Category: I Never Run Out of Mana

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128. Face off with Berdan (2)

“KEYAAA!”

Like an angry bull, Berdan charged forward to strike with his massive fist.

Despite his abnormally large size, his movements were like lightning.

However, there was no way that Jong Ho and I would be done in by that.

After all, the two of us had trained with our lives on the line to grow this strong.

In a split moment, we distanced from him and waited for the right moment to strike.

His charging attacks continued to push us back.

The reason why I wasn’t able to attack and was only able to avoid the attacks was due to the distance between me and Jong Ho.

The interior of the castle was bigger than the average dungeon, but due to the sheer amount of monsters occupying it, there wasn’t actually much room to move around.

Unless I used attack skills that only targeted the ones I wanted to hit, Jong Ho would take collateral damage.

I continued to avoid his attacks as he chased me closely, but it didn’t take long.

“KUWUH!”

“These shitty bags of flesh…. Hyung-nim!”

“Not yet! A bit more. It’s still too close.”

“What are you doing! Where has you fighting spirit that you’ve been boasting about moments ago go! It’s amusing to see your hands full just trying to flee because of our difference in power! Kuhahaha.”

“Can I do some cleaning at the price of one of you shields? I think I’ll just wipe out everything.”

“You said safety first! I’ll give you the signal.”

“When will that be……”

“Now! Clean them up!”

“What! Hyung-nim!”

There was nowhere left to run.

The monsters were behind me.

As he called out to give the signal, in a single leap, he landed on the path where Berdan had just run past.

It was probably to gain distance between him and I, as well as to get his attention.

As Jong Ho had expected, Berdan’s focus was now on him instead, and he turned his body around in an instant to throw punches at Jong Ho as he charged.

Using this chance, I casted Chain Explosion and ran around to turn the thousands of monsters around me into dust.

My body kept exploding. ¹

The castle shook with the sound and massive shock waves from the explosions.

At this moment, Berdan and his two retainers were focused on Jong Ho.

This situation could come to a terrible end if I wasted any time.

Even the time it took for me to react to his sudden action felt too precious to have wasted.

“Damn…..!”

I had my Mana Shield that wouldn’t even shake under their pathetic attacks.

My body was covered with powerful Chain Explosions.

On top of that, I was using the Dual Casting passive to pour down countless Transcended Meteors with my third hand.

“KUWUH!”

“Ku……”

With the additional damage from Archangel’s Fall applying on these monsters, it became a fierce attack.

Without even being able to scream out properly, they became ash and disappeared.

It didn’t even take a single minute for all of them to disappear like dust before a vacuum.

It was so easy that I wondered if these monsters were really the top 1% of all monsters.

However, this was an obvious outcome.

I was trained in body and equipped to the teeth, to the point where it was hard to see me as a human being.

It was then.

This wasn’t the sound of my spells.

However, these were the sounds my destructive spells made.

It was definitely the sound of Iceberg and Meteor Call.

This meant that the fight between Jong Ho and Berdan had began.

“Damn!”

Intense heat that seemed hot enough the melt the demonic realm itself covered the castle.

Going through those flames, I ran with all my might towards Jong Ho.

Due to how much speed I traveled at with my 30k strength stat, some of the fire became extinguished.

Until I arrived at where he was, I looked with Eye of Insight to get a hold of the situation.

As expected, countless marks surrounded Jong Ho’s form.

With that, I put more force in my legs.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have faith in Jong Ho.

Since he had worked even harder than me to grow stronger, I trusted and depended on him more than anyone else.

However, the reason why I was worrying was that I had no idea how strong Berdan and his retainers was.

If Berdan’s strength only reached the level of Zekill, I would be walking back leisurely.

Jong Ho definitely had more than enough power to handle someone like Zekill.

Trying to push down my anxiety, I continued to run.

Jong Ho came into view.

“I should’ve have been the one here. Damn it! Please be safe….. Huh?”

As expected, he was surrounded by three monsters as he fought.

However, the situation was quite amusing.

My worry disappeared in an instant, and the spectacle in front of me was enough to make me question what I was seeing.

My legs that ran with such force relaxed.

Instead of running, I slowed down to a walk.

I couldn’t help but look in awe.

“These little shits. They met quite the opponent….”

****

“Keruru.”

I am Karin, the loyal servant of the great Berdan.

Sir Berdan trusts and depends on me.

That’s probably why he had me take care of such important work.

To bring the lesser human from Earth was a difficult and dangerous task!

I had accomplished the task!

No one else but me would’ve been able to do this.

When I had first arrived, Earth was quite amusing, to the point where I couldn’t hide my surprise.

That world was filled with colors that didn’t exist in the demonic realm.

Perhaps due to how they all had intelligence, they conversed with one another continuously and seemed to enjoy themselves by doing so.

And compared to what I had expected, there was a lot of concentrated hot spots of magical energies present.

Kel kel. These stupid humans couldn’t use any of these magical energies present here.

If I wasn’t commanded so, I would’ve absorbed all this for myself.

I had met a total of 3 humans in that world.

The first human I met was really horrifying.

The moment I spoke to them, they tried to stab me with their knife.

Even after seeing me, they weren’t surprised or hesitant for even a second. With madness in their eyes, they had attacked me.

I didn’t receive any injuries, but I didn’t feel so good.

‘A talking goblin….. I wonder if killing one will give me the same thrill as killing a person? Kuhu, kuhuhu!’ – is what they had said.

The second human was pretty much the same.

I thought that all humans were barbaric, and despite having intellect, they were pretty much the same as the monsters.

My hopes of finding something new that was amusing had been completely crushed.

So I continued on, appearing before the 3rd human.

As expected, he swore and tried to ignore me.

However, thinking that all humans were the same didn’t last long!

Out of nowhere, he had suddenly changed his way of addressing me, becoming friendly.

The name of that human was Min-Cheol.

I was able to converse with any lifeform, no matter what dimension they were in.

I had lived hundreds of years pointlessly amidst the monsters that possessed no intellect.

Having no combat abilities, I had lived under sir Berdan’s protection as I carried out his orders.

I believed that the human named Min-Cheol that I had met on Earth was the reward for enduring that stagnancy for so long.

He had spoken to me and even gave me the sweet gift of steak.

“Keruu…..”

I had sacrificed that human to sir Berdan and now was waiting outside of the castle.

I was given the attention that I had never received.

I felt a warmth that I had never before.

But even so, I had sacrificed this human to sir Berdan.

Because if I didn’t do that, I would be the one to die.

This was the first time I felt this way.

Death was natural in the demonic realm.

It was as natural as the wind blowing, breathing, and even blinking.

But I, who had left that human behind and walked outside, could not accept his death.

On top of that, I felt regret and even apologetic towards the human that I had led to his death.

I tried to tell sir Berdan.

I tried to tell him that instead of Min-Cheol, I would bring the magical energies of many humans.

However, I could not finish what I was saying.

It was because he resorted to throwing very scary things and berated me.

He said it must be Min-Cheol, and to hurry up as soon as possible.

Next to me were 6 giant bags.

Inside were meats filled to the brim of the bags that could be used to make steak.

On top of that, the pocket dimension I carried was filled with Earth’s foodstuffs that he had gifted me with.

Even though he knew that he was going to die, he had gifted all of this to me.

Min-Cheol had given all of this to me.

Additionally, he had me evacuate the castle in worry that I might perish from the collateral damage.

I think I heard him say something about a food storage, but he probably spoke nonsense at the fear he was feeling against sir Berdan.

Steak was tasty enough for me to think about even on my deathbed.

But I could not bring myself to eat this steak.

It wasn’t because it was frozen solid.

I just didn’t feel like eating it.

I felt that I didn’t deserve to eat this.

“Human made good steak…..”

“KUHUCK! KUHA!”

“Keruu…..”

I could hear the sound of screams inside the castle.

It was a sound that I hear thousands of times a day in the demonic realm.

I put my head between my legs and covered my ears.

After a very long time, I stopped covering my ears.

………

………

Thankfully, I couldn’t hear any sound.

No! I wasn’t relieved.

Human….. Min-Cheol would have perished by now.

It didn’t take long for the doors of the castle to open.

However, I did not feel as though I could go inside.

Right now, I just wanted to avoid facing this situation.

I heard someone call for me.

“Karin…..”

“…….”

“Hey, Karin!”

“Keru….. Yes! Great Berd….. Keruk!”

****

“Kuhuk! Human who carries such insignificant magical energies…. But how do you have such strength…..”

“Whew….. Whew……”

“Hey, hyung-nim. Did something bad happen? You need to control your temper.”

“Kuhuh….. Lowly human! This isn’t possible!”

“What are you doing? Asking us where our fighting spirit went? Pfft! It’s right here. Hyung-nim, who had come with me, I think he has shown you a little bit of his fighting spirit. Not sure if it got across to you properly though.”

Berdan’s underlings had all perished.

All the monsters without intellect and the two that did had perished.

As expected, they were quite strong.

They were strong enough to call them as Berdan’s best.

However, they were no match for the rage of the hunter of had left his lover behind on Earth.

As if to deny their existence in the first place, not even a trace of them remained.

The interior that did not have enough room to even move around was now completely spacious.

In the fight with Berdan, all I had done was to take care of the monsters taking up all this space.

The one deserving of the credit for making Berdan kneel and spit out blood was Jong Ho.

It was true that I hadn’t seen him in combat since the moment he was able to clear the level 38 dungeon by himself.

The last time I was able to see how far he had grown was roughly a month ago.

To think that he had grown this strong in a single month.

It was enough to make me wonder if there was anyone more persistent than him.

It seemed as though Berdan was in great agony, holding onto both of his horns, his head lowered and body trembling.

Casting healing magic on Jong Ho, who was catching his breath, I spoke.

“Hyung-nim. Let’s end this now. I don’t want a long tour of the demonic realm.

“Yeah.”

In a split second, electricity gathered around Berdan.

The spell In Storm had been casted from the Balrok ring.

It was a S+ ranking magic that targeted anyone inside the targeted area into corpses.

The smaller the area chose, the more condensed the flow of electricity became, showing power that was enough to give me goosebumps.

Leaving his hand, it was the moment that the electricity was about to hit Berdan when it happened.

“What the….?”

“He’s resisting?”

---

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Taken from Light Novel Bastion. All credits goes to the original translator and editor.

4. Getting a Goal (2)

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Taken from Light Novel Bastion. All credits goes to the original translator and editor.

8. The Taste of Money! Manticore (3)

50 manticores were taken out in two attacks, leaving half remaining.

After seeing the nonsensical experience gains, I calmed my excited heart down, before quickly getting rid of the other half the same way.

Blood stones started rising up from the monsters that were defeated.. It was a beautiful sight.

During that, I thought that calling them a ‘Rising Sun’ wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

The few monsters that were still breathing were dispatched by Sang-Min’s ‘Ilsum’ and Chang-Hyuk’s axe swings.

In only 15 minutes I got over 10,000 experience, and my levels had risen.

This was actually an amazing amount of experience. I mean, the level 6 dungeon boss only gave out 100 experience.

Not to mention, this experience was  divided between 5 people as well.

The party members, who had just finished half the hunt, couldn’t stop being in awe of my ‘Lightning Spray’, as it was stronger than they thought.

Of course, due to the last week’s hunting, the Skill Level was now Level 8.

In-Ah buffing the attack increase, and Yong-Hyun debuffing the opponent’s damage resistance greatly contributed too.

Typically, you would think that having one tanker and four damage dealers would be more effective, but mixing healers and necromancers together sped up the hunting.

It was probably due to the main skills that each class had.

Meanwhile, after learning ‘Lightning Spray’, I had no reason to use ‘Frost Orb’ in the level 6 dungeon.

I had a magic which would destroy them in one hit, after all.

Of course…this only applied to me.

The other half was killed in the same way.

After killing all the monsters, we moved in the 12 o’clock direction, and eventually made it to the dungeon center. Sang-Min shook his head, and said

“Ah… this dungeon’s a failure.”

‘Eh? What about a failure?’

We hunted all those monsters in only 30 minutes, yet he’s saying something about failure?

After seeing the other party members in regret I realized something.
O

h. In this dungeon there was a boss: the boss that dropped the ‘Manticore’s Soul Stone’.

However, he hadn’t appeared.

I asked Sang-Min, “Eh!?” Why can’t I see the boss?”

Sang-Min saw my panicked face and replied,

“Ah… In this dungeon the boss doesn’t always show up. It has a low chance of appearance. In addition to that, you have to kill all the monsters in the dungeon for it to show up. Manticores have a large aggro radius so we couldn’t have missed any, therefore, this dungeon is a failure.”

Damn it! I thought it was strange when they said one soul stone equaled 1 billion.

I thought ‘The association is either lazy or rich.’

But even if the boss didn’t come out, I could still get a larger profit than clearing a level 6 dungeon solo.

1 run gives over 30,000 exp, many blood stones, and the probability of a manticore soul stone.

‘This… I think I should just  stay for a few days and suck the honey?’ ²
After leaving the dungeon, Sang-Min, as if he liked the Lightning Spray’s damage, came over.

“Min-Cheol ssi, when can you do it ‘till??”

He brought out his smartphone and continued to talk.

“It’s 10am right now, and we can go until 4-5pm. If you’re okay with that, then let’s hunt together!” ”

“I’m okay until that time too.”

I smiled to myself and thought ‘Nope! I’m cool whenever, be it night or dawn.’‘

“Ah,really? That’s good. It’s hard to get greater damage dealers. You’re also really strong compared to your level, so the other guild members like you too.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

After getting my promise of hunting with them, Sang-Min leaves the blood stone calculation to the other members who are restoring their mana and talks to me.

“Min-Cheol ssi, I’ll go to the Awakened ATM machine after we’ve divided up your share and send your money to you.”

Normally, when hunting with guild members or friends, you would share the loot after all the hunts were finished.

But my case was different, so he probably talked about the loot first.

I think he’s a decent guy.

Since it was the first time I had been treated well in my life, I didn’t know what to do and started fidgeting.

Young-Hyun spoke up, breaking up the awkward conversation.

“Hyung-nim, there are 12 F ranks and 1 D rank.”

We hunted around 200 manticores, but only 13 stones came out.

It reminded me, once again, about the low drop rates of the blood stones.

Of course, one stone is D rank, so it would fetch a higher price..

“Did you find out the current price?”

“You didn’t tell me to do that.”

He waved his hand and turned around, as if to say he wasn’t even surprised by this point.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Find out the current price and say it, please?”

“Yes, Hyung!”

Sang-Min was pressing down on his temple during this  time.

After completing the search, Yong-Hyun pressed down some buttons on his handphone, and said, “Hyung! Right now F rank is 20,500 won, and D rank is 70,000 won. All together it’s 316,000 won!

“Yong-Hyun, how many times do I have to say this? Take off the odds and ends and give it to Chang-Hyuk. We can just say it’s 300,000 and give everyone 60,000. The municipal rate doesn’t fall down that much.”

As if swallowing a sweet potato the size of an arm, I could sense the frustration.

‘If it was my younger brother, I would tie him up and beat the living daylights out of him.’

Sang-Min looked at me with a contradictory look as he talked to Yong-Hyun.

“We should give a bit more money to the main tanker.. The equipment wear is far worse for them, so we can’t do anything about it. Of course, most parties do this.. It’s fine, right?”

I saw that shield’s life being beaten out of it with my own eyes, so I could clearly understand the point.

“Ah, right. Let’s hunt together when we have the time. Can I have your phone number?”

“Eh? Ah… I’ll type it.”

Kim Min-Cheol

Level : 25
Exp : [34,260/220,000]
Class : Magician
Special Ability : Mana doesn’t run out.
Strength : 10
Mana : ∞
Agility : 10
Vitality : 130
Unspent Points  : 0
Current Skills
Frost Orb Level 12 [1450/90000]
Lightning Spray Level 18 [86536/150000]

It was the fifth day of hunting with Sang-Min and his party.

The manticore boss hadn’t shown up once, even though we hunted 7 hours each day.

Although we stayed there for 10 hours total, Lee In-Ah, and Jo Yong-Hyun spend 3 hours restoring their mana, so the actual hunting time was less.

Of course, I had to put up an act while they rested. I pretended to need mana restoration time, too.

When our hunting time together was finished, I went to a level 6 dungeon alone.

This was for Skill Experience.

I aggro’d all the monsters, and killed them all, including the boss.

I could easily tank their attacks, as my vitality stat was at 130.

A 6 level dungeon usually needed a 5 member team of at least Level 10+.

Parties would have tankers and damage dealers, but I did that all on my own.

The amount of time it took for me to move to the boss room was equivalent to the time used to complete a dungeon run.

Every day at 6 am Sang-Min called me.

Aside from my mother, no one else had given me this much attention.

I felt uncomfortable and awkward, but I soon found that someone looking for you was actually a good feeling.

The amount of money I got per day from manticore hunting was around 100-120 million won.

In addition to this, the income from other hunting was around 200,000 won.

I could earn 800 million per week.

But this wasn’t enough. I needed more money.

To get that I needed stronger skills, better items, and more growth.

But right now I was completely focused on repaying the loan.

My next objective was to get the skills ‘Flashing’ and ‘Frozen Shield’.

Due to my infinite mana, I could cast ‘Lightning Spray’ without rest. In order to level up, the skills I needed were not attack skills, but defensive ones.

“Now, let’s get to work!”

---

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Taken from Light Novel Bastion. All credits goes to the original translator and editor.

5. Getting a Goal (3)

I went straight to the dungeon after lying that I have to go to the library at the crack of dawn.

The hip sack I prepared was pretty full.

I didn’t eat or drink anything except for the breakfast that my mother prepared.

But I didn’t feel anything like hunger or dehydration.

I once again realized how frightening human greed is.

It was about 9 pm when the sun was going down.

14 hours of continuous hunting… and the hip sack which was as big as my excited heart!

Going back, my footsteps were light rather than being heavy.

On the way home, I go to a busy  ‘Awakened Market’ street and entered into one of the stores.

A place which trades ‘blood stones’ and sells Awakened weapons, armor, and such.

It’s a place that I had never paid any attention to… but now, I wonder how many of them there were.

“Welcome!”

The owner who is wearing a neat suit greets me.

I can clearly see that his gaze towards me, who looks pretty young, isn’t nice.

He’s definitely viewing me as a brat who will touch this and that and ask annoying questions.

I observe that two robust men are standing next to the owner.

People who use this place are mainly Awakened. By using their powers, they could harm the store’s business, so those two are probably hired bodyguards.

“Yes, hello.”

I give a simple greeting, untie the hip sack and place it on the counter.

The owner’s eyes become big as he looks at the puffed up hip sack.

“I’m disposing of all this.”

I say as I raise my head up.

The owner, who looked at the hip sack’s contents more closely, slowly shrinks back.

His disappointment is clearly shown.

‘Eh? This isn’t the scenario I envisioned would happen?’

The owner doesn’t even give me time to panic and opens his mouth.

“You got this all from a level 1 dungeon right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s all F rank, and there’s 1 transcendent F rank one too.”

Anxiousness assaulted me with the owner’s expression and words.

I didn’t know the commercial rate of the ‘blood stones’ and just constantly hunted.

“45 small ones! And 1 big one!”

I quickly reply like a child who’s pleading for innocence after being unjustly accused of something.

I went to around 30 dungeons today.

I counted all the stones one by one and carefully put them in the hip sack.

It might look like I’m a miser, but counting all that wasn’t annoying! Or hard! Or confusing!

Therefore, I could only feel down in front of this harvest after all my effort.

“It looks like you just Awakened and hunted all this time to get all this… F ranked essences don’t go for that much.”

This piece of dog shit!

I regain my temper and carefully ask.

“Then how much would it all be?”

My chin that didn’t know how tall the sky was raised itself and quickly found its proper place.

The owner who touched his tablet PC once or twice replies.

“Let’s see… The current price for F rank is 20 thousand won, transcendent F rank is about 50 thousand won. If what you said about the amount is correct…”

The owner keeps talking while punching numbers on a calculator.

“It comes to be about 950 thousand won.”

Ah… no…. It’s only 20 thousand won, 50 thousand one per…

It’s only 950 thousand… ³

Eh?!

Did this guy get heatstroke or something? Cheap?!

You cosplaying as Mansour? ⁴

Disappointment quickly turned into  joy, and I felt a thrill from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.

“So, would you like it in cash, or do you want it in ‘Awakened Credit’?

The store owner asks while putting the blood stones in a stone counter.

The counter splits the small stones and the big stone up, and quickly figures out the price.

“Eh? What’s… that ‘Awakened Credit’ thing?”

The look he had towards me when we first met is all gone and he now has a look towards me as if saying I was cute, and asks:

“Really, you haven’t been an Awakened for long huh?

“Yeah, haha…”

I take a wipe-your-nose-with-your-hand pose and make an embarrassing smile.

“The association doesn’t even explain things like this, freaking governments.”

The owner, who mumbles to himself speaks to me.

“You have your ‘Awakened Certificate’ right?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“You can use it like a debit card. Give it here.”

“Ok, here you go.”

As I hand over the certificate I feel embarrassed at my non-existent knowledge, and yet feel proud that I’m experiencing a world that not all people can get into.

As the certificate is put into the card terminal some information about me comes up.

“Do you remember your password that you made?”

“Yes! I remember.”

“Ok, put the password in here.”

‘1004’; you probably think that this is simple and dumb right?

But this number is the most important number to me.

My mother’s birthday is on the 4th of October.

As I enter in the password it displays the information about my latest card usage, and the amount of money I have in it.

The market owner says this as he puts his credit card into the other side of the terminal.

“Item price 950 thousand won, I’ll transfer it.”

“Wait! Do you have the Lightning Spray Skill Book?”

The owner once again looks at me as if I was cute.

“Even if you buy it you can’t use it. The mana cost is abnormally high. Hm… Do you want me to suggest you something different?”

“No! I’m buying it as a gift.”

“Oh, well then…”

The price was 1 million won.

It’s a bit higher than the online price, but the owner gave it to me for 900 thousand won while saying ‘Please keep coming.’

After finishing the trade and checking the money left in my card, I get out of the store confidently.

The Skill Book ‘Lightning Spray’, which I thought I would get ages later, was bought on the first day of dungeon hunting.

“Unbelievable…”

Only a few days ago I got almost beaten to death because of a mere 2000 won.

But now?

It’s like money doesn’t feel like money.

Like harvesting plants from a mountain, all I did was pick up blood stones from a dungeon.

I chuckled and went home.

****

It was 10pm when I got home.

On the first day of the holidays, from the first hunt I got an unbelievable sum of money.

I stare at the ‘Lightning Spray’ Skill Book.

The Skill Book is about the same size as a manhwa.

When I open it up there are indecipherable hieroglyphs.

To obtain a skill, you have to place the ‘Skill Book’ on your chest and wait about 10 seconds.

As I put the Skill Book on my chest, a gentle light comes out and slowly sublimates.

[Would you learn the skill ‘Lightning Spray’?]

“Of course! Absolutely! Yes!”

[You have learned the skill ‘Lightning Spray.’]

Kim Min-Cheol
Level : 7
Exp : [4200/6400]
Class : Magician
Special Ability : Mana doesn’t run out.
Strength: 10
Mana : ∞
Agility : 10
Vitality : 10
Unspent Points : 30
Current Skills
Frost Orb Level 8 [1450/12,800]
Lightning Spray Level 0 [0/100]

My gaze rests on the name ‘Lightning Spray’ only for a moment.

The 30 unspent points attracted my eyes.

I didn’t upgrade my stats yet.

Currently, I don’t run out of mana, and a mana quantity didn’t exist.

The mana stat affects the quantity of mana I can hold and the regeneration rate of mana.

Therefore I had no reason to put points into the mana stat.

Strength upgrades battle speed, stamina, accuracy as well as power.

That’s the reason why Magician class Awakened are less popular than Warrior class Awakened.

Of course, you can’t select which one you get.

When a warrior and a magician are the same level, have similar ranks of equipment, then the only difference between them are the massive difference between their stats.

The only way to close this gap is to have strong skills and high skill levels.

Ah~I forgot something, the thing which allows you to constantly use those skills, the mana gauge!

This is probably why the Skill Books for the magician class are expensive.

Anyway, even though I’m a magician I don’t need to put any points into mana.

Therefore I feel that the most important stat right now is strength.

Even though casting spells at a range is relatively safe, as the dungeon level goes up a high level monster could possibly be able attack me once.

Let’s say that I raised my agility, and avoided most of the attacks. But what if I get unlucky and get hit once?

‘Few days later~ few days later~ meet him across the Jordan River!’

I ignore the strange voice support and use the 30 points I got from leveling into strength.

Because it’s hard to reset your stats, I put them in cautiously and carefully.

---

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Taken from Light Novel Bastion. All credits goes to the original translator and editor.

7. The Taste of Money! Manticore (2)

The feeling of the dungeon interior was vastly different from the ones I usually frequented.

If the previous dungeons had a feeling of a basement, then this dungeon was like a desert.

The floor was entirely made of fine sand, and there were no tunnels or walls we could use as a guide.

While I looked around Sang-Min started to speak.

“Chang-Hyuk will go in the 9 o’clock direction and I’ll go in the 12 o’clock, and we’ll all meet back here. You know all this but I’ll say it one more time.”

Han Sang-Min’s plan was as follows:

They would split into two teams.

Lee Chang-Hyuk, the main tanker, and Jo Yong-Hyun, the necromancer, were in one, while Han Sang-Min, the sub-tanker, and Lee In-Ah, the healer, were in the other.

These two teams would drive the monsters to the starting location, so we could hunt them.

He said this around the same time I was thinking ‘How, in this wide dungeon, are you going to lure the monsters here?’

“Min-Cheol ssi needs to say here, and get buffed by In-Ah and Yong-Hyun. On my signal fire Greater Magic, understand?”

Why do we need a strategy for a manticore? Can’t we just go on a rampage?

“I understand. I’ll standby.”

“Then let’s go.”

After Sung-Min finished talking he led the party away, and they quickly set off.

I started to worry about whether we could clear the dungeon in the 1 hour time limit.

“Ah, I feel like I came here in vain…”

My thoughts naturally leaked out after the party members were out of my sight.

Well, I can solo level 6 dungeons in 25 minutes.

Loot, experience, it was all mine.

I came for the manticore’s soul stone but now I feel a bit of regret.

Has 5 minutes gone by?

“Let it go~ Let it go~ Hmhmhmhm and sky~”

I had just finished drawing on the sand, using the Frost Orb as paint, when I saw Lee Chang-Hyuk and Yong-Hyun rushing towards me at an amazing speed.

“The hell!? Are you luring the monsters, or running away from them?”

He came up to me and lifted his 2 meter high shield.

I felt an unknown strength from the shield that was firmly strapped to his shoulder and arm.

The big axe on his other hand had it’s grip double-layered to protect his hand and wrist, as if to prove that he was a tanker.

‘Are they playing a war game?’ A black silhouette approached us, like a fog, from the way they came.

Lee Chang-Hyuk turned his head around, and smiled a fishy smile. With a thick voice, he said:

“Hey, rookie-young master! Don’t freak out and randomly spam skills. Just stick to the back.

Jjigeureok woodukwooduk.

I could clearly hear the sound of my pride cracking.

I wanted to show him the justice of team-killing, but I barely restrained myself.

He probably dislikes me, because I look like a gold spoon Awakened, with no worries in the world. ⁵

I hit the sarcastic remark back at him, “Just block well. You’re probably going to get sore muscles after this.”

Chang-Hyuk laughed at my reply, and gathered strength in his two hands.

“They’re coming.”

Hang Sang-Min and Lee In-Ah were running here quickly.

With the black crowd that Lee Chang-Hyuk attracted slowly becoming clearer, Han Sang-Min joined us and started to make a plan.

“In-Ah, attack, attack speed, and defense buffs, please. Also, cast ‘Barrier’ around Young-Hyun and Min-Cheol ssi, as they’ll be supporting us at the back.

Without replying she nodded, and gave everyone buffs. Then she casted ‘Barrier around Young-Hyun and me.

The barrier, that looked like light blue glass, surrounded me.

If someone did a close-range attack inside the barrier, the barrier would instantly disappear.

It was a shield only suitable for ranged damage dealers.

“Young Hyun, keep casting ‘Spirit Armour’ on Chang-Hyuk and me, okay?”

“Don’t worry, Hyung-nim, I will.”

Shades kept coming out of Sang-Min and Chang-Hyuk’s surroundings and surrounded them.

It was probably a defense system for tankers and close-range damage dealers.

Now it looked like we were finally going to do something.

I wasn’t afraid, but I felt a bit anxious.

I trusted in my infinitely producing mana.

Of course, the well-trained party members had a part in it too.

The manticore herd was coming at an amazing speed, leaving a trail of sand behind them.

Their numbers were approximately 800-1000.

And, they were only around half of the monsters in the dungeon.

The monsters weren’t too big, only 2 metres, but it let out an overwhelming pressure.

I contributed the pressure to its outward appearance.

It had a wavy lion’s face, wings on its back, that could be compared to a bat or a dragon’s, and a scorpion’s tail that was most likely full of deadly poison.

‘Wow… I just lost a bit of confidence. Was it just the atmosphere?’

The manticore crowds were in groups of 4-5.

The leading manticore pack arrived at tanker Chang-Hyuk.

The manticores spread into a fan position and used their sharp claws to rain attacks on him.

Jjigeureureu caen! Caen!

Chang-Hyuk used his shield and axe to block the claws, while Sang-Min used the swords in his hands.

A sound like a blacksmith hammering steel came out.

Herd after herd kept coming, but Sang-MIn didn’t give out the attack signal.

In-Ah and Yong-Hyun were continuing to buff and heal.

The end of the long line of manticores was now visible.

“Charging!”

At Sang-Min’s shout, Chang-Hyuk lifted his right foot, which was his center of gravity, and stepped forward, pushing his shield into the herd of manticores.

“Woaaahhh!”

Ku guung!

With Chang-Hyuk’s short shout, many of the tens of manticores that were surrounding the party were pushed back, as if there was an invisible wall pushing them away.

This was the tanking skill ‘Charging’.

It was a main skill for tankers, which utilized shields or weapons to push enemies away.

The manticores that were pushed away collided with the other manticores, and became a single mass of tens of manticores put together.

“Yong-Hyun, lower resist!”

Yong-Hyun, who was casting ‘Spirit Armour’, busily started to debuff the monsters that were bunched up.

It was a skill that decreased a monster’s physical and magical resistance.

The monsters that were successfully affected had a triangle shape glowing red on their chests.

I could hear Sang Min

“Min-Cheol ssi, now!”

It was time.

Time for ‘Lightning Spray’ to appear.

The party members and the monsters were quite a bit apart due to the skill ‘Charging’.

I could use ‘Lightning Spray’ with both hands, but to avoid suspicion I grabbed my staff with both hands and casted it.

“Eurya!”

Jjirik! Gigigigik!

Electrical currents, that emitted a blue light, poured out of the end of the staff and started to stretch around.

The attack, much like rain during a storm, had no set patterns or directions, and mercilessly crashed onto the herd.

Their bodies started to explode due to the impact.

The ones that were instantly done by the Lightning Spray’s destructive power started to shake all at once.

The currents that had pierced through the monster’s bodies went straight down into the ground, as if they still had strength left.

[120 experience gained.]
[120 experience gained.]
[120 experience gained.]

---

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127. Face off with Berdan

Many days before the Gate was formed, Berdan worked in secret to hide the magical energy near the Gate that would connect to Earth.

Soon, humans from Earth with vast amounts of magical energy would be arriving.

However, the magical energy of the demonic realm was already saturated to its maximum.

Berdan wouldn’t be the only one to notice additional magical energies entering the demonic realm.

From the demon king Jamon to Ladin. Anyone decently strong would be able to recognize the change as well.

Of course, the demon king had commanded to gather greater amounts of magical energies in order to increase the territory of the monsters.

However, this was a path of revival for the demons that were withering away due to infighting.

However, if the demon king realized the magical energies that were being brought included Min-Cheol and Jong Ho, with more to come, he would see that Berdan would obtain magical energies surpassing his, and would stop him.

It was then.

Berdan sensed that two humans with massive amounts of magical energies had entered into his veil.

He was all smiles now.

He could feel each of their steps, getting closer by the second.

Even now, he wanted to rush outside and obtain their mana.

However, he could not do so.

Despite covering up the magical energy around the Gate, it wasn’t possible to hide his own magical energy.

If Berdan, who had been guarding his castle this entire time suddenly moved, it could cause alarm.

Out of habit, Berdan touched his horn.

Salivating, he spoke again.

“Kuhu. Kuhaha! Finally, they’re here!”

Right now, he had gathered the top 1% ranking monsters in his territory to his castle.

It was to gather as quickly and as much magical energy as possible.

In his sights lay the humans that arrived here, the monsters of his territory, and the monsters of Ladin’s territory.

After that, he planned to travel to Earth and take the magical energies of the remaining Awakened.

There was a possibility that the demon king Jamon might follow him to Earth, but unlike Berdan who did not require any magical energies to travel through dimensions due to his Authority, the demon king would have to expend a massive amount of it in order to travel.

That meant that even if the demon king did follow, he would not have enough magical energies to defeat him.

“Come! Hurry! To the new demon king!”

****

We entered the demonic realm.

The moment our feet touched the ground, the feeling of doom and gloom of the demonic realm washed over us.

The ground was desolate and barren, almost as if it was a field for farming that had undergone a severely long period of drought.

We couldn’t help but get goosebumps at the sight.

On top of that, there were monsters all over the place.

This place didn’t look that different from the dreams I had of this place before.

No, perhaps the place I saw in my dreams were miniature in comparison to this place.

Almost as if to wet the dry ground, the monsters in the distance ripped one another apart, spilling blood everywhere.

It was absolute chaos.

It really was the demonic realm. Looking around made me realize that again.

It felt like we had gone through a portal or a dungeon.

Just from looking around, the number and types of monsters were beyond one’s imagination.

It felt as if dungeons from all levels had been put together into a single place.

“Whew….. We really did arrive….”

“Keruk. This is the demonic realm.”

“Oh. You’re Karin?”

Jong Ho, who hadn’t been able to see Karin until now, spoke as if he was glad to see him.

At his question, Karin put his hands at his hips and spoke with his nose raised up.

“Kel kel. That’s right. Humans, follow me.”

“Karin, are we going to Berdan immediately?”

“That’s right. He should not be angered.”

“Ok….. Lead the way. We’ll follow.”

“Keruk. Alright.”

“Hyung-nim, just do as you have been practicing. No matter what, do not let your shield spell fall off.”

“Of course. You have no idea how much I’ve been practicing in order to get used to it.”

“Until we arrive at Berdan’s castle, I’ll be dealing an inconsequential amount of damage to you in order for you to gather mana, since you’ll need to save up that mana for combat.”

“Yeah. If you just control the output of your damage well, I should be able to cast shields without using up any mana. This skill is kind of perverted in the sense that you need to get hit while using the defensive skill in order for me to obtain mana.”

“Yes. And you have the ring with you, right?”

“Yes, I’m wearing it.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Karin moved through the demonic realm as if he was a fish back in water.

Surprisingly, the monsters lowered their tails and fled when we got close to them.

These monsters only thought about killing.

Looking at their fleeing forms, I remembered that they had the ability to sense magical energy, at least according to Karin.

It seemed that no matter the type of monster they were or what amount of intelligence they had, all of them could sense both their own magical energy and of others.

That’s why it made sense for them to run at the sight of us two overflowing with magical energies.

I even considered that we didn’t need the shield spells for now.

With Karin at the lead, we walked for a long time.

His stumbling walk was too funny to watch.

Perhaps he was going as fast as he could, because he was panting heavily.

Thinking that this would take all day, I looked towards the sky.

However, this place did not have a sun or moon.

Everything was bathed in a light similar to the bluish hue before dawn.

It really fit the image of the demonic realm.

“Kehhehru. Keheck. We’re almost here.”

“I don’t see anything though?”

“Kehhek. It’s over there. Sir Berdan’s castle.”

“What do you mean. I only see a mountain…. Wait, that’s a castle?”

“That’s right. We just need to go a little further.”

I thought it was a mountain where Karin pointed.

It was so huge that it’d be easy to make that mistake.

However, Karin was saying that it was Berdan’s castle.

To be fair, I had thought that the cliff I saw in my dream was actually his sword, so imagine how big his body would be.

As I was walking without much care, Jong Ho poked at my sides and spoke.

“I’m not saying this because I’m afraid or anything, but because I’m a bit nervous…..”

“What’s up?”

“Just how big is he? How big does he have to be in order to use a castle that big?”

“Dunno. I haven’t see him in person. To be fair, just because someone is big, doesn’t mean that they fight well.”

“That…. That’s right. That’s right, but I don’t know why I’m sweating so much from my hands.”

“It’ll be quick. Ah! You remember that we have to continuously check each other’s positions, right?”

“Of course. I don’t want to get hit by your meteor and die.”

“Okay. I will also keep in mind where you are positioning. And until your ring of revival gets consumed, I’ll be purely focusing on combat.”

“Right. I’ll do my best to let you focus only on fighting against Berdan. I hope that there won’t be a need for this ring to be consumed.”

“Yes. Please do not overexert yourself. Retreating or running away is a tactic in itself. And do not let your thoughts become consumed by panic. Safety first.”

“Alright.”

It didn’t take long for us to arrive at Berdan’s castle, and the castle door that was big as a house opened.

“Kururu.”

“Kuhu….. Kuwuh!”

“Shit. Even from the entrance, it’s quite tense.”

“Keruru.”

“Hey, Karin. Is it normal for these monsters to gather inside the castle?”

“Kel kel. No. However, these monsters carry the top 1% magical energies of the demonic realm.”

“Looks like he’s quite afraid, bringing all his minions here.”

“Kehhehhehhek! Human, you are too funny. They are just food to him. They’re like chunks of meat that will charge him with magical energies! After obtaining both of your magical energies, they are going to be his desert.”

“…..”

“Funny. One hell of a grand dream he has.”

“Keruru.”

“But, you know, I think us, who are the main dish, is going to make him choke….”

To each of our sides, countless monsters were letting out their killing intent.

However, they also did not just charge in.

Was it because they could sense the difference in magical energies? Or it could be that Berdan had commanded them not to.

Jong Ho and I covered our bodies with shield spells and headed forward.

This was the first time that so many red marks were revealed before me by Eye of Insight.

The countless monsters that filled this place up to its brim were only matched by the amount of red marks my skill showed me.

Eye of Insight was showing me all their weak points.

Unlike the others, there was a target mark at the end of the castle’s central hallway that appeared different from the rest..

Red dots covered the entire giant form of the creature.

That must be Berdan.

But to think that his entire body was the weak spot. It was strange.

It didn’t take long for him to appear in our sights.

Karin ran forward with haste.

“Great sir Berdan! I have brought the humans as asked! Kelkeru.”

“Kuhuhu! Yes, you have done well, Karin.”

“Kehrurururu.”

“You’re the one?”

“Kek?”

“The piece of shit called Berdan?”

“Kehhek!”

“Kuhaha! Looking at your magical energy, you must have moved through your world with quite the power.”

“…..”

“However, after taking down such a weakling like Zekill, you dare think that you can fight against me! Kuhaha! Fools. Hurry and surrender before me. Give me your magical energies without struggle.”

Ignoring his words, I stomped on the ground.

The force from my strong body was delivered directly into the ground.

It resulted in the entire castle shaking, the sheer force of the ground quaking spreading throughout.

Frowning, I spoke to Berdan.

“Hey, is this castle sturdy?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if it’s sturdy. Aren’t we going to fight here? You went through the trouble of preparing an arena for us, so we have to at least return the courtesy by giving you a show.”

“So you wish to realize how powerless you are with your own body.”

“Since you aren’t saying much, I guess it’s quite sturdy.”

“Amusing.”

At my taunt, two monsters behind him stood up.

They must be similar to the underlings the radical faction had, kind of like how Ghost and Joker was.

They only amounted to his right and left hand.

Berdan raise his giant hand to stop them from making a move.

Then he spoke.

“It’s been quite awhile since I’ve seen a decent concentration of magical energies. I guess it’ll be okay to use this as a warm up exercise.”

“Aren’t you going to send them away?”

I pointed at the countless monsters behind us and spoke.

In the fight to come, they would amount to nothing more than lumbering obstacles.

“Slaughter them to your pleasure, if you wish. Obtain as much magical energies as you wish. The magical energies you two will take will merely return back to me when I’m through.”

“You’re pretty smart. Then let the rest be, but have Karin leave.”

“Did you become attached to him? Kuha! Amusing. Fine. Karin!”

“Keru. Your orders, sir Berdan!”

“Guard the outside of the castle. It’ll be finished soon, but I do not want the one who had the biggest part in this mission become injured.”

“Keruru. Understood.”

“Now, are you done?”

“Okay. Got our food storage evacuated. Now we can go all out.”

“Kuhaha.”

“Hyungnim, please take care of the two monsters behind him.”

“What about the rest of the monsters?”

“They probably won’t move without his command. It seems that the only three monsters with intelligence are those three.”

“Okay, I got it!”

“Shields. Checking each other’s positioning. Keeping proper distance. Do not forget.”

“Yep!”

Observing the two of us talk in silence, Berdan finally spoke.

“It seems that you’re plotting quite the grand strategy.”

“Hey, you’re making me blush. It’s nothing much, just…. You can think of it as a plan to kill you.”

“Good….. Come! Insignificant humans called the Awakened. I shall show you the true might of the demonic race!”

---

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126. To the Demonic Realm

“Kekek! Human! We must go now! The Gate…. Sir Berdan awaits!”

“Alright, alright. Just wait a bit.”

“Kuhhoop.”

After returning to the house, I checked the Gate that led to the demonic realm through TV.

The Gate was far bigger than what I had originally anticipated.

Karin kept stomping his foot and tried to hurry me along, saying the he could feel the Gate’s aura.

However, the food still hadn’t arrived yet.

Since I wasn’t a monster that could use magical energy as a source of food, this matter was of life and death importance.

Stuffing his mouth with steaks, I bought as much time as possible.

I proceeded to contact the commander.

“Commander.”

“Yes, lad Min-Cheol. Did you confirm the location of the Gate?”

“Yes, I just saw it on TV.”

“Right….. When do you think you’ll arrive here by?”

“Hm… Probably 2 hours from now.”

“2 hours…..”

“Yes. During that time, please prevent any Awakened or civilians from getting near the Gate. They would be sent immediately to the demonic realm if they did so.”

“Yes, I’ve already gave the order for that. But you said it’ll take 2 hours…. Is something the matter?”

“No. I asked for food supplies, but they told me that it’ll take roughly 2 hours.”

“Hm… I see. Since it could become a long drawn out fight, that would be necessary. I shall try and see if I could speed up the delivery for you.”

“Yes, thank you. By the way, did any monsters come through the Gate?”

“Right. So far, there were no signs of such things. Please contact me again when you’re ready.”

“Yes, understood.”

It would still be awhile before the ordered items would arrive.

As I was about to head to the living room, Jong Ho returned from hunting.

It seemed that he ran here as fast as he could so that he could save the Warp cooldown, because he was drenched in sweat.

Catching his breath after being winded, he spoke.

“Whew…. Whew….. I’m not late, am I?”

“Yes. You arrived just on time.”

“Thank goodness. Whew…..”

I casted Mega Cure on Jong Ho.

His breathing steadied, and he was lively once more.

Since he had a massive amount of dexterity and stamina stats, his recovery was really fast.

After he finished recovering, Jong Ho continued.

“What about the goblin? Karin?”

“Probably eating steak in the room?”

“That’s one heck of an appetite. What about our food supplies? Is it ready yet?”

“Yes. It’ll be here soon.”

“So we’re all ready now……”

“Yes…..”

“What about mother?”

“She’s in her room.”

“I’m so conflicted that my head feels like it’s going to explode. You know, it was enough to make me wish that we weren’t ready to go to the demonic realm?”

“Everything will be fine. Don’t worry too much.”

“Yes, of course! I’m acting like this because I’m way too nervous. It’s the first time I’m going to the demonic realm, after all.”

“Pfft. If someone heard this, they would think that I visited there countless of times because of how calm I’m acting compared to you.”

“Heh heh! The dry humor between us does make me feel a bit better though.”

Jong Ho took in a deep breath.

Seemed that he was trying to get rid of his nervousness.

It didn’t last long, however.

We heard mother coming out to the living room.

“You’re back, Jong Ho?”

“Yes, mother. I’m back.”

“Good. Min-Cheol, are you done preparing as well?”

“Yes, all done.”

The three of us stood in silence for awhile.

There was no way that the departing and the ones sending would be comfortable with this situation.

Mother squeezed both of our hands tightly and looked at both of us in turn.

It was then. Mother took off the ring she was wearing and gave it to me.

“This….. Will you not need this?”

“The ring? You were wearing it well, so why all of a sudden?”

“Mothers just know. Even if they don’t want to know, and even if they want to pretend that they don’t know, they learn everything about their children…..”

“…….”

“When you first put this ring on me, I still can’t forget the face you made. It was filled with worry, yet kind beyond comparison. This item has to do with my safety, right? This ring, that is……”

“……”

“Take it with you.”

“No, mom. I’m okay even without this. You should hold onto it.”

“Mother, it is alright. We’ll finish it quickly and come back safe and sound.”

“Yes, of course. That’s to be expected. But I’m still worried, so take it with you.”

“……”

“If you insist….. You should be the one to wear it, Min-Cheol. Since it’ll be a piece of cake, it won’t matter who wears it, right? You should hold onto it.”

Taking the ring from my mother’s hand, he held it towards me.

-Trade with the Reaper- ⁶

*Once the wearer’s life runs out, blooms.

*A new life is gained.

*1 time use per person.

I had already obtained a variety of defensive skills from multiple different classes, as well as the Mana Shield.

Jong Ho, on the other hand, had a massive amount of stamina points, and his cooldown reduction allows him to always keep up a shield skill. Still, it paled in comparison to me.

There was only one skill that could recover health and vitality in one go.

It was Status Denial.

On top of that, this skill had a cooldown of 24 hours.

If both of us were to get into the worst case scenario…?

Just in case of the unexpected, I thought that it would be best to bring it along with us.

With the thought of giving the ring back to Jong Ho on the way to the Gate, it suddenly happened then.

As if mother knew what I was thinking, she closed Jong Ho’s hand on the ring and spoke.

“No. I think it would look better on my elder son, Jong Ho.”

“Yeah. An old ring like that doesn’t suit me.”

“Mother….”

“It’s ok. Who was the one who said that since nothing will happen, it won’t matter who wears it? That means that you can be the one to wear it, right?”

“…….”

“Even though I became both your mother in different ways, remember that you two are my sons…. You know how I feel about this, right?”

“Yes. This is fine…. It should be like this.”

“Thank you…….”

“Shouldn’t you two eat first? There’s a long way to go, so you can’t leave on an empty stomach.”

****

It took less than an hour after we finished our meal for the truck to arrive.

Just from a glance, I could tell that there were tons of supplies.

Looking at this, Jong Ho spoke.

“Hey, Min-Cheol. Does all that fit in the duffel bags?”

“What, do you think the duffel bags are some magic pouches or something?”

“No. That’s why I’m asking. Why did you order so much if you don’t know how we’re going to carry all that? And the duffel bags are already filled with frozen beef.”

“Hyungnim, did you perhaps heard of the great Karin?”

“The goblin?”

“Yes. His pockets are the magic pouches.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about at all.”

I spoke in a tiny voice to prevent from Karin from overhearing.

“Hyungnim. When we get to the demonic realm, you will be able to see Karin.”

“Yeah……”

“You cannot harm him under any circumstances. He’s our meal storage.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Are you saying that we’re going to eat goblin meat?”

“He has the ability to carry his own personal pocket dimension.”

“Pocket dimension?”

“Yes. His pockets are enormous. All the items we’ve gathered here are going into Karin’s pockets.”

“Oho…..”

“Now do you understand?”

“Okay.”

All the items were put out in the courtyard.

Checking that the truck drove away far out of sight, I called Karin.

I wondered how much meat he had eaten, cause his belly was nearly touching the floor.

“Keru. Human. I don’t think I can eat anymore steak. Let us hurry to the Gate.”

“Okay. But before that, you are going to keep your promise, right?”

“Keru…. Okay. I just need to put all the items here in my pockets, right?”

“Yep. All of it!”

“With my ability, this is a piece of cake.”

“Yes, that’s good…….”

****

Karin started to shove in all the items on the floor into his pockets.

He spoke while looking at me.

“Human. As promised, I put everything in. Now let us go to the Gate.”

“Yes, let’s go. Hyungnim, let’s go.”

“Yes….. I think we should at least give our farewells to mother before leaving though.”

“No. She told me to go without giving farewells.”

“……”

“She said that she might change her mind and prevent us from going. Told us to give greetings after we come back.”

“Alright….. The location of the Gate?”

“We’ll go to the level 34 dungeon in Yangpyeong with Warp, then run from there, I think?”

“Keruk! Human, we can go there through the Warp I make.”

“Hm?”

“Keruru. Did you already forget about the Authority for dimensional traveling that sir Berdan had bestowed upon me?”

“Ah….. So we can go to the Gate right away?”

“That’s right. We aren’t able to go to the demonic realm in one go, but that much is possible.”

“Then let’s go…. To Yangpyeong. To the supposedly amazing demonic realm.”

“Kerurururu. Got it.”

With a single sweep of his hand, the space before us tore open.

It had a different appearance from the Warp that regular Awakened used.

With both his hands behind his back, he walked through first.

Jong Ho and I followed suit.

For a split moment, it felt like my body was being sucked down through the floor.

At the same time, the surrounding view changed, and we were able to arrive in front of the giant Gate.

“Oh! Jong Ho! Mr. Min-Cheol!”

“Young Min-Cheol. Young Jong Ho. So you’ve both arrived.”

Near the Gate were nearly a thousand Awakened gathered around.

Not only were there Awakened from Korea, but rankers all over the world were gathered, being deployed by the global Awakened organization.

Of course, they were keeping a certain distance away from the Gate and coming not an inch closer.

I could hear Ho Jin and the commander’s voice from far away, which was soon followed by their hasty run towards us.

“Why didn’t you contact us earlier!”

“That’s because suddenly a method to get here much easier suddenly appeared.”

“Jong Ho, I’m sorry. I should be coming with you…..”

“Hey, no worries. You should be protecting your family.”

“Look at you, acting all cool. And Mr. Min-Cheol……”

“Mr. Ho Jin, don’t worry. We’ll be careful.”

“Apologies……”

“Yes….. Is everything ready on your end?”

“Yes. We plan to enter right away.”

“I see……”

“After entering, there is a chance that monsters will come out of the Gate. Of course, this is just a speculation, but I am counting on everyone here to protect this place.”

“Of course! I am already ashamed for having you two take on this burden. Do not worry at all!”

“Yes. And also……”

“Your mother? Do not worry about that either. I will protect her, even if I have to sacrifice all the lives of the thousands of Awakened gathered here. I promise you!”

“Thank you.”

“Please stay safe! I will be waiting, hoping that we meet again with smiles like this.”

“Yes. Hyungnim, let’s go.”

“Huh? Oh…… Just a second….”

Jong Ho ran towards So-Hyeon, who was standing far away.

It seemed that he was handing over something.

It wasn’t the resurrection ring, of course.

After talking with So-Hyeon for a short while, he quickly ran back to the front of the Gate.

“Let’s go!”

“You can talk for a bit longer, if you want to.”

“It’s enough. Love is like this, kiddo.”

“Pfft. Let’s go!”

“Keruruk!”

---

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125. Waiting for the Free Delivery Gift

“Human. Where is this place? What is going on here!”

“Hm….. To simply put, a storage place for steaks? It’s a place where steaks are sold.”

“Keheru! That’s right! I can smell the steak! But it doesn’t smell as good as the ones I ate at human’s house.”

“Is that so? But unlike my home, you can’t just go around picking up stuff and eating them! I’ll make as much as you want when we get back home, so stay patient even if it’s difficult to.”

“Kel kel. Human! I am not a monster who only cares about eating food. I am one of the few goblins to have intelligence and the ability to reason.”

“Ok. Either way, you promise? And also it sounds like I’m talking to myself, so don’t talk to me right now and follow along quietly.”

“Keru. I got it.”

I arrived at the biggest mart in the area.

It was to obtain the food and water supply we needed for our trip into the demonic realm.

That was the reason why I had the smiths craft me 6 S ranking Awakened duffel bags.

Other than that, there wasn’t much else to bring.

All I needed were a perfectly trained body and insanely powerful skills.

Originally, I had planned to come here with Jong Ho, but he still headed for the dungeon despite today being the day the Gate opened.

I realized that he was a lot more anxious than he let on.

I could sympathize with me well.

I myself was the same, after all.

I wasn’t dealing with a portal, but a Gate leading to the demonic realm.

Since shopping wasn’t a difficult task, I decided follow Jong Ho’s suggestion to head to the supermart by myself.

However, as I left the house, I realized too late that a wrinkly goblin was tagging along by my side.

And just like that, the world’s first shopping with a goblin began.

Since I wasn’t satisfied with the amount of items on display, I headed for the mart’s customer support center instead, asking Karin a question along the way.

“Karin.”

“Kel?”

“There is air in the demonic realm, right? Like breathable air.”

“Keruru. Of course there is. It’s the same as Earth. Even the flow of magical energy is the same as Earth. It’s just that humans can’t detect it.”

“Whew….. That’s good. I thought I had to bring oxygen tanks.”

“Keru.”

“Hey, about your pocket. Looking at the amount of stones you pulled out, it definitely does not match the size of it. Just how does the interior structure of that thing work?”

“Kukuku. So you’re amazed by the great Karin’s ability!”

“…. That’s an ability? Wow. Amazing. A-m-a-z-i-n-g.”

At his boasting, I gave a dry and sarcastic praise.

Even though it was sarcastic at best, he seemed pleased by my reaction and began to ramble on.

“That’s right! Excluding me, all the Puppet Goblins are incredibly high priority targets. They instinctively pick up items from stones to weapons that are scattered all over the demonic realm. They pick up just about anything.”

“So they carry invisible pockets or something?”

“No. It’s similar to a pocket dimension. A pocket dimension that only the owner can access! It’s my own space that is free from being bothered by the rest of the world.”

“What…. That sounds grandiose for no reason at all. It doesn’t suit you. So why didn’t you shove in all the meat into the pocket dimension last time before you left?”

“Kerukeru. That’s…. I was too excited from the taste of the meal, I forgot.”

“R-right…. Classy, sir Puppet Goblin Karin!”

Karin scratched the back of his head out of embarrassment.

The thought came to mind that if I can use this stupid goblin, I can easily transport a lot of supplies.

He said that the demonic realm is beyond comparison in terms in size when considering Earth’s size.

That’s why even if I strained myself to get it done quickly, it would still take a long time to kill all the monsters.

Also, it wasn’t likely for the demonic realm to have food that’s edible for humans.

After all, the only thing there would probably be monsters butchering one another for consumption.

A month? Two? Even half a year? It could even take longer than that.

Even if I could consume the monsters after all my supplies run out, it would still be a dire situation.

What of the need for water? I wasn’t sure if I was up for drinking that purple blood.

So it was necessary to bring as much as food and water possible.

“Karin.”

“Kel?”

“How are you going to repay me for the steak you ate today?”

“Keru… Can’t you just give it to me for free today?”

“Hey. To think that the great goblin Karin wants something for free…. Would that make you a laughingstock?”

“……”

“You don’t have any stones left on you. I guess you won’t be able to eat steak today.”
“…..”

Karin looked like a child who had his candy stolen from him.

His shoulders drooped so low that it looked like it would touch the floor.

It didn’t last long however, because he spoke to me with hands on his hips, his face lively once more.

“Human! There are a lot of steaks here. We can eat here.”

“Oho….  The great goblin Karin won’t keep his promises? Is he a goblin that only cares about food?”

“Kek!”

“You remember, right? The promise you made as soon as we entered the mart.”

“I will give you lots of stones once we arrive at the demonic realm…..”

“What good would that be for me if I am going there to die.”

“Then, do you… Is there anything you want?”

“There is something.”

“What is it!”

“Your pockets.”

“This isn’t something I can give…..”

“Yep, I know. I just want to fill those pockets with some stuff.”

“Okay. Whatever enters the pocket dimension becomes weightless, so I can hold as much as you want.”

“Okay. It’s a deal.”

I proceeded to go to the customer support to order a massive amount of supplies.

They said that it’ll take two 5 ton trucks to bring it all.

It was settled that the delivery will be made straight from the factory instead of the mart. And within 3 hours at that.

Truly, I cheered for Korea’s delivery speed.

I didn’t plan to order this much before.

Price didn’t matter to me, but the issue was that I didn’t have any reliable methods to transport the supplies around the demonic realm.

However, this wasn’t the case anymore.

Karin had his pocket dimension.

I couldn’t use it as I pleased, but I believed that it wouldn’t be that difficult to turn Karin into my ally.

That’s why the duffel bags were going to be filled with beef!

I planned to take it with me by freezing it perfectly with Iceberg.

The cooldown was nonexistent, and I had an infinite amount of mana. It was limitless.

There was no reason why the meat would be thawed.

The taste wouldn’t be as good, but it would be more than enough to lure the steak-crazed goblin.

I asked Karin.

Since I was going to the demonic realm now, I wanted to know more useful information about the place.

“Karin. To get rid of the portals on Earth…..”

“You need to kill all the monsters. Kel Kel. Didn’t I tell you this before, human. You’re not very smart.”

“Yeah. I already know that. Isn’t there another way though?”

“You just need to become the demon king.”

“Is the demon king a god or something? You keep saying the answer is becoming a demon king every time I bring up a question. You say that I could return back to Earth and even get rid of portals. At this rate, are you going to say that humans were created by the demon king?”

“Keruru. That’s right. The demon king is an existence akin to a god. Of course, the demon king did not create humans, but it’s certain that the demon king is a like a god.”

“Oh…. You know what god means? I’m impressed.”

“Keruru. Of course. I know what god means. The stupid existences they are as well.”

“Yeah. You’re smarter than what I gave you credit for. Might as well become the demon king”

To come back to Earth, I had to become the demon king.

One was considered a demon king once they had the most amount of magical energy in the demonic realm.

I didn’t know how much magical energy they carried, but if I killed them all, I would become the demon king.

I could also kill all the monsters to get rid of the portals on Earth.

However, if I did that, humanity would fall into chaos.

Currently, the primary source of energy for Earth are bloodstones.

From machinery as big as a house to the tiniest of objects, everything had bloodstone incorporated to it.

If monsters were wiped out, the economy would lose their source of bloodstones.

But I couldn’t just leave the portals alone.

I decided to think on this issue later.

It was then. I noticed Karin laying on the floor.

He was holding his stomach and laughing as if he had gone insane.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Kel kel kel. Human is funny. Kel kek! You, who can’t even face against sir Berdan, is thinking of taking the position of demon king. Kel kel.”

“…..”

“And human, you cannot even harness magical energy. A demon king that cannot even use magical energy! Kelkeruuuu.”

“Are you saying that even if I become a demon king, I won’t be able to return home unless I am able to harness magical energies?”

“No, but…. Kelruk. Anyways, human was being too silly.”

“Hey, this is important. So you’re saying that I can still travel through dimensions, even if I cannot harness magical energies?”

“That’s right. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Then it’s fine.”

“Kek! Kek! Kek! I can feel it.”

“What?”

“The Gate! I can feel the magical energies of the Gate.”

“So it’s ready already…..”

****

“You say it’s today! Are you sure, Ho Jin?!”

“Yes, commander. This information came to me suddenly at dawn.”

“Immediately contact the global Awakened organization!”

“Yes. However, we do not know where the location of the Gate is going to be….”

It was then.

As if listening in on the conversation between the two, the news reported urgent news.

“This is near Soli-san, located near Yangpyeong……”

“Raise up the volume!”

“Yes!”

“Behind me, a massive portal is forming. Due to tens of portal explosions occurring yearly in the area, many of the residents are in fear. On top of that, the portal is far bigger than any of the standard portals. Let’s hear from the residents nearby.”

“I live not far from the prohibited area, when suddenly…..”

“Hm…..”

“Is that…. The Gate that heads to the demonic realm…..”

“Notify everyone in the association, and also contact all the guilds and freelancer Awakened as well. I shall personally notify the global Awakened organization.”

“Yes! Understood!”

“Ah! Also….”

“Yes, commander.”

“Do not suppress the press. The entire nation must know. However, do not let anyone, civilian or Awakened, near the premises. Also have all the residents nearby evacuate.”

“Yes! Understood.”

“Ho Jin…. It’ll be a massive battle. I hope that it won’t be the case, but if monsters do come through the Gate from the other side….”

“….”

“Hurry! Hesitation will only breed fear.”

“Yes!”

Ho Jin replied and ran at full speed.

The association had been preparing on a massive scale.

The association had done everything in its power to raise powerful Awakened, including Awakened from the association to those at the guilds.

However, no one had foreseen the Gate opening 15 days earlier than what was scheduled.

The one silver lining was that all the rankers of the world began to arrive to Korea roughly a month before.

Half a year ago, portals exploding and the radical faction caused incidents to occur without end in Korea.

Also, the commander had informed the global organization by submitting an official form, so the organization had moved accordingly in case of the Gate actually forming.

The Gate formed in Yangpyeong.

Many portals covered this area, enough for the association to declare this area prohibited.

That was probably why the Gate had also formed here.

It was probably the one area on Earth with the highest density of magical energy.

The commander had just finished briefing the situation to the global organization.

It was then that his phone rang.

“Min-Cheol lad!”

“Yes, commander.”

---

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124. Looks like It Will Get Busier on Earth

It was roughly two weeks after Jamon and Berdan met.

Karin’s voice rang near the Gate.

His high pitched annoying voice was quite hoarse.

“Hurry! Get in there!”

“AWOOL!”

The Sand Hound licked its blood soaked snout.

With a loud howl, it looked towards Karin, this weakling of a Puppet Goblin.

Puppet Goblins were part of the lowest ranking monsters out there, but due to obtaining the strength of Berdan, the tribe chieftain, the Sand Hound could not even think about attacking but had to follow every beck and call of the goblin instead.

It was following its natural instincts.

The natural course of the weak were to submit to the strong.

The Sand Hound did not show any resistance and headed into the Gate.

Its form exploded, leaving behind only white smoke.

With the Sand Hound bursting into nonexistence, the Gate became a little less ethereal.

Due to constantly sacrificing condensed mana into the Gate, it was nearing its final form.

Unlike the Gate, Karin’s wrinkly face was becoming more brittle as time passed on, and his green skin had age spots all over, making it look like he was covered in bruises.

It was because he had been overseeing the Gate for days on end without rest in order to try saving his hide.

Monsters did not need sleep, but since he moved without rest, he could not hide his fatigue.

Inhaling the magical energy that flowed freely through the demonic realm, Karin thought of steaks.

Since he had followed Berdan’s orders to the letter, the Gate would open soon.

This meant that the Gate would open half a month earlier than what he had told to human, so he would most likely be sent back to Earth to notify the human.

Karin couldn’t help but smile.

There was a spring in his steps as he headed for Berdan’s castle, looking livelier than ever.

“Kelkeru. It’s Karin. I am here to see our great sir Berdan.”

The massive doors of the castle opened and Karin wobbled as he ran towards Berdan as quickly as he could.

The killing intent that Berdan had been giving off had cooled somewhat.

Arriving at the foot of the throne, Karin kneeled before Berdan.

“Karin……”

“Keruru. Sir Berdan. As you ordered, the Gate is nearly completed. Kel kel.”

“Is that so? When will it be finished?”

“Keheh. Looks like it’ll be done in a day.”

“Good…. You’ve matched the day that I’ve asked you to complete it by. Make sure that you see through it proper…..”

“Understood! But…. sir Berdan.”

“Hm?”

“The formation of the Gate has been hastened by half a month’s worth of time than what I had told the human.”

“Yes, I got it. I shall reward you generously. Now leave me be.”

“Kel. That’s not what I mean…”

“Is there something else you wish to say.”

“I believe that the human should be told? If left as it is, the idiotic human would enter the Gate 15 days after the formation.”

“Hm…..”

“That would mean that the reason for finishing the Gate early would not be met. Keruru. So….”

“I see what you’re trying to say.”

“Kerurururu.”

In a split second, blue energy went into Karin’s body.

Berdan had granted his dimensional travel Authority to him.

He spoke as he stroked his chin.

“Finish forming the Gate, then head towards Earth. Let the human know of this.”

“Keru. Understood.”

“I am taking the magical energy of that human. After quickly absorbing the magical energy of Zekill and his Purian tribe, you and I will head back to Earth. It will be to harvest the fruits of Zekill’s hard labor!”

“Keruru. The pathetic demon king will kneel before you.”

“Kuhuhuh! Go! Go and bring me magical energy that will satisfy me!”

“Keru.”

****

“It’s sir Ka! Rin!” Karin shouted.

Almost as if this was his home, he split a rift in space in the middle of my room and jumped out.

I, who was sleeping peacefully, was shocked into curling up my body and casting all my shields on instinct.

“Woah! You little sh…..”

“Kel kel. Human. Karin is here.”

“What. Why are you here again?”

“Kelkelkelkel. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Steak! I shall tell you as you make steak.”

“Ah….. I get it, so first get off the bed. Stop drooling.”

“Kemuruk. Ok.”

“What’s the matter? Are you here to remind me that there is half a month left?”

“Keruru. That’s not it. I shall tell you if you give me steak.”

“Ahh…… You’re the destroyer of sleep! Just wait a bit.”

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I saw that it was 3am.

It had only been 3 hours since I had fallen asleep.

Even as I complained, my steps took me to the kitchen naturally.

Being woken up was annoying, but I did not dislike him revisiting me.

After all, he was the only means of obtaining important information regarding the demonic realm.

I had high expectations for the information he said he was bringing me now.

“Whew…. I told you not to drool all over the place, but instead he’s jumping up and down on the bed.”

I took out the meat that was stockpiled in the fridge onto a frying pan that was decently heated.

The meat that Karin acted as if he could not live without was coming along nicely.

The sound of the bed buckling stopped all of a sudden, and I found him sitting down at the chair and staring at me.

‘As long as he’s quiet, he can be cute…… Never mind.’

Looking at his face and how he was drooling everywhere, I realized that I made a huge mistake in finding his antics cute.

It was bad to judge everything based on appearance, but there was a limit to it.

He was far beyond that point where I could give him leeway.

“Kerururu. Is it done?”

“5 minutes.”

“Is it done yet?”

“You know, not even 10 seconds has passed yet? Stay put.”

“Is it done yet?”

“I’m crazy for thinking that you were cute for even a second. Here!”

“Keruu!”

As usual, he ate the meat as well as the plate itself tastily.

Stomping his feet on the ground, he could not hide his happiness.

The dinner table would be a mess after this, but I did not feel too bad.

I did not miss the opportunity and asked him straight away.

“Now, tell me. What is it that you wanted to say?”

Chewing the meat and plate in his mouth noisily, he responded.

“Human. It’s tomorrow.”

“What is?”

“The Gate that connects this world to the demonic realm opens.”

“What do you mean? There’s still half a month left. Just be honest, aren’t you here because you wanted to eat meat?”

“Keruru. I hastened the process. It can’t be done unless I am to do it…..”

“Shit! Are you serious?”

“Keru….? That’s right. The Gate will open tomorrow.”

“…….”

This was far worse of a news than Sora Aoi’s retirement. ⁷

There wasn’t enough time to begin with, but now the deadlines had been brought closer.

Looking at Karin, who was eating away without understanding what he had done, I became very upset.

Thinking that perhaps he misspoke, I asked him in a calm tone.

“So what you’re saying is that…. You’re absolutely sure that the Gate will open tomorrow?”

“That’s right. Karin does not tell lies. I keep my promises.”

“Where is it going to be?”

“Kel?”

“Where is it opening at?”

“I do not know.”

“……..”

“I have to take human to the demonic realm. Tomorrow.”

“How are you going to take me to the Gate when you have no idea where it will open?”

“Keru. That’s why I’m here. I can find it. I can read the flow of magical energy.”

“Okay. I got that. But do I have to go tomorrow? Why can’t I go 15 days from now?

“Kel kel. You cannot. It’s a direct order from Berdan. If human does not come to the demonic realm tomorrow, he will waste this entire world.”

“I’m already pissed off as it is from being interrupted from my sleep, but this just gets better and better.”

“Keruru. Is there any more steak?”

“…..”

“Human! More steak!”

“……..”

“Human?”

I could not hear what Karin was saying.

I had to head for the demonic realm tomorrow.

It was the equivalent of fire falling before my feet. ⁸

There were many things I had to prepare for.

Putting his rants behind me, I headed for Jong Ho’s room to wake him up from his sleep.

“Hyung-nim.”

“Ugh…..”

“Please wake up.”

“Huh? Ish it alweady tiome ta hurnt?”

“Did you bite your tongue at dinner or something. It’s not time the time to hunt. However, something far dire has come. That’s you need to hurry and wake up.”

“Ugh…. Ookae.”

Forcefully waking him up, I guided him to the kitchen that had become messy.

Looking at the kitchen table with an expression as if his soul had left his body, he spoke to me as if he had sensed something.

“Is he here again? The goblin named Karin that you mentioned.?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. That’s good. But why did you wake me up when I cannot even see him?”

“That’s…. The news he brought this time isn’t that good.”

“Why? Is it because he eats a lot of meat?”

“….. Please wake up, hyung-nim.”

“Okay….. So why are you saying that this news isn’t something to welcome?”

“It’s going to be tomorrow.”

“What is?”

“The date of when we’ll have to head for the demonic realm.”

“…….”

“It’s been brought closer…..”

“What do we do? We’re not ready at all.”

“First, we should head for the market as soon as the sun rises. Since we’re not sure how long we’ll be staying there, we’ll need to get basic necessities sorted at the least.”

“But….. What do I even say…..”

“There’s nothing we can do about it. I plan to tell them as it is. It’ll be for the best.”

“Whew…. When is it?”

“Location and time isn’t set in stone yet.”

“First, I’ll wash and wake up proper. It’ll take only a moment.”

“Ok……”

“Keruk? Human, is that human that you’re raising also coming with us?”

“Yep. You said that you need magical energy, right? Isn’t it better if there is more?”

“Keru….. That human also has a lot of magical energy. Sir Berdan would like this. All right.”

“He’d be overjoyed. Hm?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Hey, Karin.”

“Kel?”

“How are you able to grab onto objects and eat things when I cannot even grab you? You even brought back meat with you before.”

“Kel kel. That’s…..”

“…….”

“I’m not sure either, keruru.”

“Hey, you said you’ll be going to the demonic realm with us, right?’

“Kel!”

“Hm… Is that so…. Karin. I’m usually not this type of person, but I think I’ll have to rely on your help for a bit.”

“Keru?”

****

I traded meat for the S ranking stones that filled Karin’s pockets.

Perhaps he had an overflowing amount of stones or something, because he traded them without any hesitation.

I really didn’t have much time left.

I was about to be dragged along to the demonic realm soon.

The first place I went to was the weapon shop where I socketed a jewel into Banwol Jincheon which had become my shop of choice.

Wearing casual running shorts, the owner of the store greeted me.

“Oho…. So you’ve come?”

“Yes. It’s been a while.”

“What weapon have you brought this time?”

“It isn’t a weapon…… Remember the Awakened duffel bag you’ve created before?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be counting on you for that again.”

“Of course, it can be done. Will you be….”

“Yes. With S ranking stones this time.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a S ranking stone. You always bring good items that would make any smith happy, both in weapons and stones.”

I put the bag of S ranking stones that I sto-, I mean, obtained from Karin.

The owner’s eyes went wide with shock.

“A….. This…. All of these?”

“Yes. How many do you think you can make?”

“Pff! If processed well, I can make up to 7.”

“Then please make 6. Think of any leftovers as payment for the work. However…..”

“Ah…… Yes!”

“3 hours. It must be done within 3 hours.”

“O….. Of course! It can be done. I’ll get it done even if I have to drag all the smiths around here to do so.”

“Then……”

Day 1 of entering the demonic realm.

Instead of training to grow stronger, the preparation for the real deal was about to begin.

---

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123. The Earth and Demonic Realm Are Both Busy

In a flash, the mood in the living room became cold.

We had expected convincing her to be a difficult task.

However, we had no idea that she would be this opposed to the idea.

As an Awakened and as a person, we all knew that this was a situation that could only be overcome with the sacrifices.

It was expected that if that sacrifice was to be their lover, the person in question might go into denial.

How could anyone label such a natural reaction as selfish and blame them for it.

If I was in So-Hyeon’s place, I would have been far angrier, not less.

As if he was hit on the head with a hammer, Jong Ho blankly stared at So-Hyeon.

His expression was one that I’d lightheartedly poke fun of if the situation was like the usual.

However, that expression didn’t feel too far from the one I might be making soon myself.

The thought that came to my mind was that I might have an expression just like that, or worse.

I felt once more just how dire the situation was, and how difficult convincing others of our decision would be.

If mother heard of this?

The situation would be the equivalent of a mother sending her two sons into the battlefields of war.

Regaining his composure, Jong Ho spoke.

“Hm….. It’s a reaction I expected at least to some degree.”

“Of course. In the entire world, who would agree so easily if they were in my shoes?”

“Yes. If you said that you were going to the demonic realm, I would have done the same. No. I would have been far more opposed to it.”

“……”

“However, you already know that somebody has to do it.”

“I’m an Awakened too. I know. I know better than anyone else, but…… This isn’t easy to accept even though I know in my head that it’s necessary. I thought that I had control over my own body and mind, but turns out that isn’t the case. Seems I’m making a fool of myself today. Funny.”

“…….”

“It’s true that I’m wondering why it has to be you that must go there. But the bigger reason is that…… why am I not able to go there. The real reason is that I’m unable to answer why I’m unable to help you. This might be just me throwing a tantrum despite knowing that it’s impossible.”

“I know how you feel.”

Jong Ho looked at me as he said that.

After all, in the past, Jong Ho could only look at me as a bystander while I carried all the burdens myself.

He must have felt guilt that could not be suppressed multiple times, not being strong enough to help the brother that he cared about.

That was probably the reason why he knew how exactly So-Hyeon felt.

So-Hyeon didn’t speak.

She just listened to Jong Ho in silence.

“That’s precisely why you should send me off while pretending it’s ok. It’s for the person who is leaving. It’s also in consideration for the person who’s staying behind. That’s the best thing to do in a situation where we don’t have any other choice.”

“……”

“I did the same thing too. Thankfully, the results were always ok. It’ll be the same this time as well. Believe it.”

“…….”

“So-Hyeon. I understand how you feel. However, this situation will decide humanity’s survival. I know that it’s not a easy decision to make, but there isn’t any other way….. If there is anyone to blame, please direct your anger towards my incompetence.”

The conversation to convince her went on for a long time.

She had a resolved look as if she had finished gathering her thoughts.

Seeing her expression, Jong Ho thought that she had changed her mind and went to hold her in his arms.

Up to that point, this would have not only seemed natural, but a beautiful gesture to everyone else.

However, the scene of love and soul turned into love and war in a split moment.

“Move your hand.”

“Hm?”

“I will kill you if you don’t.”

“Ok…..”

“I still haven’t agreed to this completely. Also I’m a government worker. I’m ready to fight anyone with my life on the line. I’m angry enough to beat the shit of the demon king himself. So leave me alone.”

“……”

So-Hyeon gave an embarrassed smile.

The rest of us had a hard time containing our laughter at the sudden change in atmosphere.

We were all looking at the floor and doing our best to hide it.

If anyone else saw how her emotions were leaking out, plain as day on her face, they would burst out laughing.

It was then that mother came out of the kitchen.

“Guess you were all talking about work?”

“Haha. Yes. Work and love. Love and work.”

“Pfft! That’s quite the burn!”

“Hoho. Dinner is ready. You’re all famished, right?”

“No worries. Then….”

“Yes, please come and get seated before the soup grows cold.”

****

“Karin…….”

“Yes! Magnificent sir Berdan.”

Unlike usual, Karin was shaking in fear.

Right now, he could feel the killing intent that Berdan was letting out.

He could only think about how his body was going to be torn apart, each fearful speculation leading to his death.

He was nearly at the verge of fainting or losing his mind.

Berdan was shattering the armrest of his seat.

“Is there no way to get the Gate connected quicker…..”

“Yes, sir Berdan. That is impossible….”

“Kuhuu…..”

“It might be possible if you use your Authority. Currently all the magical energy of this territory is being funneled to form the Gate. That’s why……”

“I will ask you again. I won’t be asking anymore after that. Is there no way to hasten the formation of the Gate?!”

“Keruu! Maybe a couple more days at best, but if you wish for it, it’s not impossible!”

“Half a month. Get it done in 15 days.”

“Kell! Sir Berdan. That’s not…!”

Berdan shot something out that flew right over Karin’s head.

The force of the impact caused debris to fly around the room.

Purple blood ran down Karin’s wrinkly bald head.

“AHH! I shall get it in the next 15 days! Kemuruk…”

“Exactly 15 days from now. Karin, it will be in your best interest to not disappoint me.”

“Yes sir! I understand.”

“Begone.”

Karin ran as fast as he could.

Just like how a penguin acts after seeing the treats the trainer brought, he waddled his chubby body out of the castle in an attempt to survive.

Karin headed for the far end of the Keruoh territory where the Gate was being formed.

The Gate was a similar size to the portals that formed on Earth.

Since it wasn’t completely formed yet, the portal looked transparent.

Monsters of great sizes were lines up in front of it.

At the end of that line, in front of the gate, stood a Butcherer, 2m in size.

The arm of the Butcherer was a weapon in itself.

The arm didn’t have a spec of flesh on it, and instead had a bone like hard pair of scissor-like appendages.

Its appearance resembled that of a monster that appeared in Incheon when I was fighting against Dark Lady, which had dealt massive damage to the surrounding areas by self destructing.

Its body had tears all over it and was rotting away, and it seemed that its body was bloated up to the point of exploding at any given moment.

Karin rand towards them madly.

Even as he ran, the Butcherer continued to butcher away.

The heads of the monsters that lined up were cleanly being severed by the Butcherer.

Next to Karin were other goblins without intelligence, diligently carrying the corpses away.

The reason why the Butcherer was butchering away next to the Gate was to gather magical energy needed to power the Gate.

One might ask why the monsters aren’t just hurling their bodies against the gate.

They might wonder, why go through all the trouble of gathering the magical energy in the Butcherer.

It’s to be expected.

As explained before, monsters have their rank chosen from birth.

Depending on the rank, they are born with innate Authority or abilities.

But that’s not the end of it.

The ranking of the monster also determines how much maximum magical energy they can hold.

Any extra magical energy going over the amount the monster can handle won’t be absorbed.

One thing that was interesting was that humans did not have a limit on how much magical energy they could absorb.

By killing the monsters, they could absorb magical energy without limit.

However, they did not know how to use that magical energy freely.

Karin had to pour in magical energy far more condensed than what was currently being poured in.

That was the only way that he could hasten the Gate’s connection.

It would be the only way that he could continue to survive.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive in front of the Butcherer.

Around that time, a Butcherer that had obtained the maximum mana it could absorb jumped into the Gate, disappearing into smoke.

“Kerut! You filthy lower class monsters! We need a bigger bowl!”

“KUWUH!”

“KWUH!”

“Tsk tsk. Stop what you’re doing right now and get me some Sand Hounds! Right now!”

“Kururu.”

“There’s no time to waste. It’ll be the death of me at this rate. Keruk.”

****

“Whew! Thank you for the meal.”

“I wonder if I’ve lived this long to taste such a wonderful meal, hoho.”

“Ah, I’m most glad. How was…. I’m not sure if it was to young So-Hyeon’s tastes…..”

“Mother, I think I’ll need another bowl.”

“Hohoho. Even your speech is so pretty. Hand the bowl over to me.”

“Yes!”

While my mother went to the kitchen with the bowl, I quietly spoke to those gathered at the table.

“I really don’t want to ruin this atmosphere…… but I think I won’t be able to tell her if I don’t go for it right now.”

“It’s better to get the hard stuff done first and out of the way.”

Jong Ho agreed with what I said.

Perhaps because So-Hyeon had comes to term with the news already, she also nodded with a softer expression.

Unlike them, the members of the association had cloudy expressions.

This situation was the equivalent of handing over a task to that they could not do on to me.

It must be tough for them to bring it up.

Mother came back with a bowl of rice.

“Here you go. Please let me know if you want more if you finish eating.”

“Yes! Thank you, mother!”

“My my. How sweet you are….”

It was then.

The commander spoke up.

“Um…. Madam……”

“Do what you must.”

“…….”

“…….”

“These two sons are my only family. How could a parent not know of the worries their children carries? On top of that, they’re too simple natured to hide their expressions properly.”

“Mom…..”

“Mother…..”

“You two idiots. How long are you going to make me wait before you speak up!”

Mother lightly gave us knuckle sandwiches on the top of our heads.

As if my brain had been frozen, my mind went blank.

It wasn’t because of the impact of mother striking down my head.

It was because I was shocked at her reaction to the news.

Mother continued.

“The son that I gave birth to, as well as the son I never had, both are my babies, so how could I not be worried? However…. My boys have never disappointed me once all this time. They always made the right choice and followed the right path.”

“…..”

“If it’s something that they hid and weren’t able to bring it up…. They must’ve have been struggling a long time to find their answers. That’s enough for me. I have faith that my boys have found the right answer. I am sure of it….”

“Thank you, madam……. I am ashamed that I can only show you not of our heroics, but embarrassing moments.”

“Not at all.”

“It must have been a hard decision, and I thank you for it.”

“Mom….”

“Take care of yourself. Jong Ho, be careful at least for the sake of your fiancee. Don’t forget to eat, and if…. if you can contact me, do as much as you can…..”

“……”

“……”

Pretending as if she was okay, she continued to cut an apple for us.

Our hearts were filled with strong emotions, but we all did our best to suppress it.

And like that, dinner ended.

---

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