I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 125

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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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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 124

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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. 1

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. 2

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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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 123

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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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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 122

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122. Demon King. Jamon.

There was an explainable killing intent behind every step Jamon took.

A single step was all it took for Berdan’s servants to scatter.

Every one of them lowered their heads as does a pup before a tiger.

Even simple lifeforms without higher intelligence could instinctively recognize that they would perish from just getting near him.

The crowd in his path scattered as if the Red Sea was parting, opening up a path.

Jamon had arrived in front of the castle.

Despite him not moving an inch, the giant doors of the castle opened up.

The interior that did not have a single speck of light now lit up as if countless candles had been lit.

The situation was the same for the monsters inside the castle as of those outside.

They felt great fear and made themselves scarce as possible the moment they recognized who he was.

The castle was built only for the sake of Berdan’s use.

Just as Berdan had appeared before in Min-Cheol’s dreams, his height easily surpassed 20m.

After all, what I had thought to have been a cliff that I saw in my dreams was actually his sword.

On top of that, his body was more ripped than a overly buff body builder.

A horn grew out on each side of his head, and only stumps of what might have been wings once were left on his back as if they had been cut off.

In the tunnel that led to the room where Berdan’s seat was, many massive swords he had collected were embedded into the walls, forming walls of their own.

These swords did not grant him any stats, even if he held onto them.

They were the spoils from butchering many strong monsters up till now.

These items could be considered equivalent to trophies of a hunter, or a museum of one’s accomplishments.

The sheer number of them proclaimed just how many fights he had been to rise to his current status.

Compared to Berdan, the demon king was far smaller in size.

Unlike the other monsters, Jamon wasn’t huge nor did he look fierce like them.

He looked just like a human, a doll like monster.

He was a little bit taller than the average adult male of Korea, which was 180cm.

His skin was smooth like flawless pottery and without a single blemish.

His eyes were cold without any emotion behind them.

His body gave off a dark red glow similar to heated iron, and the heat from his body seemed to scorch the air around him.

As the demon king Jamon got closer, Berdan stood up from his throne and kneeled before him.

His subordinates couldn’t help but find this sight to be strange beyond belief.

To think that Berdan would be kneeling before someone.

However, no matter how high ranking Berdan was, this was not someone he could defy so easily.

Above the counts, marquees, and dukes was the king.

And the king of this place was the demon king Jamon.

Berdan, after lowering his head, spoke.

“Demon king Jamon, what brings you to honor me with your presence?”

“Berdan……”

“…….”

“Just what are you planning……”

The demon king began to interrogate Berdan.

Hiding how he felt being humiliated, he returned the question.

“You said that I’m planning something. I have no idea you…..”

“It has been 40 over years since I have suggested the peace treaty. Even you know, right?”

“……”

“Zekill of the Purian race. Ladin of Dabehneh is biding his time, waiting for a chance to absorb more magical energy. Perhaps they’re aiming for my position? Or perhaps to increase the territory of the demons as I have willed? The reason does not matter….. They are making a move!”

Berdan silently swallowed his own spit.

He already knew what the demon king was going to say next.

Jamon continued.

“However….. You have been guarding this place for over 40 years…. Not making attempts at anything, right at this spot.”

“That’s…..”

“On top of that, I haven’t been able to sense Zekill’s magical energy recently. I have already been informed that he had traveled to a different dimension. Apparently he had left the moment the peace treaty was put into effect, following his own ambitions. However, even if he’s in a different dimension, he isn’t able to hide his magical energy completely. That would mean that Zekill has perished…..”

“…..”

“Zekill’s death…. Your complacency…. What part do you have in this!”

“I’d like to object. How could I, who had been staying only in the demonic realm, have left to another dimension to kill Zekill?”

“Do you think that I’m unaware of your Authority….”

“As I have been saying, I have nothing to do with the death of Zekill.”

“Hm…. Is that so? I’ll pretend that I have been fooled by your lies.”

“…….”

“Listen well, Berdan of the Keruoh race 3. All of your territory, servants, and monsters will be confiscated and be placed under Ladin.”

“But…..”

“For someone who hadn’t done anything in the last 40 years, this magical energy is wasted on the likes of you. You do not deserve such power!”

“……. I shall follow your will as you say……”

Berdan was grinding his teeth.

His plans were going awry after all.

Due to the arrival of the demon king, not only was he unable to absorb the magical energy from his subordinates as he had planned, but had now lost them all at the demon king’s decree.

Since he could not oppose him with his current strength, the only thing he could do was calm his rage and listen to his words.

“Your complacency comes from a lack of urgency. Witness and understand how it feels for those under you climb their way up and take over your position. Move and think. And regret without end the mistakes of your past. This is the punishment I give you, as well as the last bit of mercy I shall grant you.”

“I surrender to your words, oh great demon king……”

“There will be no more warnings from now on. Berdan….. Remember well that the peace treaty was not made for your convenience…….”

Finishing his speech, the demon king immediately turned around and left the castle.

Lifting up his head, Berdan looked at the demon king’s form until he disappeared out of view.

He stared while holding down his rage with great effort.

There was no blood spilled or lives lost, but this was basically war.

After all, it was the demon king last command to Berdan.

Berdan’s mind became clouded at the demon king’s sudden appearance.

Until now, everything was going according to plan without a hitch.

Soon, the Gate that would connect to Earth would open, and the human with the high amount of magical energy would step through.

If he killed the human and obtained the magical energy for himself, the Purian race that was once under Zekill would naturally come under his command.

Then if he obtained all the magical energies of all the races save for the Lubeta race that the demon king was from, it wouldn’t be difficult at all to take the throne of the demon king.

Berdan urgently searched for Karin.

“Karin…. Bring Karin to me! Now!”

“Y…Yes, sir Berdan!”

At his rage, all the monsters within the castle shivered in fear.

Even during the endless war between the monsters, they had never seen such anger from him.

After all, he had thought of the butchering as just a game and genuinely enjoyed it.

It didn’t take long for Karin to urgently run towards him.

“Kelkeru! You summoned for me, sir Berdan!”

“……..”

****

The commander, Ho Jin, Ho Yeong, and even Choi So-Hyeon was present.

These powerhouses with both strength and political power were all gathered in my living room.

The 20 workers around the house and their family members were looking at the commander, a hero of the country, and Choi So-Hyeon, who was easily far more popular than any idol, with looks of admiration.

“Mom! It’s the grandpa and old lady from the TV! Right?”

“Oh my. My child, hush!”

“Ahahaha! That’s right, little lady. Do you think I look more handsome in person than the TV? Or do you think I look uglier instead?”

“You look far younger than what the TV shows. You’re not that much of a grandpa. Just a little bit.”

“Ohohoho! I’m glad that’s the case.”

“I’m so sorry. My child isn’t well mannered….”

“No, not at all. I’m so happy cause of the compliment that I cannot hide my smile.”

So-Hyeon, who was standing next to Jong Ho, asked him in a whisper.

“It’s unlikely but is he referring me as the old lady on the TV?”

Jong Ho couldn’t help but smile before answering.

“Other than the ones working right now, the only females in this living room are mother and you….. I’m not sure?”

“Can I use magic in here?”

“Hey hey. Even as a joke, don’t go saying stuff like that. It’s scary.”

“I’m just joking. Though, I think it’s still a bit too early for me to get called an old lady….”

Looking at this scene unfold before me in silence, I spoke up.

“Mom! Look at Jong Ho-hyung already trying to sweet talk her! It’s too much.”

“Hohoho. You said that you’re Ms. So-Hyeon? Nice to meet you.”

“Yes. Happy to meet you. I am Choi So-Hyeon.”

“Same here. I am Jong Ho’s mother. My, how pretty you are. When will you be marrying Jong Ho….”

“Mother! We haven’t been dating that long, so a marriage is out of the question…. Or is it?”

“Hey, can you stop this hyung of mine.”

“Hohoho, Jong Ho. They say that one should delay marriage and death as long as possible….”

“Hyung-nim, I could tell your wife you said that.”

“Haha. Sorry, sorry. You’re quick on the uptake, haha.”

“Hoho. Dinner will be ready soon. Please wait a little longer.”

“Yes.”

“Understood, madame.”

“Haha, thank you.”

The atmosphere couldn’t be any warmer.

That was to be expected.

If those gathered here did not unite under one banner against the crisis Korea faced before, this nation wouldn’t have been able to overcome it.

It was obvious that friendships and unity forged under overcoming hard times together were stronger than anything.

Just like that, a bit of time had pass, and I gave a look towards the commander and Ho Jin.

It was because I needed help convincing my mother to let me go to the demonic realm.

That was why I requested help from these two.

Jong Ho’s situation wasn’t that different from mine.

He wasn’t able to tell mother and So-Hyeon about his plan to go as well yet.

An awkward silence came about.

The one to break that silence was So-Hyeon.

“Hm…. It’s a bit disappointing if it’s like this.”

“Hm?”

“What are you boys hiding?”

“Hiding?”

“It’s obvious so tell us already. If I find out the truth after this moment, I don’t what I’ll do, but you won’t like it.”

“……..”

“Commander?”

“……..”

“Department head Kim Ho Jin?”

“…….”

“Mr. Min-Cheol? No, should I be calling you young master?”

“Well…….”

“Go ahead and tell me. I’m not an unreasonable person. Right, Mr. Jong Ho?”

“Huh….? Uh…. No. Ah. No. Right. Unreasonable. No. Reasonable.”

“Do you have a death wish…..?”

“Well. You probably have received word from the association. There was a public announcement that in a hundred days, a Gate that would connect us to the demonic realm would open.”

“Yes, I have seen it.”

“There are roughly 30 days left already.”

“Yes, there should about that much left. What about it?”

“…….”

Jong Ho, noticing that I was having difficulty telling her what the plan was, stepped in to take over for me.

“Hm….. This is just a plan we have in place for now. Don’t take it too hard and just listen, okay?”

“Yep. I got it.”

“Going through the gate.”

“Who?”

“Me and Min-Cheol.”

“Again?”

“That’s all.”

“You’re saying that the two of you are going to the demonic realm? From what I read on that announcement, the monsters over there are incomparably stronger than those on Earth though?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You seem pretty okay with this?”

“Huh? Hm…. The two of us should be able to take care of this without much difficulty. Don’t worry about it too mu-”

“Alright, go ahead.”

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Yep.”

“I’m thankful for how understanding you are. I thought that you wouldn’t let me go so eas-”

“Over my dead body.”

“Huh?”

“Guess it’s the start of a hellish party.”


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 121

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121. Dangerous Dinner

Jong Ho went to the level 38 dungeon, while I headed for the level 39 dungeon to hunt.

Roughly 10 days after the first clear, Jong Ho was able to clear the golem dungeon by himself.

The 2 skills beyond ranking he learned acted like a pair of wings for him.

His clear speed wasn’t that fast yet, but he was stacking stats at a rate that wasn’t possible anywhere else.

After all, he was able to obtain over 300 points worth of stats in a single day’s hunting.

On top of that, the amount of experience he obtained from the golems wasn’t anything small.

I spoke as we ended the hunting for the day and walked through the Warp back home.

“Hyung-nim. Should we just rest for a day tomorrow?”

“Hm… Should we do so? I guess we didn’t get to rest at all for over a month now. And tomorrow is Sunday to boot.”

“Yes. At this rate, I think I’m gonna die before we even get through the gate that leads to the demonic realm. Sleep, hunt, sleep, hunt. It’s not like we’re machines.”

“Now that I think about it, there are exactly 30 days left starting tomorrow. The date when the portal will open according to what the goblin Karin said…..”

“Yes. Time sure flies. But why are you saying that the moment I talk about resting! Making me feel all guilty.”

“I think I’m still lacking by far……. Do you think I’ll be able to do this properly?”

“Of course, hyung-nim. You already learned all the shields the warrior class could learn, and you have a massive amount of stats that you’re stacking.”

“I can’t help but have doubts that I’m still lacking….. I even wonder if I’m being a burden to you.”

“If that was the case, I wouldn’t have asked you to come with me in the first place. Don’t worry.”

“You’re right. I’ll do my best in the remaining time as well. What are you going to do tomorrow on your break?”

“Dunno. I’ll sleep till lunch. Eat. Watch some TV till…. Huh? What do I even do?”

“Your life is really boring.”

“What about you then, hyung? Do you have something to do?”

“Me….. Love.”

“I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear that.”

“I have to meet with Ms. So-Hyeon!”

“I can make it so that you won’t be able to walk all day tomorrow. Then I’ll use Status Denial to treat you exactly 24 hours after! So that you can hunt right away, that is.”

“……”

Jong Ho was keeping good relations with So-Hyeon, who he had met while he was trying to defend against the portal in Changwon.

Their ages were similar and so was their jobs, I guess? As they were both Awakened, they had a lot in common.

I wanted to kill him out of envy right now, but oh well. At least one of us should find love.

Some time ago, he came home heavily drunk, making a ruckus that I didn’t mind too much.

He said that he had found a family and someone he loves because he had met me.

I put up with his drunken slur and a smile full of happiness for awhile.

At the end though, he met a tragic end of being punched in the gut to be forcefully put to sleep by me.

“You’re under house arrest. You already met with her every day after hunting. Why are you making such a huge deal as if you haven’t met her in a long while?”

“My younger bro. Love is like that.”

“Let’s just go back to hunting. There’s no time to rest. We have to go to the demonic realm. We don’t have any time to spare on relaxing.”

“Hey! You’re saying two completely different things!”

“I’m joking. Go rest. Whether it’s dating or staying shut in at home, let’s do something else other than hunting for once.”

“If you don’t have anything to do tomorrow, do you want to meet Ms. So-Hyeon with me?”

“……. Why! Is it because that I don’t have a girlfriend myself that you assume I can’t take a hint? You really don’t know how to soften your words.”

“Oh. You can at least notice that? Pfft. I’m joking. Remember when you first met her?”

“Yeah.”

“She was incredibly guarded against you and jealous at the time, so she wasn’t able to properly greet you. She said that she didn’t want to be hated by you, my sibling of all people. You haven’t seen her since, right?”

“Sweet. Way too sweet. I do admit that the look she gave me back then was cold as ice. Why not just bring her over to our house? You could introduce her to mother.”

“To her? Hm…. Don’t you think it’s a little too early for that?”

“Who said that you had to marry her right away? It’s good to get to know each other. While we’re at it, let’s invite the commander and Mr. Ho Jin as well. All of us know each other at least to some degree. If it’s okay, we can even invite Mr. Ho Yeong as well.”

“…….”

“Hey! You two lovebirds can go right away after you eat! Who said that I’m gonna hold you two hostage at the house?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll ask her first and let you know.”

“Ahh! Even after seeing your choice of clothing, how did she still think of dating you? Is she a saint of some kind?”

“I told you that the only one who bashes on my style is you though?”

“The opposite of love is apathy. The people around you ignored you as if you were thin air this entire time.”

“Whew….. Why are you talking back to your elders! Talking back!”

“Pfft. Hurry up and contact her already.”

“All right.”

****

We all planned to eat dinner together.

To us, it was a going to be a simple gathering for dinner.

However, to anyone else who knew us…

In a single house, the commander of the Association, the public world’s top dungeon clear record holder, and the private world’s top dungeon clear record holder were gathered for dinner.

They would see it as a gathering of the world’s strongest human weapons.

I made a joke to Jong Ho.

“I guess we can’t bring out alcohol at this dinner.”

“Why? The atmosphere won’t be good until at least everyone had a glass.”

“But what if we get into a fight during it. I think even the demons will be shaking in fear at the thought of that? We’re not exactly your average person. Thinking about it now, this is going to become quite the dangerous dinner if I invite everyone.”

“Haha! You know well something like that would never happen.”

“Hyung-nim. If you ever get married later, don’t get into an argument with your wife. That’s the day the world ends.”

“Hey. You think we’ll get into a physical fight?”

“Pfft. I wouldn’t know. But…..”

“Hm?”

“Did you let her know that you’ll be leaving for the demonic realm?”

“……..”

Jong Ho’s expression quickly darkened.

It seemed that he wasn’t able to reply at all.

However, it was the same for me.

I wasn’t able to tell my mother yet about it.

When I first told her that I’ll be working as an Awakened, she was the one to ask me what kind of a parent would send their children into a tiger’s den.

I was able to obtain her permission with great difficulty and now we’re able to enjoy a luxurious life. However, entering the demonic realm wasn’t something I could lightly approach to her about like I did with the previous subject.

From the issues regarding the radical faction to the high level portals exploding only in Korea, everything was revealed to the world in detail via the press.

The moment the corrupt officials and their lackeys that covered the eyes of the people were removed, people regained the right know.

Mother probably knows already about how many lives were lost and how dangerous this venture would be.

That’s why it was obvious that she’d be against it far more than before.

Jong Ho finally spoke up.

“Your…. Your mother doesn’t know yet, right?”

“Yes. Obviously, she’s going to be against it and will pointlessly worry.”

“What should we do…..”

“But we can’t keep it a secret forever. Disappearing without a word is far more cruel than causing them worry. And we don’t know how many days it’ll take for us to take care of business.”

“Even so……”

“For now, I already spoke about it a little to the commander and Mr. Ho Jin. I asked them to keep silent about any detailed explanations regarding our planned venture into the demonic realm, but give enough of an explanation to not cause too much worrying.”

“Kind of like putting cold water on your body before entering chilling waters?”

“That’s right. At least for your girlfriend, you two have the same job and she knows to some degree about the current situation, so I don’t think it’ll be too difficult to convince her?”

“That’s why it’s a bigger problem.”

“……”

“I’m worried that she’ll say something like she’ll be coming with me. That’s what I’m really afraid of. She’s not the type of person to make such a rash decision, but still.”

“If that’s the case, the commander will take care of it. I heard that she used to follow the commander as if he was her father…….”

“Yep. He is someone that she looks up to the most. It’s the same case for other Awakened as well.”

“Even though we are taking a break today, I guess we’re not dedicating today solely on resting.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re taking a break on hunting, but we’ll have to take care of another business.”

“Convincing them?”

“Yes. And we’ll have to do in a manner that’s as natural and not shocking as possible. Like how water flows naturally. Reinforcements are arriving from each of the Association headquarters to assist us, so let’s do our best.”

“I guess this could be the worst dinner ever, as well as our final meal. What an important day it is.”

“Let’s exclude the final meal part. There’s still a month left.”

“Hey. Don’t be like that…. You’re saying that it won’t be our final meal because we still have time? If we didn’t have time, it would mean that it would really be our final meal.”

“Pfft. Enough of that and just focus on putting on a convincing act.”

“Make sure you’re not the one messing up.”

“Okay.”

-knock knock knock

“Yes.”

“Young master, the guests have arrived.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“I shall escort them to the living room.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Here it comes.”

“Let’s go. To the most dangerous dinner on Earth.”

“Ah…..”

****

“KUWUHUCK!”

“………”

There were 30 days left before the gate would form.

While making sure that no one would notice, Berdan slowly increased his magical energy.

There weren’t that many ways to increase one’s strength in a world where magical energy was limited and one would have to make sure that they’re not discovered by the demon king.

The only thing he could do was to consume the monsters in his own territory in order to obtain magical energy.

Berdan butchered monsters that couldn’t even look up to meet his gaze one by one.

These lesser monsters that did not have any intelligence and only moved instinctively acted as if they had lost their survival instincts due to the absolute power standing before them.

At his call, the monsters willingly gave their own lives into his hands.

Right now, he was increasing his magical energy by the tiniest of amounts in his own territory.

Next, he was going to obtain highly concentrated magical energy from the humans.

If he obtained the magical energy from the leaderless Purian race and the remaining Dabehneh race, then proceeded to obtain all the magical energy of Earth via travel through dimensions, the demon king wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

It was at that moment when he was covered in purple blood by the continued butchering that it happened.

From far away, a Puppet Goblin similar to Karin was running towards him while out of breath.

Berdan acknowledged the existence of the goblins, but he did not give them much importance.

After arriving near him, the goblin spoke.

“Huff…. Huff….. Magnificent sir Berdan!”

“……”

“Huff…. D-Demon king! The demon king has arrived.”

“……”

“Demon king Jamon! The demon king has appeared here, in Keruoh!”

“Pfffffft!”

The moment he heard that, Berdan spat out the corpse of the monster from his massive mouth.

He made a face as if he had eaten something spoiled.

In his territory, where no one could enter without his permission, the demon king Jamon, who had the greatest magical energy in the demonic realm, was found trespassing.

To the demonic races of the demonic realm, it could only mean one thing if someone is found trespassing on their territory.

It was a declaration of war.

Berdan stared down at the Puppet Goblin as he spoke.

“You say it’s Jamon……”

“Yes….. Yes! Sir Berdan!”

“How many of them?”

“A-Alone!”

“We leave for the castle. We must show hospitality for the demon king who will be overthrown soon.”

With a sinister smile, Berdan began to walk towards his castle.

He now understood that what Jamon wanted wasn’t war.


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 120

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120. Faster Than Anyone Else, Different from Everyone Else -Commander-

The skill book beyond ranking dissipated as it was put on Jong Ho’s chest.

He nodded, then stared off into blank space for awhile.

It seemed that he was checking the skill’s information on his status window.

If my prediction was correct, Limiter Release should reduce the cooldown of skills.

I didn’t know by how much the reduction would be, but I was sure that I would soon see the answer in Jong Ho’s expression.

After staring at the status window that only was visible to him for a long time, his facial expression hardened.

Since I had spent a lot of time with him, I could narrow down the reasons why he was giving off that look.

  1. Obtained a skill that was completely useless.
  2. Obtained a skill that was cheat like.
  3. He has nothing going on in his head. He’s just staring into space. Mountains are mountains, water is water, but he is wondering where fizzy drinks come from. The world is going to hell.

I could find the answer in his words.

With a expressionless look, he murmured.

“Huh….. That’s weird.”

“Pfft.”

“Min-Cheol. It’s weird.”

“Yes, it must be odd. Since you’re giving a lukewarm response with that kind of expression, the answer has a high chance of being number two.”

“Hm? Number 2?”

“Don’t worry about it. So how is it? The Limiter Release skill?”

“That’s….. Just like you said, the cooldown decreased.”

“I got it right. But by how much? 10%? 20%? Maybe even 30%?”

“No.”

“What. It doesn’t even reduce it by 10%? I’m kind of disappointed. Well, I guess it’s better than nothing….”

“That’s not it. It’s 50%.”

“Huh?”

“The reduction is 50%.”

“…..”

“Is it okay for a such cheat like skill to exist?”

“Are you serious, hyung? The Otherworldly Skin skill. You said that it had a cooldown of 15 minutes. Are you sure that it was reduced by half?”

“Yeah….. It’s 450 seconds. 7 minutes and 30 seconds. It was exactly cut in half.”

“Wow. That’s crazy. I thought that it would reduce by 30% at the most…. I guess we got a skill far more amazing than we thought.”

“I’m kind of shocked.”

“This is a perfect chance for you. You already know that I can only store offensive spells in that ring. That means that you had to take care of the defensive measures for yourself. Now that you have your cooldowns reduced, you won’t have a window where you won’t have any defensive skills up due to the long cooldowns. Just like me.”

“That’s true, but…..  That’s only possible if I have enough mana to do so. A warrior class like me lacks mana.”

“Hm…. That’s true. I guess I thought wrong.”

“……”

“Hyung-nim, the sword.”

“Yeah. What about the sword?”

“I realized that the owner of the sword that I gave you shouldn’t be you. Why did I think that you needed a weapon that raised your strength in the first place. You’re going to attack using the ring anyways.”

“……”

“Let’s raise your mana stat.”

“But my class is that of a warrior. Isn’t it weird for me to wield a staff and wand?”

“If the head of a conglomerate didn’t have any clothes to wear so he got some from the lost and found, it would become a fashion statement. No matter what they wear, they’re still the head of a conglomerate.”

“An odd example, but whatever. I guess I should raise my mana so I can use my defensive skills more often?”

“That’s right. Your attack skills eat up a certain percentage of your mana pool, but the defensive skills don’t.”

“I see. There’s a set amount of mana that’s expended for using the skill. And on top of that, defensive skills for the warrior class doesn’t use up that much mana.”

“Then that’s the end of that. Hyung-nim should focus on learning defensive skills. I’ll focus on learning offensive skills and raising their levels so that I can store them in the ring.”

“It’s like how a cow catches the mice accidentally while stepping backwards….. I’m ok with it for now. But it’ll be difficult to keep the spells on cooldown even with a lot of mana.”

I pulled out the Mana Drain skill book in front of him.

Both skill books had dropped from a single boss.

It must be a coincidence, but both skills synergized with one another very well.

Limiter Release made it possible for skill levels to be raised quickly, while Mana Drain covered the lack of mana that would result from the reduced cooldowns.

Compensating for what one lacks and the other overflows with, one could say that these two skills were the example of a perfect synergy.

“Oho….”

“If your max mana increases due to an increase in the mana stat, the recovery amount will also increase. But if you still lack mana? You could just take it.”

Receiving the skill book I handed over to him, he put it immediately on his chest.

Unlike the expression from before, he seemed quite elated.

In that moment, my mind was wandering elsewhere.

I was imagining us two arriving in the demonic realm.

A warrior with a staff in each hand and a magician that carried a sword.

If anyone else heard of such absurdity, they would laugh mockingly.

However, with the strength that each of us carried, no one would be laughing if they knew.

After all, neither nations nor Awakened from the international organization could stop us.

“You have the same expression from before?”

“Min-Cheol, I don’t think there will be a case where I’ll run out of mana.”

“What do you mean?”

“It says that I gain back mana worth the damage I deal to enemies?”

“Huh? What. You’ll be only using defensive skills, so what good is that! Ruined, ruined.”

“Let me finish. It says that I recover mana equal to the amount of damage I take when I use defensive skills.”

“Hm……. A way for someone to recover mana in the manner that the user would prefer…. To think that you’ll get mana back as you get hit.”

“That’s right…  Huh? What? Hey take that back!”

“Pfft.”

“Guess this means that it won’t be long before you enter the level 38 dungeon by yourself. You just need to get any defensive skills you can grab as you go, and raise the level of those skills as you get hit. One thing I am disappointed in is that you won’t be able to learn shields from other classes though.”

“That’s right. I’ll need a weapon that increases mana and skill books.”

“Then we’ll have to go get them. Let’s go back for now, hyung-nim.”

“Younger brother first.”

“Hyung-nim first.”

****

The hidden boss Jewel Goat King that appeared on the first day appeared no longer.

The saying that a beginner’s luck doesn’t persist after the start was fitting here.

I knew that I couldn’t be satisfied from the first round of alcohol, but nevertheless, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

After the hunting ended, it was decided that the two swords in Jong Ho’s hands were to be sent to the association.

After all, he would no longer need them.

It would be sent to the Awakened Association, finding its new fitting owner.

He didn’t seem disappointed that he had to part with Black Moon after 10 minutes, but he insisted with every fiber of his being that Banwol Jincheon would return home with him.

Since even I couldn’t change his stubborn mind, I decided to follow his decision this time.

He was going on about how it held the memories of the two of us or whatnot.

As per my request, Ho Yeong brought a high ranking healer from the association.

To avoid the toxins, Ho Yeong and other non-Awakened Association members waited from the hillside.

They could only meet us after all the poison on Jong Ho’s body was completely removed.

With a casual attire as usual, Ho Yeong walked over as I spoke to him.

“Sorry about that. It was because we received an attack that we didn’t expect.”

“No worries. I’m just glad that you are relying on us. Huh?”

Ho Yeong quickly inspected Jong Ho and me all over.

Looking at the new sword and another pair of Titan Boots, he spoke with a higher tone due to the excitement.

“A hidden boss must’ve appeared!”

“Yes. It appeared in the level 39 dungeon. Due to it appearing on our first visit, we haven’t even been to the level 40 dungeon yet.”

“That’s a good thing. Um……”

“Yes?”

“Sorry to ask you this, but if you have some spare time when you go out hunting again, could you clear the level 40 portal as well…?”

“Ah! Of course. I’ll be going there tomorrow.”

“Thank you very much. Part of my duty is to remove as much risk a possible, and that includes portals that could potentially explode.”

“Of course. I’ll do my part in preventing incidents from occurring.”

“Thank you so much for your understanding.”

“No need to thank me. Also, this.”

I handed over Jong Ho’s new sword to the Association member standing next to Ho Yeong.

If I gave it to Ho Yeong, it would immediately fall to the ground.

The actual weight of the sword wasn’t that much, but this was the difference between regular civilians and the Awakened.

It was an item that non-Awakened could not use, no matter what method they employed.

Looking at the sword, Ho Yeong spoke with a confused expression.

“What is this?”

“It’s an item that I’ll be giving to the Association.”

“Oh… Giving it to us? Thank you.”

“Not just giving.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“Give and take. There’s something that we want as well.”

“Ahaha! Yes, please go ahead.”

“I want to rent a weapon with high mana stat. We won’t be using for long. A month at the most?”

“That won’t be difficult. If you asked the commander, he would even willingly give up his own weapon that he’s using, haha. It’s unexpected though. To think that Mr. Min-Cheol and Mr. Jong Ho will need something with a mana stat…. It doesn’t seem to match up with what I’ve heard from rumors?”

“Not me, but Jong Ho-hyung has had a class change.”

“A class change?”

Jong Ho, who was listening to the two of us talk, spoke with an embarrassed look.

“My pride is hurt, but it’s the truth.”

“Yes. It kind of ended up that way. There’s a reason for him to use mana, and a lot at that.”

“Well, I won’t ask for details. I shall prepare what you’ve requested for then. Once again, we’re very thankful for the sword you’ll be giving us.”

“Yes. We’ll be counting on you.”

“Yes!”

****

“Commander, I’ve returned.”

“Yes, so you have.”

“You’re back?”

Midnight had already passed.

However, the light in the top floor of the Association building where the commander’s office room was did not know how to turn off.

Ho Yeong had immediately returned to the association as soon as he had finished meeting with Min-Cheol and Jong Ho.

Ho Jin was also working late, not having clocked out from work still.

As Ho Yeong finished his report, the commander sat up immediately and spoke.

“A magician class weapon!”

“Yes, commander. I do not know of the exact reas-….”

The commander did not even ask why they were asking for a weapon that require mana stats.

Cutting off Ho Yeong’s response, he immediately called for Ho Jin.

“Hey, Ho Jin.”

“Yes.”

“Go down the the underground storage area right away and bring us the Lich King’s Staff.”

“Yes? Right… Right now?”

“That’s right.”

“Yes…..”

“Pfft. Vice president, looks like you’ll be working hard. Everyone else would have left work by this late hour. I would help but I just came back… Also I’m not an Awakened, so I can’t even lift it in the first place. It’s a shame.”

Making a motion as if to wipe his nonexistent sweat off his brow, he spoke smugly.

“Are you my sister-in-law trying to make fun of me or something? Whew. At least you have a silver tongue…..”

“What are you doing. Quickly!”

“Yes…”

Just like that, Ho Jin replied and headed for the underground storage area.

It was 30 minutes before he came back.

“Commander, I have brought it.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Just in case, I brought some wands with similar mana stats.”

“Very good. Then Ho Yeong, please deliver these items to them.”

“Yes, commander. I shall deliver it to them the moment that-”

“The Awakened that left with you hasn’t left work yet, right?”

“Yes? What do you mean…?”

“Pff! I’ll explain it for you. Listen well, department head An.”

“…..”

“Even though I, the commander, haven’t left work yet, where do you plan to go? Hurry up and take this to Mr. Min-Cheol and Jong Ho. That’s what he means. Do you understand? Okay?”

“How can this be. Sh….”

“Pfft!”

“Ho Yeong. What are you doing. Why aren’t you getting ready?”

“…”

“Pfft. Let us get going, vice president Kim!”

“Oh…”

And with the commander’s incredibly fast response to the request, Jong Ho was able to hold magician’s weapons in each hand.

The ideal hunting that Min-Cheol had planned was just beginning.


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 119

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119. This Is the Reason Why

Due to how much poison was on him, it looked as if Jong Ho’s body was coated in spinach jam.

I was fine due to my Mana Shield, but that wasn’t the case with him.

On top of that, it was leaving holes in the duffel bag that the Awakened use, which could withstand most attacks.

It was a bag made by processing a bloodstone.

Since it was made from a S ranking stone I’ve received from Karin, it had a durability far surpassing any pathetic armor humans could make.

It was durable enough for me to wear it during combat in dungeons below level 30.

However, since it fell apart like wet tissue paper, I was able to reconfirm just how much damage the poison from the Jewel Goats did.

Many bloodstones spilled out from the holes of the bag like rice, but I didn’t feel any regret.

What I was really worried about was if any essences were mixed in the stream of stones spilling out.

To check on the loot, I headed out the portal.

“Hyung-nim, it looks like you’ll have to get the poison on your body washed off with the Cleanse spell. For us, it’s fine, but it looks like it’ll be lethal for average person to even get near us.”

I held up the duffel bag that had been torn apart as I spoke.

It seemed that Jong Ho had the same idea.

“Yep. Looks like I’ll have to.”

“Yes. I’ll have to talk with Mr. Ho Yeong from the association. He’ll have to prepare a high ranking healer for us.”

“Yeah. Call one for me, will you.”

“Yes. It’ll be inconvenient for them, but I’ll need them to come over here. About the mimic. Seems we get a bag full of goodies whenever we meet one.”

“It really doesn’t hold back when it gives.”

“I’ve only seen a mimic 3 times so far, and out of those 3, 2 of them were from when I was hunting with you. It’s pretty amazing.”

“I’ve seen it twice my whole life, and all of them was with you.”

“I guess we have quite the synergy.”

“I don’t want to admit it, but it seems so.”

“You don’t need to say the first part…. Whatever, let’s go check on what our loot is. It seemed that even a Titan Boots dropped when I was packing up.”

“Really? I didn’t see.”

Flipping the duffel bag upside down, I poured out all of its contents.

The sound of bloodstones colliding with essences was like music to my ears.

The amount of loot that poured out was an enormous amount.

That was to be expected, since the duffel bag that was the size of a cow was filled to the brim.

The first item that stood out for me was the Titan Boots.

Looking at that, Jong Ho had a smile that seemed to claim he had the entire world in palm of his hand.

“Hey! Really? It’s a pair of Titan Boots!”

“You can thank the Jewel Goat King.”

“It was a good goat….. if you don’t consider this slimy poison…..”

“It was an artifact that you really needed. Good for you.”

“Agreed. In Korea, there are less than ten people who use this item…. To think that I am going to be one of them.”

“I think you are the strongest out of all of them.”

“Pfft. I wonder how I got to here….  Life works in the strangest of ways, don’t you think? To think that a manager for the Awakened would become an Awakened himself, then growing this far by meeting you. I’ll take off these boots and give them back to you then.”

“Don’t do that! Do you want to get poisoned again while you take them off and put the other ones on?  I don’t have any plans to drag your dead body back. You know that my Status Denial has still over 23 hours left before the cooldown is finished.”

“Ah…. That’s right. Then I’ll get the new pair after I get the spell Cleansed on me.”

“Yes. There’s a sword, gauntlet, and even a skill book beyond ranking. It’s almost like a party.”

“Things are working out so well that I’m feeling a little worried. To think that we’d get this much loot from the first day of hunting.”

“I think so as well.”

“Let’s not dwell on possible misfortune that may or may not come our way! For now, let’s enjoy this fortune instead.”

“That’s right!”

For now, we decided to inspect the bigger artifacts first.

Equipment that drop from higher level dungeons have a tendency to bind to the first person who equipped them.

To simply put what binding means, it means that the moment a person picks up the loot, they become the sole owner of it.

That was why we had to take special precautions not to touch the equipment with our bare hands when shoving in the loot into the bag.

An item that someone desperately needs could be completely useless for someone else, after all.

There was a need to use Eye of Insight to thoroughly inspect the equipment.

After that, the owner would be chosen depending on the information on what the equipment did.

“Are you sure that you didn’t touch any of the equipment?”

“Of course. That’s why the duffel bag has many holes in it. I even ended up scooping the poison inside.”

“Smiths are something else. To think that they’re able to process these bloodstones to make artifacts that don’t melt at this level of poison. All right. We’ll start by inspecting the sword.”

-Black Moon-

*Strength +1000

*Dexterity +100

*10% of total strength increased.

*One-handed.

Checking the information, I grabbed onto the blade of the sword and tossed it to Jong Ho.

With a confused expression, Jong Ho asked.

“Why?”

“This doesn’t bind to the user. Also it isn’t as good as the sword I’m using.”

“Is that so? What’s the stat on it?”

“……”

Black Moon was roughly 1/3rd the width of Banwol Jincheon that Jong Ho used and had a crescent shape.

It was simple without any decorations, almost plain enough to mistake it as a giant table knife.

I informed Jong Ho about the stats the sword had and recommended him to use it.

This one-handed sword was the equivalent of the two-handed sword Banwol Jincheon.

He looked at the Banwol Jincheon next to him as he spoke.

“There’s quite the difference in stats.”

“Yes. The strength bonus is nearly twice old weapon. On top of that, there’s a dexterity stat bonus.”

“Hm….”

“What’s up? There shouldn’t be any need to hesitate due to the difference in stats.”

“I’m kind of attached to this weapon.”

“I don’t think this is the time to get lost in old fond memories? In less than 3 months, we’ll be leaving to the demonic realm. Since we need to fight with our lives on the line, don’t you think that we’ll need to put our growth first?”

“That’s true.”

“You can put it in storage at home and take care of it. I’ll buy a display case for you. You can think of your fond memories for a long time.”

“Pfft. Alright.”

“So now you get 1800 strength and 100 dexterity from your weapon, right?”

“Yep. Well if I have one for each hand that is.”

“Why do you look so regretful. We can hope to get another.”

“So you’ll be hunting in the level 39 dungeon only from now on?”

“I think that’ll be the case for while, don’t you think? I wouldn’t know if the level 40 dungeon has a hidden boss or not.”

“Then what should I do?”

“You should stick with me until you are strong enough to clear the level 38 dungeon by yourself and gather stats. Until then, you should focus on upgrading your artifacts. It shouldn’t take that long with the rate we’re getting experience points and at the speed we’re clearing the dungeon.”

“I even have a pair of Titan Boots now. Now this dungeon won’t be that dangerous, so we should go ahead do as you planned.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Yep. First, we’ll finish checking the rest of the loot though.”

The chest piece and helmet were far weaker than the current equipment.

For Jong Ho, you could say that the most important option out of all his artifacts would be on his chest piece.

And now that he found the level 38 dungeon with golems that’ll let him farm stats, the option would be more important than ever.

Lifting the chest piece and helmet, all the bloodstones and essences that were in there spilled out.

Just from that, I could tell there was a lot.

The only thing left was the gauntlet.

Currently, Jong Ho and I were wearing the highest grade Lizardman Gauntlets, which gave a 20% resistance to all magic.

Artifacts that bosses drop also have a tier to them.

Lizardman Gauntlet at its maximum has a 20% magic resistance, but the grade dropped was at random.

It was quite a decent defensive equipment, but there wasn’t any special effects attached to it sadly.

“I guess the only thing left are the gauntlet and the skill book?”

“Yes.”

“I think I’m going to go crazy from just staring at it without being able to touch it. Hurry up and examine them.”

“Ok.”

-Minotaur’s Hoof-

*10% damage reduction from all sources

*Regular attacks excluding skills are 20% stronger.

*Binds on equip.

It seemed that I hit the jackpot.

It reduced damage taken from all sources and even increased the damage of my basic attacks.

This meant that the swings I made with my insanely high strength stat became even stronger.

Added on top of the 20% damage reduction from the Lich King’s Helmet and the 40% damage reduction from the armor I obtained from Joker, I would be taking 70% reduced damage from all sources.

Attacks from regular monsters could be blocked by my Mana Shield.

However, skills beyond ranking like the Lich King’s Black Hole attack would go through the shield.

I was certain that the leader of the monsters such as Berdan or the demon king would pour out attacks far beyond that level.

I had many shield spells, but I believed that focusing as much as I could on defense was a good priority to have.

With this much damage reduction, I wouldn’t be instantly killed from a single attack, no matter how powerful.

“Hyung-nim. I think I hit the jackpot.”

“What is it that it’s got you all riled up?”

“Sorry to ask, but I’d like to ask if I could use this first before I tell you what it is.”

“Hey now. Of course. You are the carry, and I’m the sidekick!”

“I’m glad that you think that way. Of course, you are going with the full stamina build. There’s a plethora of stats you can earn from the golems, and as for your lack of offensive power, you can cover it with the ring. Let’s focus on defense. I’ll do so as well.”

“Right. First run of this portal and a hidden boss appears. We’re really lucky today.”

“I know, right? Essences and Essences of Transcendence. Let’s finish up cleaning up the bloodstones and get moving.”

“Okay. They say that blessings come in droves! But… aren’t you ignoring the skill book? It’s a skill beyond ranking skill book at that though?”

“Ah! Give me a moment.”

“Limiter Release and Mana Drain?”

“It’s obvious that Mana Drain has something to do with recovering mana…..”

“Yes. Thus, it’s a skill that hyung-nim will learn.”

“Then what do you think Limiter Release does?”

“There isn’t a requirement to learn, and there’s no other information I can get other than the name.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

I quietly pushed both skill books towards Jong Ho.

Mana Drain was a skill that Jong Ho needed desperately.

Since I’ve never seen this skill before, I wasn’t sure if it would simply increase mana regen rate of the user.

It could inflict a certain amount of damage and recover mana based on that as well. As for me, who never ran out of mana, I had no need for it for sure.

“I’ll learn Mana Drain.”

“Yes. You should also learn Limiter Release as well.”

“Am I learning this because you know what they do?”

“Just believe in your bro’s gut feeling.”

“We could be wasting the skill books.”

“Hyung-nim, do you remember?”

“Hm?”

“Do you remember when I was speed leveling Meteor and Iceberg.”

“Yep, I remember.”

“Remember that I asked if there was way to reduce cooldowns of skills?”

“Oh! I remember. What about it though?”

“You said that there isn’t a way to, but I think this is it.”

“Limiter Release?”

“Yes. Trust me. Since there isn’t a required stat in order to obtain it, it’s probably not an offensive or defensive skill. There isn’t even a level requirement. This probably means that any class can obtain it, right?”

“True.”

“Something that all classes are burdened with. It must be cooldowns, right? It affects both low and high leveled alike.”

“…….”

“Looking at your current skill levels, I think they’re far behind your current growth rate. Since I have infinite mana, I can use the skills constantly to level them up, but you have a limited mana pool.”

“Is that so….”

“That’s right!”


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 118

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118. Hidden Boss + Mimic = ? (4)

“KUWUHHH!”

“Jewel Goat King? At least the name is accurate. But to think that I’d meet the boss at my first visit…..”

When I turned around, the Jewel Goat King was standing before me.

The size was about the same as the level 1 dungeon boss, Goat King.

It was much bigger than the average Jewel Goat and carried a halberd that scaled with its size.

To think that I’d be able to meet the boss of the level 39 dungeon at first entry.

However, I did not know if it was a hidden boss or not.

There was a chance that it was just a regular boss that appears 100% of the time like some dungeons have.

I could probably tell if it was one or not by the grade of the artifact it dropped.

“Guess I’ll find out by beating it down.”

“KUWUHH!”

As expected, it sprayed poison as it charged me.

It had an attack pattern that had poison followed by self destruction.

Against me, who was far superior in terms of combat capabilities, this monster was easy as the Goat King from the level 1 dungeon.

No matter how it struggled, it would be sliced apart from a single blow from me and perish.

And with how slow it moved, none of its attacks would connect with me.

I didn’t even give it a chance to attack.

As if it was a one on one battle between generals, I used all my strength to kick off the ground and charge towards the Jewel Goat King.

I gripped tightly onto the handle of my sword.

A quicker kill meant that it would increase the chances of me obtaining an artifact.

That’s why there was no time for me to rest.

I aimed Butcher’s Sword towards its lower body.

“KUWECK!”

It was a perfect strike that went cleanly through.

The Jewel Goat King that was charging at full speed could not slow down, and its body rolled across the floor helplessly.

The lower part of its body squirmed around as if it was still alive.

Its green blood sprayed out of its body and hit the floor, spreading toxins nearby.

It seemed that any liquids expelled from its body had toxic properties.

Ignoring inertia, I jumped away in the opposite direction where the monster had rolled towards in an instant, faster than the time it took for its body to come to a rolling halt.

“KIRI! KIRII! KUWUH!”

“It’s arrogant for a goat, whether big or small, to be walking around on two legs.”

“KUWUWUH!”

As if it was trying to blow out our eardrums, it let out a mighty Fear.

After that, its body began to swell up like a balloon.

My guess was that it was its final act of resistance.

I assumed that its body would swell up and explode, creating some poison smog.

At least that’s what I thought until I was about to stab down my sword into its head.

As I gripped the handle and was about to strike down…

The red colored floor began to tremble slightly.

Almost as if magma was erupting, something bubbled up from each of the crevices in the ground.

It was poison.

The green colored poison filled up the crevices and spilled out, covering the nearby area and began spreading out.

It must be a skill that the Jewel Goat King used.

“Little goat bitch! Should’ve died peacefully!”

My panic against its little trick didn’t last long.

If it dies, it should stop casting its skill.

Without hesitation, I immediately plunged the sword into its head and turned it.

It died without making a sound, and massive amount of artifacts dropped before me.

Skill books and Awakened Essences were a given, but I also saw a sword and armor, as well as an Essence of Transcendence.

Almost as if it was spilling out all the bloodstones that didn’t drop from all the other monsters, a massive amount of stones piled up.

However…

“What…. Why isn’t it stopping?”

The tide of poison that rose up didn’t show any signs of stopping.

In that short amount of time, it had already submerged me up to my ankles.

Since I had my Mana Shield, I didn’t receive any damage.

And even if I did cast away my shield, I still had my Titan Boots that made me immune, so there was nothing to worry about.

But it was then I remembered about a single person.

It was Jong Ho.

With this much poison flooding out, it wouldn’t take long for for whole surface of the dungeon to be covered in it.

Even as I thought about it, it had already rose up to my ankles in such a brief moment.

This dungeon was huge.

The exit must have formed, but I did not know where it was.

I had to find Jong Ho immediately and get to the exit safely.

“Shit!”

I tossed the artifacts to the side and ran.

No matter what skill book or items dropped, Jong Ho was my priority.

The skill he had was the strongest defensive skill for a warrior called Otherworldly Skin, which only lasted for 5 minutes and had a cooldown of 15 minutes.

And on top of that, it did not block all forms of damage, which meant that he wasn’t completely immune.

It may decrease the amount of damage he took at the start, but it wouldn’t block it completely.

Poison would be rising up even at the entrance where he was waiting at.

With one hand on my Butcher’s Sword and the other holding onto the pair of Titan Boots I hurriedly took off, I ran.

I ran while praying that his ridiculously high stamina stat would allow him to hold out the entire time.

****

“Hyung! Are you ok?”

“……..”

“Wake up!”

“…….”

-SMACK!

“Open your eyes!”

“Kuhu….. Hey! Stop hitting me.”

“Thank goodness. Thank goodness. But why is your skin all black. Scaring me like that!”

“Can’t help that the skill effect gives off this color. I casted Otherworldly Skin in an effort to survive, you know. But why did a pool of poison start rising out of the ground? I almost died.”

“A hidden boss appeared. It was a skill it used as it died.”

“That shitty goat should’ve died peacefully.”

“I also said that.”

“Pretty cool telepathy we have.”

“For now, I put Titan Boots on you. You shouldn’t be receiving any more damage from the poison.”

“Thanks. But why does my body feel so heavy. It’s hard to breathe as well…..”

“I think it’s because you’re already poisoned. This is a huge problem, since I don’t have any recovery skills for status effects…….”

“Bro, you are lacking in brains. Aren’t situations like this why you learned Status Denial?”

“…..”

Jong Ho recovered, being restored back to a time before becoming poisoned.

If anymore time had passed, the situation could’ve turned dire.

There was enough poison now to cover up to our torsos, but it wasn’t that bad.

I lead Jong Ho towards the loot that the Jewel Goat King dropped.

Since Jong Ho wasn’t taking damage from the poison now, we had to take what we came for.

“This dungeon is quite lethal.”

“I agree. While we’re at it, you should use the Titan Boots from now. I don’t really need it.”

“I’ll pass, you fool. I’m not coming back here at all.”

“You’re really stubborn, like the level 38 dungeon. Whew! Just suffocating.”

Jong Ho spoke with a rare serious expression.

“We need to go the demonic realm and end all of this.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden? Weren’t you just complaining about how you didn’t want to go?”

“You said it yourself. As more magical energies gather on Earth, higher level portals will explode. And magical energies will continue to increase due to Awakened like us.”

“……..”

“Imagine what would happen if this a portal like this level 39 exploded due to the ever increasing stockpile of magical energies on Earth. The monsters wouldn’t be too difficult to subdue, but…. think about the poison these guys would leave….. and the damages the poison would inflict. We don’t even know how long the poison would persist for in the slightest.”

“That’s true.”

“I must follow suit on your resolve…..”

“Oh! I see it over there.”

“Hey! Hyung-nim is speaking! But why is there so much loot that dropped?”

“Most of them are probably stones. Let’s hurry up and gather them, then head for the exit.”

“Alright.”

We bicker like this all the time, but when it comes to loot, we show synergy like a power couple that’s been married for 30 years.

After all, it didn’t take a single minute for us to finish looting and start looking around for missed loot, if any.

Our gaze met and we couldn’t help but laugh.

“At times like these, we really act as if we’re brothers.”

“I know. Now let’s go find that exit quickly, hyung-nim. We can’t just take our time either.”

“Right. Let’s spread out. The one who finds the exit fires off a signal.”

“Yes.”

****

“What? Did you still not find it?”

“Yes. It wasn’t over here. Hyung-nim, are you sure that you didn’t just search haphazardly?”

“No way! Are you sure that you were searching every nook and cranny?”

“Oho! Let’s swap our search locations. Hyung-nim will take the side I searched this time, and I will take the other.”

“Okay. The one who made the mistake will be starving tonight. I feel bad for the food! You aren’t worthy enough to eat the food!”

“Just you wait and see. You can just stand back and watch me eat.”

Just like that, I was given the area that Jong Ho had searched.

However, no matter how hard I looked, I could not find the exit.

‘Did I really miss it…. Not sure why I acted that way. Now I’m going to miss dinner.’

Thinking about my mistake, I headed back to the center of the dungeon.

However, I was able to see that Jong Ho did not appear happy either.

Jong Ho carefully spoke first.

“Um….. No matter what, eating is important, right?”

“Of course? Of course. Eating is important, no matter what mistakes are made.”

“Yep. Thanks. So where is the exit?”

“Huh? I thought it was on your side?”

“What are you talking about. No matter where I looked, I couldn’t find one.”

“It’s the same for me. I didn’t find a single trace of the exit.”

“……”

“……”

In a single moment, a smile formed on both of our faces.

This situation was a familiar one.

After all, it had appeared during our hunts before.

We were both absolutely sure, but tried our best to hide our excitement with an awkward smile.

“No way. Do you really think that it would appear again?”

“Right? You should really search better. Even though you’re young, you can’t find the exit?”

“Ahaha. Right. I apologize. But why are you suddenly fumbling around with Balrock’s ring?”

“Ah, well, you know. Just in case.”

“Do you really think that it would be though?”

“So what is that Meteor falling down above you?”

“Just in case! Just in case! We don’t know for sure, so I’m just checking for a bit.”

“You really are greedy. We’re going to check just for a bit, okay? Just to see if there really is a mimic or not.”

“Yes!”

The swamp made from the poisonous liquid trembled at the shockwaves caused by the Meteors.

The green sea of poison that we believed would not dissipate easily disappeared before the flames of the Meteors.

No matter how toxic the liquid was, it was nothing before the level 300 Meteor.

Jong Ho and I casted Meteor all over the place.

It was to find the mimic.

There were traces of madness in both our expressions.

It was because we had tasted the bliss the insane amount of artifacts a mimic had dropped before.

It happened when the distance between us had increased significantly.

“Min-Cheol!”

“…..”

“Over here, over here!”

“……”

“Oh boy.”

I received a sudden attack.

It was such a strong attack that it made me think that another hidden boss was out roaming instead of a mimic.

Preparing to counter, I turned around and was greeted by both relief and happiness.

The attack was a Holy Shock that Jong Ho casted towards me.

To think that the skill I stored myself would come back to hit me.

Due to the increase in skill level and the magical energy bonus, the attack was very destructive.

Looking at Jong Ho, he was making gestures in an attempt to inform me of something.

It was probably to let me know that he found the mimic.

“Did you find it? I’m on my way!”

Feeling as though it was my lucky day, I walked with light footsteps.

I couldn’t forget the joy of finding a mimic.


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 117

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117. Hidden Boss + Mimic = ? (3)

After leaving the dungeon, I jumped up into the air by kicking the ground below my feet.

Even for a simple jump, it was important that I controlled how much force I outputted.

Anyone could probably tell from the amount of strength stats I had, as a lack of control could cause me to waste a lot of time coming back down to the ground.

Just as Ho Yeong said, the level 39 portal wasn’t that far away.

It was a distance I could cover in a single leap.

I looked towards Jong Ho and spoke.

“Ah…. It can’t be helped. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Huh? What?”

“Hey! You sure I won’t fall?”

“No. It can’t be helped though. Just stay still for a bit?”

“Why are you hugging me tight! It’s creepy! Go away!”

“Oho! Are we not brothers! Bro! It’ll only take a second.”

“What do you mean brothers! Siblings aren’t supposed to be this affectionate towards each oth… AHH!”

Hugging Jong Ho tightly, I jumped up into the air.

I was able to move quickly thanks to my 3 million strength stat, but Jong Ho could not.

It was to be expected, since he invested most of his stats on stamina.

Jumping like this to move around was the most efficient method of travel to hunt.

I didn’t really like this method though.

Since he had never traveled this fast before, he let out a strange scream.

His strange cry for help didn’t last long, however.

It was because we had arrived at the level 39 dungeon in the blink of an eye.

“Whew! Hey, before you pull a stunt like that, let me know first.”

“Time is?”

“Gold.”

“Okay. Let’s go in.”

“Are we going to do the same thing to get to the level 40 dungeon?”

“Is there another way?”

“Ah…. I have goosebumps.”

****

“Yeah! That’s right! This is a real dungeon.”

Unlike the level 38 dungeon where I felt claustrophobic due to the narrow passage, the level 39 dungeon’s interior made me cheer out loud.

Out of all the dungeons I’ve seen so far, this dungeon was the largest.

Like cracks in an iceberg, the floor had crevices here and there.

If I did fall into the crevices between red ground, I had a feeling that it would lead to the demonic realm.

That’s how deep and dark each crevice was.

The walls had rocks that glowed in many bright colors embedded in them.

If these stones were processed, they wouldn’t lose to any precious gems found on Earth in terms of the beautiful colors they gave out.

I was lost for a moment in the beauty the dungeon had.

Jong Ho spoke.

“What do you mean it’s good that the dungeon is large. It just means that it’ll take longer to clear it.”

“Even so, the last dungeon was too much. It was so cramped, I felt trapped.”

“Is that so? Well, how do you wanna go about this? Like usual, from the direction of 9 o’clock to 12 o’clock?”

“Hm… No. I can see everything from here.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Will hyung-nim wait here?”

“Are you gonna draw all their aggro and bring them to me?”

“Yes. There aren’t that many monsters here. About 20 or so?”

“Then go ahead. But you know that magical attacks don’t work on them? Before you draw all their aggro, kill one or two before you do so. There’s a possibility that these monsters are different from what we’ve faced before.”

“As expected. You really are a pro. Understood!”

“Stop teasing me and get going!”

“Yes!”

****

“Kirick! Kiririck!”

“Kirick. Kirick.”

“Huh?”

I ran towards where they were.

I could immediately see their forms.

There were two of them.

However, I felt as though I’ve seen them before.

Eye of Insight skill informed me that they were called Jewel Goat.

It also allowed me to see their weaknesses, which was their head and two legs.

“Where have I seen them before….”

“Kiri!”

The Jewel Goats did not give me much time to think, as they charged at me with drool spilling out as soon as they saw me.

When the spittle hit the floor, it gave off white smoke.

‘Is it the same poison as the one that the Poison Naga gave off when I defeated it?’

Just in case, I casted Mana Shield, Iron Skin, and Holy Block.

Unless my enemy was a hidden boss like the archmage Lich King, they could not get through my Mana Shield.

On top of that, since I was wearing Titan Boots, I was immune to all forms of status effects.

Being poisoned was included in the list of immunities.

However, by some unknown instinct, I wanted to avoid that toxic liquid at all cost.

The Jewel Goat came close and exhaled black smoke out of its nostrils.

Afterwards, it raised a halberd roughly 2m in size above its head.

The halberd was similar to the walls of the dungeon, with many gems embedded in it.

I could see great destructive force that was hidden behind its beauty.

“KIRIIICK!”

A crevice opened up where I stood due to its attack.

It was only 1m wide.

It seemed that all those crevices were caused by these Jewel Goats.

The new crevice was smaller than the others though.

The two Jewel Goats began to charge me again once more.

Looking at them, I immediately remembered.

“I remember! You arrogant goats that walk on two legs!”

“Kiri!”

It was in the level 1 dungeon.

They looked identical to the Black Goat that I met in the first dungeon I entered after becoming an Awakened.

They were of the same size, and even the weapons they used were halberds.

The only differences were that it had greater destructive capability and spat out poison.

Using Eye of Insight, I was able to see that those two legs that were far too weak to support the rest of the body was their weaknesses.

I had felt instinctively that their legs were the weak points when I fought against the Black Goats as well.

Using Frost Orb, I had prevented them from moving by attacking their legs.

I felt that despite them being monsters from the level 39 dungeon, they would be easy to face.

“Walking on two legs don’t suit you monsters. Walk on four!”

I used Formless Sword Aura with my Butcher’s Sword and swung at their legs.

After swinging my sword, it sounded as if the air was being cut.

It meant that I swung the sword faster than the speed of sound, breaking the sound barrier.

“KIIII!”

The monsters had raised their halberds to attack me when I had gotten near them to strike with my sword.

However…

They weren’t able to even perceive their legs being cut off.

With that kind of attack, it was to be expected.

Their massive bodies fell to the ground.

With their legs that had supported their massive weight gone, they couldn’t help but fall.

They also dropped their halberds next to their heads.

The only thing left to do was to smash their heads in.

“Kind of a let down for being a dungeon level 39 monster. Isn’t that so?”

“Kirick!”

“Right…. Even the look in your eyes are the same as what I saw before. It was a look that made me hesitate for a bit.”

“Kirick!”

Despite falling on the floor, they swung their halberds to try killing me till the very end.

But…. I am a bit weaker now. A lot weaker!

Their eyes were strained red, and the air that came out of their noses were enough to shake the ground.

I swung down my sword onto their heads without a moment of hesitation.

I thought to myself that they were a lot easier than what I had expected.

However, as if to prove me wrong, things became more complicated immediately.

The Jewel Goat’s body exploded all of a sudden, covering the area nearby its corpse with green thick smog.

It was too flashy to just call it a visual effect caused by their deaths.

I distanced myself and observed the effect from far away.

After the brief moment, the smog began to melt both the walls and floors that it came in contact with.

It even melted the gems embedded in the walls, melting down into a pool of colors.

On top of that, it melted a hole in the ground, similar to the other crevices already there. The hole seemed go down without end.

“So it’s trying to deal damage even after death? That seems quite dangerous.”

The corpse exploded, expelling toxic liquid in roughly a 10m circle.

Due to two of them exploding near each other, I couldn’t tell the exact distance each explosion covered separately.

Leaving their corpses behind, I ran towards the red dots.

I had said that I would bring the monsters to Jong Ho, but after finding out that they explode, I couldn’t do so anymore.

I did not have any skills that gave shields to others.

I used the same method to take down another Jewel Goat and confirmed that the poison smug covered a 10m distance.

That made me conclude that it was the best to grab all their aggro and take them out in one go.

And just in case, it was probably best to not get them anywhere near Jong Ho.

Before I drew all their aggro, I headed to Jong Ho to let him know of the current situation first.

“Oh. You came back?”

“Yes.”

“What. Are the monsters here stealthed as well? Why don’t I see any?”

“No. You know the Black Goats that appear in the level 1 dungeon?”

“Of course. That’s obvious. I think I spent two entire months hunting them.”

“It seems that enemies called Jewel Goats that look exactly like Black Goats appear in this dungeon.”

“Yeah.”

“But when they die, they explode, expelling toxic fumes.”

“…..”

“The reason why the floor has holes is because of that poison.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I think it’s better for me to solo clear this level 39 dungeon.”

“Yeah. Doesn’t matter to me. As long as I’m in the dungeon, I get experience either way.”

“Yes. Since there aren’t that many monsters, it won’t be of much help to you in gathering stat points.”

“Alright, I get it. Go ahead.”

“Yes. If you see any green smog, cast shields on yourself. It’s poison. And use spells like Meteor with massive spell effects to signal me.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be going then.”

“Alright.”

****

“Kiii.” “Kirick!”

I gathered all the remaining Jewel Goats in the dungeon.

I tried to cut apart one of their bodies to prevent an explosion of their corpse, but it was impossible.

No matter the method I used to defeat them, they would explode regardless on death.

If magical attacks worked on them, I would at least be able to encase them in Iceberg.

However, thanks to their special passive, hunting them was easy.

When I grouped them up, I just had to kill one of them to take the rest out.

After all, exploding one of them would melt the rest.

After they perished, they would behind a huge hole where they once stood.

“It’s the same with the level 38 dungeon. Are these dungeons not going to drop any bloodstones? Or do I have to travel down this hole to pick up the stones?”

For some strange reason, both Iron Golems and Jewel Goats did not drop any bloodstones.

This wasn’t the case with all the monsters I’ve met up till this point.

The drop rate wasn’t high, but they did drop at a certain rate.

Since money wasn’t really important to me, it didn’t matter that much.

However, it did leave me a bit disappointed.

After taking down all the monsters I’ve grouped up, I spun around on the spot to see if there were any I had missed.

“I think I’ve got them all.”

Just like that, I was about to head to the entrance where Jong Ho was.

Before I jumped up into the air, I heard a sound that sent shivers up my spine behind me.

It was the sound of hooves.

The sound of a gem embedded halberd dragging across the ground could be heard.

“What. Are there still Jewel Goats left?”

I turned around and saw that a Jewel Goat was standing there.

No.

A massive hidden boss named Goat King was before me.

“Guess I’ll be setting up a tent in front of this dungeon.”


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 116

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116. Hidden Boss + Mimic = ? (2)

Alternate Title: Speed Growth of Demonic Realm Partner

I felt claustrophobic the moment I entered the level 38 dungeon.

Up till now, most dungeons had large interiors.

However, this felt as though I was being led through a narrow hallway for an execution.

It wasn’t even 5m wide, and it seemed that it was the same for the height as well.

And unlike the level 34 dungeon that had a pristine snow white interior, this dungeon’s interior was covered in blood as if it was the intestines of a giant that had swallowed metal shards.

I could only hear the sound of our footsteps against the gloppy blood clots.

“Why is it so quiet?”

“…..”

“My ears are ringing due to the lack of noise.”

“Same here. We should move faster.”

“Okay. You are casting Eye of Insight, right?”

“Yes. I can detect something far away, but I think this dungeon is massively long. I can’t clearly make out the numbers or forms of what I’m detecting.”

“For now, let’s run until we get close to our targets.”

“Yes.”

Jong Ho and I were considered veterans.

This was the first time we’ve entered this dungeon.

Not only for us, but for humanity as well.

That’s why none knew what kind of dangers could lie in wait for us here.

I could detect monsters with my Eye of Insight, but since there could be surprises out of our scope of expectations, we did not run full speed ahead.

We moved at a speed where it was possible to scan around while covering ourselves with as many defensive skills as possible.

Jong Ho spoke while trying to catch his breath.

“Whew….. How much further do we have to go.”

“I think we’ve been running for awhile. I didn’t see a single monster though…..”

“There’s no way that we would’ve missed any with the Eye of Insight.”

“But I can see the mark indicating that monsters are present far over there…. This really is odd.”

“Can you heal me while we run. I think I’m going to die while running at this rate.”

“Yes. Thankfully they’re a lot closer than before.”

Just like that, we ran for 10 minutes.

Finally, the monster was in our sights.

It was just a single one though.

Since I couldn’t see any more red marks, it seemed that only this single monster was present in this dungeon.

“Krurururu.”

“Did you hear that?”

“Yes, I heard. And I can see it from here.”

“How many are there?”

“One.”

“Only one?”

“Yes. And the size isn’t that big either.” “Since the dungeon is small, I guess it has to be small as well. How much further do you think we’ll need to go?”

“1 min?”

“Is this dungeon designed to be grinded? Why is the boss appearing right away?”

“Pfft.”

It happened when the monster finally came into Jong Ho’s view.

My Mana Shield shook.

It had suddenly attacked without warning.

Projectiles the size of basketballs flew towards us, and my Mana Shield absorbed them all.

The shield quivered for a bit.

“Oho. A golem?”

“Looks like it’s an Iron Golem? But its size is small. The average golem is bigger than the avatars I summon.”

“That’s true. Despite its small size, my shield is shuddering a lot. If this is its basic attack…. then it’s very strong.”

The monster was shining brightly enough to blind us.

The body was split apart like the shell of a turtle, but almost as if a artisan had worked on it, the surface was smooth without any flaws.

It was so smooth that that if any flies landed on it, they would slip off the surface.

The head, arms, and legs were slightly floating apart from the body.

That was enough spectating though!

A projectile flew directly towards Jong Ho.

To me, however, it seemed incredibly slow.

Due to my physical growth, even bullets seemed to crawl by.

With a single swing of my sword, I sliced its attack in half.

The projectile that was split in half rammed themselves into the bleeding walls of the dungeon.

However, the area that the projectiles hit seemed to bubble as if liquid metal was spilled on it, then immediately hardened.

Despite the blood coating it in red immediately, I definitely saw it.

If I let its attacks connect with me, I would probably be petrified on the spot.

Jong Ho must’ve seen it too, since he spoke with a slight hint of nervousness.

“For now, surviving is top priority, right?”

Suddenly, Jong Ho’s form lost all its colors and turned pitch black.

Even all of the equipment he was wearing changed as well.

It was the best defensive skill that the warrior class had.

I also wanted this skill badly.

However, it could only be obtained by the warrior class.

No matter how much mana I had, I couldn’t get it.

“Oh. So now you take reduced damage for a couple minutes?”

“Since I Awakened it a few days ago, the duration is 5 minutes long. The cooldown was reduced significantly, but it’s still 15 minutes.”

“That’s pretty good still. Let’s go. When the duration runs out, get behind me right away.”

“Okay!”

The Iron Golem continued its ranged attacks until we got near it.

Almost as if it was an Awakened casting single target skills, hardened spheres formed at each of its hands.

Its movements were precise and fast, almost like jabs.

Jong Ho, who had invested massive amounts of stats into stamina, easily shrugged off the hits as he charged forward.

Stats alone wouldn’t have been enough to take those hits, but his skill was covering the remaining difference needed to charge in fearlessly.

He was like a wild beast, charging in blindly like that.

“Whew. Do you really have to tank everything?”

“How can I avoid all of those attacks? Dexterity is for cowards.”

“Like this! Like this! Can’t you do it?”

“Damn it! Why are all these things sticking to me! It’s pissing me off! Stop it!”

Jong Ho was pulling off the golem’s projectiles that hardened off of himself as if he was pulling leeches off his body.

If he didn’t have his shield, it would’ve hardened on his body immediately.

Seeing how I was smirking at his predicament, he spoke to me.

“Stop laughing and go cut it down.”

“Yes sir!”

It didn’t take even a second to mince it into countless pieces, almost as if I was preparing sushi.

What about the golem’s body that was hard as steel?

That would only work on others.

It was nothing before my strength stat that was beyond 3 million.

On top of that, I was using the highest ranking weapon, Butcher’s Sword.

I was able to cut apart anything in the world apart like cutting through paper.

I wasn’t even using Formless Sword Aura, but merely swung my sword.

Receiving that many attacks, it melted powerlessly on the spot.

Almost as if liquid metal was spilling from a blast furnace, its form spilled all over the floor.

Despite being destroyed, it did not lose its shine.

Jong Ho looked at me with bewilderment.

“Hey. Apologize to the golem. Now.”

“Pfft!”

“Ever heard of not overdoing it? But why aren’t we receiving any experience?”

“Dunno. I guess it would be too disappointing if it ended it like this. After all, there’s only one monster in the dungeon.”

“I risked my life coming here. What do you mean it would be too disappointing!”

“We’ll have to thoroughly clear…..”

It was then.

The pool of liquid metal that was boiling on the floor turned into little bubbles.

It was like how pockets of air was escaping from the surface of some boiling soup.

After that, the bubbles were splitting into thousands of pieces.

“…..”

“Don’t you also feel like this is something to be worried about?”

“Ah. Maybe I shouldn’t have sliced it into pieces.”

“It’s like mercury that rises to the top of a beaker. They look like little gems too.”

However…

“Pfft! What is that!”

It didn’t take long for those tiny pieces to morph into mini golems the size of an index finger.

I thought that they would absorb the damage I dealt and repair itself back to its original form, but seeing this, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

I wondered if any of those little things had any strength behind them.

“Kururu!”

“Kuru!”

Each of them roared the Fear skill.

However, the sound they made was just as small as their size.

It sounded like the buzzing of a fly.

Since there were so many of them, this fight was going to be annoying.

Of course, I could just use Piercing Sword to slash at them nonstop until I reduce them to nothingness.

My body moved faster than I expected.

A sword aura that filled the area around me formed.

A level 200 Piercing Sword was pouring out Butcher’s Swords everywhere.

However, just as I was about to pour down swords upon the little golems that were charging at me like little bullets, I suddenly stopped.

“Wait.”

“Why? They’re charging at us!”

“Hyung nim. You have Piercing Sword in the ring, right?”

“Of course, there are plenty of them in there. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?”

“Can you control the skill?”

Piercing Sword only attacks targets that the caster deems as enemies.

However, Jong Ho was using the skill stored in the Balrock ring.

There was a possibility that he wasn’t used to using the skill.

Jong Ho himself already obtained the skill, but it could not compare to the level and destructive force my Piercing Sword had.

“It’s not my first time using it. Of course I can control it.”

“Ok. It doesn’t matter if you hit me too, but I thought that it wouldn’t feel good to be hit by your skill. That’s why I asked.”

“What are you saying. Why aren’t you attacking already!”

“Stat!”

“Huh?”

“Hyung-nim, there are free stats in front of us. Don’t you have to be the one to kill them in order for your Blood’s Craving armor to absorb them as stats?”

“That’s insane…. Is it even possible?”

“We’ll have to see. Get ready. Set. Action!”

That’s right.

Jong Ho had so far earned nearly 1 million in stats with his armor so far.

It was because of the special effect on the armor that gave him 1 point of stats for every 100 monsters killed.

So what if he killed the thousands of the mini golems right now?

I cancelled my skill and stood in front of Jong Ho to act as a shield.

Jong Ho wouldn’t be able to withstand their attacks just yet.

I could hear countless clanging of metal behind me.

It must be the sword aura that he created.

However, the swords that formed looked nothing like two weapons he was holding in each hand since he was using the skill that I had stored.

Butcher’s Swords formed, backed by over 3 million points of strength.

The little golems that charged in an attempt to pierce my shield popped as if if they were head lice being crushed.

The countless golems continuously charging against the river of swords only made the cramped dungeon more suffocating.

Following that, I could hear the narration of experience gains.

****

“Wow…..”

“Did you get your stats?”

“Yes…. 28…..”

“So at least 2 thousand of them?”

“Every time I go with you, I end up having my eyes opened up to a new world.”

“I told you that we’re going to a nice place. Well, I didn’t expect this though.”

“If I go run this 100 times….. I could get nearly 3000 points of stats…..”

“I’m sure that you’ll have more than enough time to run this dungeon that many times before the gate forms. And at some point in time, I wouldn’t have to act as a meat shield for you, since you’ll be able to receive that kind of attack easily with the stats you gain. When that happens, I’ll be going in between the level 38 to 40 dungeons to search for the hidden boss, and you can set up shop here. How about it? Mission complete.”

“This is insane….”

“But putting aside the hidden boss or loot in general, not even a single stone dropped. Even though the exit already formed over there.”

“Huh? You’re right. Looks like it’s a total flop? Well, we can’t be that lucky on our first go. For now, let’s exit this place. We still have to go run through the level 39 dungeon. Time is money!”

“Yes!”

I had entered the dungeon in hopes for an artifact drop.

There still was a chance that a hidden boss would appear in this dungeon.

After all, we had only cleared this dungeon once.

However, the one thing that has become clear was that Jong Ho was the one who’ll be benefiting the most from this dungeon.

My partner for the demonic realm was growing stronger.

‘Looks like day by day, I’ll feel more reassured.’


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