn’t think much of it too, so don’t worry. But what are the attributes on this new ring?”

“It doesn’t have special effects like the Balrock’s ring, but it does raise your stats up, so try it on first.”

“Ok.”

Jong Ho took off the ring that he was wearing and replaced it with the new ring that I had pointed out.

To check out his status window, he stared into thin air.

I wished that I could see his status window as well, but this was something that you couldn’t show to others.

Only the Awakened could see their own status windows.

Jong Ho’s expression changed to that of a small smirk.

The ring that I had given him was one that raised the mana stat.

“It’s a mana ring?”

“Yes. There’s nothing as important as defense. And to keep your defenses up, you need to keep casting defensive spells. You know firsthand from fighting against the Demon King and Ladin.”

“Wew. Thanks for calling it a fight. It was more of a one-sided defeat though.”

“Well, it won’t be like that anymore. For now, I think you should be equipping that.”

“Hm… Right. It’s true that I do need mana.”

“You don’t seem that happy with it though? Did you want something specifically? Seems I’m on right on the money. Tell me what you want.”

“No. It’s true that you need mana to use shields and defensive skills.”

“Hey, why are you acting like that? Both of us can’t lie to save our hides. I can tell right now that you aren’t being honest, so go ahead and tell me what’s up.”

I could tell from just looking at his expression that he wanted something else.

Was it because the ring had no special effect attached to it?

Or perhaps he wanted a different stat on his ring?

My query didn’t last long, as Jong Ho stuttered before speaking up.

“No. I really like this ring. However…..”

“I knew it. There really was something.”

“I want to… change my weapon.”

“Your weapon?”

“Yeah. It is a weapon that gives me the most amount of mana stats, but…..”

“You’re saying that you lack physical attack skills, and the staff or wand have a short reach and isn’t suited for melee combat, right?”

“Yep…. That’s right.”

“I think I understand what you mean. For now though, we have to get your accessories sorted out. I think those bracelets in front of Karin will suit you as well.”

“Does this also raise my mana?”

“Yes. If you want to change your weapon, you’ll have to find a way to make up for all the mana stats you’ll be losing out due to the change, right?”

“That’s right.”

“If you wear these two and the necklace over there, you should be able to obtain more magic stat points than what you were getting from your wand.”

“Oho…. Okay. I’m hoping for a warrior class type weapon with the stats of a magic weapon……”

“Should I summon the blacksmith? It’s the demonic realm here, hyung-nim.”

“No, I’m just saying.”

Just like that, Jong Ho put on the accessories on his hands and neck.

Due to the equipment being merely of decent quality, he didn’t get that much of a stat gain.

The mana stat he gained from the accessories were better than the wand, but it wasn’t as good as the staff.

After equipping the accessory, his eyes lit up with life.

His expression seemed to ask for his new weapon.

“Since the accessories don’t have special abilities attached to them, it doesn’t seem like something that you should keep. But you should still use it until something better drops.”

“Yep, yep. So about the weapon? The sword?”

“It’s not a sword you’d like…..”

“Don’t play it down and hurry up!”

“It’s over there. Pijan’s Lightning Sword.”

There were 3 swords at the location where Karin had gathered the weapons together.

Each varied in size and shape, and their attributes matched their variety.

Since they were all weapons that bound on touch, the attributes on the swords were far beyond what the average Awakened could even dream of.

Jong Ho headed to the sky blue sword that I pointed out.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. That thin sword is the one.”

Jong Ho picked up Pijan’s Lightning Sword as soon as I told him.

It was a sky blue sword with the cutting edge of the sword being only 5cm.

The shape was simple, but because it had a special effect attached to it, it seemed quite useful.

Checking the attributes of the weapon, he became lively once more.

-Pijan’s Lightning Sword-

*Strength +1000

*7% of total strength increased.

*One-handed.

*Deals electric based damage.

*After absorbing a certain amount of magical energy, deals an empowered double damage attack. (30 second duration.)

“I can deal electric based attacks……”

“Yes. Looks like a type of enchantment?”

“Enchant? Can I use it, even if I’m a warrior class?”

“Why not try giving it a swing? It seems that the electric enchant is inherently built into the weapon.”

“Hm……”

“Oho?”

Swinging his sword at thin air, an effect that seemed as if an electric spell was casted followed.

Enchants were a way to add in magical attacks onto a physical damage based weapons.

It wasn’t used in high level dungeons where the mobs had high resistance against magical attacks, but it was used commonly in low level dungeons.

However, this was the demonic realm.

Almost all the monsters here have resistances.

That’s why the effect wasn’t that useful.

“Looks pretty. Not very practical though.”

“I really like the attributes on it though? I can think of it as worth half your Butcher’s Sword.”

“Yes. I was somewhat surprised as well. Must be quite the high ranking weapon.”

“Yeah. However, what about the special effect on it.….”

“I know it well, since I’ve used that special effect lots before.”

“Hm? You’ve used this sword before?”

“No. However…..”

I quietly touched the Louver’s Bracelet on my wrist.

It was one of the three items that completed a set, and could only be obtained by defeating reaper Louver.

No attributes were attached to it, but the one special effect on it was identical to Jong Ho’s sword.

It was a special effect that changed absorbed magical energy into an offensive capability.

However, that sword’s special ability was far superior to that of my bracelet.

Unlike the bracelet, which empowered one magical spell cast, the special ability on the sword lasted for 30 seconds and empowered any attack that was made with the sword.

It was a weapon that served well in filling the lack of strength stats that Jong Ho had.

And this was the demonic realm.

The magical energy that the sword wanted was found everywhere in the demonic realm, and the monsters that were found commonplace around this realm were saturated with the magical energies.

There wasn’t a better place than here for the conditions requiring the item to activate its special ability.

Jong Ho, who had been staring at the sword intensely, spoke.

“An enhanced attack….”

“It won’t affect the skills from the Balrock’s ring, but it will work on the skills and attacks you use.”

“Okay. I’ll confirm the effects in a bit. Is there anything you get from this?”

“Yes. There really isn’t an artifact that I could use.”

“What…. It doesn’t match the expression you had when you looked at the loot though? I thought something amazing had dropped and had my hopes up.”

“There isn’t any artifacts for me…… but there is something else.”

“Oh! Really? What is it?”

“You’ll know when you see it.”

---

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141. Eternal Jewel Master

As soon as I finished talking, I walked towards where the skill books were.

The skill books’ ranking were low for a Lich King’s drop.

However, there was a skill book in that pile that we desperately needed right now.

It was a skill that we’ve never seen or heard of back on Earth.

Jong Ho stared at me, unable to hold back his curiosity.

“Did any good skill books drop?”

“Yes.”

“Oh? Offensive spells? Shields? Perhaps a skill beyond ranking?”

“No, it’s not that good. It’s recovery. However, it’s not something specifically for us.”

“Huh? Who’s going to use it?”

“Over there, on the ones guarding the place outside.”

“Hm? That doesn’t make sense? You can’t use recovery spells on monsters. It doesn’t affect them.”

“Not on monsters, summoned creatures. It looks like a healing spell for summoned creatures dropped.”

“Is it a summoner class skill? As I said before, I don’t know that much about the summoner class.”

“Yes. Thankfully it’s not class restricted. It looks like as long as you have the mana, any class can use it.”

“Do you think that it would be effective?”

“…..”

“Think about it. The Devil Avatars and King Suwoo have grown to their limits already. This includes both their health and their offensive abilities.”

“Of course, they’ve reached level 200.”

“Right. However, the skill that they’re learning is only level 1. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it will help a little. But we shouldn’t expect much. I guess it’s like trying to fill a massive pool using a bucket.”

“As expected from you, but what if the skill recovers as much as the amount of mana I have?”

“What?”

“That’s why I was smirking before.”

“…..”

Without any hesitation, I put the skill book on my chest.

The skill book made a sound as if it was burning away before being absorbed into my chest.

The skill was obtained and the skill window had a new skill called Full Heal.

This was a skill that only healed summoned creatures, not Awakened, and its ability was healing as much as the amount of mana the caster had.

This meant that if someone like me who has infinite mana casts it, the summoned creatures would never run out of health.

The one thing that disappointed me was that it needed to be channeled.

Thanks to the dual casting passive, I can cast up to 3 spells at once. This meant that I had to invest one of the three slots.

Similar to my mana shield, that is.

However, this wasn’t an issue for us.

While we left the Gate for 6 hours at a time, if I healed them once in between that time, the summoned creatures would have no problem defending this place.

After absorbing the skill book, I spoke to Jong Ho.

“Hyung-nim, grab one of the two swords left.”

“Yup.”

“And then enhance it.”

“Enhance?”

“Yes. Just grab it to bind it to you. And all you have to do is put it next to the sword you’re going to use.”

“…..”

“Attributes of weapons will naturally be absorbed into the Pijan’s Lightning Sword.”

“But what if the Lightning Sword’s attribute gets transferred to another sword?”

“That won’t happen. Attributes only move from weaker weapons to stronger weapons. All the swords that I’ve seen had lower attributes than the Lightning Sword.”

“Is that so…..? What about the other sword?”

“I’ll just pick up random equipment and we’ll be applying jewels on them. So hyung-nim should focus on enhancing them.”

“Okay, I got it.”

“Karin, what do you want to do now?”

“Hm….. Just watch, goblins can’t use jewels. Kel….. I’m going to make a meal for my family!”

“Oh. That’s great.”

“Kerurururu.”

****

“Man, I’ve burned through the night oil…..”

“Min-Cheol, how did you succeed twice before?”

“I’m wondering the same thing. I didn’t know it was that bad…..”

“In the middle of it, I felt like killing something.”

“Me too…..”

“Keruk? Are you guys done? Hurry up and eat the steak.”

“It’ll be a gloomy dinner.”

There were countless jewels that dropped from the Lich King.

We spent two hours applying them on various artifacts.

However, the results were pathetic at best.

We did not gain anything of worth.

A lot of jewels that boosted magic energy dropped, but none of them succeeded in enhancing the gear.

Instead, it destroyed the gears.

Perhaps it has to do with how the demonic realm has a lower drop rate than Earth?

Also, the success rate of using the jewels were incredibly low.

The Eye of Insight showed that it had a 10% chance of succeeding, just like the jewels we obtained on Earth.

However, it felt like the success rate was 0.0001%.

The only thing we gained from taking down the Lich King was the Lightning Sword and one skill book.

It felt like we should collect the jewels from now on and use it when we return to Earth.

I asked Karin who was viciously tearing into the steak.

“Karin.”

“Keruru?”

“This is something that just occurred to me…..”

“What is it?”

“Can’t we just go through the Gate back to Earth? Kind of like how we’d go back home after a long day’s work?”

“Kel…..”

“Now that I think about it, that’s right. This Gate is connected to Yangpyeong.”

“I know, right? Why are we two dudes and a monster eating shabby food like this?”

“You can’t do that!”

“Why? The monsters seem to go through just fine?”

“Look at the number of monsters, aren’t there a lot?”

“Of course, this is the demonic realm after all…..”

“Not all of them are heading for Earth.”

“…..”

“There is a low chance that you can fall off the path.”

“What do you mean ‘fall off’? Are you saying that we can fall into another dimension?”

“You can get trapped in the cracks in the dimensions. It’s not the overworld, afterworld, Earth, or demonic realm. You can get isolated in another dimension.”

“…..”

“Why are you only telling us this now? What if we entered it without a thought?”

“Kel…..”

“So you’re telling me that the only way we can return is to kill the demon king?”

“That’s right. If it was any other human, I would have told them to go through it….. However, I can’t let the two of you do that.”

“I understand.”

“I was hoping for something good to drop. Now I’m frustrated.”

“Oh well, we can’t help it. I guess we’ll have to stake our hopes on Belkoseu.”

“You said that you’ll visit him in a few days?”

“Yes. Karin remembers his magical signature, so it should not be that difficult to meet up with him.”

“That’s right. I remember! Belkoseu’s magical signature!”

“Min-Cheol, are you sure about this?”

“Yes….. I’m as positive as when hyung-nim charged Berdan. We won’t be able to defeat him with magical energy, but I’m sure that we can bring him to his knees using Awakened attacks.”

“…..”

“You don’t have to worry about a thing. If something goes wrong, you can run away.”

“Even so…..”

“For now, let us rest near the Gate. We’ll leave tomorrow.”

“Got it.”

“Ah. And since we need guidance from Karin, follow me partway.”

“What. Are you planning to go alone?”

“Yes. I think that would be for the best.”

“…….”

“It’s easier for a single person to escape rather than two or three. And we can only use Status Denial once every 24 hours.”

“Hm…..”

“Chances. I’m betting on better chances like you always talked about. You understand, right?”

“Yeah, do as you see fit. So I just need to stay near here with Karin, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Keruu…. Human, he is not your average monsters. If it gets dangerous, escape immediately.”

“Got it.”

****

I had hoped that we would speed up on growing stronger after defeating the Lich King, but the results were less than satisfactory.

With the Gate as the anchor, we continued to hunt.

The area covered wasn’t large, but there were plenty of monsters about.

The effect of Full Heal that I’ve obtained was far greater than what I had expected.

An aura appeared around the creatures I’ve summoned, rapidly healing them.

As expected, it did not heal the monsters.

It only worked on the creatures that I’ve summoned.

If I get used to using this spell, I should be able to lessen my worries about holding the Gate.

And if it becomes so, I should be able to hunt further away from the Gate.

Instead of just staying tethered near the Gate, I should be able to visit all the good locations in the demonic realm for farming monsters with the guidance of Karin.

With the Devil Avatars and King Suwoo confidently holding their ground, it should be possible.

“What about the Warp cooldown?”

“Haven’t used it in the last two days. It’s good to go.”

“Haven’t forgotten anything?”

“Telling me that you love me?”

“Get bent. And don’t get hurt. Take the Warp right away if you sense anything that’s off.”

“Love you too.”

“Get outta here. Go.”

“Human….. I’ll be waiting with Jong Ho. Please come back safe. Lov…..”

“Stop! Go ahead and ration the steak. I’ll be back before the watch on Jong Ho’s wrist points 12, okay?”

“Kerut. I got it.”

I ran towards the direction that Karin pointed me towards.

At the end should be Belkoseu.

Thankfully, both Ladin and Jamon were far away from here.

However, despite the massive distance, with their speeds it shouldn’t take that long for them to get here.

That’s why it was important for my fight with Belkoseu to be as short as possible and equally decisive in victory.

In the plains where not a single rock could be found stood Belkoseu.

As if he had been waiting for me, he turned to face me, holding his ground.

I walked towards where he was.

“Kuhu. Humans are amusing creatures. To think that you’d come on your own volition to your own death.”

“You saw, right? Karin. He keeps his promises, even if it kills him. It seems I’m becoming like him.”

“What is the reason behind your confidence to be able to come? Do you think that your different types of attacks can take me down?”

“Yep. It seemed to me that the chances were high.”

“You’re a reckless fool.”

“I hear that a lot. Shall we start then? Don’t worry about the demon king. He’s quite far away.”

“Hm….”

Belkoseu hesitated for a bit.

It seemed that he was thinking about something.

I was a bit taken back by what he said next.

“What is it that you want?”

“……”

“For what reason is it that you take down monsters such as I is what I ask.”

“That’s simple. If we don’t kill you, our homeworld gets destroyed.”

“You’re not trying to become the demon king that rules the demonic realm? You do not wish to rule over all the monsters?”

“Not really interested. I’m just tired of seeing you monsters invading Earth.”

“…..”

“Now, enough pointless chatter. Let’s begin.”

“Wait. Let me make an offer.”

“Oh? Trying to trade when you’re nothing but a monster? Let me hear you out.”

“You definitely said that you have no interest in being the demon king, right?”

“Yep.”

“You just want monsters to stop invading the human realm.”

“Yep. You’re a lot smarter than I thought.”

“If that’s the case……”

Belkoseu began to make an offer that I didn’t even consider.

To think that a deal between a monster and a human would form.

It was a shocking development, but it felt as though I could use him.

Since I did not have a 100% guarantee that I could defeat him, this offer had me intrigued as well.

Is this how I would get another friend in the demonic realm?

---

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139. The Lich King of the Demonic Realm

Carrying Karin and the duffel bag with our food inside, I ran as fast as I could towards the location that Jong Ho and I had agreed to rendezvous at.

Not much time had passed since I left Belkoseu behind me that the sounds of a massive explosion rang out.

Noticing the intensity of the tremor and sound, it definitely wasn’t the result of fighting between any regular monsters.

Since the Demon King Jamon and Belkoseu had met one another, I assumed that Belkoseu was getting in the way of the Demon King tracking me.

Is this what it’s like to solve a problem with another? Using my enemy to fight against another enemy, like so.

This saying fits the situation perfectly.

I was using a monster to hold off another monster after all.

Belkoseu was confident in his strength and his body that was impervious to death.

That was why he believes that I won’t be able to defeat him.

His arrogance was working in my favor.

It was possible that he was right.

It was my conclusion that I could defeat him with skills used by humans.

However, right now, the answer to that question was not that important.

Despite being unkillable, it was obvious that Belkoseu was in a lower position than the Demon King.

That’s why he was afraid and made a temporary alliance, because the Demon King would kill me and take the magical energy I possessed.

Assisting my escape, he planned to meet with me later on.

All I have to do is to use his plan to my advantage.

“Karin? How is it? Are we getting away from their magical energy signatures?”

“Kehruu. Correct. I can faintly sense their magical energies now. I’m sure that we’ve gotten very far away from them.”

“Guess Belkoseu is stopping them in their tracks pretty well.”

“Kehheh. It seems so.”

Karin’s expression softened away from a fearful look, and his face returned back to his usual look.

As I continued my run, Karin spoke.

“Human. Min-Cheol!”

“Hm?”

“I believe that sticking with you and Jong Ho is the path to staying alive.”

“Of course. The demonic realm is far too dangerous for a Puppet Goblin to survive, no?”

“Kel. Kel. You’re right. However……”

“Hm?”

“Do we have to continue encountering near death situations like these?”

“Pfft. Why? Isn’t it fun and thrilling?”

“Keruk….  For me, who lived a peaceful life, these events are beyond my ability to adapt to. We’ve met the Demon King. Then we meet with Belkoseu and the Lich King…… At this rate, it feels like we’re going to meet a god!”

“Hey. No matter how dangerous it gets, we’ll protect you.”

“Keheheh…. I’m…. touched….”

“What will we eat if you’re gone? I can’t put that rotten monster meat anywhere near my mouth.”

“Kehruu…. You really do think of me as a food storage…..”

Immediately did Karin’s wrinkles increase severely.

It was a look of great sadness and depression.

It seemed that he thought of himself as a mere luggage carrier.

However, he was far more important than just a luggage carrier.

Without him, we would be in the dark in the demonic realm.

If we didn’t have Karin, we might have been done in by the Demon King and Ladin by now.

After all, the ability to read the flow of magical energy was a skill that we desperately needed.

And the most important thing.

Despite his appearance, he was actually very cute.

“You’re someone I can talk to, you serve as a guide, and you’re a goblin that can read the flow of magical energies….. On top of that, you keep store of our food supply. How can we hate you? At this point, we’re family. Don’t you think so?”

“Keruk. Keruruk. Right? Kelkelkel! Family…. Family…..”

“Don’t be sad. Just as you care for us, we care for you too.”

“Karin isn’t sad. I was never sad.”

“Look at how quickly his mood changed. I’m glad. Hold onto the duffel bag filled with the artifacts tightly so that they don’t make contact with me. I’m going to start running faster.”

“Kel! Do not worry! Family!”

“Pfft. Yeah. We just have to go this way, right?”

“That’s right. Family! Let’s go. Family!”

“Yep, family. Here we go!”

****

Jong Ho, who had parted ways with Min-Cheol , arrived near the Gate safely using Warp.

Despite only being gone for 6 hours, many monsters were gathered.

The Devil Avatars and King Suwoo that Min-Cheol had summoned were in quite the state.

Their embers of life were barely there, guarding as no more than symbols.

They were barely holding onto their lives.

If he arrived any later, the summoned creatures would perish and countless monsters would have entered through the Gate.

Jong Ho immediately casted skills into the charging horde.

“KUWEHEH!”

“KUAHAH!”

With Min-Cheol’s skill level and 20% increase in magical power, as well as the Archangel’s Fall effect, magic fell upon these creatures.

Almost as if using a strainer, all the monsters without magical resistances immediately perished.

It appeared as though a meteor had fallen on a planet, with half the horde being annihilated without a trace left.

The rest of the horde must have magical resistances.

The ones left were the ones that ignored magical attacks and were only vulnerable to physical attacks.

Jong Ho casted Piercing Sword.

Nearly a thousand weapons appeared behind him.

They would move to his will, piercing through the monsters before returning.

However, the weapons summoned were staves and wands.

Due to the skill adapted to the class of the caster, the weapons summoned weren’t meant to cut, but were magician class weapons consisting of staves and wands.

However, since this skill was backed by Min-Cheol’s strength stat, it would be more than enough to annihilate these creatures.

“Hm…..”

However, he was lacking in the physical attack skill department.

The Formless Sword Aura had to strike an enemy once before the effect of the target not being able to sense the second strike activating.

Staves and wands, due to their size and their intended purposes, weren’t suited to use physical attacks with.

That’s why Jong Ho was disappointed.

He wanted a way to get two birds with one stone.

Even if he had put his stats similar to how a regular warrior put their stats, it wouldn’t cause much of a difference to his current situation.

The only difference would be that the fate of those monsters before him and those that perished would have changed somewhat.

With that in mind, Jong Ho continued his attack.

At his will, staves and wands flew towards the horde.

The weapons weren’t sharp as swords, but they pierced their targets without issue.

The damage they dealt weren’t as strong as the magic that they could discharge, but for this situation, it was more than enough.

Like a knife to tofu, the monsters were being cut apart.

“KUUEK! KWUH……”

“Despite not looking like much, the damage they deal is still noteworthy.”

“KUWEK!”

It happened a little after he had taken care of the monsters nearby.

All he had to do was head for the location they had agreed to meet up at.

The summoned creatures would recover their health, and they would be able to hold their own against the waves of monsters.

By cycling every 6 hours, it was a perfect method to defend the Gate.

It was then.

Jong Ho instinctively lowered his body to the ground and looked around.

He could hear sounds of massive explosions getting closer.

He knew that he could not avoid the eyes of the Demon King and Ladin using Mass Stealth Jutsu, so he quickly hid in the part of the terrain that would give him cover.

At this speed, he knew that no matter how fast he tried to run, he would be caught up to soon.

He quietly stayed crouched.

“Damn it…. Who is coming this way….”

Since he was already done in by the Demon King and Ladin once, his uncertainty amplified.

Min-Cheol must be far away from here.

And on top of that, there wasn’t any reason for him to come here.

There was a chance that the Demon King was near Min-Cheol, but he had Karin who could sense the Demon King.

Holding his breath, he surveyed the scene.

A breath of relief washed over him.

“Ha……..”

Karin and Min-Cheol had arrived.

They looked like a beginner dad carrying his son and a bunch of childcare supplies on his back.

Jong Ho calmed himself before approaching Min-Cheol.

“Hey. Min-Cheol. Why did you suddenly come back here?”

“I guess you’re done cleaning up the place?”

“Uh….. Is the Demon King near or something?”

“Yes. Well, the Demon King and Ladin are nearby. Also there is the matter with Belkoseu.”

“Belkoseu? I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

“I’ll explain slowly. First, let’s go to Berdan’s castle. We have things to check up on inside.”

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

****

“Keheh…. Jong Ho family! It was very dangerous. Family!”

“Is that so? What happened out there that you’re acting like this? And what is this about family?”

“Kel. Family is family.”

“What is he saying…. Min-Cheol, please explain to me.”

“Family is family.”

“Hey damn it!”

“Pfft. We met a guy named Belkoseu. Apparently he is known as the Immortal Knight in the demonic realm.”

“Belkoseu……”

“Yes. Thankfully, we joined forces in a way that really wasn’t, so it won’t last long.”

“Joined forces? So you didn’t run away because of him is what you’re saying.”

“Yes. Belkoseu and the Lich King were together. And on top of that, the Demon King and Ladin were coming to our location.”

“The Lich King? The one that I’m thinking of?”

“Yes. Only that he shrunk in size, but he was the same as the one back on Earth.”

“So, what happened after?”

“I took down the Lich King and as you can see…..”

I pointed at the duffel bag that Karin was holding onto.

The duffel bag was far bigger than his body.

The entire bag was filled with artifacts and jewels.

After all, we had ignored the bloodstones and brought the real treasures.

“Oho…. All of that? Even Berdan didn’t drop anything, so to think that we’ve obtained this much.”

“Yes. It’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth.”

“Wow……. Well that’s that. What about this alliance?”

“From where we just left, Belkoseu and the Demon King must be going at it right now.”

“There is someone who can stand against him?”

“To be precise, he isn’t able to keep up in offensive capabilities, but I heard that he has a special Authority.”

“Kerut. That’s right. He cannot die. Family!”

“Cannot die……”

“Yes. It seemed that he wasn’t welcoming the idea of my magical energy being taken by the Demon King, so he helped me escape.”

“Oho. That’s quite fortunate.”

“Yes. And we’ll be visiting him soon.”

“Hm? Us? Are you talking about us?”

“That’s right.”

“So we’re going to go find this guy who cannot die…. Did I hear that correctly?”

“Yes. That’s also correct.”

“It’s happening again… Happening again.”

“People don’t change easily. For now, let’s check the loot. I’m not sure what’s in it, since Karin was the one who put them in. At least there are a ton of jewels that dropped.”

“I’m worried. Worried.”

“Karin, can you pour them out here?”

“Kelkel. Understood, family!”

---

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138. Belkoseu and the Lich King. Also, Jamon.

As expected, the Lich King began to pour out magical attacks.

Only his form had shrunk, but the attack pattern was the same as the one I had encountered before.

It was good for me that he advanced at me with fierce attacks.

Even if his attacks reached me, the Roa’s Staff that I obtained from taking down Ghost would absorb all the magical attacks, so I would take no damage.

To be exact, the ability of Roa’s Staff that my Butcher’s Sword had absorbed was what would do the job.

It should be able to absorb any magical attacks without any issues.

Since it had previously eaten up my Transcended Meteor, it had proved its ability without a doubt.

The only downside was that there were only 88 charges left on it.

However, that shouldn’t be an issue either.

I wasn’t going to let the Lich King cast that many spells in the first place.

The only thing I would focus on would be to defend myself against attacks beyond ranking.

That Lich King was going to turn into a pile of ash before the charges on Roa’s Staff’s ability on my Butcher’s Sword would run out.

The Lich King stared me down with his red glowing eyes and let out a horrid roar.

“Kwuhuh……..”

“Kuhuhu. Are you only going to continue avoiding. Is this the attack that you were boasting to me about before? Pathetic. Hurry up and show me. Show me the reason why you did not kneel before the mighty Belkoseu!”

“There’s not much of a difference from the one I saw on Earth. I think magical attacks worked against it?”

“Hm? Another Lich King exists in a different dimension……. Monsters exist in another dimensions?”

“If you don’t know, just sit back and watch. I’ll began the show.”

“Arrogant…..”

“Ah! And you’ll be next, so make sure to hold onto your waiting list ticket. I’ll end this quickly and give you the attention you want so badly.”

My banter with Belkoseu didn’t last long.

The Lich King began his barrage of attacks.

Unlike before, he was creating a massive distance between us.

I wasn’t sure if he had used Teleport, because he had moved his body far away in a very short time.

However, the attack that he casted after left me speechless.

I stared at the sky blankly in shock.

The demonic realm’s sky was covered in his spells.

It was the Meteor skill. A giant one at that to boot.

I did expect the Lich King, also known as a archwizard, to be able to cast such a spell.

He used skills beyond ranking, so being able to cast Meteor was a given.

However, the Meteors falling down from above weren’t any ordinary Meteors.

Pitch black burning meteors fell from the sky. These Meteors were Awakened Meteors.

It was a skill that Awakened could learn after getting their Meteor skill to level 100, and then they had to use an Awakened Essence to upgrade it so.

However, I could not bring myself to understand how a monster was using a skill that I’ve only seen Awakened using.

I did not avoid his attacks.

I wanted to check for sure.

It could be a similar looking skill with a different effect after all.

Even if it was a skill that was beyond ranking, it didn’t matter.

No matter what, it could not deal damage to me.

After hitting center mass on my Mana Shield, the shield shook madly.

Looking at how much my shield shook, I could confirm that this really was an Awakened Meteor.

Even though I had casted it countless times myself, I didn’t recognize it right away.

From what I had noticed, out of all the monsters out there, only the Lich King seemed to learn skills, and on top of that, he could Awaken them.

I had many questions to ask, but this wasn’t the time to ponder about them.

I had scouted enough.

I was sure, no, I was absolutely positive that this monster would drop something good.

The Lich King had made quite the distance to cast Meteor.

However, Glacial Field was enough to cover that distance.

The floor froze, and he began to take damage from the cold.

Even the monsters that roamed about without a direction were caught up as collateral damage.

“Kwuhuh!”

“It’s still just the refrigerator. You’ll soon go to the freezer.”

It used Teleport to try to get away from Glacial Field’s range.

However, no matter how far he fled, he was dancing on the palm of my hand.

A simple leap allowed me to get close without much difficulty.

After all, there was no way that a mage could outmaneuver a warrior.

Of course, technically speaking, I was a mage.

I cast down many Blizzard on his head.

Shards of ice as blue as the ocean began to rain down with massive speed onto him.

Due to it being an AoE attack, it was difficult to be accurate with it.

However, in a pouring rainstorm, how can one not be struck by a single drop of water.

The Blizzard that came down like rain hit his body.

“KUWUHUH!!”

“Still the refrigerator. There’s still more to go before you get sent to the freezer.”

It had barely blocked the mass of frozen rock with its shields, but this wasn’t the end.

The Blizzard skill’s attack still hadn’t finished yet.

Around me and him were shards of broken ice from the Blizzards.

Like the shrapnel of a bomb, the second part of the attack from Blizzard came.

His body was pierced all over by the shards of ice.

He let out an ear piercing howl and as he bled from all over his body.

Blizzard consisted of ice raining down first followed by the shards exploding outwards until it collides with the target, which could only be a description fitting of an S+ ranking attack spell.

The glow from the Lich King’s eyes blazed fiercer.

He must be incredibly furious.

However, I did not give him the opportunity to counterattack.

“Kuh…..uck!”

“I’m not sure if he has a mana bar or perhaps a cooldown to deal with because he has not cast the shield again.”

He was completely sealed off in the giant Iceberg.

The Iceberg that had reached level 300 crushed the Lich King’s form into a pathetic shamble.

Almost as if scattering a 10,000 piece puzzle, his body was scattered beyond recognition.

To the Lich King who was frozen completely and was unable to regenerate, I casted Blizzard once more.

Since Blizzard was a higher ranking spell, it pierced into the Iceberg and exploded.

Almost as if the bullets in a person’s body was exploding, it could deal massive amounts of damage to the enemy.

The red glow from his eyes faded, and he dropped a ton of bloodstones.

It wasn’t that difficult to kill the Lich King.

The moment that I walked towards the loot that the Lich King had dropped, I sensed Belkoseu moving.

However, I did not sense a killing intent behind his movements.

After getting close to me, he spoke.

“Amusing. A race from another realm, and on top of that an amusing show of skill.”

“Customer, you have to wait your turn. You can’t cut in line like this.”

“What?”

“Wew, don’t worry about it, just wait a bit. Don’t annoy me.”

“You little!”

“What? You little? Alright, I’ll take care of you right away. I’ll make an exception for you right now!”

“Ukk.”

It happened when I turned my body to face him.

I could hear Karin’s voice.

Despite him being far away, I could hear him clearly.

“Human! Min-Cheol! It’s the demon king! The demon king is coming! Ladin as well!”

“Damn it. Has he detected our scents? Why now of all times…?”

“What are you blabbering about? Come! Belkoseu will be your opponent!”

“Hey customer, it looks like I’ll have to serve you next time.”

“Ha! Are you afraid! Was all that just for show?”

“The demon king is coming. And he’s not alone, because he’s bringing along Ladin as well.”

“Is that true….. Hm……..”

Perhaps Belkoseu had felt their magical energy signatures as well, because he suddenly calmed down and was erring on the side of caution.

I spoke to him.

“You’ll be fine, even if they come, but isn’t it a different case for me?”

“What are you trying to get at.”

“Since you’re a monster too, you can see the magical energy that flows within me! Aren’t you interested in it?”

“……”

“If you keep me here, I could die and possibly give all this to those two. Do you understand now?”

“There is no way that I can lose out on your magical energy…. We’ll fight another time.”

“Finally, I got through to you. My goblin ally will remember your magical energy signature.”

“……..”

“I will find you a few days from now. Wait for me in a place as far away from the demon king and Ladin as possible. I’ll meet you there.”

“Pfft. Seems like quite the flimsy excuse to prolong your life.”

“Or you can let me get eaten up by the demon king. But you won’t do that since you have your own plans, right?”

“Kuha! An amusing race you lot are. So be it. I shall wait. However, if you think that you can save yourself by not coming, you best give up such false hopes. I shall find you myself personally.”

“Were you scammed in the demonic realm before or something? Why are you so doubtful? Whether you come or I go, you’ll be dead!”

“I’ll be looking forward to it……”

As soon as I finished, I ran straight to Karin.

Karin was hiding behind a rock while invisible.

If I didn’t use Eye of Insight, even I wouldn’t have been able to find him.

I spoke to him.

“Karin, get our stuff. We’re going to where hyung-nim is.”

“Kerut! Understood! Good call! I told you that fighting him is a bad idea!”

“What about the other two? How long will it take for them to get here?”

“Kehel. Roughly about 10 minutes in human time! They could get here even faster.”

“Okay. That’s plenty of time. But before that, the empty duffel bag.”

“Kel? H…..Here it is.”

“Hold on to me.”

“Kehel!”

After receiving the duffel bag from Karin, I went back to where Belkoseu was in order to pick up all the loot.

As expected, the Lich King wasn’t an ordinary monster.

I couldn’t help but be excited from the moment that I saw the Awakened Meteor, but to think that he dropped this many artifacts whereas Zekill and Berdan dropped nothing.

I ordered Karin to start putting them into the duffel bag.

“Take only the stones you want to eat, and throw away the rest.”

“Kel! The demon king is coming, so snacks are not an issue!”

“Oh. You’re pretty good at getting up to speed. Ignore the bloodstones, grab all the artifacts.”

“Keheheheh! Don’t talk to me. I’m busy! Busy!”

I simply looked at Karin toiling away.

It was because there was a chance that an artifact would become soul bound to me if I picked it up.

Since Karin realized that the demon king was coming, he moved quickly, and in less than 1 minute, it was all taken care of.

I couldn’t help but think of him as the number one guide for the demonic realm.

Belkoseu was silently observing us.

His appearance could put knights from the middle ages to shame.

With a cape on his back and armed to the teeth with metallic armor, it reminded me of an Awakened wearing full plate armor.

With him being 2m in height, it even made me wonder if he was actually a human being.

But who knows. There was a possibility that a head of lizard would pop out if I removed that helmet after all.

It didn’t seem that he would move, even though the news of the demon king’s arrival was heard.

As expected of the title he possessed, the undying knight.

The proof of him not dying to attacks by monsters was in his choice to stay here despite the announcement of the demon king’s approach.

Karin carried four duffel bags and urged me to hurry.

The 3 of them held all the meat he couldn’t live without, while the last one was filled with artifacts to the brim.

The weight of them should be quite a lot, but he did not complain as he hurried his little feet to work.

“Min-Cheol! Let’s go! Now!”

“Yeah, you did well. Let’s go.”

“We’ll see each other again, human.”

“Will do.”

---

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136. The Most Important Demonic Realm Tour Guide Karin (2)

With Karin and Jong Ho at my sides, I travelled the demonic realm.

Since the time when Jong Ho was done in by the demon king and Ladin, they haven’t shown any interest towards us.

To them, we were just a few humans who wandered into the demonic realm.

On top of that, they were fooled into thinking that they could not obtain magical energies from us even after defeating us.

It was a great situation that granted us free travel throughout the demonic realm.

However, this free pass to hunt wouldn’t last for long.

I knew that the magic energies of the demonic realm was limited.

It was like being a frog that was trapped in a well.

There was a limit on how much one can grow, and the food chain merely cycled the flow of power around.

From their point of view, humans were stealing that limited valuable magic energy bit by bit.

On top of that, they thought they could not recover said magical energies back.

The drop rate wasn’t as good as I thought.

The drop rate on Earth was already low, but it was far more severe in the demonic realm.

If Earth was on easy mode, then the demonic realm was on hell difficulty.

The only thing I could do to increase the drop rate was to slaughter a senseless amount of monsters.

Experience points were trickling in, and in Jong Ho’s case, his stats were increasing due to his armor.

I spoke to Karin, who diligently pointed the way while being carried by me.

“At this rate of hunting, won’t I have more magical energies than the demon king?”

“Keruru. You’re speaking nonsense.”

“……..”

“Are you planning to catch up to the demonic king’s magical energy by taking down these small fires? Kelhelhel!”

“Don’t you know the saying of many drops make an ocean?”

“Kuhu….. It could be possible.”

“What. Why are you going back and forth like that.”

“If you hunt like this for a hundred years, maybe. Keheheh!”

“Are you saying that the magical energies of these creatures are that low?”

“That’s right. They are the lowest trash of the demonic realm.”

“So that’s why the demon king ignored you and left…….”

“Keruk? That was hurtful! I wish you would avoid saying things like that!”

“Ahem. Then stop mocking my words and answer me politely.”

“Okay, keruu.”

“Now! Where is the next location?”

“Over there! I sense quite a lot of magical energies.”

“Okay.”

Our method of hunting was pretty simple, but each of us had a role to play.

Karin acted like a navigational device that was attached to me.

He read the magical energies ahead and guided us towards the monsters.

Jong Ho had the role of dishing out attacks.

It was true that I would clear the monsters much faster by pouring out magical attacks, but this wasn’t an actual dungeon.

If we were hunting in a dungeon on Earth, then we would each obtain experience points no matter who landed the killing blow.

It didn’t matter the distance or the number of party members when it came to that, as everyone got the same amount.

However, this place was different. Only the one who landed the killing blow would obtain all the experience points for themselves.

Jong Ho and my level was far past 400, nearly reaching 500.

Of course, there were many on Earth with greater levels, but our rate of growth would leave anyone speechless.

And due to that increase in level, so had the experience points require to level.

After obtaining a single level through great difficulty, the only reward for that was a measly 5 points of stats.

However, it was different for Jong Ho.

He was able to obtain a point for taking down a hundred.

Seeing as to how he was taken down from a single hit by the demon king and Ladin, it helped me put into perspective just how strong their offensive capabilities were.

That was why Jong Ho needed to grow much stronger.

Previously, I had thought that our current strength was enough to allow us to travel through the demonic realm without issue.

I was severely mistaken and had paid the price for it.

All of the countless monsters in the demonic realm was Jong Ho’s prey.

Using Karin as a navigation tool, we were able to keep out of sight of the demon king and Ladin, allowing limitless growth.

So what about me? My role was….

“Hey Min-Cheol, a jewel dropped there!”

“Yes…. Going……”

“Make sure to not miss it!”

“Yes….. I’m going.”

I was just the luggage bearer.

The Devil Avatars and King Suwoo were protecting the Gate.

This meant that I could not command them to pick up the artifacts.

Even in the demonic realm, a serious lack of a workforce was a problem.

Here, I finally understood the saying that an army advances backwards, since despite being the one with the highest combat and defensive capabilities, I was the one filling the role of a porter.

“Hey, why don’t you come down for times like this and help me pick this stuff up?”

“Keruk? It takes a lot of concentration to read the flow of magical energies!”

“Whew…….”

“If I let down my guard for even a moment, we will only realize that the demon king is near only after it’s too late! Is that okay with you? Sadly, I cannot help you. Kelkelkerurururu.”

“You’re laughing?”

“No? I didn’t laugh? I always go keruru? Min-Cheol! There is another jewel that dropped over there!”

“Okay….. I’m going. I’m going to pick it up.”

It was humiliating, but it couldn’t be helped.

Consoling myself by reminding myself that I was the youngest of the three gathered here, I went forward to continue collecting jewels.

Collecting them one by one, there was now enough gathered to fill half the duffle bag.

However, this wasn’t enough.

That was because the success rate of using a jewel to strengthen equipments was low, and there was a chance that the equipment would be destroyed upon failure.

We needed a room full of jewels and equipment to attempt enchanting on.

Not only that, but the equipment needed to be equal or stronger than the equipment we currently had.

I asked Jong Ho, who was pouring down magic attacks on the monsters.

“Hyung-nim, is the Warp cooldown over?”

“Ah, I totally lost track. Looks like it’s been at least 30 minutes?”

“Then could I ask of you to make the trip for me?”

“Okay, I should. I needed to pay more attention. Sorry for that.”

“No worries. Let’s meet in the middle like before.”

“Right. Karin, what direction do I need to come from the Gate to get here?”

Jong Ho spoke while showing his wrist watch to Karin.

Since they did not understand the concept of time, it was likely that they’ve never seen a watch.

Since giving directions using only the cardinal directions was too vague, we decided upon this method instead.

After all, Warp was a skill that only allowed travel one way.

To meet up again, we had to reduce the amount of deviations.

With his sharp fingernails, Karin combed the few strands of hair left on his head, then pointed at the one of the numbers on the watch.

“Keru. You need to go here!”

“Since you’ve done this a couple times already, you wouldn’t make any mistakes, right?”

“Of course! I am a very smart goblin. This is the right way.”

“That’s correct, hyung-nim. Seeing how he made fun of me before, he’s totally a smart goblin. A goblin idi- I mean, genius.”

“Pfft. Alright. I just need to go in the direction of 7 o’clock? Min-Cheol, if we’re not able to meet, you remember that we’ll be meeting in front of the Gate in 12 hours, right?”

“Yes, of course. Ah, Karin.”

“Keru.”

“It’s time to show your capabilities. Please assist us this time as well.”

“Understood! Min-Cheol, you can count on me!”

Karin hopped down from me and laid down flat on the ground.

He possessed another ability that was beyond our expectations.

A practical ability far more useful than his storage capacity for food, and it was very useful to us.

The ability was that he was able to read specific magical energy signatures.

However, this wasn’t an ability he could continuously use.

He could use this ability roughly every 6 hours or so.

It was similar to cooldowns for the Awakened.

“Keruuuk!”

“How is it? Do you sense the magical energies of the demon king or Ladin nearby?”

“Kel. Nope. They’re located in a place far away from the Gate. However, they’re not very far from here. It’s not Jong Ho who should be cautious, but us two instead.”

“Is that so…..”

“For now, I’ll go take care of the monsters near the Gate.”

“Yes, hyung-nim should get going. We’ll meet in the center. Don’t forget that you’ll be heading in the direction of 7 o’clock.”

“Yep. Be careful. They are nearby, after all. And Karin, don’t forget to keep your guard up, alright? I’ll trust you, Karin.”

“Do not worry, Jong Ho. And do not die again. We’ll see you in a bit. And take this!”

Karin took out some water and a can of tuna from his pocket, then tossed it to Jong Ho.

It was a lot more than our normal rationed meal, since there was a chance that we are unable to meet up.

We might have forgotten it, but Karin had remembered for us and took care of it.

Jong Ho gave a satisfied smile and spoke to him.

“Pfft. Alright. Kind of odd that a monster is worrying for me when I’m leaving to kill other monsters. Well, it’s not all bad, I guess!”

“That’s why you shouldn’t die. I do not want to be left alone.”

“Karin is pretty much family at this point. Right, Karin?”

“Yes.”

The Warp’s cooldown was a whole whopping 12 hours.

This cooldown did not decrease even by leveling up the skill.

Even with the passive skill that Jong Ho obtained, which reduced the cooldowns of skills, didn’t work on Warp’s cooldowns.

It was important to grow stronger, but it was also imperative that we kept the area around the Gate safeguarded.

That was why Jong Ho and I were taking turns going there every 6 hours.

If Jong Ho went there at 6, I would go there at 12. When Jong Ho’s cooldown for Warp was over, he’d go there at 18, and I would be there 6 hours later, at 24.

Each time we did so, I felt grateful for Karin.

If we didn’t have him on our side, we would have to be a lot more cautious in encountering the demon king, and therefore wouldn’t be able to efficiently defend the area around the Gate.

It also meant that we wouldn’t be able to hunt efficiently as well.

The benefits that Karin brought didn’t end there.

Remember how he had bounced up and down my bed throughout the entire night?

That’s right. He was a monster that did not sleep.

He can feel exhaustion, but since all he does is talk while hanging onto me, there would be no reason for him to be exhausted.

This meant that he could read the flow of magical energies 24 hours a day without rest.

Even when Jong Ho and I were asleep, he continued to carry out his duties.

Looking at Karin, who stood back up after having lain down on the ground, I couldn’t help but speak up.

“What would we do without you?”

“Keru? What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“Don’t worry about it. Looks like this servant who picks up jewels went insane for a little bit.”

“Kel kel kel. Human, you’re strange from time to time. Now! Jong Ho is gone. Then…..”

“What’s the beef between you two? Even though you two take care of each other as needed. Are you two a married couple or something? Alright, let’s have some steak.”

“Keruu!”

I wasn’t sure where he had gotten a bib, but he put it around his neck and sat in front of the fire that I started.

However.

“Kuruk! Kuruuk! Kuhuh!”

“What? Did you learn to make those new noises?”

“Keheh?”

“Kururuk! Kuung!”

“Hm?”

“Keruk! Min-Cheol, I’m sorry. I let down my guard for a moment!”

“What is it? Is it the demon king?”

“No….. Kehu…. W…. We have to run!”

“What’s the matter?”

“L…. Lich King! It’s a Lich King!”

“Ah. Is that all. I already have a history with him. Where is he?”

“T… There……”

“Huh? Who is next to him though…..”

“KEHEHEH!”

---

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135. The Most Important Demonic Realm Tour Guide Karin

The monsters that Min-Cheol and Jong Ho easily dispatched were quite a different story on Earth.

Many Awakened had gathered here to fight against them.

There’s a saying that a disorganized bunch won’t accomplish anything, but this saying did not fit here.

The offensive capabilities of this group was more than enough.

Even if everyone casted only one skill, due to the sheer amount of Awakened gathered here, it was plenty enough.

It would be no exaggeration to say that if everyone threw an egg at the monster, it would be enough to take one down.

However, the issue here was their defensive capabilities.

The Awakened here did not have a way to defend against the monsters that attacked by blowing themselves up.

It would be okay if the Awakened here were able to take the monsters out before they detonate themselves, but there were too many monsters to take them out before they reached the Awakened.

Even if only a single one or two detonated, the destructive force was great.

No matter how much shields and buffs the tanks got, they would take a crippling blow unless they had enough stamina stats to back them up.

However, due to the surprise appearance of the self detonating monsters, the defensive line was taking heavy losses.

This was occurring while the two that left for demonic realm was battling against Berdan.

The monsters must have realized that this was their chance to charge through the Gate.

As if to tell just how many monsters were present in the demonic realm, the amount that poured out through the Gate was insane.

To think that this many monsters poured out like water in that short span of time.

Looking at this brutal scene, the commander Yoon Jong-sun’s expression hardened.

At this rate, too many of the tank class Awakened would be sacrificed to hold the line.

On top of that, he had no idea just how many more monsters would pour out from the Gate.

The commander roared out his orders loudly enough to swallow the sounds of the chaotic battleground.

“We cannot take more casualties! All bruisers, take the tanks and retreat from the battlefield!”

“KUACK!”

“Yes! Yes, yes!”

“KUUK!”

Just by looking at the color of their skins, anyone could tell that the Awakened gathered here were from many different nationalities, levels, and specializations.

However, all of them understood the commander’s orders clearly and moved at once.

To them, a language barrier wasn’t that much of an issue.

Not only did they have a lingo of their own, but they were pretty much on the same page as what the commander was thinking.

“KUWUHEHCK!”

“KURURU.”

With the retreat of the tanks, the encirclement around the Gate became further spread out.

It was obvious that it would be harder to defend against the Gate as the encirclement widened.

However, there wasn’t any other options.

This was the best decision to make in order to reduce casualties and to recover against a fight that could go on for long.

The commander let out another order.

“All magicians who have obtained Mana Shield, move forward with that spell up! We will be the ones to stop them in their tracks!”

“Understood.”

“Other than the healers who are healing the injured tanks, everyone transfer your mana to the mages! And those magicians who cannot cast Mana Shield, focus on attack instead! Physical attacks do not work against them. This will be over soon! Focus and give it your all!”

The commander’s order was stained with urgency.

It revealed just how much he wanted to protect everyone’s lives and to win without any sacrifices.

As soon as he finished his command, he himself jumped into the fray.

However, the tank class ranked Awakened from the association stood steadfast to prevent him from going forward.

“C…… Comander! You cannot do that. Commander……”

“Let me go! I am also an Awakened who came here to defend this place! I did not come here to stand by and watch from the rear!”

“We understand what you mean by that. However, if something happens to you, then we’d be……”

“All of you…. What……. What are you saying!”

The commander’s voice rang throughout the battlefield.

Between the white hairs of the commander, his red face with bulging veins showed.

His forehead and neck was strained to the point where veins were bulging out, and anyone could easily tell that the commander could not be stopped at this point.

He stared down those who would dare block his path.

“You’re saying that something would happen to me! Are you expecting our defeat!”

“That….. That’s not true, but…..”

“How can you…… Ahem! Out of my way! If you continue to stand in my way, I will have you suffer the penalty of disobeying your superior!”

“Commander…..”

It was then.

“Okay, okay. We all know that we can’t stop him at this point, right?”

“Sang-ho……”

“Let that old man go. And we will also jump into the fray. I know that they’re gathered here for the promise of skill books beyond ranking as a reward, but aren’t they still fighting and risking their lives? Whatever their motives might be, instead of hesitating until we perish….. Make sure to land at least one more hit before you die, okay?”

“Sang-ho… Thank you. However, you cannot die.”

“Yes, yes. No need for thanks, old man. You know that I got married two months ago, right? I finally left the tiresome life of being single and got married. If I think about my wife, I want to run away right now…… I’m only going in because of my trust in you.”

“…….”

“The commander that has never been wrong once. I’m only going because I believe in you. It’s the same for those subordinates around you.”

“Commander, let us go!”

“Let’s take them out before they gain further ground, commander!”

“So I plead once more. Let everyone here…. get back home safely. Please let them come back home in one piece. I implore you.”

“Yes…… I understand. I promise! Even if I have to beg a god hundreds and thousands of times with my life, I will make sure that I keep my promise! I must…..”

“Ha……. To think this old man is searching for a god. Guess you really have gotten old. Go! We go!”

“Yes! Follow the commander!”

“Yes!”

****

The battle between Min-Cheol and Berdan had ended, and he had finished wiping out the monsters near the Gate.

In that time, an hour had passed, and a battle that the two who had left for the demonic realm could never imagine in their wildest dreams had occurred on Earth.

Many wounded lain on the battleground, and in the center stood a commander whose breathing was heavy.

He had given his all to the fight.

Just as he had used up all of his mana, the Gate had stopped trembling, and he had also expended enough stamina to the point where he could barely stand.

Many healers were casting healing spells on him, but perhaps due to the sudden release from tension, none of the healing were taking effect.

No, his body had recovered completely, but his mind must be exhausted.

“Ha…… Ha…….”

“Old man, you okay?”

“Of course! Who do you think I am! Are you all expecting so little of me?”

“What….. You’re an old…..My boss that’s without equal. Your command, as expected, was the right call. It was perfect, old man.”

“Hahahahaha! It’s hard to believe that those words came out of your mouth, Sang-ho.”

“Just, yeah. Ha…… Think I’m gonna die.”

“Rest for a bit. We don’t know when they’ll be back.”

“You should lay down and rest too, old man.”

“I’m fine. I won’t fall until they’re completely eradicated.”

“You’re still in your prime. Your prime. All right! Everyone, focus on recovering your mana. Rest as you will until the Gate trembles once more!”

“Yes, commander!”

“Yes! Understood.”

Sang-ho looked at the commander who stood his ground.

From behind, he looked dignified.

It was because after the initial sacrifices of the tank class Awakened, he had fought to make sure that none would lose their lives in vain.

However, he could not rest for even a moment.

It was because of the guilt he felt for those that had lost their lives to his decision.

He could not show weakness before anyone, for he led as an example.

The Awakened who followed the commander into battle were in the same situation.

Sang-ho, who followed Yoon Jong-sun, as well as Hye-won and Geon were laying on the floor that was soaked with monster blood, using each other’s legs as a pillow.

Each thought about what they wanted to protect, and even with the battle temporarily stopped, none wore smiles on their faces.

It was the same for everyone gathered here.

No one knew when this lull would end.

Everyone had given their all, but there was a possibility that this was just round one.

Or this could have just been the wake caused from the formation of the Gate.

They could only guess that Min-Cheol and Jong Ho were near the Gate, defending it against the wave of monsters.

The one thing they could be sure of was that this lull had something to do with their well being.

If the monsters cease coming out, that meant that they were okay.

If that wasn’t the case….. then something horrible that they did not want to imagine had occurred.

“KUHUHUH!”

“A….. Already?”

“Damn it…….”

“No. Do not worry and rest. As you can see, it’s nearly dead. It’s evidence that Min-Cheol and Jong Ho are holding them back.”

“Just how many are there that these monsters can get through them…….”

“Hm……”

****

“Karin, do you see this?”

“Keru? What is this?”

“It’s called a jewel.”

“Kel. Jewel?”

“Yes.”

“Is this an item found on Earth?”

“No, we got this from here.”

“Keru? That can’t be. Only bloodstones drop in the demonic realm.”

“Exactly. I’m not sure if this is a prank by a god, but it seems that when humans kill monsters, there is a very small chance for artifacts to drop.”

“Keruu…….. Those gods are very stupid and cunning. I’d like to rip them to shreds……”

“What. You sound like you’ve seen them before.”

“Don’t even talk about them. They’re very disgusting.”

“Well, okay. Anyways, I need your help.”

“Keru. What do you mean?”

“At this rate, the moment that the demon king finds us, the two of you as well as I will die, right?”

“T….. That’s right. If Min-Cheol and Jong Ho disappears….. I will die as well.”

“That’s right. We’re on the same boat at this point. So what do you think we should do to stop that from happening?”

“We need to run away right now!”

“Wrong!”

“Keruu?”

“We need to…. Kill the demon king.”

“Kelkec! Min-Cheol, are you serious?”

“Of course I am. That’s why I need you to help us.”

“That’s impossible. You cannot kill the demon king. Did you not see his display of strength!”

“Didn’t you at first think that we could not face up against Berdan? But look at the result. There’s no rule saying that the demon king cannot die, right?”

“Keeh….. Okay. What do I need to do to help you?”

“We need items like these….. Artifacts, to be precise. Basically, we need to get to place with lots of monsters. It would be good if we could enter the Unknown Dungeon again, but you said that it wasn’t possible, right?”

“Yes. It’s impossible to return there.”

“Okay. Then we’ll let that option go. It doesn’t matter if the monsters are strong or weak. We just need a location with a dense amount of monsters packed close to one another. The key is that they’re in a condensed group.”

“Keruu… Okay….. A place with lots of monsters…… There is one! I know of a place.”

“Good….. Let’s go!”

“Keru. Wait! What about steak? You said that we’ll be eating some…. Do not joke with me, human! Karin is being serious.”

“Ha. That was quite threatening, you know? We’ll eat first, then go!”

“Kel!”

---

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134. To Think That I Would Be a Laborer Even in the Demonic Realm

Jong Ho and I continued to take out the monsters near the Gate while we waited for our Warp to go off its cooldown.

It was because if we returned to where Karin was right away, there was a chance that we’d run into Ladin and the demon king.

According to what Jong Ho relayed to me, he wouldn’t be able to face Ladin, let alone the demon king.

To be more precise, I would be able face Ladin at the least.

However, unlike the regular monsters, he seemed to possess a special offensive ability.

If I fought him without learning what that was, I was sure that I’d be severely injured.

Not only that, but the demon king and Ladin were moving together as a pair.

They must be moving on the premise that the humans are here to eradicate the demonic races.

The ring of resurrection that we had as insurance was already consumed.

The only thing I could now do in the worst case scenario was to cast Status Denial.

Due to Status Denial being a healing type skill, it could not be stored in Balrock’s Treasure Storage ring.

Jong Ho could not cast it, so that only left me who was able to cast it.

This meant that if either or both of us were to take a fatal blow, due to the long 24 hour cooldown of the skill, I could only save one of us.

That was why we needed to be even more careful from now on, to the point that we had repurposed our travel skill Warp as a defensive measure of escape.

We waited the 11 hrs that was left on the cooldown of the Warp spell without a single bite of food or a sip of water.

It was because both the duffel bag and Karin’s pocket dimension storage were near Ladin’s castle.

Jong Ho, who was taking down the monsters, hurriedly called me over.

“Hey, Min-Cheol. Come over here! What is this?”

“What is it?”

At Jong Ho’s call, I ran over at once.

He must have found something important.

Where Jong Ho was pointing was an item that was plenty important enough to get my attention.

“Oho……?”

“I thought that only bloodstones dropped in the demonic realm?”

“I thought that was the case too, at least from what Karin had told me…….”

“Isn’t this place just like a dungeon? The entire world here is just one giant dungeon.”

The item that dropped after killing all those monsters was a jewel.

Karin had said that artifacts and skill books do not drop in the demonic realm.

He had said that only bloodstones dropped, and the weapons that the monsters were wielding were crafted from them.

Of course, those weapons did not have any stats on them either.

However, a jewel had dropped right before Jong Ho at this very moment.

“Karin had said that the appearance of artifacts and skill books were an abnormal occurrence, similar to the appearance of the Awakened on Earth…….”

“But a jewel just dropped here.”

“It seems that things will work out far easier than I had thought?”

“……..”

“It must be that only humans can obtain artifacts by slaying monsters. That’s the only explanation that makes sense in this situation. Even if the drop chance is absolutely abysmal, it seems that this is a huge opportunity for us.”

“Good…… A good news amongst misfortune. Ah, it seems my Warp is finally off cooldown now.”

“Is that so? Then we’ll ask Karin for details. Shall we go?”

“Hm….. I wonder if he’ll be okay. But is there really a reason for both of us to move together?”

“Yes, I think it’s important that we do so.”

“…….”

“Are you worried that the demon king is near Ladin’s castle?”

“Yep. Then it would be best if you, who has a higher chance of survival, go instead…… You have Status Negation, and I could just weigh you down.”

“You’re right. But what if they arrive here instead?”

“Then I’ll have Warp near Ladin’s castle.”

“Hyung-nim, does your cell phone work right now?”

“No. Do you really think that a cell phone will have signal in the demonic realm? I don’t even have global data.”

“As expected.”

“Ah…….”

“The demonic realm is beyond comparison in terms of size with Earth, and we don’t have any methods of contacting each other. The only reason we are able to regroup right now is that we’re using Ladin’s castle as a landmark.”

“That’s true.”

“If the demon king and Ladin take over this Gate, then we’d be cut off without a way back home”

“You’re right. If you think about it that way, it’s probably better to move together.”

“Even if we do encounter them and have to fight, I’ll make sure to keep you alive, so don’t worry too much.”

“I’m not sure how much longer we’ll stay in the realm, but let’s make a promise.”

“A promise all of a sudden? What is it?”

“If we get into a situation where only one of us could survive……”

“……..”

“If it comes down to that, I want you to be the one who lives.”

“It won’t come to that. Don’t worry.”

“Of course. Still, promise me. Promise me that you will.”

“Hyung-nim, if we go down, we go down together. Don’t act so weak after being beaten by them once.”

“I know, so that’s why I’m saying it. Looking at it from an objective standpoint, it’s true that you have far greater combat potential.”

“Yes.”

“As you said, if we fail here, then everything is lost. But if worst comes to worst….. Shouldn’t we bet on something with a higher chance of succeeding, no matter how small that difference is? I’m saying that you’re the one with a higher chance of succeeding.”

“I understand what you’re saying. Let’ just drop all this serious talk……”

“Answer me.”

“Alright….. I will do as you say.”

“Good. Thank you.”

“Always have to say something odd to make people worry about you. Such an odd personality. I don’t understand why So-Hyeon noona likes someone who’s so serious and lame.”

“It’s probably because I’m like this that she’s dating me.”

“Glad you’re such a big catch. Really. Now let’s go! We’ll be in big trouble if our food storage goes cold.”

“Yeah.”

****

Even while we were heading towards Ladin’s castle. I did not let down my guard for a split moment with my Eye of Insight.

Despite the constant vigilance slowing us down, it wasn’t something that we could do without.

We were finally able to arrive at the area near Ladin’s castle that we had designated as a base camp.

There stood Karin.

Just as Jong Ho had asked him to, he was waiting there still.

To think that he would follow instructions so well.

Even though it was to guarantee his own survival, it almost made me feel bad for treating him as a simple food storage.

As expected, Karin also saw us.

Jumping up and down from where he was, he greeted us.

“Heck. To think that he had a cute side…….”

“Keruu! You forgetful humans!”

“Hm?”

“Kel! Do you know how long I’ve waited?”

“So you weren’t greeting us, but instead angry? Know your place!”

“Hey hey, Min-Cheol. I’d be mad too if I was in his shoes. He didn’t just wait an hour or two, but a whole 12 hours instead. Cut him some slack.”

“If it wasn’t for Jong Ho-hyung, I would have pilfered everything from your pocket dimension and killed you!”

“You……. don’t know how scared I was! Kehelel.”

“What. You’re crying? You’re really crying? Why are you making me feel bad.”

“Human! Please don’t leave me alone! Keh eh eh! I thought the demon king would come back! I thought the stealth casted on me would expire! Do you know how anxious I was!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll cook lots of steak for you.”

“Keruk. Let’s get away from this place. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Yep, let’s do that. I have questions for you as well.”

****

After Min-Cheol and Jong Ho went through the Gate, many Awakened were on standby at the entrance of the Gate.

On top of that, many news crews had come to obtain footage of the scene, causing the area to be overcrowded.

Of course, the news crew were prevented from getting too close to the Gate though.

Just like that, an hour had passed.

However, no monsters came out of the Gate.

Instead, the Gate silently wavered like the rippling surface of water.

However, the commander Yoon Jong-sun and the Awakened deployed from the global Awakened association did not let down their guard.

Abnormal events with the portals were continuing to occur in Korea.

While the portal explosions were artificially created by the the radical faction, the fact still remained that a Gate leading to the demonic realm formed here.

Not even for a moment did they let down their guard.

Ho Jin, who stood guard next to the the commander, spoke.

“Commander, it’s too quiet.”

“Hm….. I hope that it stays this way, but……”

“I also hope for that as well.”

It was then.

The portal that pulsed serenely suddenly began to tremble violently.

Noticing the change in the portal, the commander’s expression soured instantly.

He knew better than anyone else what that meant.

It wouldn’t be long before the monsters showed their faces.

“Everyone, group up! It seems that the monsters will be coming out soon!”

“Damn it. It really is happening…….”

At the commander’s orders, all the Awakened gathered near the Gate at once.

A Fear roar skill that sent shivers down everyone’s spine echoed from the Gate.

“KUWUHHH!”

“KURURU! KURURU!”

“If we fail here, an unspeakable disaster will fall upon this world! Tanks at the front! All healers, cast shields and buffs on the tanks. Focus on healing spells on the tanks! And please cast debuffs on the monsters!”

“Yes!”

“Yes, commander!”

“All magicians, please prepare single target spells instead of area of effect spells! AoE spells will not only damage the tanks, but will pour mana into the Gate itself! These monsters will definitely have some form of resistances. Awakened of the warrior and assassin classes, prepare to attack alongside the tanks.”

Thanks to his vast experience in combat, he was able to organize a proper formation and lead it.

The commander was well respected by all Awakened of Korea.

Since even the national organization recognized his accomplishments, none disobeyed his orders.

When the radical faction cause the portals to artificially explode, they had done so by infusing the portals with a massive amount of mana.

Currently, this Gate was connected to the demonic realm.

It was obvious that monsters far superior to those found in the dungeons were in there.

However, the commander wasn’t sure if this Gate would be the same as the other portals.

That is why he had commanded the group to position themselves into a formation with safety in mind.

“We do not know how many monsters will come out, but we have to focus our attacks to take them down one by one! Show them our determination!”

The monsters emerged from the Gate that was completely surrounded by the Awakened.

They were completely trapped in by the Awakened.

Trying to reduce the amount of damage the tanks would take from the monsters, he casted an aggro pulling skill from afar.

The lower ranking monsters charged towards the commander with their gazes fixed on him.

However, they could not get near the commander.

The monsters were easily dispatched by the Awakened that surrounded them.

It seemed that things were progressing more smoothly than what he had originally expected. However….

“KUAHACK!”

“KUUUUAAA!”

“These….. These monsters attack by exploding! Tanks and warriors, do not let them get close to you!”

“Kuack! Commander! They’re pouring out endlessly!”

“Kuu…….. We have to hold! Do not fall back!”

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