I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 115

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115. Hidden Boss + Mimic = ?

It was the day after I met the commander and Ho Jin.

I caught up on all the sleep I’ve missed due to Karin.

The gentle breeze of spring came through the window as I woke, putting me in a good mood as I was greeted by the warmth of the sun.

Despite feeling as if I’ve slept for a very long time, it wasn’t even noon yet.

Stretching as I woke up, I scratched my neck and chest to shake off the sleep.

The phone that was on top of the nightstand began to ring.

The call was from the association’s department head of strategies, An Ho Yeong.

It was probably about the plans to guide me to the dungeons in Gangwon-do that ranged from level 38 to 40.

There wasn’t any reason for him to see me there personally, but he insisted so.

Since I didn’t have any reason to decline, I accepted his offer.

“Yes, this is Kim Min-Cheol.”

“Hello Mr. Min-Cheol. Did you sleep well? This is department head of strategies, An Ho Yeong.”

“Yes, hello. No issues, I hope?”

“Yes, that’s right. Hm… When are you planning to depart?”

“Around 2 pm? I wasn’t able to sleep well for the past couple days, and I just woke up.”

“Ah! Is that so. Then please come out when you’re ready.”

“Yes. Should I head over to the association?”

“No. You just have to come out to the front of your house.”

“……”

I looked outside through the window, past the garden that was large as a football field to the entrance that was large as a house.

I was able to see clearly as if I had used a camera.

I saw three vehicles that were waiting at the entrance.

Inside the car in the middle, I was able to see the silhouette of a person through the tinted windows of the car.

It looked as though that person was talking to someone on the phone.

“Are you perhaps waiting in front of the house?”

“Huh? Yes….. How did you know?”

“I can see from here.”

I was able to see his silhouette turn about to check his surroundings.

“Where…. Where are you?”

“In my room. I don’t think you can see me from here. How long have you been waiting?”

“Uh…. Around 7am.”

“Whew. Since it’ll take some time, just bring everyone in. Have a meal before you go.”

“Huh? Ah….. That’s ok! How could we dare enter Mr. Min-Cheol’s home….”

“Don’t say that and just come in. You’re probably hungry. I’m also sorry to keep you waiting for so long.”

“Yes…. Thank you.”

-click

“Why is he waiting for me so early in the morning, making me feel all guilty for no reason.”

Talking to myself, I exited my room.

The first thing I saw was Jong Ho.

He was chewing something while sitting on a wide sofa, maintenancing his equipment.

Since it wasn’t any old equipment, there was no risk of it being damaged or even scratched in the first place, but he was giving his all polishing it.

Next to him was my mother, watching kdrama.

Anyone watching this scene would’ve believed that they were mother and son.

She was putting apple slices in his mouth, creating a wholesome atmosphere.

I tapped his armor jokingly and spoke.

“She’s my mother!”

“Wow. Still half asleep. You’re too old for that.”

“Hey son, did you wake up?”

“Mother, don’t feed this jobless hyung any more apples.”

“Ah hoho. Why? He’s my eldest son, right?”

“That’s right, mother. Did you hear that, bro? And did you call me jobless? Are there jobless people that work 12 hours a day?”

“That’s true. Enough of that. Hyung-nim.”

“What’s up?”

“There is a place you need to come to. With your bro that is!”

“Where? I need to go hunting soon.”

“You’ll need to eat first, right? I’ll let the cook know.”

“Yes. However, about 10 more people will be coming.”

“Huh? Guests? Already at noon?”

“Yes. They were waiting for me at the entrance since morning.”

“Okay, son. Mrs. Seoyeon, can you prepare us a meal….”

As if he had sensed that something was wrong, he asked me a question.

“Where are we going? Who are the people waiting outside?”

“Ah. They’re from the association. There’s a place I need to go to. With hyung-nim, of course!”

“…..”

“Don’t be so nervous. It’s a good place.”

“Well, ok. I just need to equip my armor.”

“Did you already eat?”

“Of course. I ate as soon as I woke up.”

“All right. We’ll be departing as soon as I’m done showering and eating.”

“Okay.”

****

“Whew. Thank you for your hospitality.”

“No worries. You should’ve called me if you came that early.”

“Don’t let it bother you. Now, we’ll be leaving. It’ll take roughly 2 hours. If you’re tired, feel free to rest as we travel.”

“Yes, will do.”

Almost as if in a parade, the luxury Sedans took off.

There were many areas in Gangwon-do that were restricted from entry, similar to Yangpyeong.

It was probably due to all the portals that were hidden in the steep slopes of the mountains.

That was why there were many checkpoints despite the lack of traffic.

After getting past the first checkpoint, Jong Ho whispered to me.

“Hey Min-Cheol. Do I have to make up excuses along the lines of digging for herbs?”

“Pfft! You’re a riot, hyung. I think Mr. Ho Jin would be angry if he heard you say that.”

“Why? When you fought with Joker before, they let you go through when you said that you were here digging for herbs.”

“Hey….. This is different from then. Now, the commander is the acting president of the association. Would saying that now make any sense?”

“True…. We’ll have to say that we’re diggin for mushrooms or arrowroot at the least….”

“Whew…..”

While our pointless banter continued, the car was already going off road.

The car was designed to ignore most vibrations, but it was shaking quite a lot due to how rough the road was.

Looking out the window, I was able to spot a massive portal.

After 30 minutes of driving, Ho Yeong spoke.

“We’re nearly here.”

“Yes.”

“Um… Did you say that you’re Mr. Jong Ho?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I heard a lot about you from the commander. He said that you defended against a level 30 portal at Changwon by yourself….”

“Ah, that’s not true. I was with Ms. So-Hyeon at the time.”

“Hm? How did you get so close with her so quickly? You’re already leaving out her family name and just calling her Ms. So-Hyeon?”

“My brother, there is a thing called a world of adults.”

“Yikes…..”

“Ahaha. So there’s a story of romance here. Either way, I’ll be in both your care.”

“Yes, same here. Mr. Ho Yeong, are you also an Awakened like Ho Jin hyung-nim?”

“No, I’m not an Awakened. Department head of Special Handlers Mr. Ho Jin is a special case.”

“Is that so.”

“We’re here.”

The car slowed down before coming to a full stop.

Exiting the car, I looked at the portal before me.

However, the size of the portal could not be compared to any of the portals that I defeated before.

The size of the portal was roughly 3 stories high at the least.

It didn’t take long for me to snap out of awe at the sight.

Ho Yeong began to explain.

“This is the level 38 portal.”

“The size is quite big.”

“Yes. Portals after level 35 begins to grow in size.”

“Ah….”

“And that’s the level 39 portal.”

Ho Yeong pointed elsewhere.

I couldn’t see the portal due to how thick the foliage was, but it wouldn’t pose much of an issue.

All I’d have to do would be to kick off the ground and check for the location from the air.

The portals were huge in size to begin with, and my vision was rivaling that of an eagle.

“And that would be the level 40 portal.”

Ho Yeong spread out his hand between the 3 portals.

Just as he explained before yesterday, they really seemed to make a triangular formation.

“Now, I’ve explained the locations of the portals. When should I come to pick you two up?”

“No worries. We’ll be using Warp.”

“Hm… Would it be inconvenient due to the long cooldown of the spell?”

“Since we’ve been hunting as if we were slaves, it won’t be a problem. 12 hours is nothing.”

“Then just in case, I’ll be leaving passes for the checkpoints.”

“……”

“There might be a time that you’ll be coming via vehicle. I’ll let the checkpoints know ahead of time, but just in case, please take these.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Now, I’ll be heading back to the association and edit the data for these portals.”

“What do you mean…..”

“These three portals will become dungeons due to you two clearing them soon.”

“Ah… That’s right.”

“Then I’ll be going now. Please contact me if you need anything.”

“Yes.”

“Yes. Take care.”

Ho Yeong gave his business card to Jong Ho before leaving.

Now there were only Jong Ho and me left here.

Just the two of us.

Jong Ho, who had been checking his equipment and status window till now, spoke up.

“Hey Min-Cheol. Why the sudden decision to hunt?”

“I’m trying to get some better artifacts.”

“Hidden bosses?”

“Yes. But since I don’t have any information, I can only go around searching for them.”

“I see. Will anything drop that’s better than what you’re wearing already though? It looks like the chances of that would be very low.”

“I’ll have to take my chances. The maybes might become a surprising reality.”

“True. Will today consist of running the level 38 dungeon?”

“No. I’ll be running each of them once.”

“Okay.”

Without any hesitation, Jong Ho entered the portal.

I couldn’t have imagined him being like this in the past.

It was only a few months ago that he would cling onto my pants and beg me to not drag him in.

Thinking about how I threw him in without remorse made me laugh out loud.

“Pfft.”

“What?”

“Nothing. But hyung, did you know?”

“What?”

“Magic attacks won’t affect the enemies here.”

“Ah, is that so? Guess we’ll have to use Piercing Sword and Formless Sword Aura?”

“Yes. That reminds me, we don’t have that many physical attack skills.”

“Despite having Typhoon Hole and Gigantic Whirl, I don’t end up using those skills much.”

“Right? It’s the same for me.”

“Let’s go for now. We have no idea what kind of monsters will be coming out.”

“Yes!”

****

Berdan stood up with his massive body from his throne.

Even at the slightest movement of his body, the earth shook.

At the same time, two monsters that were guarding each of his sides followed suit.

They were rare monsters, as both had intelligence.

But unlike the goblin Karin, their intelligence was was at the level of an average human.

Lowering ranking monsters tended to use weapons.

Just like humans, they used bloodstones to make weapons and armor.

Unlike humans, who used precise and efficient methods to create them, the monsters used brute strength to mash the stone, compressing its powers for their own use.

Of course, this option was only available to monsters with incredible strength.

The other lower ranking monsters used their bodies and moved with their instinct for carnage.

However, Zekill, who perished at the hand of Min-Cheol, Berdan of the Keruoh race, and the demon king did not use any weapons.

It was the same for all the other leaders of the demonic races.

They knew about the power of the bloodstones.

But why did they not use them? Why would they not use weapons or amors despite the chance to obtain stronger power from them.

It was because of how Authority, the skill that higher ranking monsters had, worked.

The ranking of a monster was determined from birth.

The higher ranking monsters were born with Authority.

Monsters did not have anything like stat gains.

They also couldn’t obtain new skills.

Their strength was completely dependent on this unique skill called Authority, and they used the strength gained from that to slaughter others.

They would grow stronger from the magical energy obtained from their victims.

That was why no matter what weapons or armor a monster with Authority obtained, they would not get any stronger.

Artifacts dropped only from monsters that were invading the human realm.

These items did not exist in the first place in the demonic realm.

They did not have these, nor did they make these.

It could only be surmised as errors created by the portals that spawned in another dimension, almost as if someone was playing a prank by tossing out their toys…..

“Sir Berdan, what is the matter?”

“Bored, I am. No, I am quite excited.”

“What do you mean….” “

That boasting demon king… The absolute power that he is will  kneel before me soon.”

“……”

“On top of that, all the monsters of the demonic realm will kowtow before me.”

“Most right you are, Sir Berdan.”

“76 days, Salazar and Zeke.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“The moment they cross over from Earth to here, I will get rid of them immediately. Then I shall take down Purian, Dabehneh, and finally the demon king’s race, Lubeta….”

Berdan gave a bloody grin as he ate a monster that was roaming in front of his castle.

His head shuddered with excitement.


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 114

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114. A + X = New World

I informed the commander and Ho Jin the information that I obtained from the goblin Karin.

It was because the commander had requested me to share information with him before.

That was one of the reasons why I visited.

The other reason was that I needed help from them.

It was possible to do it alone, but it would take a long time if I did so.

I asked the two that were sitting in front of me.

“This was what I wanted to let you two know of first. I wasn’t able to obtain information about the monsters or their weaknesses, but it’s still better than nothing.”

“Hm…. Thank you. It’s something at least. So they’re extremely strong.”

“Yes. It seems it won’t be an easy fight.”

“We’ll have to be fully prepared…..”

“Thank you, Mr. Min-Cheol. But what about that favor you wanted to ask of us? What would that be?”

“Ah. I wanted to learn about the location of a hidden portal.”

“The location of a portal?”

“Yes. The level 34 portal dungeon in Paju that you informed me of isn’t useful anymore.”

“Ahem! Ahem ahem!”

At my words, Ho Jin looked at the commander.

The portals were spread throughout the entire nation.

Out of those, not many were higher than level 30.

The locations of those portals seemed to be treated as classified information in the association.

It appeared as though that he didn’t report to the commander about informing me such locations yet.

However, the commander smiled as if he had expected this ahead of time.

“Do you now understand now why my mood lightened when our lad Min-Cheol entered, HoJin?”

“Hohoho. My apologies. I forgot to let you know….”

“Ah….. Seems I spoke out of turn.”

“Hoho. You probably knew it already, right commander?”

“I had my suspicions with the master ID disappearing from time to time. It’s not an issue. You made the right decision.”

“That’s right, hoho. Then….”

“My lad Min-Cheol. Tell me. What is the portal level that you wish to know the location of?”

“Hm…. 40? Since the year has passed, isn’t there a level 41 portal now?”

“Since it hasn’t been the date of the first portal’s appearance, the portal ring wouldn’t have increased by one yet. Almost as if there needs to be a birthday or something, the portal level won’t rise until exactly 365 days have passed. You’ll need the location of a level 40 portal then.”

“Yes. I’ll be counting on you for the locations of portals in the range of level 38 to 40 please.”

“But Mr. Min-Cheol. As you told me before, I thought you don’t gain much from leveling? It would be better for you to obtain skills instead…..”

“Hm…. He probably wants to obtain artifacts.”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m asking in order to obtain artifacts from hidden bosses of the dungeons.”

“Oho…. If that’s the case, there isn’t much time to spare.”

“Yes. Since I have no idea which of the dungeons a hidden boss would appear in, I’ll have to invest a ton of time in order to find out.”

“All right.”

The commander immediately picked up the phone on the table. It seemed as if he wouldn’t even sleep in order to give every bit of his time to support me.

“Yes, commander.”

“Thank you for your hard work. I appreciate you working still even in these late hours, secretary Kim. Could you have department head of strategy An report in here?”

“Understood, commander. Is there anything else you need?”

“Please request permission to open x classified files from him. We need to do so here, right now.”

“Yes, I shall call him to let him know.”

“I thought you knew about all the locations of the dungeons?”

“Hohoho. I just know the general gist of them. There’s someone else that takes care of that.”

“Aha…..”

“Did you inform our lad here without asking permission from the department head of strategy?”

“Hoho. There was no point of having more people guilty of something that I came up with, commander.”

“Ho! Ho! Ho! That makes sense. Is Jeong-yeon doing well?” 1

Just like that, until the man that the commander summoned arrived, they seemed to carry on a normal conversation.

It was peaceful, almost as if they had forgotten about the looming threat of the demonic realm and the monsters.

A brief moment passed.

“Commander, the department head of strategies An Ho Yeong has arrived.”

“Okay. Please bring him in.”

“Yes.”

The secretary moved back to reveal a man that was standing behind her.

The department head of strategies bowed his head in a 90 degrees towards the commander to greet him.

He seemed rather young to be a department head.

He didn’t wear a suit, but instead had casual blue jeans and a hoodie that made him look unprofessional.

Lumbering towards us, he sat next to me and spoke.

“Apologies for being late.”

“Nothing to worry about. I should be the one apologizing, since I’m holding such an energetic youngster late into the night for work.”

“No, no. But…. is this person….. Perhaps! A?”

“A?”

“You catch on fast. Please introduce yourself. This is the one I spoke of before, A. Also known as Kim Min-Cheol.”

“It’s an honor to meet you! My name is An Ho Yeong!”

“Yes, glad to meet you. I’m Kim Min-Cheol. Wait, am I A?”

“Hohoho. I shall explain that later.”

“Sure….. It feels like I’m in a viral video going around the internet or something. Feels strange.”

“Hohoho!”

“That’s right. Department head An, did you bring the files?”

“Yes, commander.”

Instead of a suitcase, he brought out the files from a backpack.

It was in a thick sealed envelope. I was able to notice instantly that the envelope was made of nanomaterials.

Ho Yeong took the envelope off the table to rip it open and spread out the files.

He said that these files could only be accessed only with the permission from more than two department heads and the president of the association.

“Here it is.”

“Thanks.”

“But department head Kim. You kept on coming over to take peeks at this document in secret, but now you’re able to do it guilt free.”

“Hohoho. That’s right. To think that a day where I would be looking at them in the open like this would come though…”

“Commander. Mr. Min-Cheol is here at the association, and you’ve requested for the x classified files…. What can I help you with?”

“Our man here is looking for portals in the ranges of level 38 to 40.”

“Oho…. Portals in those ranges?”

“That’s right. If possible, it would be best to pick from the closest ones to us…….”

“The closest portals.”

“That’ right.”

“…….”

As if excited, Ho Yeong pulled out a highlighter the moment the commander finished talking.

He moved in a frenzy with his highlighter over the coating paper.

Unlike his simple appearance, he was showing an incredible amount of focus towards his work.

It made me realize that he didn’t just hold this position for show.

After 3 minutes of frenzied highlighting, he closed the cap of his highlighter and gave a satisifed smile.

“Is it done?”

“Yes. It’s all done.”

He pointed towards a location with his index finger with confidence.

Everyone’s gaze focused in on where his finger pointed towards.

Ho Yeong opened his mouth.

“Here.”

“Oho. The locations forms almost an equilateral triangle.”

“Yes. They are roughly 1 to 2 km apart from each other.”

“Yeah… With your kind of stride, it shouldn’t take long for you to cover that distance, Min-Cheol.”

“Yes, if there are no hindrances along the way. But is there a specific reason why you picked the closest ones….”

“It’s to increase the chances.”

“Huh?”

“You could run 3 different dungeons in a certain set period of time. Taking into account the remaining days, you would most likely spend 25 days for each dungeon.”

“Yes…. That was the original plan.”

“If you go around doing those three dungeons, you’d waste more time traveling between them if they’re far apart. And if a hidden boss does appear in one of them, you’ll only focus on that specific dungeon.”

“I didn’t think ahead that far.”

As expected, I was glad that I came here for assistance.

With everyone offering different perspectives, we were able to come up with a better solution than the one I was able to come up with alone.

Ho Yeong continued.

“The locations are in Won-ju of Gangwon-do. Have you been there before?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“It would be impossible for you to get there with Warp then. Then I shall have my people escort you there.”

“That’s ok. I have someone who’s idle at home….”

“No, no! We shall escort you!”

“Ok….. Then I’ll be counting on you.”

“Yes!”

“Ho ho ho. That man you spoke of would probably be sad hearing you say that about him. Out of us all, I think Jong Ho is working the hardest.”

“Whew….. He should be thankful that I don’t treat him like a NEET.”

“Hohoho.”

“Ah, since we’re on the topic of Jong Ho hyung…..”

“What did you have in mind…..”

I let the silence settle for a bit before speaking.

This was a decision I didn’t make lightly.

That’s why I wanted to hear their opinions.

I spoke up with caution.

“You know… the gate that connects our realm to the demonic realm?”

“Yes. Isn’t there roughly 77 days left? Time is of the essence…..”

“I’m going to enter it.”

“Yes, I expected as much. Why would anyone enter there willingly….. Huh?”

“What did you just say?”

“I’m planning to go through the portal.”

“What do you mean! Why all of the sudden….. We’re not even sure of a method in order for you to return though?”

“……”

“I found a way. It’s simpler than I originally thought it’d be.”

“…….”

“I just need to become the demon king.”

“……..”

“……..”

“…….”

The three of them stared at me blankly.

They had a dumbfounded expression on their faces as if they didn’t know what to say next.

They must be shocked enough that I said that I’ll be going through the portal.

But now they heard me say that I’ll become a demon king.

I couldn’t help but smile at their bewildered expressions.

However, they continued to stare at me blankly in confusion.

They stayed that way until I spoke up again the break the silence.

“It’s the information I got from Karin. I just have to obtain the highest ranking position in the demonic realm.”

“……”

“Mr. Min-Cheol, even if that’s true….”

“I cannot let the situation become more chaotic, and this world has suffered enough damage.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. 90% sure.”

“Hmm….. Still, to think that you’ll be going to the demonic realm on your own….. It doesn’t right with this old man.”

“I agree with him, Mr. Min-Cheol.”

“Of course. I shall gather the best in each class. It shouldn’t take that long.”

“No. We also have to consider the possibility that the demonic realm may invade again. That’s why we cannot split our forces.”

“Then who will go with you?”

“Someone who’s idle at home.”

****

Jong Ho was clearing the level 34 dungeon with ease, even without using any defensive skills.

Since he knew the skill’s destructive force and area of impact, he kept sufficient distance between him and his target while marching forward casting down transcended Meteors towards the distance.

The only time he moved his body was to loot the stones and drops from the mobs.

His level had already surpassed Min-Cheol’s.

Only a year ago, his level was in the mid 60s.

Now, he was nearing level 420. On top of that, he was nearing 10,000 points worth of stats on his armor.

It was possible because he repeatedly entered the dungeons to the point where his ID was getting worn from use.

Of course, this was only possible because of the Balrock’s Treasure Storage ring.

If there’s one thing that he lacked, it was the level of his warrior class skills.

Since he only spam casted magic, his skill level was similar to that of warriors at the level ranges of 200 to 250s.

Jong Ho invested all the stats he gained on stamina, since he would be using Min-Cheol’s ring to attack.

He split apart his daily 12 hours of hunting into hunting ghouls for stats and hunting to level up in the higher level dungeons.

After exiting the dungeons for the day, Jong Ho spoke to himself while looking at the moon that was at its zenith.

“Time just flies by, huh. But thanks to hunting using this ring, I don’t feel tired at all…. Feels rather tedious. But why does my ear itch so much today?”


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 113

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113. Is There a Way to Take the Meat to Go?

“Human. I’m only telling you this. The way to return back from the demonic realm….”

“Yes, of course.”

“Keru. It is possible if you’re the demon king.”

“That’s obvious. I’m asking you how I can return back though? Do I need to obtain Authority somehow? Isn’t there a way?”

“Kel. Human, it is possible if you become the demon king. The demon king. If you have more magical energy than any other monster, you will obtain powers that will make you omniscient and omnipotent.”

“Oho….. So I just need to have the most magical power in the demonic realm, right? I like the sound of that.”

“Keru. However, why are you asking me this? When you go to the demonic realm, you won’t be able to return, human. You will be sacrificed to sir Berdan.”

“Just because. Humans around my age are curious about many things.”

“Seems pointless.”

“This is enough for now. Are you going out later?”

“Keru. I was going to originally, but I love steaks too much, human.”

“Right? Going outside is a pain and there’s not much to see. Let’s just stay at home.”

“Keruru. All right. Speak with the woman who cooks the steak for me. I want to eat more steak.”

“All right. For now, let’s sleep. I’m tired.”

“Keru?”

During the 6 hours I tried to sleep, Karin didn’t cease for even a moment jumping up and down on the mattress.

I felt anger towards the furniture salesman who guaranteed me that the mattress would not shake even if an elephant was running around.

I brought him steaks every hour, but it was no use.

He did not calm down in the slightest, and even followed me to Jong Ho’s room when I tried to escape in order to catch some shuteye.

After the 6 hellish hours passed, I opened my eyes.

“Karin. Aren’t you going back to the demonic realm yet?”

“Keru? There is still two more days left.”

I probably have already obtained most of the information I needed.

Thinking about the times when I lost so much sleep over nightmares, the 3 day period felt far too long.

I continued to question Karin while avoiding going too far to the point that it would cause him to become suspicious.

I asked about the weaknesses of the monsters, the Authority that Berdan and the demon king possessed, and such topics, but he shrewdly kept himself from giving straight answers.

Even though it was clear to me that he was a dumb goblin, he probably thinks for himself to a certain degree.

Also, I had to acknowledge his loyalty to Berdan.

Maybe it was a specific trait of the monsters.

After all, it was the same case for the thousands of monsters that gave their lives without question to Zekill’s command.

I waited and waited until the 3 days he decided to stay passed.

Just like how he tore the fabric of space open when he appeared, he did it again to make a gateway back to the demonic realm.

“Keru. I feel sad that we have to part ways, human. I think I’ll miss you.”

“Huh? I think you’ll miss the steak, not me though?”

“Kel kel kel. You’re sharp despite being a lowly human. You didn’t forget, right? There are 77 days left. When you come to give yourself up as a sacrifice…. bring me steak.”

“You think I’ll bring steak to my own funeral? You really must love steak.”

“Keruru. Human! Since you’re my subordinate, I will put in a good word with sir Berdan. Perhaps I could convince him to take enough humans to replace the need for your magical energy.”

“My my, how gracious of you. Hurry up and go.”

“Keruru. All right.”

Karin carried a sack several times greater than the size of his body that was filled with beef and entered the tear in space.

The tear mended itself and he disappeared from view.

“Ah……. So tired.”

The saying “To cut one’s flesh to obtain the enemies’ bones” fit so perfectly in this situation.

It meant that one would cut away at their own flesh to give to the enemy in order to break apart their bones. 1

Of course, the meat I gave was not my own, but beef. However, what I obtained was definitely the bones of the demonic races.

After all, I had obtained a lot of information about the demonic realm that was once a mystery.

I would be better prepared thanks to the information, and instead of being on the defensive, I would be able to bring forth a fierce offensive.

****

Even though I was heading for the demonic realm, I could no longer gain additional stats using the Butcher’s Sword.

It could only take stats from those that had stats to begin with, which mean that the only valid targets were other Awakened.

That was why there wasn’t that many ways I could grow stronger right away.

I could only gain a small 5 points of stat increase per level up.

Another method would be to obtain a cheat like skill.

Perhaps I could obtain artifacts far more amazing than the ones I already have.

However, it was near impossible to obtain better artifacts.

It would have to come from either the Unknown Dungeon, hidden bosses, or from a mimic.

Other than these 3 methods, it would be be difficult to obtain gear superior to the current setup I was running.

The chances of encountering these events were low.

Not only that, but there was no guarantee that the drops from these events would be better than the ones I have currently.

“The requirement to enter the Unknown Dungeon is too difficult to even consider. Perhaps a hidden boss….?”

I needed to run dungeons at least level 35 or higher in order to grow stronger quickly.

However, humanity did not have information regarding such high level dungeons, especially information regarding which dungeon has hidden bosses.

Of course, this lack of knowledge extended to the stats of the artifacts that would drop from the hidden bosses.

I was currently stuck running the level 34 dungeon in Paju that Ho Jin informed me of.

Since I’ve cleared the dungeon countless of times, I knew that a hidden boss existed there.

It was where I obtained Balrock’s Treasure Storage ring that Jong Ho was currently using.

I faced the hidden boss multiple times after that, but artifacts worth greater than that did not drop.

It probably meant I had obtained all that I could from this dungeon.

Even if I focused on leveling during the remaining time, I couldn’t expect much of a growth in strength.

However, it would still be better than staying at home.

I contacted Ho Jin.

-click

“Yes, Mr. Min-Cheol!”

“Hey mister. How are you?”

“Ho ho. Each day is quite busy.”

“Is the commander with you?”

“No. I was assigned to separate mission, so…..  What’s the matter?”

“There’s something I need to tell the two of you, as well as something I need help with.”

“Is that so. How should….. Should the commander and I go to your home?”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll go to the association building. Would an hour from now be okay?”

“Of course! Absolutely. Please contact me 10 minutes before arriving and I’ll send someone to see you in.”

“Yes. I’ll get ready and meet you there.”

“Yes, ho ho. I’m quite excited that you’ll be coming to the association building in person.”

“Haha. It’s true that I’ve only contacted you guys for purchasing skill books in the past.”

“That’s true, ho ho. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

“Yes.”

The sun was about to set.

Ho Jin, one of the top representatives of the the current government and a member of the association, and the commander were still here.

Despite how late it was, it seemed that they wouldn’t be leaving work anytime soon due to preparing against the oncoming invasion by the demonic realm.

Jong Ho would probably be back by dawn.

Sharing information that I obtained from Karin with Jong Ho was important, but it probably wasn’t important enough to interrupting his hunting.

There was plenty of time to spare.

I prepared to leave the house.

Almost as if CCTVs were installed all over place to let the butler know of my day to day life, the butler walked out on cue.

His timing was astonishing.

“Young master, are you departing?”

“Yes butler.”

“Where will you be going? Will you be going for hike again?”

“Ah…. I have a some business to attend to at the Awakened association.”

“That’s quite the distance.”

“Yes. I don’t think I’ll be that late though.”

“Then I’ll chauffeur Hwang to prepare a ride.”

“Hm…. Yes, could you do that for me?”

“Of course. That’s part of our work.”

“Then I’ll be counting on you.”

“Yes sir.”

****

“Young master. We’ll be at the association after this intersection.”

“Ah, yes.”

I contacted Ho Jin again.

It was to let him know that I will be soon arriving at the association.

The sun head already set and darkness followed.

“Thank you for your hard work, chauffeur.”

“Young master. If you have anywhere you need to go, please contact me.”

“I feel as though I’m bothering you though….”

“You’re saying the same thing as the madam. This is my work. I’m even beginning to wonder if I’ll be out of a job at this rate, hahaha.”

“Yes, I’ll contact you from now on when I need to go somewhere. See you.”

As I left the vehicle, the window rolled down.

Chauffeur Hwang stuck his head out as much as he could before speaking.

“Young master, please contact me 30 minutes before you’re ready to leave. I’ll leave right away to bring you home.”

“No, no! It’ll be late. You don’t need to go out of your way to do so.”

“Hey. It’s because I’m worried.”

“Ok….. I’ll let you know in advance then.”

“Then I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Honestly, with the amount of growth I’ve achieved, I could run faster than most vehicles that traveled the highways.

After all, I could run without being limited by traffic signals.

Of course, it would leave ditches in the road and it would be a huge issue if I collided with anyone.

My thoughts lasted only a short while as it was interrupted.

I saw many men in black suits rapidly run out from the association building.

Looking around, I saw a man who was standing in front of the entrance to the association building approach me.

He appeared to have come to escort a guest at the command of the temporary president of the association, but seemed to hesitate after seeing how young I seemed.

To the men who were hesitating, I spoke first.

“I am here to see the commander and department head Kim Ho Jin.”

“Ah! Yes, I’ve heard many things about you.”

“Yes.”

“We shall escort you in. They’re waiting for you.”

With 3 men on each side of me, they moved in a formation.

If someone saw this scene, it would look like I was being escorted in, but I wondered if I should be the one protecting them due to the difference in strength.

Whatever. I followed them to the association building.

It reminded me of the time when I escorted in by the Noblesse guild’s secretaries in training that served Park Hyun.

Not only that, but it it also reminded me of how I was forced along with the midget’s two underlings before, making the whole ordeal feel more awkward.

I entered the association building.

Passing the civilian center on the first floor, we headed for the elevator.

Skill books could be purchased on the first underground floor.

Since I had visited there many times over, nothing felt new up until here.

“This way please……”

“Yes.”

The elevator rose to the top floor at high speeds.

Since the commander was doing the work of the president of the association, it would make sense for his office to be on the top floor.

“We’re here.”

“Thank you.”

“It was an honor to meet you in person!”

“Huh? O-ok….”

‘Honor?’ They haven’t seen me fight before though. What did the commander say about me, exactly? Oh well, whatever.’

I had already taken care of the faction that was against me.

To be clear, the enemy I faced now was no longer humans, but instead monsters.

I immediately entered the room they guided me to.

“Oho! You’ve arrived!”

“Hohoho. You’ve arrived?”

“It’s been awhile, commander. And how have you been, mister?”

“I’ve been well. But commander! You greet him with great enthusiasm unlike myself, hoho.”

“Hey! How can you compare my age with your youth! Isn’t that right, lad Min-Cheol?”

“Hoho. I’m rather jealous of how energetic you are.”

“Yes, I am thankful for your warm greeting.”

“Of course, it’s to be expected. For what reason have you come all this way to visit us at the association?”

“That’s…..”


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 112

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112. The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Feat. Your Friendly Neighbor)

“You woke up early?”

The sun was peeking over the horizon.

Jong Ho said hello to me and headed for the fridge.

It seemed that he couldn’t see Karin as expected.

Jong Ho drank some water as per usual.

‘How do I explain Karin’s existence…..’

Well, he would return to the demonic realm in two days anyway.

It shouldn’t be a big deal to reveal him.

If Jong Ho still couldn’t see him, there was nothing for me to lose.

That’s if Jong Ho believed what I said though.

I hesitantly asked him.

“Hyung-nim. Do you see anything on this chair?”

“Keruru?”

“What?”

“This…This chair.”

“What about the chair? All I see is a high schooler making a huge mess as he eats food? Please act like your age…. Looks like I need to get you a bib.”

It was then that I noticed the state of the kitchen.

Karin’s drool was all over the place.

On top of that, bits of waste and pieces of plates from his mouth were scattered all over the place.

It was such a mess that it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe tens of people came to party here.

Karin, who was staring at Jong Ho the entire time, spoke.

“Kerukeru. He cannot see me. He cannot even hear my voice.”

“Is that so…. Pfft. Say hello, hyung-nim. This here is Karin.”

“Are you still having nightmares? Seems you didn’t get any sleep. Why are you making strange jokes this early in the morning.”

“Can you really not see? The woman that’s here?”

“…..”

“No way…. Am I the only one that can see her? Say something. Why is it that he cannot see you?”

“Kerukeru!”

“Hey… Why are you scaring me like that….”

Jong Ho’s eyes were darting all over the place.

It seemed that he was quite scared.

Looking at the fork and knives on the table, I gave Karin a knowing look.

Perhaps because he was quick on the uptake, he quickly picked them up and began to move them through the air.

“Uh……”

“Pfft. Do you still not see?”

“What is this? Why are they floating?”

“She really must be a ghost. She followed me back home yesterday. She came back home with me and we just finished our meal. Can you put down the sword? She won’t harm you.”

“……”

“She says that she really likes your room and asks if she can sleep in there.”

“Ahhh! Hey! No! Make her leave! Why did you bring her here!”

“Well, she seemed to have nowhere to go and looks well mannered.”

“……”

Jong Ho’s face became serious.

The floating utensils, the table that was dirtied beyond what I was capable of, and even the acting I did made Jong Ho ponder for a brief moment before speaking.

“Um…..”

“Hm?”

“Is she pretty?”

“Keru?”

“Wow… That’s too much. Even if I told you that she’s a ghost, since I mentioned it was a girl, you want her to be pretty?”

“Well, why not. Might as well be. How did she die? Her age? But above all else, is she pretty?”

“Tsk tsk. You’re something else. Just go wash yourself off. I’ll tell her to sleep in your room. You can check in your dreams.”

“Eh. Sounds like she’s ugly. I’ll go clean myself up, but she can’t go in my room.”

“Ah. Just go wash up first and then we can talk.”

“Okay.”

“I guess he really can’t see you?”

“Keru… I can only be seen by the three humans sir Berdan chose.”

“Ah, that’s right. You said there were two more besides me?”

“That’s right, keru.”

“Who are they?”

“Kerukeru. They also have quite the quality and amount of magical energy.”

“Who?”

“They do not live on this land. Their skin color is white. They’re people from other countries.”

“Maybe their levels are really high…. But do you also speak English?”

“Keru? What’s English?”

“Languages of other countries. I think you speak Korean pretty well. Pretty smart for a goblin.”

“Kel? The language of the demonic realm allows us to communicate with any race.”

“…. Master of languages from birth. That’s one thing I’m jealous of.”

“Kelel. But those two humans are not polite.”

“Since you speak like that… of course.”

I accidentally spoke my thoughts out loud, but it seems he didn’t hear it due to being so busy blabbering out his own words.

“Thinking about it now, the things they were making… it was steak.”

“It could be like that since they’re in other countries. I guess you visited them during a meal.”

“Keru. I knew they were making steak for a good reason. To think that humans were this delicious!”

“Hm? What do you mean? This isn’t the meat of a human though?”

“Keru? So those two humans weren’t killing fellow humans to eat their meat?”

“……”

“During the few days I followed them, they killed many humans. I thought they wanted steak. Kel.”

“I thought they’d be rankers….. but it seems I was wrong.”

“Kerukeru.”

Karin said that these two people have a lot of magical energy.

However, it seemed that they didn’t earn that through regular hunting.

There was a high chance that they killed other Awakened for pleasure.

After all, there was no rule that all the Awakened had a righteous moral code.

Also, the Awakened were human.

I was reminded that both good and evil were omnipresent.

“Human. You said that you were going sleep before. How tasty is that?”

“Ah, that’s right. But I have to have a talk with that guy who cares about a girl’s physical appearance after he’s done washing off. I’ll make some steak for you, so go and eat that while you’re waiting. It won’t take long.”

“As long as there is steak, I won’t mind it taking long. Human, give many! Many steak!”

“Oh yeah.”

It was then.

“Young master, are you still in the middle of your meal?”

“Uh…..”

“It looks like your friends came over….”

“Sorry…. It became quite messy.”

“Hoho. It’s my job. Don’t worry about it. Will you be going to sleep now? I know you’re young and all, but it seems you’re overdoing it to the point where I’m concerned for your health, hoho.”

“I’ll be sleeping right after I’m done talking with Jong Ho hyung. Uhm, ma’am.”

“Yes?”

“About… the meat in the fridge.”

“Yes.”

“Other than what you’ll for the side dishes, could you cook everything?”

“Huh? All of that? What are you planning to do with them?”

“That’s… I’m not sure if I have a parasite in my stomach or something, because I still feel hungry.”

“I’ll go ask the butler to purchase some medicine. Please go ahead in first. I’ll bring them to your room.”

“Yes, thank you. And while you’re out there shopping, please purchase some meat for steak…”

“Hoho. Yes, I’ll buy enough so that we don’t run out.”

“Yes. I’ll be going then…”

“Keru. That’s the woman who makes the steak, huh. She’s a good human. Keru.”

****

“The ghost?”

“What do you mean ghost. But there is something that you cannot see.”

“What else would it be other than a ghost?”

“No. The one who was sitting in the chair before was a goblin who came from the demonic realm named Karin.”

“The one you said you met before?”

“Yes. He said he was bored of the demonic realm and came to play. I think it’s true. I was stuck with him suffering all day as I had to be his tour guide.”

“That’s quite something else to suffer from. Is it to get info?”

“What. You’re trusting me that easily?”

“You’re not the type to lie. So did you find out anything?”

“Yeah. A lot actually. He’ll be here for the next two days. He’s really into our food right now, so I don’t think he has any plans of leaving here for the time being. During that time, I’ll need to get more info.”

“Are all monsters that stupid? Well I’m glad.”

“Yes. But I also learned that the monsters of the demonic realm are a lot stronger than what I originally thought.”

“How much so? Aren’t they similar to the monsters we face in the dungeon?”

“You know about the Unknown Dungeon, right?”

“Yeah.”

“He said that monsters in the Unknown Dungeon are incomplete monsters.”

“…..”

“And the one that Karin is serving, Berdan, is at least ten times stronger than Zekill.”

“What… So just how strong is this demon king?”

“I know, right? Also the demonic realm is supposedly so big that it cannot be compared to the size of Earth. It seems like it’s going to be difficult.”

“Thankfully at least you learned the skill Archangel’s Fall.”

“Yes. There is one more thing I wanted to let you know.”

“Ok. Go ahead.”

“The… 80 days. Well, it’ll be 79 days from now before gate opens, right?”

“Yeah. The door that takes you to the demonic realm the goblin told you about?”

“Yes. He said that it really connects me to the demonic realm.”

“Hm…. This is just a feeling I have, but something feels off. So what is it?”

“I’ll be going.”

“Are you insane?”

Jong Ho’s eyes were wide open as he said that.

It was to be expected.

Even I though this idea was insane.

However, just as I concluded before, the side that’s being invaded will receive far greater collateral damage.

It was going to be a fight with huge amounts of collateral damage.

However, if I was to eliminate the root cause in the demonic realm, there would be no reason for the invasion.

Tensing up, Jong Ho spoke.

“I knew it’d be like this. You’re thinking of something weird, right?”

“If I fight here, think of the collateral damage that’ll be inflicted.”

“Well that’s that. But what about how you will return here? Are you some Earth defense force? The Flash? Why must you go alone to the enemy lair to fight? Do you think you have multiple lives or something?”

“Don’t get so worked up. That’s why I’m even offering meat to that goblin and taking care of him well. There must be a way for me to return. Even the Unknown Dungeon is technically a part of the demonic realm, and I am the man who returned from that place.”

“Coming back is important, but do you really think you can face the demonic races by yourself!”

“Whether they come here or I go over there, I cannot avoid this fight.”

“…..”

“That’s why I just have to coax him a bit more to get the information I need. But…..”

“What else is it? There’s nothing else I can be surprised by, so hurry up and tell me!”

“Do you really think I’ll be going alone to the demonic realm? Really? Seriously?”

“…. Enough! There is more that I can be surprised by….. I don’t want to be surprised anymore today. Leave me be.”

“Are you acting out some drama show? Why does your tone sound like it’s from a historical drama? Let’s go. What are you going to do with all that power anyways?”

“I think I injured my ears while hunting today, so there definitely is an issue with my hearing. I cannot hear very well.”

“I’ll leave you be. I’m tired too because I didn’t get any sleep.”

“……”

“Get some rest, hyung.”

“Yeah, rest up.”

“So you can hear everything. Let’s go together.”

“Whew…. For now, let’s get some rest.”

“Ok.”

****

“Hey. Stop farting.”

“Keru? Human, I think I ate too much steak. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat this thing called sleep.”

“That’s quite the good news for me.”

“Keruru. I’ll just watch you eat this sleep thing for now and eat it later.”

“You’re something else. I’m wondering though…..”

“Keru?”

“Is there a way to return here from the demonic realm?”

“Kel? I already told you that humans have returned from the Unknown Dungeon before! I thought you were smart, but I guess you were dumb after all, human.”

“No. I’m not talking about the Unknown Dungeon. And I’m asking if there is a way to go and return at will.”

“Keruru…. Without Authority, it’ll be difficult.”

“Is that so? Authority is given at birth and I cannot steal it. I didn’t get anything when I killed Zekill after all…..”

“That’s right. You cannot steal Authority.”

“So there isn’t a way to return.”

“Keru… I’m not sure why you’re asking, but there is a way back. However, it is very difficult.”

“What is that?”

“Keru……”


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 111

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111. Karin, the Goblin That Does His Job Well (2)

Karin seemed eager to hear what my request was.

I wasn’t sure if the meat or the plate was tasty, but whichever it was, it seemed that he was hooked on it.

However, it was probably still a bad idea to be too direct with the questions.

No matter how stupid he looked, he was still one of the servants of one of the leaders of the demonic race.

I could anger him for no good reason if I did so.

I had to make him as desperate for it as possible.

“Hurry up and speak, human!”

“That’s….”

“What is it?”

“Ah. No.”

“Keruruk! I don’t have anything better than stones. Human! Take these and give me the steak.”

“Ha….. Should I really ask this?”

“Say it. What do you want!”

“Nah. As someone who will die soon, what would be the point of hearing it. Right?”

“Human! Do I need to tell you something?”

“Never mind. I’ll just go to sleep….”

“Steak! You’re leaving without giving me steak? Here are some bloodstones. My pockets are filled with them. If you want it, I could give as much as you’d like.”

“I do not need stones… And no matter how much you want to eat steaks, it doesn’t seems that you’re willing to tell me secrets.”

“Keru…..”

“Then…. I’ll be going to sleep….”

Karin’s cold hand reached out and grabbed my wrist.

It was like the main protagonist grabbing onto the heroine in a drama.

Turning back at him, I saw that drool was spilling out from his mouth.

Slurping it back up with his tongue, he spoke.

“Keruru! Human. Sit.”

“Why?”

“Kerurum…… First, give me one more steak.”

I gave him the look of a customer giving a look of disappointment towards a beginner fraud.

To be fair, he could’ve eaten all the gifts from me and then decide to shut his mouth after.

Seeing my expression, he spoke while crossing his arms.

“…….”

“What is that look!”

“Well…. I do need some kind of compensation.”

“Have you forgotten! Karin the goblin does not lie, human!”

“Is that so? Well, such a majestic existence as a goblin would never lie towards a human, right?”

“Kerukeru. That’s right. Hurry up and give me the steak. After I’m done eating, we can talk again.”

“Okay. Chew on some stones while you wait a brief moment.”

“Kel!”

I opened the refrigerator.

Thanks to the recent banquet, there were quite a lot of ingredient in the fridge.

Meat made up the biggest portion of them all.

With this much meat, it was enough for tens of people to eat.

I lifted up the smallest chunk of meat.

The meat was being cooked on the frying pan.

Karin, who hadn’t shown much interest towards the scent of food until recently, was leaning his body towards the meat that was being cooked.

I thought it was the plate that he liked to eat, but I guess his stupidity doesn’t encompass his taste buds.

I was going to take out a plate for him in case he didn’t like the meat.

Surprisingly, he wanted the meat.

His short stubby legs were constantly kicking at the legs of the chair.

It seemed that he was very excited, akin to a child waiting his turn in line for the amusement park rides.

I could understand how he felt, since I still vividly remembered the taste of my first sweet cotton candy as a child.

It was was strong sensation that he must’ve never felt before.

“Human! Is it done yet? It smells similar to the one before.”

“….”

“Human? Did you die?”

“Shit! I think it’s burnt?”

“Keru?”

I’ve only made ramen before, and never have I cooked meat this thick before.

Hiding my anxiety as best as I could, I flipped the burnt side under and placed the meat on the plate.

Before I could even put down the plate on the table, Karin put the entire thing, plate included, into his mouth.

“…….”

“Is it tasty?”

“Human.”

“Hm?”

“Tell me the truth.”

“Huh? W…. What?”

For a second, I thought that he realized I burnt the meat.

A single bead of sweat ran down my forehead.

Finishing everything in his mouth cleanly, Karin spoke.

“What did you do to the steak!”

“…….”

“For sir Karin….. You made the steak tastier! Karin is touched.”

“Huh? Are your taste buds okay?”

“Kerukeru. It was a lot more tastier than the one before.”

“Sure…..”

“Speak. What is that I must tell you?”

“Will you really tell me?”

“It’s a promise! I must keep it.”

“Yes! Since I will be going to the demonic realm and dying soon, it won’t be a problem listening to some things, right?”

“Keruru. If you won’t ask quickly, give me one more steak.”

“I’ll make it while we talk.”

“Alright.”

I sat next to him.

It was partly because I felt bad for failing to cook and burning the meat, but mostly it was to think carefully about what to ask him.

Eating away at the plate I used, he was waiting for my questions.

“So…. the demonic realm?”

“Keru.”

“What is that place like?”

“Kel kel. It’s a place where monsters live.”

“I mean….. I already know that. I want details, like the landscape, size, or the environment.”

“Keru. The demonic realm is far larger than Earth. It cannot even be compared. If Earth is this big, then the demonic realm is like this big.”

Karin pointed at his fist and then the wide dinner table as he explained.

If what he said was true, that meant that the demonic realm was massive in size.

Karin continued his explanation.

“……”

“It’s darker than here, and isn’t very colorful.”

“Oho.”

I remembered the place that Karin showed me in my dreams.

I thought that the demonic realm was just like that, giving off a barren dreary feel.

Finishing the plate itself, Karin spoke.

“Did you finish with your questions?”

“No! How many monsters are there?”

“Keru…. Human, we visited the sea just a bit ago.”

“That’s right.”

“Remember the scratchy floor that was next to the sea?”

“Are you talking about sand? The thing that’s the color of medium rare steak and scatters in the wind?”

“Keru. That’s right. There are that many of them.”

“Huh?”

“The single sand that you talked about is like one monster. In the demonic realm, there are a ton of monsters.”

“That’s insane…. It looks like the monsters that appear from the gates scattered on Earth is not even the peak of the iceberg.”

“Human….. Thinking about the color of the steak, I want to eat it again.”

“Okay, okay.”

Almost as if training a pet, I brought more meat in his mouth before continuing my questions.

“About the one you serve, Berdan?”

“Keru! It’s sir Berdan, human!”

“Yes, yes. That’s right. How strong is sir Berdan? Hm….. when compared to Zekill, that is.”

“Kel kel kel. Just from looking at the magical energy, he is more than 5 times stronger. Thinking about the Authority and special ability, he would be 10 times stronger. Zekill wasn’t even strong enough to qualify as one of the leaders of the demonic races.”

“……”

“Kel kel. And I am the one and only servant of sir Berdan! I am sir Karin…”

“Ok. Next question.”

“Keru…..”

“Has there ever been a case where a human went to the demonic realm?”

“Kel. There were. There weren’t that many but…. As the dimensions warped and twisted, a few humans fell into the demonic realm.”

“This is beyond my expectations….”

“It wasn’t that long ago either. It was roughly 15 to 16 human years ago.”

“……”

“The ones that entered the demonic realm were Awakeneds like you.”

“Go on.”

“Steak….”

“No! Talking first.”

“Keru…. However, there was one human that was trapped in one place.”

“Trapped?”

“That’s right. He was in a completely isolated area where monsters from the outside could not approach.”

“… So what happened?”

“After a long period of time, he returned to Earth.”

“…….”

“Keru. Human, I thought you were quick on the uptake, but it seems that wasn’t the case.”

“What?”

“Keruru. Human, you also have visited the demonic realm before, keru.”

“What do you… It couldn’t be….”

“Keke. Now do you remember?”

“The Unknown Dungeon?”

“Keru. So the humans call that place the Unknown Dungeon.’

“That was the demonic realm? I just thought of it as a dungeon….”

“Human, you didn’t know?”

“So the one who went to the demonic realm before was Ghost….. He was commander Park Joon Sik at the time.”

“…….”

“So all monsters of the demonic realm have powers at that level? In that isolated space, I mean.”

“Kel kel. That isolated space is filled with monsters that are incomplete due to not having enough power. Only by gaining enough magical energy in that zone can one leave that isolated space to enter the actual demonic realm.”

“Hm…. I heard that the demon king was born in the middle of the war between the demonic races? But from what you’re telling me, the monsters are being raised from the Unknown Dungeon…… This doesn’t add up……”

“Keruru…. The ranking demonic races can be birthed from anywhere as long as they possess powerful magical energy, such as the demon king. Sir Berdan also came into existence that way.”

“Hm….”

The facts were quite shocking.

I had thought that it was just a dungeon that existed on Earth.

I didn’t have the slightest suspicion that it was part of the demonic realm.

This meant that the condition required to go to the Unknown Dungeon was different from what I thought it was.

It meant that there were methods to enter that didn’t require the sacrifice of human life.

The ones that died in the dungeon would’ve left magical energy.

This meant that to go to the Unknown Dungeon, one would only have to fill the dungeon with massive amounts of magical energy.

I was finally beginning to understand.

“So that means that the monsters of the demonic realm are far more stronger than those in the Unknown Dungeon?”

“Keru. That’s right.”

“And there would be some monsters that have consumed other monsters, growing much stronger than the rest, right?”

“You’re smart, human.”

“Good…. The gate that opens in roughly 80 days from now. Are you sure that it connects to the demonic realm?”

“Keru. I am sure. Sir Berdan will be using his Authority. Since it is a different dimension, it takes some time, but otherwise, it will definitely connect this place to the demonic realm.”

“So there really is a surefire way to go the demonic realm….”

“…..”

“One more thing!”

“Kel?”

“When you first came to Earth, you said that I don’t even know how to use magical energy as you argued with me. Do you remember?”

“Keru. I remember. Karin is a smart goblin.”

“Right. So what you’re saying is that even humans can use magical energy?”

“Keru keru. That’s right. Magical energy can be used by anyone, no matter what their race is.”

“How does one use it?”

“I cannot explain that.”

“Don’t you wanna eat more steak?’

“Keru….. I really cannot explain. If the right time hasn’t come for one to sense their own magical energy and grasp it in their hands….”

“So what you’re saying is that each person has to figure it out for themselves?”

“That’s right. Human!”

“Hm?”

“But why are you asking me these things?”

“Well…. I just wanted to where and who I was going to die to. Don’t think too deeply into it. And don’t tell sir Berdan.”

“Keru. Alright. When can you make this food by the way?”

“It’s late today, so I’ll sleep for now. When the sun rises tomorrow, I’ll make it right away.”

“Sleep? Keru….. What is that. Humans are quite the busy creatures.”

It was then.

-click

The front door opened, and Jong Ho entered.

Looking at the time, morning was already approaching.

‘I’m not sure if he’ll believe me if I tell him.’

“You came back?”


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 110

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110. Karin, the Goblin That Does His Job Well

“Keruru! Human, sir Karin is here!”

Karin didn’t even reach 50 cm in height.

With saggy flesh all over his body, he was chubby to say the least.

His skin was shriveled up with lines running across everywhere, his arms and legs were short.

His appearance as he crossed his arms caused me great discomfort.

Just looking at him made me uncomfortable.

In a split second, my expression changed.

I had to do whatever I could to coax information out of him.

“Oh? Oh my, sir Karin is here?”

“Keru? Of course, of course! It looks like you’ve finally come to your senses! You must always be courteous with me.”

“But there are many days still left before the day of promise….. What brings you here?”

“Kel kel kel. Do not be afraid, human! I won’t be harming you today. I’ve come to play since you are amusing.”

“Oho…. Wow, thank you…..”

It was a soulless and dry response, but it seemed that he took quite a liking to me.

Rubbing his bulging belly, Karin continued to speak.

“Keruru….. Human.”

“Hm?”

“You are my subordinate, right?”

“Well…. Sure, let’s go with that for now.”

“Kel kel. Then take me on a tour of Earth.”

“You want me to take you with me on a tour?”

“That’s right! It was hard getting permission from sir Berdan to come here. I do not have much time!”

“Hm…. Then what will you do for me?”

“I won’t eat you alive right now. I will let you live in peace for the 80 days that are still left.”

“……”

“Why. Are you not satisfied?”

“Of course not. You and I can’t hit each other in the first place.”

“Oh…. Human. Unlike the others, you are pretty smart. Looks like you’re a mutant among your kind.”

“Whew….. Ok…. Thanks.”

“So do you have something you want in mind?”

“What’s it like in…. No. Just stay with me until you return to the demonic realm. I mean, you won’t have anywhere else to go anyways.”

“All right. You treat me well. Must be because you are afraid of me! Kerukeru! I think I will stay on Earth for the next 3 days.”

I wasn’t sure what was going through his head for him to come visit me.

However, from looking at his expression, I was sure that he had come here to look for something new to amuse him.

No matter how stupid he was, if I interrogated him about the demonic realm right away, he would probably become suspicious.

It seemed best to amuse him for a day or two before casually throwing him some questions.

I spoke to him.

“Karin.”

“What is it.”

“Are you going to walk around like that in broad daylight?”

“Why? Is this a problem?”

‘Why wouldn’t it be a problem? Stupid goblin piece of shit.’

I was so close to saying that out loud.

“If other people see you….. Maybe they’d want to play with you. That’s right. Would you like to stay in this bag for now?”

“Keruru! Human. You have quite the jealousy. Sir Karin is good at keeping promises. I won’t play with idiots.”

“……. So you’re saying that you won’t go in.”

“And do not worry. Including you, only three humans can see me. Even if the other humans want to play with me, they cannot.”

“Is that so? Thank goodness. Okay. What did you want to see on Earth?”

“Keruru…..”

That’s how I ended up being accompanied by a goblin that looked like something was missing in his head.

I had no idea why his speech was so unnatural.

When I asked him if this is how he speaks normally, he said that he is speaking this way on purpose, because he thought that I wouldn’t understand him otherwise.

How kind.

This situation was ridiculous and infuriating, but what could I do.

This ugly looking goblin had the upper hand.

I had to grant his every whim.

Starting from the center of the city, I took him to the seas, mountains, parks, and other such places.

I walked with him all day.

To think that my first date would be with a goblin.

However, since it was a price to pay for the bigger picture, I barely contained my rage.

Just like that, the sky became dark, and I became famished due to missing all my meals.

However, Karin seemed pleased by Earth’s scenery, as he seemed plenty amused.

It felt awkward, but I decided to bring him home.

No one could see him, and he couldn’t harm anyone.

I spoke to him.

“Karin. Let’s go home.”

“Huh? What’s a home?”

“What? Do you not even have a home? Well, it’s a place where you sleep, eat, and wash.”

“Sleep? Food? I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but it seems fun. Let’s go, human!”

“……..”

As if he had found another topic of amusement, he wobbled ahead.

****

I headed into the estate with Karin.

An average person would be slack jawed with the size of the estate, but he didn’t seemed that amazed.

“Young master, have you returned?”

“Yes, I’m back.”

“The madam has fallen asleep.”

“It doesn’t seem like Jong Ho-hyung came back yet?”

“Yes. He said that he’ll be returning home tomorrow.”

“He’s working hard…..”

“Should I have dinner prepared?”

“Yes, please do.”

“Understood.”

“Uhm… butler!”

“Yes?”

“I’m quite hungry today, so could you prepare 3 to 4 people’s worth of food?”

“Haha, understood. You are at that age. I will let them know.”

I had a curt chat with my butler.

Looking at that, Karin spoke.

“Oho! Human! Are these the ones you are in charge of raising?”

He spoke quite loudly.

I was worried that they would hear it, but it seemed that no one else heard him.

It was almost as if I had cast Silent.

I answered him in a quiet voice.

“By your standards…. Yes, that’s right.”

“Oh…… I had my suspicions that you were quite the smart human!”

“Looking at you, it doesn’t look like you wash yourself. You should eat at least, right?”

“Did you say food? What’s that? I have been curious this entire time.”

“…..Whew. Just stay in my room for now. I’ll wash myself and come in a bit.”

“Ok. Is this where I have to go to? Hurry up, human. Keep your promise of showing me around.”

“Alright, alright.”

It didn’t take long for me to finish my bath and go to my room.

However, I heard a strange noise coming from my room.

-crack.

“What’s that noise?”

With a worried look, I quickly opened the door to my room.

“Keruk! Keruruk!”

My worry was short lived.

Hopping up and down my bed, his laughter was enough to make me shiver in disgust.

He was acting as if he was a child jumping on a trampoline for the first time.

On top of that, he was pulling out bloodstones from his pockets and chewing on them as if they were peanuts.

Looking at the size and color of the stones, they seemed to be beyond S ranks.

Seeing me arrive, Karin spoke.

“Kel Kel! Human! What is this! It feels very nice.”

“Whew….. Where do I start in teaching you…..”

“But didn’t you speak of this thing called food before?”

“Yes. Let’s eat some food.”

“Yes! Show me this thing called food already.”

I sat at a wide dinner table.

Many of the workers around the house were waiting for me there.

I spoke to them.

I couldn’t allow them to see me appear as if I was talking to myself, since they couldn’t see the goblin.

“Excuse me….”

“Yes, young master. Is there something you need….”

“No. I’ll put away the dishes in the sink when I’m done eating. For some reason, I want to eat alone today.”

“Haha. Yes. We’ll leave you be, young master.”

“Thank you.”

They left and I immediately started my meal.

Due to being the guide for this shitty goblin, I wasn’t able to eat all day.

However, Karin was just staring at me in amazement.

“What?”

“Keru? What are you shoving in your mouth, human?”

“It’s called steak. Do you not eat anything at all?”

“Keruru. Do you have to eat that to gain strength?”

“…..”

“This is precisely why the demonic races are far superior to humans. As long as one from the demonic race has magical energy, they could live without eating. Well, if they feel pretty good, they eat bloodstones once in awhile. Keru.”

“Is that so…..? So how do you eat magical energy?”

“You have to kill.”

“Kill?”

“That’s right. If you kill monsters, you absorb the magical energy they had. I could become full with that.”

“Oho…..”

“That’s why sir Berdan chose you. It’s because you have a lot of magical energy.”

“Is that so…. But I haven’t killed that many monsters though?”

“Keruru. Human does not know too many things. Zekill, who you killed, had magical energy. You also ate all the magical energy of the humans he was raising.”

‘Just like how lead or mercury poisoning goes through a food chain, magical energy continues to gather and get passed on.’

This was the first bit of information I was able to obtain from him.

It was about magical energy.

Just like this, I needed to lower his guard while obtaining as much information as possible.

“Alright, sorry. Don’t just look at me like that and go try one.”

“Keru? You mean that?”

Karin’s sharp toenail pointed towards the well done steak.

Since I asked for proportions far greater than what one could eat, there was plenty of food to go around.

The smell and color was enough to make one drool, but he didn’t seem that excited by it.

It was probably because he had never eaten food.

“Yeah. It’s not like you’re going to die from eating, right?”

“Keru. Alright.”

Not just the steak, but he shoveled even the plate into his mouth.

To think that I was able to witness high class table manners of the demonic race.

‘I guess it’s good that there won’t be any dishes left to wash.’

After chewing for a long time, he shivered.

And then he yelled out loudly.

“Human! Human!”

“What?”

“What is this?”

“It’s called steak.”

“Do you eat this every day?”

“Well, not every day, but I do eat it often. Why? Is it weird?”

“……”

“If it is weird, don’t eat it. I have lots of bloodstones in my room. You can go grab some if you want to eat those instead.”

Suddenly, Karin put a stone from out his pockets onto the table.

I wasn’t sure what kind of pocket he had, because the amount of stones that were coming out seemed impossible.

Looking at me, he spoke.

“The stones I have been eating until now wasn’t that good.”

“…..”

“Let’s trade. I’ll give you stones, so give me ste…… stats!”

“S. T. E. A. K.”

“Yes. Give me steak.”

“Guess you liked it a lot.”

“This is a lot more tastier than magical energy.”

“Okay……”

I gave him all the food that was prepared.

Karin ate it all, including the plates.

As if he was still hungry, he was flicking his tongue in anticipation.

It seemed that I found a way to easily coax him after all.

If someone else heard this, they would laugh, but the method was using steak as bait.

To the goblin that was looking around for more, I spoke to him.

“Do you want more?”

“Keruru. How did you know, human. You’re quick on the uptake.”

“Ah…. thank you for the compliment.”

“Kel Kel. Is there more?”

“Of course. I could get you as many as you want. But I want to trade it for something other than stones…..”

“What is it? The only thing I have are stones.”

“It’s……”


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 109

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109. Preparations

I obtained a skill that was unheard of thanks to the assistance of the commander and Ho Jin.

The ability empowers my skills only against monsters.

This meant that I could not deal bonus damage to humans, such as the radical faction.

However, that wasn’t much of a problem.

Right now, Korea…. No, the entire world was being invaded by monsters, something far more dire than humankind’s greed.

After hearing about the demonic realm from Ho Jin, the commander was further confused.

There was no guarantee that this invasion would come to pass.

Ho Jin already said so, and he agreed.

However, a period of peace that lasted 10 years since the level 28 portal explosion had been shattered.

Higher levels of portals were exploding.

Of course, the radical faction’s portal explosion project was partly to blame.

However, monsters still poured out of the portal even after that.

He believed that there was something beyond the fault of humans that was causing the portals to explode.

Now the commander could guess that the magical energy the monsters released on death that was sent by the demonic realm was the cause.

The 80 days until the invasion was different from before.

To be precise, it had to be different from before.

For 40 years, the commander fought from the moment Awakened began to appear.

Whether due to his personal beliefs or a different agenda, he risked life on the front lines to fight.

Not once had he ever lost or retreated from any battle against monsters.

He was known as the lone general carrying righteousness upon his shoulders.

Still, he could not but worry about the current situation.

They were facing the demonic races, the ones behind the creation of the portals on Earth.

It was likely that they had power far exceeding that of the monsters.

He did not witness their powers himself, but it was obvious, since they could control the monsters.

After steeping in worry for some time, the commander picked up his phone.

-ring ring

-ring ring

-click

“Hello.”

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, commander. How about you?”

“For an old man like me, every day is peaceful. I heard from Ho Jin. Were you able to get any decent skills?”

“Yes. About sending you a thank you….. Sorry.”

“No, no. I’m not trying to discuss about the skills. I called, because I had something I wanted to talk with you about.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“About the demonic realm that you talked about with Ho Jin…..”

“Yes.”

“What do you think? Do you really think they will invade?”

“Just like you, commander, I think there is a fifty-fifty chance it’ll happen. I am just doing everything I can to be prepared if it does.”

“Hm….. I see. Unlike the situation with the radical faction….. I won’t let you handle all of this by yourself.”

“……”

“This old man knows already. No matter what organization or nation comes forth, they can’t hold a candle to your strength. However, there’s a saying that many hands can make light of heavy work.”

“Thank you. It will be a lot of help towards me.”

“Today, I will be summoning all the rankers and leaders of the association, and telling them of what you told me.”

“But if you do that…. It could lead to absolute chaos.”

“Of course, it probably will. However, it wouldn’t be right to put all the responsibility solely on you.”

“……..”

“I ask you one thing.”

“Yes.”

“If you get any new information on the demonic realm, please tell me as well.”

“Of course. However, I haven’t been able to obtain additional information since my meeting with the servant of the demonic races.”

“Is that so…… Rather frustrating, since we can’t tell if what he said is true or not until the gates form.”

“That’s right. If I gain additional information, I will make sure to let you know.”

“Thank you. I heard that you won’t be entering the gate that will form……”

“Yes. Since I’m not sure what will happen yet, until they make their move……”

“I understand. I will call you again sometime.”

“Yes, thank you commander.”

After finishing the call, the commander picked up his phone again.

Just as he told Min-Cheol, it was about to gather all the rankers of the association together.

Until now, he had only commanded the magician rankers of the association, but he was now going to summon all classes of Awakened using his position as temporary president of the association.

Telling his secretary of his intentions, he stayed alone in his office for a long time.

“……”

****

An hour later.

The commander moved into the conference room.

The members of the room was quite rowdy.

Just as commanded, the commanders of every Awakened class were gathered in one spot.

This call to gather has never been done before.

That was why everyone could not hide their anxiety.

Other than those that were already deployed in the field, it seems that everyone else was here.

Yoon Jong-sun bowed his head 90 degrees to greet them.

Taking a sip of water, he opened his mouth.

“Nice to meet you all. I am commander Yoon Jong-sun.”

With one sentence, the rowdy conference room was enveloped in silence.

Each class’ commander stood in the front, with 10 Awakened rankers behind them in a line.

Each commander saluted towards him in a show of respect, and the rest followed suit.

“Thank you for coming, despite your busy schedule.”

“…….”

“…….”

“I won’t skirt around the topic. The reason why I gathered you all here is to let you know of the chaos that will be coming for us.”

With just a single sentence from him, the entire crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.

The situation with the radical faction was finally beginning to quiet down.

However, the general was announcing that chaos was coming.

As if he had expected the panic ahead of time, he waited a bit before speaking up again.

“The radical faction! Even though we knew of their existence, we stayed idle and let the situation go out of hand.”

“……”

“That’s right. It’s all in the past now. But do you think that it was possible with just our strength? Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible to stop them without the sacrifices of our association and that of the guilds. We paid the price of cleansing the wound of its infection that we allowed to fester, after all.”

Yoon Jong-sun looked towards the second highest magician class Awakened Lee Sang-Ho.

He had sustained a heavy injury while trying to defend against a portal explosion before.

The commander spoke.

“Hey Sang-Ho. Did you find out the identity of A?”

“…….”

“Thankfully, I was able to meet A. The portals exploded. Many lives were lost in Incheon, Gapyeong, and where I was able to meet him, Busan. It was there.”

“Commander…..”

The commander looked towards the crowd again and began to speak of the main topic at hand.

“80 days. In 80 days, we will be facing chaos far beyond what we faced before.”

“What do you mean…..”

“Commander. We barely obtained this period of peace. What are you trying to say?”

Each commander of their respective classes began to speak their opinions.

To reply to that, the commander spoke of A’s identity, Min-Cheol.

He spoke from the start of Min-Cheol weakening the radical faction to the defeat of the overboss of the radical faction, Zekill.

He did not reveal A’s real identity as Min-Cheol, but all of his deeds were revealed.

Listening to the commander, each of the leaders of their respective classes thought to themselves.

When the portals exploded, the commander forbid certain areas from being deployed to.

Not only that, but some of the portals disappeared without a trace.

Everyone expected that some kind of entity did exist, but they had no idea that this entity would be this powerful.

They began to focus on the commander’s words.

“This is what I heard from A. They were the ones behind the creation of the monsters and the portals to invade us with on Earth. They are still in the midst of their plans to invade us with monsters. We are not absolutely positive that they will. However! We cannot let the blood that spilled due to our lack of preparations be in vain!”

The commander spoke louder.

The heavy air of the conference and anxiety that followed grew stronger.

“Our association must be prepared. Panic may spread due to this, but we must start by asking every guild for assistance. Not only Korea, but all the nations in the international organization must recognize this truth and prepare.”

“…….”

“I hope that everyone is aware our strength is nowhere enough to block portals beyond level 30. It’s of human nature to become complacent in a peaceful world. However, I believe that things will change the moment we leave this conference room.”

Just like that, the commander’s speech continued for awhile.

He spoke of countless defensive tactics and countermeasures against the great chaos that was approaching rapidly.

****

“Kerururu.”

After he received the command from Berdan, he was guarding the gate that would soon form to connect Earth with the demonic realm.

In the demonic realm, strength determines one’s position.

This meant that the puppet goblin Karin is at the lowest position.

He did not have noticeable combat capabilities or any special authority.

However, there was a simple reason why he was able to speak directly with Berdan, who was far above him and an absolute existence, and even acted as his subordinate when completing this mission.

It was became he had intelligence.

Perhaps this could be counted as a type of authority?

Most monsters did not possess intelligence or the ability to reason.

They only moved to the will and command of those possessing stronger magical energy than them, and they carried out their primal instincts to kill as they lived on.

Heading to Earth and meeting three humans, Karin’s heart was soaring.

His intelligence wasn’t high, but he had some.

It was also his first time traveling through a different dimension.

Berdan had gifted him this ability.

He did not know when it would be taken back, but for now, he had the freedom to travel back and forth unhindered for awhile.

“Keruru. That idiotic human is scared of me! He listens well because he is scared of the great Karin! I want to go back to toy with him again. Stupid human! Should I give a quick visit?”

Berdan, like usual, was relaxing as he was indulging in his wealth and power.

He was always checking on the other demonic races, lost in his dreams of bringing his grand plan to fruition.

Karin headed towards where Berdan was.

Countless monsters were lumbering around, fighting amongst one another.

Of course, they were consuming monsters weaker than them.

However, none were attacking Karin or even making eye contact with him.

It was because they instinctively recognized the Authority that Berdan gave him, flowing with magical energy.

Greeting Berdan, he planted his head on the ground before speaking.

“Keruru. Sir Berdan!”

“Karin…. Has something happened at the gate?”

“Kerukeru. Not at all. I have come to visit for your permission to see the idiotic human, since I believe that I should give him another reminder!”

“Hm… Is that so?”

“Yes! I am sure that you are aware just how ignorant they are. He won’t be able to come on the right day if I don’t remind him again.”

“Lending you my authority wasn’t a mistake. I will allow it.”

“Kerururu! I shall be off then!”

****

-slice!

“Kerururu! Human!”

“Oh?”

It was a time that I desperately needed information.

He had disappeared after only telling me to come to a gate previously.

That same goblin had come on his own volition.

‘How should I coax him?’


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 108

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108. Seoul’s Skill Rich Mr. Kim Min-Cheol (2)

The first skill’s name, Blessing of Strength, wasn’t to my liking.

Just from hearing the name of the skill, I could guess what the effect was.

To be fair, anyone else could as well.

If the skill ‘Blessing of Courage’ from the healer class buffs up one’s attack power, this was probably a skill that increased strength stat.

Jong Ho and Ho Jin were thinking the same thing as well.

“I think it’ll be best to skip this one?”

“Blessing….. It looks like a buff skill?”

“I already have 30k points in my strength stat, so I don’t think I’ll need any more…..”

“Yes. Regrettably, we should pass this one up.”

My base stats were already over 30k, so I really didn’t need any increases in my strength stat.

Since there were four more skills beyond ranking I could learn, I did have the luxury of passing up one or two out of the 6 that were brought.

For any other Awakened, they would have been grateful to even have one.

After all, these skill books could only been obtained by defeating a hidden boss or a mimic.

There were many who’ve probably never seen one in their lifetime.

Pushing aside the skill book, I looked over at the rest of them.

[Level Requirement 400]

[Stamina Requirement 1,000]

“Looks like this one is a tank skill. It requires 1,000 stamina stats.”

“….. Would Mr. Min-Cheol need this?”

“Well…….. My stamina stat is nearing 60k……”

“Min-Cheol. Isn’t your expectations too high? Two of them were already misses.”

“Seems so……. For now, I should put this one aside as well. Defensive skills are a must though, so I’ll keep this in the backburner.”

“Yes, we’ll do that for now.”

Out of the 6 skill books, already two were rejected.

4 skill books were left.

I really needed the other skill books left to be good ones.

However….

“This one is also a pass.”

“Ah…….”

“This one too.”

“Hm….”

“This one is a recovery skill, but I can already recover a fair amount with my ring.”

“Yes….. This one too……”

“Yes. Just like the tank skill, I’ll put this one on the backburner.”

After rejecting them one by one, there was only one skill book left.

If this skill book is useless to me as well, that mean that the association’s assistance that Ho Jin mustered up to bring all these skills beyond ranking would end in a fruitless endeavor.

I felt sorry for Ho Jin’s look of disappointment, but what could I do?

Right now, I had to obtain the most cheat like skills possible.

It might have been a different story if the amount of skills I could obtain wasn’t limited.

However, the current situation didn’t allow me to keep my manners.

“Sorry. Even though you went through all that effort to get these…..”

“Hohoho. No worries! It’s to be expected. Right now, you must obtain the most powerful skills. Do not hesitate. I’m just glad that you can separate the bad ones out using your Eye of Insight.”

“Yes……”

“Let’s not keep the last skill book waiting.”

“Yes!”

My excitement and expectations I had at the start was long gone.

Since all the information about the skills weren’t revealed to me, there still was a bit of suspense, similar to checking the lottery.

However, the current situation was that five of the skill books were revealed as useless to me.

I looked at the book that was under the rest in silence.

[No Level Requirement]

[Required Mana 2,500]

[Required Magic Power 20%]

“Hm?”

“Why? Is this also bad?”

“No…. The mana stat needed is 2,500.”

“Oh! Doesn’t that mean this is a decent attack skill? But 2,500? That means that you’ll need to only invest in mana stats for 500 levels to learn this skill. Yikes.”

“That’s true but…..”

“What’s the matter? Is there an issue?”

“No. That’s not the case, but there is something odd about it.”

“What is? Hurry up and tell us!”

“Magic power.”

“Magic power?”

“Yes. It says that 20% magic power is required.”

“Magic power, you say?”

“Doesn’t the Drain Monarch ring has the 20% magic power stat attached to it?”

“That’s true, but…. the magic power stat isn’t a common stat bonus. It can’t be obtained unless one goes through the unknown dungeon.”

“Of course. The first time I heard of such a stat bonus was from you, Mr. Min-Cheol.”

“Well, it means you can learn it right now though, right? Hurry and look at the skill name at least!”

“Ok.”

I immediately put the skill book to my chest.

The skill book gave off a bright light.

Afterwards, I heard the announcer voice.

[Requirements are met.]

[Will you obtain Archangel’s Fall?]

“Archangel’s Fall?”

“That’s the name?”

“Yes.”

“…..”

“The name and stat requirements seems to indicate that this is a pretty decent skill at the least. What will you do?”

“The mana requirement and the name of the skill isn’t of importance to me. What I’m really interested in is the magic power requirement.”

“……”

“You should learn this skill. This doesn’t seem to be you average run of the mill skill book.”

“Finally, you got one that’s good. Hurry up and learn it.”

The skill book glowed brightly once more.

Almost as if it never existed in the first place, it sunk into my body.

The sensation was odd to say the least.

Obtaining the average skill didn’t cause any sensations in me.

The skill would be obtained and listed under the skill list.

Maybe it was like Dual Casting, a passive skill that fundamentally changed my casting method.

However, I felt as though this skill was causing a change in my body.

“Is it an attack skill?”

“…..”

“Is it a buff?”

“………”

“Mr. Min-Cheol?”

“At least this one went well.”

“Huh? What skill is it?”

“What is it?”

I repeatedly exactly what the skill description said.

 

[Archangel’s Fall]

Class: ?

Rank: ?

*Obtains the blessings of an archangel who traded with the demonic races to obtain greater power.

*Causes greater damage to the demonic races (monsters). (Additional damage does not apply to those that were created by the heavens.)

*As a passive skill, this applies to all attacks.

 

“It’s not a skill that I can cast.”

“A passive that does additional damage against monsters?”

“It seems that we can’t tell how much that bonus damage is just from looking at the description.”

“Yes…. Jong Ho hyung-nim.”

“Hm?”

“Are there still lots of Meteors left in Balrock’s ring, right?”

“Of course. It’s overflowing with Meteors.”

“Let’s go to the dungeon. I’ll need to confirm this firsthand.”

****

The three of them rode in Jong Ho’s car to head for the level 34 dungeon in Gapyeong.

The artifact ring called Balrock’s Treasure Storage allows one to store identical spells of the caster, allow the wielder to use those spells.

This meant that the ring would have stored spells of my skill level and the 20% magic power increase stat.

However, the passive I just have obtained wouldn’t have applied to the stored skills, since I had stored them before obtaining this passive.

I was going to compare the skills that Jong Ho would be bringing forth using the ring against the spells I’ll be casting.

If this passive was the real deal, the difference should be clear as day.

“I’ll hide the car with Mass Stealth Jutsu.”

“Alright. Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

The three of us entered into the dungeon.

Since this wasn’t the first time Jong Ho and Ho Jin have been to this dungeon, they stood next to me as if to show how much they were used to this situation.

“Hopefully it’ll show good results……”

“Hyung-nim. The name of the skill has archangel in it. Not just any angel, but an archangel. Do you really think this skill would be bad?”

“Hohoho. Even if you say that…….”

While the two of them were continuing their conversation, I pulled the aggro of the monsters.

I had brought 5.

I used Frost Orb to deal the least amount of damage while drawing their aggro.

These monsters would reflect the damage they receive.

Until they were attacked, they would not attack first.

Casting Mana Shield, I came closer to them.

Since the amount of damage and the area affected was huge due to the skill being transcended, Jong Ho and Ho Jin were already keeping their distance.

I yelled towards Jong Ho.

My voice echoed as if I had yelled from the interior of a cave.

At my call, Jong Ho casted Meteor as if he had been waiting all along.

“I’m ready!”

“Okay!”

-CRASH!

-BOOM!

3 meteors formed and crashed into them.

The portal shaped monsters shrunk down in size greatly, and 15 meteors rained from the sky towards me.

I was able to stay relaxed because of my Mana Shield. Most would have pissed themselves if they saw such a spectacle.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that if that connected with one’s body, he or she would not survive.

The shockwaves and quaking was enough to make me wonder if the dungeon was going to be destroyed.

My Mana Shield shook heavily to the point where I could not see in front of me.

I shouted again.

“Continue please!”

The meteors continued to come out from the ring, and it took 3 casts to completely annihilate them.

Since each cast summoned 3 meteors, that meant that total of 9 meteors had rained down.

A regular Meteor would have needed to be cast 10s of times before it would be able to annihilate the monsters here.

This triple cast clear was only possible due to transcending the skill and the magic power stat.

“Looks like it took 3 casts.”

Finishing the conversation, I pulled 5 more monsters.

The method was the same as before.

In order to confirm the passive effect, I needed to make sure that the starting conditions were the same.

The Frozen Orb that I had casted on them were reflected back to me.

I turned around to confirm the distance between me and those two.

“I’m going!”

Both of them nodded their head from far away.

-CRASH!

Meteor had fallen on them.

However, the dungeon was quiet.

Jong Ho must’ve felt that something was off, since he spoke immediately after.

“Min-Cheol! Are you sure you hit them? Don’t you think it’s too quiet?”

“……”

“It’s possible. They say that even monkeys do fall from trees occasionally. Try again.”

I was sure the the skill was a direct hit on the opponents.

There was no way the skill would’ve missed.

However, that meant that 15 meteors should have been heading my way.

Instead, not a single speck of flame came.

“Are you doing this because you’re embarrassed? Hurry up and go again…..”

“……”

“No way……..”

I used the Eye of Insight on the forms of the monsters that were out of view due to the intense flames left by the meteors.

Their weaknesses and positioning should have been revealed to me via red dots.

However, nothing was there.

This meant that the monsters were decimated without a speck of dust being left behind.

“It’s over…..”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Jong Ho and Ho Jin came running impatiently.

It seemed that none of them could come what just had happened.

It was the same for me.

Casting Blizzard, I stopped the fire.

“Is it over?”

There were only bloodstones left where they were standing a moment ago.

3 times the damage? No, it could be even more than that.

It could be that the damage done was far greater than how much health the enemies had.

I blankly stared at the distance for awhile.

“Archangel’s Fall…… Where is the demonic realm?”

“What the hell…… Try doing it again.”

“Hohoho! Wonderful! Wonderful!”

Aggroing all the monsters in the dungeon in one go, I attacked once more.

The result was the same.

Just look at this insane skill.

The enemies weren’t able to retaliate in the slightest before dropping their loot.

The 5 other skill books Ho Jin brought were no longer on my mind.

It was enough with this. No. This was more than enough.

I spoke to Jong Ho, who was completely zoned out.

“Student.”

“Huh…… Huh?”

“Did you just say huh!”

“Hm?”

“Student number 36! You are to empty out all the skills in that ring today. Is that clear?”

“What?”

“You are to reply with a yes! Is that understood?”

“Hohoho! Shouldn’t you hurry up and answer?”

“Yes! Understood!”

“Pffft.”

If I put these improved spells in the ring, Jong Ho should be able to clear the level 34 dungeon without any defensive skills, because there would be no counterattack.

He would be able to gain all the experience from solo clearing the level 34 dungeon, and on top of that, bonus stats on his armor.

‘If I do go to the demonic realm….. looks like I won’t be going alone?’


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 107

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107. Seoul’s Skill Rich Mr. Kim Min-Cheol

“All of the skill books beyond ranking the association owns, we must give to him.”

“Huh? Skills beyond ranking?”

At the commander’s words, Ho Jin was shocked.

He had been working for over 20 years in the association.

However, during all that time, this was the first time he heard that the association possessed skill books beyond ranking.

Leaning in towards the commander, he asked.

“Do you mean that the association owns skill books beyond ranking? I have never heard of such a thing till now, commander.”

“Maybe it’s because you’ve been working in the special unit for taking care of the Awakened.”

“…..”

“That and the usage of skills beyond ranking has never been authorized before.”

“What do you mean……”

“As you know, skill books beyond ranking cannot be identified without using it first. If you’re lucky, you could gain a very powerful passive or attack skill, but you could also be unlucky and obtain a skill that does not have synergy with one’s class.”

“Well, the only downside of the bad outcomes would be a loss of a skill book and a useless skill for the user. Of course, the loss of that skill book would be equivalent to a loss of a very valuable item.”

“That’s true, but there’s actually a set limit of skills beyond ranking that an Awakened can obtain.”

“……”

“Five. Any attempts after that would result in no skills being obtained and the destruction of that skill book. Even if you learn the same skill twice, it applies to the total count. Same for if you get a skill that doesn’t have synergy with your class.”

“Is that so. I guess you can only leave it up to luck.”

“That’s right. There’s also a chance that even if a good skill drops, it wouldn’t be an attack skill.”

“But what does this have to do with the association having ownership of unranked skill books?”

“Do you know why the Awakened rankers joined the association, giving up the benefits they would have had if they didn’t join for a period of time?”

“That’s…..”

“It’s because of the skill books beyond ranking.”

“……..”

“It’s a trade they make with the association. They get a skill book in return for serving a certain amount of time. This is because no matter how much money you make as an Awakened, you cannot purchase unranked skill books.”

“That makes sense. From what I learned, Mr. Min-Cheol already has one skill beyond ranking.”

“Is that so. Hm…. Then he can obtain four more. Since the leaders of that association and the government must agree before the skill books can be given, it’ll take a long time. We should hurry.”

“Yes, understood.”

“I’ll take care of the unranked skill books, so please get me the list of S to S+ ranking skill book list you mentioned before.”

“Yes, I shall take care of it at once.”

“Yes, please do.”

****

[Skill level has increased.]

“KUWECK!”

“Is it finally level 40? Looks like the cooldown and cast time has decreased by a bit.”

In order to level up the skills that I’ve obtained recently, I was completely devoted to hunting.

All of them were S+ ranking attack skills.

Since they were all area of effect skills, all of them had cooldowns and cast time other than Chained Explosion.

It was like the case with Meteor and Iceberg.

I headed for the dungeons with the highest number of monsters to level up the skills as quickly as possible, but it was quite the tiresome task.

I was using magic on monsters with 100% magic resistance.

If I didn’t do that, the sheer power of skills would clear the entire dungeon with one cast.

The attacks of hundreds were easily absorbed by my Mana Shield.

Receiving all of their attacks, I was casting my skills as they came off cooldown.

Chained Explosion, which did not have a cooldown, was already Awakened after hitting level 100.

It was already two weeks after meeting the goblin named Karin.

According to what he ranted on about, there were roughly 70 days before the portal would open.

There was enough time to get all the skills transcended.

Just like that, I was completely focused on leveling my skills each day.

In the midst of leveling, a call from Ho Jin came.

He called often, but since it was rather early in the morning, I expected him to call for business.

“Yes, Mister.”

“Mr. Min-Cheol, are you in the middle of hunting?”

“I just came out.”

“Is that so. This is about what you said earlier.”

“Ah. About the demonic realm?”

“Yes. Due to how serious the situation was, I informed the commander about it without asking for your permission first. For that, I’d like to apologize.”

“No need. I trust the commander, so it’s ok.”

“Yes. Thank you for understanding.”

“So it doesn’t seem like you called just for that…..”

“Yes, that’s right. Before I get to the main topic, I’d like to ask a few questions.”

“Yes.”

“I heard that you have a skill beyond ranking….. Is it true?”

“Yes, I have one. It’s called Dual Casting. It isn’t an attack skill, but as a passive skill, it figuratively gives me a third hand to cast spells with.”

“I see. Is it possible to see the skill book’s info with Eye of Insight? I’m asking if you used the skill book knowing that it was Dual Casting.”

“For skill books beyond ranking? Hm…. I obtained the skill before gaining the Eye of Insight, so I’m not sure on that.”

“You said that you had 5 essences of transcendence?”

“Yes. But am I getting taken away by the police? Unlike how usually it is, it feels like I’m being interrogated…..”

“Hohoho. I apologize if I made you feel that way.”

“…….”

“It’s just that the commander said he will be supplying you with skill books beyond ranking.”

“Ah. The association has things of that caliber? Guess they’re quite rich.”

“I’m not sure if you knew this already, but it seems that there is a limit as to how many skills beyond ranking one can obtain. Five, to be precise.”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“Since we have no idea what skill you’d obtain, I wanted to know if Eye of Insight could confirm it before learning it…..”

“I understand what you mean.”

“Can you spare some time in the evening?”

“Sure. Can you come to my house? It’s been quite awhile since we had dinner.”

“Yes, will do just that. I shall contact you later.”

“Ok.”

****

It was late evening.

Much time had passed since the last time the estate was this lively.

The wide table was fully seated.

Ho Jin, who made a promise with me, was there. Along with him was Jong Ho, who was living with me.

Mother and those who assisted around the home were all present for dinner.

The food prepared could be compared to the buffets of hotels.

After filling up my hungry stomach, I went into a room with Jong Ho and Ho Jin.

Ho Jin then brought out the skill book he carried here on the table and spoke.

“This is it.”

“Wow….. Ho Jin hyung-nim. This is the skill book beyond ranking?”

“Hoho. Yes. Seeing the real thing is a first for me too.”

Jong Ho said that this was the first time he saw this skill book in person.

That was to be expected, as this drop was difficult for one to get, even if one got a mimic from a dungeon.

The drop rate was insanely low even if one defeated a hidden boss.

Even I had only obtained one after all this time.

Before confirming what the skill was, I headed for the safe in the corner of the room that held the essences of transcendence.

I wasn’t quite convinced, but it was true that my hopes were high.

Even if I had obtained the skill, I wouldn’t be able to transcend it right away.

I would have to level up the skill to 200 first.

However, the reason why I was bringing an essence was to decide on how I was going to use the remaining essences.

-beep beep beep beep

-click

The safe opened.

The only thing inside was a small pouch that would go together with a hanbok.

None on Earth could use these essences.

Regular Awakened already had enough difficulty trying to hit level 100 to Awaken their skills, but you would have to hit level 200 with your skills to transcend them.

They would probably consider these unevenly shaped essences as broken essences.

The only reason I had these in a safe was because the room already came with one.

It was the same with my weapons and armor.

These were artifact class equipment that would not activate unless they were equipped by me.

I brought the essence over to the table.

Looking at the skill books beyond ranking, I spoke to Ho Jin.

“They’re shaped differently from the skill book that I’ve obtained.”

“Yes, it should be like that. The books come in many shapes and the abilities cannot be revealed until the person obtains them.”

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and learn it, Min-Cheol.”

“Hm…..”

“Why?”

“I heard that there is a limit to how many you can learn.”

“Is that so? I had no clue.”

The three stared intently at the skill book.

To put the skill book hastily to one’s chest could result in a massive loss after all.

It was different from when I learned Dual Casting, having no clue of the limit back then.

It was only like that for a moment.

Ho Jin spoke up.

“Mr. Min-Cheol. Could you confirm it with Eye of Insight first?”

“Yes, will do.”

“Wow….. I didn’t think of that at all…..”

I casted the Eye of Insight that had been transcended.

Information about the skill book was revealed.

However, something seemed off.

Usually explanation about the skill book is revealed to me next to the book like post-it notes, but it seemed that almost no information was revealed in this case.

Looking closely at the revealed information, nothing about the name, explanation of the skill, or the class the skill was for were revealed.

The only thing that was shown to me was the requirement for obtaining the skill.

Previously during the time I was trying to obtain Dual Casting, the requirement needed was the proper level.

Since I had no idea of knowing that, I had shoved the book in the corner of the room for awhile.

There was no information or even rumors about unranked skill books after all.

Looking at the skill books that Ho Jin brought with him, they seemed to have different requirements to obtain, ranging from levels to strength, mana, stamina, and dexterity stats.

I could learn the names of the skills when the announcer voice would ask me if I would learn said name of the skill, but the name wasn’t very important.

It was then.

I could hear the sound of Jong Ho and Ho Jin swallowing their saliva in anticipation.

Perhaps unable to wait after seeing my confused expression, Jong Ho spoke up.

“Well? Do you see it? Is it coming up?”

“Mr. Min-Cheol. How is it? Is any of the information being revealed to you?”

“Yes…. It did come out but…..”

“Yes! Success!”

“It worked! It worked!”

“But…. something seems off? The skill name and explanation isn’t showing.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Then what is showing up?”

“The only thing that I can see is the requirement needed to obtain the skill.”

“……”

“Look at it again carefully! What kind of a half assed reveal is that?”

Even after casting Eye of Insight a second time, the result was the same.

Just in case I could’ve obtained information on the books. Ho Jin had brought 6 books instead of the 4 that I could use.

It was also so that I could take my pick of the better skills.

Making a smile fit after a complete defeat, Ho Jin spoke.

“Ohoho…… I didn’t expect an outcome like this. Guess it can’t be helped. We’ll have to leave it up to luck……”

“Yes, it seems so. But I think just by looking at the requirements, I could tell what class the skill books are for? And I could learn the names by putting them by my chest.”

“Hey. Even so, what’s the point? You don’t know if they’re offensive or defensive skills.”

“I’ll have to play detective. By learning the name and requirements, I can make an educated guess.”

“Hohoho! I am sorry that I raised your hopes for nothing. Apologies.”

“No need. I’ll learn the skills that require mana and strength stats first.”

“Ok. Do as you see fit.”

I picked up the skill book that require 600 strength to use and put it on my chest.

The skill book glowed brightly.


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I Never Run Out of Mana Chapter 106

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106. Demonic Race Berdan

It was another planet different from Earth.

To be specific, the demonic realm was in another dimension entirely.

There existed four demonic races.

Purian, Lubeta, Keruoh, and Dabehneh.

Out of those, the one called Jamon from the Lubeta race was known as the demon king, for he had over half of the total magical energy in the realm.

On top of that, over half of the demon world was his territory.

The rest was split amongst the remaining three races.

The demon king Jamon had decided that peace must be made between the demons.

It was for his plan to go beyond the demonic realm to other realms and the entire universe in a plan for conquest.

Since he had absolute power, the other races had no choice but to follow his will.

Due to the constant war between the races, they knew well how powerful the Lubetas were.

Not only that, but demonic races were born with the innate ability to detect the magical energies of their opponents.

No matter how brave a dog was, it would piss itself in front of tiger. Put in another way, natural instincts.

It was a peace pact only in name, and in reality, an absolute command.

However, the demonic races pretended to follow him only in appearances.

All of them were rotten to the core.

Due to magical energy being limited in the demonic realm, one could not grow any stronger, and thus many planned to grow stronger by pulling in magical energy from other realms.

They planned to take down the current demon king and take over as the new one.

Out of the 3 races, the one that put his plans into motions first was Zekill.

He commanded the weakest of the four races, the Purian.

It was probably because his desire to grow stronger was far greater than any of the others.

After the peace pact was made, he had traveled to the dimension where Earth resided by expending all of his magical energy he had absorbed so far.

He then spawned gates that connected his territory to Earth.

While observing the magical energy that kept on gathering, he recovered his magical energy.

He had waited with bated breath to obtain massive power.

However, there was one who knew about all about his plans from the start.

He was Berdan, leader of the Keruoh race.

The demon king was far stronger than him and the two could not even be compared, but he still was the 2nd strongest in the demonic realm.

Berdan knew why Zekill was heading to Earth.

However, he did not react at all and even pretended to be blind to the scheme.

Instead of increasing his territory in other dimensions like Zekill was doing, he was enjoying his luxurious life in his own territory in the demonic realm.

The reason was simple.

Zekill was considered weak amongst the demonic races.

On top of that, he was still recovering his magical energy, so there was no way that he could match up against Berdan.

The moment that the plan Zekill toiled away for 40 years bore fruit, he had planned to consume the entire world that Zekill had created.

Of course, he planned to do so after he had subjugated the Purians, who were weak due to Zekill’s absence.

He was going to use one of his powers, Dimensional Travel, and travel without any loss of his magical energy.

These powers that demons were naturally born with were called Authority, and just like the special traits that an Awakened could have, they did not cost any magical energy.

Berdan’s plan had him gambling with his life since he would be violating the peace pact.

The demon king, Jamon, could unite all the races under one banner with just brute force if he wished so.

His plan was pretty much spitting at the mercy the demon king showed.

However, if he was able to absorb all the magical energy of Earth and the Purian race, he would be able to obtain enough magical energy to face against the demon king.

However, that scenario he planned was destroyed in a split second.

Zekill had lost to the humans, who he had believed to be vastly inferior to the demonic races.

Berdan already knew that the humans had mutated into the Awakened, allowing them to fight against the monsters.

However, he believed that they were no match for the demonic races.

There was a vast gap between the two, after all.

However, as if mocking at that concept, the humans had defeated one of the four leaders of the demonic races, Zekill.

Not only that, he was defeated by a single Awakened.

Now, he could no longer head to Earth without a plan.

If he also disappeared from the demonic realm, the Dabehneh race would absorb the magical energies of the two races without leaders, obtaining enough energy to fight against the demon king.

Even if Berdan took a huge risk to obtain the magical energy of Earth for himself, it was far from enough to face against the demon king.

That’s why he decided to bring over Min-Cheol to the demonic realm, since he had the greatest magical energy in all of Earth.

By doing this, he would be able to continue fighting against the other two races while obtaining a massive amount of magical energy.

It was simple as killing two birds with one stone.

The amount of magical energy that Min-Cheol possessed was far beyond what one could imagine.

In order to obtain magical energy, they would have to kill monsters.

The magical energy the monsters possessed would naturally be passed onto the predator who took them down.

But would that make any sense?

The amount of monsters Min-Cheol slayed to obtain magical energy was far below the amount all the other ranked Awakened had.

Just looking at the level difference, it was clear as day.

Min-Cheol’s level was not even 400 yet.

However, there were ranked Awakened that were almost level 600 on Earth.

Despite having a special trait of infinite mana, the amount of experience required to level was the same as everyone else for Min-Cheol.

This meant that others had hunted two or more times than how much Min-Cheol had so far.

But how did Min-Cheol obtain so much magical energy that it was difficult for him to be compared to others?

That was due to the radical faction.

There were nearly 2000 Awakened in the radical faction before.

Think about how many monsters and the subsequent magical energy they must have consumed.

Just the like the food chain, Min-Cheol, who had killed them all, had obtained all that energy.

Of course, Min-Cheol had no idea of this at the moment.

After all, he didn’t take them down for the sake of magical energy.

Magical energy wasn’t visible to the human eye.

The result was that Min-Cheol had magical energy far greater than anyone else on Earth without him realizing that he did.

Berdan made his decision and sent his servant, Kurin, to Earth.

After finishing his mission, Kurim kneeled before his king and spoke.

“Keruru. Sir Berdan, I’ve completed the mission you’ve tasked me with.”

“Good work, Kurin.”

Berdan spoke as he stroked the giant horn that jutted out of his forehead.

The pathetic form Kurin had seemed far worse in front of the giant form of Berdan.

Not even being able to make eye contact, Kurin smiled nervously as he replied.

“Kerururu.”

“How was his magical energy.”

“Kel. He had enough magical energy to make me doubt that he was human. Despite that, there’s no way that it’s close enough to what you carry. However…..”

“What is it. Speak.”

“It seemed to me that it’s a bit of a stretch……. for a pathetic human to have killed Zekill. Even if he is the weakest of the four demonic races and was recovering his magical energy, he was still the leader of an entire demonic race.”

“Continue.”

“He only had 2/3rds of the magical energy that Zekill possessed.”

“He does not know how to use his magical energy. We cannot judge him from just the amount of magical energy he carries. And even that much magical energy is enough. It seems that he possesses far more magical energy than I had expected initially.”

“Keruru. It seems that the evolution called Awakening gives quite a lot of power.”

“Even so, they’re still mere humans. They will kneel before the might of the demonic races.”

“Correct you are, sir. Kel kel.”

“What of the message I asked you to declare?”

“I have delivered your message to the dot.”

“What was his response?”

“Other than swinging his sword in arrogance, it seemed that he would obey without much resistance.”

“What a foolish race. He will never expect that the moment I obtain his magical energy, I will subjugate the Purian race and head for Earth.”

“Kulkerukeru. That’s right. Seeing that they did not understand my words and had to ask multiple times, the humans must be very idiotic existence.”

“Yes. Have you also notified the other two humans as well?”

“Of course. The one called Brook was quite rude.”

“Brook. Is that the one with the second highest magical energy?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Brook was quite weak compared to Min-Cheol, but still had quite a tasty amount of magical energy.”

“Yes…. Yes. Remember that the rest are nothing more than snacks. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir Berdan!”

“Good. Kurin. Go guard the portal that will soon be formed. The moment the foolish humans cross over, report to me immediately.”

“Yes sir. For you, the all powerful absolute!”

****

Ho Jin explained what he heard from Min-Cheol to the commander Yoon Jong-sun.

If the demonic races do arrive on Earth as Min-Cheol said, the damage would be insane.

The first wave of monsters would threaten humankind.

Even if the first wave was successfully fended off, the magical energy the monsters left behind would make the portals far stronger, making the second wave that much harder.

The monsters of the dungeons had become 1.5 times stronger due to the magical energy that was spread out when Zekill and his subordinates were killed.

The peace they had so desperately fought for would be destroyed, and higher level portals would appear.

Stronger monsters would pour out and humanity would no longer be able to stop them at a certain point.

With a serious expression, the commander spoke.

“How can such nonsense be true!”

“This information isn’t completely confirmed yet. I’m just informing you what had happened to Min-Cheol.”

“No….. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“…….”

“So what is Min-Cheol’s take on this?”

“He is obtaining multiple new skills and preparing for the worst.”

“Is that so. That’s why our lad Min-Cheol was uncharacteristically asking for skill books.”

“Yes, that’s correct. That’s why I ignored the rules of the the association and asked assistance for him.”

“What use is there for laws and rules in such a grave situation like this!”

“You’re right.”

“There’s something you must do.”

“Huh? What’s……”

“Bring me the list of all the skill books ranging from S to S+ ranks the association currently possesses to me immediately.”

“…….”

“Humanity’s survival is on the line here. You know well enough that only Min-Cheol has the key.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Give all the support we can give him. If he needs manpower, then give him manpower. If he needs money, he’ll get it even if I must empty my own pockets. Do you understand now?”

“Yes, commander.”

The commander gave the order to support Min-Cheol in any way possible.

Through the defeat of Zekill, Min-Cheol’s ability was already confirmed.

The commander believed that the chaos that was about to hit Earth once more could not be faced without the help of Min-Cheol.

Continuing to speak for awhile, the commander suddenly spoke in a more serious tone than normal that carried resolve.

“One more thing…..”

“Please speak.”

“…….”


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