75-76

Chapter 75: The War Between Humans and Elves 3 [End of Volume 3]

Demon King

The War Between Humans and Elves – 3 [End of Volume 3]

As the woman said, a total of seventy-four people entered the dungeon. The one who I allowed to escape earlier wasn't among their numbers. 'Must've abandoned his guild and bailed so he could live.' I wasn't particularly surprised that had been the case, and I suppose it was a better outcome. This way, the story would spread once, the tale growing more terrible with each telling. A small, but potentially fatal distrust between humans and elves growing.

Not that it would be a bad thing for humanity as a whole. Although many would die here in this dungeon, it would make it clear to the rest that elves were an enemy of the human race. Thus, humans would be warier of them in the future. Given the elves' prior actions, that wouldn't be a bad thing for humanity's survival. I wasn't on the humans' side, however. It was just that both the elves and the humans were currently my enemies, and by pitting them together, I could consume them more effectively.

If all elves were like Mireina, this wouldn't be necessary for me to do. 'If only Rain's hatred didn't extend so far…' I shook these thoughts from my mind and kept running. I could consider this stuff later; now, I needed to focus on ending this fight.

"I issued commands to leave a force on the first floor."

"Sir…"

I went straight for the head of the snake first, ambushing the guild master who was easily over level 160. He was covered from head to toe with metal armor, a large shield in hand, but his defenses were no match for my Demon's Claw that benefited from a top-level Surprise.

[You have gained 750,132 experience.]

[You have received 3,982 gold and 29 silver.]

[You have acquired the items in the opponent's inventory, which includes…]

The black smoke swallowed up his severed head before it could hit the ground. The rest of the body was a bit too strong to devour immediately, so I disappeared instead.

"…!" It had taken such a short amount of time, the humans following the guild master stopped in their tracks. A cold silence overtook the group for just a brief moment before being shattered by the man who appeared to be the second in command.

"Form C!" The guild troops immediately split up into groups, assembling into a formation that would fare better in the narrow spaces of the first floor. They were all silent as they moved, trying desperately to pinpoint my location with their own sensing skills. Or so I thought. Several wizards began to chant and raise their hands, releasing their mana. I could see weak magic spreading out over the area. They were trying to fill the entire area with mana so that they could sense where I was. It wouldn't matter how great my skills were; if I activated magic within their net, they would undoubtedly sense me. I jumped forward with Ubiquitous.

"There!"

Several attacks flew past me and slammed into my alter ego, destroying it without a trace. At the same time, I sliced the neck of the closest wizard. Magic immediately began to well up below me from the ground, but I was able to narrowly avoid the attack using Ubiquitous again. I hid myself using Surprise and Fairy Tales, waiting for the magical bombardment to cease.

"How many are there?"

"Don't scatter! Group up!"

They were much more prepared than the previous humans I wiped out, working in tandem to anticipate my next attack. But, observing them, I could tell that there were guild masters among them that were serving as the core of the guild alliance. No doubt, the troops would be in disarray if they were taken out.

"Master, our troops…"

"We need to prepare for the worst." It didn't matter what they had to say or how they prepared; I brought my sword down again at the side of a warrior who left the group for just an instant.

[You have gained 530,918…]

I brought my sword back to strike again, but I could feel a momentary point of resistance as it moved through the air. I barely had time to realize what had happened before the tiny trap set up, a burst of dazzling light pouring out around me. A lot of mana had been poured into it, enough to blind even a high-level monster. But it didn't affect me, who had resistances above the highest levels.

"Quick!" The warriors rushed me, assuming I had lost my vision. I effortlessly slid past their attacks, piercing through one's neck with my sword. My Demon's Claws were flailing about, stabbing, and cutting through them.

[You have gained…]

"Fuck!"

"Pull back!" I thought additional magical attacks would be on their way, but they weren't. The faces of the humans around me were full of horror, hesitation filling them.

'If I fight back now, maybe I can get a hit in…but I might kill an ally.' That was no doubt the thought going through them, the one I had been hoping for. It was good to see that my plan was working.

"Hey!"

"Don't attack, pull back quickly!" Of course, I still needed to be careful of the enemy's counterattack. If one of them managed to clip me, they would use that to seize the advantage over me and keep the pressure on. I had been dominating the fight until now, but I was dancing on a razor's edge the entire time. If I wanted to instill my enemies with fear, my every move had to be perfectly coordinated. I was slowly chipping away at the enemies.

The mass haunting on the 6th floor came to my mind, the swarms of advanced monsters. I wasn't confident that I could deal with them at the time, so I used Surprise and Fairy Tales to the max. I was feeling that same sort of tension now. These enemies lacked the destructive power those advanced monsters had, but they had various unknown abilities and tactics they could rely on. I couldn't be too vigilant against them. I had to continue to hide from them, sliding my blade into the gaps they revealed, taking care not to fall into a trap along the way. 'This is fun.'

"If you can't find him with detection, use your mana!"

"Fuck, are all elves monsters like this?"

"There is a reason they hid away. Shit…!"

What really differentiated humans from monsters was their ability to adapt to the situation. To consider the options, the risk versus benefits, and change tactics accordingly. Right now, this group was weighing the situation, considering what they could do to succeed where the much larger advance force had failed. I would continue to attack them, gaining ground inch by bloody inch and slowly digging away at their formation from the outside.

But they were starting to catch on.

"Fuck, how many do we have left? We can't keep this up."

"The elves all look very similar…"

"Has anyone killed one yet and gained experience?"

A stillness overcame the group, during which I claimed one more life.

"There's only one enemy." It was but a whisper, yet everyone here could hear it.

"They're using a skill to make it look like there are more of them, but there's only one." I sliced through one more, piercing through a wizard's neck with black lightning as they tried to retaliate. Black smoke consumed them whole. That was apparently enough to confirm it.

"We're going about this wrong, there is one person, not a group! They're probably not even an elf…a monster! It's a monster, not an elf!" The scream rang out. It had taken them quite a while to reach the conclusion, but they had noticed it regardless. That was the skill of an elite group, after all. I felt like I should applaud them. 'It's too late now, though.' I activated Lunatic Trickster, fueling it with the items I collected so far.

BANG!

The trap was a mixture of various metals, sparks, and ice, spreading out through the enclosed area. The humans close to it crumbled immediately, blood fountaining out and covering the warriors near those who took the brunt. I had just reduced their numbers to forty-four.

"Form F." The remaining guild master, the only one left, gave the command quietly. I had no way of knowing what it meant.

"We've failed… we shouldn't have come here…"

"Fuck!" The group began to collapse, trying to make their escape toward the dungeon entrance. Most of them were no doubt grateful that this battle had taken place on the first floor, and not further in. But that wouldn't do. Especially not now that they had concluded their enemy wasn't an elf. That would make everything I had been doing up until now pointless.

[Kaaaaahhhh!]

"A hellhound?!"

"No, it's a high-level type!"

The group that had been fleeing moments prior came to a stop, weapons drawn against the hellhound now blocking the exit. Those in front were only able to advance a few steps forward before their next foe appeared: a massive troll appearing behind the group and lashing out.

[Goooaaaahhh!]

"This is only the first floor, what's with these high-level monsters?!"

That wasn't the end of it, however. More intermediate and rare high-level monsters appeared one after another. Armored snakes, living armor, venomous ghouls… monsters that were strong even if they weren't advanced. This was what Lee Chan-yu had achieved in his time here, with the new power he gained as a Beast Lord.

"That monster wasn't alone?"

"He must be the owner of this dungeon… shit, we have to push through!"

"It's too late." I murmured quietly. The monsters that Lee Chan-yu rallied had been waiting to strike until now when the humans were disorganized and attempting to flee. This was the moment I enjoyed the most: the chaos, the freedom. I leaped through space with Ubiquitous, lashing out with my sword and skills through the fleeing enemies. I laughed off the magic attacks of one of the remaining wizards, razing them to the ground with my flame magic. I snapped through a warrior's sword and pierced through his heart, momentarily surprised as he hugged onto me and brought me close.

"Quickly!"

The attack that hit me went through my defenses and exposed my bone. Hope flared back up in the eyes of the humans from this fatal wound they had dealt me. It lasted only briefly, as the black smoke absorbed the warrior's body and healed my wounds completely. The wizard who struck the blow lost strength, falling to his knees.

"This can't be…"

"Goodbye." I decapitated them quickly, continuing to move forward through space with Ubiquitous. I wasn't able to be everywhere at once with Ubiquitous, but at least it let me control this space around me.

"Help!" I heard a shout ring out. Less than five humans remained.

"I want to live, please save me! I'll never return! Please!"

I forced myself to stop laughing, watching as this man's comrades turned away from his pleas. His sorrow quickly turned to anger.

"God, why! This is stupid… I'm the leader who will bring our country to greatness… I can't die here!" And, like that, the façade was dropped. This man, who was so relaxed and confident when there was no danger, was now like this when his life was threatened. No doubt, he had been enjoying the high life, living as a member of the upper echelons. No doubt, he used his power to put down people weaker than him as well and enjoyed it just as much as I was. He looked up to me with hope in his eyes, my hands lowered by my side, and my stance relaxed. He grabbed at my leg.

"Help me! Please, help me! I'll give you anything you want!"

"Have you ever spared the life of someone who was begging you to?" His expression instantly morphed. Now he was making an odd face, one I had never seen before. This man had thought himself superior to others and had valued his life as such. But now that idea was turning to ash before him.

"…No?"

"Alright." My sword swung down, black smoke billowing out to absorb his body.

"You are no exception then."

[You have gained 817,293 experience.]

[You have received 16,837 gold and 39 silver.]

[You have acquired three random items from the opponent's inventory.]

[Level up!]

[Magic increased by 1.]

The humans left trembled with fear, dropping all resistance. They freely admitted they had taken up weapons to kill me and now accepted that they were to die. The war was over; this small war that took place in the 7th district of the Black Palace. It had been no more than a conflict between my desire to survive and these humans' desire for power, but it may yet be the fuse to light a bigger conflict.

It didn't matter what would happen next; my goal was still clear in my mind. To survive, to get stronger. I survived today, and I grew stronger—all by destroying the desires of others. No guilt came to me, however. It didn't matter whether my enemy was a monster, an elf, or a human.

I left the first floor and reconvened with Lee Chan-yu, who was relieved that the battle was now over. The moment when I would conquer the dungeon was approaching.

Chapter 76: Qualification 1

Demon King

Qualification – 1

Killing over six-hundred humans in that battle had resulted in quite a bit of a gain for me. First of all, my level had risen, almost disgustingly so, up to level 199. Even if the experience was less on average than that of the higher-level monsters that appeared on the 7th floor, the humans had grouped up all at once instead of making me hunt them down individually. The conditions needed for me to evolve included leveling up, and now I only needed one more level to satisfy that condition.

Second, I obtained a lot of money. Plenty of those humans here had hundreds, if not tens, of thousands of gold on them. Checking my inventory, I had over 400,000 gold now. Since I had been spending a lot of my money on the entrance fee to the Garden of Nak, it felt quite nice to have a surplus of cash.

The last thing was the items I acquired. I had been using Lunatic Trickster pretty heavily in that battle, so most of the items had been used to fuel it. Still, I kept the high-end equipment and really useful potions. Compared to the armor and weapon I was currently using, their performance wasn't all that great, but I could still use them as materials to synthesize equipment in the future.

"Are you heading back to the 7th floor, Captain?"

"No, before that I have some other things to take care of. I'll go conquer the 7th floor after that." I responded to Lee Chan-yu as I organized my inventory. My thoughts drifted to Jinma's tower and its manager, A. I had been thinking of conquering the 7th floor of the Black Palace and conquering Jinma's Tower, but A had told me to find myself first before I entered the boss room.

"Is the 7th floor the end of the dungeon?"

"I believe so. If not, I'll just have to keep pushing forward."

"What will you do after you reach the end of this dungeon?" His question gave me pause.

"Don't worry about it too much. I'm simply curious about what will happen next."

"I think I'll just go outside and buy some jjajangmyeon."

"Really?! That's it?"

"I'm kidding." I smiled grimly at Lee Chan-yu.

"I suppose I'll have to go find my family."

"…"

"These other humans don't matter…heck, sometimes it feels weird to think that I was once human too. But still, it's not possible for me to ignore my family. Even if they died, I still want to know."

"Captain… that's…" Lee Chan-yu hesitated, then let out a sigh.

"I've told you this before, but the world is a little crazy right now. Years have passed since I first entered this dungeon, so it might've gotten worse but…I doubt it's gotten better. For low-level noncombatants…well…things usually don't go well for them."

"You mean I should be prepared for the worst."

"…Yes." His expression was quite dark, but I decided it would be best to leave the topic alone. He was right, after all. More than a year had passed already; it was silly to expect that my parents or siblings would still live. That I could find them, and they would greet me with a smile. 'Besides… haven't I been focused on just my own survival up until now? How hypocritical of me…' It was cruel of me to start caring about them now, just because I was nearing the end of this dungeon.

"What's next?" Lee Chan-yu was attempting to change the topic.

"Let's go take a walk."

"Through the dungeon?"

"Yeah. It would be nice if we could live comfortably here, without all these people trying to take us on. I suppose I'll have to aim at becoming so strong that they won't even bother." Lee Chan-yu laughed at me, finding my goal amusing.

"What a Captain-like goal. Wouldn't it be nice if we also made a guild?"

"That's a good idea." We passed the time walking to the 6th floor with idle talk.

"Until you clear the 7th floor, I will focus on beating the boss here."

"I believe that you can. But…after the aftermath of today, stronger enemies might show up to investigate. If you're going to take on this floor's boss, you may want to hurry."

"I want to but…it makes such a terrible sound." I bid farewell to Lee Chan-yu and made my way back to the 7th floor, killing all the monsters I encountered on the way. The 7th-floor corridors were made of a translucent obsidian-like crystal, flickering as if it was breathing anytime I released my mana. It was an incredibly beautiful place, and it seemed ironic to me that dangerous monsters could live here.

I made my way to the boss room, marked by a bizarre iron gate built into the middle of a cave wall covered in the same material as the corridors. It was a massive door, larger than any I had ever seen, and it lacked a keyhole unlike the other ones in the dungeon. It welcomed any and all challengers to enter. I had a feeling of what lurked within, remembering the words the humans said before.

"The owner of the dungeon." That's what would appear if I went past that door. Even reaching out with my senses, I couldn't feel anything in the room beyond it. Not that I was surprised, I hadn't expected it to be so easy to gather information on the boss. I would have to fight him sooner or later if I wanted to leave this dungeon, so no point in rushing it anyway.

"You are unbearably kind." A's words rang out in my head as I decided to ignore the boss door for now and instead open the path to Jinma's Tower. I stepped into the tower, greeted only by a vast expanse of earth.

"…Huh?"

"Welcome to the 6th floor of the Jinma's Tower. There is no opponent this time."

"A?" I looked around but couldn't find him. I could feel his presence, although I wasn't able to pinpoint where he was. But more importantly than that… 'Is this really the tower? It's huge.'

"You will conquer this floor by acquiring the Wings of Jinma." A had thrown me into the 6th-floor challenge without any warning or preparation. The Colosseum did not rise from the ground as it usually did, but I could still tell there had been a chance as soon as he finished talking. The quality of the mana flowing through the air had changed, and I tensed up.

'Acquire the Wings of Jinma?' I grounded my teeth as I looked around but couldn't see anything. 'Wait, no opponents? How can I not have an opponent here?'

I could hear a rush of air, and without thinking, I used Ubiquitous to leap into the air. Seconds later, shells of dark mana slammed into the ground where I had been, exploding below me. 'If I had been hit by one of those directly…'

"I thought you said there was no opponent!"

"There are obstacles. It is the will of Jinma's Tower to use its energy to protect the wings from you, Fate." It took me a second to parse through what he was saying. 'The energy of the tower? Then that means…the entirety of this place is now my enemy?'

The mana shells volleyed forth once more. They were orbs of mana, shaped sort of like cannonballs, armed with murderous intent. The mana of the tower was thick and pure, completely different from that which was flowing through my body. The ordeal I was currently in was absurd, and I had to wonder if the 6th floor was also the last of Jinma's Tower. However, I didn't have long to consider this as mana shells rained down upon me from all directions. I wouldn't have the time to sit and think in this place. If I paused to think, if I hesitated at all, this mana bombardment would destroy me.

'The Wings of Jinma…' That was all I needed to worry about right now. I had to find them; if I couldn't before my mana ran out, I would die. This was a space where I didn't have to worry about death sticking, but it was possible the location of the wings would change if I lost. This floor was a trial designed to test my control over my body and my ability to use my senses to evade attacks.

Right now, however, it seemed impossible. The wings had to be somewhere in this vast space, but trying to find them while avoiding this continual bombardment of mana as it rained down from everywhere? And then to secure the wings and bring them back? 'Is that even possible?' The core of the previous trials the tower presented to me was to overcome them using Predation. I grew in my usage of Predation every time I trained here. I had learned of new things that were possible with the skill.

'Is A telling me to devour this mana with my Predation? That's absurd…' The mana of this tower possessed an intense will similar but distinct to my own. If I tried to touch it, it would violently reject my own will and destroy me. It made no sense to devour the mana; if I could do that, I wouldn't need to fear the use of any magic. Even if it were possible, it would be at a much different level than that of devouring the body or even the soul and converting it into mana.

But I had to regardless. This wouldn't be the first time I misunderstood what I was to do in Jinma's Tower, that I had learned how to accomplish something I had thought was impossible. If I couldn't conquer this task, I would never be able to conquer this tower.

"If you don't keep moving, you'll get hurt." I ignored A's words as I always did and continued to stand still. Hundreds of mana shells volleyed toward me, unmatched violence raining down upon my body

"Ahhhhh!"

I couldn't have prepared for the sensation that overtook me, overwhelmed by fear as everything that made me who I am, shattered. Even though I knew I wouldn't die here, I couldn't help but be afraid. Mostly, I was terrified of this pain.

But Jinma's Tower always presented me with what I needed. Seconds after my body was obliterated, it reformed in the same place. I opened my eyes, and the mana shells once again volleyed toward me.

'I have to do this. I can do this.'

With a sigh in my heart, I spread my arms wide open and welcomed my second death. As pain permeated every fiber of my being, I could feel strange mana that I was starting to get a little used to.