Rating
Solo Leveling Novel Chapter 52 Average 5 / 5 out of 1
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36th, it has 5 monthly views
Summary
“Holy cow! Oppa, those reporters are still outside the building!”
Jin-Ah spoke while looking out of the window.
It was already late in the evening. Reporters who hadn’t given up yet were still gathered around in front of the apartment’s entrance like a storm cloud.
“Look!! Up there!”
After discovering the silhouette of a person by the window, they hurriedly operated their cameras, thinking that it was Jin-Woo.
Click, click, click!!
Seeing all those camera flashes suddenly exploding from here and there, Jin-Ah jumped up in fright and quickly shuttered the curtains. She turned around and sighed softly like a timid little animal.
“Whew….”
Having returned from the Hunter Auction, Jin-Woo was thinking of taking a bit of a well-deserved rest, but he was carrying a rather stiff expression at the moment.
“Should I go downstairs and say something?”
It was fine for those folks to disrupt his rest. However, he was more worried about them disrupting his sister’s studies. Jin-Ah was a high school senior, about to take the most important test of her life.
Wasn’t this the time when some overly-sensitive kids would throw a tantrum just because of the faint footsteps outside their doors disrupting their studies?
‘Well, Jin-Ah isn’t the type to raise a fuss over stuff like this, but….’
But, still – could she even be able to concentrate with all these distracting noises coming from the outside?
Just as Jin-Woo was getting prepared to step forward….
“Nonono, don’t do it.”
….Jin-Ah quickly waved her hands about.
“Oppa, you’re already being slagged off in the internet, you know? So, can you imagine what they’ll say if you chase away the reporters?”
“Slagged off?”
‘Since when did I do something worthy of that treatment??’
As Jin-Woo tilted his head this way and that, Jin-Ah accessed one of the news articles online with her phone and pushed it forward. So, he took it from her.
‘……’
On the screen, he could see the photo of him standing in front of the Association’s entrance, relaxedly answering his phone while being surrounded by a sea of reporters.
Maybe because a professional snapped that shot, even a plain guy like him came out looking pretty good, so he was happy about that. However, when he took a look a bit lower down….
‘His attitude sucks.’
‘He already doesn’t care about the reporters.’
‘He’s way too cool for himself.’
Countless comments with similar nature were posted below the article, and the highest upvoted comment was ‘Mom, I’ve become a rank S!!’
Because the photo and the comment went so well along with each other, Jin-Woo ended up breaking out in a grin.
Jin-Ah in turn became flabbergasted from his reaction.
“How can you smile from that?!”
“But, it is funny.”
“….”
When Jin-Woo showed her the top upvoted comment, Jin-Ah too nearly broke out in laughter, but somehow managed to suppress it. And, perhaps as a rebound….
“No, wait a minute! That’s not important, is it?!”
With a slightly flushed face, Jin-Ah raised her voice.
“Why did you have to answer your phone there?? I mean, there were so many reporters present, you know! Thanks to you, everyone now knows my name!”
Jin-Woo replied confidently as if he couldn’t be fazed by anything.
“Do I really need to observe reporters and their moods when answering my little sister’s call?”
“Euk!!”
Jin-Ah became speechless. No matter how hard she thought about it, he wasn’t wrong, so she couldn’t readily come up with a suitable rebuttal.
‘….I simply can’t win against him in an argument.’
Jin-Woo handed the phone back to her.
“Here.”
Jin-Ah took the phone back with a slightly testy face, and opened her mouth.
“In any case, I’ll be fine, so oppa, don’t mind the reporters, okay?”
“Okay. Got it.”
Jin-Woo nodded his head.
If the current situation persisted, then he might have done something, but then again, the Association did call him earlier to say that these reporters should all receive orders to stay far away from him in a day or two.
‘Well, I can endure that.’
And there was also Jin-Ah not wanting to inflate the situation any further, too.
“By the way, just what on earth happened here?”
Jin-Ah looked at her brother with a pair of mystified eyes.
“My own oppa became a rank S Hunter, and reporters are camping outside our house, too….”
Some said that it’d be difficult to run into a rank S Hunter even once in your entire life, yet there was one standing right in front of her. Not only that, he was her older brother, no less.
Pretty much anyone would react the same way if they were in her shoes. Jin-Ah sounded as if she couldn’t quite believe it.
Too bad, she had no choice but to adjust to the new reality sooner rather than later.
‘Just like how I had to.’
Jin-Woo smirked softly.
And, in order to soothe his sister and her still-stunned heart, he lightly pinched Jin-Ah’s cheeks. Of course, she reacted in the same manner as in the past by kicking him, but….
“Ouch!!”
She instead grabbed her foot and jumped up and down in pain.
“Heeiing~.”
Jin-Ah glared at him from the corners of her eyes as if this was just too much, while Jin-Woo could only shrug his shoulders. It seemed that she’d need quite a lot of time to get used to the fact that her oppa was now a rank S Awakened.
“Oppa, I guess you’ll become a lot busier now, right?”
Jin-Ah cautiously asked him.
“Mm.”
Jin-Woo nodded his head.
There were lots of things he wanted to do, and plenty of work to get through, too – but for now, clearing the Demon’s Castle took priority. He even resorted to buying a flame-resistance defensive artefact for the sole purpose of conquering the upper floors, after all.
His own funds came up ridiculously short so his heart nearly fell to the pit of his stomach, but thankfully, he was able to use one of the Store’s rarity ‘A’ items as collateral and got a loan from the Hunter Auction.
‘I’m in debt as soon as becoming a rank S….’
For some reason, a wry chuckle escaped from his lips.
Well, as long as the items from the Store could be sold off at high prices in auctions, that debt would be wiped clean in an instant, though.
“In that case, it’d get harder to see you, right?”
Hearing that he might get a lot busier in the future, Jin-Ah formed a slightly rueful expression. Indeed, being alone would be a lonesome task.
Without saying anything, Jin-Woo placed his hand on Jin-Ah’s head.
A few days from now….
Once he cleared the Demon’s Castle dungeon, there would never be another day when his sister would have to house-sit all alone.
‘I’ll make sure that happens for real.’
It was then.
Jin-Woo’s eyes narrowed to a slit. His gaze shifted toward the front door.
‘Someone’s coming this way.’
Jin-Ah also noticed her brother’s tense aura. She asked, sounding a little anxious.
“Oppa?”
“Stay in your room for a bit, okay?”
“What’s the matter?”
A presence climbing out of the elevator was walking straight to here now.
‘It’s a Hunter….?’
The suspicious presence emitted a thin and weak magic energy. Jin-Woo couldn’t sense any hostile intentions from this presence, but still, he didn’t feel like humouring an uninvited guest.
Did a Guild send someone over? Or, was it a foolhardy reporter placing too much faith in his own Awakened powers?
Didn’t matter which was which – Jin-Woo wasn’t a gracious enough person to accept with a smile an uninvited guest trying to invade the privacy of his home, when the hour was already well past ten in the evening.
Jin-Woo stood before the door.
‘With that kind of power…’
He didn’t need to summon his weapons. Jin-Woo lightly loosened his muscles. He tilted his head left and right, and his neck issued cracking noise.
And, as he expected….
Thud, thud.
Someone ‘knocked’ on the door, causing Jin-Ah to run into her room in a bit of surprise. Jin-Woo quietly opened the door.
Clang.
And from the slowly-widening gap of the door, a familiar face of a man could be seen. The man spoke.
“Hyunnng-nim….”
He was even sniffling, too.
Yu Jin-Ho and his reddened nose were standing in front of the door, sniffling like a little kid.
“…..”
Jin-Woo was so dumbstruck that he stood there in a total daze, prompting Yu Jin-Ho to tearfully speak up.
“Hyung-nim. I got kicked out of the house. Dad kicked me out.”
“…”
Now that Jin-Woo took another look, there was a backpack as big as Yu Jin-Ho slung on his back. He was even carrying quite a lot of luggage in both of his hands, too.
“…..Wait, didn’t you live alone already?”
“Well, that….”
Sniff.
“The villa I was living in was under father’s name, and he took it away. He even blocked all my bank accounts.”
A father blocking his son’s bank accounts. All of them. What a movie-like situation that was, but well, this being the top businessman in South Korea, Chairman Yu Myung-Hwan, it sounded rather plausible.
Besides all that, though – what did this kid do to get on his father’s bad side like this?
When Jin-Woo stared with a pair of questioning gaze, Yu Jin-Ho spoke up, his voice trembling.
“So, like, I was wondering, hyung-nim. Can I impose on you for the time being?”
Creaaak….
Clank.
Jin-Woo quietly closed the door, and even proceeded to lock it.
Click.
Worried Jin-Ah had been observing the situation from her room, and once Jin-Woo turned away from the door, she quickly jogged next to him and asked.
“Oppa, who was that? Do you know him?”
Jin-Woo shook his head.
“Nope. Never met him before.”
“You really don’t know him? But, why did he come to our place, then?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he got the wrong address.”
“…..Really?”
But, it sure didn’t look like that, though.
As Jin-Woo gently but firmly pushed his still-suspicious little sister back into her room, Yu Jin-Ho’s sorrowful voice continued to ring out behind him.
Thud, thud!!
“Hyuuung-niiim!! Hyung-niiiiim!!”
***
“Dear, don’t you think you were being too harsh on Jin-Ho earlier today?”
“Hmph.”
Yu Myung-Hwan roughly yanked at his tie.
What an insolent little child.
He was about to be gifted with the Yujin Guild, which would no doubt become the Yujin Construction’s core business in the future, yet he dared to answer like that?
[“I’ve decided to work for hyung-nim’s Guild.”]
What?
Follow ‘hyung-nim’, was it?
“That fool deserved it.”
Yu Myung-Han snorted derisively.
If the boy wished to stand on his two feet, then he should do so on his own power, too.
The father thought that he’d teach his son about every choice being accompanied by responsibilities and consequences.
Was it because he was far too agitated? For some reason, it felt like his d*mn tie just didn’t want to come undone. His clumsy and hasty hands caused the tie to be tangled up even more instead, prompting the lady of the Yu family to reach out with her hands.
“Let me do it for you.”
Soon enough, the tie was easily loosened. Yu Myung-Han entrusted himself to his wife’s skilful hands.
However….
The wife began giggling while holding his tie.
“What’s the matter, dear?”
Yu Myung-Han was confused. She had been doing his ties for as long as they were together. So, she shouldn’t have found his tangled up tie all that funny by now.
“My dear. Are you sure you’re really angry?”
“Mm….??”
Did she eat something wrong? Why was she saying something so nonsensical?
Yu Myung-Han tilted his head slightly and took a look at his own reflection in the mirror.
‘What the….’
He was surprised by what he saw.
Why did he look so pleased in the reflection, even though his mouth was busy spewing out complaints only until a second ago?
Feeling embarrassed now, Yu Myung-Han began rubbing his cheeks and chin.
“Today was the first time, wasn’t it, dear?”
“What do you mean?”
“Jin-Ho rebelling against you.”
“….”
That was why he was angry.
Just like how water flowed from the top to bottom, a large corporation would not be able to sustain its massive self if the orders from the top didn’t get delivered to the rest. He believed it was the same story for running a family, as well.
That was why he maintained the exact same type of attitude he’d have when at work while he was home with his family, and he did not accept anyone going against his decisions.
However….
Even though he was feeling angry today, why didn’t he feel bad about it, either?
‘I’m angry, but not unhappy at the same time?’
This situation made no sense when he thought about it.
The madam spoke gently like a mother pacifying a child, as if she had already read everything in her husband’s mind.
“Jin-Ho is trying to do something he feels passionate about for the first time in his life. So, how about cooling your anger a little and cheering him on from the side?”
“…..”
Yu Myung-Han shut his mouth tight.
He found it a bit hard to decipher his own head at the moment.
“For the time being… I shall keep an eye on him.”
“Of course.”
The madam formed a sweet smile and received his jacket as he took it off. However, something happened then.
Yu Myung-Han stared at his wife’s face.
“But, this is quite strange.”
“What is strange, dear?”
“I can see two of your faces.”
“Pardon?”
Just as the madam’s eyes widened, Yu Myung-Han lost his balance and staggered unsteadily.
“Dear?!”
The frightened madam hurriedly tried to support Yu Myung-Han. He shook his head continuously, heavily gasps escaping from his mouth.
“Pant, pant…..”
The madam’s eyes opened wider.
‘Why is there so much cold sweat?!’
Yu Myung-Han tried to keep his eyes wide open to forcefully beat back the sudden feeling of sleepiness, but in the end, lost his consciousness.
***
Yu Myung-Han reopened his eyes inside the VIP room located in the country’s top university hospital.
One of the doctors in charge approached him to check up on Yu Myung-Han’s complexion. They had been working in a 24-hour rotation schedule to keep an eye on his condition.
“Can you hear me, Chairman?”
“….”
Yu Myung-Han took a quick look around him, and immediately figured out where he was.
“How long have I been here?”
“You’ve been sleeping for the last two days.”
Two days?
The person most likely to be picked as the role model for “hard working” would be Yu Myung-Han. He had never slept for more than five hours in a day in his entire life, no matter how tired he was.
“…..”
Yu Myung-Han resolutely kept his mouth shut, before speaking up as if it was nothing.
“I guess I was quite tired, then.”
He was indeed swarmed with various matters that kept him insanely busy recently. The sudden bout of vertigo and that unshakeable sleepiness were probably the side effects.
However, the doctor couldn’t hide the seriousness from his expression.
Yu Myung-Han was the owner of the country’s top company that employed tens of thousands of people. So, he was already a master at reading people’s expressions.
Seeing the stiffening face of the doctor, Yu Myung-Han asked him.
“By any chance…. Have you discovered something wrong with my body?”
“Mister Chairman, by any chance, do you have anyone near you who is a Hunter, or someone who’s not a Hunter yet but has been evaluated as an Awakened?”
The doctor suddenly asked about something rather strange.
Yu Myung-Han asked if there was something wrong with his body, yet why was he talking about Hunters now?
Yu Myung-Han asked back feeling puzzled now.
“What are you talking about? Why Hunters, all of a sudden?”
“Have you heard of Eternal Sleep?”
Hearing the term “Eternal Sleep”, Yu Myung-Han finally lost his cool, and his eyes trembled.
The Eternal Sleep Disorder. An endless slumber that no one could wake up from.
Not only was it impossible to wake up from its death-like slumber, but the lifeforce of the sufferer would also decline quite sharply, so it was a necessity to use life support machines that utilised magic energy.
Appearing for the first time after the advent of the Gates, it was a terrifying illness that managed to kill scores of people who lacked the wherewithal to borrow one of those life support machines.
“It’s an illness where you’d be assaulted often by drowsiness, and eventually, you’d be unable to wake up at all.”
The doctor carried a complicated expression. There had not been a single case of the sufferer of the ‘Eternal Sleep’ waking up, so far.
Even if one’s life was extended via machines, you’d still be unable to open your eyes. It was no different from a death sentence for the victims.
“….”
Yu Myung-Han waited for the doctor to finish explaining before asking his question.
“How does that relate to Hunters?”
“The ‘Eternal Sleep’ is widely believed to be deeply related to magic energy.”
There were those people who, by nature, couldn’t endure magic energy all that well. One of the abnormalities displayed by these people after being exposed to surrounding magic energy for a long time was this Eternal Sleep Disorder.
“Wait, isn’t magic energy used to power the life support machines that supply lifeforce to the patients?”
“That is true, but….”
Just like how one could safely use the electricity generated by the dangerous material fuelling the nuclear reaction, the doctor explained, magical devices and magics utilising magic energy did not harm people.
“What you need to be careful with are the Magic Crystals, Mana Stones, as well as people possessing magic energy.”
‘People possessing magic energy…..’
Yu Myung-Han immediately recalled the sole Awakened in his family, Yu Jin-Ho. Meanwhile, the doctor cautiously carried on.
“I’ve heard that your second son is a Hunter, sir.”
When Yu Jin-Ho was mentioned, Yu Myung-Han’s face visibly hardened.
“So, the gist of it is… you want me to never meet my own son? Is that it?”
“If it’s at all possible, that is indeed my recomm…..”
“Don’t make me laugh!!”
Yu Myung-Han abruptly cut the doctor off and empathised his point.
“Don’t speak of nonsense.”
And then, as if he was annoyed, he gestured the doctor to leave.
“Chairman….”
The doctor hesitated, not knowing what to do, but he soon left the room as if he was being chased away after being glared at by Yu Myung-Han’s furious eyes.
He continued to glare at the door the doctor used to escape with barely concealed fury in his eyes.
‘Distance oneself from one’s son, just because one fears the illness getting worse? Is that something a father should even say??’
Sure, let’s say that did happen.
What if Jin-Ho heard that news? What would that boy think of, then?
As a father, he could not bear to burden his son with something that heavy. At least, that’s what Yu Myung-Han believed.
‘Not only that….’
With each passing day, people found more and more practical applications for magic energy, and the number of people innately possessing magic energy was steadily increasing, as well.
So, if you couldn’t withstand magic energy when living in a world like this, didn’t that already mean you had been eliminated from the natural selection?
Yu Myung-Han harrumphed unhappily.
‘I, Yu Myung-Han, have failed to make the cut?’
Such a thing could never happen.
‘I will not submit.’
Even when everyone else ridiculed him and predicted his failure, he always managed to succeed so his detractors could take a good look at him.
He was the very person who, after inheriting the Yujin Construction that barely cracked the top 30 in the country, turned it into the number one corporation in South Korea.
‘So, you think I’ll kneel in defeat over a stupid illness like this?’
He wouldn’t give up.
Yu Myung-Han inwardly told himself this over and over again.
***
Before leaving, Jin-Woo carefully opened the door to his sister’s room.
As it was still in the early hours, Jin-Ah remained blissfully stuck in a slumber so deep that she’d not be any wiser if someone kidnapped her right now.
Suddenly, he felt worried.
‘There might be a jacka*s or two who’ll try to get closer to her while I’m away.’
Of course, there should be no one stupid enough to harm the little sister of a rank S Hunter, but well, it was hard to tell what was in a human’s heart sometimes.
At least, he needed some sort of a contingency plan.
‘Wait a minute. I can hide my soldiers inside shadows, right?’
Jin-Woo recalled the time when he sent out his Shadow Soldiers on the patrol of the district, in case that serial killer decided to show up again.
Back then, soldiers moved by hiding in the various shades found in the surroundings. By utilising that, he might be able to protect his sister without anyone even noticing it.
Which was good, because he just so happened to possess the perfect candidates for this role.
‘Come out.’
Jin-Woo called out those monster soldiers that had been guarding ‘Fangs’ when they were still alive.
Shururu….
Three of the biggest, burliest High Orcs appeared simultaneously and ended up making the already-tiny room of his sister feel even more claustrophobic.
However….
‘Huh? Why are there only three?’
There definitely had been four guards, though?
Jin-Woo combed through his memories, only to spit out a soundless groan.
‘Ah.’
Only now did he remember that he ‘planted’ one of the guards in the ceiling of the boss room. And naturally, he forgot to extract that guy’s shadow.
‘I guess I should pay closer attention next time.’
Jin-Woo smirked softly, before shifting his gaze over to the three monster soldiers, who used to be High Orc guards while still alive. All of them were elite grade.
They were on another scale altogether when compared to the shadows extracted from the ‘regular’ High Orcs. With these three, they would still be fine even if their opponent was a rank A Hunter.
He wasn’t exaggerating here – the leader of the Hunters’ raid team, the rank A Sohn Ki-Hoon, was pushed to a corner while fighting off three regular High Orcs, after all.
So, there was no reason to worry about these guys.
Jin-Woo pointed with his chin towards the sleeping Jin-Ah. And when that happened…
Shururu….
The guards returned to ‘shadow’ forms and moved along the floor, and they assimilated into her shadow.
‘Very good.’
Hide in there quietly, and when Jin-Ah finds herself in danger, get rid of the opponent, regardless of who it is.
Jin-Woo gave that order to the guards and carefully closed shut the door to her room.
‘I can relax a little now.’
Indeed, he felt less worried.
He made sure to lock the front door properly and exited from the apartment, and found Yu Jin-Ho waiting for him there, just as promised.
“Hyung-nim!”
Yu Jin-Ho greeted Jin-Woo with a bright face.
“Was it okay sleeping in that place?”
“Yes, it was fine, hyung-nim. I had no idea, but motels nowadays seem to feature pretty good amenities.”
Since his little sister was staying at home, Jin-Woo had Yu Jin-Ho stay in a local motel nearby. Thankfully, it must not have been too bad there.
“Until we can find some office space for my Guild, stay there for the time being.”
“Got it, hyung-nim.”
He must’ve been enjoying himself, since Yu Jin-Ho continued to giggle.
Jin-Woo already heard the most of what happened from the kid last night. While listening to the tale, he was hoping against hoping, but to think, this kid would show up here after really rejecting the golden chance to become a Guild Master…..
When he heard that, Jin-Woo was so dumbfounded that he just had to ask, and that prompted Yu Jin-Ho to reply while sounding like a victim.
[“You really came over just because I made an offer?!”]
[“But, hyung-nim, you said I should come!!”]
Even then, Jin-Woo couldn’t really kick to the curve a kid who gave up on a job equivalent to being a chairman of a company just to be next to him.
“Okay, well, let’s go.”
“Yes, hyung-nim.”
Yu Jin-Ho climbed into the driver’s seat of the van, and Jin-Woo settled down on the passenger’s. And the van containing two people drove towards the Daesung Tower.
Yu Jin-Ho sneaked a glance at Jin-Woo.
‘What business does he have in the Daesung Tower so early in the morning?’
He was curious, but he also thought that asking hyung-nim this and that would be quite insolent of him, so his lips didn’t want to part that easily.
Screech.
By the time their van came to a stop in front of the Daesung Tower, though, he managed to work up some courage.
“By the way, hyung-nim. What about this Daesung Towe….”
“I’m off.”
“Eh?”
Yu Jin-Ho hurriedly turned his head to the passenger side. However, the door was already wide open, and hyung-nim was nowhere to be seen.
Didn’t something similar to this happen before?
Yu Jin-Ho scratched the side of his head.
‘Hyung-nim can be so elusive sometimes, you know.’
***
[You have entered Demon’s Castle dungeon.]
Jin-Woo cancelled his ‘Stealth’ skill.
‘I’ve finally returned.’
Thinking that he had returned to the place where he could cut loose without worry, his heart began pounding harder.
As soon as he walked past the castle’s gates, the mechanical bleep went off as if it was waiting for his arrival.
Tti-ring.
[A new quest is available.]
Unlike the first time he got here, Jin-Woo wasn’t surprised.
Well, the quest he got the first time was called ‘Collect the Souls of Demons! (1)’, after all. He expected the next part of the quest to show up sooner or later.
Jin-Woo opened the message window.
Tti-ring.
[Normal Quest: Collect the Souls of Demons! (2)]
The sovereign of the demons, ‘Baran’, can be found residing on the top floor of the Demon’s Castle. Defeat Baran and collect his soul.
If you succeed in sealing the soul of the Demon King, you will be rewarded handsomely.
Quest generation conditions:
– Completion of ‘Normal Quest: Collect the Souls of Demons! (1)’
– Re-entering the Demon’s Castle
Quest completion condition:
– Slay the Demon King
Rewards:
1. One highest grade Rune Stone
2. Bonus Stat points +30
3. Unknown reward
‘The goal of this quest is to kill the Demon King?’
Jin-Woo’s expression brightened. He no longer needed to go all over the place now. Instead, he just needed to climb up to the top floor of the Demon’s Castle as soon as possible.
And the rewards on offer were excellent as well.
’30 bonus Stat points!’
The previous quest was pretty much slave labour, asking him to collect ten thousand demon souls. And after all that hard work, he ‘only’ received 20 bonus Stat points.
However, he could earn 30 points this time by killing one Demon King. He’d need ten days of Daily Quests, or six level-ups, to match that amount of Stat points. A smile instinctively broke out of his lips at this unexpectedly rich reward.
‘Ok so, what is this highest grade Rune Stone all about?’
Jin-Woo confirmed the details of the first reward next.
Tti-ring.
[Highest grade Rune Stone: Shadow Exchange]
By breaking this highest grade Rune Stone, you can learn a Class-specific Skill.
‘I can learn a Class-specific skill?’
Jin-Woo’s brows shot up.
So far, he had ‘earned’ three Class-specific skills.
The ‘Shadow Extraction’.
The ‘Shadow Storage’.
And finally, ‘Sovereign’s Territory’.
Every single one of them was an indispensable skill. And, just from the mere idea of adding one more skill to his roster, his heart palpitated even harder.
‘What kind of skill is this?’
He wanted to confirm the information on the skill, but the only thing that popped up was its name, and no in-depth explanation was offered.
‘Tsk.’
Jin-Woo could only smack his lips wryly.
‘Well, I’ll find out eventually after completing the quest.’
A Class-specific skill, and 30 bonus Stat points, too. Even when excluding the unknown reward, it was already a remarkable amount of loot on offer. He was really tempted to simply rush up to the top floor in one go, but…
‘Before I start anything, though…’
Jin-Woo summoned his Status Window for the first time in a while.
Tti-ring.
[Name: Seong Jin-Woo]
[Level: 80]
[Title: The One Who Overcame the Adversity (extra 1)]
[HP: 24,406]
[MP: 5,019]
[Tiredness: 0]
[Stats]
Strength: 186
Endurance: 145
Agility: 175
Intelligence: 189
Perception: 126
(Remaining points available to distribute: 0)
Reduction in physical damage: 46%
[Skills]
Passive Skills:
– (Unknown) Lv. Max
– Tenacity Lv. 1
– High-Grade Dagger Technique Lv. 2
Active Skills:
– Dash Lv. Max
– Vital Points Targetting Lv. Max
– Intimidation Lv. 1
– Dagger Throw Lv. 2
– Stealth Lv. 2
– Ruler’s Reach Lv. 2
[Class-specific Skills]
Active Skills:
– Shadow Extraction Lv. 1
– Shadow Storage Lv. 1
– Sovereign’s Territory Lv. 1
[Crafting Skill]
Consumable: Divine Water of Life (2/3)
[Equipped Items]
– Red Knight’s Helm (S)
– Demon Sovereign’s Earring (S)
– Demon Sovereign’s Necklace (S)
– Advanced Knight’s Breastplate (B)
– Advanced Knight’s Gauntlets (B)
– Advanced Mage’s Ring (B)
– Intermediate Assassin’s Shoes (C)
His level was already 80. And thanks to him investing every single bonus Stat point on Intelligence, he could see that it exceeded his Strength Stat now.
‘My Intelligence Stat is nearing the 200 mark already.’
The result of that was his total MP now went past 5000.
His MP, or Mana, was a must for one thing. It was like a cheat device that allowed him to infinitely revive his soldiers. But, when he thought about the number of his soldiers increasing in the future, that 5000 MP seemed rather inadequate to his eyes.
‘Fine. Let’s get started.’
Even a second couldn’t be wasted here.
Jin-Woo closed his Status Windows.
Currently, he was standing on the ground floor of the Demon’s Castle. Getting back to the 76th floor, where he temporarily had to stop his conquest, wouldn’t take long at all.
So, he immediately made his way over to the floor-transfer magic circle.
[Floors 1 to 76 have been opened.]
[Which floor would you like to go to?]
Jin-Woo spoke without hesitation.
“76.”
The light gleamed brightly. In the moment it took to blink an eye, his surroundings had changed completely. He was now faced with a vigorously-burning city.
When inside the floor-transfer magic circle, he wasn’t supposed to be affected by the environments outside, but it still felt like his skin was burning up already.
Jin-Woo put the luggage down and pulled two artefacts out. First one was a black robe named the ‘Wind Robe’ by its maker, and the other one was a nameless ring with water-type magic imbued within.
Jin-Woo put on both the robe and the ring.
After putting on the robe and pulling on the hood, Jin-Woo finally felt like he was a true Mage-type Hunter now.
‘….I can feel my body cooling down.’
Just by wearing them, it felt like he was standing inside a refreshingly cool cavern or some such.
‘I wonder, will this work against the flames of the Demon’s Castle?’
Jin-Woo slowly stepped outside of the magic circle. And thankfully, these artefacts proved their expensive worth. The debilitating heat couldn’t affect him at all now, quite unlike the last time he was here.
‘Wait, won’t it be uncomfortable to move around because it’s a robe?’
He couldn’t be sure, so he moved this way and that, but it proved to be surprisingly comfortable. As befitting its name, ‘Wind Robe’, the whole thing felt as light as air.
‘Nice.’
With that, his preparations were complete.
However, it seemed that he wasn’t the only one who had finished his preparations, because demons had picked up on his scent, and had formed a large group to rush towards his position.
If it was in the past, he’d probably fight them off in order to loosen his muscles or search through every nook and cranny of each floor to increase his level.
‘However, right now….’
Now that his mother’s treatment depended on this dungeon being cleared, he couldn’t afford to waste a single second here. Rather than summoning out his daggers like the usual, he instead called out his soldiers first.
Shururu….
His trusty Shadow Soldiers revealed themselves.
‘Where is Fangs?’
Jin-Woo looked for Fangs amidst his soldiers. It seemed that the higher the soldier’s grade, the closer he’d appear, because Fangs had been summoned right behind Jin-Woo.
He took out the ‘Bead of Avarice’ from his Inventory and placed it on top of Fangs’ palm.
“You use this from now on.”
Even though Jin-Woo was supposed to be a Mage-type as well, the amplification effect of the ‘Bead of Avarice’ didn’t work on him. But, he thought it’d prove to be quite helpful to a sorcerer like Fangs.
‘…….’
As if to express his gratitude, Fangs deeply bowed his head.
Thump, thump, thump!!!
Finally, Jin-Woo could see the huge bodies of the demons getting closer.
‘Okay, time to get started.’
After ordering his soldiers to get ready for battle, Jin-Woo grasped both ‘Baruka’s Dagger’ and ‘Knight Killer’ in his hands.
Soon, demons rushed forward like a horde of insects in front of his nose. However, his own numbers weren’t that lacking, either.
With a more relaxed expression on his face compared to his previous sojourn in this place, Jin-Woo bid his time and then, loudly shouted out.
“Go….!”
No, actually, he was planning to shout, ‘Go, now!’
But, even before he could finish his words….
Kuuuuuoooooooohhh—!!
From somewhere high up above his head, a stupendously thick frightening pillar of flames fell in a diagonal line and swept every single enemy away.
“W-what the f*ck?!”
Kuuuuuoooohhh!!
The moment that scary pillar of flames swept by, everything had melted down, whether that be demons or the ground itself.
“Kiiiieeehhckk!!”
“Kiieeck!!”
Demons were incinerated in an instant, and familiar mechanical beeps rang one after the other in his ears.
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
‘No way…..’
Jin-Woo tried to calm his trembling heart and took a look behind him. And he spotted Fangs standing there, now twice the size of what his living counterpart grew to back in the dungeon, busy breathing out grey smoke from his mouth.
Gulp.
Jin-Woo swallowed down dry saliva.
‘Is this the true might of the ‘Bead of Avarice’??’
Since these monsters lived inside the Demon’s Castle, they all must’ve had some amount of innate resistance towards flame-based attacks, but they were all burned away into oblivion, just like that.
“Huh, huhuhuh….”
Once he figured out what was going on, a chuckle broke out of his lips all by itself.
‘Wait, maybe I’ll get to clear this place a lot quicker than I thought?’
Jin-Woo stared at the still-burning remains of the demons as well as at the scorched-black earth and screamed out in joy inwardly.
< Chapter 52 > Fin.
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