Tag: I Never Run Out of Mana

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212. If You Grow, So Do I

About 60 members were guarding each of their positions in the underground training center.

All of them had taken a pledge willingly to become slaves.

They were people who carried an ambition to seize wealth, fame, and political power through the Festival of Blood.

Amongst them was Raol, who had approached Min-Cheol with friendly intentions before.

Perhaps already annoyed with trying to move his large body around, he had already leaned up against a pile of hay that served as a bed while trying to strike up a conversation with the nearby Protectors nonstop.

After saying that he would serve Millions, he had succeeded in partaking in the Festival of Blood.

The number of rounds a day for the Festival of Blood was already set.

The number of rounds did increase by a fair amount due to the number of nobles nurturing their own warriors to fight increasing, but it wasn’t even close to the amount of volunteers.

That was why those currently gathered in the underground training center had never been able to enter a single round in the Festival of Blood yet.

After all, if they obtained total victory in the festival after jumping into the rounds, while they would not get the exact same treatment that Demon would get because they were slaves, it would still be pretty similar.

You could say that this center was a place where each of them awaited the day they would partake in the rounds while training with those of similar strength.

The training had ended and it had been quite some time since the manager that oversaw them had disappeared.

“Whew… I wonder when I’ll be able to show off my strength in the festival.”

“You’re going on that spiel again? It won’t be long. The people want a new champion already. There needs to be a difference between us and those who have gone into battle so far. That’s why we’re going through so much hardship right now.”

“I’ve already finished preparing. I want to hurry and show off my strength to the nobles.”

“Yes, of course. You and I will both be able to do so.”

“This probably won’t happen, but what will you do if two people that serve the same master have to go against each other?“

“Pfft! Are you up to your useless daydreaming again? Of course we have to fight! Are there any warriors who will break the rules of the festival? Until one falls!”

“You’re a heartless person.”

“Eh. Hey… Hey Raol. Did you wash yourself today?”

“I don’t sweat much due to my constitution…”

“Shut up and go wash yourself quickly! I thought that someone had taken a shit in our room or something.”

“Heh, you’re a real jokester.”

“Huh? I’m not joking! Do you not see everyone else’s faces? Hurry up!”

“It’s quite empty right now because there’s no one there at this hour, so will you come with me?”

“Jeez. Sometimes you act like a child. Since I’ve already washed myself, go by yourself.”

Raol grumbled before leaving the place to wash himself.

The moment that he had left the hallway and all traces of him had disappeared from the training center, it happened.

The ears of the Protectors who were sleeping or having a casual conversation picked up the sound of the door opening and footsteps that accompanied it.

If there were footsteps after training hours, then it was obvious that someone had come down to choose who would partake in the rounds of the Festival of Blood that would occur tomorrow.

All of them were filled with high expectations.

The man who had been talking with Raol was about to go after Raol because he was worried that his buddy would miss out.

Dashing swiftly out into the hallway and turning his body around, the person that came into view wasn’t the manager, but Demon.

“Huh… D… Demon…”

“What? Demon?”

“What kind of nonsense is th… What!”

“Isn’t that the real deal? Wow!”

Each of the Protectors that were waiting with proper postures with hopes of being selected peaked their heads out into the hallway to confirm for themselves.

Their eyes did not lie.

The grey haired elder Demon, with his deep wrinkles, was coming closer with a sinister smile.

Almost if the start signal for a race was given, all 60 of the slaves poured out into the hallway.

It seemed that no one was even remotely concerned why Demon had come down all the way to the underground training center.

All of them instead looked up at the current king of the festival with eyes filled with respect, almost as if Demon was a god.

It was then. One of the slaves spoke up to Demon.

“Great Demon. What brings you all the way to this squalid place?”

“It’s to give you all a chance.”

“By chance… As expected, are you here to select those who will participate in the festival?”

“With that method, won’t it be too many years before you obtain the title of king? Don’t you think so?”

“Then what chance are you talking about that you will be giving us…”

“I will be giving all of you a chance to become king in a single go.”

“Huh?”

In a single moment, Demon’s expression became cold and hardened, and the slaves that saw the change had an ominous feeling as expected.

With an expression of being lost, the slaves continued asking questions.

“What do you mean by that? To become a king in one go…”

“I am holding a festival here. A festival between everyone here and I. Hahaha!”

“…”

“What are you all doing? Do you plan to fight against me with just your bare bodies?”

“Great Demon, your jokes are going too far. How dare we…”

-crack

“Urk!”

“Seems that you’re looking down on me because I spoke with you lower creatures a couple times.”

“…”

The person who was asking the question had their head smashed and their body fell to the floor in an instant.

Only a split moment had passed.

The other slaves who witnessed their colleague perish backed away.

It was to be expected since it was a speed that was not only impossible to defend against, but difficult to avoid, and Demon had smashed the Protector’s head as if it was dough.

Blood sprayed all over the place, and the smell of sulfur filled the air.

To the shocked group that could not even respond, Demon spoke.

“Will the rest of you also die like this?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Then I guess it can’t be helped. Since it is the choice of you pathetic creatures.”

“This bastard isn’t kidding! Demon is seriously trying to kill us all!”

“Damn it!”

“Hurry up and prepare for battle!”

“Ha! You all finally understand now. Hurry up and try. Hurry to struggle and flail about. At least then I would feel a little excited!”

“Crazy bastard!”

Demon put their bloodied hand behind them and kept talking with their hands behind their back.

It was as if Demon was trying to give them time to get prepared for battle.

As with how Demon wanted it to be, each of the slaves put on their armors and took out their weapons, then ran out into the hallway.

They knew how strong Demon was.

However, they also knew that they had a chance if they all attacked together.

This was true. After all, each of those who were currently gathered in the underground training center possessed quite a fair amount of power.

Individually speaking, each of them held about a third of Barub’s combat capabilities, but this wasn’t a 1v1 fight.

This meant that in the chaotic battle that was to come, one could rise to the position of king the moment that they struck Demon’s neck.

No one spoke it out loud but since everyone knew it well, everyone was in a frenzy to charge in.

Demon was standing in the center of quite the broad hallway, so the slaves had surrounded Demon in a ring with them in the center.

It was a perfect formation that would disperse Demon’s attack while allowing the slaves the chance to succeed with their attacks from various angles.

“Who will become king? Who will grasp onto riches and fame?”

“Shut up! You arrogant fool. You’ve walked into your own grave.”

“No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to return alive!”

“Ha! Good. I’ll reduce you all to dust. Allow me to fill the air with red and thick blood as much as I desire!”

“I will be the king of the festival!”

“Die!”

All 60 of them attacked the same target at the same time.

Spears, swords, axes, maces, and even the most effective single target spells.

The offense was filled with attacks to the point where there wasn’t anywhere to dodge.

The attacks of each of the slaves accurately struck Demon’s form.

However, it wasn’t that Demon could not avoid those attacks, but that Demon chose to not avoid them.

Just like how Demon had done so in the battle against Jurassic, they strengthened their body with a silver light that dyed their entire body.

The rain of attacks were rendered useless with a shockwave that seemed to tear the air apart.

The offense was in vain and was stopped with ease.

“Do not stop the attacks! Demon is not invincible. Eventually we’ll break through!”

“Argh!”

Demon, who was taking on all the attacks with ease, spread their arms out to each side.

Comparatively thinner and thus easier to take damage from, the arms were laid bare just like that.

The slaves who were more experienced in battle noticed that and focused their attacks to cut those arms off.

However.

There were vortexes in each tip of the hands.

The weapons that were swung around mercilessly were sucked into the tips of Demon’s hands.

The warrior class slaves could not fight against immense pull and lost their grips on their weapons, and the weapons that were taken from them were completely shattered apart while letting out a stupid amount of noise.

Like the ingredients inside a mixer, the weapons were helplessly being ground to dust.

“Huh? Ugh!”

“C… Cut the arms! You cannot get pulled in at any cost!”

“Everyone, focus your attacks on the arms!”

“Feel free to struggle all you want. If you even can that is. Hahaha!”

“Aaaaa!”

****

After my first attack on the guards of Swesi, I continued hunting in the unexplored territories.

I wanted to start my hunt of the hunters right away, but I learned from Dan that they meet once a month at a specified place for a very short amount of time.

Because there was a chance that I could not avoid facing off against Swesi’s top 5 if I moved too quickly, I was biding my time.

You could say that this could not compare to having Protectors as my prey, but this current hunt was definitely not a waste of time.

It was because I was able to move about with ease through the unexplored territories as if it was my bedroom due to growing strong enough to the point where my current power could not be compared to my previous self.

To put it in the terms that the Protectors of Larkenta used in order to separate the hunting grounds in tiers, I was defeating monsters that would be considered in between the 18th and 20th tier hunting grounds.

After getting this far in, not only was I not able to sense any presence of people, but I could barely find any tracks of people that had traveled this far.

There were those who traveled in groups to hunt here, but I had only encountered one since I began hunting about a week ago.

Not only that, but jewels did not drop here.

No matter what monsters I defeated, instead of jewels, the much higher ranking material called cores dropped instead.

This was proof of how strong the monsters were.

I did not rest and continuously devoted 20 hours to hunt, and then gave the materials I’ve obtained to Dump.

He was still failing on his attempts at crafting an artifact, but I was the one who believed that he would eventually succeed the most.

Dump was no longer worried.

Without leaving a single part out, I had told him my entire plan.

Ten days. In 10 days, I would finish rescuing Berlette and completely wiping out all of Swesi, and while Swesi’s downfall would cause a greater stir of troubles, at least Dump, his daughter, and I will be returning to a normal life.

Definitely a normal life by anyone’s standards, totally.

It happened as I had finished my hunting and was dropping off the materials after arriving at Dump’s home.

“Hm?”

“Sir Guardian, what’s wrong?”

“Can you hide for a bit? I sensed a presence outside.”

“Yes! I understand.”

I heard the sound of a branch snapping.

It was a sound that came from quite the distance from the house, but I could not afford to lower my guard.

Immediately using Mass Stealth Jutsu to hide my body, I headed for the source of the sound.

It didn’t take long before I heard the sound of labored breathing.

“Huff… Huff…”

“Who is that person?”

---

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210. This Is Only the Beginning

“Swesi is the sole organization that has been allowed to perform illegal acts in Larkenta.”

“Is it the doing of the castellan? Well, it’s obvious that no one else but the castellan can give permission for something like this.”

“That’s correct. However, for what reason drove you to do something crazy as making Swesi your enemy…”

“Did you already forget your role in this? You are to only answer my questions. This is your last warning.”

“Ah… Yes. Sorry.”

This person was obedient to the point of suspicion.

Until just a few minutes ago, this officer was yelling at the guards.

However, after kneeling at the sight over brute strength, the officer was answering any question I asked like a vending machine spilling out its contents.

It seemed that this person was your stereotypical subservient to the strong, but harsh to the weak.

While it was a natural instinct of animals to obey the strong, humans could make the choice.

It was obvious that this officer having this personality would be extremely beneficial to me.

I asked about their numbers and the strength of their generals.

“That place that the guards were protecting is your headquarters, right?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“In total, how many of you are there?”

“Huh? Are you asking about how many people make up the organization? Let’s see. Around 300 or so.”

“You’re telling me that there are 300 besides the guards?”

“No. The number includes 140 guards that I am also a part of. Due to the castle being located in the center of the 7th tier hunting grounds, there are quite a lot of guards needed.”

“So you’re telling me that there are about 140 members left.”

“Huh? Why aren’t you counting the guard group?”

A quick punch.

“Ugh…”

“This time, the control on my output of strength was perfect. I’m slowly getting used to it. Since you’ve paid the price, I’ll answer you. The 140 guard regiment you mentioned. You’re the only one left.”

“Huh… That means…”

“Next question. How strong are the generals inside? My guess is that they cannot be compared to the strength of the guards.”

A blank look appeared unlike before I told this guard captain officer that every guard in his regiment had perished.

And it seemed that this officer finally understood how serious this situation was and that if my questions weren’t answered properly, the fate that befell the guards would also come.

Only after hearing the answer to the question could I finally see desperation and sincerity behind the replies, almost as if begging to be spared.

“That’s correct. When joining the Swesi organization, the first place you’d end up would be to become part of the guards. Only after hunting monsters for 2 to 3 years daily would you be recognized as a member. However, it’s not like you can quit halfway because it is too difficult. Through overseers like me, every action the guards take are reported to the higher ups, and anyone who tries anything disappears without anyone even realizing they are gone.”

“So how strong are the generals? Since you can’t describe them with numerics, make it easily understandable by explaining it in hunting terms.”

“Firstly, I, the guard captain, and the product overseer have very poor combat capabilities. We work using our heads instead of our bodies. However, that is not the case at all if you’re talking about the hunters and the highest ranking generals.”

“Product overseer… The name of that title is revolting. I assume that the products are women and Protectors, right?”

“That’s correct. To explain starting from the bottom, about 40 hunters are present. To be frank, they are the ones who take the goods and bring it back.”

“How strong are they?”

“Their strengths vary even within that grouping, but most of them have enough combat capabilities to hunt easily in the unexplored territories. They can easily gather around 30 to 40 of the monsters and take them down at once with ease.”

“Not bad. Around 1 hour ago, they would’ve been tough to deal with.”

As expected, the man who went in and out of the castle after arriving on a carriage that was made with magic was a hunter in the Swesi organization.

Sensing his presence and delaying the plan for a bit was a fantastic choice.

With how strong I was back then, I wouldn’t have been able to avoid a drawn out fight.

I say back then, but that was less than an hour ago, perhaps minutes.

I already have emphasized this a lot, but annihilating all the guards in one clean sweep was the most solid preparation I could’ve done for the next stage of my plan.

Listening to what this person was telling me, each of the hunters was as strong as me before I had wiped out the guards.

I even had the suspicion that each of them was stronger than I.

However, that was definitely no longer the case.

I had become more than two times stronger than before.

That didn’t mean that I was limited to fighting a hunter 2 versus one.

This meant that if I was able to group them up and pour attacks down on them, I would be able to cleanly wipe them out even if there are 40 or 50 of them.

It was because now I was capable of attacks that would easily shred through their defensive capabilities.

However, I did not know how it would turn out if I gave them the opportunity to retaliate.

“Good. Now how many are in the product overseer group that you mentioned before? Do they also carry a significant amount of power?”

“That is not the case. They are the same as the guards. All they do is oversee the new Protectors who just gained their powers and the maidens.”

“How many of them are there?”

“At least 60.”

“So there are 160 members left. Out of those, the weaker hunters and the product overseers consist of a 100 or so… The remaining are 60-ish. But something seems more off the more you explain though?”

“…”

“Didn’t you say that after 2 to 3 years of guard work, they become recognized and are able to take on a new position?”

“That’s correct.”

“Even if there is an error in calculation in between the process, at least 100 or so should be graduating each year, but you’re telling me that the total number of members only comes up to 300? Isn’t this too much of a difference? From what I know, this group has been doing this for over 10 years now.”

“Ah… That’s simple. It’s because they’re sold to the nobles as well. More accurately, rather than being sold, they are being chosen.”

“Hm?”

“They cannot stand a chance against you, Sir Protector, but don’t you think that the guards still carry quite a lot of power? They can defeat monsters from the 7th tier hunting grounds with ease after all. That means that they really don’t need to join Swesi and can hunt in order to live a life that is more than luxurious. But why do you think people like that are trying to enter Swesi? It’s because they want to be bodyguards for the nobles or knights for the castle.”

“It sounds like Swesi serves as some kind of a training facility as well.”

“That’s correct. As you’ve mentioned before, do you think that the number of Protectors produced in over the last decade is but a few? Most of the bodyguards of the nobles are those who’ve entered Swesi at some point. It is all to obtain wealth, fame, and political power.”

“Damned bastards hailing from a damned organization into a more damned world… Enough of that. Explain to me about the remaining 60.”

“Yes. I’ve noticed that you are curious about the number of strong members in the Swesi organization…”

“Continue.”

“If my presumption is correct, the only members you have to watch out for are five of them. I do not know how much growth they’ve achieved after being chosen by the nobles, but if you disregard the castellan and any nobles above the rank of count that has ties to Swesi, then you only have to worry about the five of them currently inside the main headquarters of Swesi.”

“One must be the head of the organization, and I assume the rest must be pretty high ranking officers as well?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“How strong are they?”

“I dare not try explaining it in terms of hunting… To put it as simply as possible, I believe they are at least as strong as a marquis.”

“The strength of all five of them combined is that of a marquis… I won’t know how strong that is unless I know how strong a marquis is. Can’t you explain it in more simple terms?”

“I do not know how strong you are, Protector sir…”

“Enough to group up about 40 hunters and kill them all. Is this enough for you to get an idea?”

“Yes. Even with that much, it still won’t be enough. Maybe if you’re able to fight the 5 of them one by one.”

“This organization is a lot stronger than I had expected.”

“The castellan didn’t recognize this place just for show.”

I was able to get a rough estimate of how strong they were.

I’ve learned that the organization was huge and they were strong, but also that beating these opponents wasn’t impossible.

As long as I didn’t charge in headfirst, there was a chance that I could win.

However, I didn’t know how Swesi would react to losing more than half their members consisting of the guards.

My next question addressed the reason why I targeted Swesi in the first place, and it was about the Dump’s captured daughter, Berlette.

I asked about what they do to the people they’ve kidnapped that they refer to as products.

“Next question. What happens to all the people that are kidnapped? The people you refer to as products.”

“The young maidens and Protectors are treated differently. Firstly, the maidens…”

“Stop. I’ll change the question. Let’s keep this simple.”

“Yes, yes…”

“I have two people I need to rescue. Both of them have been captured by Swesi, with one being captured 10 years ago, and the other only 3 days ago. Tell me a way.”

“Sigh… It’s quite the difficult question.”

“Right? Don’t you think that I’ve been too nice to you this whole time?”

“Eek!”

I showed my first to this guard captain who was avoiding answering me with an expression of ‘Please not that.’

It was almost funny how this person who had even understood the intentions behind my questions and was answering well suddenly now behaving like this.

At the start, it was almost as if this guard captain was going to give everything up.

The officer took a defense stance with arms and legs raised to block any attacks, and continued to speak.

“That’s not it… Every bit of information I have told you so far is the complete truth without any falsehoods. Anything you ask from me from here on will also be answered the same. However…”

“You’re curious if I’ll let you live?”

“Yes…”

“It’ll depend on your actions, don’t you think? Listen well. My only target isn’t just Swesi. The count, marquis, and even the castellan are all Protectors that have benefited from Swesi, correct?”

“T… That’s correct.”

“My goal is that. Because my dream is so grand, don’t you think I’ll need a large amount of information to match it? I’m going to need a strategist who is talented in both intel gathering and combat tactics. So it really depends on how you.”

“I understand.”

“I’m not the type to play around with lives. If I plan to kill someone, I tell them straightforward before doing so. I’ve done so till now. So think it over carefully.”

“I understand!”

I wasn’t lying.

I’ve done so to those I’ve captured for intel, and to those who fought against me using their might.

I do not give false hope. No matter how much my enemies pleaded and begged, I still remained rooted in my principles.

With that as proof, I am stating that what I’ve said to this person is true.

Also, stating that I will be taking down the nobles wasn’t an empty statement either.

Those who stayed at the castle and held political power were also Protectors as well. That meant that I could take their lives and receive power.

Perhaps understanding what I’ve said, the expression of the guard captain’s face was calmer than before.

“First, there is no way to track down the person who had been kidnapped 10 years ago. No matter what the method is, after being sold to a noble, there is no way to even find out if they are still alive.”

“…”

“They could be living as a completely different person in both mind and identity, or are already dead.”

“Then what about the person who was kidnapped 3 days ago?”

“That person is still inside the castle. At the request of the overseers for the products, at least a span of 4 months are needed to change the products.”

“Revolting bastards. That means that we still have time for now.”

“Yes. Rarely do nobles come in person to take their products, so unless that happens, I am positive.”

“Berlette has roughly 4 months… But the time remaining for me isn’t that long…”

“Do you need more information?”

“That’s enough for now. Now, you will be planning ahead with me.”

“Yes! I’ll do everything in my power to assist you.”

“It seems that there isn’t a speck of loyalty for the organization 쉐시 that you served.”

“Ahem…”

---

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211. When You Have to Hold Your Breath for a Bit

“I think this is enough.”

“Then what shall happen to me now?”

“I think that you will be useful in the future.”

“Thank you!”

“You said your name is Dan?” ¹

“Yes, that’s correct. My name is Dan. Please call me as you will.”

“Alright. Head on in for now.”

“Huh?”

“I said get in.”

“Are you telling me to return to Swesi? Then…”

“Ha… Where are you going? I said get back in. Back in the storage.”

“…”

“Do you really think that I will just trust you and let you go like that? But don’t be too disappointed. This also means that I think I will need you as an informant in the future. For now, stay in there. If it is water, food, or alcohol, I’ll put in plenty.”

“Sure sure…”

“I’ll seek you soon, so no need to frown.”

“Yes. I’ll be going then…”

With an expression that befit someone who had stepped in shit, Dan turned around and headed back into the Mobile Storage.

Perhaps realizing how precious living was, Dan was someone who was very compliant to my orders.

Swesi’s destruction. I was positive that Dan would be very useful in the plans ahead.

I had learned basic knowledge and information of Hell from Dump, but now I would be able to hear far more important information than how a Protector grows stronger from Dan.

After the doors of the storage that Dan went through closed, I walked out of the inn room.

It was to head to Swesi’s headquarters immediately.

Heading to their main base after only an hour passing since the ambush could be considered risky.

However, the reason why I was heading there was to check on their current condition.

It was also to see if what Dan, who had been a guard captain for Swesi for 7 years, had predicted correctly would happen.

Their organization was not to be taken lightly.

Those who had lost their families had previously been able to reach Swesi’s headquarters, but I was told that they were eradicated before the might of the organization.

However, apparently they never had taken such a huge casualty like this before.

When I returned back to Swesi’s headquarters, the security had been increased by a lot.

After the guard regiment of 140 were butchered, only 10 were guarding this place.

But the reason why I still said that the security had been raised was because the speed at which those who were guarding the place hunted the 7th tier monsters could not be compared to the previous speed of how quickly the guards hunted.

As Dan had predicted, I also assumed that part of the hunters had taken on the guard role.

Each hunter seemed to carry the same amount of strength I had before my powers were split in half at the start.

I had obtained the power of 5 gods, though they were mere puppets.

Not only that. I was the strongest person on Earth, and had conquered all of the demonic realm.

How could such a dimension created from Karupedan’s mind be filled with people holding absolute power, and how could there be 40 of them within a single organization to boot?

It was enough to thank my lucky stars that I hadn’t faced them when I didn’t know at the start how strong everyone was in Hell.

However, that wasn’t the case anymore. Their growth in power only made me eager.

Think about it. Just by taking out those 40 hunters, the amount of power I’d obtain.

It would be 40 times the amount of power I had worked myself to the bone in order to obtain from Earth, the demonic realm, and the celestial plane.

If my plan worked properly, then I was positive that I would be the winner on this bet with Barub.

If my hypothesis that the wild beast is Barub was true that is, because there was no way anyone could obtain such a growth that I would be achieving from the Festival of Blood.

“Why am I suddenly under such hardship?”

“It’s the master’s command so it can’t be helped. But I wonder who it is this time…”

“There’s really no way to find out. Was there ever a time where not even a single witness survived before?”

“True…”

“Don’t grumble so much. Do you think there’s any job easier in Swesi than this? Cut the complaints and hunt more monsters. Unless you want to be blamed when the situation is this strained.”

“But I wonder. Don’t you think that we’d be done in by the person who did this?”

“My friend. Do you still think that after seeing that person over there? Don’t talk nonsense.”

“That’s right… Sir Bernard made the time to come out here, so there’s no way that could happen.”

“Ugh! It feels like only an hour has passed, yet I already feel extremely bored of it…”

“I don’t know how I was able to do this for 3 years in the past.”

Hiding far away, I eavesdropped on their conversation.

After that, I opened the Mobile Storage and called for Dan.

“Send out Dan.”

The storage opened with a thud.

“Looks like the storage is pretty comfy?”

“N… No, that’s not the case.”

“At least wipe your drool before saying lies like that.”

“But where is this place…”

“Aren’t you happy that you’ve returned?”

“As expected, the hunters are on guard.”

“Who is Bernard?”

“Huh! Is Sir Bernard here as well? As I told you before, that person is one of the five in Swesi that I’ve told you about before.”

“So you mean to say that I cannot fight them right now.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Seeing Dan talk with a lowered posture was quite amusing.

It even made me wonder just what kind of a person Dan was.

Did Dan become my ally in a single hour?

Is it an enemy pretending to be an ally in front of me?

I could not tell what this person really was up to.

“Dan.”

“Yes, master.”

“Master?”

“Ah… Because you didn’t inform me of your name…”

“Call me as you see fit. But what’s your deal exactly?”

“Huh?”

“If I were you, I would’ve yelled or ran towards them right now. Not only me, but the majority of those kidnapped would do the same.”

“…”

“But you on the other hand…”

“I am someone who managed to survive this far by reading the situation. For some odd reason, my intuition is pointing towards you. Despite being an implausible chance of success, it really is surprising.”

“So you’ll be betting all your chips on me?”

“I don’t hope for a lot, but… Maybe a somewhat useful position…”

“Despite not knowing when and if you’ll be discarded, you’ve thought quite ahead. What an odd character you are.”

“Heh heh…”

“Enough small talk. Now listen well.”

“Yes! Master!”

“Going to kill 10 of the hunters currently on guard duty to obtain their power. And then go for Bernard. Is it possible?”

“It is impossible. You’ll at least need the power of 20 hunters in order to face against Sir Bernard. Not only that, but due to the ambush having occurred recently, there’s a high chance the other 4 are near the headquarters. I believe that not doing anything for some time is a good idea.”

“Damn it. After getting a taste, I’m getting more greedy.”

“To accomplish greater things, one must know when to back off and keep themselves safe.”

“You sure are fast at adapting. So that means that I have no choice but to hunt…”

“Hm… Aren’t you only afraid of the 5 top members of Swesi, and not the hunters, right?”

“…”

“Then you just have to fight the other members of Swesi elsewhere instead of the headquarters.”

“Do you know where they gather often or something?”

“Of course. Despite all the contempt and persecution, I tried my hardest to play in the same field as the hunters.”

“You really are something else…”

“I shall guide you. Let’s go to the castle entrance first. Hurry with the storage!”

“Wew…”

****

“Marquis Millions, sir, Demon has arrived.”

“Let Demon in.”

“Yes!”

For some reason, Demon had wanted to meet Millions.

This hadn’t happened before.

The two of them only looked at each other at the battlefield of the festival.

Millions was quite amused at this unprecedented outcome.

Millions lifted up both his arms and welcomed Demon that stood in front of him.

“Welcome, king of the festival.”

“…”

“Your expression tells me that you’re miffed that you did not meet any opponents for some time.”

“A couple days ago. After the battle with Jurassic, I was not given any opportunities to bathe in blood.”

“That’s right. The king’s mantle is a lonely one. It must be the punishment of a god for having power that is beyond comparison with others.”

“A god… Ha! Perhaps that is the case.”

“But it is a bit odd. For you to suddenly act like this despite not having any issues with the current number of rounds.”

“I am aware that I am obtaining power at an insane pace. To the point where others wouldn’t be even able to imagine such a pace.”

“Continue.”

“However, when I fought against Jurassic, I felt suppressed by someone’s presence. It was a power that was too weak to reach the amount I had, but I was still overwhelmed by it.”

“Hm? I was not able to sense it. If you felt it, then I should’ve been able to feel it as well. However, during that day’s festival, I only sensed two predators at each other’s throats. I am referring to you and Jurassic’s killing intent.”

“I also thought that it was Jurassic’s killing intent he was giving off. However, after his limbs were torn apart and his powers were transferred to me, that presence did not disappear.”

“Is there someone you are suspecting?”

“…”

“It seems that you don’t want to talk about it. I do not know why you must become stronger. Nor do I want to ask or even hear the answer. The reason why you sought me out is to obtain greater growth, right?”

“That’s right. I want you to increase the number of rounds in the festival. Or if there is another way… It looks like I need to pick up the pace.”

Demon looked at Millions as if looking up from below.

And then a vile smile on a wrinkled face followed.

Millions burst out laughing at Demon’s behavior.

It was almost as if the dog he was raising had learned and showed him an amazing trick.

Millions was acting as if he had been struck by something he had never expected.

“Kuhaha! To think I’d see the slyness of a fox in a bear!”

“…”

“It seems that the wild nature I saw in you that satisfied me so much when I first met you wasn’t everything. Right. You must’ve asked me because you know something, right?”

“Kuhu. I shall be straightforward then. I want access to the underground training center.”

“I like how you are brutally honest and even the aggressiveness you carry as well. Very well. You are the main character of the festival. They are but extras.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Of course. Don’t you think the king of the festival at least deserves this much? There are countless willing to be my slave on their own volition. And there are even more coming to my side because I am the owner of you, wild beast Demon.”

“…”

“They have already signed up to be my slaves. That means that whether they live or die is completely up to me. Unfortunately it seems that lady luck does not favor them.”

“Kuhuhu.”

“Guard!”

“Have you called, Sir Millions!”

“Lock this beast inside the underground training center at once. Until I give order, no one is to enter, and all guards will be recalled out of there. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir Millions!”

“Kuhu. It’ll be over before the bloody sunset turns dark.”

“Show them. Show them the majesty of the king of the festival of blood that they covet.”

Demon gave a smile filled with intent and willingly followed the bodyguard down the spiraling staircase.

Only after going down for a long time were they able to arrive at the lowest floor.

As commanded by Millions, the bodyguards immediately left, and the guard left too after locking the door.

Because most of the people down underground were Protectors, the lock was essentially useless, but it was more of a formality.

With the closed door behind, Demon walked forward.

“Kuhuhuhu!”

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209. Appearing All Over the Place ²

“Heh heh.. So you’re going?”

“Just focus on managing them so you can see if any of them are slacking.”

“Of course. Your wish is my command. Ah right. Count Paraol requested me to give you his thanks. It seems that the castellan was quite pleased at the last young maiden he had offered him…”

“Hm? Who are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember her? The child of the astrologer you kidnapped about half a year ago.”

“She really was quite the pretty gift. However, the aftercare would’ve been more important. Of course, don’t forget the due credit for your part as well.”

“Aha. Thank you for saying that.”

“Enough useless banter. Ah. You said that you are acquainted with the caretaker of the goods?”

“Yes, that is the case.”

“I heard that the caretaker has been replaced recently, and thus rumors say that the quality of goods have increased as a result. Arrange a meeting between us soon.”

“Yes, yes. Will do. As soon as tomorrow…”

“…”

“Tsk. Living off of narcissism. What are you goons doing! Why aren’t all of you hurrying to gather up the jewels!”

The man who had carried a person finished his short conversation and left the castle.

As expected, the carriage he had ridden to come here was moving at a speed that was hard to believe.

It had disappeared from view within a split second, and even weaved between rugged terrain and monsters at a speed that didn’t match how well it was evading.

With this much speed, my guess was that even if it had gone around the entire rocky mountain, it would’ve arrived at the tier 3 hunting grounds by now.

I did make a plan after hearing what Herb had said, but I did not have information on them.

Before talking to Herb, I didn’t even know who were part of the organization called Swesi that kidnapped maidens and young Protectors.

However, I was able to identify them with full confidence after eavesdropping just a little bit of their conversation.

The suspicion I had before had now become certainty, and it’d be great now if things went according to plan.

Thinking through a few thoughts and after waiting until he was further away, I sprung into action.

I casted Mass Stealth Jutsu and Silent over quite a large area.

I had taken account of the monsters that would pour out when initially opening the storage and the amount of space they would take.

I headed towards the guards patrolling in a large circle around the castle.

Letting those who guarded the innermost area go, I went quickly behind them and opened the storage.

“Keruruk!”

“Kuwoh!”

The entire area was filled to the brim with monsters that flooded out of storage in a split second.

Due to the tremors they caused on the ground from landing on the ground, all the guards heads turned at once.

However, since the monsters, me, and even the dust they’ve kicked up had been hidden, so they didn’t take any action right away.

All they did was to become slightly tense and look at each other for suggestions on what just happened.

“Did an earthquake occur?”

“It did feel like something shook right in front of us…”

“You goons! What are you being distracted by!”

“It’s nothing.”

Due to the yelling of the officer, they stopped looking.

Despite only a day passing, the monsters had recovered fully.

I dismissed the storage and removed the stealth and Silent from everything but my own form.

Hundreds of monsters appeared, and they directed their rage at the Swesi guards with a charge instead of me, who was hidden due to stealth.

There were many, but due to how they were completely clumped up in a single area, there was a chance that they would be easily defeated by an area of effect spell.

“Kueh!”

“Keru!”

Using my sword like a bat, I hit the monsters to get them to spread out.

They needed to hold out to get as many guards gathered here as possible.

Only then would my plan of having the cake and eating it too be possible.

There were hundreds of monsters spread out here.

And all the guards of Swesi that will stop them.

And all their powers will soon come to me.

After seeing the massive number of monsters, they began yelling in all directions.

“It’s a monster wave!”

“Group! Group up! It’s a monster wave!”

“What is this sudden chaos!”

“At least it looks like we can fill our daily quota quickly today.”

“Cut the crap and charge them already!”

“Looks like it’s a lucky day. Let’s fill our daily quota and then relax in leisure for the rest of the day.”

They gathered at where the storage had opened in an instant.

Since the monsters were from the 7th tier hunting grounds that they could handle with ease, they were running in without any suspicion.

If I had gathered any stronger monsters, I was positive they would’ve reported to the higher ups.

I even saw some of them carry eager smiles.

As expected of Protectors that have been fighting monsters for a long time, even the way they gathered into a formation was different.

“Hey. They’re only 7th tier monsters, so do we really have to go all out like this?”

“Did you already forget about the older know-it-all person who has surveillance on us all day from over there? That’s the person who reports every single move of all us 140 guards. There’s no benefit to us to earn his dislike.”

“Ugh. Well. What a stickler. Let’s get this over with already.”

The tanks from the warrior class blocked the charge of the monsters from the frontlines, and those at the edges on each side of the frontline kept pressing forward to prevent the monsters from surrounding them.

Fierce attacks were directed at the guards, but were easily blocked by their shields.

On top of that, the mage class Protectors were casting area of effect damage spells like Normal Breath.

The monsters and guards were split into the east side and the west side, pushing at each that formed a line of contact.

If the battle continued, it would swing in the favor to Swesi’s guards, but that wasn’t a big issue.

Leaving them to fight, I shifted my focus for a bit.

“They’re completely focused on the battle. I think that person will fit the bill.”

“Ugh…”

“You’re coming with me for a bit.”

“Urk…”

Leaving the guards who were completely distracted with fighting the monsters, I punched this officer known as the older know-it-all right in the gut.

As expected, this Protector was weaker than the guards.

I had seen this officer quickly retreat when the monsters appeared.

This person had casted a shield spell only on themselves and fled without even looking back once.

I opened up the Mobile Storage and tossed this officer who couldn’t even breathe due to the shock into the corner of it.

This person would be an important informant when I would be forming a plan after all this.

“Keep this person in this general area by the corner. Rough them up just enough so they don’t die.”

Positioned at a blindspot where those within the castle could not see, I prepared to wipe out both the monsters and the guards in a single hit.

Perhaps due to how hunting monsters was an everyday event here, no one came outside the castle despite all the ruckus.

I was going to put everything I had into this attack.

On top of that, I wasn’t going to pretend by imitating the appearance of the Protector skills or worry about how it would look for others.

It was because this single attack would be that important.

“Hey. Was there a ranged attack monster in the 7th tier that fired projectiles like that?”

“Hm… I don’t know? Looks like meteors. Probably just a few 8th their monsters got mixed in. Don’t worry about and keep attacking.”

“The size is an issue and there are nine of them though?”

“Eh. This isn’t the first or second time we’ve seen attacks like that, right? It just looks like that in appearance without substa…”

The guard wasn’t able to finish the sentence.

It was because an attack that would cover the hundreds of monsters and 140 Protectors was pouring from the sky.

The transcended Meteor with all my powers infused into it fell on top of their heads, and a massive explosion and flames consumed them all.

The monsters were wiped out on the spot.

Since this was an attack with full force behind it instead of the moderate attack, their forms disappeared as if they had been evaporated.

It was a similar case with Swesi’s guards.

Only a few tank class Protectors were barely breathing.

After the Meteor, I continued casting In Storm and Iceberg nonstop without pause.

The shockwave and tremors from the attacks filled the entire area of Swesi’s headquarters.

Not only was that giant castle shaking, but it was intense enough to the point where the area around it was shaking as well.

At the same time, I felt that there was a change within my body.

The growth I’ve obtained was on another level compared to hunting down monsters, and I didn’t just feel it with my body, but it was such a large amount of strength that it ended up being almost more than I could handle.

“Ugh… This isn’t a good feeling…”

Due to the massive amount of strength suddenly flowing in, my body was shaking so much that it was near freezing up.

The surprise was one thing, but it was because I had obtained such a massive amount of strength I’ve never had before.

Like how Karupedan and Barub had spoken about before, it was as if more strength than what I could handle had poured into me.

My sight that had gone blurry for a bit had returned, but my consciousness wasn’t coming back fully.

If I stayed this way, I was positive that an unwelcome guest from the castle would show.

Tearing the scroll I had held in my hand since casting stealth, I left that place as if running away.

****

“Huff… Huff…”

As if I had been hit with a fever, my body was burning up, and my breathing was ragged.

My focus was all murky, but thankfully I had arrived safely at that inn room that no one would be present at.

After I had Awakened back on Earth, other than being injured by others, I had never had the cold or even a fever.

I was in a situation where I was far from the concept of disease.

That was why this sudden change in my body felt far more awkward and embarrassing.

“It’s a bit of a waste to use it like this, but…”

I pulled out a King’s Marble from the breast pocket on the inside of my armor.

Not even 10 remained now.

I didn’t know when I would need them in the next two remaining months, so I had been saving them.

However, I had a strong feeling that I wouldn’t recover from this haziness until I used one of these marbles.

I swallowed one, which made me recover with a clear mind as if I was never affected by that haziness in the first place, and then I checked my newfound strength.

“Good… This amount of strength is far beyond anything those who fought against Demon had.”

I didn’t see numbers like stats, but I could definitely feel it.

Right now, I was stronger than Demon.

I had obtained far more power than I had expected on my first day of eradicating Swesi.

I had only taken down the guards, but they were 140 Protectors who could take down 7th tier monsters with ease.

While Demon had obtained a high amount of compressed power all at once, I had obtained a lower grade power in mass quantity instead.

There was no way I could not be satisfied by such an outcome.

“Now I’ve got an appetite for those who remained inside the castle.”

“Let the officer out.”

“Ugh… Ugh.. Who are you!”

“A god.”

“What… What do you mean? A god? You’re insane!”

“The fate of if you’ll live or die… It’s in my hands. A person you can consider a god.”

“Are you doing this while knowing who I am?”

A punch.

“Ah. Sorry. I forgot that I had become a lot stronger than before, right?”

“Urgh!”

“I’ll be the one asking the questions. The only thing you have to do is to give honest answers. Remember this.”

“Eep!”

“Explain in detail how this organization operates. Also just how many monsters are inside that huge castle as well.”

“Urk…”

“Did you not get punished enough?”

“Ah! That’s not the case!”

“Then you should be starting, right?”

“O… Our group, the Swesi is…”

---

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208. Lunch Box Bomb

The function of the Mobile Storage is amazing.

After all, it allowed me to store a near infinite amount of artifacts I harvest.

Due to all the investing I put into the skill until it was as powerful as it could be, the amount of storage space and even the weight limit had been removed quite some ago.

There was a reason why I was suddenly praising the Mobile Storage out of the blue.

It was because the skill’s usage was so versatile that it would even be useful in the strategy to wipe out Swesi.

*Living beings can enter, but cannot leave the storage without the permission of the caster.

Just as the explanation says, I could store living creatures into storage.

For some reason however, the monsters resist entering the storage at 100% health.

I don’t mean that they crawl out by thrashing around madly, but they repel each other like the same ends of a magnet.

It was almost as someone had set a rule.

Most would think that storing monsters into storage was useless.

What kind of a Protector in this world would store monsters into storage when they don’t even have enough space to store all of their artifacts.

Unless they had some twisted desire to raise these demonic beasts as pets, it was highly unlikely.

That’s why the method to store monsters into the storage wasn’t well known in this world.

Even if someone did know, they would keep it hush hush.

After all, it’d kick up a huge ruckus if some crazy Protector stored monsters into their storage and released them in a populated location.

However, the method to do it was so much simpler than I thought that I wouldn’t have been shocked if that did happen time to time.

It was to reduce the monster’s health to below 10%.

The 10% was just an estimate that I came up with, as it was more akin to the monster being injured enough to not have the strength to move and had enough hp left to breathe with great difficulty.

To put it simply, the monster would have to be unable to battle.

I was able to store the monsters like objects into storage if they lost their strength and will to resist.

Just like how they were back on Earth and the demonic realm, these monsters had incredibly powerful regeneration in Hell as well.

There were quite the gaps between each ranks of the monsters, but all of them were tenacious by default.

Some of them even had the ability to regrow their limbs if they were cut off.

However, it would be impossible for them to recover after receiving my attacks.

This was due to the ability that I had obtained from Karupedan.

All attacks succeed and those who get hit by the attacks cannot recover from the resulting wounds.

Unfortunately, that ability was a huge hurdle that was in the way of the plan I had come with.

“Please take out the attack magic marble. If possible, ones that deal area of effect damage.”

With all the monsters bound down and unable to move, I opened the storage and spoke.

The storage was an existence that seemed to possess some form of intelligence.

Not only did it sort the items by rank and size, but even brought me the items I wanted.

While it didn’t reply, it made me wonder if there was a servant more trustworthy.

Well, the fact that it didn’t reply could be a bonus.

Within seconds, there were magic marbles organized neatly at the entrance of the storage.

And it didn’t just organize them haphazardly, but had done so while considering the level and ranks of the skills.

It almost made me want to call it ‘Mr. Kind Storage.’

There are several consumable items that exist in Hell that do not exist back on Earth.

Examples are the Return Scroll I keep using frequently and the magic marbles I plan to use.

As explained before, the Return Scroll allows me to warp to a location that I wish to go to. [/note] I wonder why the author didn’t name them Teleportation Scroll. [/note]

And these magic marbles I’ve pulled out from can be explained as items that hold skills.

While the drop chance for this item to drop is low, a lot had piled up in storage due to me killing quite a lot of monsters.

Simply break the marble and the item activates.

Each marble’s ability is set the moment it drops from the monster.

The skill’s type and level are set randomly.

My plan was to bind down the monsters using my power, then deal damage using the magic marbles.

Since the marble was independent from my powers, it wouldn’t apply the anti-healing debuff.

Just like that, the monsters that have lost most of their health would end up transported into my storage, and it wouldn’t take even a full day for the monsters to recover to full, making it so that my storage is filled with fully recovered monsters.

The one thing that I had to be careful about was that I could not open the storage until I arrived at Swesi’s headquarters.

As I mentioned before, monsters with high health will be repelled by the storage like the same poles of the magnet.

Thankfully no living creature that enters the storage can leave without the permission of the caster, but if I accidentally open the storage, it would cause hundreds of monsters that I had caught to burst forth and spill out in an instant.

“Will this be enough?”

“Kuwuh…”

“Kuhuk. Kuhuk…”

Since these monsters were drawn from the border of the 7th tier and 8th tier hunting grounds, it was obvious that they wouldn’t budge at most attacks.

However, thanks to the number, rank, and level of the spells held by the magic marbles, I was able to easily chip down their health.

I opened the Mobile Storage right next to the panting monsters.

Throwing them in one at a time would be inefficient.

Using my head, I thought of and started casting Bind continuously to move them bit by bit.

The scene reminded of an automated slaughterhouse.

After all, the monsters had become like pacified sheep, waiting in line to enter the storage.

To the monsters that kept healing midway through the transporting process and were repelled out, I broke the single target magic marbles to deal enough damage to the point where the monsters were weak enough to be stored.

This complex process only took about 10 minutes to finish.

This was possible because I had infinite mana and could use all the powers I possessed.

“Kueheh!”

“Kurung!”

“To think that all of them went in. This is a lot more amazing than I had thought.”

The roar of the weakened monsters were sealed away inside the storage.

The storage had disappeared from view, but would pour out hundreds of monsters at my beckoning.

I could’ve captured monsters from a higher tier hunting ground.

After all, I was strong enough to capture even the monsters from the unexplored territories.

However, since my objective was to get the members of Swesi to gather in one spot, this would suffice.

Let’s say that I had captured and released a stronger monster in order to get all the guards more effectively gathered in one spot.

Since a monster stronger than what usually appears at the compound appeared, it would get all 150 of the guards to gather at the location of the monsters with great haste.

However, this would mean that members stronger than what counted as guards here would appear as well.

Right now, I didn’t want to welcome any members like that.

It was definitely unnatural for an incredible amount of monsters to suddenly appear all of a sudden.

So suspicious that it would be enough for people to suspect that this was done by a trespasser.

However, strange situations like these happen time to time in Hell.

A phenomenon where an explosive number of monsters all appearing in one spot called Monster Wave is what I’m talking about.

One of the reasons why Protectors did not work alone like how I was doing right now was because of the Monster Waves.

I had finished lightly preparing to launch the first attack.

Before the monsters snapped out of it and began rapidly regenerating, I headed for Dump’s residence.

Since I wouldn’t be able to come here for a while, it was to hand over high tier materials he would be using for his craft.

****

The sound of Dump’s hammering rang loudly.

While I knew he normally worked hard, there seemed to be greater force behind those swings due to the current situation.

I went up to Dump who was focused on his craft and spoke.

“Did you already get started?”

“You’ve come, Sir Guardian. Of course. I must succeed, even if an hour earlier.”

“I’m sure that things will work out as well as the amount of effort you’re putting in.”

“Of course! Berlette will return. I’m sure that she’ll return safe and sound. And because I believe in that, there’s no need for me to be sad.”

“Yes. I am sure that will be the case. Where should I put the materials?”

“It’ll be quite a lot, right?”

“Yes. I think…”

“Then please put them here.”

Dump opened up the entrance to the underground storage space next to his workspace.

Because he had moved recently, the storage had items he did not have time to organize shoved inside.

The size was big enough that I did not believe I’d have a shortage of space.

“Then…”

“KUWEHH!”

“KUHRURU!”

“KUNG! KUNG KUNG KUNG!”

“I forgot to mention ahead of time, but no need to be frightened. They will be playing a very important role in this plan. To put it simply, they are allies.”

“My goodness… I thought my heart would stop.”

Dump had fallen backwards after seeing the swarm of monsters that filled the Mobile Storage.

Since he wasn’t a Protector, this must’ve been the first time he had seen a live monster.

He probably has only learned about them through the encyclopedias, books, and rumors circulating in the marketplace.

Seeing as how their howls were a lot livelier than before, my guess was that their regeneration has finally kicked into full gear.

This probably meant that this was the last time I would be able to open the Mobile Storage until release.

“Bring forth all the materials that are used in the A to S+ ranking artifact crafting here.”

With my command, the Mobile storage poured out enough artifacts to cause a sound that was loud enough to drown out the roars of the monsters.

The shift in items kept going for a while like a waterfall before stopping, and I immediately closed the storage.

“I have placed here all the high ranking materials I have here.”

“I will succeed for sure. I definitely will!”

“Yes you must. After all, the success of crafting an artifact here will directly affect the outcome of success I will have in the battle. Also, I won’t be able to visit you often like I am doing now.”

“…”

“I plan to take them out without as much a squeak, but it is because there is a possibility that either of our identities are exposed.”

“Yes… I understand.”

“I shall keep visiting from time to time while keeping an eye out on the situation. I know it’ll be frustrating, but please bear with me.”

“Sir Guardian. With you already being this considerate, I do not know how I can show my thanks. I know I’ve already told you this frequently, but please understand that I am willing to offer my insignificant life if it is for you.”

“Of course. I am aware.”

“Then I shall go succeed in the crafting of the artifact, even if it is an hour earlier.”

“Yes. Then I shall be heading out now. I plan to start the first plan tonight right away.”

“Oho… Please be careful. If even you, Sir Guardian, becomes harmed… then… “

“Do not worry. Then I’ll be off…”

“Yes! Please and again, be careful!”

“Yes.”

****

The sky slowly became stained in darkness.

Stationing myself at the location where I originally scouted out Swesi’s guards, I waited for the right time.

It was then.

A carriage arrived at their headquarters.

Perhaps due to the location of this compound being in the hunting grounds where monsters appeared, even the appearance of the horses were quite different.

A translucent body with a blue tint. On top of that, there were red flames coming off the mane.

The monster wasn’t tamed, but probably created by the magic of a Protector.

From the carriage that arrived at the entrance of the castle without being stopped at all disembarked a person, and the man who was diligently fiddling around with the ledger bowed his head.

“Ah. You’ve arrived.”

“…”

“You’ve succeeded in getting two today.”

“Open the door. I do not have time to waste on you.”

“Of course! That is how it should be. Open the door! Sir hunter has returned!”

A strong looking man. There were people on each side of his shoulders.

A maiden, or perhaps someone who looked like a Protector were limp on their shoulder.

Just like what Herb had said, those people must’ve been hunted.

‘Seems like a stronger opponent. I will begin the attack after he leaves.’

---

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207. Operation Swesi Annihilation

“Kuhuhum…”

“Herb. So you’ve finally regained your senses?”

“Damn it. So it wasn’t a dream. Kuhu.”

“…”

The man chugged the water in the room to sate his ravenous thirst.

With sleep circles under his eyes and a heavy body due to yesterday night’s inebriation, he came closer.

Blinking his half open eyes slowly, he opened his mouth.

“There are 100 good things about drinking, but there is one negative. Yesterday night was that sole negative. It makes me remember some useless things time to time.”

“I expected a hangover when you mentioned a negative, but I guess I was wrong.”

“My lad. If I’m a proper drunkard, then don’t you think I should be enjoying the hangover as well. Kuhuhu!”

“…”

“Now. I must be heading off. Despite meeting for the first time, it seems I’m quite heavily indebted to you.”

“My name is Guardian. Don’t you remember? Mister Herb.”

“Ahem…”

The man who had turned his back to me and was heading out the door hesitated at my question, letting out a fake cough.

Holding onto the doorknob, he wasn’t able leave nor turn around to face me.

“Didn’t you say that you would wish me the best in the afterlife?”

“It seems that I’ve made a mistake while being drunk. I am sorry for that.”

“Mister Herb. No matter what you do, I will still go to where the Swesi is located. But not only are you giving up, now you’re trying to run away as well?”

“…”

“If you really must, then you can go back down this path. I entrusted the owner of the store with some money, so go ahead and spend the rest of your life finding out the good points of alcohol. However, I know that you won’t be able to live comfortably for even a single moment because of that one single negative point you told me before. How can someone live with such a heavy weight on their heart?”

“Huhu… You’re a real smooth talker. Do you think you can do it? I’m asking if you can change the world with such a small action.”

“Hmm. I dunno. That’s why I’m trying to struggle for a bit. A very minuscule amount, so little that no one will notice.”

“Ahahaha! You’re far more insane than I thought. I’ll wish you a happy afterlife later. I shouldn’t go bothering the reaper with a pointless prayer. And I feel like it’d be a waste of a talent for someone like you to die right now.”

“Then…”

“With the castle door at your back from where we first met, keep going straight. If you do that, you’ll be stopped by a giant rocky mountain. Their headquarters are somewhere on that mountain. Even getting there won’t be easy. I wish you victory in battle, Protector.”

“Thank you. If I find your daughter…”

“Kuhu. Didn’t I tell you that it’s been 10 years since? I have decided not to have any false hope. Decided on forgetting the word hope in a world like this. Thank you for your words at least. Thanks to you, I was able to recall the face of my child in such a long time. Guess that means that I need to raise another glass in her name. I’ll see you again.”

****

After Herb disappeared from view, I immediately tore the return scroll to head for the castle entrance.

I was traveling to do recon on the enemy’s headquarters.

Despite all the light due to it being early in the morning, there was no way that I’d be discovered because I was using Mass Stealth Jutsu and only doing a very general sweeping reconnaissance.

From the start, one of the rules in the bet between Barub and I was that we weren’t allowed to use any skills that allowed us to discover the identities of our opponent.

However, it was possible that this rule only categorized Barub and I as opponents.

While I would be using Stealth and Silent, I was planning to observe them from as far away as possible.

As I said before, I couldn’t take them all out by the roots at once.

I planned to take them down bit by bit, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the first attack would determine the outcome of the plan to annihilate all of Swesi.

The Swesi organization isn’t stupid.

Not only that, but they had an incredible amount of fighting force.

They even have connections with many powerful nobles, so there was no way they’d be an easy opponent.

After the first attack, they would shore up their defenses, and their response times against intruders would become more rapid.

That is why during this first attack when they don’t have their guard up, I need to gain as many benefits as possible, which means that I have to achieve the most amount of growth possible.

Just like how it is with most organizations, those with great power tend to not show themselves under the spotlight.

Similar to Park Hyun’s radical faction, those who hung around the entrance are the weak ones in comparison to the rest of the organization.

The truly powerful big bosses don’t usually bother taking action is what I mean.

In today’s reconnaissance, I will be focusing on the number of those acting as guards and the response they have to an attack.

I was going over there to find out who out of them would serve as the first sacrifices.

Just like Herb said, with the castle entrance directly behind me, I continued going forward.

As expected, it didn’t take long for me to find out that I had entered the tier 1 hunting grounds.

I could hear the howls of monsters all over the place, and even saw a few Protectors engrossed in hunting.

Despite whichever direction I headed out towards, I would come in contact with monsters because of how they were spread like tree rings with the castle as the center.

This meant that while I didn’t know what tier of the hunting grounds Swesi’s headquarters was located, I knew that it existed within the hunting zones.

It made me wonder just how Herb managed to get near their headquarters the first time he arrived, since he wasn’t a Protector.

However, he could’ve hired Protectors as guards to slowly travel through the hunting grounds, so that suspicion disappeared quickly.

“Is that it?”

After running for a long time, the rocky mountain finally came into view.

If I climb over that, Swesi’s headquarters should be there.

The rocky mountain was around the 3rd tier hunting grounds.

Since I’ve been looking at the encyclopedia enough to memorize the contents, I was able to tell the gist of where I was just by looking at the monsters around me.

The rocky mountain was very artificial looking compared to what I had seen so far in Hell’s environment, and it was pointlessly tall and had a rough surface.

This type of terrain was the first I’ve encountered in this zone that was composed entirely of low hills and plains.

Since I couldn’t tell how far it stretched on for me to attempt going around it, I casted Silent and Stealth Jutsu to cover myself before jumping up.

If this was my average day, I would’ve jumped up to the peak in one go, but I only jumped up to height where I knew I wouldn’t cause damage to the terrain upon landing.

It was because starting now, I could not afford to be noticed by anyone.

It was a must that I did not leave any evidence of my presence behind.

After leaping up a couple times, I felt as though something was off.

Enough time had passed where I would’ve had more than enough time to climb to the peak two or three times, but I still couldn’t see the peak that was surrounded by clouds.

Not only that, but surprisingly I wasn’t able to see any monsters or even a peek of them.

It was almost as if I was looking at the well developed areas near the castle.

“Damn it. It’s almost as if I’ve come under hypnosis. Should I have tried going around the mountain?”

Finally, I was able to go over the mountain and arrive on the ground.

But something was off.

I thought that the rocky mountain was just really tall, but the monsters by the ground were completely different from the monsters found in the tier 3 zone.

Of course. This was the tier 7 hunting grounds.

I had only climbed over a mountain and come down, but I had somehow gone 4 tiers further out.

Because I hadn’t even a single monster the entire time I traveled, it felt as though I had traveled through a different dimension to get here.

However, since these monsters were still easy for me to take care of, it didn’t worry me that much.

As Herb had informed me, I had ran in a straight line from the castle’s entrance, and I was able to see a building that appeared to be Swesi’s headquarters the moment I descended the mountain.

It was a giant structure that reminded me of the buildings found within the castle that I had to enter through to see the Festival of Blood.

It was a castle that looked like bats would fly out and Dracula would show his face at any moment.

I was not able to hide my surprise that a place like this existed within the hunting grounds.

As with each step I took to get closer to that structure, I was cautious of even the sand and dust.

It was then.

“KUWEHH!”

“…”

I could hear a monster’s howl and the sound of conversations between people from a place not far away from where I was.

At the place where the sound of coming from, many personnel gathered to push back the monster and began the process of taking down the monster.

Perhaps due to the building being built within the hunting grounds, it was normal for monsters to come after it.

However, seeing how their group was taking down the monster made the corners of my lip go up.

It was because there were a vast number of personnel stationed outside the castle.

It must be to guard against monsters and intruders.

It was a shame that they weren’t gathered all in one place, but there were about 100 to 150 of them.

The other reason was that they were defeating a tier 7 monster with ease.

This meant that each of them were at least far stronger than a tier 7 in terms of strength.

If I was able to defeat them all and take their powers, the amount I get would be enormous.

You could say that this was a great start.

After observing them for a bit, it seemed that the personnel stationed outside the building had finished taking care of the monsters nearby.

Groups in 5 to 6 patrolled around the building, and it looked as though the items obtained from defeating the monster were put into someone’s Mobile Storage that was open by the entrance of the building.

Next to the Mobile Storage was a person who seemed to hold some amount of position, and it looked as though they were diligently scribbling on their ledger.

There wasn’t a single person who was moving on their own and apart from the rest of the group.

If that was the case, I would’ve been able to capture one and drag them back to interrogate them for intel.

Pushing aside my regret, I increased our distance.

After confirming this scene, I didn’t do much else.

All I did was to tear the return scroll far away from them.

To take them down effectively and assuredly, I believed that I needed to prepare for it at least a little.

Firstly, I was able to get a general grasp of how strong they were by seeing how fast they defeated the monsters.

They were weak enough that if I managed to gather them up and hit them with everything I had, I would be able to take them out in one attack.

I wasn’t sure of the personnel inside the building, but I was positive that the Protectors outside of it were just about that strong.

I tore open the scroll to warp to the 7th tier hunting grounds.

You would think it strange for me to head to a hunting ground when I should be focusing on coming up with a plan to storm the building.

And on top of that, I headed for the 7th tier hunting grounds instead of the unexplored territories.

But the reason for doing so was simple.

I had a plan to gather them all here.

“Time to run.”

I ran across the 7th tier hunting grounds with an appropriate amount of speed.

Perhaps due to running past the boundaries between the tier zones, I saw a few 8th tier monsters time to time.

An incredible amount of monsters who had been aggroed by me were following me, and as I turned around, I could see them arranged in a wide area in front of me.

“It doesn’t taste good to fry food too much. I think a medium should be fine. First, let’s put them on a skewer.”

“KUWUH!”

“KERUK! KERURUK!”

In an instant, many golem hands rose out of the ground and grounded them.

I had used the Bind skill.

Since it wasn’t a single target skill, I was able to hold down all the monsters in front of me.

With their movements sealed, each of the monsters let out the Fear howling skill and were taking an offense stance.

Monsters with ranged attacks out of the bunch were also launching projectiles towards me already.

“The meat is so fresh that it’s flying and running around.”

I casted Hold and Silent on top of that.

They became living taxidermy, and weren’t even able to let their Fear howl skill go beyond the Silent spell.

I don’t have a hobby of torturing monsters like this in a psychopathic fashion.

However, this was part of the preparation I needed to group up the Swesi guards in one spot.

“Now, shall I roast them up?”

---

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205. This Is Also Growth

Having Dump sit on a chair, I handed him a cup of warm water.

It seemed that it was unlikely for me to hear an explanation from him while he was severely upset.

I haven’t known him for long, but I had never seen him lose his self control this much.

He was always gentle and calm, and looked at each situation with a cold calculating gaze.

Instead of trying to push him to answer faster, I decided to give him space and wait until he was ready to talk.

He was looking into thin air with unfocused eyes, and tilted the water cup with his shaky hands for a brief moment.

Dump finally opened his mouth.

“S… Sir Guardian.”

“Looks like you’ve finally calmed down. Yes, go ahead and tell me.”

“Gone… No matter where I look, I can not find…”

“What are you talking about?”

“My daughter… Berlette… Berlette has disappeared!”

“…”

Only then did I notice that another person who should’ve been there, Berlette, wasn’t present.

I finally understood why Dump’s hand was covered in blood after listening to his explanation as well.

I thought to myself that the feeling of a parent losing their child was equivalent to his hand’s condition right now.

He must’ve not even registered the feeling of pain from flesh on his hand being torn.

Like someone who had gone insane, he must have searched with abandon not only the inside of his house, but the area around it.

I saw on Dump’s hopeless face the same expression that I saw on my mother’s when I was young.

“Mister…”

“Sir Guardian. I plead to you.”

Dump kneeled on the ground and bowed before me.

It must because he wanted to hold onto even a strand of hope.

I pulled up Dump who was nearly begging at this point while he held onto my boots.

“Especially at a time like this, you have to keep your calm. Get yourself together.”

“No… I want to, but I cannot. My one and only daughter…”

“Do you think it was the castellan who did this? You’ve mentioned it before. That those from the castle kidnap young ladies and Protectors.”

“While that’s true, not once have soldiers rushed here uninvited. If it was the house I’ve been residing in a week ago, maybe…”

“There was a chance that someone was looking for an opportunity nearby. Did you not see anything out of the ordinary in the past couple days?”

“Yes… The last few days were just business as usual. And if the soldiers of the castle found a young lady, they would’ve taken her on the spot.”

“Think about it carefully.”

“However, I saw a note on the table that I have never seen before.”

“A note?”

I went to the table that Dump pointed to and checked on the note.

It was a tiny note with an emblem drawn on it that resembled a brand logo for goods.

It seemed that this note that was stuck to the table with a dagger was the only clue we had to work with.

Pulling the dagger out, I carried the note over to Dump and asked him.

“This emblem. Have you seen it before?”

“No. Never. This is the first time I’ve seen it.”

“Perhaps the flag of Larkenta looks like this?”

“That’s not the case.”

“It looks like we can at least draw a conclusion that she had been kidnapped. We don’t know if and when they’ll come back again. Mister, I want you to go stay for a couple days in the place I’m residing at. It will be safe there. I shall bring you over.”

“I will also take part in the search. I also want to search for my daughter…”

“You’ll only get in the way. I know how you feel, but you already know, right? We don’t even know the group that uses this emblem. It can get far worse from here on out. So please stay there for a couple of days. I shall come to explain to you the situation from time to time between those days.”

“…”

Dump wiped his tears that flowed out without stopping, and then took out some chalk and parchment.

Then he began to copy exactly the emblem on the note onto the parchment.

For Dump, who was used to drawing blueprints for armors and weapons, he was able to finish copying the emblem in almost an instant, and then followed me without complaint.

My heart was heavy as I left the house.

The main reason was that Berlette had disappeared, but there was another issue.

It was time.

It was obvious that Dump was my partner that was of great help to me.

However, I was currently in a situation where it wouldn’t be enough if I spent each day busily growing stronger to keep up with Demon’s growth.

To ignore this would be inhumane, but to invest time here brought me great worry for the future.

Not letting my thoughts show to Dump, I headed for the inn.

Because it was past midnight already, silence filled the streets.

The sound of two men stepping on grass was it.

When daylight comes, the first thing we needed to do was to ask around about the emblem left behind.

I’m sure that Dump copied the emblem onto the parchment because he had the same idea.

My head was filled to the brim, but I finished escorting Dump to the inn before heading off to hunt.

I knew the amount of growth I’d get wasn’t comparable to what I could obtain through the Festival of Blood, but I couldn’t just stand by idly.

Just like that, I tore the return scroll and headed for the edge of the 10th tier hunting grounds.

****

I continued to hunt in the unexplored territories.

Since people were scarce at this time of night, I defeated the monsters with all my power.

So it was natural that I gathered more monsters than usual in one spot before taking them all down, and the speed increased noticeably as well.

I threw in the jewels and quality artifacts that I gained from hunting into the Mobile Storage.

The jewels were sorted automatically by the rank and size.

The sky grew blueish, making me consider returning to the inn that Dump was at.

I was just hoping that this situation would be resolved quickly.

After all, I couldn’t stay in this case forever.

It was a bit selfish of me, but this wouldn’t be the wrong decision considering the future.

Being completely honest, giving up would mean the death of a single person named Berlette, but if I lost the fight in the celestial realm, then nothing would change in that hellish realm for an eternity.

“So you were awake?”

“Yes. You’ve arrived. Firstly, we should ask around for the meaning of this emblem.”

“I also agree with that idea. Since it is the only clue we have…”

“Then I shall go out first. I’ve already prepared a meal for you, so don’t skip it. Then…”

“Yes, yes…”

Dump was very different from how he was yesterday.

He must’ve realized that being emotional wouldn’t help at all in finding Berlette.

Seeing him shove the parchment into his clothing and quickly leave the inn, the thought that I couldn’t just ignore this and move on came to mind.

To that man, his daughter was everything.

I did not know why he did not have anyone else in in his family, but the one only left for Dump right now was Berlette.

How could I compare to the despair of someone who lost everything.

Convincing myself and coming to an understanding, I left to find for the source of the emblem.

Since Dump knew about the markets, I left that side to him, and I chose the castle entrance because that place was the most populated in all of Larkenta.

It was an early morning, but many were still gathered to enter the castle.

And just like that, the search without a definite end began.

****

“Do you know of this emblem?”

“…”

Despite searching around until the sun was setting, I wasn’t able to meet a single person who knew about the emblem.

There was a person who kept looking at me strange, but that was it.

As darkness set, the crowd in front of the castle entrance scattered like a receding wave.

I went to the inn multiple times to check if Dump had found out something about it, but I could guess that he didn’t find anything from the vacant room.

Wondering how I would face Dump with a lack of findings, I was greatly worried as I turned to leave.

“Must’ve hid a lass.”

“Hm?”

A man leaning against the castle wall and squatting on the ground said something very curious to me.

I immediately approached him.

A ragged appearance without equal and the bottles of empty alcohol around him included.

To put it simply, it was the appearance of a hobo who lived off being drunk.

Just by getting close to him, I was able to smell rot and alcohol.

“What did you say?”

“That you’ve hidden a lass. Family? Siblings? Someone’s fated to be? Kuhuhu.”

“I’ll buy you a round of alcohol. Let’s go someplace quieter.”

“I always gladly welcome alcohol. Burp.”

The shabby looking man seemed a lot younger than my initial impression of him.

His slouched back and labored gait made me think of him as an elderly man at first.

Perhaps due to his body being ruined by alcohol, his hand shook continuously, and his head twitched against his will.

With my thoughts of maybes and what ifs, I took him to a quieter pub.

Since I hadn’t learned anything about the emblem despite my efforts searching all day, even a drunkard was okay if he had any information to share.

“I shall pour a glass for you.”

“Good. Good…”

“Kah! As expected, alcohol is always right. Don’t you think so? Take a swig as well!”

“No, I’m alright. That’s that and… Can you continue on what you were telling me before?”

“Hm? What did I say?”

“Just a second.”

I casted a Silent between the man and I.

It was because I determined that there would be no good resulting from others overhearing about what he and I were talking about.

There was no way that the sound made within Silent would ever spill outside of it.

The sound would be blocked by the skill and be completely destroyed.

“You said that I hid a lass. Do you remember?”

“Ahah! Yes! You hid a lass. Burp!”

“Then do you know of this emblem?”

“Three seagulls flying near the sun. Burp. How could I forget? Pour me another glass.”

“Huh? Sure…”

Was he telling the truth in the middle of being drunk?

The man wasn’t even looking at the note I was holding out and muttering things I did not understand.

I could see through his robe a lonely smile to the thin air before him and moistened eyes.

And then he looked closely at the emblem.

‘Seagulls that are flying near the sun..’

Seeing the emblem again without much thought again, I noticed that the emblem really did look like what the man had mentioned.

No. I wasn’t seeing this because of what he had said.

In the center of the emblem was the sun, and there were three of the number 3 in Arabian around it.

He must’ve described these numbers as seagulls.

Filling his glass, I continued my inquiry.

“So you know of this emblem!”

“There’s no way I could forget. Even if I’m drunk, it comes to me clearly again… Perhaps if I’m dead, that won’t be the case.”

“Please tell me everything you know of this emblem.”

“Can you handle it? Burp. You could become a cripple like me. Huhaha.”

The man pulled up the sleeve of his robe to show me his arm.

What I saw couldn’t have been caused by an accident.

His arms and legs were bent in horrible ways. And he pointed at his permanently bent back, laughing enough to show his yellow teeth.

Seeing as though I did not flinch and kept a deadpan look, the man opened his mouth.

“I had a daughter once. The story isn’t that long ago. It’s been about 10 years, I think?”

“…”

“Because she was my only child, she was everything to me. Enough to break the law and hide them away from prying eyes like you have…”

“Kah! They do business with the lives of people. If you do not have the strength, then you can only suffer at their hands.”

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206. This Is Also Growth (2)

The man let out a long sigh before continuing to speak.

The cup of drink never left his hand the entire time.

Almost as if alcohol was his nemesis, he continued drinking it nonstop as if to show just how frustrated he was.

“My daughter was gone, and I gave up even my occupation to search for her like a mad hound. Assuming that she had been taken by the castellan, I used up my entire fortune to find her. Despite knowing that I’d be heavily punished, I still went to the castle to search for her.”

“…”

“However, the child wasn’t there. No. Even if she was there, there was no way for me to meet her… All because I had no power to. Burp! Despite losing my child, I was kicked out of the castle with my body intact. Only after all that happened, I paid attention to the same emblem you are holding now.”

“So you found those who used this emblem?”

“Yes… I found them. Only after toiling through day and night for a year straight was I able to finally find them.”

“Then the current state of your body is due to them…”

“They called themselves manhunters. The large organization’s name is Swesi. They earned money by kidnapping and selling young maidens and young Protectors who had recently obtained their powers that the castellan wished for to the nobles. The nobles then gave them as gifts to the castellan of Larkenta in order to garner favor, and thus used like objects amongst the nobles. These are human lives we’re talking about.”

“To put it simply, I guess you can call them human traffickers.”

“Yeah. However, they aren’t like us average folks. The entire organization is made up of Protectors.”

“As expected…”

“You asked if I am like how I am now because of them, right?”

“…”

“Kuhuhu. I had lost my mind and went to their headquarters. The only thought in my head was that I had to find my daughter. To sum it up, I didn’t find anything. I didn’t get to touch a hair on my child, and I wasn’t even able to confirm if she was even alive. How pathetic it was that I was done in from the entrance. Kuhaha! I wasn’t able to put up a fight and was beaten up by someone who looked like Swesi’s lowest lap dog, becoming a cripple like you see now.”

“Where is the place? Please tell me where they are.”

“Did you like the lifestyle of a cripple I live? You can live freely I guess. Give up. From your appearance, I think you are a Protector as well, but they aren’t your local bullies that go around as a group to do as they please.”

“It is obvious that a regular civilian cannot face a Protector. However…”

“Oho. Of course. Then do you think it’ll be different if a few average Protectors go together? Or do you think that if you report these felonies, the castle’s elite knights will come help you? That’s complete bullshit! Please open your eyes! Do you still not know how this world works?”

“…”

“You would at least need the power of a count or marquis to be able to defeat them. However.. Do you think a noble with that much power will lend their assistance for something like this? Do you think they’ll get rid of an organization that provides them the maidens and Protectors they present as gifts to the castellan with their own hands? Burp!”

“Just… How rotten is this world?”

“Enough to make common sense look like madness… That much rotten is this world. But with alcohol, you can always be happy!”

“Kah! The alcohol is especially good today. Do you think I’m the only parent who has lost their child? Do you think I am the only one who holds their family in their heart? Even if the child isn’t a daughter, if they suddenly obtain the powers of a Protector, then you have to say goodbye to them forever on the same day. After dragging my utterly broken body back, I found others who had lost their families like I.”

“…”

“There were many that fled in fear after seeing what had happened to me. They were made to realize that if they tried to fight against Swesi, they would also become cripped or lose their lives, so it was expected. The world has become like this. After the monsters appeared way back, the term justice that we all know and carried out has disappeared since.”

“So you’ve given up?”

“What?”

“I asked if you’ve given up on your daughter that you cared for like she was irreplaceable.”

“I’m used to that look of pity. I looked at what I could do. I gathered all the money of those who had their families stolen. Since I had gathered the complete fortunes of many, the amount of money gathered was a huge sum. With that money, we hired Protectors. We had bribed Protectors with money to go defeat Swesi and sent them to their headquarters to do so. What was the result? What do you think happened?”

“…”

“While we were waiting far away from the entrance, something flew towards us. At first, we thought it was their attack so we ran like hell. But whatever flew at us didn’t reach where we were. So we went close to confirm what it was, and found that it was the head of a person.”

“What do you mean…”

“All the heads of the Protectors we hired. Each of them with horrific expressions, the heads of those dead without even the chance to close their eyes!”

“Those vicious bastards.”

“Only after I saw that did I give up. Family, money, the health of my body and mind. After I had lost it all, my heart closed up. You must find it pathetic, right?”

“…”

“This is the difference in power that makes me helpless despite losing loved ones. I did everything I could. And I’m sure I look like a fool who self rationalizes. But remember this one thing. As I said, they are far stronger than your wildest imaginations… Did you ask for their headquarters?”

“Yes. Please tell me where they are at.”

“My name is Herb. What is your name?”

“Why are you asking me that all of a sudden…”

“If I am telling you their headquarters, that is the equivalent of letting you head towards death without doing anything. It would be as if I’m killing you with my own hands. I think the least I can do for you is to raise my glass to your name as I wish you luck, and that is why I ask.”

“Hm… It’s Guardian.”

“Guardian… The name’s meaning is something that we desperately need in such troubled times. Then let us be on our way.”

“Yes.”

Due to his injured body and being incredibly drunk, he stumbled quite a lot as he headed out of the pub.

Since he had drunk alcohol nonstop for 30 minutes without rest, it was to be expected.

After finishing up the payment and following him out, I saw him sprawled out on the ground at the entrance, fast asleep.

I worried if I had wasted all this time, but I decided to believe in the earnesty in his eyes that I saw.

This was something that would help out Dump and this man, but after listening to what he had said, this would help me with my growth as well.

The organization Swesi that the man mentioned was simply put, a human trafficking group.

And they were supposedly composed of Protectors.

Like the radical faction back on Earth, the existence of this organization was like a cancerous tumor to society.

The wild beast Demon’s method of growth. Swesi was going to allow me to use the method of directly absorbing the power of the Protectors I kill.

I was going to take them down one by one to increase my strength.

“You are really wasted.”

“Ughhhh. Urk!”

“Whew…”

“Zzz…”

Giving the man a piggyback ride, I ran to my residence.

I could immediately make him snap out of it and head for Swesi’s headquarters right away, but I had to go back in order to tell Dump about this information due to him waiting for my return.

Since it wasn’t far from the castle, it didn’t take long to arrive.

As I entered my room at the inn, Dump greeted me.

“So you’ve returned?”

“Yes. Have you found anything?”

“No… I have asked about it all day, but even the merchants that are close to me like family are avoiding answering me. Excuse me, but what did you bring… Oh my goodness! Isn’t that a person?”

“Ah. Yes. This drunkard is the only clue I have regarding the emblem I was able to find.”

“Huh? You sure he isn’t dead?”

“Barrrf!”

“Whew… I think I can be sure that isn’t the case. Let’s go into the next room over to talk.”

“Yes…”

I told Dump everything that I heard from him.

When I told him that I was able to find out the identities of those who use the emblem, Dump’s eyes were filled with life once again, as if to prove that had hope once more.

However, I was able to see that he was bothered by a greater concern and worry.

He had now learned who were responsible, but also learned that he did not have the strength to stop them.

The situation hadn’t really changed and reminded him just how powerless he was, because while he knew where Berlette was, he was unable to do anything about it.

“Sir Guardian… It’ll probably be difficult, right?”

“What do you mean…”

“I had closer bonds with these merchants than blood brothers. Some of them had lost their families like I. When I showed them this emblem, they were rather panicky.”

“…”

“They all seemed to know, but it seemed that it was something they could not bring up to speak about. And now that I hear about what the man you’ve brought over said…”

“Mister. Please listen carefully.”

“…”

“This isn’t something that will be resolved overnight. As you can see, I‘m not strong enough to handle the entire Swesi group by myself. But I’m not also the type to be defeated by them so easily.”

“But.. Why would you take on such a risky task…”

“What do you really truly feel? I don’t think you need to think about others in a situation like this. Are you able to live on while giving up on your daughter? It seems impossible from my point of view though.”

“Hu… I shall offer the rest of my life to you, Sir Guardian. Just please… Please rescue my daughter.”

“I don’t know how long it’ll take. And I think you know that you can’t directly help me, right?”

“Of course. I know that as a regular civilian, I’ll only be a burden…”

“If you really want to help me, there is something you can do.”

“What would that be? If there is something I can help with, I can even tear out my heart and offer it to you.”

“It’s something you’re really good at. It’s making an artifact tailored to me.”

“But…”

“I’m aware that you’ve failed so far. But don’t you think something might change if you add a bit of desperation to it? If it is high quality materials, I have plenty. Jewels and even cores as well.”

“…”

“A successful creation of an artifact may determine the outcome of this ordeal between success and defeat, so please do your best.”

“I understand! No matter the cost, I shall make it happen.”

“Good. I shall move the moment that man wakes up.”

“Yes. Then I should…”

“Swesi only targets young maidens and Protectors. This means that you can return back to your residence. Please continue your efforts there.”

“Then I shall head there right away. Please take care.”

“Yes.”

Dump hastily exited the inn and headed for his residence.

After he left, I looked at the man who was sleeping like the dead.

It was obvious that I wouldn’t be able to swiftly defeat Swesi even with all my power.

Considering all the various information I learned while spectating the Festival of Blood, I was just a Protector who was a bit above average.

I knew that the count and marquis that the man mentioned was far stronger than I by far.

That is why I said that this fight wouldn’t end in a single day.

“I have to continuously become stronger as I fight.”

---

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204. And I Was Busy Already

Jurassic slammed down on the ground and continued the attack.

The crowd was positive that he had won.

They were busy seeing with their own eyes and admiring the majesty of Jurassic, who would become the new king of the festival.

It was then.

“O… Over there!”

“Huh!”

The crowd looked once more at the battlefield and cheered.

“Wow! Demon! Demon!”

“Kyaa! Demon!”

The place where everyone was looking at was Demon.

Demon had revealed their glowing silver form from the other side of the battlefield.

After hesitating for a brief moment, Jurassic stopped his attack and looked in the direction where Demon had appeared from.

Until just a moment ago, he had confirmed his target and had been attacking them.

Even if his vision was clouded by thick dust, it wasn’t as if he had continued a pointless attack.

But now he saw that his target was standing over there without a scratch on their body.

“Whew…”

“Kuha! Looks like the warm up is over for both of us.”

“…”

As if this situation was amusing, Demon was licking their lips.

Jurassic took a deep breath and fixed his posture.

The situation was the equivalent of seeing a ghost, but there was not any shock on his face.

It was almost as if he was proving that there was a reason why he was talked about amongst the nobles.

Taking a defensive stance to protect his whole body with his shield and sword, he waited for Demon to attack.

It was unlikely that Demon was fast enough to fool his eyes.

So he thought that it was some trick that he had pulled.

That’s why he was not making any sudden moves.

As Jurassic had hoped for, Demon moved.

Demon’s body was parallel to the floor of the battleground as they charged forth.

Their appearance was that of an arrow flying towards its target.

“Hah!”

“…”

Jurassic focused his strength on the hand that was gripping the shield in order to prepare for the incoming attack.

However, Demon passed right by him and stopped on the other side of him.

Min-Cheol and obviously the crowd as well were looking at the situation with confusion.

It wouldn’t have been strange if they were trading blows in a heated melee right now, but instead Demon had passed his opponent without attack, much less making any contact.

Was it because they had failed the attack they had planned? Was it possible that they had miscalculated the trajectory of their attack and flew past?

For Min-Cheol, it was very frustrating.

He was waiting for Barub, no, Demon to show their true strength.

While it was true that he was hoping that Demon’s real identity wasn’t Barub, if that was the case… There was a saying that if you’re going to get punished, it’s better to get it over with quickly.

If this Demon went at it with everything they had, then it wouldn’t be difficult for me to recognize them.

I didn’t know what kind of strength that they had come to Hell with, but there was no way I could forget their killing intent after all.

Because of that, Min-Cheol was even selfishly hoping that their opponent, Jurassic, would hold out a bit longer.

It was then. This proved that the thought that Demon had failed their attack was wrong.

“Uaaaaa!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Something that no onlooker of the battlefield could understand happened.

Even Millions, who had seen through everything so far, was looking at the situation with great curiosity.

It was clear that Demon had gone past Jurassic and made quite the distance between each other.

There was no contact and no movements that suggested an attack.

However, Jurassic was letting out a crazed roar and swinging his sword and shield with great haste.

He didn’t flail through thin air out of madness, but each movement was followed by a massive shockwave.

It was almost as if he was fighting an invisible enemy.

“Kuha! I wonder how long you can defend against it.”

“Ahhh! Argh!”

Seeing him struggle, Demon jumped at his opponent again.

Even though they could just directly attack their opponent who was showing a strange behavior, instead of doing so, they did the same thing again.

Not only that, but the expression of that dignified elder seemed to be filled with amusement.

The deep wrinkles meant joy, and I felt the desire of wanting to splatter blood all over the battlefield in how those corners of the lips that slightly went up.

Demon, who landed on the other side of his opponent, undid the silver glow strengthening of their body.

As if the battle had already been over, they were showing their back to the opponent and slowly walking towards the exit.

The announcer shouted in shock.

“T… The festival isn’t over yet! Please return to the bat…”

The groan of steel echoed throughout the battlefield.

Jurassic’s giant shield had finally given away.

Seeing Jurassic receiving the attacks without a recognizable source while holding onto the remaining shield handle was almost pitiful.

It didn’t take long before even his sword lost all durability, and you could say he was now in a completely unarmed vulnerable state.

He was using his arms and legs that would not cause his death if they were lost in order to barely defend against the attacks.

It was tough to even classify this as an attack.

No one knew who was attacking him, and we weren’t even sure where those attacks were coming from.

The only thing that everyone could only but guess was that this was Demon’s special ability.

“Urgh…”

The attacks did not stop.

The attacks that caused massive shockwaves when blocked by his sword and shield now attacked Jurassic’s form directly.

The armor that he was wearing had crumpled like paper, losing its function for quite some time.

Jurassic, who was slowly dying in the battlefield, had his blood splatter about.

The arms and legs that were having difficulty barely blocking those attacks had already been blown apart, and his eyes were slowly clouding.

The crowd seemed to finally catch on what was going on, and were very welcoming of the battle, filled with merriment.

Eventually, Jurassic’s form became like ground beef to the point of being unrecognizable, and it seemed that he was holding onto the last embers of life with just his mental fortitude.

It was then.

Demon, who had taken their place in front of the exit, lifted up their hand and closed their open hand into a fist.

And then.

“Urk!”

A massive explosion came from Jurassic’s form.

Almost as if there were explosives within his body, his body had blown up at the same time Demon had made their signal.

The battlefield was filled with dust and a mist of blood thick enough to make it nearly impossible to see.

There was not even a chunk of flesh left of Jurassic.

Confirming it firsthand, the announcer shouted with excitement.

At the same time, the roar of the crowd alight with passion came forth, and Demon left all that behind and walked through the exit.

“Hunting dog Jurassic! Unable to continue combat! The winner is the wild beast Demon!”

“Wow!”

“Demon! Demon! Demon!”

“Millions! Millions!”

“Kyaa!”

Despite having faced countless deaths, Min-Cheol was positive that this wasn’t a pleasant scene.

Humans cannot become used to pain. They cannot adapt to it.

After all, it comes in new forms each time.

A normal person would feel pain just from just watching such a horrific scene.

They would only see that people were dying for the amusement of nobles.

However, it seemed that this wasn’t the case for the crowd gathered here.

Only a couple minutes ago, that was a person who thought and breathed like everyone else here.

How could they be this happy when this person had lost his life in the most horrific manner possible.

This wasn’t the only reason why Min-Cheol was worried.

It was because he wasn’t able to confirm the identity of the wild beast.

Barub wasn’t an idiot.

As an absolute god who was in charge of all the worlds, they were an existence who didn’t lack anything for that job.

However, for the human Min-Cheol, they did things that he could not comprehend at all.

Min-Cheol had also taken measure to hide his powers by copying the skills of a Protector using mana, and to have his artifacts worked on to have their appearances changed.

These were measures thoroughly taken with Barub in mind.

It was to make sure that I would not be spotted by them, and while it was annoying and cumbersome, it was out of necessity.

It was the same for Barub.

There was no way that they could just ignore their competitor, Min-Cheol.

Even if Min-Cheol did not know of their altered powers, since they knew that Min-Cheol wasn’t just any ordinary person, they could not afford to be careless.

However, there was no way to avoid using abilities that were never seen before.

Unlike Min-Cheol, they could not imitate skills using mana, and they did not have any chances to obtain information due immediately having to participate in the Festival of Blood the moment they arrived at Hell.

And just like that, Min-Cheol had to retreat with only the benefit of obtaining the status of a noble.

He wasn’t sure that the wild beast was Barub. Also he wasn’t sure how to overcome the difference in strength if it really was Barub.

Unlike Min-Cheol, Barub had obtained a massive amount strength by winning in the fight against Jurassic.

They had obtained combat capabilities and power worth the 10 different opponents they had taken down so far in one go.

To compare with how they were at the start, they now had twice that power.

There was a massive gap now between them and Min-Cheol.

Unlike Min-Cheol, who had just recovered his original strength, Barub now had twice what they had started with.

The amount of power contained in that 2 was incredibly large.

The amount of power Min-Cheol currently held was massive already, but twice Barub’s power would be hard to even imagine.

Not only that, but as time passes, that gap would further increase, and this was a situation where if Min-Cheol didn’t come up with another plan, it would be impossible to close said gap.

Min-Cheol opened the return scroll and promised himself.

While he wasn’t able to confirm Barub’s identity for sure, he had decided to consider the wild beast as Barub.

From now on, I was going to research into the opponents that they would be fighting while the festival continued on.

I already had Dump look into the previous opponents for me.

The idea was to get a rough estimate of how much they’d grow.

My goal for growth would be Demon, and I planned to grow strong enough to defeat them.

The fact that they used special abilities, and even the method of fighting that was oddly unsettling.

In Min-Cheol’s heart, Demon was pretty much confirmed as Barub at this point.

There really weren’t any solutions right now.

That’s why he decided that he needed to do all that I could do to grow stronger.

He knew that just hunting wasn’t enough to close the gap.

However, unlike Demon, who was imprisoned after the festival was over, Min-Cheol was able to use 24 hours a day freely.

He did not even feel hungry or sleepy.

Thus, it meant that he could hunt without rest, and could try other options alongside it.

It would be difficult to ignore the values once held as a human, but considering that only 70 days were left, even working the entire time didn’t feel enough for Min-Cheol.

With an exhausted heart, Min-Cheol ripped apart the scroll, and returned to Dump’s residence.

****

While observing the Festival of Blood, the sun had set, and Dump had already returned home.

“S… Sir Guardian.”

“What is it?”

Dump was shaking like a leaf.

On top of that, his lips had gone beyond pale into blue, and there were big and small wounds all over his hands.

Did a thief rob his home?

Grabbing Dump’s shoulders, I asked this man wobbling helpless man a question.

“Please calm down. I can only help you if you explain things step by step.”

“Ah… Aha…”

---

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203. The Widened Gap

As Millions had said, and as Barub had expected, the new Festival of Blood caught the attention and enthralled a lot more people than expected.

As if to prove that, after 30 days had passed since Barub had arrived in Hell, they had obtained 1.5 times more power than they had started with.

This world that Karupedan created allowed for growth that was unimaginable in any other dimensions.

It was similar to how the transfer of power worked in the demonic realm that Min-Cheol experienced firsthand in, but if you compared it with Hell, it would be considered a very low ranking version of it.

To put it simply, all those who aspire to defeat the wild beast Demon and participate in the festival were all Protectors with strengths each beyond that of a demon king.

Barub hadn’t killed a single monster in Hell so far.

After all, the place they started at was the battleground of the festival to begin with, and ironically the opponent that increased their strength for the first time wasn’t a monster, but a human Protector.

One could consider them absorbing power by crushing the head of the guard as being very fortunate.

The strength of the weak lackey guard.

It was far greater than what they had expected, almost to the point of making them consider all the humans gathered there as prey.

After Millions announced the start of the new event, many other counts and marquis’ tried their hardest to raise a warrior like the wild beast.

However, how could that be possible in a single day?

The Festival of Blood was a fight between humans, not Protectors.

Composed of criminals and slaves. This meant that even if they possessed exceptional physical capabilities, they were weak without comparison to the Protectors.

That was why the first place the nobles looked towards were the knights who protected them.

The plan was to have them participate in the festival.

All of the spectating nobles at least had Protectors that served under them.

While the following wasn’t true for everyone, if the noble was someone who had the same amount of political power as Millions, they would easily be able to match Barub’s strength with the Protectors that served under them.

Despite that, there was a reason why they kept a knight escort.

It was because the faction of the nobles fought amongst each other for power and prestige amongst themselves.

After the monsters appeared, things changed here quickly and vastly.

Those who did not ride the turbulence were all rejected from the faction, losing their status as a noble and thrown out.

Only those with power could secure their statuses, and those who could not gradually lost their fortune and political power, eventually disappearing from all relevance.

The chaos after the appearance of the monsters was gone now, though.

No longer did monsters that the Protectors couldn’t handle try to get into the castle, and things became lax to the point where none really felt the need to explore beyond the ten tiers of the hunting grounds that had been summarized by the encyclopedia.

Maybe that wasn’t the case for the powerless civilians, but for those in the castle that lived in not only safety, but in complete decadence, why would they bother.

What else would they do but try to increase their own political power above the others to increase their holdings within the castle further, just like before the appearance of the monsters?

To them, the Festival of Blood was but a tool for those means.

Promising a title, they send the knight escorts to participate.

A Protector could not purchase the title of a noble no matter how strong they were, so obtaining a title was nearly impossible.

After all, those who held all the political powers were stronger than the Protectors.

Due to their promises, already more than 10 fell for the temptation and were sacrificed to the festival.

Every single one of them were torn apart alive by Barub, and all their strengths were completely transferred over.

At this rate, no one who could surpass Barub would appear in this festival.

How could anyone hope to dethrone a champion that grew stronger as the matches continued?

That was why, to keep things fresh and make sure the outcome wasn’t obvious, the rule had been changed.

It was as the man named Raol who had spoken with Min-Cheol in front of the castle before said.

After the change, the number of matches had shrunk to incomparable levels, but Barub did not say a word.

Was it because Barub had surrendered to Millions’ strength that quickly?

That wasn’t the case. It was just that Barub knew the nature of humans and how things were working here better than anyone else.

Not the main matches where Barub appeared, but matches to get the crowds excited.

Champions would be crowned in those matches, and strong opponents would appear.

However, humans would never be satisfied and remain still.

It was obvious that they would continue challenging to obtain a higher position.

However, this didn’t mean that their powers would go elsewhere.

It wasn’t as if you had to recharge the power that was used, like how magical energies had to be.

Barub had completely seen through that the power would continue circulating within the arena until it would be within their grasp.

Rather than dealing with the small fries, it would be a lot more convenient too.

“I’m sure all of you have been waiting for this bloodbath. The last fight for today. The wild beast of Marquis Millions, Demon, versus the hunting dog of Count Julius, Jurassic!”

“Yeah!”

“Demon! Demon! Demon!”

“Jurassic! Jurassic!”

At the announcer’s introduction, the crowd went wild.

One man who was completely drunk flailed his body wildly before falling headfirst into the arena.

The nobles were most merry, and amidst them was Min-Cheol.

Min-Cheol did not look away for even a single moment from the one called Demon.

An elderly with white hair. A built physique that outdid even Commander Yoon Jong-sun and a tough looking face.

I did come all the way here with the suspicion that it was Barub, but now I was hoping that the suspicion I held wasn’t true.

While Min-Cheol held a serious face, the main match began.

The man introduced as Jurassic was the leader of the knight escorts for Count Julius, and was strong enough to be desired by many of the other nobles.

As a man who led nearly 20 knight escorts, he was talked about frequently as the opponent who would fight against the wild best in the festival.

Many recognized Jurassic’s face, but most kept hush hush.

The posters were put up to gather slaves, but it was very questionable to send a knight escort who already held the title of a noble after all.

None bothered to point that out, but everyone knew that this was something that did not fit the code of conduct they strove for.

The moment that Demon appeared, they strengthened their body.

The bare body that was covered by a shabby robe was coated in silver light, almost as if being plated.

That appearance alone was enough to excite the nobles.

After all, no Protector class used such spells.

This was a special ability that wasn’t covered in the encyclopedias or even heard of in rumors.

The crowd loved the way Demon fought, which consisted of them not using any weapons and instead strengthening their bodies to beat the enemy down.

Jurassic also checked his armor then held his sword.

His sword was roughly the size of an adult male’s torso, and even the thickness wasn’t anything to scoff at.

Unlike the impressive size, the sword wasn’t sharp but blunt instead, and it almost looked as if he was holding onto a giant mace.

It was a weapon that you could not even hope to hold unless you were a warrior class Protector.

It was too early to be surprised by his ability to wield that though.

Soon after, three men struggled to lift a shield and place it next to him.

Jurassic held up the shield with ease and prepared for battle.

Seeing his appearance made me think that instead of the man holding the sword and shield, it looked as if the man was hanging onto the sword and shield instead.

Lastly, at the same time his blonde hair that reflected the light coming in through an opening was covered by a helmet, the fight began.

“Khaaa!”

Jurassic charged with everything he had and swung the weapon that was hard to be believed was a sword.

Looking at just the speed of the swing, it was as if he was swinging a small shortsword, and the shockwave kicked up a cloud of dust in the arena.

However, Demon easily blocked the single swing aimed at their neck dead center with their wrist.

A massive clang and sparks flew, and then Demon pulled their body back to dodge the sword this time.

“Hm… You’re different from the rest.”

“…”

Demon touched the wrist that had blocked the attack.

So far, no Protector in Hell had been able to penetrate their strengthened body.

However, that wasn’t the case with the man before them.

The wrist that was glowing silver spectacularly had lost its light, and instead let out a stream of red blood.

Rather than a cut by sword, it would be more accurate to say that the injury was a chunk of flesh had been blown off.

Seeing Demon’s blood added to the bloodied arena caused both the announcer and the crowd unable to hide their surprise.

After all, no one had been able to successfully attack Demon this entire month.

However, the wound healed almost immediately.

Almost as if painted over, the peeled skilled had completely healed, and the bleeding stopped as well.

There was no change in Jurassic’s expression.

After all, the enemy could close the gap if he gave the opening by being surprised and hesitating.

However, he was not even slightly fazed that his attack was somewhat effective, nor did he continue attacking rashly.

All he did was to continue watching Demon’s movements and calming his breathing under control.

“It is a strength that cannot even be compared to what I had absorbed so far.”

“…”

“Won’t be long before it becomes mine though. I shall praise your attack. However, I wonder how your defensive skills are! Kuha!”

Demon kicked off the ground and charged towards Jurassic.

This was only visible to the few Protectors who had obtained a great amount of power, such as Millions and Min-Cheol, and was at a speed that the nobles could see.

Only after Demon’s body collided with Jurassic did a massive shockwave of sound was heard, and most of the crowd weren’t able to close their mouths that had opened from being shell shocked.

“Oho?”

“Ku…”

Barub had sent their fist forwards, but it had been blocked by Jurassic’s shield.

The shield shook as if a giant bell had been rung, and the sound kept going on for quite some time.

While the shield had been crumbled, it seemed that Jurassic hadn’t taken any form of damage.

At this point, I was almost curious what the shield was made out of.

The crowd that had been yelling Demon’s name were even more enthralled as they began cheering for Jurassic.

They hoped that a new king would appear, and for Demon to reveal the other hidden powers they held.

“Jurassic! Jurassic!”

“Kuh!”

In a split second, Jurassic spun his body with his sword and struck Demon’s side.

With that huge sword aura, Demon was sent flying just like that, and a thick spray of blood covered Jurassic’s vision.

He didn’t just stop there, but continued to stab away at Demon as they were flying away.

And then in the middle of the air, he swung down his sword and smashed Demon into the ground, and while Demon was partially in the ground, he kept on smashing them down with his sword and shield.

Enough to burn the dust that was kicked up, Jurassic’s entire form suddenly was covered in flames, and he was raining down merciless attacks.

Like how a predator bites into the neck of the prey and shakes violently, Jurassic gave everything he had to make sure not to lose this chance at victory.

In the face of something so unexpected, the crowd that chanted his name became silent, and the battleground became quiet.

Despite all of the crowd having vacant expressions, they were all focusing as hard as they could to make sure that they did not miss a single moment of this battle.

It was then.

“Kuhaha! Demon… You even had a talent like this?”

Millions had put his hand on his forehead and shook his head.

On his lips was a smile that didn’t fit this situation at all.

It was then.

“Woah! Demon! Demon!”

---

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