CHAPTER 131 BLOODY HELL

"If you truly desire greatness, you must first know what makes you weak. And more importantly, live with an open heart!"

Erza Scarlet.

Today's meme is here. [ ]

......

He quickly shoved that dog collar inside his Inventory as he planned to remodel it into something better with his name on it, and checked the newly unlocked set effect of the 'demon sovereign's accessory set'.

[Item: Demon Sovereign's Necklace]

Set effect 1: All Stats +5

Set effect 2: (locked)

'All of my Stats rose up by 5 points.'

He only managed to unlock one set effect, yet he received a boost similar to leveling up five times. And then, he still had one more unknown effect to go, the one he'd receive after gathering all the accessories.

'The Demon Sovereign's Ring….'

When considering the possibility that the last unlocked set effect from all three accessories being in one place is going to be even greater than the individual parts on their own, this really was already an amazing performance.

However, acquiring accessories rated at S was only a part of the harvest he enjoyed after entering the Demon's Castle. The real profit was his level jumping up so high.

Jin stared at his level that had climbed up to 114 and smiled contentedly.

'Levelled up 20 times in three days.'

**This speed was unthinkable when entering rank C dungeons. He had definitely extracted suitable compensation for going through hell (?) for three days. And it was even greater considering how much exp is required at his current level.**

With my current required experience points, I'm sure I won't level up even after clearing more than ten A-rank dungeons.

He still had some unfinished matters here, but even at my slowest pace, this week should be sufficient for conquering the Demon's Castle. It should be considered a roaring success, regardless of how slow his progress has been.

'Just that….'

However, except for one thing, there was something he couldn't quite figure out.

The key that came out of the cursed random box. 'Where the hell is its description?'

Jin stored the mystery key back inside his Inventory and stood up as he sensed his shadows returning with all the corpses and loot. He needed to move quickly if he wanted to conquer the Demon's Castle completely within a week.

But he wasn't ready to leave a single point of experience behind, especially when he had a quest to complete, even if it slows down his progress.

***

"And what if I get fired? Will you take responsibility?"

"Excuse me? What are you even talking about?"

"Regarding yesterday's events, the Association President issued a gag order. He even said that if the identity of the Awakened individuals in question gets leaked out, he will use whatever means necessary to find out who was responsible and harshly punish them."

"President Goh Gun-Hui said that? But he has never done anything like that before, so why now?"

"You think I know what's inside the Association President's head?"

"…"

"If that's all, I'm hanging up."

"…I'll call you again at a later date."

Click.

And so, the phone call ended.

The expression of Im Tae-Gyu, the Master of the Reapers Guild, was far from good.

'What on earth is happening here…?' When he, the leader of this large Guild, heard that two super-powerful rookies had appeared after two long years, he immediately contacted his Association contact.

However, he didn't expect such an answer. Taking responsibility after getting fired? Who would hire an ex-Association employee personally fired by none other than the Association President Goh Gun-Hui?

There was no guarantee of successful recruitment even if their identities were revealed.

'Finding the guilty ones by any means necessary and punishing them…' Coming from Goh Gun-Hui, it seemed plausible.

'But then, why is the Association President doing something he has never done before? Maybe he's finally gone senile?'

What was going on in his mind? Forbidding everyone from leaking the identities of these mystery Awakens with extraordinary powers was unprecedented.

Thanks to this, the Guild Master of the Reapers had no choice but to wait for the official announcement.

But there was something else bothering him.

'Then, how did Choi Jong-In and Baek Yun-Ho find out and go there yesterday?'

Was it due to differences in their spy networks? Was this a sign of the Reapers' influence waning further?

If those powerful rookies who appeared yesterday joined the Hunters or the White Tiger, the gap between them and the Reapers would be insurmountable.

The current situation indicated their power had reached a national level. This had ignited massive online debates whether they were on a national level or not.

That was the situation, and yet the inexplicable gag order was obstructing the Reapers' path.

'Could that geezer have a grudge with me from a past life or something?' When Baek Yun-Ho decided to leave the Reapers Guild and create his own, the White Tiger Guild, that same geezer had facilitated the process and ensured its smooth progression.

This aftermath pushed the Reapers out of their position as the country's top Guild.

Both the Hunters and the White Tiger were already way ahead, leaving the Reapers Guild stagnating.

'I mean, isn't that enough by now? Can't you help out the Reapers at least once?!'

Suddenly, he began resenting Goh Gun-Hui.

Despite this, he was still left without a clear path forward. Im Tae-Gyu could only stomp on the ground in anxiety, feeling deeply wronged by this turn of events.

***

'I finished the Daily Quest.'

Feeling lighthearted, Jin stepped out of the Demon's Castle, looking around. It was nighttime, and the streets were deserted. The moon shone brightly in the sky, adorned with stars.

The current energy giants readily accepted it as it was more profitable with even less investment. This was due to nearly nonexistent carbon footprints since the arrival of hunters and magical crystals. These proved to be a much better and sufficient energy source, causing an uproar and revolutionizing the energy industry.

Thanks to these changes, carbon pollution had significantly reduced in just a few years, almost to the point of extinction. With mana in the air, it was even more efficient, speeding up by ten times.

"It never ceases to amaze me how much humans can accomplish with the right resources," Jin said while looking at the sky.

After waiting for a while, doing nothing, just looking into the sky. 

He retraced his steps back to where he came from.

[You have entered the Demon's Castle dungeon.]

Jin cancelled his 'Stealth' skill.

'Still waiting.'

He thought he had returned to the place where he could let loose without worry. As soon as he walked past the castle's gates, the mechanical bleep went off as if it was waiting for his arrival. Then he exited the place.

Ding.

[A new quest is available.]

"Sigh. Finally, it's good I don't have to wait for long." Jin sighed in relief. The quest he got the first time was called 'Collect the Souls of Demons! (1)'. He expected the next part of the quest to show up as soon as he exited and returned.

Jin opened the message window to confirm it was the same.

Ding.

[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!'

– 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?'

Just as I predicted. Jin's expression brightened. He had been getting uneasy as to why the second quest hadn't appeared even after he claimed the rewards of the first quest. He thought maybe it was because he hadn't left the dungeon. Unlike the original story where the quest only appeared after Jin left the dungeon for a few days and then returned, he didn't want to waste his time. He couldn't just let 30+ stat points slip by, especially when obtaining them was so easy. So he thought maybe it could appear once he exited and returned. If the quest window still didn't appear, then he was prepared to wait until the quest popped up. But thankfully, it did and he didn't have to wait long. This meant he had to exit and return to the Demon's Castle to trigger this quest. Time wasn't a factor.

He no longer needed to go to another dungeon and wait for the time limit. Instead, he just needed to climb up to the top floor of the Demon's Castle as soon as possible and clear this dungeon.

And the rewards on offer were excellent as well.

'30 bonus Stat points!' The previous quest was practically slave labor, asking him to collect ten thousand demon souls. After all that hard work, he 'only' received 20 bonus Stat points.

However, by killing one Demon King, he could earn 30 points this time. It would take ten days of Daily Quests or six level-ups to match that amount of Stat points. A smile instinctively broke out on his lips at this expectedly rich reward.

'Okay, now let's see if it's the same highest-grade Rune Stone.'

Jin confirmed the details of the first reward next.

Ding.

[Highest-grade Rune Stone: Shadow Exchange]

By breaking this highest-grade Rune Stone, you can learn a Class-specific Skill.

'Well, I already have means of teleportation, but it never hurts to have more, I guess?'

So far, he had 'earned' three Class-specific skills:

- Shadow Extraction

- Shadow Storage

- Sovereign's Territory

Each one was an indispensable skill. Just the idea of adding one more skill to his roster was exciting. A Class-specific skill and 30 bonus Stat points were already remarkable loot.

'Before I start anything, though…'

Jin-Woo summoned his Status Window for the first time in a while. After analyzing his long list of skills, including their speed in leveling up and the new overpowered skill that had already maxed out, Jin nodded with satisfaction.

His level was already 114. Thanks to investing every single bonus Stat point in Intelligence, it far exceeded his Strength Stat now.

'My Intelligence Stat is nearing the 450 mark already.'

This resulted in his total MP surpassing 65,000 and nearing 70,000, which was more than enough to annihilate continents multiple times.

His MP, or Mana, was essential. It was like a cheat device that allowed him to infinitely revive his soldiers, bend world laws to his whim, and more. But thinking about the future increase in his soldiers' numbers and his ultimate goal of reaching infinite mana, that 67,898 MP seemed inadequate. It was nothing compared to what his goal required.

'Fine. Let's get started.'

Not a second could be wasted. Jin closed his Status Window.

Currently, he stood on the ground floor of the Demon's Castle. Returning to the 77th floor, where he had temporarily stopped his conquest, wouldn't take long. He immediately made his way to the floor-transfer magic circle.

[Floors 1 to 77 have been opened.]

[Which floor would you like to go to?]

Jin spoke without hesitation.

"77."

The light gleamed brightly. In the blink of an eye, his surroundings had changed completely. He was now facing a vigorously burning city.

Even inside the floor-transfer magic circle, he wasn't supposed to be affected by the environment outside, but it still felt like his skin was burning up.

Jin used his newest skill, Arcane Cognizance, to create something like a makeshift barrier made of his mind, a 'Wind Robe' that took the shape of his body. Controlling the flow of his Debuff, always Cold, he made a thin layer of water around him. With a single snap, he activated the spell.

After activating the spell, Jin finally felt like a true Mage-type Hunter. He had effectively created an air conditioner. Whenever the fast, dry tropical air collided with the air barrier, it slowed down. Passing through the thin layer of super cold water, the hot air became cold like the poles. As if he was in front of an air conditioner, the result was a refreshingly cool environment.

'I finally feel like a mage, bending the laws of the world as I wish. Arcane Cognizance is amazing; it would probably take a long time to achieve the same effect without it. With proper knowledge and mana, there's probably nothing I won't be able to do using this skill alone.'

And I don't need to do anything now, as it's being maintained automatically. The mana flow is so little that it's not decreasing my mana at all; in fact, it's regenerating faster than it's being used. Arcane Cognizance... I wish I had known a skill like this existed. If I had, I would have invested heavily in raising my INT stat past 400.

"And I can already feel that if 400 gave me such an amazing effect, 500 will be even greater since it's a significant milestone to pass. Feeling cold blizzards in a fiery hellscape, Jin grinned, 'Magic is truly convenient.'"

'I wonder, will this work against the flames of the Demon's Castle, or do I have to increase its level?' Jin slowly stepped outside of the magic circle. Fortunately, his makeshift spells proved their worth. The debilitating heat couldn't affect him at all now, quite unlike the last time he was here. 'Nice.' With that, his preparations were complete.

However, it seemed he wasn't the only one who had finished his preparations, as demons had picked up on his scent and formed a large group rushing towards his position. In the past, he might have fought them off to loosen his muscles or searched through every nook and cranny of each floor to increase his level. 'However, right now….'

Now that his 40-day mark was running out, he couldn't afford to waste a single second here. Rather than summoning his daggers as usual, he called out his soldiers first. 

Shururu….

His trusty Shadow Soldiers revealed themselves. Thump, thump, thump!!! Jin could see the huge bodies of the demons getting closer. 'Okay, time to get started.' After ordering his soldiers to spread out wide and, as usual, hunt every demon down, Jin opened his palms wide.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three superior demone fell down killing any high ranking demons below them as Jin had snapped their necks using Ruler's Authority.  and he took a deep breath as he moved further across the land. 

But demons didn't stop. Soon, demons rushed forward like a horde of insects in front of his nose Irrespective of the death of their fellow demons and the fact that they were trampling over their dead bodies under their feet's.  

CRACK!

The very ground below them cracked like it was made of glass as hundreds of blades made of different elements weave the fabric of reality.  

"Snap"

And with snap they were launched at hoarders of demons slicing them into pieces.  

As Jin's body moved automatically, and the next weave of attacks came as he haphazardly slaughtered demons left and right with [Ruler's Authority and magic].

"S-stop! P-please! I –"

The superior demon tries to beg but next second Jin ripped out the heart of the begging demon, and backhanded his body away, before using [Ruler's Authority] to snap two more necks of some idiots who charged at him.

Next second a head sent flying breaking the skull of another devil as These lesser and higger demons died with the flick of his finger such as the woman whose forehead he just lunged his fist through, and the demon whose arm he just shattered. 

Next he rips out the spine of a superior demon  and shatters the skull of a devil woman. While he broke the spine into sharp pieces and fired them onto another horde of demons. 

As he was killing the painful cries of demons attracted even more demons. 

'It's easier to kill people if you believe they're bad, you know? Much, much easier.' Jin thought while continuing his massacre. 

By the time he refocused his attention on his surroundings, he realized that there were a lot of corpses present. A lot of them. The whole place was filled with mutilated corpses and also had a lot of blood, and guts too. Funny how they bled the same red as everything else.