Chapter 0 Prologue

He was the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings, and he was the leader of the
Rebirth Demon King's Enforcement army. His name was Artpe Hirtana Kelduke.
His name was spread across the human world as being one of the Four
Heavenly Kings.
If one mentioned the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's army, the
humans would think about the monsters that could cause mountains to fall. They
were seen as beings that could cause earthquakes and the seas to dry.
However, Artpe was different.
He was someone who had been recognized by the Demon King through
polishing his strange ability. He was granted the prestigious title of being one of
the Four Heavenly Kings thanks to his strange ability
However, he was weak.
He would make an entrance with an awesome aura wrapped around him, but in
the end, he would die by the hands of the hero's party. Then a being with a more
awesome aura would show up and say, 'Hoo hoo hoo. In truth, he was the
weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings!' In this story, he was cast as being the
weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings.
“The hero is really coming, commander. Don't we have to run away before that
happens?”
As expected of the subordinates under the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings,
all the demons under his direct command were lacking in firepower. On top of it
all, their temperament was lacking too.
“If you want to run away, you should try running away.”
“I'm sorry!”
His subordinate was thinking about running away even before the fight. He hit his
subordinate in the back of the head and climbed to the top of the Demon King's
castle. When he did, he could clearly see the hero's party coming through a
doghole created to bypass the castle wall. It seemed this was their attempt at
secretly infiltrating the castle.
Whenever a Demon King was born to conquer the world, a hero always
appeared to put a spoke in the wheel. The hero was the Demon King army's
ultimate enemy.
“She really is here. The Demon King is on borrowed time now.”
The hero had appeared around three years ago, yet she was already here. Who
would have expected this?
Artpe couldn't smack himself in the back of the head for having such a thought.
Still, he was a bit relieved. She was here much earlier than expected, there was
no way the hero would be able to win against the Demon king.
“The problem is that my troops will be the first to face them.”
Maybe a Demon King's mind was reshaped when the successor put on the
crown. The crazy Demon King had a terrible personality and he always sent the
weakest amongst the Demon race to fight the hero first.
This strong-willed hero was able to rapidly grow for the past 3 years because the
weakest demons were sent first, then the degree of difficulty was slowly
increased as the troops failed. If the Demon King wasn't a lord, Artpe would have
smacked him in the back of the head.
Currently, Artpe was moving, and the reason behind his action was obvious. The
weakest force in the Demon King's castle was his force, and he was their
commander. No one from the Demon King's castle would lift a finger until every
single one of them was killed.
Artpe decided to look at the bright side. He was one of the Four Heavenly Kings,
would he really be killed by a new hero? The last time he checked on her level
was about an year ago, and the hero had been level 200. She might have grown
a little bit, but she wouldn't even be able to scratch the Demon King's castle.
“Let's check her out first.”
This was the ability that allowed Artpe to reach his command post. He activated
the 'Read All Creation'. It was as the words implied, it was an ability that allowed
him to find out information about anything that existed in this world. This innate
ability was one of the reason why the Demon King kept Artpe by his side.
He had trained his ability through the years, so he was able to successfully
activate it from a long distance.
Several lines appeared in front of his eyes, written in the language of the Demon
Clan.
[Name - Maetel]
[Race : Human Female]
[Title : Hero]
Artpe was at a loss for words. He had known the female hero was a commoner
and her name was Maetel, however, he lost the ability to speak when he read the
last line.
[Level : 374]
“······.”
“What should we do, commander?”
He couldn't even hear the question asked by his subordinate, who stood by his
side. Artpe's mind was in a confused state.
'What? 374?'
When he checked up on her only a year ago, he was sure she was only level
200! The Demon King had just reached level 400!
“Hey. Did we do something to the humans recently?”
What caused the worm to become a dragon?
“The Demon King wanted spice things up a little bit, so he personally dispatched
several armies to the place where the hero lived. Now that I think about it, I heard
no news of their return.”
“Ah-ha. He wanted to spice things up a little bit? Ahh, I didn't know about that!”
'He marinated her so perfectly that a hero appeared as a full course meal! That
son of a bitch! I should just call him a chef instead of a Demon King!'
Artpe's subordinate looked at his stormy expression and immediately grasped the
situation. He made a sour face as he asked Artpe a question.
“Should we run away, commander?”
“Yeah. Now I want to run away too.”
This was beating a dead horse, but Artpe was weak. However, in the end, he
was still one of the Four Heavenly Kings. He was level 350, and he had
considerable amount of skills. However, this was also why he knew what the
disparity between him and the hero meant.
Even a single level difference meant that one's soul was outclassed, it was
impossible to beat the other unless one had a really good Skill.
What would happen if there was a difference of 24 levels? Even if he gathered all
of his soul to oppose the hero, he would be destroyed by a single move.
Artpe really wanted to run away. He wanted to crawl through the doghole made
by the hero. How great would it be if he could run away to a place where a being
from the Demon race wouldn't be recognized? He wanted to go to a peaceful
place where fighting and war didn't exist. How great would it be if he could just
live peacefully while raising some cows!
“Koo-ooh-ooh.”
When he had that thought, a red choker appeared on his smooth neck, ruthlessly
tightening. It put pressure on his body and mind. He was owned by another, the
Demon King's Innate Ability called Absolute Control was activated.
When one was defeated by the Demon King, the Demon King’s Innate Ability
would activate to control his opponent. Once his innate ability took hold, it was
impossible to escape from it. One had to follow all of his orders, and if one held
thoughts that ran contrary to his orders, their neck would be choked.
When that happened, death was the final outcome. One had to turn back into a
docile sheep to follow his order, or they could just choose to die. Artpe had to
select one of the two choices right now.
He wanted to live a little bit more, so he chose the former option. The choking
sensation around his neck quickly disappeared.
“Commander...”
“It's all right. Don't say anything.”
There were several times in the past when he felt the sensation of being choked
to death, it was akin to what happened a moment ago. On such occasions, Artpe
struggled to live by not resisting against the orders of the Demon King. This was
why he was able to stay alive until now.
He had experienced scenes of violence until he was fed up with it, he wouldn't be
broken by a mere hero.
However, it was also clear that he would lose for sure if events continued along
down this path. Artpe thought hard on how he would be able to survive this. In
the end, he chose the last resort. He hadn't wanted to choose this option.
“Please go contact Etna-nim.”
She was the only woman amongst the Four Heavenly Kings, the leader of the
Army of Thieves. Her name was Etna Carlyfate Mirecard and was ranked second
in Four Heavenly Kings' ranking. However, the most important part was that she
was in love with Artpe.
“Tell her I'll agree to the Soul Pact if she helps me. She'll come here after she
gets permission from the Demon King.”
The Soul Pact was the absolute contract of amity that could be made between
two Demons. Basically, it signified marriage.
“...do you really want to marry her? You still won't be able to die a natural death.”
“Can't you see I'm about to die right now? Do you really want to argue about it at
this moment? Are you trying to pick a fight with me? Do you want to die before
me?”
When Artpe browbeat him, his underling quickly ran into the castle. He let out a
sigh at this sight.
Etna was a beautiful and powerful woman. Even among the Demon race, who
was famous for being ill tempered, she clearly possessed a pure nature, which
was why she was popular amongst her subordinates. A woman of such caliber
liked him, this was a big blessing for him even if she wasn't his type.
So why did Artpe turn down her proposal until now? The man who was ranked
1st amongst the Four Heavenly Kings was in love with Etna. Artpe didn't want to
make an enemy of this man, so he had turned down her offer.
However, he couldn't worry about making a future enemy right now. The hero’s
party was coming towards him, and they were too scary for him to worry about
the implications of his actions.
Ah, they were already running amok.
His two eyes clearly saw the sight of his Enforcement army being crushed in a
distressing manner. It was true, he was really afraid.
'Please come before it is too late!'
'Please allow Etna to participate in the battle, Demon King! If you leave them be
like this, you will also be in danger! Please allow her to participate in this, Sheff!'
“Please don't cause any trouble and surrender to us, Heavenly King Artpe
Hirtana Kelduke. There is no need for us to fight each other any longer.”
It was all too late.
Fuck this demonic life of his...
Artpe looked at the innocent looking girl who was the hero. She had her sword
pointed towards his neck with a slightly sorrowful expression on her face. He let
out a hollow laugh.
“You make it sound as if the Demon King's army isn’t on a campaign to bring
about world peace.”
She probably didn't know about the existence of the shackles that bound all
demons under the Demon King's service. Even if he didn't want to fight, he had
to force himself to fight. He didn't like killing humans, yet he had to force himself
to kill them. She probably didn't even know such a demon existed within the
Demon race.
If she found out about the truth, this kind girl would probably be unable to swing
her sword against them. However, Artpe decided not to tell her anything. Since
things had progressed this far, he thought it might be better if she was able to kill
the Demon King once and for all.
“Still, the others around you seem better equipped for this.”
There was a magician, a warrior equipped with a shield and a sharp-eyed thief
with a dagger. If Artpe said or did anything funny, they would kill him without
giving him any quarter.
They knew the truth behind the Demon race, yet they still decided to walk the
road of carnage. They were true heroes, and Artpe admired them, they were
qualified to be by the side of this heroine.
“Hero, I'm pretty sure a very good looking noonim will be coming here soon, and
she'll be very angry when she sees my corpse. I want you to give her this
message.”
Artpe's weird and offbeat words were taken as being a start of some kind of ploy
by the thief, who immediately moved. He was incredibly fast. He might be even
faster than the hero.
It was understandable. There was no burning animosity shown towards the hero
by Artpe, and it seemed she would need a good amount of time before she could
bring herself to apply the final blow to him. Her impatient comrade had stepped
forward to try to kill him in her stead, Artpe had expected such a move.
“In truth, I.... Kuh-huhk!”
The thief's dagger pierced through Artpe's heart. The blade was sharper and
deadlier than the ugly past of his childhood. It had shredded his heart, but Artpe
didn't die immediately.
“In truth, I'm not too fond of older women... Kahk. Please tell her...!”
“W...what the hell are you talking about? Why are you saying such strange
words? This makes you... It makes you seem like a normal person!”
The hero had a sad expression on her face, as if she was about to cry. When
Artpe faced her pure sadness, he felt better. He grinned.
In the end, he would die, but his tedious life would come to an end.
If he was born again, he wanted to be born in a place where he was free of that
damn Demon King.
Artpe gave a heartfelt prayer as he closed his eyes.
Before he died, he heard the angry shout of a woman, but he didn't care. He was
about to die, so it was none of his business.
This was how Artpe Hirtana Kelduke died.
He was one of the Four Heavenly Kings in the Demon King's army, but his death
was miserable. It held no weight.
In his last moments, he could see two lines of words etched into his retina.
However, his consciousness was already fading into death.
[Innate Ability Read All Creation has evolved.]
[Secret Option Rewrite is Activated.]
When he opened his eyes again, he was in the form of a small male child.
“Huh?”
Didn't a thief ruthlessly stab a dagger into his heart a moment ago? Artpe was
having a hard time getting used to this rapidly changed situation. He then looked
at his surroundings.
It was a very small and worn down hut. The window up top was letting in sunlight,
and the light illuminated a cloud of dust. This looked like a place where humans
would live. Now that he thought about it, it seemed he had taken the form of a
male human child!
‘Is this Illusion Magic?’
However, this thought lasted only for a brief moment. His soul held his Innate
Ability called Read All Creation which allowed him to pierce through all lies,
showing him only the truth. This was why he was sure he wasn’t under any
Illusion magic.
‘Mirror, I have to find a mirror. I have to assess what kind of situation I am in.’
His ability, Read All Creation, was an incredible power. However, if he wanted to
Read himself, he needed a reflective surface to see himself. It didn’t matter if the
reflection came in form of a puddle, mirror, or even a person’s eyes.
He searched the small and dirty hut, but he couldn't find a mirror. In the end, he
was successful in finding a bowl on the top of the kitchen table.
He poured enough water into the bowl and he could see a blurred image of
himself.
“······it is me.”
He had black hair and purple colored eyes. He had a white enough skin to be
called pale. It had been a long time ago, but his face was identical to the face he
had when he was a very young Demon. It was indisputable. Artpe was himself,
but at the same time it was indisputable that he was a human.
Artpe was still in the midst of despairing when his Innate Ability Read All Creation
delivered the final blow.
[Name - Artpe]
[Race : Human Male]
[Level : 1]
[Strength : 3, Agility : 2, Stamina : 2, Magic Energy : 19]
[Innate Ability : Read All Creation(Step 2)]
His name, race and level were all too shocking! If there was a god, he wanted to
kill the bastard! He would kill the god alongside the Demon King!
“······huh?”
Soon, Artpe realized that the most shocking part was still left for him to be
discovered.
[Innate Ability : Read All Creation(Step 2)]
His Read All Creation was now on Step 2?
‘When did the Innate Ability develop stages?'
It happened when Artpe was thinking over this question.
The door to the hut opened, and a human ran in from outside.
“Let's play, Artpe!”
The one who spoke was a beautiful human girl.
She had such beautiful golden hair that it was almost unbelievable that a
commoner could have such hair.
Her emerald colored eyes were bright and passionate.
Instead of the rag she was wearing, a silk dress would have gone better with her
white skin and well-formed features.
“Hero?”
Artpe was so taken aback that he mumbled to himself.
Somehow, the hero heard his words. Maetel let out a bright laugh as she replied.
“Yes, let's go play being heroes!”
This was the day when Artpe died as a demon.
He was reborn as a 12 year old human male who was the childhood friend of the
hero.
Chapter 1 - I’m a Hero!?

It had been two days since he was reincarnated as a human male child, this was
when Artpe came to a decision.
“I have to kill the Demon King.”
It was a really fucked up situation, but he had to kill the Demon King.
Why?
The reason was obvious. A Demon King's 1st priority was to kill all of humanity.
Artpe was a human now!
Would it have been better being reborn into the Demon race? No way.
The reason why the bastard was trying to kill all of humanity was because his
Innate Ability didn't allow him to dominate humans. His Innate Ability only worked
on the Demon race, and the Demon King had been thorough in catching all
demons. He had put all the Demons under his rule.
Since the Demon King existed in the same era as him, there was no way he
would become free unless he killed the Demon King.
Artpe had lamented when he was confronted with this decision. He wanted to be
alive to see the hopes and dreams of the future.
‘Why in the hell did I have to be sent back to the past! If I was born 3 years after
the hero killed the Demon King, I could have lived in the countryside without any
ambitions. I could have just lived while tending cows!’
He could somewhat guess at the mechanism behind his reincarnation. His Read
All Creation had evolved into its second stage. He didn’t know the exact cause,
but he knew this was all related to his ability.
He always knew his ability was unusual, but he never expected it to be able to
bend time and space. No, the fact that there even was a Step 2 to his Innate
Ability was a surprise for him!
However, the problem he now faced was the fact that his Innate Ability had
distorted not only time, but the cause-and-effect relationship of events.
“Artpe!”
The door opened in the same fashion as two days ago. A bright light entered the
hut and Artpe already knew the name of the girl who opened the door.
“I knew you would come, ‘Maetel’.”
“You were waiting for me! I'm so happy!”
The girl let out a bright smile in front of Artpe. She looked very young, but he was
sure she was one of the heroes who had invaded the Demon King’s castle in his
memories. He had also verified this fact through his Read All Creation ability, so
it was irrefutable.
“Why would I wait for you? Just looking at you make me feel anxious.”
“Anxious? ...ah, jeez~ Artpe~”
The 12 year old hero was under a false impression when she heard Artpe's
words. She squirmed and twisted her body in embarrassment. Artpe groaned
when he saw the young hero fall into a delusion.
During his past role as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s
army, the Demon King had ordered Artpe to gather information about the hero. In
truth, it was a task beneath even the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings,
but that fact wasn’t important right now.
The important part was the fact that the past hero didn’t have a childhood friend.
“Let's go play being heroes, Artpe!”
“I'm sorry, but I'm sick of both the heroes and the Demon King.”
“Then you can be one of the Demon King army's Four Heavenly Kings!”
“That is one thing I'll never do!”
Artpe pushed aside the hero, who came at him in a playful manner, while letting
out a sigh. He had wished for a life where he wasn’t entangled with the Demon
King, so this time around he was entangled with the hero. If he had the
opportunity to meet the goddess of fate, he would most definitely flip her off!
Instead of being entangled with the hero, he would have preferred to live life as
the normal Villager A. Then he would be able to focus on his profession while
leaving all the problems of this world to the hero. He could just put his trust in the
hero, since her unlimited growth potential would let her overcome everything.
If he was unlucky enough to chance upon the hero’s party, he would just say, ‘If
you follow down this road, you will come upon the Demon King’s Castle!’ Or he
would tell them, ‘Our town’s population of wildcats has gotten out of control,
could you help us catch them?’
He would just tell them some half-assed excuse to get rid of them!
‘This world is already different from the past I knew.’
To be precise, Artpe had reincarnated as the hero’s childhood friend. From this
point on, the future would be in a flux. Even if he ran away from the hero right
now, the changed timeline wouldn’t revert, it wasn’t a realistic possibility.
“Eh-whew, Artpe is trying to play by himself again. Then I have no choice, I'll stick
by your side.”
“No, I really don't need you right now, could you leave me alone?”
“But I need Artpe.”
Artpe despaired. What the hell did he do before he became aware of his previous
life’s memories? Why was he in such a good relationship with the hero! It was so
bad that even if he managed to run away, he worried that the hero would track
him down!
“You...”
“Ehehe.”
The hero let out a simple and honest laugh as she sat next to Artpe. It seemed
like events weren’t going to proceed in accordance to Artpe’s wishes.
This was a problem. Artpe’s biggest worry was the relationship he had with the
hero.
A hero was literally a walking box of storm and calamity, even the most peaceful
town would be put in danger when the hero became involved. Moreover, anyone
who encountered the hero became embroiled in the hero’s business.
In the past, there was a very famous story about the hero taking every valuable
item when passing through each town. The most insidious part about this story
was the fact the townspeople had an irresistible urge to give whatever they
possessed to the hero. If the hero fulfilled a request, one would have to give up a
treasure as recompense!
So what would his life be like as the childhood friend of the hero?
‘No, I don’t know how the future will unfold. This girl might not awaken to become
a hero.’
If a Demon King existed, a hero always appeared. However, Artpe had
reincarnated as a human, so the future had changed. It wasn’t a certainty that
Maetel would awaken as a hero.
“Still, I wouldn’t bet on it.”
Maetel would become a hero, and as her childhood friend, he would get swept up
in her business.
In truth, that scenario was the most likely one to come true. In this world, the
most talented person was chosen to become the hero. Artpe had used his Read
All Creation to verify the talent possessed by the 12 year old Maetel, she was so
outstanding that it made one wonder if the gods made a mistake in creating her.
He followed this thread of logic to come to his previous conclusion.
He had to kill the Demon King.
“My life as a demon… No. My life as a human is really…”
Artpe wrapped his head with his hands as he despaired. Maetel consoled him.
“Hang in there, Artpe! We have to endure, and we have to live five times the life
we have already lived!”
“Where did you learn such a phrase?”
“I learned it from Artpe.”
It seemed he wasn’t a normal guy even before he recovered his memories!
Artpe’s head started to hurt more. Maetel, who didn’t know his inner thoughts,
kept smiling.
“I only want to live a quiet life.”
“You always say those words, Artpe.”
“However, the world won’t leave me alone.”
“That is also one of your favorite phrases.”
“It isn’t really important how I got here. How should I proceed from now on…
Mmmm?”
He grumbled as he started responding to Maetel when a flash of light illuminated
the inside of his mind.
Until now, he had assumed that the future was distorted because he had
reincarnated as the hero’s childhood friend. However, was that actually true?
In the past, Artpe had used his Read All Creation to track the hero’s
whereabouts. Of course, he also had a complete grasp of what developed in the
human world.
Would everything he remembered change just because of Artpe’s presence? He
was only a single person.
‘There’s no way that would happen.’
Yes. At best, an additional male child was born in a mountain village, there was
no way such an event would cause the war to be canceled or a king to be
poisoned!
However, how could that be the only implication? He knew the location of a
legendary thief’s grave, filled with riches. He also knew the locations of the
Archmage’s ruin, Balrok’s Nest, and Archmage Rain of Louin’s Magic Tome.
They would be in the same place as the locations in his memories!
“My god.”
He finally realized the whole truth, and a shiver ran up his body. His Read All
Creation ability allowed him to remember what had happened in the human world
and the demon world. It didn’t matter if a lot of events in his future would change,
he still had much information that he could use to his advantage!
There were many riches, many magic spells, many skills and many hidden
hunting grounds!
“If I can acquire all of this with her….”
“Ah, Artpe.”
Maetel’s cheeks turned red. Artpe had mumbled his words, and it seemed
another big misunderstanding had occurred. However, Artpe was too excited to
worry about it.
“If that happens, maybe...”
He would be able to compress the development process of the hero, and she
would be able to gain items that were never in the possession of her previous
self. If he could let her gain everything he figured out with his Read All Creation
ability, the killing of the Demon King might not be a problem!
If he could make that happen, he would be free! Moreover, he could use the
position of being the hero’s childhood friend to lead a peaceful life!
The future he could foresee was letting out a radiant golden light. Artpe suddenly
stood up from his seat. Maetel also stood up.
“All right. Leave everything to me, hero.”
“Hero? As expected, you do want to play hero!”
“I'm not talking about playing house with you. I’ve never been as serious as this
moment in my life.”
“······ah, all right.”
The hero’s face had turned red, and she kept nodding her head.
“I'll leave everything to Artpe.”
“You just nodded your head. You can’t take it back.”
“This is true for Artpe as well! You can’t back out of this!”
Artpe was satisfied with Maetel’s answer. At this point in time, the two of them
completely misunderstood what each of them was promising. Artpe was
dreaming about a peaceful future, so he hadn’t realized this fact.
“All right, then you should head back for now. I’ll have to be thorough in making a
plan for us.”
“A plan... You are being very earnest about this. All right, I’ll go wait patiently for
you!”
Maetel turned around and opened the door of the hut. She was about to exit
when she said, “Oh”, as if she had just remembered something. She called out
towards Artpe.
“You do know what is happening in the afternoon, right? Baptism Ritual!”
“Baptism Ritual? Ah!”
When one was born into the Demon race, they possessed all of their abilities
from the start. Demons had to be ready to fight as soon as they were born,
however, humans were different. Humans had to contact the gods through the
priests, and a Class was given to each human. The Classes ranged from
carpenter to farmer, adventurer, warrior, etc. A human’s station in life was
determined at that point, and the humans called it the Baptism Ritual.
“What Class will I receive? I’m looking forward to it!”
“I’m also looking forward to it, but I could already guess what my Class is.”
“That's amazing, Artpe!”
There was limit on what Class one could acquire, and it depended on their
station in life and one’s ability. One couldn't become a knight unless they were a
noble. One couldn't become the heir to the throne unless they were the son of a
king. If one didn’t have the ability to manipulate Mana, they couldn’t become a
mage.
Still, it didn’t mean one couldn’t escape an already chosen Class...
Artpe smiled as he felt the unrefined Mana circulate around his body.
Was it because he was a Demon in the past? Currently, he was only a 12 year
old child, yet he had a large reserve of Mana. Moreover, he could wield the Mana
freely. Unless something went wrong, he would probably become a mage.
“You’ll probably become a hero.”
“Hero? Of course, I do like to pretend and play at being a hero, but…..”
Maetel let out a timid laugh.
“Truthfully, there is one thing I want more than me being a hero.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“I would love it if Artpe was able to become a hero!”
“Pffft.”
Artpe couldn't hold back his laughter when he heard those words.
“Yes. It would be hilarious if that happened.”
“Oh god, please give guidance to this child's path!”
“Yeah yeah, I beg of you. ”
[You've earned the 'Hero' Class.]
“...uh?”
When he really became a hero, Artpe could no longer laugh.
Chapter 2 - I’m a Hero!? (2)

“Hoo······.”
He had mapped out a golden plan to bring about a tranquil future for himself, but
his plan went awry from the start. All the fault lied in the fact that Artpe was
chosen to be a hero. The future in front of him was a confusing and chaotic
mess.
“Why me!?”
“This is all very splendid, Artpe! Isn’t it?”
Maetel stuck close to him, and she was all smiles. On top of her head, Artpe
could see words that could only be seen through his eyes.
[Name : Maetel]
[Race : Human Female]
[Title : Hero]
[Level : 1]
[Strength : 8, Agility : 12, Stamina : 11, Magic Energy : 10]
“No matter how I think about this, it doesn’t make any sense...”
That’s right.
This time around, two heroes were chosen.
“I had faith that Artpe would become a hero. Artpe is smart!”
“I believed you would be the only one to become a hero.”
This was what happened in his previous life!
Maybe this was the 1,000 year anniversary of the creation of this world, and this
was some kind of a massive event where two heroes were given instead of one!
Yes, the fact that there were two heroes meant that the probability of success in
killing the Demon King had gone up. That was a good thing.
Still, why did he have to be one of the heroes!? The fact that he was the hero’s
childhood friend was already dangerous enough, yet now his situation had
worsened!
“Please wait a moment. We’ll contact the palace and take the both of you to the
capital”
“Palace! Are we really going to a palace!?”
“Yes, I’ll be back soon.”
“Yes!”
“······uh?”
Why were there two heroes? Why did he become a hero?
He wrapped his hands around his head as he faced the nightmare-like reality in
front of him. When he raised his head, he discovered the priest in charge of the
Baptism Ritual moving quickly towards the exit. The sight evoked an ominous
feeling within him. Artpe narrowed his eyes as he asked Maetel a question.
“What did he just say?”
“He’ll contact the palace and we’ll be taken to the capital!”
“The capital!?”
“Yes, the capital! It is a shiny city!”
Maetel’s voice was filled with happiness and delight, she sounded super sweet.
Artpe heard her overly sweet words and it caused his expression to sour in real
time!
In his previous life, he clearly remembered what happened to the hero when she
went to the capital. He shouldn’t be wallowing in despair as he stood by doing
nothing! If they didn’t get out of this situation, they would be ruined!
Artpe decided not to ruminate over his situation right now, he could dwell on his
own misfortune at a later time. The important thing right now...
They had to run away!
“Capital! Palace! Being a hero is really great!”
“You are completely mistaken. The palace isn’t as grand a place as you think.”
Why did humans treat heroes well? They wanted to trot out the heroes to face
the Demon King. It didn’t matter if other humans gave them nice clothes and
food, when the time came, they would push the two of them out into the streets.
They would expect the heroes to kill the Demon King. Basically, the two of them
were akin to domesticated pigs that would be fattened and eaten later.
“Well, let’s talk about the problem we face right now. ”
“Pork is too expensive to eat!”
“The quality of the fodder they are trying to feed us stinks! It is pathetic!”
Did she understand what Artpe was trying to convey? When she heard his
words, her pupils shook for the first time. It was as if the world was about to fall
on her head. She asked in a serious manner.
“Wah, the food at the palace isn’t tasty?”
“It is the worst.”
Artpe was firm with his words. It had already been several hundred years since
the fight between a hero and a Demon King. Of course, the palace had a manual
in regards to how to develop a hero, but it was very outdated! It was trash! Even
the common soldiers of the Demon Army would ridicule the manual if they saw it!
‘In truth, the hero’s development was delayed because she followed their
manual.’
Maetel’s potential was remarkable. In only a year, her level had increased from
200 to 374. Even if the Demon King continued to provide a constant stream of
cannon fodder, her growth rate was unbelievable.
Such an amazing hero had lived in the palace for several years, yet her growth
rate had been absurdly low. If the Demon King hadn’t paid attention to her, she
would have never reached the Demon King’s castle!
Therefore, if the two heroes were dragged into the palace, the only thing waiting
for them was a terrible loss! It would be game over for them!
“Humans are the biggest enemies of other humans. I want you to remember this,
Maetel.”
“Ah, all right. Humans are the biggest enemies of other humans… The food at
the palace tastes bad…”
This was the moment when the hero realized that humanity was her enemy.
“So what should we do, Artpe?”
“Don’t worry about it, I thought of a way to nurture... I know how we’ll develop
ourselves. I know things are a bit messed up right now, but… Tsk. It can’t be
helped. Let’s do this my way.”
His original plan was to gather all the skills and magic in this world and give them
all to Maetel. However, he had also become a hero now, their enemy didn’t have
a single target anymore. The target had split into two, and Artpe didn’t want to
die, which was why he had no choice but to come to this conclusion.
“From now on, you’ll learn about weapons while I’ll learn magic. The rest… We’ll
appropriately split it up between the two of us and learn it.”
“Yes!”
A hero was able to learn skills and magic from all Classes, this special
characteristic made the Hero Class a cheat. Moreover, there were a good
number of unique skills and special skills hidden around the world, and they
could only be mastered by the hero Class.
Normally, it was foolish to learn magic and weapons at the same time because it
slowed one’s development in both fields. However, the hero had to swallow the
bitter pill of learning both fields since they were pushed to learn all the skills and
special moves that could only be learned by the hero…
‘However, there are two heroes now.’
The most fundamental problem had been solved. The two of them could choose
one’s specialty field ahead of time, and each skill they gained could be maxed
out. This would simplify their plan on how they would dispose of the Demon King!
“....this is hogwash! Ooh-ahhhh, why am I a hero!?”
“Artpe, a hog doesn’t wash itself!”
“Don’t undercut me so coldly at a time like this!”
This wasn’t his original plan! He planned on developing Maetel into a great hero,
and he planned on eating the crumbs off the table from the back! But now he
would have to fight the bone chillingly strong Demon King! Shit!
“Ooh-ahhhh, please tell me this is all a dream!”
“This is really like a dream. Artpe and I are heroes… Together…”
Maetel’s idiotic reaction didn’t allow Artpe to escape from reality. If he dropped
the ball, even some Private A of the Demon King’s army might be able to kill
them! Artpe let out a big sigh as he flicked Maetel’s forehead.
“Ouch.”
“You have to get ahold of yourself from now on. A hero becomes the center of
attention for the humans, but at the same time, the hero becomes the target of
every demon within the Demon race.”
“It’s all right, I’ll protect Artpe!”
“Yes, I like that you are courageous.”
He was a little bit late in realizing this, but… This girl was a bit of an idiot.
How was she able to learn magic and healing spells? After much consideration,
he realized that Maetel had only used her sword in his previous life, he hadn’t
seen her use anything else.
Even as he lost, he had thought the hero was acting cool when she held back
from using any magic, however, Artpe was mistaken. The hero had been an idiot,
and she hadn’t been able to handle any difficult magic!
“Eh-whew, maybe this is for the best. It seems the gods are pretty smart.”
It was said that a diamond on a dunghill is still a diamond. Artpe had the
experience of living as a Demon, so he was more adept at manipulating magic
compared to most humans. He was made into a hero and, at the very least, he
was better at using magic than Maetel. This meant their chances of beating the
Demon King had gone up.
If he didn’t have this idea to cling onto, his stomach would be churning from pain.
“I reincarnated for nothing······.”
“Huh? Reincarnated?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s get ready to escape.”
“Escape?”
When Maetel made a retort, Artpe didn't say anything. He just pointed out the
window.
“Artpe! Let’s talk for a little bit!”
“We gave you bread yesterday!”
“I have an item left behind by your father, Maetel! Why don’t you come out here
for a brief moment?”
This was a hut where Artpe lived by himself. It was no where near the center of
the village, yet the people of the village were all gathered in front of his hut, it was
a scary sight.
“Ah, he said my father left an item behind! I’ll be right back.”
“They are liars. Stay by my side.”
“Yes!”
Artpe stopped Maetel from getting up. She almost fell for the most basic trick.
Artpe let out a sigh, he would have to turn away the people, and he would have
to escape the village with Maetel. His immediate future looked bleak. At that
moment, Maetel’s naive voice asked a question.
“Why are so many people gathered outside? Normally, they are very cold
towards Artpe and I.”
“Since we are heroes, they probably want to create a tie with us at all cost. Still,
they are only level 1 starter village people ABCD.”
Artpe was an orphan of unknown origin. Maetel had lost her mother when she
was young, and her father was a traveling merchant.
The villagers weren’t heartless enough to let the two die. They helped the
children get by, but they were considered to be a drain on their resources. This
was why the villagers had treated them as if they were undesirables.
However, the two of them had suddenly become heroes!
Until now, the people of this village had treated them poorly, and those memories
were flashing through their minds. This was why they had all gathered here to
leave a positive memory behind in the two children’s minds.
“If they had something useful, I would take it, but…”
There was no hidden treasure or skill in this village, he had already checked with
his Read All Creation ability.
Basically, he had nothing to gain from the villagers. This town had no special
characteristics aside from the the fact that the heroes were born here. This was
basically a quintessential starter’s village!
“Nothing good will come from getting involved with them. Even if we received and
completed a request, they would probably give us some grass as reward.”
“I’m good at eating grass. When I was young, father taught me which grass I
could eat.”
“I'm not going to eat grass, I’m not a cow. Are you a cow?”
“No!”
“Then you shouldn’t eat it from now on.”
“Yes!”
He didn’t care about the worries of the villagers, they didn’t interest Artpe. The
fact that he was a hero now was annoying, so he didn’t feel the need to get
involved in other people’s business! The only things he needed were money,
level, skills and spells!
“This is why we have to run away. If we stay put, we might be dragged away to
the castle.”
“I also don’t want food that tastes bad!”
Maetel let out an energetic shout as if she agreed with Artpe. However, she soon
asked a question in low spirits.
“If father comes back to find me missing, he’ll be sad. If I go to the castle, I can
contact him, but I can’t do that if I go with you.”
“You are sharp in regards to some topics… Well… Mmmm.”
At this point in time, Maetel’s father had died in a remote part of the continent.
Artpe had been in charge of investigating her, so he was sure of it.
However, he couldn’t just tell her that her father was dead just because it was so
in his previous life! Artpe’s existence might have changed the fate of Maetel’s
father, but that possibility was very low. However, he didn’t feel the need to
attack Maetel mentally at this point in time.
This was why he made up a reasonable-sounding excuse.
“We’ll leave behind a letter. Your father knows that you are close with me, so he’ll
probably come looking for you at this hut.”
“Artpe. I know how to read letters, but I don’t know how to write...”
“It’s all right, I know human... I know how to read and write in the Kingdom's
Language.”
“That’s amazing!”
When Artpe raised his right hand, a blue light appeared at the end of his index
finger. This couldn’t be called magic, it was the most basic mana technique
called Mana Manifestation. It was possible to engrave letters into wood using the
hot mana. Maetel’s eyes became brighter. Artpe grinned as he confirmed
something with her.
“Does your father know the Kingdom Language?”
“Of course!”
“All right, hero. Do you have anything you want to tell your father?”
“Yes, I do! So…”
Artpe transcribed all of Maetel’s words onto the wall of the hut. He let out a sigh
as he stepped back. He thought this was pointless, but if he could keep her
morale up, it was worth it.
‘I’ve gone through the trouble of doing this. You should come back alive and
search this hut.’
He grumbled as he gave his wish, and he grabbed Maetel’s hand.
Kyahh!
Maetel let out a bashful sound, but he ignored it.
“Let’s run away.”
“Y…yes!”
“Ah, Artpe!”
“Maetel!”
The two of them charged out of the hut’s door in an energetic manner and the
villagers rushed forward. Artpe didn’t know when the priest would be coming
back, so he didn’t have the time to deal with the villagers. He chose the weakest
looking villager, glaring at him as he spoke.
“We have to go to the restroom.”
“I...I’m sorry.”
Village person D backed off. Villager A, B, C and E followed D’s example as they
also backed off!
This was the moment he had been waiting for, he ran as he pulled Maetel behind
him. Villager D looked at the children’s back, it seemed like the two of them really
had to go to the restroom.
However, the two children were never seen again. They didn’t return to the
village.
The heroes succeeded in running away.
Chapter 3 - I’m a Hero!? (3)

“The human body is weak.”

Artpe had a new revelation, the price of which was a scrape on his knee.
“Artpe was always bad at running. Eh-whew, I knew you were running too hard.”
The priest was probably back after contacting the palace. He would immediately
try to find them, so they had to be as far away as possible. However, Artpe
couldn’t run properly since he suffered an injury, this was why Maetel was
helping him walk. He was slowing down the hero. If he was still one of the Four
Heavenly Kings, he would have considered his own actions to be a meritorious
deed!
“This isn’t the time to…”
“Artpe?”
Artpe had extended a few threads of Mana from his body and his face crumpled
when he felt a vibration through them. There were beings born from a spring of
evil nearby. Basically, monsters were close.
There were three of them. These monsters were living in a forest near humans,
who weren’t very vigilant. As expected of monsters living in such a region, they
were naturally occurring level 3 goblins. These were monsters that always
showed up in stories that had heroes, knights or magicians as main characters.
The main characters always defeat these monsters in the most miserable way
possible for the monsters, they were creatures of misfortune, who bowed out
early from the story.
Of course, even if the goblins were very weak, Artpe and Maetel had just left their
town. They were mere level 1, so the goblins were stronger than them. If Artpe
and Maetel had moved through the normal route, they would have faced slimes
or creatures weaker than squirrels, they could have raised their levels by hunting
them instead of facing goblins!
‘Fortunately, I dispersed my threads of Mana. Of course, it would have been
better if I possessed Search or Barrier type magic!’
Level was everything in this world. If one had a low level, they would be low on
Mana. There were restrictions placed on Skills and Spells, because one’s soul
was of low quality. One could attack an enemy’s weak spot using a Sliding
Tackle skill, which was sharper than an attack with a knife, yet they would have a
hard time delivering a critical hit. On top of that, one wouldn't be able to equip
oneself with good equipment!
“Maetel. You should stop helping me, and…”
“Huh? I can feel a strange energy.”
Artpe was about to warn Maetel, but she mumbled to herself before he could.
Her pretty face frowned.
Artpe could see Maetel’s ability change in real time.
[Maetel]
[Level 1]
[Detection Lv1]
“I can feel it more clearly now, Artpe. I’m pretty sure there are beings coming
towards us.”
“······ah, yes. I was about to tell you the same thing. ”
Of course, there were also geniuses who learned high quality Skills irrespective
of their levels. This was what had happened to the blonde haired girl in front of
him! She was a damned genius!
He let out a string of curses in a low voice and decided to look at this in a positive
light. His only ally was a genius.
“They are goblins, and they are all level 3. If it were a one on one battle, it might
be a fair fight, however, there are three of them.”
“Don't worry, I’ll protect Artpe.”
Her words were very heroic!
However, she was wearing shabby clothes that probably had a Defense of 0.
They might even have a negative defense by the look of it, and she had no
other equipment. The girl spoke such words while clenching her dirty hands into
fists, which amplified the worry he felt.
“Still, you can't fight them with empty hands. It is unreasonable, so please be
patient.”
“Yes.”
Artpe let go of Maetel’s helping hands, then he limped around as he quickly
searched the surroundings. He could see the composition of the world, and the
information was pouring in through his eyes. He concentrated his efforts in
finding the most sharp or hard item he could find, and fortunately, his efforts were
immediately rewarded.
“Hoo. This should be fine.”
[Burning Branch]
[A trace amount of naturally occurring Mana has hardened the fibers and bark of
the branch. It has the potential to be used as a burning weapon, but it’ll break
after several swings.]
Sometimes there were artifacts that were naturally formed in nature. It was
ungainly compared to a crafted weapon, but it was good enough to be used as a
stopgap weapon. He put the item into Maetel’s hands as he spoke.
“Two are coming diagonally from the left, so you should guard that side.”
“Huh? This branch feels a bit strange. I can feel a hot, yet comfortable feeling
from it.”
“What?”
Artpe observed Maetel. Sure enough, he saw the newly updated information.
[Maetel]
[Level - 1]
[Mana Sensitivity Lv1]
“...yes, I see.”
“I don’t know what just happened, but was it something good?”
“Of course. This is the attainment of a warrior.”
It wasn’t something a normal warrior could gain, this was the attainment of a high
rank warrior! Artpe didn’t know how many skills she could awaken by herself, he
decided not to be surprised from now on. He then picked up an ordinary rock and
turned around.
His knee was aching, but he ignored the pain, focusing on imbuing Mana into the
rock.The only thing he could do right now was to manipulate his Mana.
Mana was basically pure energy. When he imbued his Mana into this very plain
rock, it would become a useful weapon that he could throw once.
Fortunately, Artpe had a ridiculous amount of Mana considering he was level 1…
There was so much that he wondered if his status as a hero had a causal effect.
He had put in enough Mana to fill the rock, yet he still had plenty left.
The rock was filled with magic, and it started to emit a blue light. If he left it be,
the Mana would slowly bleed out. However, if he threw it, it would cause a weak
explosion, it was enough to kill a level 3 goblin.
“Artpe?”
“I told you there were three, right? Don’t worry about the one coming towards us
from the rear, you just focus on the ones coming from the front.”
“You even know where the monsters are coming from, Artpe is amazing!”
“Look towards the front.”
“Yes!”
If one of the bastards had a long distance weapon, they would have to run away.
However, this was a forest in the boondocks, it was a novice zone where goblins
weren’t allowed to hold any advanced weapons.
As expected, it didn’t take too long for a laughing goblin to push through the
brush. The goblins weren’t equipped better than them, they just had sturdy
looking clubs.
[Goo-heh-heh. You guys look tasty! Guehk!]
“Die!”
There was no way he would allow a level 3 small fish pontificate in front of him!
When the goblin assigned to Artpe came into range, he quickly threw the rock.
The rock flew true, and the goblin’s head exploded, making it fall backwards. It
was a one shot kill.
[Kee...kee-eek!?]
[Weak humans!?]
“Hyahhhp!”
When their comrade in charge of the ambush died in such a preposterous
manner, the goblins were taken aback! At that moment, the hero charged over.
Unlike her title as a hero, she had used a cowardly tactic by waiting for an
opening!
“I feel as if everything will work out if I swing this!”
“Countless gamblers ruined themselves by trusting their instincts!”
“Hoo-ahhhp!”
[Ggoo-ehhhhk!]
However, unlike Artpe worries, the wooden branch swung by Maetel fell with
exquisite strength and speed, impacting the goblin’s arm. The goblin dropped the
club, and it fell over while screaming in pain.
A level 3 monster was defeated by a level 1 hero! This was a shameful event for
the entire goblin race.
[Maetel]
[Level - 1]
[Swordsmanship Lv1]
“Artpe. Somehow I feel stronger!”
“Ahh, I know. ”
Until now, Maetel had only swung a branch during her roleplay as a hero. She
didn’t have any real battle experience, yet she learned swordsmanship so easily.
Still, Swordsmanship wasn’t as impressive as Mana Sensitivity!
Artpe gave an apathetic reply as he picked up another rock.
From just one swing of the branch, Maetel had earned courage and skill. She
bravely attacked the remaining goblin.
“Scary monsters! Don’t torment Artpe!”
[Kwahh, it is a scary human! Ggoo-ehhk!]
This strike was much stronger than before. She was only a level 1, yet she
possessed Mana Sensitivity. Maetel instinctively brought out the heat from within
the wooden branch. She burned the goblin’s club and hit the goblin square in the
head!
The goblin couldn’t resist the terrible pain and died.
It was hard to tell which one was the scary monster!
[Maetel]
[Level 2]
[Mana Control Lv1]
“Ohh, oooh!”
When the fire was brought out from the wooden branch, it consumed all the
mana contained within. It turned into ash in Maetel’s hand, and the ash was
dispersed by the wind. Somehow, it was a sad sight for her.
“I really killed them.”
It was as if Maetel had poured out all of her energy, she sat in place as she
looked down at her hands.
It was a very short fight, but she had never experienced something so powerful.
She had went back and forth between the boundaries of life and death, ending
lives with her own hands! She wouldn’t be able to forget this shock easily.
Artpe also knew what she was going through. He understood it.
However...
“Artpe, I… I won?”
“No.”
Artpe gave a cold reply and threw the rock he had pick up a moment ago, which
had taken in a lot of his Mana in a short amount of time. The rock brushed near
Maetel as it flew by like the wind. Before it could swing its club towards Maetel,
the goblin’s head exploded.
Maetel saw the goblin’s body stumble to the ground. She finally became aware of
its presence.
“Kyahhh!”
“You haven’t won until all your enemies are killed. You should keep that in mind.”
“...I forgot.”
The goblin she attacked first had only suffered a broken arm from her first strike.
It had dropped its club, yet it was still alive, Maetel had forgotten about the first
goblin when she faced the other one. On top of that, she had been intoxicated by
the fact that she had killed a goblin. The battle hadn’t ended, yet she had been
out of it!
Maetel was looking at Artpe blankly. He spoke icily towards her.
“Wake up, Maetel. We are no longer children who live within the fences of a
village.”
“Artpe······.”
Other 12 year old girls could act like this right now, but a hero didn’t have that
luxury. Even if Maetel’s goodwill towards him decreased, he wanted her to have
a mean streak.
The hero in his previous life was too soft.
She had been softer than a cheese matured for half a year! Instead of giving her
a curriculum for the gifted, he needed to make a hero who was cold and spiteful!
“...is too cool.”
“Huh?”
However, his intentions was off by a little bit. Maetel’s cheeks were flushed as
she ran towards Artpe. She grabbed both of his hands and started yelling
excitedly as she jumped around.
“Artpe is too cool! You really are like a hero!”
“You are the hero! Ah, I guess I’m also a hero now...”
Even as he said it, his words gave him goosebumps. Artpe couldn’t think of
anyone else in this world who was as unsuitable for the role of a hero as him! On
the other hand, it seemed like Maetel viewed Artpe as a cool hero.
“I want to be like Artpe!”
“No, you won’t.”
Artpe spoke with a serious face. Maetel’s spirit was finally dampened a little bit.
“Anyways, you should never put down your guard until all of your enemies are
dead. Even fallen enemies should be checked. I want you to double check even
if the enemy’s throat was cut, do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll bear it in mind!... So the enemy doesn’t die even if its
throat is cut?”
Artpe clicked his tongue at Maetel’s naive question. It wouldn’t be called a
monster if it died so easily!
“I’m not sure about these small fishes, but later on, there are bastards who
survive even after being cut into 17 pieces. The criteria for finding out if a
monster is dead is to use Mana.”
“Mana?”
“You’ve handled Mana not too long ago, and you’ve also acquired skills… I’ll
teach it to you slowly.”
“Yes!”
“However, there is something else I have to teach you first.”
Artpe approached a dead goblin and tapped the corpse. Suddenly, a yellow coin
fell from its body. When she saw this, Maetel’s eyes turned round.
“Why do monsters have money!?”
“That is a very good question.”
Artpe kicked the remaining two goblins and picked up the coins. He let out a
fresh smile as he spoke.
“I don't know the answer either!”
This was the moment when the hero learned of Looting.
Chapter 4 - I’m a Hero!? (4)

“Stay still, Artpe.”

“Hey, stop right there. Don’t come over here! Hey, hey!”
Artpe was facing the biggest threat of his lifetime. The identity of this threat was a
paste made from a handful of grass that Maetel held in her hand.
“You’ll get better soon if I can put this on you.”
“Stop lying! There is no way I’ll get better by applying such a dirty… Ah.”
[Maetel]
[Level - 2]
[Medicine Lv4]
[Care Grass]
[The grass works against all types of wounds, but its effects are weak. If the
grass is made into a paste by combining liquid, its recuperative power is
increased slightly.]
Maybe it could really heal his wound.
When that thought ran through his mind, Artpe immediately calmed down. This
was his mistake, because unlike the previous incarnation of herself, the current
hero had learned how to attack an opening. In a flash, she darted in and put the
grass paste on his knee!
“Ooh-ahhhk!”
“Just be still and get treated by me!”
“Ooh-ahhh… It really is getting better!”
She hadn’t put much effort into searching through the thicket. After she pulled out
the grass, she spat on it before mushing it.
The pain disappeared in a flash after the paste was applied!
Artpe was taken aback by this unexpected aptitude the hero possessed. She
preened as she stuck out her still flat chest.
“My dad taught me about the different types of grass. There are grasses you can
eat, and there are naturally ones that can treat wounds. There is even a type of
grass that can recover your energy. He also taught me about which grasses are
dangerous to eat.”
“I ignored you when you said you ate grass before, but now it sounds as if your
words were predictive...”
“Let’s rest for a little bit until the medicine soaks in. Ah, before we do that...”
Maetel found a patch of grass nearby and pulled out the wide leaved grass,
wiping it off on her sleeve. Then she wrapped the wide leaves around the wound
administered with the paste and tied it loosely.
She looked fiendish when fighting the goblins, but in this light, she showed her
feminine side. If he was a normal boy, he would have fallen for her at this point in
time. Of course, Artpe was able to sidestep this issue. The number one cause of
death for the Four Heavenly Kings had been honey traps. He was well-informed
regarding this issue, so his heart didn't beat faster at all.
“Oopsy daisy, It’s all done.”
“...thank you.”
“This is nothing compared to what Artpe has done for me!”
Maetel had a big smile on her face as she sat next to Artpe. After the battle with
the goblins had ended, they had decided to recover from the fatigue caused by
their first battle by resting on top of a big boulder that was nearby.
“What I did for you…”
Artpe felt guilty at Maetel’s words, so he let out a bitter laugh.
Truthfully, he had mixed feelings about all of this. Was he really the same person
as the version of himself who had grown up with Maetel? Why did Artpe have no
memory of the time before he regained his memories?
“Are you tired, Artpe? I’ll let you use my lap as a pillow, why don’t you sleep even
if it is for a brief time?”
“...no.”
Artpe faced the angelic and kind face of Maetel. He felt awkward facing her, so
he surreptitiously turned his gaze towards the sky, where the glow of the setting
sun was slowly spreading.
They didn’t have any time to waste.
“My wound is fine. Let’s get up now, it’ll be extremely cold and dark once the
night comes.”
“What should we do?”
The two heroes were still too young and weak, it was risky for them to spend the
whole night within the forest. Be that as it may, they couldn’t just blindly go back
to the town either.
What would their best option be right now?
Artpe let out a gentle laugh as he revealed the answer.
“We can go into a Dungeon.”
“...what?”
Maetel answered back with a question.
For the first time since he was reincarnated, Artpe spoke words worthy of a hero.
“I’m saying we should go clear a Dungeon!”
Dungeons were scary places teeming with monsters and traps. However, at the
end of the Dungeons, there was always the prospect of acquiring sweet rewards.
This was why adventurers were lured into those dangerous places. Some called
the Dungeons a gift from the gods, others called them the temptation from the
devil. There were even some who called them a prank pulled off by the Demon
King.
“I like to refer to Dungeons as rich mines.”
“Artpe is amazing!”
It was unbelievably hard to find rewards within the Dungeons.
There were cases where one was able to avoid all the traps, but when they
reached the last room, it was revealed that the treasure was hidden in one of the
traps they had already passed. There were times when the last boss was killed,
but it was revealed that the last boss itself was the treasure. Then there were
cases where the last boss didn’t turn out to be the actual boss, the adventurer
was 'awakened' in the course of the fight to become the last boss by being
inflicted with poisons and curses. The world was overflowing with such stories!
At this point, it was clear that a god’s nature could be as twisted as the Demon
King's.
Or were they the two sides of the same coin?
On the other hand, Artpe possessed the Read All Creation ability, he could
pierce through all lies to see the truth, nothing could deceive his eyes. Artpe
possessed an ability that would allow him to find all the hidden Dungeons, and it
wouldn’t be difficult for him to acquire the hidden treasures within those
Dungeons!
‘Of course, in my previous life, I used this amazing ability for the benefit of the
Demon King…’
Just the thought of this made Artpe grind his teeth. If he had been able to take
just a 20 percent cut of what he earned from those countless Dungeons, he
would have been able to take care of 30 generations of his descendants!
“It’ll be different this time around. All right, I’m going to work a little bit harder so
that I can enjoy a peaceful life as a dairy farmer.”
“I’m not sure what you are talking about, but let’s both work harder!”
Artpe knew about a Dungeon near the village where the hero was born. To be
precise, there was exactly one Dungeon inside the forest near the country
village. It was fitting, since that village had nothing.
From the start, he had thought about visiting this Dungeon while they were
running away. This was why they had been heading in this direction from the
moment they came out of the village, it was going as planned. The Dungeon
appeared not much later.
“...is it here?”
“Yes.”
When Maetel saw the entrance of the Dungeon, she had an odd expression on
her face.
“Do we have to go into such a strange place? Isn’t this a burial ground?”
“All Dungeon entrances are like this. It's as if all the Dungeons creators made a
friendly agreement by losing their collective minds.”
Aside from burial grounds, there were several thousand year old trees, natural
lakes formed within a cave and a ruined house inside a town. These were the
popular spots for Dungeons.
These were very obvious and suspicious locations, but these spots weren’t
investigated unless the hero or Artpe discovered them. He had always wondered
why it was like that. However, that issue didn’t matter now.
“I don’t want to go in there.... My dad said we shouldn’t disturb the rest of the
dead.”
“Your father did a very good job in educating you.”
Up until now, Maetel had meekly followed Artpe’s words, this was the first time
she had pushed back. Well, it was true that the hero from his past life never
visited this Dungeon either.
After being chosen as a hero, she had been dragged immediately into the
palace. She might have always had an aversion toward burial grounds, but that
didn’t matter any more. There was only one important fact right now, she must go
into this Dungeon.
This was why Artpe spoke with a stern voice.
“If we don’t go in there, we’ll be dragged back into the palace.”
“I like tasteless food even less! I also don’t like the cold. Woo, woo…”
“Well, are you going to go in?”
“·...yes.”
The sun had set all the way, and their surroundings were getting colder, they
didn’t have the time to dawdle. Maetel looked as if she was about to cry, but she
followed Artpe. She had no choice but to enter the Dungeon.
“Huh?”
However, when she actually entered the Dungeon, Maetel tilted her head in
confusion.
“This isn’t a grave?”
Maetel had expected to see a coffin with a dead body inside. She had expected
cold brick walls with hidden bats and long spiderwebs. The sight that greeted
them was a square room, and the floor was covered with brown soil.
When she turned around, she saw the stairway heading outside. Maetel was
sure she had walked on stone steps, yet unbeknownst to her, they had changed
into stairs made out of dirt!
“Artpe, Artpe!”
Maetel’s eyes turned round and she grabbed Artpe’s dirty sleeve. He had
somewhat expected such a reaction from Maetel, so he smirked.
“Dungeons are all like this. What do you think? Are you still cold?”
“No, I’m not cold at all… Huh? Why is that?”
When the hero realized the abnormal condition around her, she became slightly
confused.
Artpe gave a short explanation to her.
“Dungeons are a form of pocket dimensions. You should think of it as a space
disengaged from the outside world.”
“What is a pocket dimension?”
“The concept of a pocket dimension was first introduced in the year 728
according to the Continent Calendar. A demon named ‘Nanarai Bodra’ set up an
experiment where the density of Mana within a limited space was pushed past
the maximum permissible amount…”
“It’s over my head!”
Maetel raised one hand and yelled out in a spirited manner. Artpe had already
expected such a reaction from her. He let out a benevolent smile as he asked her
a question.
“Which part don’t you understand?”
“There’s too much… You should explain what the Continent Calendar is first.”
“All right. Let’s lay that aside for now.”
Artpe gave up on giving her an explanation. He was the one at fault for trying to
explain a concept of magic to an idiot.
“Just accept that such places exists, and the Dungeons occupy that space.”
“Yes, all right!”
If she was going to gloss over everything, she shouldn’t have asked for an
explanation!
“We’ll sleep here today. Since we are at the Dungeon entrance, the monsters
won’t come near this place. Moreover, no one will able to find and enter this
Dungeon, we can relax and sleep.”
“Yes. All right.”
He said those words, but he still prepared for the unexpected. He used his
fingers to spread several threads of Mana over the Dungeon’s entrance,
stairway, and the doorway located on the other side of the room. It would allow
him to be aware of external threats beforehand, and it would give him some time
to prepare for it. This was supposed to be an impossible task for a normal level 2
hero, but Artpe was able to pull it off.
Maetel watched Artpe work. Her eyes were shining relentlessly.
“Artpe is really incredible. There isn’t a thing you don’t know, you are great at
everything except exercising. You are kind… Moreover, you are a hero!”
“You are a hero too.”
“I... I like being a hero, but in truth, I wouldn’t have minded if I hadn’t become a
hero.”
Artpe finally remembered the words spoken by Maetel in the morning. She most
definitely said there was something she wanted to be more than a hero.
She had role-played at being a hero everyday. He knew she loved being a hero,
so what was she referring to when she said there was something she wanted
more than being a hero?
Artpe mused over it when he turned to look at Maetel in alarm.
“Did you perhaps want to become the Demon King instead of a hero!?”
“No way!”
“You should most definitely not become one of the Four Heavenly Kings. It isn’t
worth it.”
“I’m not talking about that!”
Maetel’s face had turned red as she fumed. Her anger pretty much wiped away
the fear she felt for the Dungeon and the future. Artpe smiled for the first time,
and he gently patted her head.
“I already know, you dummy. Whatever you want to be, you should keep it safe
within your heart. When the Demon King is dead, you’ll be free.”
“Free…?”
A hero only existed only because there was a Demon King in existence. When
the Demon King disappeared, the Hero Class would also vanish.
Then, the hero would be able to acquire a new Class.
“That day will come, so you should safeguard your dream. You shouldn’t forget
about it. I will help you achieve it.”
“Dream... Do you really think I’ll be able to fulfill my dream?”
“Of course.”
He didn’t know what her dream was. However, the dream was probably
something she could realize after the death of the Demon King. Artpe nodded his
head vigorously, and Maetel’s face visibly brightened.
“All right. I’ll try harder from now on! I’ll do whatever it takes!”
“Yes. Anyways, it is time for us to sleep.”
“Yes! Sleep well, Artpe!”
“You sleep well too.”
He had succeeded in motivating the hero.
Now she would be an active participant in moving forward!
Artpe let out a pleased smile. He had been able to turn the tide of Maetel's
reluctance, and his plan was on track now.
His expression was akin to a farmer waiting for his harvest.
If he knew what Maetel was dreaming about, Artpe wouldn’t have been able to
make such a contented expression. He had always been the lowest ranked of the
Four Heavenly Kings because he had a habit of not catching the important
developments.
This was how the two heroes slept safely within the Dungeon on their first night
out.
Chapter 5 - Dungeon with Death (1)
On the next day, the two of them were able to safely open their eyes. Artpe had
been inwardly worried about a highly skilled adventurer or a thief, who could
neutralize his perception, catching them by surprise. However, a refreshing
morning arrived without the need for Artpe to use his contingency plan 1, 2, 3
and 4. Of course, they were in a Dungeon, so they couldn’t check whether it was
light outside!
“Good morning, Artpe!”
“I don’t know if it is is morning yet, and I also don’t know if it is a good one, but
hello.”
When Maetel opened her eyes, she had confirmed that Artpe was sleeping safely
next to her. She let out a bright smile before she took stock of herself. Her eyes
widened in surprise.
“Wow. We slept on floor, yet my body feels really great.”
“The Mana inside a Dungeon is extremely active. It has a positive effect on one’s
vitals. However, we aren’t the only living being in this place, and that is a
problem.”
Most monster, who entered a Dungeon, became much stronger. Of course, this
increased the EXP one could gain. Still, it was scary to face these fortified
monsters. This was why most adventurers and mercenaries was reluctant to
enter a Dungeon. In truth, if one wanted to live a long life, it was best not to enter
a Dungeon.
“Is this why you insisted on entering the Dungeon? Since we’ve slept and
refreshed ourselves, can’t we just head out?”
“We could. However, the soldiers dispatched from the palace would have
expanded their search radius by now. If we go out right now, we’ll be caught.
We’ll be dragged back into the palace.”
“I don’t like tasteless food!”
She could deal with wearing shoddy clothes, and not being able to sleep.
However, she wanted to avoid not being able eat good food at all cost. There
were tears in Maetel’s eyes as she shouted those words. Artpe nodded his head
in satisfactions, and he handed her the leather waterskin.
“All right. After we drink some water, let’s work hard to catch the monsters in
here. By the time we are able to go out again, we’ll be stronger. When we exit
the Dungeon, we’ll be able to easily evade the soldiers pursuing us.”
This was the cheapest part about being a hero. Maetel had been a normal child
only a day ago. Before she became a hero, she had merely been the leader of a
group of children, who she played with. If things continued as they were
progressing right now, she would be more skillful than the soldiers that were
being killed like flies in the current war. She would be able to look down upon
them!
There was a common saying within the Demon world. Yesterday’s defeated hero
will kill you tomorrow. Of course, the idiots within the Demon world ignored this
saying, and they were killed and looted by the hero like clock-work. The biggest
problem was the chef…
The Demon King was the biggest idiot amongst them!
“Do we have to fight those weird goblins again, Artpe?”
“No, we’ll be fighting something much weirder. They are also stronger.”
“Heeek!”
When she thought about the fight against the goblins yesterday, she shrank into
herself.
However, Artpe had seen her remarkably learn four skills at once in yesterday’s
battle. He thought about how she looked yesterday, and he gravely nodded his
head.
“You are capable of fighting opponents that are 10 levels above you. If you
aren’t careless, you’ll be able to win easily, so don’t worry too much about it. I’m
also capable to a certain extent.”
He most definitely felt the difference in yesterday's battle with the goblins. When
Artpe was part of the Demon race, it didn’t matter how great an ability he had
possessed. He had a hard time distinguishing himself with his limited talent.
Now he was born as a human, and he had acquired the Hero Class. His
situation had changed drastically.
“In the Demon world, there are no weak monsters like this…..”
“You even know about the Demon world. Artpe is amazing.!”
“I read about it from a book...a book.”
The monsters from the Demon world were inherently outstanding at Mana
detection, and they possessed a high Mana resistance. If one manifested Mana
to attack those types of monsters, it wouldn’t work. Yesterday, Artpe had infused
a portion of his Mana into a rock, and he had thrown it. He also used threads of
Mana to detect the approach of his enemies. These methods would have never
work against the monsters from the Demon world.
However, he was in the realm of the humans now. There were countless
monsters here that could be killed using such simple methods. He didn’t have to
level up, and acquire proper magic spells. Any magic spells that dealt with direct
manipulation of magic could be mimicked with his control over Mana. He would
be able to create a similar effect!
“Wow. Can all magicians do that?”
“They can, but they don’t bother using it.”
The reason being it looked cooler to chant a spell, and the destructive power one
could inflict was higher with a spell. Of course, these weren’t the only reasons
why Mana manipulation wasn’t used by others. If Artpe didn’t have his Innate
Ability, Read All Creation, he wouldn't be able to figure out his opponent’s
tendencies ahead of time. He wouldn’t be able to properly respond with his
Mana.
Artpe hadn’t really given a detailed explanation about his Innate Ability to Maetel.
Despite that fact, she passively accepted everything he said by saying, ‘Artpe is
amazing!’ This was why there was no need to give a more thorough explanation.
If he said it, she believed it!
“It is scary, but I’ll do my best, Artpe!”
“Before we do anything...”
“Huh?”
While Maetel was tilting her head in confusion, Artpe unhesitatingly strode
towards the bottom step of the stairway connected to the entrance to the
Dungeon. He gathered Mana into his hand.
“Is there a monster there, Artpe!?”
“No.”
Artpe’s hand knocked on the riser of the bottom step. The stair reacted to the
Mana, and it opened up like a drawer. A large wooden box appeared. Maetel’s
eyes turned round. Artpe had a delighted expression on his face. He laughed as
he turned to look at Maetel.
“However, there is a treasure box here.”
“Artpe is really amazing!”
“Yes, I’m amazing.”
As always, Artpe didn’t stop Maetel from giving him praise.
In the past, this single ability allowed him to rise to the seat of the Four Heavenly
Kings! Artpe was feeling good, so he decided to be a little bit more kind in his
explanation.
“Most Dungeons have something called a Starter Set. These are for the
fugitives, who were chased into the Dungeons, without knowing anything about
the Dungeons. However, these people are being chased. They don’t have the
luxury to search for secret locations.”
“Still, if they are lucky, they might be able to find it. So who made these
preparations? I’m sure it was a kind person, who doesn’t want unsuspecting
people to die within the Dungeons.”
“Kind person?”
Artpe grinned. The hero’s way of thinking was still too soft. She was soft like a
warm pudding that was freshly made!
“The beginner’s equipment isn’t called beginner’s equipment for nothing. It’ll
break after couple swings. There is nothing here that can be used for the
duration of couple days. On top of that, it is very difficult to acquire additional
equipments in the Dungeon unless one is experienced in traversing such
Dungeons. Usually, the people, who were lucky enough to find the beginner’s
equipment, are more likely to enter the Dungeon in high spirits. It gives them a
false sense of confidence. This is the reason why most of them die.”
“D...does that apply to us!”
“It doesn’t, because we are heroes.”
“I see!”
Artpe gave another explanation, and Maetel once again accepted that
explanation.
This is why it is easy to have a dummy by one’s side!
“First, let’s equip you with all of this. This rusted steel sword will break after
swing it exactly 186 times. Ah, that number decreases by half if you imbue it with
mana, hit a monster with a level difference of five or hit a monster’s bone. You
have to be careful. Moreover, this leather armor is useless if you take a hit from
a monster with a level difference of 3. Otherwise, it can survive 20 cuts from the
monsters before it becomes useless.”
“All right. I’ll be careful.!”
Artpe had given a pretty detailed instruction, yet she readily nodded her head. Of
course, there was no way she was able to remember all the details. However,
she simplified it in her head as ‘I have to avoid being hit, and I have to kill them
with the least number of swings as possible!’
“Huh? Aren’t there any weapons here that Artpe can use?”
“There is no god in this world that would think a magician would come into a
beginner's Dungeon like this one.”
Artpe used Mana so naturally that it was easy to forget that there were very few
number of magicians in the human world. First, one had to be born with the
constitution for magic. Secondly, one had to be smart. Thirdly, one needed an
environment where there’s a specialized school, who helped a young magician in
dealing with Mana. A very small number of people possessed all three
requirements.
“Artpe is really really amazing…..”
“I know. I know.”
In the box, there were two daggers, three emergency potions and a little bit of
ration. Artpe put the potions and ration into a bag. Then he equipped the
daggers on his waist.
“Artpe knows how to use daggers?”
“I know how to throw them.”
Artpe had an exceptional talent of being able to find hidden stuff. He was also
very talented at hitting targets with whatever he threw. In the past, he had grown
up in the Demon world with nothing to his name. He didn’t have the money to
buy proper weapons or magic scrolls.
Before he caught the eyes of the Demon King, he had to manipulate Mana
directly or he had to infuse Mana into objects to fight. He had used these tactics
to defeat threats to himself.
He had already mentioned this before, but his tactics didn’t work well against
monsters in the Demon world. This was why Artpe’s childhood had been very
difficult. Even now his eyes teared up just from thinking about that period in his
life.
“The only thing left now…. All weapons differ in weight and balance. If you
swing the sword thinking it is the same as the wooden branch you swung
yesterday, you might be killed before you can say ‘ah’. You should swing it about
couple times to get a feel for it….”
Artpe was going through his ‘Fifty reasons why beginner adventurers die’
speech. He talked about information that was so obvious that people overlooked
it. At that moment, Maetel swung the sword through the air, and she let out a
bright smile as she let out a shout.
“Mmm, mmm. This will do! Weapons with edges are very scary!”
[Maetel]
[Level : 2]
[Swordsmanship Lv3]
“Ah, yes.”
He had been trying to give advice to a hero. It was basically akin to a little kid
trying to lecture a court magician after reading a single tome of magic. After
Artpe had this epiphany, he stepped forward. The hero grabbed him in surprise.
“You said there are monsters here!?”
“There should be none in front of us. I’ll be able to perceive everything.”
Normal monsters appeared in the beginner’s Dungeon, and the monsters
couldn’t avoid his detection when he used the Mana threads. He was about to
take another step with a leisurely smile on his face. However, he took a step
backwards as his expression stiffened.
“....I guess not.”
In the first room of the Dungeon, an Elite Monster was waiting near the exit. The
Elite Monster was positioned perfectly. It was poised to take off the head of the
adventurer trying to exit the first room. If Artpe didn’t have his Read All Creation
ability, he would have suffered the same fate as a regular adventurer!
“Why’s there a monster of that caliber inside the 1st room on the 1st floor of a
beginner’s Dungeon!”
“There are strong monsters in there?”
“There's a level 10 Elite Zombie inside. It possesses a Stealth ability, and the
Critical Hit Skill. It is the ideal monster to kill low level adventurers.”
“Level 10?”
It was seven levels highers than the goblins they faced yesterday. However, the
concept of levels was foreign to Maetel. She didn’t have a point of reference for
levels, so she had no idea how much stronger the monster was than her. She
tilted her head in puzzlement.
“It is hard to feel the difference at the low levels, but the difference in levels
represents the absolute power gap. Normally, one shouldn’t attack an opponent if
there is a level gap of 5 levels.”
“Then we should run away immediately!”
“There was a king, who thought similarly. That bastard waged a war, but he
failed spectacularly.”
“Who is it?”
“The Demon world’s greatest chef.”
Heroes always developed, while ignoring the level gap. This would be true this
time around. Still, the Elite monster be too hard for a level 2. The hill was too
steep, so Artpe formulated a plan to decrease the gradient.
“First, we have to kill all the monsters inside the room to increase our level. If we
consider your Stats, even a single level increase will allow you to pierce through
the Elite Monster’s defense.”
“What do I do after that?”
“If you walk forward as if nothing is wrong, the Elite Zombie will try to attack you.
At that moment, I’ll attack to create an opportunity for you. You’ll attack
afterwards for good measure, and you’ll retreat. Your attack won’t be too
effective, but I’ll follow it up with an additional attack. Don’t worry too much about
it.”
“All right! What do I do afterwards?”
“Afterwards, you retreat and return to this entrance.”
“....huh?”
“Just be familiar with the plan I explained right now. All right?”
“Yes!..... Yes?”
Matel didn’t see the need to retreat mid fight, so she still had questions about the
plan. However, Artpe didn’t give any further explanations. Maetel tilted her head
in puzzlement as she entered the Dungeon’s first room with Artpe.
“I… Wa… Wa…..”
“Humans…. Killed me….”
“Daughter's face….. Want to see…...”
It was a pretty large room and there were a total of six zombies there! Unlike the
Elite Zombie, these zombies were around level 5. When they entered the room,
the zombies became aware of them. They slowly got up.
The zombies were letting out a rotting stench, and their nails were poisonous.
They were a very annoying opponent to face, but they were easy to kill. The
zombies were slow. It was the ideal candidate for a beginner hero to face.
“What shall we do, Artpe? He wants to see his daughter’s face….”
Their enemies were getting up slowly, and this was the ideal time to attack them.
However, Maetel wasn’t moving at all! Tears gathered in her eyes when she
heard their words.
He had expected her to snap under the pressure. He had expected her to get
angry.
Artpe nodded his head as if he understood her feelings. He spoke to her.
“Occasionally, there are some adventurers, who hesitate from attacking, when
they hear the words spoken by the zombies.”
“That’s right! How can we attack such pitiful people! We can’t kill them twice!”
“However, there’s something unusual here to be discovered.”
Artpe turned to look at Maetel with sharp eyes.
“If we wait a little bit longer, all the zombies will speak in a uniform pattern. This
fact can be observed.”
“My daughter's….· I want to see······.”
“Yes, just like that.”
“Wow. I think that zombie also has a daughter.”
“There is more to it than that.”
Maetel and Artpe had responded to their words, and the zombies felt their
advance slow. Several zombie hesitated before they started talking about the
same subject!
“Daughter…. My daughter…..”
“My daughter’s face······ See······.”
“Its seems they were all blessed with daughters!”
“If we gathered 100 zombies here, they would all have said the same thing. They
don’t have daughters. They are just trying to make you hesitate.”
“Mmm...?”
This was when Maetel’s reaction changed.
“Are they… Are they perhaps lying?”
“Isn’t it shocking? However, all monsters lie in order to kill humans. The brains
of these zombies are all rotted away. Monsters lie on instinct.”
“······.”
Maetel didn’t respond to Artpe’s words. The hero just bit her lips. Then she
lashed out towards the nearest zombie. She severed its legs.
The strike was so strong and sharp that Artpe wanted to question if she really
was a level 2! It was as if the thread holding up the zombie had been severed. It
fell to the floor as it writhed.
[Maetel]
[Level : 2]
[Critical Hit Lv1]
“Lying is bad…...”
Matel raised her gaze.
Artpe let out a gasp as he took a step backwards.
There was a towering rage within Maetel’s eyes!
“Lying is bad!”
“Daughter······.”
“Stop lying!”
“Daughhhhhhhter!”
The hero’s fight was incredible. No one had taught her this tactic, yet she
severed the legs of zombies slowly coming towards her. The zombies were all
writhing on the ground!
The hero yelled with fire raging in her eyes.
“I’ll never believe a monster’s words from now on!”
“Yes, that’s the stance to take!”
An ex-Four Heavenly King had succeeded in making the hero abandon her good
character!
“Goo-wuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Of course, the zombies had fallen to the floor, but they continued moving by
dragging their bodies forward. Their speed of advance was incredibly slow.
Maetel approached the closest zombie, and she cut off the head of the zombie.
She went down the line. After she cut three heads, she turned around to look at
Artpe as if she had just remembered something she had forgotten.
“If I kill them all, I’m the only one that’ll grow. Artpe has to increase his level!”
“No, you can kill the rest. You are the one fighting from the front. You are more
important than me right now.”
“All right!”
When Artpe said his words, Maetel unhesitatingly finished off the zombies. It
seemed she was still enraged by the fact that the zombies had lied to her. Of
course, even in her angered state, she was careful in preserving the sword’s
durability. Her actions were praiseworthy.
When she killed the six zombies, Artpe stepped forward to tap on the zombies.
“Let’s loot first….”
“No matter how many times I see it, it is fascinating.”
Of course, the loot that came out from the lousy zombies weren’t much better
than what the goblins had dropped. The only thing that dropped with greater
probability was their long nails, which was seeped with poison. It was a very
good weapon for the current Artpe.
“There are three poisoned nails and five copper coins. That should be it. Now
you should walk….”
Artpe was instructing Maetel on what to do next, but he shut his mouth. He had
naturally activated his Read All Creation, and he had shut his mouth when he
saw the information in front of him.
[Maetel]
[Level - 4]
“What?”
Maetel tilted her head in puzzlement. However, Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he
shook his head from side to side.
“It’s nothing.”
The six zombies were level 5 monsters, but this didn’t mean her level should
have grown from level 2 to 4 in one sitting. However, this was normal for her.
‘Heroes are an abnormality. This was especially true for this one in particular if
her Innate ability was taken into account… I’m pretty sure that this iteration of
the hero will awaken to the same ability.’
A spike of jealousy towards the hero was felt by him, but it disappeared quickly.
This hero was on his side now. He spoke once again to the pure and simple girl,
who was looking at him with worried eyes.
“Just walk forward.”
“Yes.”
Maetel didn’t hesitate. She walked forward. When she reached the exit, the
hidden Elite Zombie appeared, and it tried to bite her neck. Artpe threw a Mana-
infused dagger. The Elite Zombie stiffened!
“Goo-wuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Eh-eet!”
Its Stealth ability was down, so Maetel was able to see the bastard. She
unhesitatingly swung her sword towards its leg! Of course, this zombie wasn’t
called Elite for nothing. There was no way its leg would be cut off with a single
blow like the other zombies…..
“Goo-wuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“It fell off!?”
“I’m really angry right now!”
“Kee-ahhhhhh!”
The next attack severed both legs, and the Elite Zombie fell to the floor!
A level 10 Elite monster usually needed a 3 member party of similar level to take
it down. Maetel had been able to neutralize it with just three hits.
“So we have to return to the entrance now, Artpe?”
Maetel took two steps away from the Elite Zombie. She gallantly yelled towards
Artpe. Artpe looked at the fierce girl. He scratched his head as he gave a reply.
“No, you can just kill it.”
“Huh?”
“I said you can just kill it.”
“Huh...?”
The hero was much stronger than he had estimated, so his plan had went up in
smoke. Artpe tilted his head, and he watched the girl’s sword find the Elite
Zombie’s weak spot in an instant. As he watched her repeatedly bring down the
sword….
He just decided to laugh it off.
Chapter 6 - Dungeon with Death (2)

Many adventures entered the dungeons with dreams of becoming rich overnight.
However, most of them were wiped out before they were able to get past the 1st
floor. The reasons varied. They might be lacking in combat capability, or they
might not have caught sight of a trap. They might have mismanaged their
equipments or they might have ran out of food.
“Wow, Look! Look at this stairway! Does this stairway perhaps lead to the
second floor?”
“Yes, that’s right..”
Of course, their team’s battle capability was taken care of by the human hero
Maetel. Everything else was taken care of by the ex-Four Heavenly King Artpe.
There was no way this two man team would face any difficulties here. After
defeating the Elite Zombie, Maetel had advanced into being a level 6. The
momentum created by Maetel allowed them to clear the 1st floor in just 6 hours.
They had cleared it at superspeed. At the end of the 1st floor, Maetel was level
8, and Artpe somehow managed to advance into being level 5.
“Mmmmmmm. Why am I progressing so fast? Artpe is more amazing than me.”
“It is usually like that. Each person has a different area of expertise.”
Maetel’s growth speed was much faster than his. He should be upset at this
reality, but Artpe already knew about the growth speed displayed by the hero in
his previous life. In Artpe’s eyes, the current Maetel was progressing very slowly.
She’ll probably level up much faster when she awakens to her Innate ability.
“This won’t do.”
“What?”
Unlike Artpe, who had just accepted this fact, Maetel thought long and hard in
front of the stairway Afterwards, she resolutely nodded her head as she turned
to look at Artpe.
“We have to match our levels.”
“No, we really don't need to do that. As I said before, it’ll be safer for us if you
leveled up, since you are in the front….”
“We have to match our levels.”
The light in Maetel’s eyes was very serious. Artpe couldn’t help help but ask the
question.
“What’s the reason behind this?”
“If our level difference is too high, I’m afraid we will grow apart.”
“You are using some pretty poetic figure of speech…..?”
However, the point brought up by Maetel unexpectedly touched on the core of a
problem faced by all parties. This was one of the main reasons why most parties
broke up over time. If one member of the party increased his level too quickly, it
meant the other party member would fall behind. As the difference in level
becomes more severe, the difference in ability also widened. At that point, it was
mutually harmful for that party to remain together. It was to be expected, since a
monster’s level wasn’t fluid. It didn’t adjusted to the level of its opponent.
‘I’m pretty sure this dummy didn’t think that far ahead… She simply doesn’t want
a gap to form between the two of us.’
Artpe let out a bitter laugh. He had wanted to overwhelmingly develop Maetel’s
ability. This would allow him simply stand in the back. He had planned on eating
the crumbs off her table. However, he had no choice now, since the hero
wouldn’t let go of this issue. He had to keep step with her to a certain extent.
“All right. We’ll do that, but my growth rate is much slower than yours. It’ll be
impossible to match our levels. How about we split the monsters evenly?”
“I really would like it to be the same….”
Maetel grumbled as if she didn’t like the idea, but in the end, she accepted it.
“Well, let’s head up then.”
“Why are you going up? You should stand still.”
After Artpe browbeat Maetel, he extended his Mana infused hand. He grabbed
and pulled at something in the empty air. Suddenly, the stairway in front of them
collapsed as a fairly large wooden chest rose up. Maetel shouted in joy. Artpe
winked at her as he gave her an explanation.
“This is a trap. If you went up without discovering this box, poisoned needles
would have shot out from the floor to kill you.”
“Heeeeek!”
“Of course, even if someone was lucky enough to find this box, they wouldn’t
have known that this is a monster called Mimic. It is pretending to be a treasure
chest, and most adventurers usually die from its attack.”
“Oooooh.”
“The worst part happens when one identifies and kills the Mimic. It shoots out
poisoned needles when it is killed.”
“I don’t like this anymore!”
In truth, the level 5 zombies were to be expected inside a Dungeon near a
beginner’s town. However, they had encountered a pretty elaborate trap within
the Dungeon, and that fact did surprise him. He was also surprised at finding an
Elite monster within the first room of the Dungeon!
‘The past hero didn’t explore this Dungeon. There were only shitty zombies out
at the entrance, so she hadn’t even bothered to come into this Dungeon. Since
this is supposed to be a beginner’s Dungeon, I might have underestimated it….
Maybe this Dungeon is….’
This might be a hidden treasure trove. Artpe swallowed back the words he had
almost blurted out. A beautiful flower had its thorns. Currently, they needed an
opportunity to safely level up. They shouldn’t be putting their life on the line to
earn treasures. This couldn’t be seen as being all good news.
“What should I do, Artpe?”
“Get back.”
“Yes!”
Artpe was holding four long nails between his fingers. Of course, these were the
nails gathered by diligently killing the zombies. As expected, it was a lousy
weapon. It could inflict a very weak poison effect when thrown towards an
opponent.
On the other hand, it was an entirely different story if it was used by someone,
who could infuse his Mana. He could strengthen the items. Its toxicity and
sharpness was strengthened, but the nails would cease to exist once the Mana
was exhausted. It was a single use weapon, but it would be able to cause
significant amount of damage!
Of course, if one was skilled enough to infuse and strengthen an item, one
wouldn’t usually use it on nails acquired from zombies. It would be much better
to use it on throwing weapons. Still, this method of Mana infusion was only
known to those, who suffered from cold and hunger, like Artpe in the past. It was
a very sad actuality.
“Eh-eet.”
When Artpe confirmed that Maetel had retreated behind his back, he quickly and
accurately threw four nails towards the box. The Mimic had passively stood still
like a wooden box, but when the nails were about to hit, it let out a weird sound.
Then it jumped to avoid the nails….
“It’s a fake, you retard!”
[Geeeeeeeeeee!]
In a flash, the nails changed direction to pierce the wooden box. The Mimic hung
in the air, and the trap located below its original position activated. Several
dozen poison needles shot out of the ground to riddle the Mimic’s body with
holes!
[Gee-geek!]
It let a short cry before it became silent. It had bitten its tongue in its death.
Maetel, who had stayed silent, carefully asked Artpe a question.
“Is it over….?”
“Yes, it is over..”
The Mimic was one of the rare and special monsters. Therefore, the ‘reward’ it
dropped was overwhelmingly better when compared to its difficulty. As proof,
Artpe’s EXP exploded upwards after defeating it. He had leveled up twice, and
he felt the energy within his body surge forward. Even if he hadn’t checked it
with his Read All Creation ability, the Mimic was most definitely dead.
“Artpe is really amazing…. I never expected you to kill it in such a way!”
“I’m going to get sick of hearing that soon.”
Artpe replied flatly, and he moved towards the dead Mimic. The dead Mimic,
which had its tongue out, was flipped over by Artpe. When he shook it, coins and
small daggers fell onto the floor. When she saw this, Maetel yelled out in
surprise.
“I thought this monster wasn't a treasure box. What’s going on?”
“It swallowed humans, who mistook it for a treasure chest. It digested everything
it could, and the rest are leftovers kept inside its body. This is also another
reason why it is easy to confuse a Mimic with a treasure chest.”
“Monsters are really bad….!”
“I wouldn’t really say they are bad….”
The monsters were born this way. Humans slaughtered and ate innocent pigs
and cows. It was the same with monsters. They ate humans. This couldn’t be
simply be explained by the concept of good and evil. Everyone was just
struggling to live.
“However, for us to live, he have to kill all of them.”
“I’m not sure what you are trying to say, but I’ll defeat anything that torments
Artpe!”
When she killed the goblins for the first time, she had trembled like a leaf from
the shock. This happened only yesterday, yet she was quick to act heroic in front
of him now.
For a moment, the image of the hero from the past superimposed on the current
hero, and it gave him the goosebumps. Now that he thought about it, the past
hero hadn’t shown any signs of hostility towards him. Instead, she had felt sorry
and worry for him. This truth came to him a bit late. He kept a loose smile on his
face as he collected the loot from the Mimic.
They had earned only 26 bronze coins from killing all the zombies on the first
floor. The Mimic had barfed out 138 bronze coins. Moreover, there were a
whopping three silver coins within the loot. Each silver coin was worth a 100
times more than a bronze coin.
If one possessed 2 silver coins, one could feed a family of four for a month.
Maetel had lived her entire life in the back-country, so of course, the amount
made her eyes turn round.
“Amazing!”
“This is nothing compared to what you’ll experience and earn from now on.”
“Don’t say ‘you’, say ‘us’!”
“Yes, yes..”
After he roughly ruffled Maetel’s head, he threw the empty husk of the Mimic to
the floor. The dead corpse cleanly vaporized into the air, and in its place, a book
was left behind. It was as absurd a scene as the goblins spitting out the bronze
coins.
“It is a book...?”
“The Mimic is a rare monster that is very hard to encounter. Moreover, it is very
troublesome to kill. This is why the ‘reward’ is overwhelmingly generous. It is
generous in terms of EXP and….”
It didn’t matter if the content of the book was lousy. A magic book was
guaranteed to be worth 30 silver coins no matter what. He grinned as he picked
up the ‘Skill Book’.
“...items. If one is able to safely kill the Mimic, it is the same as finding a treasure
box.”
“Amazing!”
Maetel couldn't write, but she could read a little bit. She clapped her hands as
she looked over the book.
“Amazing. It says Hyper Loving! Love means deep affections. Didn’t Artpe
teach me that before? This means this magic is related to love!”
“Uh…. Mmm. Nope.”
Artpe hadn’t read the name of the skill...no, he hadn’t read the name of the Spell
Book yet. When he heard Maetel’s words, his face crumpled in distress. Why
did such an item have to come out! On the other hand, Maetel wasn’t even
aware of what Artpe was thinking inside. Her cheeks were bright red as she
fidgeted in place.
“With this magic, Artpe and I… Our l...love will….”
“It isn’t love. It is rub.”
“What does rub mean?”
“Rubbing means friction.”
“....huh?”
Maetel tilted her head. However, Artpe’s expression was still crumpled in a
harsh manner.
It was a useless spell for him!
The Rubbing type spells were divided into Soft Rubbing, Rubbing, Hard Rubbing
and Hyper Rubbing. It looked mysterious, because it was subdivided into 4
types. However, its special effect was very simple.
It basically allowed one to rub Mana against one’s enemies!
In the off chance that there was some secret meaning hidden behind the spell,
Magicians had conducted research on this spell. However, nothing much was
gained from the studies. This didn’t mean the research had been completely
fruitless. Some high ranking aristocrats, who possessed enough wealth to hire
mages, found that the Rubbing magic allowed them to feel some peculiar
sensations. It opened the door to some awkward possibilities. It was best to
omit such details.
“Basically, Hyper Rubbing is the same as rubbing very hard.”
“Mmm. Ooooooh-mmmmm…..?”
If there was one advantage to this spell, the Rubbing Skill didn’t have any level
restrictions. Artpe would have no trouble learning it right now.
At this point, Maetel had another question.
“So why do you have to learn such a useless magic?”
“All Skill Books and Spell Books allows one to expand one’s limits, It grows
one’s abilities. This effect occurs just from learning it. This is why all Skill Books
and Magic Books are expensive despite its content.”
This was one of the biggest reasons why the hero class was considered to be a
cheat. The hero could learn all Skills and Spells. If there was a supply of Skill
Books, the hero could basically learn all of them using just the base ability!
“Ah. Of course, Skills or Magic can fail if you don’t completely understand what
you learned. This is why it isn’t such an overwhelming advantage to learn these
Books. The technical term for this is called Failure effects. You should
remember that term.”
“Failure effects…. I memorized it!”
Of course, this term was unrelated to Artpe. He had the Read All Creation. He
was able to understand all phenomena! Artpe immediately learned the Hyper
Rubbing, and the purity of his magical energy increased. It bolstered his body.
He felt the overwhelming magical energy fill him, and he let out a deep sigh.
“Hoo-oooooh.”
Even if Rubbing was a useless magic, Hyper Rubbing was the best tier amongst
the Rubbing magic. Of course, the level of magical knowledge within was high
(the result was lousy), and the amount of Mana reacting to the activation of the
magic was also enormous (the result was lousy). Still, Artpe had gained almost
20 magical energy just from learning the spell. The effect was amazing!
“Maybe, this might be better than learning a mediocre spell like the Fire Needle.
The Mana I can throw around will be stronger than most fireballs.”
“As expected, Artpe is amazing!”
“I knew you were going to say that. Let’s go.”
They had gathered everything that needed to be gathered. If one looked only at
the results, one could see that they were growing at ridiculous rate. He couldn’t
shake the feeling that this didn’t feel right to him. Still, Artpe had no choice, but
to move forward.
Maetel reaffirmed the fact that Artpe was amazing. She was filled with pride for
him, and she followed behind him like a puppy.
The party of heroes safely entered the second floor. Then they cleared the third
floor and the fourth floor. They were moving so fast through the Dungeon that
they were bringing in more supply than they were using. They were able to
gather weapons and food. The most important resource was water, but they
were able to solve the problem of acquiring water in the middle of the second
floor. They had found a spring.
After the Elite Zombie, no Elite monsters had appeared. The monsters didn’t
stand a chance against Artpe’s poison nails and Maetel’s sword. The Dungeon
exploration was very easy.
This was how the two heroes reached the 6th floor of the Dungeon.
“What the hell! How long is this Dungeon!”
“Dungeons are really fun! Let’s keep going forward!”
“Hey! There’s a trap over there! Stop!”
At this point, Maetel was level 29, and Artpe had reached level 24.
Chapter 7 - Dungeon with Death (3)

As they explored the 6th floor of the Dungeon, Artpe was gradually feeling an
odd sensation. No matter how he thought about it this Dungeon was too long.
“What kind of Dungeon is this?”
“Aren’t all Dungeons like this?”
“Most Dungeons are 3 floors long. This is abnormal.”
Normally, if one looked at the Dungeon entrance, one could generally assess the
difficulty of a Dungeon. If a level 5 monster appeared on the first floor, the boss’
level was usually level 10 in the beginner’s Dungeon.
If there was an extra floor, the boss’ level would be around 15. If the Dungeon
was longer than expected, it would usually end on the third floor. The boss’ level
would be around level 20. Even if the beginner adventurers were able to break
through the Dungeon easily, they would all be killed in the end.
But this place...
[Humans…. I will kill everyone, who dares to intrude.]
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhhp!”
A level 33 Skeleton was quickly charging towards them. Its eyes were emitting a
blue light. Maetel unhesitatingly charged forward to meet the Skeleton. She
dodged the Bone Sword way too easily, and she swung a Bone Club acquired
from a Skeleton Warrior. It ruthlessly crushed the Skeleton’s skull.
From the rear, two Skeleton Archers had been trying to let loose Bone Arrows.
Artpe had already taken care of them by throwing Mana infused Bone Daggers
towards them. The battle within the 3rd room of the 6th floor ended without any
complications.
“We are already on the 6th floor, yet there are no signs of this Dungeon ending!”
“I won again! Hoo-hee-hee.”
As Maetel kept winning, she realized that there was pleasure in triumph. Artpe
was sure she hadn’t acted this way in the past, so he wondered what had
happened to ruin the trajectory of her growth. Was Artpe really the one to cause
this change? In his past life, if the Demon King had seceded his seat to Artpe,
he wondered if he would have been able to bring about a victory for the Demon
world against the human world. This was how great his brainwashing was!
“Why is Artpe so good at throwing weapons?”
“You were able to freely control and wield a blunt weapon when you picked it up.
My skills aren’t as great as yours.”
[Maetel]
[Level : 29]
[Blunt Weapon Lv4]
Artpe snorted at Maetel’s words as he looted the fallen Skeletons. Maetel was
now used to the concept of looting, so she helped Artpe. A silver coin had
dropped from one of the monsters. It felt as if it was eons ago(it had been
around 4 days) when they had been surprised by the appearance of silver coins.
Now the two of them picked it up without being surprised by its presence.
“It feels almost magical when my level increases. I know I am the same person,
yet I am well aware that that I can do much more now! Something I would
consider to be miraculous in the past is now part of my daily life. Things that I
considered to be impossible are within my reach. This really is quite enjoyable.”
“Normally, that sensation can be barely achieved only after undergoing countless
tribulation. Please keep that in mind.”
Of course, Artpe was going through the same process as her, but Artpe had
experienced reaching level 350 in his past life. He was able to keep everything
in perspective.
Maetel’s talent wasn’t simply better than others, because she had superior
strength and status. It had to do with her constitution and level. Moreover, she
possessed an instinct that allowed her to adapt in battle situations. She had the
potential to bring out the best result from within herself.
“Currently, we are on par with most mercenaries. I’m talking about career
mercenaries, who’ve been to war.”
“What are you saying, Artpe? We are just 12 years old!”
When he heard those words, Artpe sharply glared at her as he spoke to Maetel.
“You should never judge the strength of others based on their appearance or
age. This is the first rule of survival.”
“Y…yes..”
“Moreover, I don’t want you to blame our weakness on our age. Our enemies
won’t go easy on us, because we are young.”
“Yes, all right…. Artpe is too cool.”
“You always come to a weird conclusion.”
Artpe finished his looting. He checked his equipment, ration and water by habit
as he extended his Mana Threads. For the past couple days, he had learned to
handle Mana inside a human boy’s body. His use of Mana had come a very long
way compared to the first time he manifested his Mana. He hadn’t confirmed this
yet, but if he checked in own information, his Mana Control skill should have
developed nicely.
“Mmmmm?”
Something was caught on his Mana Thread. He had been thinking everything
was going too smoothly after they had encountered the Elite monster on the 1st
floor. It was still a long ways off, but at the end of the 6th floor, Artpe could feel
the presence of a monster superior to any monster they had faced up to this
point. It was a Skeleton, but it was holding a bastard sword that was most
definitely not made out of bones….
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
His Mana Thread was severed.
“Crazy!”
The monster possessed self-awareness, and it could handle Mana!? After Artpe
assessed the situation, he once again sent several dozen threads into his
surrounding. At the same time, he grabbed Maetel’s hand.
“Run! Right now!”
“No matter who the enemy is, we should try fighting it first....”
“This is completely different from the Elite Zombie we met earlier! Run!”
“All right!”
The two started running in a hurry. They had doubled back, but a Skeleton was
approaching them at overwhelming speed. Each room of the Dungeon was
separated by a steel door, and the Skeleton was simply busting through them as
it gathered the other monsters under its command. It was the worst type of Elite
monster!
“Do you think I’ll go down….so easily!”
His Mana Threads had been severed, but he had sent out his Mana Threads
once again. This move wasn’t a waste of Mana. Artpe had used the power of
his Read All Creation ability, and he used it to activate all the traps with his
Mana Threads. The traps got in the way of the Skeletons.
[Goo-wuhhhhhhhh!]
The Skeletons were being destroyed at various locations. Even the Elite
Skeleton leading the horde was being damaged. Still, the Elite Skeleton hadn’t
slowed down much. Instead, it started using the corpses of dead Skeletons to
shield itself from the traps.
“Tsk…..!”
This Dungeon had been annoying in the fact that it had more traps than
monsters. However, none of the traps would be able to cause critical damage to
the Elite Skeleton. Artpe mainly focused on killing the Skeletons trailing behind
the Elite Skeleton with the traps. Artpe and Maetel kept retreating.
“Where are we running to, Artpe?!?”
“We are going to the Dungeon entrance.”
“The Dungeon entrance? Wait a moment… The Dungeon entrance on the first
floor!?”
Maetel asked as if she wished this wasn’t the case, but Artpe nodded with a stiff
expression on his face.
“If we don’t get there in time, we are dead.”
“We can’t win against it?”
“It is impossible to win against it through a frontal assault.”
Even if Maetel was an extraordinary genius, she was a hero, who had reached
level 29 in less than a week. There was no way she would be able to win against
it. Of course, she would lose, since the Elite Skeleton was level 60. The
important fact was that it had already crossed the level 50 threshold.
“In exchange for being able to learn all Skills, we will continues to be heroes until
we defeat the Demon King. Aside from the Demon race, all the other races gain
a high rank Class when they reach certain levels. It allows one to become more
powerful and more specialized. The first time one could earn this high rank
Class is at level….”
It was at level 50. Monsters were no exception. There was a stark difference
between monsters that had or hadn’t crossed the level 50 threshold. It wasn’t an
exaggeration to say a level 50 monster was 1.5 times stronger than a level 49
monster. The Elite Skeleton had already passed level 50. It had reached level
60!
“It is also equipped with a proper sword and a shield. This means it had gained a
Warrior type high rank Class. It possesses the ability to command all the
Undeads in this Dungeon. A monster of this caliber could easily dispose any of
the normal low rank Dungeon bosses.”
The bastard was breaking through the Dungeon at an incredible speed. There
weren’t any traps left that Artpe could activate any more. He had been successful
in destroying a good amount of normal Skeletons. Still, it would be hard for Artpe
to do anything against them anymore. The Elite Skeleton was gradually closing
the distance. If things progressed in this fashion, they would have to fight it
before they could climb to the 5th floor…..
“....get on, Artpe.”
At that moment, Maetel spoke with a firm voice.
What did you she want him to do?
He let out a sound that expressed his confusion. However, Maetel didn’t wait for
him to give a concrete answer. She put him on her back!
“Heeng. I wanted this to be the other way around…. Hmmph..”
“What the hell are you talk…. Ooh-ahhhhhhhh!?”
[Maetel]
[Level : 29]
[Battle Dash Lv1]
Again!
She once again learned a Skill that transcended her level as if it was nothing….
Moreover, it was an exclusive skill for the high rank Class! Artpe didn’t have
time to express his dismay. While she gave him a piggyback, Maetel started
running through the hallways of the Dungeon at an incredibly fast speed!
“Hang on tight, Artpe!”
“Even if you hadn’t said anything, I’m already doing that. Shit!”
Artpe was being carried on Maetel’s back. It was unsightly, but he knew this was
the most effective method. This was why he got comfortable in this position, and
he stretched out a hand backwards. At that moment, they were climbing the
stairs connecting the 6th and 5th floor. When they were about to reach the 5th
floor, he grabbed Matel’s shoulder. He stopped her.
“Wait a moment, Maetel.”
“What is it, Art…. Kyahhhk!”
Even if it was pure Mana, one could physically manifest it if one brought out
enough Mana. A thick Mana Iron Mace was formed in Artpe’s hand, and he
brought it down against the stairway. The stairway let out a horrific sound as it
crumbled!
“Artpe is amazing! It will no longer be able to follow us anymore!”
“No, it’ll probably destroy its Skeleton underlings to create a pile until it can reach
this floor.”
“.....”
“Still, it’ll buy us some time, and at the same time, it’ll lessen the enemy’s
numbers. Let’s hurry!”
They went from the 6th floor to the 5th, 5th to 4th, and 4th to the 3rd floor. It
didn’t matter how fast they ran, and it didn’t matter how many stairways they had
destroyed. The Skeleton Warrior kept increasing its speed. When they entered
the 2nd floor, the Skeleton Warrior could be seen with the naked eye!
[Goo-wuhhhhhhhh!]
“You should try saying something else, you bone headed dummy!”
[I’ll kill humans!]
“It can say other lines!?”
On the second floor, there weren’t any decent traps that could be activated by
Artpe. Artpe wondered if should attack the Elite Skeleton by throwing all of his
throwing weapons. However, he determined it wasn’t the right moment to use
his weapons. Instead, he activated the only magic he could cast.
“My will within me. I communicate with the world. Burst on the ground.”
[Goo-wuhhhhhhhh! Magic is useles…..]
“Hyper Rubbing!”
[Hmmm!?]
Even if he activated the Hyper Rubbing against his enemies, it would simply
make their joints rub against each other. It was a useless attack. However,
Artpe had not been aiming for the monsters. He was aiming for the hallway in
front of them!
In a flash, the power of Mana started scrubbing hard against the hallway. The
hallway shone from being polished. Maetel was impressed by this sight.
“Wow. Now that we have this magic, we don’t have to worry about cleaning!”
“You’ll never have to clean in your life.”
“Ah, no! We have to split the housework in a fair manner. I can’t make Artpe do
all the hard work!”
The fact that she was able to spout such nonsense meant that Maetel’s condition
was still ok! He was able to check the mental state of Maetel in an odd way.
Afterwards, he checked on the monsters, who had been chasing them.
The very first monster he checked was the Elite Skeleton Warrior. It had been
running in front of the mob. It knew that Artpe’s magic couldn’t directly damage
its body, so it had unhesitatingly took a step forward. The Skeleton was like a
dog on ice. It slid all over the place before it fell to the floor.!
[Kill humans, ahhhhhhhhhh!]
It had used a powerful Shouting skill, but it failed to damage the hero’s party.
Instead, the normal Skeletons, who had been running behind the Elite Skeleton,
started sliding on the floor towards the Elite Skeleton. The normal Skeletons
delivered power body blows to the Elite Skeleton.
[Gwuhhhhhhhhh!]
[Gee-gee-gee-gee-gee-gee]
[My precious C3 cervical vertebrae…..!]
Artpe let out a shout of delight. While he was casting his magic, he hadn’t been
sure if his plan would work. Artpe had used the Hyper Rubbing spell on the
earthen floor. The magic worked furiously as it made the ground slicker than an
oiled steel plate. When the monsters stepped on the floor, the monsters had all
fallen to the floor in order.
Artpe had used magical energy to influence the physical world. He had
completely changed the terrain. Even if his enemy had the power to resist
against the Mana, it couldn’t avoid this debacle.
Artpe had learned this magic, because he couldn’t throw it away. At this
moment, the useless magic had allowed the two heroes to escape danger.
Chapter 8 - Dungeon with Death (4)
The fact that the Skeletons were running at incredible speed meant that the
effect of the collision was that much more powerful. The Skeletons impacted
against each other as they became tangled. The ones that were impacted hard
died. Artpe had come up with this idea in the spur of the moment, yet his plan
had been incredibly effective!
“Of course, it is much more efficient in terms of Mana and time to use a magic
spell that produces the same result.”
“Artpe is amazing.!”
“Yes, yes. I am amazing.”
The two of them had effectively blocked the rush attempt by the Skeletons, and
they were able to arrive at the 1st floor. Of course, he had destroyed the
stairway leading to the 1st floor in spectacular fashion. The regular Skeletons
had to be made into stepping stones for the Skeleton Warrior to reach the 1st
floor. In the end, only four Skeleton including the Elite Skeleton Warrior made it
up to the 1st floor.
“The zombies aren’t back yet.”
“We killed them all. Other adventurers have to enter and die here for there to be
new zombies.”
“I don’t want to know about such truths…..”
[Gwuhhhhhhhhhh!]
“Hey, hurry. Hurry.”
“Leave it to me!”
She carried a boy, who weighed more than her, through the Dungeon. She ran
from the 6th floor to the 1st floor. It was as if his weight was negligible to her.
Then there was the boy, who kept impeding the progress of the monsters using
his Mana Control and magic spells. If others saw this sight, they would have
been in disbelief.
Even if their levels were high, their actual bodies, which used these abilities,
were immature. Artpe spoke as if what they had done was nothing special, but
he was looking at it through the standard of the Demon race, not humans!
“We are almost there. We are almost at the entrance!”
“Hurry up! They are just around the corner!”
[I’ll kill humans! I’ll kill humans!]
It seemed the Hyper Rubbing from before had caused a lot of damage. The
Skeleton Warrior’s shield had a fairly large crack. He could see small thread-like
fissures on its skull. If someone had told him the Skeleton Warrior had been in a
battle before coming here, he would have believed it.
[Killllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!]
However, it hadn’t been a true fight. It had been damaged this much by simply
slipping and falling hard on the floor. This fact probably probably fueling its
anger. There actually was a red energy blanketing its body. Artpe was sure it
was a Buff type skill that allowed it to temporarily raise its abilities. It was
triggered by its heightened emotional state. It was only an Undead, yet it had an
Emotion type skill!
“Hurry!”
“Eeek. I’m falling behind. We aren’t going to make it… Artpe~”
“Tsk. It can’t be helped.”
He replied in a relaxed manner, but his Mana was close to being depleted. It
would be impossible for him to once again make the entire length of the hallway
slippery to stop the Skeletons. If so…..
“Eh-eet!”
“Kyahhhk!”
Artpe unfurled his hand as he manifested his magic. At that moment, Maetel slid
down the hallway with Artpe on her back. To be precise, the path in front of them
had turned smooth. It was as if the dirt hallway was pulling them forward!
Maetel realized Artpe was using his magic in front of them, so she was cautious
as she tried her best not to fall over. Then she used the slick floor to propel
herself forward. This girl’s talent was really endless.
[Humaaaaaaaaans!]
“We are going to die. We are going to d…...”
“We’ve arrived!”
When he ran out of magic, the two of them were suddenly thrown forward
towards the entrance of the Dungeon. Afterwards, the Skeleton Warrior’s
bastard sword passed through the location where Artpe’s head used to be.
Several strands of his hair was cut as it flew into the air.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
“How dare you cut Artpe’s hair! I won’t forgive you!”
“Calm down!”
Maetel had taken out her club, and she was about to charge the Skeleton
Warrior. Artpe desperately tried to hold her back. Afterwards, Maetel realized
something weird had occurred.
“...what is it doing?”
“What does it look like it is doing?”
There was a boundary that separated the Dungeon’s entrance from the 1st room.
The Skeleton Warrior grinded its teeth as it swung its sword, but it stood beyond
the boundary. Of course, the party had already entered into the Dungeon’s
entrance, so the bastard sword couldn’t reach them.
“We are right in front of them, so why aren’t they coming….?”
“The Dungeon’s monsters can’t come out to the Dungeon’s entrance.”
“Ah. I’m sure Artpe explained this to me before! So that is why they can’t come
out even though they are right in front of us?”
“That’s right.”
The Skeleton underling had already fallen to the floor in exhaustion. Only the
Skeleton Warrior kept swinging its sword as if it held lingering resentment
towards them. Still, it looked less spirited compared to when it first showed up. It
looked a bit lacking…
“So what is the reason behind it? I really don’t know, Artpe! How come? Huh?”
“Those are some very good questions.”
Artpe laughed in a kind manner as he answered her question. Of course, as he
spoke, he was gathering Mana into his dagger to attack the silly Skeleton
Warrior.
“I don’t know either!”
“Ah-ha. I see!”
This was why it was convenient to have a dummy next to you!
[Kill! Kill! Kill!]
“Yes. I want you to keep talking like that!”
Artpe replied in a friendly manner towards the Skeleton Warrior, whose words
were filled with resentment and anger. He continued to gather his Mana. He had
consumed an incredible amount of Mana, but he was recovering a fair amount by
standing still.
This was something to be expected during his time as a Demon, but now he was
a human child. This was atypical. He had the body of a human, yet his affinity
with Mana was off the chart. Even if he used his Read All Creation ability, he
couldn’t figure out why he was like this. He just decided to think of this as a
boon.
[I’ll kill humans! Kill! I’ll kill…. I give up.]
“Hey hey. Don’t give up now!”
The Skeleton Warrior had swung his bastard sword for a long time, but in the
end, it came to a realization that it wouldn’t be able to cross into the Dungeon’s
entrance. In front of this reality, it had been about to give up. This was when
Artpe threw a Mana infused dagger toward it as he spoke words of
encouragement.
Artpe was able to see the flight path of the dagger, since it was letting out a blue
Mana that could only be seen by Artpe. The Mana flooded forward as the dagger
embedded itself on top of the Skeleton Warrior’s head. When the Skeleton
Warrior had fallen from the Hyper Rubbing spell, the other Skeletons had
crashed into it. It caused a thread-like fissure to form on its skull. The dagger
had accurately burrowed into the fissure.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhh! I’ll kill you!]
“Yes! That’s the right idea!”
“Artpe. You are so bad…..”
The fire, which had been dimming, with the Skeleton Warrior started to burn
white hot again. It had felt impotent before, but now it renewed its resolve. It
diligently swung its sword. Artpe kept nodding his head as if to cheer on the
Skeleton Warrior. He continued to recover his Mana. Maetel finally realized
Artpe’s tactic, so she asked with a dumbfounded look in her eyes.
“Artpe. I’m not talented at attacking from a distance. What should I do?”
“You can’t do anything here. You should just eat the dry ration.”
“Yes!”
Maetel busily ate the rations and water. As expected, she had consumed a lot of
Stamina by running from the 6th floor to the 1st floor, while carrying Artpe. While
she ate, he diligently gathered Mana, and he infused it into another dagger.
In the process of traversing the 6 floors, they had found articles left behind by the
deceased adventurers, who had died over countless years. They had also found
the treasure chests. This was why Artpe had an ample supply of throwing
weapons. He didn’t have to worry about running out of weapons.
[Human! Humaaaaaaaaan! I give up!]
“No, you can do this!”
[I can’t do this!]
“Don’t believe yourself! I want you to believe in me, who believes in you!”
“······.”
The Skeleton Warrior kept swinging its sword, but it was mired in the feeling of
hopelessness. Artpe had to keep attacking it. He had to keep it distracted.
Maetel was watching a human and an Undead converse. She decided not to
think too deeply about this. The important point right now was the fact that Artpe
had brilliantly embedded four daggers into its body..
“All right. This is going smoothly.”
[Goo-ahhhhhhhh! I give up!]
“You suffered at the hands of children, who haven’t even reached half your level.
Are you really going to run away now?”
[Kooooooooooooooo!]
If the Skeleton Warrior simply stayed here, Artpe would play around with it until it
died. Unfortunately, the Skeleton Warrior’s intelligence wasn’t that high. Above
all else, the Skeleton Warrior was in the grip of the Rage Buff.
The Buff was triggered by an emotion. The pros of a Buff skill was the fact that it
didn’t consume a lot of magical energy, yet it increased one’s level significantly.
If there was a downside, it was the fact that it was hard to break out of the
emotion that had activated the Buff. This was why the Skeleton Warrior was
unable to give up on the battle. It kept following the lead of Artpe for no
particular reason than that.
“Take more of this! More! I’m sure you can do this longer, right?”
[Humannnnnnn! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!]
“Hmm. Its aggro is still fixed on us…...”
“Artpe?”
There were eight daggers stuck inside the body of the Skeleton Warrior. Artpe
still had plenty of throwing weapons left, but he stopped throwing them.
“If we use this method to kill it, it’ll take us around four days.”
“Then are we going to give up? I think we can go out now! I’m not afraid of the
soldiers or the goblins!”
After filling her stomach, she had recovered her energy. Maetel spoke in a
valiant manner. In reality, it had only been a week, but their growth could almost
be called an evolution. They could evade the soldiers, and it wouldn’t be too
difficult to fight couple dozen of them and win! However, Artpe shook his head in
a decisive manner.
“The probability of us running into an Elite monster is very low. Of course, this
bastard is a strong and difficult opponent. However, when we kill it, the reward
will be enormous. We can’t give up. This is too good of an opportunity to miss.”
In his previous life, Artpe would have snorted in disdain towards a reward given
by a level 60 Elite monster. However, he was a level 24 beginner hero right
now, and the only magic spell he knew was Hyper Rubbing. It was stupid to
retreat when they had the chance to kill their enemy.
‘Moreover, this Dungeon itself keeps weighing on my mind….’
This place started with level 5 beginner monsters, yet a level 60 Elite monster
had appeared on the 6th floor. This beginner’s Dungeon was hard to pin down.
What was at the end of this Dungeon? What caused it to be so strange? These
thoughts troubled him, so he couldn’t ignore it.
He possessed the Read All Creation ability, so Artpe had always known most of
the answers before he could formulate a question The was no end in sight to this
Dungeon, and it interested him. Of course, he couldn’t deny the fact that there
was danger here. However, if Artpe and Maetel were able to successfully
conquer the Dungeon, they would gain a reward equal to the difficulty of the
Dungeon. At the very least, it would be much better than being fattened up like
pigs in the castle. It was better than rotting away there.
“So let’s just change our method.”
“Is it finally my time to step forward!?”
“No, you still can’t do anything against it. Just sit there and cheer for me.”
“Heeng.”“
In the end, Artpe’s thoughts led him towards an unexpected destination. It ended
at his Hyper Rubbing magic. When he acquired it, he had thought it was a
useless magic that could only cause friction. However, the magic had somehow
saved them twice in their time of need. He had rubbed to cause changes to the
terrain, and he rubbed to increase Maetel’s speed.
Unlike his initial assessment of this magic, this spell wasn’t simple. The most
important aspect to pay attention to was the fact that it was able to cause a very
large change to the environment compared to the amount of Mana being
consumed.
“This is why…. Maybe....”
Artpe looked at the eight daggers embedded deeply into the Skeleton Warrior’s
skull and other joints. When he checked the Mana within the daggers, his eyes
shone.
He wondered if this this plan would really work. Still, they couldn’t keep playing
games in front of the Dungeon’s entrance. He went about this with a devil-may-
care attitude. He chanted his spell.
“My will shall manifest focused on the edge of the blade! Hyper Rubbing!”
Chapter 9 - Growth of the Heroes (1)
[Magic can’t hurt m……. Koohk!?]
It suffered under his magic before, yet it was replying with the same idiotic
answer! Of course, Artpe wouldn’t directly apply his Magic on a Skeleton, who
was twice his level!
The Magic appeared as if it had been pushed out from the confines of Artpe’s
body, and he focused on one of the daggers embedded in the Skeleton Warrior.
He focused on the blade embedded within the elbow joint of the arm holding the
shield. The Hyper Rubbing was focused on the blade, and it was causing
enormous friction! Artpe worried the other blades would fall out from the
vibration caused by the intense rubbing, so he had to concentrate his power.
[A mere trick was able to damage…..]
“I can’t hear you. That trick broke your wide forehead. Why don’t you speak a
little bit louder!”
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhh!]
The Skeleton Warrior reacted in a violent manner, and it started to move. Finally,
Artpe got the reaction he wanted. The elbow joint had received an incredible
amount of stimuli from the rubbing, and when the force of the violent movement
was added to the mix, the bones started to let out an ominous sound.
A crunch was heard, and the arm was bent backwards in an odd angle!
[I’m a Skeleton! A mere broken bone won’t….. Koohk!?]
“You keep following the same pattern in becoming surprised. Aren’t you tired of
it?”
This was beyond the frictional force that arose from the dagger. The Skeleton
Warrior used an enormous amount of power to move its arm. In the end, it
exceeded the threshold of abuse that could be taken by the joint. The joint was
completely destroyed as the heavy shield and the arm holding it fell to the
Dungeon’s hallway!
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhh!]
“You are amazing, Artpe!”
“Give me more compliments!”
“Amazing! You are really incredible!”
He never suspected the Hyper Rubbing could be used to cause damage to a
monster! The fact that it could cause incredible amount of friction was no joke.
He had manifested the magic by using the weapon as a medium, and the
Skeleton Warrior was unable to resist against the attacking using Mana
Resistance. Artpe had been able to attack using friction!
He had learned Hyper Rubbing not too long ago, so he wasn’t proficient at using
the spell. This was why it took so long to achieve the desired effect. However, if
he became adept at using this Magic later on, he would be able to achieve
ludicrous results!
“Of course, I would achieve better results much faster if I learned other spells
during that time!”
Artpe grumbled as he once again focused his Hyper Rubbing on a specific target
He got rid of the shield, so it was time to destroy the arm holding the sword! He
was running a bit short on Mana, but if he was able to destroy both arms, he was
confident they could win against it. Artpe didn’t hold back as he used all his
reserve power to command his magic.
[Goo-oooooooh…...!]
As expected, the Skeleton Warrior realized what Artpe was trying to do, but it
couldn’t retreat. The rage that was blanketing its body refused to fade away.
What should it do? What will allow it to kill the shitty little brat?
The Skeleton Warrior thought hard about its situation. After it agonized over its
options, it came up with a single answer. It had watched the little brat do it over
and over again. The Skeleton Warrior thought it could somewhat replicate what
the brat did.
“Yes, you are doing well. You should move that arm more…. ”
[Die human!]
“Artpe!”
Artpe had been focused on using the Hyper Rubbing spell. The Skeleton Warrior
put all its anger into its roar. At the same time, Maetel moved to knock Artpe out
of the way.
“Gg-oooooooooh.”
[Koo-ahhhhhhhh! Damn humans! Damn humaaaaaaans!]
Kwahng!
Accompanying the explosive sound, a large sword was embedded into the
stairway of the Dungeon’s entrance. It was none other than the Skeleton
Warrior’s bastard sword.
“Koo, ah....”
“Maetel?”
Maetel let out a moan. The Skeleton Warrior had thrown the bastard sword with
all its might. The sword had grazed her back. Her armor had been completely
ripped into pieces, and to make matters worse, it left behind a wound on her
back.
“Damn it, Maetel! Maetel!”
He never expected an enemy without the Throw skill to throw its bastard sword
towards him! He had put his complete trust in his Read All Creation ability. His
error in judgment had almost cost him his life.
He had shown a carelessness that was befitting his title as the weakest of
the Four Heavenly Kings! If Maetel had been a bit late, Artpe would have lost his
life.
“Let me see your wound. Hurry!”
“Ah. Oohk…...”
Artpe blamed his stupidity as he looked at Maetel’s wound. A well-placed wound
on the back could hamper one’s movement. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. If
she leveled up couple times alongside regular rest, her body would be back to a
pristine state. It seemed Maetel was also aware of this fact, so her face wasn’t
clouded at all. She had a bright smile on her face.
“I’m alright, Artpe…. I’m just glad Artpe isn’t hurt.”
“You idiot…..”
When Artpe realized Maetel hadn’t been hurt too badly, he truly felt relieved, and
he also felt a weird feeling.
If she died, it would deal a very big blow to his dream of living a peaceful life.
However, the feeling he had felt was caused by something else….. He must be
mistaken. Artpe shook such dumb thoughts away as he raised his head.
He saw the Skeleton Warrior in front of him. It had gone berserk from the Rage
type Buff. Its white bones had turned completely red.
The arm holding the shield was on the ground, and the other arm had also fallen
off when it couldn’t withstand the shock. The bastard raged as it threw its body
forward, but there was an invisible wall blocking it. It blocked its forward
progress no matter how it tried to charge forward.
[Gg-oooooooooh! Gg-oooooooooh!]
“Can you move, Maetel?”
“Yes…..”
If Maetel wasn’t injured, he would have finished off the Skeleton Warrior.
However, the top priority right now was to level her up, so she could recover. Of
course, Artpe had done most of the work, so not much EXP would go to Maetel.
However, this EXP was from killing a very strong opponent. A smaller portion of
the EXP would still be enough to level her up!
“Hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh….. All right. I’ll do it.”
Maetel was breathing roughly as she got up. She was about to pull out her
rusted sword, but her gaze headed backwards as she looked towards the
bastard sword embedded in the stairway. She hesitated before she approached
the bastard sword. She extracted it with both hands.
It was made out of heavy metal, and magical energy had been used to
manufacture the sword. It was a very heavy sword. However, she swung it
easily.
[Human…...]
“I’m sorry. I can’t beat you in a fair fight. However, I’m able to kill you now, so I
will kill you.”
She had taken the enemy’s weapon, yet she had taken complete possession of
the weapon from just swinging it once or twice. Maetel glared at the Skeleton
Warrior as she spoke. It was almost as if she was chanting her words.
“I’ll win and kill anyone to protect Artpe. Because I’m….”
She pulled the hilt of the sword towards her chest. She kept a firm grip as she
slightly bent her knees. She leaned her upper body forward.
The Skeleton Warrior raised its leg slightly to face her. Maetel used the burning
pain from her back as the starting signal. She kicked off the ground.
“Because I’m! I’m the hero!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
As she let out a short shout, the sword split the air. Her sword struck at the
exact spot where Artpe’s dagger was embedded in its skull. The sword cut
through the skull, and she broke all its ribs.
If the Skeleton Warrior was in its normal state, it could have resisted against her
attack. However, the strike was too much for the current Skeleton Warrior. After
its body was broken by the sword, it twitched as if it wanted to fight back.
However, the Skeleton Warrior came to a complete stop.
[Gooh, ah ah…. Ah, ah. I...is...is that so?]
Surprisingly, the bisected Skeleton started to say something.
[The will within the unshakable blade has awoken me up from my haze…..]
“Mmm. What…..?”
[That’s right, young heroes. Those who run away and never come back are
called cowards. However, the ones that come back to win in the end are heroes.
You win by fair means or foul. You have carried on your conviction to protect.
With my demise, I will open the entrance that will lead to the glory of the heroes.]
“What the hell is the Skeleton saying…..?”
Artpe was flustered as he asked the question, but the Skeleton Warrior no longer
opened its mouth. The magical energy from its body drained out as it entered
Artpe and Maetel. Their magical energy increased, and the EXP was distributed.
The battle was over.
“Hey, wait a moment. If you have something to say to us then you should talk
more….. Shit.”
Artpe urgently stood up, and he tried to look at the Skeleton Warrior with his
Read All Creation ability. At that moment, its body eroded away. It left behind
the cracked large steel shield, Red Bone gauntlet, and several bones that
refused to erode away. These bones had too much Magical energy to
immediately erode away.
However, the truly surprising event started afterwards. When the Skeleton
Warrior was completely gone, the Dungeon started to shake in a fierce manner.
After killing the Skeleton Warrior, Maetel had slowly relaxed, but now her eyes
were round as she ran towards Artpe.
“Artpe. The Dungeon is…..!”
“Wait a moment. It isn’t collapsing. There are times when a Dungeon goes
through a change when one fulfills a specific condition. So right now it….”
He would just be beating a dead horse by repeating the fact that the Dungeon
was hiding something. Maybe, this Dungeon might be beyond Artpe’s
expectation. Something enormous might lie inside the Dungeon.
If so, what should he do? Should they back out? Or should they move forward,
while accepting the risk? If he hadn’t seen Maetel get injured, he wouldn’t have
hesitated. He would have advanced, but Artpe couldn’t do that any more.
“Let’s go, Artpe.”
At that moment, Maetel realized he was hesitating, so she spoke to him.
“I want to become stronger. If there comes a time when we have to run away,
we’ll run away and win later. However, if possible, I want to win without running
away.”
“Maetel…...”
“That is why I want to become stronger.”
Was this really words spoken by a 12 year old girl? Artpe shut his mouth from
amazement, but he firmed his resolve when he saw the the unshakable light
within Maetel’s eyes.
Currently, she wasn’t repeating words she had heard from someone else. She
wasn’t just spouting words in a childish fit. Her experience within the Dungeon
had been short, but a lot had happened during that time. It seemed she had
found some purpose, and she wanted to put it into practice.
This was the change that Artpe had wanted to see within her.
“.....yes, let’s go. No matter what shows up, we'll defeat it. Let bring out
everything we can gain from inside the Dungeon.”
“Yes!”
The Read All Creation ability wasn’t perfect, but it was a power that was closest
to perfection. If he combined his ability with Maetel’s almost cheat-like talent,
they were a perfect pair. They had been perfect a moment ago, and they will be
perfect in the future. There was no reason why they shouldn’t go forward.
His confidence was baseless, but he was aware of this fact. Artpe didn’t hesitate.
He roughly mussed up Maetel’s hair. She wasn’t showing any signs of feeling
pain from her wound. Artpe once again nodded his head then he spoke.
“Before we do that, let’s collect our loot.”
“Yes!”
The reward was more important than the battle! The heroes were growing
splendidly in terms of materialistic possessions.
Chapter 10 - Growth of the Heroes (2)
Maetel had been the one to finish off the Skeleton Warrior, but in reality, Artpe
had basically killed it on his own. Of course, the act of running from the 6th floor
to the 1st floor counted towards the Battle Contribution, but there was no doubt
that Artpe would be getting the higher portion of the EXP.
Artpe’s level went up by 6 thanks to the EXP. He climbed to level 30. Maetel’s
level rose by 3, so she was now level 32. The large level gap between them had
closed somewhat
“How’s your wound, Maetel?”
“My wound has gotten better after I leveled up. If we don’t get into a fierce battle,
I’m confident it won’t overtax me.”
“What about the grass you used before?”
“I still have some.”
Artpe created an emergency medicine with the help of Maetel. After taking off
her armor, he treated her remaining wounds. When Maetel exposed her bare
skin, her cheeks had turned red. However, Artpe didn’t say anything as he had a
serious light in his eyes.
“All right. Let’s put on some bandages then you can put your clothes back on.”
“Those bandages been left inside the wooden chest for a very long time, so why
is it new?”
“This is just the way of the universe. Just accept it.”
“Yes!”
The first aid was done, and the only thing left was the most enjoyable part of a
battle. It was time for him to check the loot. Artpe cautiously reached out
towards the red bone gauntlet. He read it with his Read All Creation ability, and
words started to take shape.
[Crimson Rage Bone Gauntlet]
[The Undead had been in existence for numerous years, and a good amount of
magical energy had been distilled into the bones of the Undead. A powerful rage
felt right before its death formed differentiated an artifact. The item is very hard,
and when the wearer is able to control one’s emotions, one’s power will be
boosted by 20%. As a price, a fixed portion of one’s magical energy will be
consumed.]
“Mmmmm.”
“What’s wrong, Artpe?”
This drop item pretty much held the essence of the Skeleton Warrior. Artpe let
out a sigh of regret as he looked at it. It had the basic requirements of a
defensive gear. It had sheer solidity, and while it did consume magical energy, it
could increase one’s strength by 20%. It was a hard to acquire artifact of this
quality when one considered their level.
However….
‘I hoped an artifact that would be of help to me would show up. However, this
was a warrior type Elite, so it can’t be helped.’
Maetel had already acquired the bastard sword used by the Skeleton Warrior.
He checked it with his Read All ability, but the bastard sword didn't have a
special option. Still, it was able to absorb magical energy pretty well. It’s
strength, durability and energy was that of a unique artifact. At the very least,
one wouldn’t need to change this equipment until level 100.
In this context, the gauntlet would now be in the possession of Maetel. It was
hard to do such simplistic comparisons, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say
that she would become twice as strong with this item equipped.
It was good news for him that she would become more powerful. On the other
hand, he couldn’t help, but feel like crap. The curse he had possessed in his
previous profession as one of the Four Heavenly King had followed him here! It
stubbornly stuck to him!
“Tsk. It can't be helped. You should wear this, Maetel.”
“What about Artpe….?”
“If something I need appears, it won’t matter if you beg or cry. I’ll ruthlessly push
you away to keep that item. So don’t worry about taking this item.”
“Yes!”
Maetel equipped the bone gauntlet. It was made out of bones, but it was an
artifact infused with power magical energy. It reduced in size to fit her limbs. It
wrapped tightly around her wrists and fingers.
Of course, if Maetel was unable to handle Mana, she wouldn’t have been able to
equip this artifact. However, she was a character, who had been able to bring out
fire from the wooden branch at level 1. The worries about such a requirement
could be omitted.
“Wow. This feels incredibly sturdy! I can feel it protecting me!”
“In truth, the bones are filled with resentment. However, if you feel such a
sentiment coming from it, who am I to say otherwise?”
It looked a bit terrifying, but it was something befitting a warrior. Artpe smirked
when he saw the animated Maetel, who was excited to have a new equipment.
Then he gathered the other red bone fragments. There were a lot of magical
energy stored within the bone fragments, so he could probably create something
with them.
“Next is… Ah. It’s the shield.”
When the Skeleton Warrior held it in its hand, it looked like a one handed bastard
sword. However, when the 12 year old Maetel held it up, it looked like a
claymore. The sword looked enormous in her hands. Naturally, she couldn’t
afford to hold the shield alongside the sword.
“I don’t want a shield!”
“This is an artifact too. If you attack an enemy with the corner edge of the shield,
it inflicts a weakening curse….”
The Skeleton Warrior hadn’t had the chance to use its shield, but this artifact was
much better than the bastard sword! The Skeleton Warrior probably blew a fuse
when it wasn't able to use the shield. On top of that, a crack had even formed on
the shield. Of course, that wasn’t Artpe’s problem.
Since she couldn’t carry it around with her hands, he proposed an idea where he
would strap the shield to her back. However, Maetel hated that idea. It would
slow her down if the heavy shield was strapped to her back. It would be better
for her to preserve her speed, so she could evade the enemy’s attack. Still, it
was a waste to just throw away the shield….
“Tsk. It can’t be helped. It’ll be a worse option than you using it, but…. I’ll use
it.”
In the end, Artpe equipped the shield on his back. He had gathered strips of
leather as he went through the Dungeon, and he had infused Mana to strengthen
them. He created a hole on each side of the shield, and he threaded the strip of
leather through the holes. One end of the strap was brought over his left
shoulder and the other end was brought underneath his right armpit. He tied it
off. Artpe looked like a turtle.
Maetel gently screwed up her eyes as she looked at Artpe move around.
“You are usually slow, but now you became much slower.”
“There is a reason why I’m carrying it like this. I’ll move around slowly, but at the
most crucial moment, I’ll unravel the straps. Boom! The heavy shield will let out
a loud sound as it falls to the floor. It will startle our opponent.”
“Aht! That’s amazing! It’ll look very cool!”
“If I drop it on a surface that breaks into fragments like marble slabs, the visual
effect would be twice as more effective. You should remember this.”
“Yes!”
He had gathered everything that needed to be gathered. They had to once again
travel from the 1st floor to the 6th floor. On the way down, they had to defeat the
losers, who had given up on chasing them. These were the Skeletons, who
broke away from the Skeleton Warrior. It would be easy to crush them, and the
two of them tried to do just that.
They tried.
“Huh.”
“Something has changed, Artpe.”
“You are right. Something has clearly changed.”
Everything was the same until the 5th floor. It was the Dungeon they
remembered. The staircases were still broken, and the Skeletons were heaped
up in a pile like pieces of trash to bridge the floors. The poor Skeletons were
barely alive.
As an act of mercy and a way to increase the party’s level, they killed all the
Skeletons in the pile as they descended each floor. However, when they stood in
front of the staircase leading towards the 6th floor, the two heroes finally realized
something was wrong.
“This…. It is made out of marble.”
Artpe mumbled in an agitated manner. Artpe took in the sight of a long and wide
staircase. He was sure he had destroyed this staircase before when he went up
to the 5th floor. Moreover, the staircase had evolved!? It was now made out of
marble. Then there was the large hallway that was absent from his memories!
“Marble? So Artpe is going to drop your shield here?”
“I’ve only been carrying this for an hour.”
The Skeleton Warrior, who was basically the ruler of the 6th floor, had been
killed. It seemed the Dungeon had gone through a fundamental change. He
regretted the fact that he hadn’t been able to use his Read All Creation ability on
the Skeleton Warrior before it died.
“I’m looking at it with my Read All Creation ability, but…. That’s to be expected.”
His Read All Creation ability was able to reveal all secrets, but he was just
observing the marbles that made up the Dungeon. He couldn’t gain all
information regarding the Dungeon through this method. It might be possible if
he went into the deepest part of the Dungeon to observe the Dungeon's Core.
Maetel carefully asked a question as she looked at Artpe’s dismayed
expression.
“What shall we do, Artpe?”
“We’ve already decided what we’ll do. We are moving forward.”
“......yes!”
“However, you shouldn’t relax too much. The traps are now gone, but that might
actually mean….”
He was now afraid of the monsters that’ll appear inside the Dungeon from now
on. The traps weren’t being deployed to whittle down the adventurers anymore.
It meant that there would be numerous monsters powerful enough to take down
the adventurers without the help of traps.
“I don't care what comes out. I’ll most definitely protect Artpe.”
“You don’t need to put on such a grim expression... Whatever.”
They hardened their resolves as they descended down the marble staircase.
They entered a completely different 6th floor, and there weren’t any monsters in
the front. It was the same in the middle part. They kept checking their
surrounding as they nervously went down the hallway. After an indeterminate
amount of time, they had reached the location where they had met the Elite
Skeleton Warrior.
Up until now, the marble floor held nothing. However, four white skulled
Skeletons popped up from the floor. They were colored the same as the marble
floor.
[Do you want to go forward?]
[Do you want to retreat?]
[Do you want to protect?]
[Do you want to cut?]
“Step back, Artpe!”
“I’m already doing that, so you don’t have to say it!”
They were mere Skeletons, yet they were wearing pretty good leather armor.
They also carried gleaming longswords. They moved as if they had coordinated
a plan beforehand. They approached Maetel from both sides. Artpe used his
Read All Creation ability, and he moaned when he realized the monsters were all
close to being level 50.
“The difficulty of the Dungeon rose sharply…..!”
“It’s all right… I can do this now!”
Maetel used her ridiculously fast reflexes and her good eyesight. She was doing
it at a very slim margin, but she deflected all four longswords in order. Then she
retreated a little bit, and she hardened her expression.
“Hmmph!”
In the next moment, the Bone Gauntlet let out a faint red light, and it added
strength to Maetel’s slim arms. Artpe had explained to her that a boost in her
emotions could bring out the ability of the artifact. However, he had never
expected her to be able to control her emotions so freely!
He was well aware of her talent, yet even he was overwhelmed by this sight.
“You…..”
“I’m going!”
[You move forward.]
[You try to protect someone.]
[Your mental vision is still narrow.]
[You have enough courage to be recognized.]
“Shuuuuuuuut upppppppp!”
Maetel bravely swung her bastard sword, and it impacted on the longsword of the
Skeleton nearest her. The bastard sword easily broke the longsword in half.
She used her momentum to plant her right foot into the ground as she spun. She
struck the Skeleton’s body with her forearm. When the Skeleton felt the weight
of its longsword disappear, it lost its balance. The strike sent the Skeleton
towards its comrades, who was also swinging their longswords. The longswords
impacted on the body of the first Skeleton.
However, unlike the Elite Skeleton Warrior from before, these Skeletons gave
praise even as they suffered under her attack.
[You have the wisdom to use the enemy’s power against them.]
[Your ability to make quick judgement is admirable.]
“Eh-eet.”
Artpe wouldn’t just standby as the bastards gave their monologue! When the
Skeletons got in each other’s way, Artpe didn’t miss the opportunity. He attacked
them.
He was overflowing with weapons he could throw! He had used all the Mana he
had gained when he reached level 30. He had reinforced the daggers and bone
fragments. He threw them towards the Skeletons, who were attacking Maetel.
He stopped them in their tracks.
[Kooh-ahk!?]
[However, you don’t play fair. You hide in safety as you stick out your tongue!]
“The four of you are attacking her, yet you are talking about fairness? Are you
trying to test the hero or are you trying to scout for the Demon King’s army?
Huh?”
In his previous life, he had been exceptionally skilled. After entering this
Dungeon, he had only done one thing. His ability to throw items were on a whole
different level now.
His thrown weapons all embedded themselves in their weak points. His timing
was exquisite. He was able to stop the movements of his enemies. In terms of
throwing skills, he was so skilled that a thief might not be needed for this party.
His main job was supposed to be a magician!
‘When I became a hero, it seems I unnecessarily picked up abilities of other
disciplines….’
It was a good thing, so why was he sighing?
He was sure of this, but if he checked his Read All Creation ability, his throw skill
probably exceeded level 8. It was something very incredible, since Maetel’s
Swordsmanship skill remained at level 6!
[I accept my loss, but before you defeat the others…. Kook]
“One down!”
While Artpe became confused about his own identity, Maetel had finally taken
down a Skeleton. One was defeated, yet the EXP of the two heroes didn’t rise.
“All right. Let’s take care of the rest….”
[Your tribulation will start now.]
“They are speaking some bullshit, Maetel… Huh?”
At that moment, Artpe’s Read All Creation ability was activated.
It was as if the fallen Skeleton hadn’t existed in the first place. The fallen
Skeleton melted into the void, and the energy from it was split threeways. It
flowed into the three remaining Skeletons. As this occurred, Artpe was seeing a
live update on what was occuring.
[Experience Record Strength Mana Transfer]
[Evolution Test Task Status]
At a glance, the words looked to have nothing to do with each other. It looked to
be a list of words. However, it was enough of a clue for Artpe to realize what was
going on!
“Shit….! Step aside for a little bit, Maetel! The stone and nature proceeds to
return to stone and nature! It will be beyond one’s reach!”
He desperately chanted his magic spell. The three Skeletons were attacking a
bit faster than before when the marble floor turned slippery. They fell to the floor.
Artpe didn’t stop there. He started unraveling the leather strap tying the shield to
his back.
“Artpe!?”
“Didn’t I tell you how I’ll use this earlier, Maetel?”
“Yes.”
“I lied!”
Artpe grabbed the end of the strap and he swung it. High quality Mana was
emitted from his heart, and it flowed down through the strap. The Mana flowed
into the shield. This task was arduous for him even if he was using both hands.
In a flash, he sent the shield flying forward.
The shield flew in an exquisite trajectory. Artpe’s Mana within the shield was
letting out a ominous light. the Skeletons were getting up when the shield hit
them.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhk!]
[You are cheap! You are a coward!]
“I’m less cheap than you guys, you assholes!”
Artpe had reinforced the shield with his magical energy, and it had brilliantly
caused a curse to be afflicted on the Skeletons. It was a simple curse that
slowed down the movement of the enemies, but it was like a blessing that
allowed them to turn the table of the battle! This was especially true when one
considered Maetel’s quick movements.
Maetel’s eyes shone as she tried to finish them off. Artpe became frightened as
he stopped her.
“Don’t kill them!”
“Why?”
“If we kill them, the other monsters will become strengthened. A Record Link
was placed on all the monsters within this Dungeon!”
“Huh…...?”
Maetel didn’t understand Artpe’s words. She didn’t comprehend how serious of a
situation this was. The ‘Record Link’ was a sophisticated trap that would unfold
from now on. The thought it made him grind his teeth!
“Anyways, the curse was strengthened, and I was able to lay it on them. You
should charge in and beat them within an inch of their lives!”
“All right!”
[Kook, cowards. You should attempt this trial in a fair and square….]
“Shut up!”
While Maetel beat them to half death, Artpe turned around to look at the hallway.
A steel door had appeared behind them, and the hallway behind them was
hidden. When he confirmed the existence of this enormous door, he grinded his
teeth.
It was as he had expected. It was impossible to back out now once they had
started this.
‘I did make a resolve to break and steal whatever is in front of us…..’
Artpe looked forward, and he saw five new Skeletons appear down the hallway.
They were all close to being level 50.
“Son of a bitch! At the very least, give us EXP!”
The heroes had fallen into a trial that was like a swamp. They wouldn’t be able
to finish this easily.
Chapter 11 - Growth of the Heroes (3)
Record Link.
It was classified as an ancient magic. It was a great magic that was
representative of spells that were very troublesome to activate and maintain.
If one wanted to activate this magic, one needed souls and bodies that had
similar mana pattern, skills and special characteristics. The resonance created
allowed them to easily identify each other’s intent. Moreover, if one of them died,
all the power within its soul and body would be transferred to the others through
the link.
In theory, if one killed the parts linked to the whole, the overall capability of the
group would remain the same.
Up to this point, it sounded as if it was a technique that would allow one to create
the strongest organization in this continent. However, the prerequisite of finding
beings that were similar in mana pattern, techniques and special characteristics
was fiendishly hard. In truth, no one was able to activate such magic throughout
history.
Even if one was successful in activating it, there would be a horrific penalty if the
will of one was slightly out out of sync with the others. It would cancel the magic
spell, and the horrible side effects would be shared by all. This was why this
spell was designated as a forbidden spell throughout this continent. It was
simply labeled as being an insane magic.
[Goo-ahhhhhhhhhhh!]
[Do this fair and square!]
[I want to be of help to my comrade, but I am unable to do that!]
These mad Skeletons had been linked through the forbidden spell. He never
expected to find such a secret technique being used in a Dungeon placed in the
countryside. Artpe was extremely shocked.
“Maetel! They can recover from broken bones, so I want you to completely crush
their arms and legs! I want you to avoid killing them at all costs!”
“Understood! Eh-eet! Eh-eeeet!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhhh!]
Of course, he was taken aback by all of this, but he was able to keep his shock
separate from what was going on in the battle.
The most important trait for the Demon King army’s Four was composure! The
second most important trait was also composure! The best way to maintain
composure was to go through all the scenarios beforehand. One had to think
about what had yet to occur, and the consequences of each scenario.
Composure was for those who planned ahead!
First, Artpe and Maetel made it impossible for the three Skeletons to move. After
taking care of them, they confronted the five Skeletons running towards them.
“Bring it on!”
[Damn it! They aren’t doing the trial in a fair manner...]
“Huh? Five Skeletons gathered here to attack two children. I’m having a hard
time taking those words seriously when it is coming from you guys.”
[······.]
The Skeletons looked taken aback when they saw their comrades roll around the
floor in a pitiful state. However, they couldn’t do anything for them. The Record
Link’s biggest restriction was the inability to attack one’s comrades.
“If we leave them in a state where they can’t die, we can block them from
strengthening themselves. If we hadn’t known Record Link was being used, we
would have been screwed. However, all tactical magic is useless in front of my
Read All Creation ability!”
“As expected, Artpe is amazing!”
[Cowards!]
“You guys are almost past level 50, yet you are attacking us as a group! I don’t
want to hear such words from you guys!”
The Skeletons had never expected two children under level 30 to have defeated
the Elite Skeleton Warrior! Still, how could they start such a test in a ruthless
manner! Which country’s customs were they following!
Artpe followed two cherished rules. First, he strove for tranquility. Secondly, he
strove for survival. It was already much too late to follow his first rule. This was
why he wouldn’t hesitate to cheat for survival!
“Break!”
“You have to cancel your buff before you run out of Mana! Control your
emotions!”
“I know!”
She boosted her emotions to activate the strengthening option provided by the
gauntlet. This was why she sounded more strained than usual.
Of course, it would be impossible for her to fight straight up against the level 50
Skeletons. It was self-evident that the buff from the gauntlet was allowing her to
do so…..
‘She’s really amped up. Will she able to terminate the buff when needed? If
not…..’
One had to always keep in mind that Mana was being consumed to maintain the
buff. If one wasn’t able to calm one’s heart, the buff would remain active until
one’s Mana ran out. When one was out of Mana, it started to consume one’s
stamina. This was the reason why emotion type buffs were dangerous and
tricky. If one overdid it, the buff could cause the user’s death.
It wouldn’t even be funny if the heroes died in such a trivial place. Artpe checked
that more Skeletons were coming towards them. He hardened his resolve as he
extended his Mana Thread. The only spell he possessed was Hyper Rubbing,
and he had to get out of this danger by using what he possessed.
“I’ve taken down two of them!”
“You are beating them to the inch of their lives to make them incapable of battle.
Let’s coin a name for this action. Let us say we are shagging them. So you
shagged two of them.”
“I shagged three! No, I shagged four!”
The struggles of the heroes had reached incredible heights! Artpe grabbed onto
the leather strap as he sent the shield flying towards all directions. He inflicted
the curse on the new Skeletons, who were trying to join the ongoing battle. Artpe
had infused his power of Mana into the strap, so the tensile strength of the strap
was high. He was also able to extend the length of the strap, so he didn’t need
to worry about losing the shield!
“This isn’t magic. It feels like I’m in a circus…. Shit.”
Still, the actual number of enemies unable to recklessly attack Maetel had grown
to a significant number. The most surprising fact about shield’s curse was the
fact that it could be ‘stacked’. The speed of the Skeleton became noticeably
slower when it was hit multiple times with the shield. Their slow speed meant
they were being taken down quickly.
Artpe started to revise his opinion. Maybe the biggest treasure left behind by the
Skeleton Warrior wasn’t the gauntlet or the bastard sword. It might be the shield.
 This was also why the Skeletons refused to acknowledge Artpe as a ‘challenger’
for their test.
[You are a coward, who hides behind a woman! We should kill such a male first!]
[He doesn’t have the right to take this test! Punish him! Punish him!]
“Noooooooobody will lay a finger on Artpe!”
Ah, they were screwed. Maetel was supposed to calm herself down, but their
words made her emotions spiral out of control!
She possessed supreme talent. She possessed a superior body compared to
beings of same level as her. She possessed an overwhelming amount of
magical energy compared to others. Still, it would be dangerous for her to
maintain her buff at this pace.
Despite this fact, she bravely leapt around as she took down the Skeletons….
‘She won’t be able to last long…. Her ability is great, but she’s committing all
the common mistakes committed by beginner users.’
Her immature nature right now suited the hero’s personality, but she was with
him now. Artpe wouldn’t allow were to act in such naive manner. However,
there were too many Skeletons running towards them from the other side of the
hallway. He didn’t have the time to lecture her.
‘If so….’
The next best option was to make sure her Mana didn’t run out. This would
prevent the buff’s side effect from manifesting within her.
So what was his options? Mana potion?
Unfortunately, this Dungeon didn’t drop expensive potions that would allow her to
recover her Mana.
What about Mana recovery herb? Of course, there were rare cases where Mana
herb grew in the corners of a Dungeon. However, this Dungeon hadn’t had any.
This meant that he had to consider his last option. It was Mana transfer. Artpe
was overflowing with Mana.(He possessed Magical talent that would never be
seen again in the human race. His body was ridiculous.) He just had to find a
way to transfer it to Maetel.
This would allow Maetel to maintain her buff, and he wouldn’t have to waste
Mana on a spell like Hyper Rubbing. Of course, if this was easily done, he would
have done it already.
‘There are magic that allows one to transfer Mana to others, but I haven’t learned
those spells yet.’
In the end, he would have to directly control his Mana to be able to inject it into
Maetel. At this rate, Artpe might develop a new Mana Control Class never before
seen in history. As he mulled over the new questions about his own identity, he
grabbed a Mana Thread with his free hand. His other hand was holding onto the
leather strap of the shield.
“Maetel! I want you to decrease your movement radius!”
“All right! I shagged two!”
Maetel shouted with great vigor. She swung her bastard sword as it impacted
three Skeletons. Their bodies were severely damaged. It made one think that
they would be better off dead. In a short amount of time, she had quickly gotten
used to using the bastard sword. This truth was self evident.
Artpe shot out his Mana Thread towards Maetel, and it gently touched her
shoulder. Artpe had never tried Mana transfer before, so he focused his mind as
he tried to inject his Mana into her. Sure enough, the Mana wasn’t easily
absorbed by Maetel. It dissipated in the middle of the process.
He had delivered Mana to Maetel, but it hadn’t bolstered her Mana reserve. His
magical energy had basically gave her a shoulder massage!
“I shagged three again! Eh-hee hee. You are tickling me, Artpe.”
“Stop liking it so much. You are annoying me.”
Artpe continuously threw and received his shield with one hand. (He didn’t know
the cause behind it, but once the shield returned, it was sent out at a higher
speed and strength than the previous throw. He was coming close to taking
down as many enemies as Maetel.) He used his other hand to continuously
send the Mana Thread towards Maetel.
Fail, fail and fail.
If things progressed as is, he wouldn’t become more proficient at Mana transfer.
He would become more proficient at giving Maetel a massage!
“Artpe is really amazing!”
“The fact that your heart is always in the right place makes this much more
annoying!”
He couldn’t waste his Mana like this.
Would it be more advantageous to take down the Skeletons using Hyper
Rubbing?
Artpe was having such thoughts as he turned his head. The number of broken
Skeletons were rising. There were almost 50 of them. It was at this moment
when he realized something. The more shocking news was that over 20
Skeletons had appeared once again at the end of the hall!
“What the heck! You guys should just come at us all at once!”
[I’m coming for you.]
[I’m also coming for you.]
[We are coming for you.]
It was as if they had been waiting for Artpe’s words. He watched as the
Skeletons surged towards him. When he confirmed this sight, he politely took
back his words.
“No. Don’t come here. You don’t have to come toward us.”
[We’ll take up our bows to kill the coward!]
“Oh shit.”
“Koo-ooh…. I won’t lose! I’ll protect Artpe!”
Skeletons, who were able to attack from a distance, had appeared. It was a
sufficiently demoralizing sight. To add insult to injury, Maetel’s Mana was
starting to show signs of running out! A good amount of red light was starting to
emanate in vaporous form from her body. It was evidence that the skill was
consuming her stamina instead of her magical energy.
“You are going to kill yourself, Maetel! You idiot!”
“I’ll end this soon. I’ll end all of them. I won’t allow any of you to approach
Artpe!”
[You cannot differentiate between bravery and foolhardiness. You aren’t
qualified to be a hero either.]
[You are unqualified. An unqualified person cannot leave this test alive.]
[It has been a long time since anyone had challenged us. It makes us happy, but
we have to do our work.]
“Maetel! Eeek! I told you to stop, Maetel!”
“Koo-oohk, Koo-ooh-ahhhhhhhh!”
Artpe kept yelling at Maetel to cancel her buff, but Maetel wasn’t showing any
signs of letting up. In truth, her actions weren’t wrong. Her level hadn’t risen,
and the gauntlet’s buff was the only reason why she was able to fight head on
with the Skeletons!
When the buff ended, it would be the end for the the two of them. Instead of
retreating, they had chosen to go forward. They had acted with reckless
bravado.
‘Shit. This won’t do. I can’t transfer my Mana to her. Moreover, it would be
foolhardy to expect her to learn Mana Drain or Stamina Drain as if it was a
miracle…. Fuck these inflexible Skeletons. What shall I do…. Uh?’
This was the moment when he found a clue that would help him solve this
situation. He hadn’t discovered anything new, but he caught sight of the Record
Link’s Mana stem connecting the Skeletons. It was the cause of their current
troubles, and he suddenly saw it in new light.
‘The Record Link is a spell that synchronizes everything. Of course, this spell
moves towards completion as the members of the Record Link is killed. Isn’t the
activation method of this spell what I’m trying to accomplish?’
He had a moment of enlightenment. Of course, this was possible only because
Artpe had a cheat-like ability called the Read All Creation. Artpe had to get out of
this ridiculous situation, and his brain moved in a flexible manner to come up with
a solution.
‘If I do this right, I’ll be able to do it.’
The main idea behind the Record Link was a connection established using a
specific resonance frequency. There was a big commanality between Artpe and
Maetel that could be used as a medium. They were the only two people in the
world, who had the Hero Class. This was something they shared between the
two of them.
‘The Hero Class is an intrinsic characteristic that trumps all others. It’s possible.
I’ll be able to do this..’
Artpe’s eyes were shining brightly. At that moment, he realized he had learned a
new magic.
He had thought acquiring skills, which was incongruent with one’s level, was
something only a genius like Maetel was allowed to do. However, he had been
wrong. He wasn’t sure if his prior knowledge and observations helped in the
process, but Artpe was able to join Maetel’s company as being someone capable
of creating new skills!
“Maetel! Your senses might expand a little bit, and your Mana will become
amplified. Stay focused!”
“I understand….!”
As expected, her answer was alway cheerful. She was well aware of the fact
that her stamina was being consumed right now, but she refused to end her buff.
Maetel was still bravely fighting off dozens of Skeletons.
Artpe was blocking the long range attacks using his shield, but if the situation
remained the same, the two of them would be wiped out. He could guarantee it.
He had to use his magic before it was too late.
“We are connected by traveling the same road. Reveal the line that connects us.
Our sights view the same enemies. My rage shall become her rage, and it shall
descend.”
[The coward is trying to use a weird trick once again.]
[We have to stop him. We have to stop him, but….]
“Artpe…. You can’t touch him…..!”
Her anger kept rising everytime the Skeletons tried to aim for Artpe. Now it just
took them mentioning Artpe’s name to set her off. Her eyes were raised sharply,
and she was more scarier than an evil spirit as she swung her sword.
There was a red fog emanating from her entire body now. She wasn’t just
consuming her Stamina anymore. She had learned a skill that was deadly and
horrifying compared to all the Skills she had learned up until now.
[Maetel]
[Level : 32]
[Berserk Lv1]
‘Somehow I had a feeling she would… In the end, she learned the Berserk skill.’
It was an emblematic skill used by the Berserkers. It was the worst type of
mental skill one could learn. The Berserk skill would make one kill everyone. It
didn’t matter if one was an ally or a foe.
There was no level restriction in learning it, and it didn’t exist in the form of a Skill
Book. The user had to fulfill requirement that were close to being diabolical to be
able to learn it. This was why it was very rare to see it in action, yet Maetel had
just learned it.
The Bone Gauntlet boosted the strength of the user as the user’s emotions was
raised. The Berserk skill dealt with a single emotion called rage. It increased
one’s attack by decreasing one’s defense. It was a very rare self-buff skill. Of
course, the side effect was so much worse than the ones given by the bone
gauntlet. It was so severe that it made one shudder.
“You’ll be fine even with that skill. Link the Mana!”
At that moment, Artpe finally completed his spell. This particular Mana Thread
was very fine. One couldn’t even draw a comparison with the Mana Threads he
had created before. This thread was letting out the five cardinal colors, and it
created a direct line between Artpe’s heart and Maetel’s heart. The Skeletons
couldn’t prevent the connection from forming.
“Ah.”
In the next moment, Maetel spoke in a peculiar voice. Artpe smiled when he
confirmed that his magic had worked. The Skeletons shook when they saw the
change in her spirit. They held an overwhelming number advantage, yet they
started to slowly retreat.
“Artpe….is the best.”
Maetel mumbled her words. Artpe’s overflowing Mana was being poured into
Maetel’s body in its entirety.
The stamina that had already been consumed did not recover, but her body was
granted an extreme amount of Mana that her body wasn’t allowed to possess at
this stage. Her body temporarily took the next step forward.
[That person stole our secret technique.]
[No, that is…. It might be superior than our technique.]
[My god…. They are true heroes.]
[They are qualified to be heroes! They are brilliantly proving this fact!]
“Even if you acknowledge us now, you are too late.”
Maetel raised her head, and her eyes were sparkling. She hunched forward. All
the muscles in her body was tense. She looked like a panther about to pounce it
prey. The powerful magical energy and the overwhelming power of the Berserk
Skill reconciled with each other to surround her entire body.
“I won’t let you all run away!”
It was hard to call what happened next as a battle. It would be more appropriate
to say they were hunted down by her.
Chapter 12 - Growth of the Heroes (4)
[I’ve already acknowledged…. Kuhk!]
[We’ll back off for now, and the others will test….!]
“I told you I won't let you guys run awayyyyyyyyy!”
Artpe’s Mana was being shared with Maetel, and she was like a predator that
didn’t get tired.
The Skeletons couldn’t gauge Maetel’s ability using her level. Still, they
managed to come to the right decision. They expressed their intent on giving up
on the battle. However, it was way too late to do so. Maetel’s rage refused to
diminish when she saw their shameless behavior. It actually increased it.
“You guys originally planned on killing Artpe! Now you want to admit defeat and
retreat? You guys are mean. You are all very mean! I almost lost Artpe! You
guys want to end this with just a single speech! You guys are really really mean!”
[There’s no point. We told you there is no point in going further than this!]
[The hero’s rage… Your rage will put you on a path of no return…..]
“You guys are the one, who will be put on a path of no return! Eeyahhhh!”
When one saw Maetel’s outer appearance, one would assume she’ll have a hard
time lifting the huge bastard sword. However, the sword was moving freely in the
hands of Maetel.
The white blade didn’t discriminate between vertical and horizontal swings. She
was like a salmon wading up a fierce current. She mercilessly sliced and
crushed the bodies of the Skeletons.
Fortunately, she still had enough awareness to realize that she must not kill any
of them. She was basically holding onto a single thread of her reason.
It was something very hard to do even for Berserkers, who lived many years
alongside their rage. However, Maetel was doing it.
“You are running around wildly like an idiot…...”
Artpe recovered his Mana, and he focused on sharing it with Maetel. Of course,
Artpe’s Mana was on a different class compared to Maetel’s Mana. Even after
supplying Mana required to sustain Maetel’s Berserk state, he was still
overflowing with Mana.
After he became somewhat confident in maintaining the link, he gathered the
sharp bone fragments in his surrounding. As he maintained the Mana link with
her, he strengthened the bone fragments with Mana. Then he started attacking
them from distance. Each throw incapacitated a Skeleton.
The two heroes once again started an airtight attack. They were facing a group
of enemies that had increased in size by several dozen magnitude!
[I have no idea what is going on.]
[Why are there two heroes? Did these two really show up in the same era?]
[Our role is to conduct the test. That is it. It is our duty to guide them to the next
location then we will back off.]
[However, at this rate….]
She dismantled the limbs of the most talkative Skeleton first. Maetel’s bastard
sword was swung like a club, and she sent the disabled Skeletons into the corner
of the hallway.
There was a pile consisting of 90 Skeletons.
Artpe made sure the Skeletons couldn't recover. He mainly used his shield to
dice them up. The shield was connected to Artpe by a strap reinforced by Mana,
and it freely sliced through the air. It was like a boomerang.
[This is like….]
As the two heroes continued their dominance, a particular Skeleton was hit by
Maetel’s sword on its cheek bone. It let out a groan that wasn’t actually a groan.
[It is as if we are the ones being tested.]
[This runs contrary to the point of this test.]
[Thus.]
[We will make changes.]
“Oh man. What is it again…. Huh?”
At that moment, the Mana density within the Dungeon suddenly increased.
The hallway rolled as it widened. It became unfathomably large. Then he felt the
Undead Mana from the other side increase in an uncontrolled manner. The
walls kept contracting than expanding, and the flow of Mana within the Dungeon
quickened.
“Kyahhh!”
An enormous change was occurring to the entire Dungeon. Maetel was taken
aback. She broke out of the effects of her Berserk skill, and she turned to look at
Artpe.
“What is going on, Artpe…..?”
“...I get it now. I’ve been firmly under a delusion.”
He wasn't like Maetel. He wasn’t afraid of the unknown. Before one knew it, a
smile had appeared on Artpe’s lips.
If a Demon, who was much more proficient in magic than him was here, this
Demon would have realized it much earlier. However, it couldn’t be helped,
since he was the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings.
Still, he had realized it before it was too late. That would be enough. He could
straighten this out. This was what the power possessed by Artpe was for.
“The change of the Dungeon is ongoing. No, the Dungeon itself is trapped within
a magic spell.”
Who labeled this as a beginner’s Dungeon? This Dungeon had been made to
look sloppy on purpose. This was a genuine Dungeon. This couldn’t have been
formed naturally, and it wasn’t something a regular person could make.
[We give the test.]
[If they are better… If they are more extraordinary… If they are overpowered…
If they are geniuses...]
[We will send out everyone. We just have to test them again.]
The sound of marching could be heard. Several dozen level 50 Skeletons
appeared from down the hallway. There were countless number of Skeletons
readied behind them.
They came from the front, back, left and right. The hallway kept expanding, and
it broke down the walls and stairways. The dead sleeping below were all
awoken.
Every one of them were connected through the Record Link.
This was a very severe ordeal for beginner hero, who barely eclipsed level 30.
However, she just fixed the grip on her bastard sword.
“It’ll be alright, Artpe. I'll protect you. I’ll crush them all. ”
Her emerald colored eyes didn't shake at all. She was too brilliant and strong to
be seen as a mere 12 year old girl.
Ah ah. Maybe this was the point where she would open her eyes as a true hero.
Artpe grinned when he saw this, and he raised his gaze.
“Yes. Someone had planned all of this. I don’t know which era this person was
from…...”
The Skeletons kept bringing up the subject of heroes. At this point, they were
acting in a brutal and annoying manner as if they were bullies. Aside from their
actions, he was sure they wanted to check the qualification of the heroes. This
gave him a good idea, who might have designed this Dungeon.
“I’ll crush you all so thoroughly that you won't be able to be recycled. I’ll take
everything that is yours.”
His purple eyes contained the power of the Read All Creation ability. His eyes let
out a light as he surveyed his surrounding.
A large scale ancient magic was protecting the entirety of the Dungeon. Their
level of power wouldn’t be able to do anything against it. It was a magic spell
that changed depending on the situation. It changed to put the challengers up
against a wall.
This was why it was time for Artpe to step forward. This was why they stood a
chance of succeeding.
“Every magic has a structure, and all structures have weaknesses. Of course,
it’ll be difficult to instantaneously drive a wedge between the magic spell to break
it…..”
This magic continuously acted on a large space, and if even one thing went out
of whack, the spell would come crumbling down.
Of course, it was known amongst mages that it was impossible to find the
structure and the cracks within an ever changing magic spell. This widely
accepted idea was turned on its head when Artpe Hirtana Kelduke of the Four
Heavenly Kings appeared.
However, Artpe’s name wasn’t known to those in this era.
This was why no magic had yet been prepared to counteract against Artpe!
‘Huh? Wait a moment. What happened to the me that should exist right now in
this era? Am I absent or was I swapped with someone else? If that isn’t the
case, then….’
In a flash, he had a terrifying idea, but this wasn’t the time to mull over those
thoughts. He shook his head to expel all thoughts unrelated to their survival.
Afterwards, he checked up on Maetel.
“Ooh-ohhhhhhhhhhhh! I can do this! I can do this!”
[Koo-gah-ahhhhhhhk!]
Maetel didn’t back down from the Skeletons coming from all sides. She ran wild.
Artpe’s reserve of Mana was too vast compared to his level, so her Mana usage
didn’t even make a dent in his Mana supply.
She didn’t know how to retreat, and she had no fear. Instead of shying away
from the large number, she harassed them. She restricted the movement of the
Skeletons.
It was as if she had been trained in personal and group battles for several dozen
years. She was adept at it. The fact that she was doing all of this on instinct was
the most startling fact in all of this.
“I won’t back away…. I won’t forgive you guys….!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhk!]
[We need more! There aren’t enough of us!]
Above all, her sword strikes were slowly getting sharper and heavier.
Aside from the need to maintain the Berserk and the Bone Gauntlet, she wasn’t
using any Mana. She was able to lightly dodge the Skeletons' swords, which
were infused with their Mana. Each of her sword swing were able to crush the
bones of opponents, who were 20 levels higher.
She made a lie of the common phrase that said a difference in level meant a
difference in battle capability. Currently, a hero had been born on this continent,
and she was easily jumping over her limits. It was as if she was mocking those
who had to live within the restriction of levels.
Even if the Skeletons increased in number, they couldn’t overcome against a
single slender girl. They grudgingly had to acknowledge her growth, and they
despaired.
[Strong······ She shouldn’t be this strong, yet she is too powerful. In a situation
where she should be retreating, she chose to charge straight ahead!]
[She shouldn’t be allowed to grow right now, so why is she growing stronger!]
[Maetel]
[Level - 32]
[Swordsmanship Lv7]
[Battle Step Lv6]
[Perception Lv8]
“Why? Her skills have increased.”
He was genius, who learned the Berserk skill after getting a taste of the Bone
Gauntlet’s buff effect. She was in the early level 30s, yet she had achieved level
7 on a weapon skill. Achievements such as these were no longer surprising.
Artpe checked and confirmed that Maetel was barely receiving any wounds. He
determined he didn’t need to monitor her constantly.
“For a little while, you should hold them off by yourself, Maetel. I think I’ll be able
to change our situation by a little bit.”
“I believe in Artpe. Artpe can do it.”
Even if he hadn’t received her encouragement, he was confident he could do
this…
Still, he felt a surge of energy from somewhere, and he wondered if the Link
magic was the cause.
“Alright. Trust in me.”
Artpe lifted the corner of his mouth. As he laughed, he raised both his hands.
The shield connected to the Mana strap rose into the air, and it started revolving
around his body.
Even if he wasn’t able to inflict the curse unto the Skeletons, it was still possible
for him to defend again their attacks.
“If a powerful magic spell was the only thing important about a mage, he would
be called by the name of his strongest magic. However, there was a reason why
mages don’t use that naming convention. The distinct name of a mage and their
various talent they possess has importance…..”
A mage’s true worth didn’t come out when facing a single enemy using fire or ice.
A single gesture could change the tide of battle. A mage was only recorded in
history when one could change the direction of the battle by oneself.
“I see it. I can see everything. I know where I’ll have to tweak…..”
The Dungeon was trying to compensate for the fact that there were two heroes.
The standard requirement for this Dungeon was for one challenger, so the
Dungeon was merging into a single floor to contend with them.
These Skeletons were only at level 50, but the ones afterwards would be higher
in level. Moreover, they would also be connected through the Record Link.
It would be the end if he let that happen. Even if Maetel was a genius who could
ignore level differences, there was a limit.
What should he do? He had sufficiently strengthened the abilities of Maetel. It
would also be impossible for Artpe to personally grow right now.
This was why he had to turn the enemies and the battlefield on its head.
“If this was a regular structure, this should be impossible to do. However, the
entire Dungeon is being controlled by a spell, so this is a different situation.”
Artpe’s purple eyes shone as they started to let out an odd luminescence. He
could see all the Mana flowing from the Dungeon’s wall, hallway and ceiling.
He could see where they met, and he saw how it curved to change the structure
of the Dungeon. He also could see how the Mana was being used over the
monsters!
“Good.”
He had found it. Mana threads shot out from the tips of Artpe’s ten fingers. The
Skeletons knew he was up to no good, but they also knew that they were lacking
in ability to be able to touch the boy.
It was the damnedest thing. Before Artpe stepped forward, he had made
thorough preparations. No one would be able to interfere with him.
This was the result of the struggle of trying to escape the fact of being the
weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings! He had always been sacrificed first
before. However, he had had transitioned into being a hero now. The results he
had gained from before was bearing fruit in a brilliant manner!
“This is easier than establishing the Mana Link. The fact that I can see your
magic should be a terrifying reality for you guys…. I’ll show it to you now. ”
The 10 strands of Mana Threads from his fingers extended out towards the
surrounding. The Mana Threads reached specific locations on the Dungeon’s
hallway, ceiling and floor. Then the sharp ends of the Mana Thread started to
bore in.
The vibration that was shaking the Dungeon became worse.
“Here, here and there…...”
[W...what are you doing!?]
[Do you really think such a weak move could sever our connection!? Impossible!
That is impossible!]
“You are right. It is impossible. I’ve barely reached level 30, and it isn’t as if I
can cancel such a fucking old and large magic spell.”
However, there was one thing he could do.
Artpe let out an evil smile as he swung his two hands. The 10 Mana Threads
undulated as they surged towards the wall, hallway and ceiling. They were
absorbed into various locations.
[······?]
[There was a change... No, there wasn’t any change….?]
The Dungeon stopped shaking. The ever-expanding hallway stopped expanding,
and no new Skeletons appeared..
The Dungeon walls, which had disappeared, started to slowly grow back. The
out of control Mana within the Dungeon calmed a little bit.
“Artpe… Nothing has changed?”
“Yes, Maetel. You made the correct observation.”
Artpe waved his hand at his surrounding. The protective shield, which had been
revolving around him, shot out towards a group of Skeletons.
Until a moment ago, new Skeletons had appeared every time when a group went
down. It was an attempt to tire out the two heroes. However, one could no
longer see the reinforcements.
“Ah. This is….!”
[Can it be….]
[Our connection to our comrades on the other side was severed. Our magic was
reduced by the Dungeon’s power! This means he manipulated the magic
spell…. My god. How could such a young child do this!]
Maetel quickly realized what had occurred. The Skeletons were a step late in
realizing it, and they started to talk noisily amongst themselves.
Artpe had expanded his magical senses, and he had encased the current
hallway and the several hundred Skeletons within it. He spoke in a confident
manner.
“Nothing will change from now on. Your reinforcements won’t be coming.”
It was as if the reinforcement were gone. It wasn’t an easy task to erase one’s
enemies from the face of this world using pure Mana.
Yes, they were still alive. Even now they were probably stamping their feet as
they waited for their turn to come.
However, they would be waiting on the Dungeon’s next floor, which won’t open
until all the Skeletons here were killed.
Chapter 13 - The Link Between You and I (1)
At first, Artpe couldn’t fathom how the Dungeon and Skeletons were connected
through the Record Link.
However, it was simple once he understood it. From the beginning, the Record
Link was over the entire Dungeon… To be more precise, when the requirement
for destroying the Elite Skeleton Warrior was met, a field was placed over the
Dungeon. Everything within the Dungeon was placed within its sphere of
influence.
Usually, it was impossible to synchronize all the monsters, yet this method had
allowed the impossible to become possible. This field also allowed the
Dungeon’s monsters to change the structure of the Dungeon using their will.
They merged the separated space, and it allowed them to send forth countless
number of monsters.
Artpe had realized this fact before it was too late. Of course, even if he realized
it, there wasn’t much he could do at this point in time.
It was normal to have no options in such a situation.
“However, I’m an abnormality.”
Even if Artpe couldn’t cancel the Record Link in its entirety, he could push and
distort the enormous magic spell using his Mana. It was possible to cause a
minute amount of change.
This was why he was using his Mana Control ability to its limit as he spliced small
parts of the Record Link using his Mana. Then he rejoined the split ends in
different configurations to set small restriction.
He tied off the part of the region considered to be the 6th floor of the Dungeons.
Afterwards, he tied off the 7th floor, then he moved on to tie the next region
below…..
This was why there was no change occurring to the Dungeon now. Of course, all
the monsters on the same floor were still connected through the Record Link.
However, at the very least, the outer appearance of the Dungeon had returned
to looking like any other normal Dungeon.
“The fact that it’ll be difficult to smash through this Dungeon hasn’t changed, but
we no longer have to fear about our stamina running out by fighting against an
unknown number of reinforcements. Moreover, the Record Link to the other
Skeletons on the other floors was completely severed….”
“If it is as you’ve said, does this perhaps mean….”
“You are pretty quick on the uptake.”
Artpe met Maetel’s sparkling eyes, and he smirked.
“After we disable their ability to move, we can kill all of the Skeletons on this
floor.”
The Skeletons here had been isolated from the others. The ridiculous concept
that they couldn’t gain any EXP until they cleared the entire Dungeon was gone
now. They would no longer have to suffer under such crazy and tortuous
stricture.
They were still under the difficult restriction where they had to disable all the
monsters on a single floor without killing the monsters. However, it didn’t feel
onerous to the two heroes.
They’ll win. They will survive to become stronger. It didn’t matter who tried to
test them.
He didn't care about the reasons behind such tests. He would take them all. If
he was at a test site, he would upend it. If he was in a prison, he would destroy
it. If it was a kingdom, he would raze it to the ground.
“We aren’t obligated to play on a stage made by the enemy. Remember that,
Maetel. The enemies should dance to our music. We are the ones that have to
survive after defeating our enemies. It doesn’t matter if they call us cheap. They
can even cuss us out for being the bad guys.”
This was the philosophy of survival developed by the Four Heavenly King Artpe
Hirtana Kelduke of the Demon King’s army. In his previous life, he had merely
been an extra that should have been killed off early in the story. However, he
had been able to stay alive until the hero invaded the Demon King’s castle. This
was the reason why.
In the end, he was dispatched by the radiant hero, but she was by his side now.
Nothing would be impossible for the two of them. Even if it was impossible, they
would make it possible.
“The fact that we survive is us winning. That is why we have to survive to win.
The most important thing is our own survival. There is nothing worth more than
that.”
“....Yes..”
Maetel firmly nodded her head. Of course, she was was born with a strong
sense of justice. She was too innocent to understand the selfishness and spite
he had developed by surviving through the long years.
Still, this would be enough. She wouldn’t be easily swindled by others now. He
had created a foundation he could build on.
[W...what the hell is this.]
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhh!]
The Skeletons were having a hard time accepting the fact that an outsider had
changed the entire layout of the Dungeon. How long had they been waiting for
this moment! How patient had they been! They had been eagerly waiting for this
as they hated every moment of the wait!
They had even allowed themselves to become lowly Undead to protect this
place. They had placed their worth in protecting the place. This was their
shining moment, yet these little brats were treating them like trash! The little
brats had spit on them! It was a twisted situation where they were being looked
down on!
[This is wrong! They won't be able to prove their worth this way! They will only
just get stronger!]
[You are making a mistake! You don’t possess the necessary qualification!]
“You guys should all shut up. If this qualification involves us being accepted by
such rotten Skeletons, I would rather not have it! I care not for it! Maetel!”
“None of you will be able to run away!”
His Magic was running smoothly, so he just had to focus on Maetel and his
shield. Artpe was able to bolster Maetel’s power as he freely controlled his
shield. He attacked the flustered group of Skeletons.
[How can this…. Koohk!]
[These bastards don’t have the right to take the test. We’ll kill you! We’ll destroy
you!]
The Skeletons had been shaken when an abnormality occurred in their Record
Link, so they weren’t able to properly react to the situation. However, they had
now accepted the truth that they would have to defeat Artpe and Maetel with the
troops on this floor. They strengthened the Record Link between each other, and
they started actively attacking the two heroes.
Of course, Maetel was getting stronger even at this moment as she participated
in the battle. This was why the Skeletons weren’t in a favorable position.
It wasn’t as if the Skeletons had gone easy on them from the beginning, because
it was a test. Nothing would change from their adjusted attitude!
[Are you planning on imitating a boomerang with your shoddy shield? It is too
heavy! It looks like a pig rolling across the ground!]
“What the hell are you looking at! That is only an after-image!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhk!]
He hadn’t wanted to grow in this direction, but Artpe’s ability to throw the shield…
No, the ability to control it was growing in real time. He was providing Maetel
with Mana. Was he receiving some of her stamina and reflexes in return?
Several dozen Mana Threads were extended from his one hand, and they were
used to control the shield. The sharp edge of the shield, which could inflict the
curse, was raised. It flew freely across the large hallway as it impacted the
Skeletons’ bodies in order. The damage it inflicted wasn’t light.
“Here and here!”
[The bastard’s shield is weakening us.]
[We have to catch and kill him. We have to kill….]
As time passed, Artpe’s shield flew faster, and it rotated more sharply. He was
inflicting damage on par with Maetel’s bastard sword. The Skeletons had been
afraid of Maetel, so they had been herded towards him. However, he was taking
them down faster as time passed, and he finally realized something.
‘What is this? What the hell is happening? I’m satisfied with just being able to
push and keep others in check. What is the deal with this? How is it possible
for me to dominate foes that are 20 levels higher than me? If I make a mistake, I
might kill them outright…. Moreover, I think the curse effect has gotten stronger.’
Artpe reflected on why this was so. He realized that the act of infusing Mana
into the shield was slowly strengthening the shield’s special characteristic.
This was on an another level compared to simply infusing a rock in an attempt to
make it explode. He had used his Mana to increase the performance of the
Artifact at a fundamental level. Basically, he had used [Reinforcement].
In other words, it was a special rare Support type skill. He didn’t have to say it
out loud, but this was a hellishly difficult skill to learn.
‘....when and how did I learn this skill?’
What did he actually do to precipitate this? He had caused change on the
Record Link casted on the entire Dungeon. He knew he had done a pretty good
job, but this act and the reinforcing of the shield was part of an entirely different
discipline.
The only thing else he had done was establishing the Mana link with Maetel. He
had poured Mana into her, and he had busily thrown his shield around.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhh!]
[The shield… The shield is getting larger! It is starting to rotate!]
[Dodge it. The bastard isn’t trying to kill us! He is just trying to inflict pain! The
bastard is not a hero! He is the devil! His wickedness is almost on par with the
Four Heavenly Kings under the Demon King!]
It was as if they knew about his past occupation as one of the Four Heavenly
Kings. The Skeletons kept spouting impudent words, so he thought about
mowing them down with his shield.
‘I’m awakening to skills at a ridiculous level. This should only be possible for
Maetel…. Wait a moment. When I used the link on Maetel, maybe Mana wasn’t
the only thing that was shared between us?’
His body was moving more swiftly, and he had easily acquired a skill he hadn’t
possessed before. Maybe this spell didn’t simply link their Mana. He might
have created something more grand.
At this point, he wanted to check his ability using his Read All Creation skill, and
he was annoyed that he didn’t have the spare time to do so.
‘Still, if my theory is correct, Maetel’s aptitude is being shared with me.’
It was a very dangerous occurrence for him. Maetel was supposed to become
the most brilliant hero in history using her talent. This talent was being shared
with Artpe, who was of mediocre talents. This would throw a big wrench in his
plan.
This would slow down Maetel’s growth, and there was a chance that Artpe might
pass her. Then the enemy’s gaze might focus more on him. Something terrible
such as that might occur to him!
If possible, he had planned on maintaining the Mana link indefinitely. However,
this changed the story. After the battle ended, he would get a clear assessment
of himself using his Read All Creation ability. Then he planned on severing the
Mana link as soon as possible.
The brightest star had to be Maetel. Artpe didn’t want to shine brighter than her.

‘Basically, the act of emitting light is like a work out. I’m too lazy to work out..
After I receive enough light from Maetel, I’ll just reflect the light. That will be
sufficient.’
This was a mindset unbefitting of a hero. However, his previous occupation was
being one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and he had always dreamed about living
the life as a dairy farmer! He was able to come up with such possibilities,
because he was Artpe!
Maetel didn’t even realize what was going through his thoughts. She diligently
moved her body. Even now she was efficiently pulling Artpe’s bountiful Mana
towards her for her use. She was getting stronger even at this moment!
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhhhhhp!”
[Strong. They are too strong!]
[We need more reinforcement…. Aht! We don’t have any!]
[Maetel]
[Level : 32]
[Swordsmanship Lv8]
[Berserk Lv4]
[Mana Control Lv6]
“From the looks of it, it doesn’t look like her talent had decreased at all…..”
Artpe mumbled bitterly as he waved his hand. The last reinforcement added
before the 6th floor was isolated stepped forward. The highest level among the
group was 55. They hesitatingly moved towards the two.
[You, who explore the domain of the impossible, shall face either creation or
destruction at the end of this chaos. We will test your small body...kuhk!]
“Stop giving a monologue, and fight me!”
[How dareeeeeeeee you… Kah-ahk!]
The two heroes had a lot to think about, yet the Skeleton with an empty skull was
spouting philosophical words! It was merely an extra, yet it was trying to act cool.
Even if the creator forgave such actions, Artpe wouldn’t forgive them!
“All of you fuck off! If you know what is good for you, you should separate your
head from your body! Just roll around on the floor!”
[How dare you sully our noble resolve… Kahk!]
One Skeleton in particular was filled with rage. It had tried to speak, yet the edge
of Artpe’s shield impacted on its body. The Skeleton was thrown to the
Dungeon’s wall.
Even after impacting on the Skeleton, the shield didn’t lose any momentum. It
attacked three additional Skeletons. Then it violently revolved around Artpe to
fend off the Skeletons trying to swing their swords towards him. The shield was
even able to break their weapons.
“All right. This should be enough.”
He would be able to prevail over this situation without asking a favor of Maetel.
The Skeletons that had been crowding around him were mostly defeated. He
nodded in satisfaction when he checked that less than 100 Skeletons were left.
[I will not open the way for such wicked beings!]
[We have to defeat them. I’ll make them into Skeletons! They will be the same
as us!]
“You can try.”
“I’ll do it! I’ll defeat them all!”
He still had over half his Mana. He assessed the amount of Mana he had left
against the number of Skeletons….
They could do this. He was sure of it.
They were the victors. .
Chapter 14 - The Link Between You and I (2)
A modicum amount of time had passed from that moment. It was a short amount
of time where not even one hour had passed. It was also the moment in their
lives where Artpe and Maetel had to focus the most.
Artpe was in a precarious situation where his Mana was about to bottom out, so
he continued to keep a low profile. In the end, Maetel’s Swordsmanship had
reached level 9…..
The Skeletons, who were exhausted from battle, tried a new tactic where they
purposefully tried to die through Maetel’s attacks. However, Artpe intercepted
them by throwing his shield into their abdomen. They were put out of the battle
by the hard hits, and the only thing these Skeletons could do was roll around the
floor.
Finally, Artpe felt himself reach his limit in terms of his body and Mana.
“Hoo-ooh. Koo-hoo-ooh….!”
“It is all done, Artpe!”
“Ggoo-oohk. All right.!”
Artpe was moments away from losing his consciousness. He was about to fall to
the floor. However, a voice of an angel could be heard through Artpe’s ears.
Artpe gritted his teeth as he fought to stay up. He checked the state of the
Dungeon.
It was as if hell had manifested on this floor.
[Goo-gahk, gah-gah-gahk…...]
[There is no way…. I’ll accept…..]
[Death… I only want an honorable death…..]
The number of Skeletons, who had died, was zero. The number of Skeletons
capable of continuing the battle was also zero. The floor was a mess. It was
hard to tell if the bones were ribs or spines. They were all just rolling around the
floor.
The two heroes had taken down over 400 Skeletons, and it drove home the
absurdity of the situation faced by the party of two.
“Are you ok, Artpe….?”
“I’m still alive but, you…. Are you able to cancel your Berserk state?”
“·…...yes!”
It was as she said. Her emotions started to calm after speaking those words.
The red haze that had covered her entire body dissipated, and her Mana
calmed. Artpe let out a bitter laugh at the sight.
Rage had swept over her, and her rage had paralyzed a portion of her rationality.
He had been a little bit worried that she wouldn’t have been able to cancel her
Berserk state. It might have led to an accident occurring….
It seemed his fears had been baseless.
Still, a wrong was a wrong even if the two of them survived the battle unharmed.
First, he ended the Mana link with her. He narrowed his eyes as he spoke in a
stern voice.
“Were you aware that you had learned a dangerous skill?”
“Yes. However, if I hadn’t maintained it, I thought Artpe would die….”
“Still, if you had died, all of this would have been for naught. If I survived while
you died in this place, do you think I would have been happy?”
“Ah-oooh.”
When she heard Artpe’s cold voice, Maetel’s cheeks turned red, and she lowered
her head. When he saw this sight, he finally took his ire down a peg.
It was easy to forget, but she was a beginner hero. She had picked up the sword
less than a week ago. She was only a 12 year old girl. Yet she had somehow
kept a hold on her rationality as she maintained her Berserk skill. In truth, she
deserved praise.
“The danger of using that skill is so high, because it is a skill that deals with an
emotion. If you think of the skill as your absolute ally, it’ll come back as a blade
that will plunge itself into your heart. I just want you to remember this fact. All
right?”
“Y...yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“....all right. Let’s finish this.”
In truth, he wanted to sit her down and give her a lecture. However, he worried
his words would create an artificial ceiling for her talent, so he decided to leave it
be.
“Hoohp.”
He violently pulled on the threads connected to the shield. The enormous shield
fell from the air to destroy the skulls of the nearest Skeletons. All the Skeletons
on the floor had already been inflicted with several layers of the shield’s curse, so
they couldn’t put up any fight against the shield. They were broken into pieces.
[D...dead.]
[Our comrades were completely annihilated…..]
[Our power is getting stronger, but….]
“May I destroy all of them, Artpe?”
“Yes, you can destroy all of them.”
Artpe let out a kind laugh as he raised his hand again. The shield floated into the
air as it followed his hand gesture. It stood on its edge, and it started to rotate in
a violent manner. Maetel also squeezed out the remaining energy left in her tired
body as she swung her bastard sword.
[Koo-ahk!]
[Koo-gah-gahk!]
[Regret……..]
Every time one Skeleton was killed the other Skeletons felt a surge of energy
within their bodies. However, the only thing they could do with the abundance of
energy was to rattle around the floor. Of course, as more Skeletons died, the
defense of the remaining Skeletons also increased. The Skeletons couldn’t even
jump towards the two heroes to attack them, so the improvements being wrought
on the Skeletons were meaningless.
“A single blow isn't enough to kill them. Eh-eet! Eh-eet!”
“There is a better way to do this, Maetel. You shouldn’t unnecessarily harm you
weapon’s durability.”
Artpe extended his Mana Threads, and he took control of the Skeletons, who
couldn’t put up much of a fight. He started bashing the skulls of Skeletons
against each other.
He was able to smash and eliminate the Skeletons in an effective manner!
[Koo-ahhhhh!]
[You… You wicked bastards…..!]
He used the hardened skulls against each other! Although his past occupation
was being one of the Four Heavenly Kings, he was displaying a level of
ruthlessness that might exceed the Demon King!
“Artpe is amazing! This really is easier than breaking them with my sword!”
“Yes, it really is….”
The current hero was already different person now. In her previous incarnation,
Maetel had been a pure and innocent woman. He had seen her shed tears when
one of the Four Heavenly King had died. She had been a virtuous woman. Now
she was a girl, who was smashing Skeletons against each other!
Artpe realized how important early education was as he swung the skull. If
someone saw the two, they wouldn’t think they were heroes. They looked like
great candidates to become the next Demon King.
Finally, the moment of truth arrived.
“These are the last ones, Artpe.”
“Look at how hard their skulls are. It is hard to call them as being Skeletons
anymore. They are almost on the same rank as a Dullahan.”
[We want you to give us an honorable death….!]
The power of several hundred Skeletons were split between the two remaining
Skeletons. The two skulls were the product of this process. They were so heavy
and hard that one wondered if they could be used as weapons. Artpe was weak
in strength, so he couldn’t even lift the skulls. Maetel, who easily swung the
bastard sword, was barely able to lift them.
As an experiment, she threw the skulls against the wall. The blameless wall
cracked instead of the skulls. Artpe tilted his head in puzzlement when he saw
this.
“I think it is comparable to a level 100…..?”
“So is it better to catch 400 level 50 Skeletons or one level 100 Skeleton? Which
gives better EXP?”
“Of course, the former gives an overwhelmingly more EXP. Anyways, this magic
wasn’t meant to give its opponents EXP in such a manner.”
In terms of EXP, Artpe and Maetel was suffering a very huge loss through this
venture.
If they had killed 400 normal level 50 Skeletons, they would have been
strengthened by a ridiculous amount. However, if one looked at the outcome of
this battle, it had been equivalent to killing a level 10 Skeleton.
“However, the world isn’t only about EXP.”
When one defeated an enemy that was significantly higher in level, one’s
Achievement was recorded. It was something that followed one throughout one’s
lifetime.
If one defeated a level 70 enemy at level 50, the Achievement remained
throughout one’s lifetime. It had the effect of aiding the one, who had acquired
the Achievement. Even if one faced an enemy of higher level at a later date, the
effects of the Achievement won’t weaken or disappear. It helped one fight the
higher level enemy head-on. It even had an influence on the acquisition of skills,
and the reward items that one acquired from battling monsters.
“On top of it all, you can’t ignore the skill growth that occurs when you apply the
finishing blow. Normally, a skill grows the more you use it. The other method to
grow your skill is to kill an enemy using the skill. If you acquired the skill while
fighting an enemy, the successful killing of the enemy allows the skill to grow
once more.”
“Wow. Amazing.”
Of course, there was no adjustment if one wasn’t successful in killing the enemy.
This was also true for running away or canceling the battle. The reason why this
happened was unknown.
Someday, he’ll ask the question to the god, who had made this world. He’ll seize
the bastard by the collar.
“The technical term for this phenomena is called Rumination.”
“Artpe knows everything!”
“I don’t know everything. I know what I know.”
While Maetel was asking questions and receiving answers from Artpe, she was
bashing the two skulls against each other. Cracks were forming on the skulls.
Her repetitive action was so mechanical that he felt goose bumps all over his
body. Artpe took a small step backwards.
[I won’t forgive you. I will revive someday, and I will raise my sword in revenge
against you guys!]
“Yes. Next Undead, please.”
“Hoo-ooh….. This is the last one!”
Maetel let out a shout as she brought one skull against the other. At that
moment, she gathered the small amount of Mana left inside her body into her
arms. This single strike was more powerful than any of her previous blows. It
cleanly pulverized both skulls. At the same time, it wouldn’t have surprised Artpe
if she gained the Bash skill through this action.
Anyways, this was how all the monsters on the 6th floor were eradicated. The
Mana and the Record had been gathered into a single bundle. It was finally
released from the monsters, and it was given to the challengers.
“Ah-ooh.”
Maetel let out a short moan. Artpe had somewhat expected this so he kept his
mouth shut, but it wasn’t as if he was fine. It felt as if all their internal organs had
been dislodged. They felt nausea sweep over them as if their internal organs
were spinning around like a tornado.
“Artpe…. This is....”
“Endure it…. It is the level up.”
“This is it? Koo-oo-oohk.”
[Maetel]
[Level : 34]
[Level : 35]
[Level : 36]
[Level : 37]
Artpe could see Maetel’s information update in real time. His innate ability wasn’t
broken. Artpe was probably going through a similar situation as her right now.
The two Skeletons had been strengthened to the extreme, and their EXP was
divided between two, who were in their early level 30s. Of course, their levels
would increase in a flash. A level up strengthened the body and soul. They were
going through about a dozen level ups, so it wasn’t strange to see their bodies
undergo an abrupt change.
“It hurts so much, Artpe.”
“Endure it. It’ll pass soon.”
“Yes….!”
[Maetel]
[Level : 41]
Maetel’s ability shone in this instance. Even if she received the same amount of
EXP as others, she grew at a much faster pace. Artpe’s pain was slowly ebbing
away, but it seemed Maetel was still in distress.
When Artpe experienced his rapid level ups, he felt his Mana fill up in an instant.
He took deep breaths as he monitored Maetel. Shortly, Maetel also let out a
deep sigh as if she was expelling everything that had built up inside her. Then
she sat down heavily.
“Level ups are really miraculous… I’m incredibly tired, yet I feel really strong..”
“Your existence seems to be most miraculous phenomena to me.”
[Maetel]
[Level : 43]
[Swordsmanship Lv11]
[Mana Control Lv8]
[Berserk Lv7]
How could this information be about a girl, who picked up the sword only a week
ago? Even a mercenary, who participated in battles for 10 years, would be
unable to grow to this extent!
Artpe still didn’t like the purpose behind this Dungeon, yet he had to grudgingly
admit that it had been very helpful in radically maturing the hero. She had grown
in skill by facing an amalgamation of monsters that resided on a single floor.
What Achievement will she be able to gain if she faced a monster, who
possessed the combined might of all the floors!
‘Of course, it’s a death sentence to carry out the original test.’
He still couldn’t believe he was able to cause change to the Record Link. It really
was a result that had risen out of his desperation. Artpe shook his head as he let
out a bitter laugh.
“The wall is opening, Artpe.”
“It is set-up to do so.”
They had gained control of the 6th floor of the Dungeon, so the Record Link
placed on this floor was cancelled. When they descended to the 7th floor, they
arrived at a small fountain. It was placed there as if to encourage the weary to
rest at this spot. Artpe looked at Maetel, who let out a cheer. He smiled as he
nodded his head.
“Don’t be fooled. It is poisoned water.”
“This Dungeon is really terrible!”
“You’ll be fine if you keep that attitude. There is nothing here you should trust in
this damned place.”
Before Artpe could finish his words, a faint light started to emanate near the
fountain. Artpe’s eyes twinkled when he discovered it.
“I’m sorry. Let me modify that statement. There is one person you can trust
here.”
“Huh?”
The light disappeared, and in its place, a beautiful woman with a big cart
appeared. Maetel tilted her head in confusion when she saw this stranger
suddenly appear in front of them. Artpe grinned. He turned to look at Maetel as
he spoke.
“I’m talking about the Dungeon Merchant.”
Chapter 15 - The Link Between You and I (3)
“Hello, adventurers. I was dispatched by the Anywhere company. I am here to
help your Dungeon exploration be as smooth and pleasant of an experience as it
can be. I am a middleman. My name is Mycenae!”
She had smooth brown skin, and a notably ample bosom. The beautiful
woman’s voice was clear as if a bell was ringing. She waved her hand as she
spoke towards Artpe and Maetel.
Maetel instinctively pushed Artpe behind her, and she was about to raise her
sword. Artpe smirked as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
“She isn’t an enemy, so don’t worry about it. According to their contract, they
aren’t allowed to attack us first.”
“Contract?”
“It is a contract made with the god. It is sometimes called the Dungeon contract.
Anyways, it is a contract that no one can break, so you don’t have to worry about
it.”
“Artpe even knows about that. You are really amazing.”
“Oh my. Do you know about the Anywhere company?”
She surmised they were out of the ordinary, since the two kids were able to
reach the depths of this Dungeon. However, she never expected him to have
some general knowledge about her store!
Mycenae, who was the middleman from the Anywhere company, looked at Artpe
with round eyes. Artpe snorted as he waved his hand.
“How dare you?”
Several dozen Mana threads were emitted from both sides, and they crossed
paths. There weren’t any ill-intention behind her use of Mana, but it was
indiscriminately broken up as it dissipated. He was able to declare this his words
with impudence. All detection and inquiry magic was useless under his Read All
Creation ability!
“Oh my!”
“Don’t you try to get cute with me, merchant.”
“Yes…..”
Mycenae realized that her inquiry magic had been denied before it could even
activate. She backed away in fright. She backed into the cart, and her bosom
jiggled as if it was about to spill out.
Every man, who had the strength to raise a spoon, would have been instinctively
drawn to her charming gesture. However, Artpe just spit on the ground.
“Hoong. You are an ajumma.”
“W...what did you just say!?”
“You should be prepared to give us a 20% discount, ajumma. If you were able
pull it off in secret, it would be fine. However, you have no excuse, since I found
out. Right?”
“Kook······!”
She had been a middleman for the Anywhere company for the past 100 years.
She was a veteran of this industry. She never expected to be humiliated in her
first meeting with this brat! Mycenae balled up her fist as they trembled.
Artpe turned his gaze away from her.
His gaze reached the two Skeletons, who had been enhanced to the extreme.
Only pile of bone dusts was left behind as remains.
“All right. Let’s do our looting first.”
“Yes!”
“Huh, customer?”
“We’ll trade with you. Just wait there.”
Even if she set aside the brusque little man, the girl had completely ignored her.
She felt a large crack form in her pride.
Who the hell were they! Unlike their appearances, why were they giving off a
vibe of 20 year veteran Dungeon explorers!
“There really is only powders left behind. Still, it isn’t as if there are no other way
to….”
“I tried to loot, but it didn’t work. What should I do in such a situation, Artpe?”
“All right. I’ll teach it to you, so you should pay close attention.”
Even as Mycenae's body shook, Artpe approached the two pile of bone dusts,
and he extended his Mana Threads in abundance. Maetel stood by his side, and
her head was tilted in confusion. He gave a friendly explanation.
“Of course, it does seem impossible to loot a monster that had been completely
pulverized, but this isn’t the case if you have the ability to control Mana. Watch
me.”
Mana Threads extended out of his hand, and they reached the two piles of bone
dusts made out of two Skeletons. The piles reacted to the Mana Threads, and it
started to clump into a single pile. Artpe moved his hand in various directions,
and the process accelerated.
“Next, you have to do this….”
“Wow.”
When he severed the Mana Threads, the debris also stopped moving. It looked
like a pile of ash. It was as if a vampire had been burned to death there.
“We just have to wait for the chosen items to come out. This is an easy method
you can use if you acted rashly by burning remains of a monster. You should
keep that in mind.”
“As expected, Artpe is amazing!”
“These customers are…..”
This Dungeon had been appealing enough to call her forth. The fact that these
young adventurers were able to last inside this place was surprising, but it was
much more surprising to see one of them use such advanced technique to loot
the monsters.
While Mycenae was gawking at them, the looting process was coming to a end.
It looked to be successful.
“Ah, Artpe. Something is emerging.”
“It is an arm warmer. Since you have the gauntlets, this one is mine.”
“Wow. A pretty crystal also came out!”
“There were too much excess magical energy from monsters gathered here.
Since it couldn’t be collected naturally, it clumped together. Normally, it is used
as ingredient for making magical tools. Mmmm. This isn’t an item that you can
use…....”
“Artpe can have it all. I have the sword and the armor.”
Mmm. She was like an unwavering angel. Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he put
the crystal away. Then he put on the arm warmers.
It was unknown as to why arm warmers made out of black leather was dropped
by a Skeleton, but when he equipped it, it had a supplemental effect of increasing
his hand speed. It wasn’t intentional, but this was the ideal equipment for Artpe,
who had to use both his hands for battle.
“I can see something still shining there, Artpe.”
“Ah. I almost forgot about it.”
Since all the drops of Skeletons on this floor was gathered in one place, there
would also be some money mixed inside the loot. He saw two pretty large gold
coins. Artpe smirked as he picked them up.
“I anticipated a gold coin would come out, but I didn’t expect two. Nice.”
“Wahhhhh. They are pretty.”
This was the first time Maetel had seen gold coins in her lifetime. Her eyes
twinkled as she let out an exclamation. A gold coin was worth 100 times more
than a silver coin. This wasn’t something unique to Maetel. Even their town’s
chief would never be able to possess one in his lifetime.
“Normally, not all monsters over level 100 drop gold coins. This miraculous
event occurred, because all our enemies were tied together by the Record Link.
You should keep that in mind.”
“All right!”
“Wait a moment, customer. Record Link? What is that?”
Even if she was a veteran middleman for the Dungeons, this didn’t mean she
knew everything about ancient magic. Of course, Artpe didn’t answer the
merchant’s question. He finished his looting.
“We didn’t gain any rewards that we can liquidate…. Still, if we add the gold
coins to the money we already have, I might be able manage a decent trade.”
“What is it?”
“Wait a moment.”
After Artpe made sure there weren’t anything else he could take, he walked
towards the Dungeon merchant he had been ignoring up until now. He moved
towards Mycenae. Mycenae acted as if she had forgotten about the affront of
being ignored up until now. She greeted him with a bright smile.
“Welcome, customer. Are you looking for a specific item?”
“One empty bottle”
“Y…you want an empty bottle?”
“Yes.”
Mycenae and Artpe made eye contact. She tried her best to discern Artpe’s
inner thoughts, but he kept a sickeningly innocent expression on his face.
She knew he was up to something. However, a member of the Anywhere
company couldn’t turn down a trade unless there was a special circumstance
involved! It was the biggest taboo to turn down a trade! Mycenae felt uneasy as
she took out an empty bottle from her cart.
“The price is 50 bronze coins.”
“It is only a single empty bottle! Why is it so expensive!?”
“All Dungeon merchants are like this.”
Artpe ignored Maetel, who was shocked. He took the empty bottle. Mycenae
watched Artpe unstopper the bottle. She spoke with a worried tone in her voice.
“It seems you are trying to fill up the bottle with the water from the fountain.
Shouldn’t you check if the water is safe to drink first? It is a fundamental rule
followed by all adventurers.”
“I know. I already checked it.”
“You already checked it!?”
“It originates in my heart to manifest in the shallow floor of the water. Peel off
your despicable outer layer to reveal what lies inside!”
“W...what the hell!?”
While the middleman Mycenae expressed her dismay, Artpe finished his chant.
It caused an enormous amount of friction to form at the middle of the fountain!
“Wa-ha-ha-ha. The water is boiling!”
“That’s right. I’m wastefully using my Mana!”
The Hyper Rubbing spell was causing so much friction that it was vaporizing the
cold water. He was now over level 40, and he was getting used to forming the
Hyper Rubbing spell. The effectiveness of the magic was on a different level
compared to before.
“Kyahhhhk, customer. If the water holds poison, it’ll turn into a poisonous fog!”
“I already checked it!”
The steam covered them completely, but there was no poison within it. There
were some poison that dissolved entirely in water, and it could have been
vaporized alongside the water. On the other hand, there were poisons that didn’t
mix with the water. It would be left behind in place as sediment.
Of course, the poison within the fountain was the latter type. This was why Artpe
didn’t hesitate to evaporate the water.
“It is the first time I’ve heard of such a spell. If you wanted to boil the water,
couldn’t you have just used a fire type magic?”
“I did it, because I don’t have such magic!”
“I’m currently selling the Boil spell for two gold. The fire spell is being sold at a
great price of 1 gold!”
“I won’t buy it!”
There were a lot of water inside the fountain, so it took a good amount of time for
all of it to evaporate. After a long wait, the result came to fruition. The copious
amount of water inside the water fountain had all evaporated, and on the floor, a
dark green powder was left behind in a lump.
“Ah.”
“Hmmph.”
Artpe smirked when he saw Mycenae unconsciously let out a moan. He put the
powder into the empty bottle. Of course, the identity of the powder was a form of
poison. It was fine to touch it with one’s bare hands. Its toxicity appeared only
when it was mixed with a liquid, so it was safe to touch it right now.
“Ah…..”
“Well, are you going to buy this?”
Artpe didn’t leave a single grain of the green powder behind. He stoppered the
bottle, and he pushed it towards Mycenae. Her cheeks were puffed up as she
started to argue with Artpe.
“.......so you already know why the Dungeon Merchants appear in Dungeons?”
“Of course. You guys have designs on acquiring magical goods.”
When adventurers explore a Dungeon, they face danger and opportunity
prepared by the Dungeon. One might find a hidden treasure box, a poisoned
fountain or a pond made out of the highest quality holy water.
It was possible for the Dungeon Merchants to detect the energies of these
treasures, and they appeared randomly in these Dungeons.
If an adventurer was unable to find the treasures, the Dungeon Merchants
acquired the rights to take the unfound treasures. Around half the population
considered to be adventurers were poor at detecting treasures on each floor.
Even if an adventurer knew why a Dungeon Merchant had appeared, the
adventurer wouldn’t be able to find the treasure unless they were very skilled. An
adventurer could search the entirety of the Dungeon for treasures just based on
the fact that a Dungeon Merchant had appeared, but the chance of finding the
treasure was close to zero.
Of course, Artpe was an anomaly. Even before the Dungeon Merchant had
appeared, he knew what was waiting for him at the end of the 6th floor. He had
located everything, so there was nothing else to say. He grinned as he shook
the bottle containing the green powder.
“So you aren’t going to buy it?”
Mycenae’s expression crumpled in distress, but her instinct as a merchant was
soon brought to the fore.
“Koo-oohk…. I’ll buy it for 2 gold.”
“All right. I hope you meet a pushover next time, who will be easily deceived by
you.”
Artpe turned around without hesitation, and Mycenae desperately reached out
towards him.
“I'll give you 4 gold! You have to factor in the processing cost! The processing
cost!”
“I made sure there wasn’t a single drop of water remained. What processing
fee? Give me 10 gold.”
“You are being heavy-handed….!”
“If you don't’ buy it for 10 gold, there will be no trade.”
Artpe was firm. He was so resolute that it made one wonder if the creator, who
made the boundaries between ocean and land, spoke in such a way in the past.
Mycenae knew that the person in front of her already knew the exact worth of the
item within her hand. If so, what choice did she have? She had no choice, but to
agree to his demand!
“I’ll buy it for 10 gold.”
“All right. Since you bought the Basilisk Venom Powder for the price of 10 gold,
this isn’t a losing proposition for you.”
“You even knew the name…..”
At that moment, Mycenae decided to treat him like an experienced merchant.
When one met a person like him, the fact that she didn’t take a loss was a form
of victory!
Moreover, she would be able to gather information on a little-known adventurer
on this continent. She would be able to gain massive profit from it.
“Next… I want you to repair our equipments.”
“Repair… All right. Huh? All your equipment are artifacts, but…. Overall, you
guys have pretty bad equipment. Does this mean that your levels are also…..?”
“I told you not to pry any further.”
It cost 50 silvers to repair all the equipment. He paid 40 silvers after receiving
the 20% discount.
Mycenae never expected him to discount the price of the repair fee, but she also
knew she had acted rude in the first place. This was why she couldn’t do
anything about it.
“Next, I want boots and helmet for her. I want a robe. I want you to give me your
best performing equipment with the lowest level restriction.”
“I have boots and helmet made from the bones of a Blood Ketai. The two items
will be worth 8 gold…..”
“Since I’m receiving a 20% discount, I’ll give you 6 gold and 30 silver. ”
“Jeez. You should just give up on being an adventurer to become a merchant.”
Maetel’s lower extremities and head had been vulnerable compared to the other
regions of her body. She now had defensive gears that could protect those
regions. Artpe purchased a robe made out of a black fabric. The threads were
knitted using the quills of the Darkness Hedgehog, which had the ability to
manipulate magical energy. The robe increased one’s Mana by a small amount,
and it had a modest ability to obstruct other’s perception. This was why he had
to pay 6 golds for it.
In truth, these equipment weren’t something that could be obtained by level 40s.
The power of money was really great.
“There, Maetel. You should be pretty safe wearing these.”
“Ah. Ah-ooh. It is so expensive. These expensive items are for me…..”
The fact that Artpe had obtained 10 gold by selling a weird powder was already
shocking in itself. Now that she saw so much gold being exchanged for their
equipment, she became delirious.
“The cows we can buy with that much money…. One, two three…. Ooh-
ahhhhh.”
“Calm down, Maetel. Also, I want to purchase water and food with the remaining
money, ajumma. Give me the cheapest ones.”
“I’m not an ajumma! I’m a green spring girl!”
“If ajumma is a maiden, then I’m a hero.”
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhh!”
Mycenae didn’t know that Artpe was really a hero. She was infuriated when she
saw his sly smile! However, the heroes weren’t paying attention to her anymore.
“Ooh ooh. I don’t like food that doesn’t taste good…...”
“A hard bread you eat right now will come back as tenderloin steak in the future.
You have to be patient.”
“......yes, I’ll be patient! I’ll wait until happiness comes to Artpe and I!”
“No, you don’t have to wait that long.”
Mycenae took the money pouch put forth by Artpe. She emptied it, then she
started preparing the dry foods and water. Mycenae was dumbfounded as she
heard Artpe placate Maetel.
“You guys act as if you’ve been clearing Dungeons for 20 years. You guys must
have received fantastic training at home.”
“None of your business.”
He spoke in a brusque manner as he received the bag with dry foods and
canteens containing water. After he put away the items inside his robe, he let out
a sigh as he raised his head.
Mycenae somehow managed to regain her business smile. She gave him a cute
smile, yet Artpe was apathetic. He shooed her off with his hand as he spoke to
her.
“Well, you should go now. We’ll probably meet again soon.”
“I’ll see my customers off from here!”
“Nope. Go. Ajumma has to leave, then I’ll be able to take out the treasure chest
you are standing on.”
“······.”
In the end, Mycenae sank to the floor.
She never expected him to be aware of it! She had endured all the humiliation
up until now as an attempt to get him to act careless. She even sold her wares
at a very cheap price, yet at that moment, her plan went up in smoke!
Chapter 16 - The Link Between You and I (4)
Mycenae tried her best to look pitiful as her eyes watered. She gave a request to
Artpe. In truth, her main objective hadn’t been the Basilisk Venom Powder. She
was here for the treasure box.
“W...will you sell the content of this box to me?”
“I’ll make the decision after seeing what’s in it.”
Artpe gave a cold reply. Moreover, his gaze was cold too. He was silently
pressuring her. It was as if he was trying to tell her to quickly move her heavy
body to the side! Mycenae’s stunning beauty was on the same level as a pebble
rolling around in the streets. It held no meaning to him!
“Kook….. This is the first time I’ve suffered such humiliations since I started
working for the Anywhere company…..”
“Wow! It’s a treasure chest!”
An old pair of wood framed glasses and a pair of black leather boots appeared
from within the treasure box. Mycenae's eyes once again shone with a fierce
light!
“Are you going to sell it to me!?”
“I’ll sell you only one of the two.”
As he spoke those words, Artpe pushed the wood framed glasses towards her.
Mycenae was able to confirm a suspicion she had.
“You must possess a tremendous observation magic.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to pry? Well, it is obvious at this point in time, but…. Well,
since I’ve been pretty heavy handed up until now, I’ll sell it to you at a price
where I won’t see much profit. I want 45 gold.”
“F….forty f…...!”
“I’ll buy it. Thank you very much.”
The magnitude of money being exchanged had suddenly changed, and Maetel
was taken aback. However, Mycenae willingly paid the price! Maetel’s eyes
were spinning.
Artpe had a grin on his face.
“As expected, Dungeons are honey pots. We just have to avoid being trapped
and killed by the honey.”
“Customer. At the Anywhere company, we offer services ranging from providing
support to escorting parties. If you need such services….”
“By doing so, you plan on taking half my loot as recompense? Dream on. Just
give me my money.”
“Tsk.”
The wood framed glasses allowed one to probe the surroundings when the
magic infused within the lenses was consumed. As the holder of the Read All
Creation ability, Artpe had no need of this item. However, it was something all
adventurers wanted when entering a Dungeon! Since the demand was high, the
price was also high.
The most unfortunate aspect of this item was the fact that it could only be used a
limited number of times. It disappeared after several uses. This was why
consumable items were priced depending on their number of uses, and this was
one of the reasons why this particular item was given a high price.
Mycenae had estimated the amount of Mana within the wood framed glasses,
and she knew she could easily sell it for 50 to 60 golds at the minimum. She had
a satisfied expression on her face as she put away the item into her cart. Her
eyes were sparkling once again. Then her gaze landed on the black leather
boots. They were letting out a sheen of a high grade item.
“Customer. I really want to purchase the boots…....”
“I’m not selling you this.”
Artpe answered flatly. He took off his worn-out shoes, and he put on the leather
boots. Maetel clapped her hands. She said it looked good on him, but Artpe
didn’t care if it looked good or not. The only thing important to him was its
performance.
“I never expected to find a pair of Blink Boots in this Dungeon.”
“?”
She had known it was a rare item, but she never expected it to be the Blink
Boots! Mycenae grinded her teeth. Maetel didn’t know much about magic, so
she innocently tilted her head in confusion.
Blink was a magic that allowed one to instantly travel a short distance.
Magicians used this magic to get out of danger. Since it was a magic spell, it
had the downside of needing a long cast time.
However, it was a completely different story if the magic spell was contained
within an artifact. It only needed an infusion of Mana or a fulfillment of a specific
condition to activate. This was why the effectiveness of this magic increased in a
single stroke!
“This is why boots containing Blink Magic are worth 100 gold at the very least! It
doesn’t matter if the Mana efficiency of the item is low!”
“Amazing, Artpe!”
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhh!”
On top of it all, this pair of boots had an option of activating on its own during a
moment of crisis. It could be used once a day without it consuming Mana . It
was also possible to use it again by adding in more Mana. Amongst the boots
with the Blink option, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that these ones were
ranked in the highest class.
As a cherry on top, it had a low level requirement, so Artpe could equip it. For
Artpe, good things came in threes. If he was to estimate the price of this pair of
boots…. It would be too annoying to come up with an estimate.
“Artpe will be safe now. I’m so happy.”
“What is up with this customer….?”
“What do you think? She’s so innocent that she would never be able to become
a merchant even after she grows up. So….”
Artpe returned the entirety of the 45 golds he received from Mycenae.
“I want one Mana potion and I want the rest to be Stamina potions.”
“Artpe! Are you using all of the money right now!? We could have lived off of
that money! It would have lasted for our entire lifetime!”
“You have the ability to earn money whenever you want. Moreover… It is a
good idea to buy items that might spare our lives”
Artpe spoke in a calm manner. Mycenae, who was facing him, smirked.
“In many ways, I have misjudged you. Please forgive my rudeness. I can give
you 1 mid-grade Mana potion, and 8 Stamina potions. Will that be ok?”
“I’ll be thankful if you added an additional Stamina potion on top of that.”
“I’ll give you an additional Mana potion too.”
“Mmm?”
Artpe’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Aren’t you being a bit too generous?”
“She is being generous!?”
“I believe you will become famous in the future. I’m just trying to gain a little bit of
favor in your eyes. Please look kindly on the Anywhere company in the future.
Thank you in advance.”
“Tsk······.”
Mycenae laughed with unreadable eyes. She finally regained her composure as
a middleman. Artpe didn’t like being in debt, but he was in a tight spot. He
couldn’t punt her good intentions just because he wanted to.
In the end, Artpe accepted the potions without hesitation. He took two Mana
potion and one Stamina potion for himself. After he put them away inside his
robe, he put the rest in a pouch before giving it to Maetel.
“You should drink it when you are extremely tired, or you can spray it on your
wounds.”
“Ah-ooooooh. These are too expensive for me to use.”
“The most expensive thing in this world is your life. Will you be able to use it if I
frame it that way?”
“Y…yes…..”
When Maetel heard Artpe’s manly words, her cheeks turned slightly red as she
meekly accepted the pouch with the potions. Mycenae was still watching them
as she smirked. She bowed her head as a farewell.
“I am Anywhere company's Mycenae. I’ll wait for the day when we’ll meet again.”
“Be my guest.”
“Goodbye for now.”
Mycenae disappeared alongside the same light that had appeared in the
beginning. Maetel wondered if this was all a dream, so she pinched her own
cheeks. When she realized she still had on a completely different set of items,
she knew this was real. She shook her head.
“There are too many things I still don’t know.”
“That is to be expected. As recompense, your talent for battle is outstanding.”
“But I want to have conversations with Artpe about a lot of different subjects….”
“You want to talk more than this?”
Matel was already not listening to Artpe’s words. Instead, she was making a firm
resolve as she clenched her fists.
“I’m going to do my best to read a lot of books from now on. I’ll become smart,
so I can be of help to Artpe. I want to have many more conversations with
Artpe….”
“Uh. Mmmm. All right. You do your best.”
He didn’t think it was a problem that could be solved by reading more books.
Still, Artpe decided to cheer her on.
“Still, you should delay your plans on reading books. We’ll be entering the 7th
floor of the Dungeon soon. The Skeletons will probably be stronger. If we don’t
prepare our heart for what is to come, we’ll suffer defeat.”
“I can win against anyone. I’ll protect Artpe.”
“I like the fact that you are brave.”
He smirked as he stroked Maetel’s head. Then he plopped down on the floor.
She tilted her head in confusion as she looked down at him. He announced his
words in a solemn manner.
“We have to sleep first before we proceed.”
“Yes!”
They roughly rolled up a straw mat. They used it as a pillow as they laid down.
Even if a Record Link was placed over this location, a Dungeon was a Dungeon.
After a certain amount of time, new monsters would appear once again on the
6th floor. Of course, these monsters would be under the influence of the Record
Link since the spell was still over the entire Dungeon. If the act of killing it once
could break the Record Link, Artpe wouldn’t have had so much trouble
manipulating it in the first place.
Still, he was pretty sure the new monsters wouldn’t show up on the 6th floor while
they slept through the night. As a precaution, he pushed his hand forward to
place Mana Threads in various locations around them. Maetel waited for his
work to be done, then she pulled herself slightly closer to Artpe. She lay next to
him. Artpe frowned.
“You are too close.”
“I like this better, since it is warmer.”
“What happened to your shyness?”
“I buried it in my house’s backyard before I came here.”
“Your house doesn’t have a backyard.”
Maetel didn’t say any more words. She just snuggled closer to him. Since he
couldn’t just push her away, he let her be.
“Heh heh.”
“You have a long way to go. A long way…..”
“Artpe~”
Maetel acted in a coquettish manner. It was hard to imagine that this girl had
annihilated the Skeletons using the bastard sword. Her voice was that sweet.
Artpe had made a resolve not to fall for her tricks, yet he found himself stroking
her head.
She had been in battle all day, and she hadn’t had the chance to wash herself.
He couldn’t understand how she smelled so good. Artpe wondered if it was
because she was still young. Artpe mused about such nonsensical thoughts as
he closed his eyes.
The Dungeon’s 7th floor turned out to be more difficult rather than being easier
than the 6th floor. The monsters of the Dungeon had realized that Artpe had
messed up the Dungeon’s test, and its rules. They no longer acted as if they
were testing the two of them. The monsters were filled with the desire to punish
them for sullying the holy testing ground. This was why the monsters were more
vicious in their attacks.
On top of that, the monsters on this floor was higher in level than the ones on the
6th floor. They had an average level of 52, and there were about 600 Skeletons
in total. These monsters mainly targeted Artpe, so Artpe didn’t have the chance
to build up his Mana.
[Your existence is an insult to all the heroes, who existed before you!]
[I cannot forgive you!]
“You won’t lay a hand on Artpe-ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
They had smashed the Skeletons for a whole day, yet they weren’t able to clear
the floor. Fortunately, their levels had increased, so they could hold out for two
to four days.
If possible, Artpe didn't want Maetel to use Berserk. He didn’t want to use the
Mana Link either. However, these weren’t foes they could beat by holding their
powers back.
Maetel relied on her Berserk Skill to repel the Skeletons coming at them from all
sides. Artpe had no choice, but to provide her with Mana. At the same time, he
was using his shield. He was getting better at using it as time passed. He used
the shield boomerang to weaken his enemies.
[Koo-hahhhhhhhhhhk!]
“Artpe! These gloves and boots are really good! The Skeletons are easy to
break using these items!”
“Yes, yes.”
[Maetel]
[Level - 43]
[Unarmed Combat Lv1]
[Strike Lv3]
[Monsters! They are cruel monsters! They are demons!]
[Give me death! I will become one with my comrades to punish you all!]
“I’ll make all your comrades like you. Then I’ll break all of you at once. Wait a
little bit!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhh!]
How much time had passed? Maetel and Artpe were entirely reliant on the
Berserk skill and the Mana Link. They were barely able to beat all of the
Skeletons.
Artpe felt the burden of knowing that he was probably weakening Maetel by
sharing her talent. However, unlike his worries, all of Maetel’s skills continued to
evolve at a ridiculous pace. This was also true for Artpe.
Of course, it was impossible to last a couple of days using nothing. They had to
use most of the potions they had purchased. Fortunately, they would once again
encounter a Dungeon Merchant at the end of the 7th floor.
“Oh my. It has been only couple days, but we meet again.”
“It’s this ajumma again?”
“I’m not an ajumma! ….huhk. Isn’t that the Golden Lizard’s Tailbone Great
Sword!?”
“97 gold.”
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhk!”
This was how the heroes were able to safely retool before they entered the 8th
floor. Still, the Dungeon remained very difficult. Artpe wasn’t the creator of this
Dungeon, so he had no idea how many floors had been separated using the
Record Link.
They moved through the Dungeon’s 8th floor, 9th floor, 10th floor, 11th floor, 13th
floor, 15th floor…. The Dungeon continued to go on and on. The average level
of the Skeletons continued to go up by a marginal amount, and at a certain point,
Artpe and Maetel surpassed the level of the Skeletons.
Since they held the advantage in level, they thought they would be able to win
easily from that point forward. Right when they had this thought, powerful
monsters over level 100 started to appear. The monsters were called ghouls.
The level difference between the party and the monsters widened in the favor of
the monsters, so they were put in a difficult spot once again.
However, there weren’t any mountains they couldn’t overcome. Before they
even engaged in a fight, Artpe was able to find all the weaknesses of his
enemies. Then there was the the crazy talented Maetel, who could bring
anything he ordered into reality!
This was how a period of one year had passed, and the party reached the
Dungeon’s 34th floor.
“How long is this Dungeon!”
“Group fights are fun, Artpe! Isn’t it about time for a different type of monsters to
come out?”
“Customer! Please sell this to me for 200 gold just this one time! Please!”
At that point, Maetel had reached level 124. Artpe had reached level 115.
Chapter 17 - Our Sunbae-nim Did This? (1)
Artpe headed down the stair leading towards the 35th floor. He grinded his teeth
as the Dungeon shamelessly showed no signs of ending.
“What kind of Dungeon is this!?”
“Aren’t all Dungeons like this, Artpe?”
Maetel’s innocent eyes shone as she asked the question. She had drawn the
short end of the stick by coming into this brutal Dungeon as her first Dungeon.
However, she didn’t have the proper perspective to know any better. She didn’t
get tired of this place, and she didn’t complain. She possessed an essential
virtue needed as a Dungeon explorer….
“Mmm. What I’m trying to say is…..”
Artpe couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or not. Therefore, he evaded giving an
answer by stroking her head. In turn, Maetel’s eyes narrowed in pleasure as if
she was a cat. Mycenae had left behind her cart to look at them. She had a
gentle look in her eyes as she spoke.
“It looks as if you are training an animal, customer.”
“Shut up. I want 245 gold.”
“You said you’ll sell it to me for 230 gold a moment ago!?”
“The price on items aren’t fixed. The price can fluctuate depending on my
condition or if the other person is being rude. Let’s see… Right now it should be
247…..”
“Two hundred forty five gold! I’ll buy it!”
At this rate, Mycenae knew the price might increase further, so she quickly
pushed the money towards him.
“Here.”
“Koo-ooooooooooh.”
Artpe grinned as he handed her the item. Mycenae used her observation magic
to check the item, and she let out a groan.
“Kook. As expected, it is a really good weapon…. Your ability to price an item is
really uncanny. It makes me want to recruit you into the Anywhere company.”
“You won’t steal Artpe away from me, ajumma!”
“I’m really not an ajumma!”
Maetel, who had been standing there like a lamb, quickly hid Artpe behind her.
Then she bared her teeth towards Mycenae. It made one wonder if she was a
dog or some form of an animal in her previous life. Artpe patted Maetel, who was
seriously worried.
“Even if I wanted to go, I won’t be able to. Don’t worry about it. Anyways, if you
sell that item to anyone, you’ll be unable to handle the aftermath. Be careful.”
The identity of the artifact handed over to Mycenae was a Blood Gold Halberd,
which held the curse of madness.
It accelerated the destruction of the user’s mind as a powerful downside, but the
weapon would all one to destroy all enemies and allies alike.
However, Maetel already had control over her Berserk skill, so it was a useless
weapon for her. Moreover, the weapon was too heavy for Artpe to wield.
Still, it would be an attractive option to most adventurers or mercenaries. The
weapon would lead the user down a path of destruction, yet ambition made
people take up such weapons. It was a trait inherent in all humans.
“Hoo hoo. As a merchant, my duty is to sell it at a high price. It is beyond my
province to determine, who becomes the owner of an item.”
“You are an unscrupulous trader.”
Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he took out 100 gold from his pouch, and he
pushed it towards Mycenae. She already knew what he would ask for. Mycenae
didn’t give a reply as she took the money. Then she prepared the potions, water
and ration.
In the past year, she had appeared each time they moved onto the next floor.
She monopolized the trade with them as they moved from the 6th floor to the
34th floor. This type of trade was almost automatic.
“Excuse me, customer.”
She put together items worth 100 gold with no frills. Mycenae asked a question
as she divided the items between Artpe and Maetel.
“What is the identity of this Dungeon? Why does it continue to go on like this?
Does it perhaps have a tunnel leading to the demon world at the end?”
“We are exploring this place to find that answer.”
“You aren’t able to come up with a conjecture using your ability?”
Mycenae had a truly surprised expression on her face. Artpe snorted.
“I think you have too high of an opinion in regards to my ability.”
“As the number of floor gets deeper, the items that are coming out are
increasingly to my liking. From my perspective, I wouldn’t mind if the Dungeon
goes on for another 100 floors…. Still, it is clear that this Dungeon wasn’t formed
naturally. You probably already guessed this, right?”
“Yes.”
Artpe’s nodded his head in a self-possessed manner. Then he looked down at
the stairway leading to the 35th floor.
Ghouls that were around 2 levels higher than the ones on the 34th floor was
probably waiting for them on the next floor. If not, there would be a single jump
in difficulty, and new monsters might show up.
“This Dungeon was created by someone with a clear goal in mind. It is true and
definite that the two of us aren’t challengers that are compatible with that goal.”
“Normally, one would usually search the history of the region gain some clues
about the Dungeon. If you want such a research done, I can do it for you. I’ll
gladly accept a commission to research about the history of this region….”
“I’ll see you later, ajumma.”
“I knew you will answer in such a way.”
Mycenae grumbled as she went away. She notched another loss to him. She
accepted the clean loss as she disappeared alongside the light.
However, after he sent her away, her words made him become mired in his
thoughts again.
‘The history of this region…...?’
According to his knowledge, this region was where the hero was born. There
hadn’t been anything special. It was a place where there was a normal town
near the mountain. He knew from his past life that nothing much had occurred
here.
On the other hand, how could there be nothing here? Even now, he was in a
strange Dungeon that was made by someone.
Maybe, this place was hidden? What if this place was shielded from the eyes of
the hero and Demon King?
In the past, the hero hadn’t wanted to desecrate a grave, because she was
raised properly by her family. It could have also been the fact that she was
quickly sent packing to the royal palace as if she was some fragile glass statue.
In the end, she hadn’t discovered this place. Was there some enormous secret
hidden here?
‘What happened here in the past? Did something of significance happen here?’
He had no way of finding out. Even if Artpe had the Read All Creation ability, he
couldn’t see into the past to a time when he wasn’t alive. It was impossible.
On the other hand, if such a thing was possible…..
“Artpe…..?”
“.....it’s nothing.”
Maetel was looking at his face with a worried look in her eyes. Artpe shook his
head to dislodge such thoughts, and he answered her. Unexpectedly, Maetel
looked slightly wistful.
“Your face was incredibly serious and dashing.”
“Hmmph. That kind of sweet words will only work against the Four Heavenly
Kings of the Demon king’s army.”
This was why such words worked on him. It was a direct hit. Artpe let out a fake
cough as he tried to hide the fullness he felt within his heart.
He didn’t know what would appear in front of them. It was something that
couldn’t be confirmed unless one saw it with one’s eyes. He also knew that
priority of this Dungeon had changed when he found out how the Dungeon was
structured.
In other words, they were too far down the road to back off now.
‘In my past life, the hero wasted five years of her life at the castle. We have a lot
of time to spare.’
Of course, even if Artpe had used all types of methods to focus on leveling up, it
was unclear as to whether he would have been able to achieve a better result
than this.
They would have missed out on fighting a horde of Skeletons linked by a rare
magic called Record Link. They would have missed out on the precious EXP,
and the artifacts they received as reward. They wouldn’t have been amass this
much fortune.
The factor that tipped the scale was the fact that Artpe and Maetel was able to
develop so many high quality Skills here. It was crazy. If they hadn’t drawn this
Dungeon as their first starting place, he wondered if they would have been able
to develop skills like Berserk and Mana Link.
Even if they continued to stay inside the Dungeon for five years, it wouldn’t
impede with their development.
‘Ah. Of course, I have to get out of here and find those places as soon as
possible…..’
Artpe possessed the memories of his past life, so he had several significant
advantages he could acquire for himself. He was talking about spell books of
great magic, ancient ruins and the like.
While Artpe battled within the Dungeon, he created a hierarchy of which goodies
he will go for first. He would gain enough level in the Dungeon where they
would be able to travel the world without worry. They will start traveling
according to the list he had made.
This was why they didn’t have time to hesitate or look back on what had already
occurred. It didn’t matter what waited for them. They would move forward. This
was the will of Maetel and Artpe even if their destination differed!
After they smoothly defeat the Demon King, he would have the means to be able
to raise cows in the countryside. At that time, he would be done with Maetel! He
didn’t care if she wanted to become the queen of a country or a female pope of a
religion she built. She was free to do whatever she wanted!
Until that time arrived, Artpe and Maetel had to live a healthy and well-off life. In
the immediate future, they would have to pass this Dungeon without any
complications.
“Aren’t you tired, Maetel? Shall we head down after we sleep?”
“I’m not tired, Artpe. What about you, Artpe? Do you want to use my lap as a
pillow?”
“I’m also not tired.”
“Tsk.”
Maetel grumbled as if she was dissatisfied with his answer. Artpe led Maetel
down to the Dungeon’s 35th floor.
At that moment, a powerful vibration shook the Dungeon. Accompanying the
tremor, a wet and moldy voice could be heard in their ears.
[This test has been maintained for a very long time.]
‘That is a pretty ominous introduction!?’
It was as if a legendary figure was about to step forward from the darkness if they
took a step forward. It was a line given by a being, who would drop the
adventurers into hell!
“Hey, let’s head back for a moment.”
[Denied.]
When he heard the introductory line emanating from the darkness, Artpe
immediately knew something was wrong. He quickly ordered a retreat as soon
as they stepped onto this floor. However, the way back to the 34th floor was
blocked.
[You bastards are only allowed to go forward.]
“You talk a pretty good game… Ooh?”
Artpe was clicking his tongue as he tried to use his Mana. However, the torches
mounted on the wall started to light up in order starting from the nearest torches.
The light from the fire revealed the layout of the 35th floor. Artpe groaned when
he saw them.
“....crazy.”
“Look at them, Artpe….”
They were in a really large square, and there were a very, very ,very ,very ,very
,very large number of armored knights filling the place. The armored knights
boasted a much more domineering spirit compared to the Ghouls. It was
obvious that Undeads were within the armor.
[We’ve been waiting for you, destroyer of rules.]
[Insolent brat. You are the honey tongued brat that defies logic.]
[Your judgement is close at hand.]
Even in death, these beings hadn’t forgotten the will and techniques carved into
their bodies. They were knights, who had a sense of self. They were Death
Knights. All of them were powerful, and they were all over level 150. There were
500 of them.
If a normal level 120 party was to fight this group, the possibility of them winning
was uncertain.
The one standing in the lead raised its bastard sword towards Artpe as its helmet
rattled.
[You have caused dishonor to all of us. You have corrupted the pure hero by
spitting on our intent. You have looked down on our power. Your misguided will
is now encased in a powerful body, and the worst of the situation has come to
pass. You made fool of fate. You connected things that shouldn’t be connected,
and you severed things you shouldn’t have severed.]
All the Death Knights followed the one in the lead as they pointed their swords
towards Artpe. During all of this, they hadn’t shown much hostility towards
Maetel. They directed all their hate towards Artpe as if he was their mortal
enemy. It annoyed Artpe.
These bastards were quick in assessing the situation!
[Still, we cannot deny the fact that you are a hero. This is why we will give you
this last chance. If you take this last test properly, we will believe in this reality
that had be turned on its head. We will trust in the hope blooming from within the
darkness that will cause change to the future. We will go back to sleep.]
“No, you don’t really have to believe in me.”
The ominous feeling was increasing as time passed. Artpe readied the only
specialty magic he possessed. He readied himself to use Hyper Rubbing, then
he grasped Maetel’s shoulder. It was signal for her to get ready for battle. It also
told her to be careful of their enemies.
“Don’t worry about it, Artpe.”
Even in such a situation, Maetel’s expression was calm. In the past year, her
features had matured considerably. She already looked like an angel, but her
beautiful smile made her look like an archangel. She gave a reassurance to
Artpe.
“I’ll protect Artpe. Artpe will protect me in return?”
“....yes. I trust you.”
The shield on Artpe’s back rose into the air. He only had to repair the shield
couple times as they descended from the 6th floor to the 35th floor. This was
why the shield hadn’t been replaced with other weapons. It was a rare artifact
that gave a weak curse to whatever it hit. If he was with the shield, there was
nothing for him to fear!
[When the battle starts, he might use cheap tactics to play us off against each
other.]
However, the enemies he would face were excessively resolute in defending
against mental warfare.
[This is why we will force the activation of the final test, so you can face it.]
“Uh, hey… Wait a moment, you guys·.”
Artpe tried to speak up when he realized what they were about to do, but the
Death Knights just glared at Artpe as they plunged their swords into their hearts.
Their Mana flooded forth! The restriction of the Record Link made it impossible
to attack one’s comrades, but it seemed suicide was possible!
As he faced the domineering sight, Artpe yelled out in shock.
“You bastards will be penalized even if you kill yourselves!”
[We are already Undead!]
The 499 Death Knights crumbled in place. The oppressive energy from each of
the Death Knights flowed towards the single Death Knight standing in the middle.
It happened when Artpe and Maetel was struck dumb by the ridiculous sight.
[I’m ready, heroes.]
The power of the armored knights were gathered into a single being, and ‘It’ was
reborn as a horrible nightmare. It made a declaration as it pointed its long sword
towards the two heroes.
[The test will start.]
Chapter 18 - Our Sunbae-nim Did This? (2)
“I’ll use Berserk, Artpe!”
[You don’t have the luxury to chat right now!]
The bastard immediately came at them. The only thing that remained behind the
party was the wall blocking the way back up. Consequently, Maetel didn’t
hesitate in activating her Berserk skill. She ran forward to face the enemy.
“Tsk. I don’t like the situation dictating our actions…...”
Artpe grumbled as he immediately activated the Mana Link. He connected
himself to Maetel. Then he let the shield rotate as a means to protect himself.
He was cautious as he descended the stairs. His eyes took in the sight of
Maetel and the Death Knight clashing against each other.
[As expected, you are overwhelming more powerful when you use your sword
compared to the actual strength you possess. However, you won’t be able to
become a hero using a sword steeped in rage!]
“I’m the one swinging this sword, so I don’t care what helps me! I don’t care if it
is anger, sadness or happiness. I’ll win against you to protect Artpe! You will
never lay a hand on Artpe!”
[If I’m anything like the enemies you faced up until now, you would have been
able to accomplish that. However, the experience and power of 500 Death
knights were combined to complete me. How dare you speak such arrogant and
impudent words towards me!]
The powerful sound of Maetel and the Death Knight exchanging blows with their
swords could be heard. Of course, the one taking damage and retreating was
Maetel. If she didn’t have the gears protecting her wrists, she would have been
severely hurt.
“Koohk….!”
“Tsk. When there were 500 separate monsters, it was a fight with a decent odds.
You were cheap in activating the power of Record Link using suicide…..”
[You spout some silly words.]
Maetel already had a cheat-like physical ability compared to her actual level. On
top of that, she was able also able to activate the Berserk skill. She could pretty
much toy with the level 150 Death Knights at her leisure. However, the enemy
she was facing right now was a monster created by combining 500 Death
Knights using the Record Link.
Artpe had immediately used his Read All Creation ability to check the monster.
The overall difference in ability was devastating. The fact that Maetel was able
to instantly regain her stance after weathering through the impact was almost
miraculous. She was even charging towards the monster.
[The difference in our power is clear. Oh hero. Will you still get in my way to
protect that contemptible boy? Will you do so when the only thing waiting for you
is despair and death? Will you sacrifice yourself until the end for a complete
stranger?]
“Hoohp.”
Maetel didn't reply to its words. She just charged the monster.
The magical energy within the bastard sword had been well-developed by her.
Her powerful swings were knocking back the long sword.
[What the hell!?]
Surprisingly, she didn’t get pushed back this time! When one took in the
difference in battle capability, this was a surprising development. Maetel’s spirit
rose higher as she pushed back against the monster. She yelled out in a fierce
manner.
“What happened to the spirit that you displayed before? Wasn’t it supposed to
be the power of 500 of your kind? It seems you don’t have much to show for it
right now!”
[Kooh, ha-ah! This was merely a coincidence!]
The armored knight dismissed it as a coincidence, but Artpe immediately knew
what had happened through his Read All Creation ability.
While Maetel was using her Swordsmanship, she was using a trick to strengthen
her body using Unarmed Combat. It looked as if she was lightly lashing out with
her sword, but she was using her Bash skill. This was how she was able to fight
on par with the Death Knight.
‘It sounds easy, but she is using two basic battle skill, while using an active skill.
When she exchanged blow with the monster, she realized her deficiency, and
she patched up the deficiency using the other skills. I thought I had figured her
out, but a 13 year old girl has this much of battle capability…...’
Aside from the Mana consumption, the mental and stamina drain should be
incredibly high, yet she was doing it all so effortlessly. The sight of her made his
blood curdle, and at the same time, it made him admire her.
She was fighting with the armored knight, yet she put on a face as if nothing was
wrong. She checked up on Artpe.
“Artpe. Your mana…..”
“I have enough.”
In truth, he didn’t know if he had enough. If she continued to consume magical
energy at this pace, even Artpe would run out of Mana.
However, Artpe didn’t want Maetel to look back at him, so he spoke confidently.
Of course, he would consume a Mana potion in secret.
“All right.”
Maetel was never suspicious of Artpe. She always trusted him, so a grin
appeared on her face when she heard his words. She once again surged
forward against her enemy using the Bash skill.
“Then I’ll be able to win. Haahhhhhp!”
Once again, Maetel and the Death Knight exchanged blows. Maetel was able to
perfectly execute the Bash skill using her sword, and she struck the same
location on the long sword she had hit before. However, the Death Knight
quickly wised up to her tactic. The armored knight let out a shout as it twisted its
sword. The impact point on the sword was changed.
[You are pretty clever. I thought the only thing within your head was love, lust
and anger.]
“That’s right. I only have that…. However, that will be enough for me!”
[How laughable!]
Even if its power and experience was all gathered into a single being, it still
possessed equipment that was only around level 150. It was an excellent battle
plan to attack the weapon rather than the monster itself.
No one had taught her this tactic, yet she was carrying it out. It was unknown as
to whether she understood what she was doing.
[Your intentions are commendable, but will it really be enough? Even now I can
feel your anger deepen. Your rationality is fading, and it is being encroached by
your instincts. It blunts your sword. Just this fact allows me to get slowly
stronger. I just have to wait for the moment when my sword will be able to pierce
through your heart.]
“There is no way I’ll let you do as you please.”
Maetel’s clash with the Death Knight was gradually intensifying. Maetel’s
swordsmanship had been trained through live battles, and she only attacked the
Death Knight’s weak points. The Death Knight used all its veteran know-how to
turn away all her sword strikes.
Both their attacks failed to touch each other’s defensive gear. The weapons
were taking the brunt of the damage.
[Koohk, koo-hah…...! You don’t stand a chance!]
“That is my line!”
The Death Knight innocently believed that Maetel had reached the pinnacle of
her skills. However, only Artpe knew the truth.
The answer was simple. Maetel was improving even now. The effects of the
Berserk skill didn’t dull her sword. Instead, her senses had sharpened to the
extreme.
[Weak! It’ll be impossible for you if you keep this up!]
“Yes, I am weak.. However, I’ll become stronger…...!”
[If someone could get stronger just by saying so, this world wouldn’t have
practitioners!]
Sword clashed against sword. The Death Knight’s shield was swung towards
Maetel’s head, yet it passed through the air in vain.
Afterwards, Maetel kicked the bastard in its knee, and the Death Knight’s stance
was thrown off by a marginal amount. She immediately followed it up with a
sword strike. This was a technique she hadn’t shown up until now.
[Ha!]
“Koo-oohk!”
It was as the Death Knight had said before, she never had the chance to swing
her weapon against an enemy that was on par with her. However, for the first
time, she faced an enemy that seemed to be a knight, and she had no choice but
to fight it using high grade weapon skills.
By chance, this opportunity gave her a chance to consolidate all her techniques.
In the past, she had been swinging her sword by following her instinct, but now
she had seen how others handled their swords. She now knew how she had to
move her body. Her body figured out how maximize the power of her sword.
Basically, the Death Knight had become her tutor for a day.
[Maetel]
[Level - 124]
[Swordsmanship Lv19]
[Unarmed Combat Lv16]
In real time, her Unarmed Combat skill and Swordsmanship skill was rising . Her
simple and brutal sword strikes were now showing variations and subtlety. There
was a different level of power within her when she took a step forward or
backwards.
The strikes she hadn’t been able to withstand before was being blocked with
impunity. In the beginning, the Death Knight had known where the sword strikes
would be coming from, but she struck at its long sword before the Death Knight
realized it was coming. At that moment, the Death Knight couldn’t help, but
come to a realization.
[You bitch…. How…..!?]
“Do you have nothing else you can show me?.... If so, you can’t win against
me.”
[How…. What the hell is this?]
There was a difference between knowing an answer, and the answer being
etched into your body. However, the two things were basically interchangeable
for Maetel.
It was fucked up. She was such a ridiculous genius that such a messed up thing
was possible.
[You are truly a marvel. When you first came into the Dungeon, I couldn’t believe
how inexperienced you were. What caused you to be like this? You are with
such an underhanded person. How can your pure mind not deteriorate by being
associated with him?]
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhhp!”
[Haht!]
Maetel didn’t give a reply as she used her Bash skill. Of course, her Bash skill
had been evolving during the battle. The Death Knight had to exert much more
power to block her strikes. However, the Death Knight still had some room to
breathe.
[Even if you are able to grow quickly, there must be a wall you cannot jump over!
In the end, you will fall to your knees and die. Do you realize the difference in
the quantity of Mana we possess? Let’s see how long you can keep swinging
your sword with such force.]
“I won’t…… I will protect Artpe!”
[You are putting your life on the line for a worthless human! Is your life worth so
little, hero? You shouldn’t be sacrificing yourself for a man like him! You have to
sacrifice yourself for humanity!]
“I’ll choose who I’ll protect! I don't care about the people I have yet to meet! The
most precious person to me is Artpe!”
If someone else saw this sight, one would think this was the scene before the
climax where each side argued their side was righteous. In truth, this was only a
boss battle within a beginner's Dungeon. Artpe was a bit baffled as he watched
the fierce fight from the back.
“That bastard is treating me as if I’m the Demon King….”
When Artpe’s party entered the 35th floor, he remembered that the rage of all the
Death Knights had been focused on him.
Currently, the Death Knight was stuck facing Maetel, because Artpe’s defense
was absolute. If Artpe gave it a sliver of opportunity, the Death Knight would
immediately try to behead Artpe.
If Artpe was killed, the Mana Link between the two of them would be dismissed.
In turn, Maetel wouldn’t be able to maintain her Berserk skill. He was using a
valid tactic.
‘I’m unable to step forward into the battle. I have to wait knowing my fate is
uncertain. This situation is so befitting the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly
Kings that I have no words to say in rebuttal.’
If his life wasn’t on the line, he wouldn’t have cared if he was the main character
or an extra. However, his head would be severed from his body when the hero
gets slightly tired. It was a pathetic situation to be in.
‘Still, I’m no longer the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly King.’
Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he raised his shield.
It seemed the bastard was too shocked by Maetel’s talent that it was under a
misconception. Maetel did have incredible talent, which could astound anyone.
However, the person responsible for complicating the situation was Artpe. He
had a rotten smile on his face.
The Death Knight probably thought Artpe would put down his guard if it focused
on Maetel. Of course, that wouldn’t happen. Artpe was acting as if he was
spinning his shield, but he had already emitted several hundred to several
thousand Mana Threads. In the process, he had already consumed five bottles
of Mana potion. He only had a single Mana Potion left.
‘The Record Link is still covering the entirety of the Dungeon.’
To be precise, it covered the Dungeon from the 6th floor to the 35th floor. If
Artpe hadn’t tinkered with it, they would have had to fight all the monsters on the
6th floor. They would have died.
Anyways, Artpe had messed with the Record Link placed over the Dungeon, and
he had divided the Dungeon back into multiple floors. This meant the newly born
monsters past the 6th floor had no idea what was going on. They would only be
linked to the monsters on the same floor, ,and they had to wait until the
challengers arrived. This would remain so until he canceled what he did to the
Record Link.
So what if….
“What would happen if I undid the restriction placed on the Record Link? Have
you thought about it?”
Artpe intentionally spoke those words aloud. He did it to create an opening.
[What…..?]
“Hoohp!”
His plan was very effective. For a brief moment, it stopped swinging its sword.
As if she had been waiting for this moment, Maetel kicked off the ground as she
leapt towards the Death Knight. She stabbed towards its sword. A clear sound
rang out, and the Death Knight’s sword broke in the middle.
[Koohk!]
The Death Knight finally regained its senses. It took a half step backwards to
regain its stance. It pushed its shield slightly forward, and it unsheathed a
secondary weapon. It gripped the long dagger as it glared at Maetel and Artpe.
[What do you think you can accomplish by breaking my sword, hero? I’ve
already discerned the fact that you are consuming Mana at an alarming rate.
Also, do you think you can shake me with such words, boy with the rotten eyes?
There is no way you’ll do something that would only be beneficial to us.]
“No, you aren’t entirely correct.”
Record Link was a skill that brought together the record of everything tied
together by the magic. It gathered battle experience, skill, magical energy and
stamina in one place.
However, Record Link possessed a really big weakness. There were multiple
reason why this magic spell was banned. However, this particular weakness
was the most fatal and annoying reason of them all.
“Why do you think I’ve raised this shield up until now? If you think hard on it, you
might figure it out….”
Maetel was breathing roughly as she stoked the rage from within as she fought
the Death Knight. The Death Knight had no choice, but to retreat. It tried to keep
calm as it looked for a chance to counterattack. Artpe grinned as he looked at
the Death Knight.
“Ha! Maetel, you should look out for the falling monsters and the upheaval of
your surrounding!”
He had extended several thousand Mana Threads to its limits. He had tied off
parts of the Record Link to cause change to it. He had done this only a year ago.
Now he unravelled all the changes he had caused!
“Kyahhhhhhhhk!”
[Did you really…..!]
The Dungeon shook. The Dungeon, which had been separated into floors, was
being combined into a single floor in short order! The Record Link, which had
been tied off into small pieces, was whole again. It once again surrounded the
entirety of the Dungeon.
The ceilings that separated the 6th floor to the 35th floor melted away in an
instant. Skeletons and Ghouls that had reformed in the past year were once
again tied to the Record Link. Now they were falling from above. It was a sight
that had a strong resemblance to hell!
[Are you perhaps trying to create an opening by creating a mess!? It was in vain.
What you did right now is called an idiotic mistake….]
“It was impossible to do this one year ago, because my stamina and magical
energy was lacking. It was impossible even half a year ago!”
Artpe threw his shield into the air. His shield throw technique had matured in the
past year. He was able to throw it fast and high. He quickly and ruthlessly killed
all the falling Zombies and Ghouls.
“However, it is is possible now. I was pretty meticulous in preparing for this!”
The Record Link regained its full power. This meant all the record of the dead
monsters would be shared with the Death Knight.
Their power, intellect, stamina, magical energy, record, and…..
[Koohk. You bastard…..!?]
“You’ll gain all the curses I placed on all of them.”
The curse was stacking as he killed all the monsters. In a flash, the Death
Knight’s movements slowed. He had a twisted smile on his face as he watched
the shocked Death Knight.
It was an evil smile that was well-matched with the Demon King.
Chapter 19 - Our Sunbae-nim Did This? (3)
[This is ridiculous. There is no way the curses placed on the dead will be
transferred…..]
“Yes, they no longer exist, but they haven’t died yet. You carry them on your
back! They are placed inside your chest! Each one of them continue to live on
as part of you. Isn’t that right?”
In a flash, Artpe was able to apply several dozen Slowdown curse on the Death
Knight It creaked as it moved. It was as if the Death Knight was wearing a
rusted armor. Artpe taunted it.
[Koo-hook…..!]
However, it had no way of counteracting the effect. This effect was what made
the Record Link such a dangerous magic! It prevented the death of beings that
should be dead, and all their power was transferred. Basically, they could live on
within an another entity!
“This is why even the weakest curse will be transferred to you. If I want to have
numerous curses placed on you…. I just have to kill them all.”
Artpe forcefully swung his hand as the shield flew through the air. The shield
moved based on his will. Even now, the shield was slicing through the falling
Zombies and Ghouls.
Its bears repeating that the curse contained within the shield was weak. It was
able to attach a weak slowdown effect on its target, but the effect could be
stacked.
As each Undead fell from the sky, Artpe cut them into pieces with his shield. It
felt as if shackles were being placed all over the Death Knight’s body every time
an Undead was killed.
[Kooo-ahhhhhhhhhh!]
“Of course, the one left behind will be the one to suffer. This is the biggest
reason why the Record Link was banned. If you didn't know that, you should
study up on it. Well, it is too late for you to do so.”
Artpe laughed uproariously. The Death Knight had tried to attack him, yet his
efforts were in vain, since Maetel had been able to hold it back. It had been a
long long time, since he had felt this much mirth.
“It is rare to find a curse that can stack infinitely. Why do you think I haven’t
scrapped this lousy shield? Why do you think I was frugal in its use?”
[Nooo wayyyy. Noooooooooo waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. Youuuuuuuuuuu
Baaaaaaaaaa-ssssssssssssss-taaaaaaaaaaard.]
“Yes.”
The power of the slowdown curse within the shield had a widespread effect of
causing minuscule slowdown on the target’s intelligence, stamina, Mana and
skills. The Death Knight was feeling the cumulative effect of over hundred of
these curses. The speed of Death Knight’s thought process and the ability to
speak had slowed down to a ridiculous degree.
“Yes. I, Artpe-nim, prepared for the boss battle from the beginning. I readied all
of this for this day when I would dispel the restriction I placed on the Record
Link!”
Artpe sneered at the Death Knight, and he took the coolest pose he could come
up with for maximum effect. He used to be one of the Four Heavenly King of the
Demon King’s army. He was a being that acted as if his arrogance had no
bounds! He bragged whenever he gained a sliver of advantage over his
enemies! He did this in the most spiteful and shameless manner!
“Artpe is too cool!”
[Koooooooooh-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
While Artpe was busy posing, the shield tirelessly cut through the body of the
falling Zombies and Ghouls.
He had sharpened the edges of the shield in anticipation for this day. There was
no way its edges would dull right now. The number of monsters killed went from
several dozen to several hundred then to several thousand.
[Ggoo-oooooooh, ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.]
At this point in time, the Death Knight had for all intents and purposes became
worse than a level 3 Goblin. The Undead, who tried to test the heroes, had run
out of all its opportunities.
It hadn’t even been able to put up a good fight. It hadn’t been able to use its
secret technique. It had been unable to give its cool final line nor was it able to
lecture the heroes. It had pathetically frozen in place before it was able to punish
Artpe.
“Eh-eet.”
Meanwhile, Maetel was being sensible by distancing herself from the Death
Knight. If she killed the Death Knight right now, its power would be transferred
into the Zombies and Ghouls. They would harden to a point where the they
wouldn’t be able to handle them. She had arrived at a very logical conclusion.
“No, Maetel!”
Maetel was patting herself on the back when Artpe gave her instructions to the
contrary.
“If that bastard kills itself in a suicide, our reward will become infinitely worse!
We don’t want to receive dropped items from really high level Zombies or
Ghouls! We want the dropped items of a Death Knight created from gathering all
the energy through Record Link! You have to prevent it from killing itself!”
“Ah, all right! As expected, Artpe is smart!”
Who in the world would call these wicked people as being heroes! They were
superbly rotten to the core that even the Demon King would come study under
their tutelage!
The Death Knight watched Maetel break through the flood of monsters falling
from the sky, and she immediately disarmed it. It was vexed that it couldn’t
move to stop her, but Artpe had killed an excessive amount of cursed monsters.
It was hard for the Death Knight to even lift a single finger.
[Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaapppppppppppppppppppppppp……..]
“Ah. It is game over for it since the curse has stacked this much. Maetel, you
should now help me kill the others.”
“Yes!”
They had descended this Dungeon for the past year, so they were well versed in
what to do now. There were a lot of monsters tied to the Record Link right now.
It was as if someone had barfed them all up. It was a good thing Artpe and
Maetel had faced all of them before while they came down here. If not, they
wouldn’t have stood a chance.
“Eh-eet, eh-eet.”
[Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhng.]
[Ggeeeeeeeeeeeee, ggeeeeeeeeeeeeee.]
The Death Knight didn’t tie himself to so many beings so that it would die after
twitching slowly across the ground like a cicada larva. Of course, Artpe and
Maetel didn’t care about that!
Maetel had made sure to cripple the Death Knight so it couldn’t kill itself. Then
she put away her sword as she beat the nearby monsters to death using a bone
club.
Artpe hummed as he controlled the shield. By the time he killed all of them, the
shield would become unusable. However, this shield was only useful for this
Dungeon. He didn’t care what happened to it after this.
“You are really a genius, Artpe.”
“Yes, I do think I'm somewhat of a genius. Maetel is also quite the genius.”
“Thank you! I think I fought fairly well even if I say so myself!”
The two heroes kept praising each other as they cleared the Dungeon in a
friendly manner. The Death Knight was rolling around on the floor like a larvae,
so what could mere Zombies and Ghouls do against them! It was as if they
were hit by lightning!
The lucky ones died immediately after they hit the floor. The unlucky ones
already had the misfortune of being Undead, yet they were in a situation where
they couldn’t even move properly. They were only able to blink their eyes until it
was their turn to die.
[Goo-ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.]
It was unknown as to who had created this Dungeon, but at the very least, the
creator of this Dungeon probably didn’t place the Record Link expecting to see
such a sight! This wasn’t a Dungeon that was meant to grow candidates for
becoming the Demon King! This was a place built to develop heroes! It was the
builder’s mistake in assuming that all heroes were goody two shoes pushovers.
‘Ah. Ahhhhhhhhh······.’
The Death Knight had lost both its arms, and it had been completely disarmed.
As it rolled around the floor, the Death Knight watched the two evil heroes clear
the Zombies and Ghouls.
Every time one of the Undead died, a minuscule amount of power was coming in
towards the Death Knight. Most of them were cursed, so it was a scary
proposition where the slowdown effect was much higher than the strengthening
effect. It had lost the power to move around a long time ago, and now it was
having a hard time thinking.
The Death Knighted lamented over its misfortune. It had failed to read Artpe’s
outrageous abilities, so it mocked itself on its own ignorance. It moaned at the
sight of the broken Dungeon. The Death Knight wondered if it could really
entrust it all to them…...
It decided not to think about it anymore.
Four days passed. It took a long time even though the two were killing
defenseless monsters.
From the midpoint on, the records of monsters had started to overlap too much.
From that point on, the constitution of the remaining Undead became
unnecessarily high. This was why it was taking so long. The only danger that
posed a threat to the two heroes was them becoming too tired, and falling asleep
in front of the monsters.
“Did we really kill all of them?”
“Yes, we killed every single one of them. We even killed the ones stuck up
there.”
“Yes, I also confirmed it.”
This Dungeon was ridiculously large and deep. It took him around 30 minutes to
sweep the place for monsters that were still alive with his Read All Creation
ability.
However, it was all over now. There was only one monster left in the entire
Dungeon. It was the Death Knight that was only capable of rolling around on the
floor.
“Hmmm.”
Artpe wanted to ask if it wanted have its last words, but there was no response
from the Death Knight even after Artpe pounded on it. It was acting like a normal
corpse.
“Artpe, you have to kill it. Currently, my level is too high compared to yours. We
have to balance it out.”
“I knew you would say that.”
Artpe raised his shield. He had killed numerous monsters with it so it was
damaged and deformed. It was hard to call it a shield now. It was basically a
lump of metal.
He wondered if the Death Knight would be satisfied with being killed by a lump of
metal, which was neither a weapon nor a defensive gear. Of course, it was no
concern of his.
“Koohk. Eh-eet. Crap. It is so damn hard.”
Artpe diligently pounded the Death Knight with the lump of metal. However, the
Death Knight had absorbed all the records to reach its final form, so it wouldn’t
die from an attack of that caliber. Artpe had no choice, but to forcefully push his
Mana into the lump of metal.
“If you don’t die from this, I’ll call you my teacher!”
He placed the lump of metal beneath the Death Knight’s body, and he
immediately used the Hyper Rubbing spell. The lump of metal rubbed against the
Death Knight with a ludicrous amount of force!
It couldn't be helped. The surface of the Death Knight’s body touching the lump
of metal was starting to fracture a little bit. It was a brutal sight! It made one
wonder if this was some new form of torture!
[Go-oooooooooooooooh.]
It seemed the Death Knight wanted to say something, but its reaction had slowed
down too much. One couldn’t tell what it was trying to say. Artpe wanted to end
its misery, so he increased his Mana output. The rubbing became more fierce,
and it was accompanied by a change.
“Ah. The lump of metal is becoming red-hot!”
“It’s a Mana reaction. That lump of metal used to be an Artifact. The Mana
infused within it will become agitated by the Mana I injected. It’ll cause an
explosion. The explosion caused by detonating an Artifact is much stronger than
detonating a simple rock. You should keep that in mind.”
“Then why did you activate the Hyper Rubbing?”
“I just wanted to tease that bastard…. Duck!”
At that moment, the lump of metal exploded! The Death Knight received the
entirety of the incredible force generated by the explosion. As a result, it was
able to find its eternal rest. It probably would have been much happier by the fact
that it was taken out this way.
“Koo-ooooooooooooooooh.”
“Koohp.”
This was obvious, but an incredible amount of EXP entered into Artpe and
Maetel when the Death Knight was killed. The primary form of the completed
Death Knight had been incredible already, but the Dungeon had been restored to
its original form. All the record of the monsters were gathered into a single being!
This result was to be expected.
“Artpe. It feels as if my head is going to split open-ahhhhh.”
“Don’t worry. I feel the same way…. Koo-heek.”
Even in his previous life, he had never experience such successive level ups.
Mana filled up within his body as it kept evolving. It put a great amount of stress
on his mind.
“Ughhh, Artpe.”
Artpe was trying to hold back the urge to lose consciousness when he heard
Maetel calling for him. He raised his head to respond to her when he realized
why she had called out to him.
“Wow. This is nuts.”
“Ggoo-oooooooooh.”
Maybe, the killing of all the Monsters connected to the Record link was the
impetus. The Dungeon was once again going through a change!
If more monsters came out once again, it would have been really annoying.
Fortunately, this wasn’t the case. The Dungeon was quickly losing its size. The
square was also getting smaller, and the material making up the Dungeon was
changing.
“This is as if….. Ah.”
The cherry on top was the fountain that appeared in the middle of the square.
Maetel’s body and mind was tired, so she was about to let out a shout of joy. As
she was about to run towards the clear water, she paused to look back at Artpe.
“That’s poisoned water, right! Aren’t I right, Artpe!”
She thought she had shown sound judgment by stopping, so Maetel let out a
fake cough.
He put on a bright smile as he faced her. He spoke to her..
“Nope, that is just regular water.”
Chapter 20 - Our Sunbae-nim Did This? (4)
“As expected, you finished this floor in couple days. The Anywhere company
always…. Huh?”
Mycenae made her entrance as she gave a lively greeting. However, her eyes
turned round when she realized the Dungeon looked entirely different from
before. There were no stairways leading up or down. There was only a square,
and the Dungeon’s ceiling, which was slowly descending. And…..
She saw the two brats taking a shower inside the fountain placed in the middle of
the square.
“....did a curse perhaps lower your mental capacity?”
She wondered if they had lost their minds. She wanted to ask the question in the
most tactful manner she could manage. Of course, it was worthless bringing it
up with Artpe. He let out a snort as he looked over Mycenae with scorn in his
eyes.
“W...what is it, customer?”
“Huh? Kyahhhhhhhk!”
“I want soap and clean underwear. I want it for Maetel and I.”
When Mycenae appeared, Maetel screamed as she hunched to hide her body.
Artpe remained unbowed. He was confident as he threw the silver coin
towards Mycenae. He gave a list of what he needed.
Since they hadn’t been able to get out of the Dungeon for the past year,
Mycenae understood why Artpe and Maetel were familiar with each other’s nude
form. However, she never expected him to be so bold in front of her! Mycenae's
face slightly reddened.
“You are a really rude customer. One silver won’t cover it!”
“Yes, that is why I’ll give you a second one.”
“Wait a moment, customer.”
Artpe used a very weak form of Hyper Rubbing. It was on the level of Soft
Rubbing where it merely felt as if the spell was scrubbing him. He applied soap,
and it automatically scrubbed his body. When Maetel saw this, she pestered him
until he used the spell on her.
“Tsk. It can't be helped. Here.”
“Ah-hee. This is ticklish. Hee-hee-hee-heek.”
“There really is nothing you cannot do with magic…..”
For a moment, Mycenae thought about heading back, but the sight of the broken
body of the Death Knight weighed heavily on her mind.
Even if it had met its death, Mycenae could get a rough idea of its record, and
Mana that had remained behind in the corpse. The Death Knight had the
potential of being a big jackpot compared to any other monsters within this
Dungeon.
Moreover, if there were no stairway leading downwards, it meant that they had
reached the end of the Dungeon. In other words, this monster was the boss of
the entire Dungeon. It was the Dungeon Boss!
“Are you going to sell something to me?”
“Wait until we clean ourselves.”
“I think the fountain will become polluted before you can clean yourself,
customer.”
In truth, they hadn’t been able to properly wash their bodies for past year.
Thankfully, the buildup of grime on their bodies were swept away every time
they leveled up. They had survived relying on this mechanism.
Artpe and Maetel were thorough in washing their body. It took them exactly two
hours to complete the task. It felt as if they were reborn. They even used the
soap to wash their equipments made out of cloth. They washed it with a
vengeance as bubbles formed. Artpe wore the underwear handed to him by
Mycenae, and he dried his robe with Mana before putting it on. Then he sat
down on the floor.
“Hoo. I finally feel like I'm human again.”
“Now that you’ve washed yourself, you look a bit…. No, you are very handsome.
If you grow a little bit more, you are going make many women cry.”
Artpe snorted as he dismissed Mycenae’s words. He checked on how Maetel
was doing. As expected, she had already put on all her clothes. She was
growling as she glared at Mycenae.
Did she think Mycenae was targeting Artpe? Maetel always acted daft. Artpe let
out a sigh, and he lightly flicked her forehead.
“Let’s loot.”
“Yes!”
The gazes of Artpe, Maetel and Mycenae headed towards the corpse of the
Death Knight. Artpe didn’t hesitate as he shot his Mana towards the corpse.
A bright light rose into the air, and as the light dimmed, three Artifacts revealed
themselves. When Maetel saw one of them, she let out a shout with a bright light
in her eyes.
“It’s a long sword!”
“It’s yours.”
“Yay!”
The long sword looked similar to the one used by the Death Knight. However,
this one looked sharper and more durable. It even had the ability to spike the
user’s Mana in an instant to shoot it towards a single location. It was an
unbelievably great Artifact. It strengthened Maetel’s weakness of not having a
long range attack.
The only downside was the fact that the level needed to equip it was quite high.
One needed to be level 150…..
[Maetel]
[Level : 154]
“Excellent, Maetel. I have no more words to describe your cheat-like status.”
“Ee-hee-hee. If you praise me so much, I’ll be embarrassed.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
Artpe looked at his own reflection on the surface of the water. He checked his
own level.
He was level 145. He had almost achieved a miracle by raising his level to 145,
but he was clearly inferior to Maetel, who had climbed over the level 150 mark.
He didn’t compare favorably to her.
He thought this from the beginning, but he didn't see how it was possible for the
Demon King to take over this world. The probability was less than 50%. In his
past life, what were they thinking holding such a shining beacon of talent within
the palace?
“Customer. The helmet….”
“I knew ajumma would covet it.”
On the other side, Mycenae’s eyes were fixed on a helmet that looked similar to
what the Death Knight had been wearing. It looked incredibly sturdy, and it was
an Artifact that was very well suited to carry out its original goal of protecting the
user.
Yes, if he was being honest, the helmet was a much better Artifact than the long
sword. However…..
[Revengeful Death Knight’s Helm]
[The curse will turn the wearer into a high rank Death Knight. When one equips
the helm, all emotions and thought process will be amplified. The wearer’s
Mana, skills and spells will be changed into having Darkness attribute, and it will
be amplified. The wearer will grow by sucking in the energy of death.]
This was the quintessential cursed item. It was a ridiculous cursed item that
could bring down an entire city if one wasn’t careful. Artpe was aghast as he
turned to look at Mycenae. He asked her a question.
“Do you really want to buy this, ajumma?”
“We, in the Anywhere company, firmly believe that items aren’t capable of
possessing sin. That is the purview of people.”
Mycenae’s eyes refused to leave the helm. She knew it was a cursed item, yet
she was sure it was an item that could bring her profit. Her eyes were the eyes
of a merchant.
Of course, Artpe knew about the greed that one felt for good items and wealth. It
was what made a merchant a merchant…. Still, he had seen the world through
his Read All Creation ability in his past life. The world always flowed with blood,
because of treasures.
He had always been surrounded by sea of blood thanks to his ability. This was
why treasures didn’t hold much appeal to him.
“There might come a day when you will regret this.”
“Do not worry about me, customer. I might not look it, but I’ve lived a very long
time.”
Yes, it seemed his words weren’t registering with her, because he was young.
She was the sort of person that won’t come to a realization until she experienced
a big ordeal.
Artpe shrugged his shoulders as he handed her the helm. Mycenae put on a
welcoming smile as she took the….
“780 gold.”
“Eek!”
“I know you’ll be selling it for over 1,000 gold. Don't make a big fuss about this.
Just give me the money.”
“You are young, and you’ve been stuck in this Dungeon for a year. So how are
you so knowledgeable about the market prices!?”
In the end, she took the helm from him. Her hands shook as she handed over
the pouch containing the gold.
“A large dimensional magic spell was placed on this pouch. The price of this
pouch is 50 gold, so I’ve place 730 gold within. You probably don’t want to carry
around the entirety of the 780 gold. Please do me a favor by taking this deal!”
“All right. I’ll overlook it.”
It was a plain looking leather pouch, yet it was worth 50 gold! Maetel’s eyes
spun, but Artpe didn't show any surprise. He took the pouch.
In truth, he possessed another dimensional pouch. There was around 400 gold
within that pouch. Their party now possessed money approaching 1,200 gold.
“So, there is only one thing left. Isn’t this just an egg?”
“Ajumma. Does this really look like a normal egg?”
The long sword and the helm were artifacts that was well-matched with the Death
Knight. However, everyone had a hard time accepting that the last item was
dropped by a Death Knight.
It was an egg that was small, black, and oval-shaped. When one touched it, one
could feel the pulse of life from within it. Maetel’s mouth salivated as she looked
down at it.
“Do you think this will be tasty, Artpe?”
“I want you to think of it as something given birth by the Death Knight. Do you
want to eat it when you know that fact?”
“I’m hungry!”
Did she really want to eat it? Artpe let out a sigh as he flicked Maetel on her
forehead. Then he put away the egg.
“It is a Chaos Egg born artificially by the Record Link. It is ridiculous to think that
death was able to give life, but…. Since the Record Link had rarely been used
throughout history, it is tough to come to a definite conclusion.”
It would be funny if a Death Knight popped out from the Chaos Egg. However,
he didn’t that would be the case.
He had thoroughly checked it with his Read All Creation ability, but the only
information he could glean was its name. Basically, he won’t know what will be
born until the Chaos Egg hatches.
“What will be born from it? If Artpe and my love can…..”
“I don’t know what you are thinking about, but that won’t happen.”
“Heeng. Artpe, stop being mean to me.”
He had no idea how he should incubate it. Artpe decided to put it within the inner
pocket of his robe. If it broke, that was its fate. At that point, he’ll just make
scrambled eggs with it!
All the items left behind by the Death Knight was collected. Their levels had
increased, and their skills had developed. Now they equipped their equipment
over their clean bodies. Artpe felt refreshed as he waved his hand towards
Mycenae. He was saying goodbye to her.
“You can go now, ajumma. You bought everything you wanted.”
“Why would I go? The most important Dungeon reward is still to come.”
Mycenae kept staring at the fountain placed in the middle of the square.
Artpe and Maetel had wasted a lot of water by washing themselves in it, but the
fountain kept pumping out clear water from some unknown place. It looked as if
Mycenae believed that there was a secret kept within it.
“I won’t give that up.”
“As always, I just want to purchase items at a fair price…..”
“Ajumma.”
Artpe smiled sweetly. Mycenae had remarked on this fact before, but his
charming smile wasn’t something that should exist on the face of a thirteen year
old.
“I’ll see you again next time.”
“Heht…..”
For a brief moment, she had been mesmerized by his smile. However, she
recovered her wits when she heard the cold voice that slipped out of Artpe’s
mouth.
Her cheeks puffed out, and she banged on her blameless cart. She shouted
towards him.
“Ha. I really can’t win against you. All right. I just have to leave, right? Please
look kindly on the Anywhere company in the future! Tsk!”
Mycenae disappeared from where she had been standing. Maetel grumbled as
she stared at the spot where Mycenae had disappeared.
“I don’t like that ajumma.”
“That ajumma is neither good or bad. She is only a merchant, who puts profit
above all else. We were able purchase supply without much fuss thanks to the
ajumma. Moreover, we were able to get decent price for the items we sold.”
Actually, he had received a very generous amount, but Artpe didn’t want to get
into that topic here. He slowly walked towards the fountain.
Yes, Mycenae's hunch had been spot on. It was likely that everything left within
the Dungeon was gathered at the fountain. This was probably the true reward
given to the hero, who overcame all the tests.
They had used a rotten method to pass the test, but they had passed it. It was
time for them to see the fruit of their ordeal, which had lasted for a year.
“The fountain was put there to fool us. The entrance is below it. The reward is
also placed underneath it.”
“There is something below? Shouldn’t there only be the ground below?”
“Where do you think the water is coming from?”
Artpe smirked as he gave instructions to Maetel.
“Let’s destroy the fountain.”
“Yes!”
Maetel was confident only when it came to destroying stuff. She gave an
energetic reply as she raised her newly acquired long sword. She focused her
Mana within it.
Her level was above 150, so she possessed a sufficient pool of Mana within her.
She didn’t need to be linked with Artpe.
“Wow. I can feel my Mana gathering at the tip of my sword.”
“Ready, aim….. Fire!”
“Eh-eet!”
The long sword was black, but when she gathered her Mana into the sword, it let
out a bright golden light. It was the same color as Maetel’s hair.
The energy shot out from the tip of the sword, and it flew in a straight line
towards the fountain. The energy impacted on the fountain, and it was destroyed
easily. A hidden hallway was revealed.
They hadn’t expected another underground space, but it was a large space
where people could reside. The clear underground water encompassed and
flowed around the space. A clean and refined stone surface covered the
hallway.
There was a single altar placed in the middle.
“.....Artpe, what is that?”
Maetel found two books placed on something that looked to be an altar.
One book had a red leather cover, and the other one had a blue leather cover.
Of course, Artpe immediately knew the identity of the books when he saw them.
“Those are Skill Books….. Ha.”
It wasn’t just normal Skill Books. These were Unique Skill Books that could be
learned only by ‘Heroes’.
When he realized the implications of this, Artpe felt electrified. He had kept his
expectations in check, but this Dungeon had really been made for a hero. At that
moment, what he thought was a coincidence turned into destiny!
Chapter 21 - Our Sunbae-nim Did This? (5)
From time immemorial, the red color signified a warrior, and the blue color
signified a magician. Of course, the population of magicians was very small
compared to the warriors. This was why it was clear, who this was prepared for.
“Normally, Heroes are are able to learn both. They possess the power of a
warrior and the power of a magician.”
“But I can’t use magic!”
“I already know that fact, so you don’t have to repeat it.”
During their spare time, he had tried to teach her the basics of magic. However,
all his attempts had failed.
She was dumb. She was so obviously dumb that no one would be able to say
otherwise. If one gave her a sword, she was a genius, who could easily take
down monsters that were much higher in level than her. At the same time, she
was an idiot, who couldn’t figure out a simple math problem. It was said that the
heavens was fair in its dealings. This truth was never felt so keenly as when he
looked at Maetel.
“That is why you have to learn how to do magic.”
“We can split them between us in a friendly way!”
Maetel let out a pure laugh. This really wasn’t something that should be laughed
at. Artpe kept sighing as they ran down towards the plaza that existed below the
fountain.
When they touched the floor, the entrance made by Maetel closed as a ceiling
slid into place.
“Would you look at this…..?”
This felt weird. Artpe narrowed his eyes as he looked at his surrounding.
Fortunately, they were in a large space. A waterway had been created, so there
was a constant stream of fresh water available. It was so clear that they would
be able to drink it straight out of the waterway. They also wouldn’t have to worry
about running out of air.
However, there were no exits here.
“Basically, the Dungeon hasn’t ended yet….?”
Now that he thought about it, he had killed the Death Knight, who had been the
last monster connected to the Record Link. They had received EXP from it, yet
the energy of the Record Link still remained in this place. He was sure there
weren’t any monsters left. However, it seemed a test remained. Maybe, the act
of learning the Skills was a form of test.
“There is something written here, Artpe.”
Maetel had walked towards the altar before Artpe, and she was pointing at a
section of the altar.
“Huh. You are right.”
Artpe headed towards the altar, and he could see hard characters carved into it.
If he was to be precise, this was the language of the Ancient Empire. No one in
this world would have an easy time reading it. However, Artpe was an exception
since he possessed the Read All Creation ability.
“‘I congratulate you for overcoming the trials, beginner hero. Anyone who was
able to find this place would know about me, so I won’t talk about myself.’......
Even this introduction is all wrong.”
“He must have been a really famous person.”
“Fame erodes away over time. He was foolish for not knowing this.”
Artpe read those arrogant words. He sneered at the desire for fame that was
unique to humans. Maetel didn’t know about his slimy inner thoughts, so she
continued to laugh, while saying Artpe was smart.
Of course, Artpe didn’t care about learning about the name of the hero. He had a
general idea as to who it was. The man boldy wrote about beginner heroes. He
was probably a former hero from a generation or several generations ago.
Artpe didn’t know who the previous generation’s hero was. He didn’t even know
the name of the previous generation’s Demon King. He just knew that the
language of the Ancient Empire was being used here, so at the very least, this
Dungeon was several hundred years old.
“‘I had faith that a hero would one day be born again in this land. I also believed
that this hero would come looking for my tomb. However, I cannot give you the
secrets of the hero just because you are a junior, who respects your sunbae.
This is why I put forth the Record Link to test you. Please forgive me.’”
“It seems this person was born around here too.”
“Yes and he was spectacularly forgotten by everyone.”
By its outside appearance, how could this be the grave of a previous hero? No
one in his past life knew about this truth! At this point, it was a wonder as to how
the information became so perfectly hidden!
Still, it was believable when he thought more on it. There was a high probability
that Maetel was a descendant of this previous hero. It was normal for the family
of heroes to have one or two secrets.
“‘I believe any hero that was able to safely reach this point will be able to
complete the next task. I trust you, and I will not be suspicious of you. I have
placed these presents here for my junior. All you have experienced to reach this
point were lessons. I placed a mixture of skill and spell that is tied to the Record
Link. You should learn it before you leave.’”
The words ended there. Artpe was surprised by this fact. He thought the man
would continue to boast by writing around 10,000 words, but he had ended it
more cleanly than Artpe had expected.
“Well, let me see…..”
After reading all the words, Artpe’s gaze once again headed towards the altar
with the books placed on top of it. One was a spell book and the other one was a
skill book. He had wondered why he couldn't read the content of the books with
his Read All Creation ability. The flow of the Record Link was connected to the
books.
He had never expected to see skills that were completed using the influence of
magic. In his past life as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, he had never heard of
such a thing.
Maybe it was a matter of course since no one in his past life had discovered this
place. He had always believed that Record Link was full of side effect, so he
never thought about such unimaginable benefits it could bring.
‘The Record Link wasn’t made with the intent of just tormenting us..’
Artpe was enlightened. Of course, the anger at the sunbae, who had driven
Maetel and him to the brink of death, still remained!
“This sunbae really cared about his juniors!”
“I think so, too. Now let us worry about what is to come.”
“Huh?”
He was now sure of the sunbae hero’s intent. However, Artpe’s personality
wouldn’t let him cross a stone bridge when he could destroy and build a steel
bridge. He used his Read All Creation ability to carefully inspect his surrounding.
“Hmmmm…...”
“What is it, Artpe?”
“It’s nothing. It just feels a little bit off to me. However, I don’t see anything
abnormal.”
He was sure there were no additional traps here. He was only slightly worried
about the fact that all the Mana within the Dungeon was being funneled into the
altar….. Since they had already reached this point, they couldn’t make additional
preparations. There was nothing they could do that would make them more
prepared for what was to come.
If so, it was time to move forward. It didn't matter what was waiting for them. It
was time to act.
“I’m ready, Artpe.”
“Me too. …..Alright. Now.”
“Yes!”
Artpe and Maetel exchanged glances. They stepped forward at the same time,
and they reached out their hands towards their respective book. At that moment,
they felt a pressure as if their entire body was being sucked towards the book.
Their hands stuck to the books.
“Koohk!?”
“Endure it. If we falter here, the Record Link will run out of control!”
All the Mana within the Dungeon was flowing towards the two books placed on
top of the altar. All the records that had mounted for the past year was being split
into two. It flowed into the two books using the Record Link, and after it finished
its mission, it dissipated.
“Hoo…. Ha.”
“Ooh-ahhhhh. I’m tired. This is too difficult.”
“Endure it!”
All the tasks completed by Artpe and Maetel was influenced by the effect of
overwhelming Mana, and it was formed into a skill and a spell. Each appeared in
front of their respective owners. However, Artpe’s face crumpled when the new
magic spell established itself within his brain.
‘This is······.’
When he entered this Dungeon, he had accomplished his tasks by using Mana.
What he did was more of a magic manipulation rather than using a magic spell.
Still, he never expected a strange magic that contradicted the root theories of
magic and Mana to come into being!
If he learned to use it properly, he thought it could be something incredible.
However, this was a magic spell unbefitting a magician! It was questionable as
to whether he should actually call this a magic spell!
“Ssssp. Since this is a Unique Magic for heroes, I have no choice but to learn
it…. Ooh-ahhhhhhhh!”
At that moment, a big event occurred. What would happen if the Mana
maintaining the Dungeon was split and sent into the books on the altar? Of
course, the Dungeon would collapse! Artpe had been worrying about such a
situation !
“I knew something like this would happen! Shit! That bugger of a sunbae!”
An advanced concept of magical circuitry was being impressed upon his body.
However, he didn’t even have the chance to be happy about it. He had to learn
the skill as soon as possible, so he could escape this Dungeon!
Artpe grinded his teeth as he looked towards Maetel. In terms of battle skills, she
possessed a god-given talent. If it’s Maetel, she should be learning the skill at a
faster rate than him….
“Ughh.”
“Hey you fooooooooooool!”
Maetel had her head down as if she was perfectly powerless. He never expected
her to fail at acquiring the skill! The timing of this was too perfect. This was like
a bad joke! He wished she would do this at a later time when they could afford to
do so!
Artpe gritted his teeth as he raised his hand. The blue leather bound book had
already done its part, so it was completely gone now. He would be able to use
the magic at any time.
He could use it right now.
“Mana String!”
Others wouldn’t be able to see it, but strings of black mana extended out from his
five fingers. Up until now, Artpe had directly manipulated Mana to solve problems
in the Dungeon. The reason being he had only a single spell in his arsenal. It
seemed the Unique magic spell was fixed into taking on a similar form!
“Koohp. Break it all!”
Of course, Artpe would have been very disappointed if that was all there was to
it. However, the Mana String he was using was undeniably a spell. It was a
miracle that started out as Mana, but it was shaped into becoming a spell. Unlike
the threads he manipulated before, the Mana String could interact with magical
energy. Moreover, it was very high in physical power as it was able to affect
nature.
This was why the five strands of Mana String was able to stop the Dungeon’s
ceiling from collapsing, and falling on top of their heads.
“Artpe is incredible! You are too strong!”
“If you have the time to be impressed by me, you should learn the Skill!”
“But this is too hard…. Ughhh.”
“Hey you fooooooooooool!”
It didn’t matter if Artpe’s mana reserve was enormous. It was impossible to prop
up the Dungeon’s collapsing ceiling indefinitely! Artpe screamed as he diligently
controlled the Mana Strings. Maetel clung desperately to the skill book.
“Hurry, Maetel!”
“Oooooooh, ughhhhhh…...!”
The black Mana Strings boasted an overwhelmingly more powerful destructive
force compared to the ones that controlled the shield with the Slow Down curse.
Moreover, there were five of them!
The five long strands of black Mana Strings started to spin violently, and it was
grinding up the entire Dungeon. Artpe was fighting desperately. He had
activated the Hyper Rubbing. It was such an overpowering sight that it made one
wonder if he was really fighting for his life.
“My Mana consumption is that much higher! Hurry up and succeed before it is
too late, Maetel! I’ll do anything you want if you succeed! Please hurry up!”
“Anything!? Ah, I did it! I learned it! Hurray!”
“You are really honest about your desires!”
The red leather bound book was finally gone! By the look of Maetel’s bright
eyes, it seemed she had learned the skill. He was puzzled as to why a genius of
martial arts like Maetel had struggled to learn the skill. He wondered what it was.
However, Artpe didn’t have the time to ask such questions!
“Artpe! The altar!”
“I know. Hurry up and take my hand!”
It seemed the disappearance of the two books was a trigger. The altar kept
spinning as it lowered into the ground. The flow of water that had been swirling
around the space started to gather itself towards the space vacated by the altar.
The water was being sucked into it.
After he checked what was going on, he quickly grabbed Maetel’s hand. He
used his other hand to destroy the rocks that were falling towards them. They
threw themselves into the portal where the water was exiting. There must be a
path leading outside!
“Artpe, I don’t think this tunnel is intact…...”
“Of course. There isn’t much Mana left. That bastard of a sunbae was good at
handling spells, but he was terrible at preserving and distributing Mana. That
damn….!”
Fortunately, they could see a faint light at the end of the passageway. Artpe spat
out all kinds of swear words as water splashed every time they took a step. They
moved quickly.
It was around this time when Maetel was finally free from the aftereffect of
acquiring the skill. She bit her lips as she tugged at his hand, and she carried
him on her back.
“Record Divide!”
“What the hell. What does that skill with the slightly cool name do….. Ooh-
ohhhhhhhhhhh!?”
Maetel started running faster. It was as if she was about to evaporate the water
on the floor with her blazing speed. She did so in the nick of time, since the
passageway started to collapse. An incredible amount of water was falling
towards them!
“Eee-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Artpe was having a hard time seeing his surrounding, so he desperate extended
his Mana Strings. He dispersed the water and the falling rock fragments that
were falling towards their heads.
“Hurrrrrrrrrry up, Maetel!”
“We are almost there! I can see the exit, Artpe!”
The light was getting closer. However, Artpe’s Mana was also bottoming out!
They had only a little ways to go. Were they going to be buried like this? It was
an end befitting the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings, but Maetel was
also here with him!
“I’ll give you my Mana, Artpe!”
“….. Uh? Do you even have Mana to spare…. Uh?”
Mana started flowing into him from Maetel. Artpe hadn’t used his Link magic. At
that moment, Artpe was taken aback, but he soon came to an understanding.
“You said Record Drive. You….”
“The skill has a similar effect as Artpe’s magic! It has a wider range of use….
Anyways, hurry!”
Maetel didn’t have to urge him on. He was already using his spell. All the Mana
received from her was put straight into the Mana Strings.
Before Artpe and Maetel’s heads could be bashed open, the chunks of rocks
were grinded away in an instant. They threw themselves towards the light right
before they reached the end of the passageway.
“Ooh-wahhhhhhh,, Artpe-ehhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Yes! This is it!”
He could hear the sound of water. Water was everywhere. Artpe let out a
refreshing smile as he shouted out his words.
“It’s a waterfall! Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!”
This was how the heroes were successful in escaping their very first Dungeon.
The two heroes were 13 years old, and they were beings that defied all the
records and history of the continent. This was the moment when the strongest
little hero duo stepped out into the world.
Chapter 22 - Yesterday's Enemy (1)
The two heroes enjoyed a fun journey as they rode down the rough waters
before they plummeted down the waterfall. They fell down an unknown distance
towards the bottom of the ravine, and they were barely able to pick themselves
out of the water.
His entire body ached, and his stomach was writhing. There was a long abrasive
injury on his back, and his entire body was soaked. It was the worst feeling. He
never wanted to experience it again.
“Ooh-ehhhhhk. Kol-ruhk, kol-ruhk.”
Artpe was making a bizarre sound as he threw up water. The sound was horrible
enough to cool even a thousand year love. However, Maetel stood next to Artpe,
and her expression remained normal. She looked worried as she patted Artpe’s
back.
“Are you ok, Artpe?”
“I’m not ok! Unlike you, I can’t maintain balance while being swept away by the
waterfall!”
“Why not? After I realized what was happening, I just had to wiggle my body a
little bit…...”
At that moment, Artpe didn’t find himself to be endearing, since he was having
malicious thoughts towards Maetel. The feeling was so intense that it made him
wonder if he could have won miraculous battles as one of the Four Heavenly
Kings if he had been full of malice like this!
“I wish I was hurting instead of Artpe…..”
However, he was confronted with the sincerely worried face of Maetel, so such
feelings melted away. Artpe became needlessly embarrassed, so he turned his
gaze away from her as he replied in a small voice.
“It’s nothing. It doesn’t hurt that much, so it’s fine.”
“Really? What a relief.”
Artpe had worried his belongings might have been lost, while he was being swept
away by the waterfall. He checked his belongings, and everything was still there.
He still had the two money pouches and the black egg.
Maetel still had the potion pouch within her armor, and she had held on tightly to
her bastard sword and longsword. She was slowly becoming acclimatized to the
fact that there were some things that were more important than one’s life as an
adventurer.
It was also a fact that the two heroes were equally soaked. To make things
worse, it was closer to winter than fall. The chilly winds were lowering their body
temperature.
“Should I make a fire?”
“Yes, I’m cold.”
Maetel had a shy smile on her face as she nodded her head. Artpe looked up at
the violet sky. It was slowly getting darker. A year had passed, so he wondered
if it was possible that the soldiers of the kingdom was still searching for them
near here.
“Mmm. Even if they are still searching for us, It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Even if one discounted their levels, the skills they possessed were formidable.
They would be able to face down even a level 200 being possessing a high rank
Class. There was also no way anyone above that level would be looking for
them. They had better things to do.
“Here.”
“Wow!”
Artpe extended several strands of Mana String, and he cut down a nearby tree.
His actions were so natural that Maetel started clapping. However, Artpe’s
performance was just starting.
He created edges on the five black Mana Strings, and he rotated them to cut the
tree into small pieces. He only moved a small portion of the wood pile. As a
finishing touch, Artpe used Hyper Rubbing to cause intense friction amongst the
wood. It caused it to ignite.
It burst into flame. The whole process took only 25 seconds.
“As expected, Artpe is amazing!”
“If I had a fire magic spell, I could do this in two seconds…..”
He now had a lot of money, so he wondered if he should have bought simple
magic spells when he had the chance. Artpe thought about visiting the Tower of
Mages in the future as he basked in the fire. Maetel stuck close to him, and she
started rubbing her cheek against his cheek.
He was now used to this level of skinship, so Artpe could only let out small sighs.
On the other hand, Maetel had a secret smile of triumph on her face.
“Hooo. This is comfortable and great The fact that we aren’t doing anything is
pretty good, Artpe.”
“I don’t want you to get infatuated with that feeling. You have to be careful or
else you won’t want to do anything else later. The moment you think that work is
a losing proposition, your life is at an end.”
In his life as a demon, he had seen those, who hit the jackpot through creating a
book or a related item…. There were those, who dreamed about not working
their entire lives by living off the royalties. However, these people failed to pull it
off, because they were lacking in experience and common sense.
“Eh-ee. It is good to do something like this occasionally. If we do it every day, it
won’t be as good!”
“....sometimes you say smart things.”
The two small heroes rested quietly against each other.
It had been a long time since they were able to spend such carefree time. They
had been continuously tormented by the internal agents of the Dungeon. Their
current situation was tranquil and peaceful.
He didn’t feel the need to speak. The sounds of the water flowing in the ravine
and the crackling sound of the wood burning drowned out the silence.
When a little bit of time had passed, Maetel opened her mouth to ask a question.
“.....Artpe, what are we going to do from now on?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to become stronger. I want to help the unfortunate. Moreover, Artpe and
I…...”
“Yes, you should stop there. Everything you said you’ll be able to do to your
heart’s content.”
“Really!?”
Maetel’s eyes had an odd shine to it. He was sure she had misunderstood
something again. It was a hassle to set her straight, so he just kept his mouth
shut. However, at that moment, a loud sound could be heard without any
warning.
[Crown Prince…. Kill….!]
[Knights…. Your highness…...]
The sound of weapons hitting each other could be heard, and he felt the
surrounding Mana being consumed to activate a magic spell. Then there was a
stern voice and a desperate voice mixed in with those sounds. It was a scenario
that might occur at the beginning of a novel about a knight. It was such a
formulaic pattern!
When Artpe assessed the commotion, his face crumpled as he mumbled to
himself.
“Shit. An incident immediately occurred when you said something unnecessary. I
thought I would be able to rest for at least two pages more.”
“Do you think I have some ability I don’t know about!?”
“No, I think this is just part of our karma.”
At that moment, a fight was going on somewhere close by. If Artpe and Maetel
hadn’t heard it, it wouldn’t be a problem. However, once they heard the sound of
the fight, Artpe knew they will get involved one way or another.
“Why?”
“This is how the world works.”
He wanted to say she was always like that in his previous life. However, he
pushed down on those words firmly.
Yes, this was the destiny of a hero. It was strange, but wherever the hero went,
an incident that might or might not occur in a hundred years happened. The hero
inevitably got sucked into the mess, and the hero becomes the main player of the
crisis. The hero would solve the problem in a dashing manner, and his or her
name value would increase!
Anyways, this wasn’t something that happened just once or twice. Wherever a
hero went, the hero was always involved in something. There could be an
awakening of a legendary ruin, a visitation by an Arch Mage, the awakening of an
ancient monster or an assassination attempt of the royal family!
It made one wonder if a hero would die from stress even before he or she got a
chance to fight the Demon King. The accidental events that occurred around
heroes was frequent and annoying!
“I wonder if such tumult would happen in the first place if the hero hadn’t existed.
Wherever the hero goes, the unrest follows the hero. This is why we have to kill
the god.”
It was such an incoherent explanation. It was like saying an apple farmer had to
behead the king, because there was a good harvest. However, Maetel nodded
her head in a serious manner.
“I’ll kill a god for Artpe!”
“All right. How commendable.”
While Artpe and Maetel was having an idiotic conversation, the sound was
getting closer. Screams were interspersed with the sounds of steel clashing.
Maetel’s body flinched as if she was bothered by it. Artpe could easily read her
inner thoughts, so he let out a bitter laugh as he spoke.
“We’ll eventually be swept up into whatever is going on over there, Maetel. If it
bothers you, you should go on ahead. I’ll just stay here a little bit longer to warm
my body.”
“Ah. No.”
Unexpectedly, Maetel shook her head from side to side.
“It does bother me and I want to rescue them, but…. The person I have to
protect is Artpe. If I head out carelessly, Artpe might get drawn in. If you were
hurt, I would feel like killing myself.”
“What…..?”
It was such an unexpected answer that Artpe was at a loss for words.
Maetel’s love for him was heavy. It was so heavy that he wondered if he’ll be
crushed to death by it. On a side note, he was afraid his presence was having a
weird influence on the pure hero.
If it was the hero from his past life, she would have immediately ran towards
those in trouble, and she would have saved them. It wouldn’t matter if the place
held traps or a strong foe.
However, she now had Artpe. She had someone she had to protect. This was
why she was hesitating as she mulled over the various consequences of her
actions.
Of course, he couldn’t blame her for it. Most people avoided getting involved in
another's trouble. They protected what was important to them. Artpe was merely
a former member of the Four Heavenly Kings, so he was a bit happy to find out
that Maetel treasured him so much.
Still, he felt as if something was off.
‘When I awoke as a human boy, I surmised that I would become the biggest
variable that would cause the biggest change between my past life and this
current life…. Yes, I was right. I’m the biggest variable. She’s suppose to be
the brightest beacon of light, yet this variable was able to bring her down to the
level of a regular human….’
He suddenly felt fear, but he didn’t show it. He calmly organized the situation
inside his head. He camly spoke towards the blond-haired girl, who was looking
at him.
“That sounds idiotic. We'll become involved anyways. That is why you should
just do whatever you feel like doing.”
“I want to be by Artpe’s side……forever.”
“....yes. All right.”
It felt as if he had received an excessively heavy confession of love, but he
dismissed it as him imagining things. Artpe let out a big sigh as he got up.
“Ah. Artpe?”
“Hmmph.”
He had made the fire, because he wanted to create a suitable atmosphere.
However, he just need a small amount of Mana to dry their clothes. He emitted
a small amount of Mana to try his underwear and robe. Then he extended his
hand to make her body moisture-less.
“Since our clothes are dry now, let’s go. If I’m going, will you go?”
“.....yes!”
The two heroes kept talking in a manner unfitting heroes, yet they were finally
able to take on work that heroes would undertake. A hero was a violent force
that butted into other’s fights. The hero attempted to solve problems in a manner
to their liking. Heroes were the ultimate busybody. This was what a hero was!
“Since we are about to intrude on someone else’s business, I’ll tell you about the
basic stance we’ll take.”
“Yes!”
Artpe ran through the forest with Maetel as he spoke to her. Artpe’s stamina was
very poor compared to Maetel. However, he had gone past level 140, so he had
enough physical prowess to overpower most mercenaries. He wasn't just a
simple magician. He possessed the Hero Class and it had influence on him.
“The most difficult part is deciding, which side is the aggressor. We have no idea
about the circumstances behind the fight. We have no idea who is good and who
is bad. This kind of stuff isn’t as clear cut as one would like it to be.”
“Ooh-mmmm. This is too difficult.”
“Well, let’s say we decided which person we want to kill.”
“Heeeek!”
Up until now, she had only slaughtered monsters. Maetel freaked out at the idea
of killing a human. As expected, she was immature regarding this type of stuff.
Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he continued his explanation.
“What if we find out later that we killed the good guys? What if we helped the
bad guys? There are times when such a thing occurs.”
“You can’t kill good people!”
“However, there could be misunderstandings. The good guys might think we are
the bad guys too, and they might fight us.”
“No way…...”
Unshed tears glistened in the innocent hero’s eyes. She was confronted with an
explanation that couldn’t be accepted by the simplistic values she possessed.
This was why her mind was in a state of confusion.
Truthfully, Maetel was incredibly cute right now. How could she be so righteous
and innocent! Every time he cause a black stain on her pure white heart it was
the sweetest…. Crap. A bad habit he picked up during his days as the Four
Heavenly King had almost appeared. Artpe calmed himself as he continued to
speak his words.
“That is why our standard of judgment can’t be absolute good or evil.”
“Huh…..?”
“No one can determine what is absolutely good or evil. This is the province of
the gods. This isn’t something dem…. This isn’t something should be decided
by humans. If we make such judgments, it would be a form of arrogance and
delusion.”
“Huuuuuuh······?”
They were getting closer to the commotion. This was why Artpe had to make this
simple. He had to speak with a firm voice, so she would never forget it.
“This is why you should think of anyone that hates you as being evil.”
“······.”
It was a way of thinking more befitting a Demon King than a hero.
“If someone tries to kill you, harm you, use you or have indecent desires…. They
are all evil. You put yourself on the side of the good, and the others on the side
of evil.”
“However, Artpe, you just said we shouldn’t decide what is good or evil…..”
“We aren’t determining absolute good and evil. It is a relative form of of good
and evil. You accept that you won’t always be right, then you do what you want.”
It was such an absurd, ridiculous and fraudulent way of thinking. Even if Maetel
was young and naive, she knew Artpe’s words were wrong. A single slip would
make one fall into the pit of evil. It was an absurdly selfish and arrogant way of
thinking.
However, he had lived with such a philosophy as a demon for several hundred
years. He had been the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings, and he
always suffered under irrational violence. This was why he had developed such
a mindset.
Nevertheless…...
“Artpe....”
Maetel raised her still shaking eyes to look at Artpe. She knew they had entered
into the site of the fight, yet she still asked the question.
“How do you judge me, Artpe?”
“You dummy. You don’t even have to ask me that question. ”
Artpe lifted the corner of his mouth. He laughed as he made a statement.
“You are ‘always’ in the category of absolute good for me, hero-nim.”
“......all right, Artpe.”
Maetel firmly nodded her head. Across the thicket, weapons were clashing
noisily. She answered him as she threw herself towards the site of the battle.
“Then I’ll do whatever what I want to do!”
them, and the humans were being consumed by it.
“Kill the crown prince! We have to kill that bastard to end all of this!”
“Protect him! We have to protect him!”
Their words made it very easy to identify them! If the world was full of people like
them, there would be no need for mind reading magic!
“Uht!?”
“Aht!”
When Artpe and Maetel arrived at the clearing, every participant of the battle
noticed their arrival.
One group looked back at them with hope, and the other group looked on with
annoyance. However, when they confirmed the identity of the new arrivals, the
expressions on both sides crumpled.
“They are children….!”
“Tsk. The number of people we have to take care of increased.”
At this point, Artpe had finished dividing them into enemies and allies. He turned
to look at Maetel. His expression was like that of a tutor expecting a child to give
the right answer.
Her face was full of questions.
“Artpe.”
He knew it was going to be like this. Artpe let out a sigh as he gave her an
explanation.
“What did I tell you? You kill those who wants to kill you.”
“Yes!”
“Here.”
Artpe raised his hand, and he pointed towards one group. This particular group
was wearing black clothes over their body. It was as if they had shopped from
the same cloth store. The crown prince was probably amongst the group fighting
a defensive battle. The ones in black had said, ‘The number of people we have
to take care of increased.’
“They said they want to take care of us, right?”
“Ah. I see!”
“Then let me pose you a problem. When they said they wanted to take care of
us, what were they referring to?”
“Mmmmm. They are going to send us away after giving us an explanation?”
“Wrong. The answer is they will send us to hell without giving us an explanation.”
“How dare they…..”
The two brats had appeared out of nowhere, and they were having a
conversation as if they were doing a gag routine. The two groups had been in
the midst of fighting for their lives, so the sight in front of them looked ridiculous.
Everyone was looking at Artpe’s party in disbelief.
“Shouldn’t you be feeling fear? Or maybe you should start running away? Kids
these days are too dumb.”
“Fay…number 3. You take care of them.”
“Yes.”
The black clad group continued attacking the defenders, and only a single one of
them ran towards Maetel and Artpe. He used the most popular line within the
book called ‘150 Lines Most Used by Villains.’
“Blame your bad luck!”
Artpe took a peek at Maetel. As expected, she was frozen like a statue.
“Maetel.”
“Ah. Ah-ooh.”
She wasn’t afraid of her enemy's abilities. She was frightened of the truth that
she was no longer fighting monsters. She had to face off against a human.
“Ah, Artpe.”
“Hoo.”
He didn’t blame her for acting foolishly in front of an enemy. She was a child,
who possessed a tender heart, so this result was to be expected. This reaction
was actually preferable. If Maetel had unhesitatingly charged forward to kill the
man, Artpe would have been frightened.
Of course, Artpe assessed the situation, and he decided on what he would do.
“Get out of the way, Maetel.”
“Kyahk.”
He had pushed Maetel to the side as he stepped in front of her.
“You are a little brat, but it seems you think of yourself as a man? You plan on
protecting the female!”
“Artpe!?”
Artpe made himself the target by stepping forward unarmed. This move incited
the enemy, and it put Maetel on alert. He was killing two birds with one stone.
The generic Villain 1 fell for his provocation. He headed towards Artpe with his
sword raised. Maetel had been pushed to the side, and her eyes were wide
open as she watched the sight in front of her.
The sharp blade of the enemy was heading towards Artpe, and it was getting
bigger in her vision. There was a clear blue tint of Mana surrounding the blade! It
was a powerful skill that couldn’t be stopped with Artpe’s unprotected body.
“I’ll give you a clean death! Power Stri….khhhhk!”
Villian 1 had swung his sword towards Artpe. When Maetel saw this, her eyes
flipped over as she unsheathed her bastard sword from her waist. She did it with
one hand. She wasn't thinking about anything. Her body reacted on instinct.
The Villain 1 was yet to pass level 100, so Maetel split him from the groin to the
top of the head.
“Fay...lan….?”
“What the…...”
Two weighty sound was heard when the body fell to the floor. At that moment, all
sounds within the clearing ceased.
It didn’t matter if someone was on the offensive end or the defensive end of the
fight. All of them focused their gazes on the girl holding the bastard sword.
“······.”
“Crazy… Right now… What did you….?”
Of course, the nearby people were surprised. However, Artpe didn’t care about
the background characters. Artpe only looked at Maetel.
The girl had killed someone for the first time. She hadn’t done it for herself. She
had done it for someone else.
“He tried to kill Artpe.”
Maetel had seen what she had done, yet she mumbled to herself as if she
couldn’t believe it. She was gripping the the sword so hard that her knuckles
were white.
“We just came here… We came here for a look, yet you guys tried to kill Artpe.”
“That girl is dangerous. Everyone…..”
However, she didn’t allow her enemies to talk amongst themselves. Maetel
pointed the bastard sword towards the ‘enemies’ as she asked a question.
She didn’t ask it towards her enemies. It was for Artpe.
“Artpe, you said I can do whatever I want to do?”
“I did.”
“.....all right.”
No more words were necessary.
In a flash, Maetel’s hesitancy had disappeared.
“Dodge it. Block…..”
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhhp!”
Maetel pushed off the ground as she ran forward. She swung her bastard sword
laterally. Each of her opponents tried emitting Mana into their weapons or body
parts. They were attempting to use a defensive or a counter skill. However, they
were all dispatched with a single blow.
There were several high rank Class that were over level 100 present within the
group. However, all the defensive technique were canceled by Maetel’s basic
active attack skill!
“I won’t forgive you! I won’t! You guys are all bad! That is what I decided!”
She wasn’t using Berserk right now. In fact, she hadn’t even activated her
gauntlet’s option yet either. It was quite simple. There was an amazing amount
of talent gap between Maetel and the men.
“Koo-ahk!”
“Kah!”
“This is a nightmare. How can such a young child do this against elite
knights….!”
The elite knights of the humans were in such a poor state. He now understood
why the Demon King had moved at a leisurely pace. Artpe smirked when he
realized that the strongest amongst them was barely level 120.
“Run away. There is no way…..”
“I won’t let you run away!”
The number of black clad villains went from 20 to 17, 14, 10..... The number
became five, and now there were only two of them.
“W...who sent you! Reveal yourselves!”
“We have to retreat. If we aren’t able to notify the second party about the
location of the crown prince...koo-ahk!”
Then there was one.
“I don’t know who you guys are, but you will regret doing this someday.”
Then there were zero.
“Hoo…..”
“Right now… What the hell just happened?”
“All our pursuers are dead. I don’t believe it…..”
After killing everyone, Maetel lightly flicked her bastard sword once to get rid of
the blood. After she sheathed her sword, she turned to look at Artpe.
“Artpehhhhh~”
She had been beyond brave. She have been frighteningly decisive in her
actions, but unlike before, her eyes were full of unshed tears now.
“Yes, yes. You did very well.”
He knew her heart would be in tumult right now. Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he
hugged her. She was crying, because she was afraid of her own self more so
than anyone. It felt as if he could feel her feelings vividly through the hands
holding her.
Once, he had been like her. His personality was unbecoming of a Demon. He
had despaired, as he had hated himself more so than anyone over the years.
“Should I really be doing things like this? It feels like I did something very
wrong.”
“No, you did well. Even if you were in the wrong, there will never come a day
when you will realize that fact. That is why you don’t have to worry too much
about it.”
“Artpe…...”
Artpe used a messed up oxymoron to console her as he stroked her head. The
people, who had been watching the fight, was taken aback. Their round eyes
were full of shock. They looked like they wanted to ask what kind of third rate
skit this was.
There was an armored woman holding a steel sword amongst the group. She
spoke to Artpe as she expressed a bit of wariness towards him.
“Thank you very much for helping us. However, it would be best if you don’t get
involved with us….”
“Yes. All right.”
“What!?”
She hadn’t even started giving him a proper explanation! The woman was taken
aback. As expected of the owner of the Read All Creation ability, he was the
best in the world at reading a situation. Artpe continued to stroke the head of the
sniffling Maetel as he spoke to the woman.
“We saw nothing here. I don’t care about what happened here. We were
passing by, and we just killed couple monsters. That should be fine, right?”
“What?”
The woman was surprised when he gave her the exact answer she had wanted
to hear. Artpe snorted when he saw this, then he turned around.
“Let’s go, Maetel.”
“Is it really alright to just leave like this, Artpe? We can just go? ”
“We did as you wished by helping them, and this is the result. They don’t want
us to get involved with them. Then our business with them is at an end. We can
go do what we want to do.”
“.....sniff. All right.”
Maetel had accepted his answer, so he was about to head back to the warm fire.
He was consoling Maetel as he walked away when it occurred.
Someone yelled towards them from the other party.
“Stop!”
It was the voice of a young man. Artpe didn’t stop.
“I told you to stop! This is the order of the crown prince!”
“You hid like a mouse during the fight, so I thought you were some poor mute. I
see now that you are quite loud.”
“Kook….!”
The crown prince shut his mouth at Artpe’s sharp retort.
At times, truth was more cruel than anything else. Moreover, he had just seen a
girl that was the same age as him fight, and he couldn’t hold a candle against
her. This was why his pride was deeply hurt.
“Y...you are being rude! As he had revealed, he is the next in line to ascend to
the throne of the Diaz Kingdom…..”
“Didn’t I say I saw nothing? Are you guys idiots?”
“Oohk....”
He could tolerate foolish behaviors only up to a certain point. He had been trying
to part ways with them as he pretended he didn’t know what was going on, yet
they revealed themselves anyways. They even tried to use an authority they no
longer possessed in an attempt to stop Artpe and Maetel!
Artpe let out a sigh as he started walking once again….
“Help me!”
“Your highness!”
“The kingdom is in turmoil, because of the rebels! I must go back to to the place
someday, and I must get my revenge for my father the king. I have to regain my
throne. If I want to do so, I need strong people like you!”
The boy was pretty straightforward, and he showed some promise!? Still, this
didn’t mean Artpe had stopped walking.
“You should go look for help somewhere else. Let’s go, Maetel.”
“Yes. I hate the palace!”
She firmly believed that the palace had tasteless food. This was why the palace
was a place where she would never get close to! Maetel grabbed the sleeve of
Artpe’s robe, and she obediently followed behind him.
“W...wait a moment!”
The boy finally made his appearance as he pushed past his protectors! He
looked to be of similar age as Artpe and Maetel. He was a strikingly good-
looking boy.
He yelled loudly towards Artpe and Maetel. He stared at Maetel, who had
displayed overwhelming martial prowess.
“If you guys are the subjects of this land, you should help the one that would
become the ruler of this land in the future….! I do not lie. I will give both of you a
big reward in the future! I swear it!”
He wanted to escape this pattern of events. Artpe let out a sigh. He turned
around as he gave an answer.
“Then give me half of the world.”
“Mmm!? T...that is….”
At Artpe’s out of the blue request, the crown prince’s eyes narrowed. He was
only a crown prince of a kingdom, and he was on the run. How could he offer
half of the world!
Artpe clicked his tongue..
“At a minimum, the Demon King offers this deal to the hero. You should come
back after reading a book called, ‘How to Propose an Offer that Can’t be Turned
Down.’”
This was a very sweet opportunity. However, Maetel just assumed Artpe didn’t
want to get involved in something annoying. She was somewhat correct, but it
wasn’t the whole truth. Artpe didn’t have that bad of a personality.
Except….
‘How could I forget about him? That bastard was originally the crown prince of
the Diaz Kingdom…..’
In his past life, he had been the enemy of the hero. The hero’s heart was too
soft, so she had been unable to kill Artpe. This was why the thief ruthlessly
plunged his dagger into Artpe’s heart to deal the killing blow.
“Why are you refusing to even hear me out! If you succeed in this task, I said I
would give you a very generous reward! Moreover, the one with the ability is the
girl, so why do you keep answering for her!”
The crown prince was shouting at Artpe with all his might. Artpe saw the face of
the thief superimpose over the face of this boy.
“Ah, I just don't want to do it. I don’t like you! I’m not doing it!”
“Why not!”
[Silpennon Le Diaz]
[Crown Prince]
[Level - 7]
[Steal Lv1]
[Silent Steps Lv2]
Yes, this bastard was that bastard.
A crown prince of a country grew up to be a thief.
Chapter 24 - Yesterday's Enemy (3)
In his past life, the hero had been born within the Diaz Kingdom. When the hero
turned 12 years old, she was dragged straight into the palace. This was the
biggest mistake that had occurred in the past hero’s life.
The palace followed a Hero Support Manual that was created several hundred
years ago. While she was reared with the utmost care, the hero’s first party
member was added during this time. He was none other than this country’s
crown prince Silpennon Le Diaz. He was a thief.
‘Of course, it isn’t my business as to why Silpennon had turned down his seat as
the crown prince to join the hero’s party….. No, I get it now.’
It was true that Silpennon was directing his words towards Artpe, but his eyes
remained planted on Maetel. His cheeks were red. It seemed he had fallen for
her on first sight.
It was understandable. In her past life, Maetel could have easily ruined couple
kingdoms with her beauty. She was only thirteen years old right now, but her
budding beauty could be seen even now. This was why it wasn’t far-fetched to
think that the crown prince had fallen for her.
Still, Silpennon had witnessed Maetel shed blood with his two eyes. It was a bit
baffling that he was able to show such pure ardor towards her.
“I don't want your answer. I want to hear it from the girl!”
Silpennon browbeat Artpe as he turned his intense gaze towards Maetel. Artpe
shrugged his shoulders, and he lightly tapped Maetel’s shoulder.
“....if you put it that way, I have no choice. You do whatever you want, Maetel.”
“Huh?”
Maetel’s tears hadn’t stopped yet, but she was released from Artpe’s embrace.
She faced the crown prince. The crown prince looked on with pity when he saw
her puffy eyes.
“You poor thing….. You are a child with a very tender heart. However, you don’t
have to be worried. The people you killed right now are rebels. They are traitors
to this country, so you don’t have to be wounded by their deaths…..”
“I hate the palace! I’m not going!”
Silpennon’s attempt at consoling her failed miserably. Maetel cut him off as she
rejected him. She returned to the arms of Artpe. She was as resolute as Artpe.
“What the…..”
Silpennon was turned down in no uncertain term, so he froze in place. One of
the knights protecting Silpennon inadvertently started breaking out in laughter.
The other knights reigned him in.
Silpennon came to his senses under the impetus of the laughter. He had never
been turned down so firmly in his life. His pride took a big hit, and he started
talking incoherently.
“W...why not…. I promise to give you a lot of things! If you help me, I… Y...yes.
What is your name? Which family are you from? If you have to travel around
with such a terrible servant, it seems to indicates that you are unfortunately not
from a suitable family. However, when we return to the palace, I’ll use all the
power at my disposal to elevate you to a suitable position….”
“....did you just insult Artpe right now?”
She didn’t like something Silpennon had said. Maetel remained in Artpe’s
embrace, but she extracted her face to glare at Silpennon. Silpennon realized he
had stepped on a mine, so his face turned pale.
“Ah. I...I didn’t mean it like that….”
“I just told you! Artpe isn’t terrible, and he isn’t my servant!”
“H...he isn’t your servant!?”
“You are really terrible!”
It really was a sight that couldn’t be seen without shedding some tears. It
seemed Artpe wasn’t the only one having such thoughts. The female knight, who
had initiated a conversation with Artpe, carefully spoke to Silpennon.
“Your highness. Unfortunately, we might have to give up on the idea of them
helping us. They have already saved your highness’ life once. You should be
thankful, yet you are trying to detain them against their will. This isn’t unbefitting
of your station, your highness. You possess the great bloodline of Diaz.”
“Koo-oohk…. So I have no choice, but to let the girl go!”
“Your highness…..”
They were playing their parts well. They continued to act as if they were still in
charge of a kingdom. If so, they could do as they wished by themselves.
“She doesn’t want to do it. Are we done here? We’re going.”
“Hmmph!”
Artpe let out a sigh as he turned away from them. As if she was worried about
being left behind, she matched his footsteps. At that moment, she was very cute.
However….
“Please stop…...”
Silpennon called after them again. His voice drooped like a wet rag. Artpe didn’t
hide his annoyance as he turned around. However, his eyes opened slightly
wider when he saw what was in Silpennon’s hand.
“Please take this.”
“What the….”
It was Artpe’s turn to be surprised like an idiot.
Silpennon had held up a large jewel that was emitting a purple light from all its
surface. Anyone, who knew the identity of the precious gemstone, would have
reacted in a similar fashion. Artpe’s Read All Creation ability didn’t let him down.
It immediately displayed the item’s info.
[Demite’s Gemstone]
[Magician]
[It is part of the Limite group, which is considered to be the one of the highest
ranked ingredients for magic items. It is incredibly high in purity, and as time
passed, it gained a Class of its own. It is a legendary gem that only appears a
handful of times in either the human world or the demon world.
It hadn’t been refined yet, so the gemstone’s enormous power is still hidden.
However, once it is refined, it will increase one’s Mana by a vast amount, and it
would also develop random additional abilities. It will also develop a will of its
own, so it will have the ability to help the owner finish one’s spell. However, it is
so hard that it is almost impossible to refine it. This is the only flaw to the item.]
‘This is probably worth more than his entire kingdom!?’
He had run across an unexpected item at a place where he had never expected
to find it. This was why Artpe almost became lost in himself. Silpennon spoke
calmly in front of Artpe.
“Since I’ve incurred a debt to you, it is up to me to express my thanks. I am
being chased, but I cannot neglect my duty. Take this, youth. I don’t know what
it is, but it has been kept in our kingdom’s treasury for a very long time. I’m sure
it is a precious gemstone. You should sell this, so your master… No. I want you
to use it to help the girl acquire equipment that would be of help to her.”
“Do you really know what this is….”
No, if he knew, he wouldn’t have given it to Artpe no matter how great of a help
they were to him. Artpe cleanly swallowed the shout of joy that was about to exit
his mouth. He took the purple colored gemstone. In such a situation, it was
one’s duty to be quiet, and just take the item!
“Hmm. As expected of the crown prince, you’ve received a fantastic upbringing.
Thank you.”
“Is that perhaps a compliment, Artpe!?”
The other knights were taken aback when they saw Silpennon hand over the
Demite Gemstone. It seemed all the other knights weren’t like the female knight,
who convinced Silpennon to do the right thing. It seemed they didn’t put much
importance in duty and honor.
“Your highness, we took that before we ran away from the palace. I don’t think
you should give away such a precious treasure…..”
“It is too excessive. I can tell at a glance that they aren’t highborn. We can’t give
our treasure just because they aided us with the sword once….”
“His highness has made his decision, so you should all shut up.”
Everyone shut their mouth when the female knight gave a fiery order. She was
level 118. Since she had the highest level amongst the knights, he had
wondered if she was the leader. He had guessed right.
Well, even if she was the leader, they were…. Artpe shrugged his shoulders,
and he put away the Demite’s Gemstone into the Dimensional Pouch.
The knights kept looking back at Artpe as if Silpennon’s actions had left much to
be desired. The female knight spoke in praise about the crown prince’s
upbringing. Silpennon tried to act cool on the outside, but the crown prince
couldn’t let go of the lingering attachment he had towards Maetel.
“Mmm…...”
Artpe hesitated as he looked at them.
He didn’t like Silpennon, but this sentiment came from the fact that Silpennon
had delivered the killing blow in his past life. However, the one in front of him
showed some promise.
No, if he thought about it, Silpennon had carried out the dirty deed instead of the
hero. He wasn’t really that bad of a guy.
Every time he saw Silpennon he remembered the calm face of the bastard, who
stuck a dagger into his heart in his past life. It annoyed him, but when he saw
the Demite’s Gemstone in his hand, any trauma he would have felt evaporated in
moments.
‘All right. It feel like a waste to just send them off like this.’
This was why he decided to give Silpennon a bonus.
“Could you wait a little bit?”
“What? Are you perhaps going to help us.....”
“Do you have any paper?”
“Paper?”
The female knight tilted her head in confusion. She took out a piece of
parchment from within her clothes. She handed it over to Artpe.
“All right…..”
He opened up the parchment, and he emitted a very small amount of Mana at
the tip of his finger. Small smoke started to rise up as he wrote his letter. It was
a trick that can be performed only by those adept at controlling Mana. Everyone
except Maetel flinched when they saw this.
“As expected, this youth isn’t normal either, your highness...”
“If he is her assistant…. At the very least, he should have that much skill if he
wants to travel with her. He’s a magician.”
“Well, I'm done writing. Also….”
Artpe took out an envelope from his Dimensional Pouch. It contained a strange
green powder. He folded the note, and he handed it to the female knight with the
envelope containing the green powder. He gave her a light wink.
“It is only for your eyes.”
“W...what....”
The female knight’s face turned red. Silpennon and the knights focused their
gazes on her. The female knight was flustered, but she quickly hid the items.
“A...are you trying to make fun of an adult!”
“I was sincere. It is only for your eyes.”
“Koohk…...”
Artpe was well aware of the fact that his appearance was quite pleasing. If not, a
big fish like the leader of the thieves’ army Etna Carlyfate Mirecard wouldn’t have
clung to him.
Of course, love didn’t develop just based on a person’s appearance. However,
one’s appearance was the first impression one could give, and it was undeniable
that it had an immense effect on various parts of the love that develops.
Silpennon was stunned as he looked up at her face.
“Leseti... Really?”
“Ah. No way, your highness! He’s just a young lad!”
“However, your face turned red.”
“It isn’t like that! Anyways, I have to check if the note and the powder is safe. I’ll
keep it in my possession until then!”
“We’ll be leaving now. I hope you live long enough for us to meet again.”
Artpe chortled as he turned away. He had done all he could for them, so it was
up to them now. The night was getting deep, so they should return to their own
campfire to get ready for camping outside...
“Artpe…...”
Maetel’s eyes were murky like the eyes of a dead fish. She asked a question
with a voice that was colder than winds blowing within the icy depths of hell.
“Does Artpe perhaps like old women….?”
“No. Nope. I promise you that isn’t the case.”
She had also fallen for the ruse!
Artpe let out a sigh as he flicked her forehead. He dragged her towards the
campfire.
On the other side, the crown prince’s party stood in place for a moment.
Everyone was looking towards one person. When the female knight became the
focus of their attention, Leseti was flustered. She kept waving her arms.
“I...it isn’t like that! It isn’t, your highness! Anyways, we should ready our camp.
Since we don’t know how long our pursuers will follow us, we can’t rest long…..”
“Yes, we should rest, and you should read the letter.”
“It is probably nothing!”
Leseti erased the traces of battle, and she led the crown prince’s party towards a
suitable campsite. She ordered the knights to make a shelter, so Silpennon
could rest first. When no one was looking, she secretly took out Artpe’s letter.
“That impertinent brat…..”
It seemed he had good eyes to be able to recognize a beauty like her. Leseti let
out a self-satisfied smile as she lit a candle. His penmanship was so elegant that
it was hard to believe a young man had written it. However, the letter was stuck
to her eyes starting from the first word.
[All the other knights are traitors. It is up to you to protect the crown prince
before he gets killed or kidnapped by them. They were probably waiting the right
time to steal the jewel from the crown prince, but he gave it to me. They won’t
hesitate anymore. Ah. I've enclosed a poison within the folded envelope. You
should use it. This makes us even.]
…..the content of the letter had gone in a completely different direction than what
Leseti had expected. The letter still made her heart pound.
Chapter 25 - Yesterday's Enemy (4)
The fire made by Artpe was very warm. The two of them caught fishes from the
ravine, and they cooked it over the fire. They used 3 silver worth of salt. Maetel
hadn’t had any fish for over a year, so she was surprised by the sudden and
unexpected taste.
“Heeng. This is so tasty…..”
“If you eat when you are hungry, everything tastes great .”
There were still traces of tear left near Maetel’s eyes. Still, she was briskly eating
the fishes. She was even eating the bones. He couldn’t help but smile. He
started to eat his own portion of fishes as he spoke.
“You have worked hard, Maetel. It is true that the Dungeon was very hard, but
as a result, we were able to significantly decrease our growth period. We’ll be
able to move with a little bit more time to spare. No, even if you don’t like it, we’ll
move at a more leisurely pace. I’m really tired and exhausted.”
“Artpe…..”
“Say it.”
Maetel was still unable to calm her heart. She sniffed as she asked him a
question.
“Are you really sure that you don’t like older women?”
“..........”
Was she still worried about that!?
He was dumbfounded. He smirked as he shook his head from side to side.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier? I gave her a little bit of a warning as recompense for the
gem we received.”
“Are you really sure?”
“I’m really sure.”
“......yes, I’ll believe you.”
It seemed her worry about Artpe looking at other women overshadowed her
psychological uneasiness at killing humans. It seemed Artpe wouldn’t have to
worry too much about her.
Artpe let out a sigh of relief, and he was about to clear away the trash. However,
at that moment, Maetel spoke as if she just had an idea.
“I want to sleep next to Artpe.”
“You aren’t a child anymore.”
“I want to sleep with you. You said you’ll grant me any wish I want.”
Maetel’s voice was shaking slightly. When he heard it, Artpe realized he was
under a misconception.
She wasn’t being unnecessarily clingy towards Artpe. Her mental state was
uneasy. Moreover, she was still worried about the thought of Artpe leaving her.
“....all right. I did say that I’ll grant you a wish, so it can’t be helped.”
“Ya-ho!”
He took out a bedroll(5 silvers). It was a bit cramped for two people, but he was
prepared to go through with it tonight.
He gathered some leaves on the ground, and he placed a cloth over it. Then he
placed the bedroll on top before he lie within it. As if she was worried about
Artpe going back on his words, she quickly got in. She had a satisfied
expression on her face as she closed her eyes.
“Good night, Artpe.”
“It’s cramped and uncomfortable in here, so how can we sleep well…. She is
already asleep.”
“Ssss······.”
When Maetel was held by Artpe, it seemed all her worries were let go. She was
breathing easily as she quickly fell into sleep. Artpe was dumbfounded by the
sight, but in the end, he let out a bitter laugh as he moved to put her in a more
comfortable position.
‘It feels like I’m raising a kid.’
In truth, it may not be too far from the truth. Maetel didn’t remember her past life,
so she was just a young 13 year old girl. If Artpe added in his past life, he had
lived for couple hundred years. He was a demon that was turned into a hero.
Sometimes, he felt the disparity between the two lives keenly, and in those
moments, he had a hard time breathing.
Still, Artpe liked being with Maetel. It was strange, but at times, he felt pleased
and full.
It wasn’t just because she was a talent, who could free Artpe by defeating the
Demon King. At this point, Artpe had no choice but to accept the fact. Maetel
was fairly…. She was quite dear to him.
It was unfortunate that the innocent child was changing. She was being stained
by his presence. However, he was thankful that this small child cherished him,
and she wanted him around.
It was as if he had committed a sin. It felt as if he was slowly being buried under
a soft marsh. It was as if he was melting away. He was afraid to struggle… It
was that sweet.
‘Still, I shouldn’t pay too much attention to it. I can be complacent after we kill the
Demon King..’
Yes, he had things to do right now.
Artpe was careful not to wake Maetel. He carefully snuck his hand out of the
bedroll, and he activated his magic. The Hero’s Unique Spell called Mana String
was activated in no time.
“Kook!?”
“We were found…..!”
The five strands of Mana Strings extended out into the surrounding. The Mana
Strings let out a black light as they danced in the air. Red lines of blood bloomed
underneath the dark night sky like flowers. Accompanying dull thudding sounds,
human body parts started to fall to the ground.
“How!”
They had been sure that they had succeeded in their stealth mission. They paid
for this belief with their lives. Of course, there were still a lot of them left. Artpe
would extract a price from all of them.
Artpe looked at them with cool eyes, and he spoke with a voice that was colder
than a block of ice.
“She’s sleeping. Be quiet, so she doesn’t wake up.”
“Are you to playing games with...kahk!”
Artpe clicked his tongue as he watched the men emerge from the darkness. He
moved his fingers. The Mana Strings moved according to his will. They moved
like whips with sentience, and they split through the air. The lives of two to three
people were killed in a flash.
“He is stronger than the girl….!”
“It seems you guys are incapable of learning. Don’t you guys realize that you
guys are dying in the order of who opened their mouth first?”
Artpe’s purple eyes let out a radiant light within the darkness. It was as if his
eyes could pierce through all lies. His eyes only contained the truth. The party
of men had tried a surprise attack relying on the darkness. His eyes was like the
deliverer of death for these men.
“W...we can’t win.”
“The one that is terrifying is actually him…. Kahk!”
‘Mana String. The experience I picked up struggling as a weakling was mixed
with the Hero’s power to become a Unique spell….’
It wasn’t a proper spell. The Mana Threads was something he developed during
the rough patches of his life as a demon. In the beginning , the Mana String was
an unwelcome development for him.
However, he was able to quietly take care of this problem thanks to this spell. He
was able to let Maetel sleep peacefully. This single reason was good enough for
him to value this magic.
“We erred in assessing their capability…..”
“Where are you running away?”
Mana String was able to impart overwhelming force using Mana, but it consumed
a lot of Mana. This was why it wasn’t a weapon that could be used freely in a
battle situation.
This was why Artpe used all the information coming in through his eyes to find
the most efficient trajectories. He moved his fingers according to the calculations
he had made.
The men tried everything to stop it, but their weapons and feet were slower than
the Mana String, which had no weight.
“Wait a moment. If you cooperate with us, you will have a place in the newly
created kingdom…..”
“Good bye.”
The five strands of Mana Strings gathered at a single location. The last
remaining man was still struggling to live. He died as he was cut into several
slabs of meat. His face was full of resentment. Artpe let out a bitter laugh when
he saw it.
‘From your perspective, your side was probably in the absolute right. In your
next life, I hope you will be able to live a life as a farmer where you won’t have to
kill or be killed. I will pray for you all.’
Artpe retracted the Mana Strings, and he checked Maetel, who was snuggled up
against him. Her breathing was even. She was still asleep.
‘That wasn’t too bad.’
However, it seemed the disturbance wasn’t at an end. From not too far away,
the main guests were coming towards them.
“We were discovered, captain! If you are done retrieving the gem, you should
help…. What!?”
From the beginning, Artpe hadn’t bothered hiding his location. He didn’t have
any particular difficulty in dispatching the first group that had ambushed him, and
it would be the same for those that had followed behind them.
“What the hell is…..”
“Impossible…..!?”
He had wondered about the identity of the second group, who was drawn
towards them like moths. It was none other than the knights that had
accompanied the crown prince Silpennon. There were some amongst them that
was suffering from serious wounds. Some amongst them had bloated face as if
they were suffering under the effects of poison.
Still, they were better off than the men that were killed here. They had come
here to ask for help, so they hadn’t expected to witness the death of their other
party. They were extremely surprised.
“Y….you bastard!?”
Artpe was wide awake, while Maetel was asleep. It wasn’t too difficult to
determine, who was the culprit.
“You guys are too noisy.”
Artpe only brought out a single strand of Mana String to confront their anger.
These men were like scraps compared to the men that had ambushed Artpe’s
party. They were maggots, who ran away, because they couldn’t handle a single
level 118 knight.
“Be quiet. Forever.”
“Kuhk…..!”
The Mana String cut through the air. Four knights had survived, and they had
run away towards this direction. He took care of them in six seconds.
Afterwards, a woman ran into the clearing. She had great timing.
“You bastards! You dare to call yourselves knights, who protect the royal
family…. Mmmm!?”
“Shhh.”
Artpe was still within the bedroll, and he was glaring at the female knight Leseti
with narrowed eyes. Leseti saw the numerous corpses strewn around the
clearing, so she closed her mouth.
She was pretty good on the uptake, so she was able to easily identify, who was
behind the slaughter.
‘I had a hunch that he wasn’t normal, but I never expected him to be such an
overwhelming force. Who is this young man…. Mmm?’
She was so scared that she was unable to let out even a squeak under Artpe’s
murderous gaze. She silently went over the situation when she suddenly had an
epiphany.
There was an incident near here only a year ago. Two heroes had been born in
a country village. When they disappeared, the whole kingdom had been in an
uproar!
Two youths....
They were incomprehensibly strong compared to their ages.
Black hair and blonde hair….
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”
“Mmmm, Artpe…...?”
“Ah.”
Leseti couldn’t hold back her exclamation of surprise. Maetel opened her eyes.
Leseti belatedly realized she had made a mistake. Artpe sharply raised a finger,
and Leseti shut her eyes when she saw it.
A brief amount of time had passed.
“Are you ok, Artpe?”
“I wasn’t hurt at all, so you don’t have to touch me constantly. I’ll clean this up,
so you should keep your eyes close.”
“I'm not going to close my eyes. I’m all right now. I’ll be fine since Artpe is here.”
“You don’t look fine…. All right. You do whatever you want.”
“Yes!”
If she hadn’t seen the corpses everywhere around her, she would have been
able to continue her sleep. However, once she found about about them, sleep
wasn’t an option. The two heroes got up from their sleeping place, and they put
away the bedroll. They started working on cleaning up the corpses strewn about
their surrounding.
Artpe took all of the equipment that was useful. He also took all the silver coins
they possessed. Maetel gathered the corpses he was done ‘looting.’
“Artpe, why do we have to kill other people?”
“It is the same reason as to why we killed the monsters. We all have something
we want from each other. Everything else is just an excuse. The plethora of
excuses given for harming living beings are just embellishments.”
“I see….. The act of living is very hard in itself.”
“The important part is to realize that we have to live within such a world. You can
respect the lives of other people, but when there is a collision, you have carry
through to enforce your way of life.”
“Yes. All right.”
Thirteen year old brats were talking about philosophical bullshit as they calmly
cleared away the corpses. What was she supposed to say to them? Should she
disagree with their views? Should she tell them to go read more books?
Of course, Leseti was banned from speaking, so she didn’t say anything. She
continued to raise her two hands as she sat on her knees. This was a
punishment devised by Artpe.
“That it. Did you gather all of them Maetel?”
“Yes!”
“All right.”
After Artpe threw all the corpses into the fire, he turned to look at Leseti. She still
had her arms up as she carried out the order she was given. Artpe smirked as
he spoke.
“Your punishment is at an end. You should go back to the crown prince. As you
probably realize by now, no one will side with you even if you head back towards
the palace. The two of you should go to a remote village. You should live a quiet
life, while tending to cows.”
“Koohk…...”
Leseti couldn’t give a proper retort. She just groaned.
Yes, the only thing going for the crown prince was that he was the legitimate heir.
However, in regards to all other issues, the rebels held the upper hand. No one
would side with them. That was the miserable truth.
”Hey”
At that moment, a young man pushed past the brush, and he gave a reply
instead of Leseti.
“Do you know why there was a rebellion against the Diaz family?”
It was the red haired crown prince Silpennon. Of course, Artpe had already
sensed him getting close. This was why he wasn’t surprised as he gave his
reply.
“Did they perhaps attack the king on the fact that he wasn’t able to properly take
care of the heroes?”
“You are correct. Of course, I don’t plan on putting the blame on you guys. That
incident was merely the trigger. My uncle…. The duke was a wild beast, who
had been waiting for an opportunity to tear into the king. If it wasn’t the escape of
the heroes, he would have found another reason to start a rebellion”
Silpennon had already come to the same conclusion as Leseti that Artpe and
Maetel were heroes. Still, his face remained aloof. It was said that a man grows
through hardship. His gaze remained on Artpe instead of Maetel.
“You are right. Even if I recklessly went back to the palace, there isn’t much that
I could do. I’m just a brat that was lucky enough to be born as the crown prince.
 If I act rashly, my head would be severed. It would be mounted next to the
king’s head.”
“Your highness…..!”
“This is why I have to go with you guys.”
“What?”
His words were very unexpected. However, Silpennon continued to speak with a
sincere voice.
“The duke rebelled using the fact that my father had lost track of the heroes. The
duke used that reason to gain the throne. Now he will use all available resources
to find the heroes in an attempt to solidify his reign.”
“That’ll seems likely.”
“So what would happen if I’m already in the party of the heroes?”
What was this bastard talking about?
When Artpe glared at Silpennon, he provided an explanation.
“The new king would be unable to find the heroes, yet I would be in the party of
the heroes. I would be helping the the heroes. In the end, we would succeed in
killing the Demon King! At that time, who would the people and the nobles want
on the throne! They would want me, who gained the title of hero!”
“Oh oh. It is a very risky and wild plan! Still, it isn’t too bad.”
“Isn’t it!?”
It was a good idea considering it was devised by a kid. This stupid kingdom put
importance on titles compared to any other place in the world. This plan
sounded like it could actually work!
Artpe nodded his head as if there was merit to his plan. Silpennon was excited
by this fact, so he started shouting his words.
“That is why you guys should team up with me! From this moment on, I’ll throw
away my rank as the crown prince. I’ll help you guys defeat the Demon King. I’ll
become a key player within the hero’s party!”
“Hold your horses. There is a very big flaw within your plan that can’t be
ignored.”
Artpe spoke coldly.
“You are too weak. You won’t be of any help to us. I’ll be blunt. You’ll be a
burden, so get lost.”
“Koo-huhk!”
The astute comment was a critical hit! The crown prince had no way of refuting
that fact! The current hero’s words had a multiplier effect!
Chapter 26 - Yesterday's Enemy (5)
The sun brightened the morning. Artpe caught several fishes from the ravine,
and he used the Mana String to clean them. This magic wasn’t meant to be used
this way, but he didn’t care. He was killing two birds with one stone by leveling up
his Spell Level.
Maybe.
“Wow. Artpe’s hand movements are exquisite.”
“I’m not trying to boast, but I have a knack for useless talents.”
“Leseti, are all magicians able to use such an odd spell?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen such a spell. It seems he is more special since he
is a hero.”
Silpennon and Leseti was also watching this sight.
If spoken bluntly, they had lost their positions and their escort guards. They were
beggars now. Artpe felt a little bit bad for just sending them away, so he decided
to send them off after a meal.
“So you guys didn’t bring any foods you can eat?”
“We did bring a lot of money. Our kingdom specializes in manufacturing
Dimensional Pouches.”
“I’m sure you know this, but I’ll say it just in case. Don’t spend large sums of
money in any old place.”
“Why not?”
“Hah.”
Artpe looked away from Silpennon. He looked at Leseti with sympathy in his
eyes. He could clearly see the difficulty she would have to endure in the future.
“······hoong.”
“Eh-eet.”
However, Leseti avoided his gaze as her cheeks reddened.
In her stead, Maetel pinched Artpe’s thigh.
“Huh?”
What the hell? Why were their reactions switched?
Artpe was bewildered as he rubbed at his thigh. At that moment, the crown
prince added a supplementary explanation.
“For the past 20 years of her life, Leseti only focused on self-training and
protecting me. She is a poor woman, who has yet to date a man. Even if you
are young, she is accepting you in that fashion, because she is very thirsty.”
“Your highness, it has been an honor to be able to serve you until now. Please
be happy in your future endeavors.”
“Why are you unsheathing your sword! I always trusted you to be by my side!”
“You revealed the reason why!”
“You aren’t using honorifics!?”
Such a simple method was able to eliminate her sense of loyalty. He had a
better idea now on why the Diaz Kingdom were overrun by the rebels.
He finished cleaning the fishes.
Artpe kept a small steel pot alongside his money inside the Dimensional Pouch.
Maetel brought over edible plants, and he put in spices(50 bronze) he bought
from the merchant. When the water came to a boil, he put the fishes in. Soon, a
very pleasant smell started to emanate from it.
“It seems you are very experienced at doing all of this.”
“If you fight and live in the mountains and fields, this type of skills becomes
second nature to you.”
The four people ate the finished fish soup. The rations supplemented the meal.
The food was eaten in a blink of an eye. Maetel alway ate whatever Artpe made
as if it was delicious. He could give her a ball of dirt, and she would say it was
delicious. However, he had thought Silpennon would have a picky palate, since
he was the crown prince. He ate it without complaining, and he even gave Artpe
a compliment.
“Thank you. I enjoyed it very much.”
“How should I say this? You are so polite that it is annoying.”
“Mmm. His competency for household chores are great….”
He decided not to ask Leseti about what she was checking. Artpe finished
washing the dishes. He stood up after he put away the pot into the Dimensional
Pouch.
“Let’s go our own way from here on out.”
“Is there any way we can go with you guys? I guess this is to be expected. My
ability is pitiful compared to you guys…...”
Silpennon was in low spirits. He lowered his head as he mumbled those words.
This was the first time he had escaped the mantle of his position as the crown
prince. It was at this moment that he realized how powerless he was for the first
time in his life. His direction in life going forward would be determined on how he
remedied that fact.
Artpe had a bitter expression on his face, and he asked Silpennon a question as
if he was asking it in passing.
“So what do you plan on doing from here on out?”
“I planned on finding the heroes. Then I wanted to achieve the merit of defeating
the Demon King. However, that plan fell into pieces, so I don’t know what….. I
can’t go back to the castle. In truth, I’m at a dead end.”
“Leseti, do you have any other plans?”
“He is an annoying human being, but he is my lord. I will protect him until I’m
able to. That is it.”
“Basically, you don’t have any other plans.”
“Koohk.”
He had expected her to be a little bit smarter than Silpennon, but it seemed
Leseti also didn’t know much about the world.
If he let them go like this, they would die somewhere without anyone knowing
about it. He could only see a miserable death for them in the future.
“······ssp. I guess it can’t be helped. ”
Artpe let out a sigh as he gave them a proposal.
“Let’s form a temporary party.”
“Are you….letting us into your party!?”
Silpennon’s eyes shone, and even Leseti had a healthy glow when she heard the
news. Maetel looked as if she was unsatisfied with something.
“I like being with Artpe. Just the two of us….”
“This is temporary. We’ll do this until we clear one Dungeon. If I let this guy
leave, he’ll suffer a rough fate. I’ll give him some basic lessons. I’ll let him
become indebted to me, and I’m sure he’ll bring something back to me in the
future.”
“Are you supposed to say that in front of the person you are talking about?”
Silpennon spoke as he was dumbfounded, but his face remained bright. He now
knew that Artpe cared about them.
When he saw Artpe ruthlessly kill the knights, he had doubts as to whether he
was a hero. As expected, he was good at a fundamental level!
Of course, Artpe’s intention was entirely different from what Silpennon had
attributed to him.
‘Even if he was the crown prince, they don’t let anyone join the hero’s party. One
has to be excellent and skilled at a very basic level. That is why the party
members are able to stick around the hero without dying.’
The crown prince had the talent to become a thief. He was very remarkable.
If he was trained properly, he’ll be able to gain fame within the kingdom within
couple years. No, his name would spread throughout the continent. Of course,
in his past life, Silpennon was locked away inside the palace for five years
alongside Maetel, and the rest was history.
‘If I expend a little bit of my time here, I can create a foundation he can build on.
I would be making a powerful card that I can use later against the Demon King’s
army. Moreover, he seems to have a personality of wanting to repay his debts.
In light of that fact, there isn’t much downside in doing this.’
If one received a favor, it had to be paid pack.
It was a reasonable sentiment. It was also true that it was hard to make good on
such sentiments. However, the crown prince in front of him might have that great
quality where he would keep true to his duties.
“I have a question.”
Silpennon hadn’t opened his mouth. It was Leseti.
“You just said a Dungeon. You speak so lightly about it…. Do you realize it is
very hard to find a Dungeon? At this moment, countless adventurers are looking
a Dungeon in an attempt to strike it rich. They roam the land, but they are barely
able to find one after they fruitlessly search for several years. Even if they do
find one, they just suffer a dog’s death.”
“I’m already well aware of that fact.”
“If we want to clear a decent Dungeon, we'll have to stay together for couple
years. Is this a roundabout way of accepting us into your party?”
Maybe Leseti was hoping her words were true. She had come here based on
the idea that she had to save the crown prince. However, she wasn’t talented at
anything except fighting and protecting someone.
He was young, yet he had ridiculous amount of power. Moreover, he was
talented in many facets. If they were able to join Artpe’s party, she would be able
to just focus on fighting and guarding the crown prince.
On top of that, if the crown prince was able to grow up splendidly and play a
support role in defeating the Demon King, he would be able to return
triumphantly as the scion of the Diaz family.
“Well, aren’t I right?”
She was 20 years old, but from Artpe’s perspective, she still looked like a brat to
him. She was trying hard to appear as if she was calm. However, there was a
catch and a slight tremor in her voice that betrayed the desperation she was
feeling. Artpe let out a laugh.
“You’ll see.”
Two days had passed. The party stood in front of an old tree that was rotting
away.
What was hiding there?
It was none other than an entrance to the Dungeon. Artpe merely extended his
Mana, and the hollow portion of the tree expanded. It was readied itself to
accept the adventurers.
“No way…...”
“This is impossible!”
Leseti had an agitated expression on her face. Silpennon was shocked as he
turned to look at Artpe.
“How were you able to find it so quickly…..?”
“Accidents and events have a way of finding heroes even if they stay put, yet we
are actively searching for a Dungeon right now. Of course, one or two Dungeons
would show up.”
“Heroes are truly amazing!”
“That’s right. Artpe is truly amazing!”
This is why it is convenient to have idiots around!
“The magical energy I sense isn’t high or dense. The monsters inside will be of
the common variety. Let’s go.”
It wasn’t as if this was an insignificant Dungeon. However, it couldn’t be disputed
that it was a lousy Dungeon crawling with low level Slimes. Even if it was a lousy
Dungeon, it was a very large one. This was why no adventurer was able to
completely conquer this Dungeon in his past life! This was true even at the time
of his death!
“Here. You should arm yourself with this.”
“Ooh-mmmmm.”
Artpe tossed a crappy equipment that Silpennon could arm himself with.
Silpennon took the dagger, and he spoke with an uncertain voice.
“Do….do you think I can do this?”
“Who wanted an active role inside the hero’s party?”
“......I did.”
At Artpe’s light provocation, Silpennon answered back with a firm voice. He
nodded his head several times as if he was making a resolve. He gripped the
dagger so hard that veins started to pop out on the back of his hand.
“All right. Since the hero plans on guiding me, I can’t turn that opportunity down.
I’ll do it.”
“You are no longer in the position of being the crown prince. From now on, I
want you to think about what position you want, and what kind of fighting style
you want to fight with. You should battle with those points in your mind.”
“Understood.”
He started fidgeting with the short sword in one hand. He asked a question. It
seemed his other hand was feeling empty.
“Do you have another one that is similar to this?”
“Hmmm.”
The act of using weapons with both hands sounded easy, but it wasn’t something
he would recommend….. Well, it would be helpful if he experienced this fact. At
his request, Artpe took out another short sword.
“All right. The balance finally feels right. In truth, when I was bored within the
palace, I used to busy my hands like this.”
“It must have been great. It seem being the crown prince was a job of leisure.”
Silpennon was finally satisfied after he alternately swung his daggers in each
hand. At that moment, his information was updated.
[Silpennon Le Diaz]
[Level : 7]
[Dual Wielding Lv1]
“Ah.”
That’s right. If seen in certain light, this guy would be considered to be a genius.
Artpe was dumbfounded as he let out a bitter laugh.
Anyways, Silpennon was now ready for battle.
Leseti looked a bit disappointed.
Maetel had spend a year in a Dungeon, yet it seemed she was eager to go into
another one. She was excited.
“We are doing this Dungeon exploration to grow Silpennon’s ability. If possible,
we should stay out of his way. Even if there are traps, we won’t be telling you
about it, so you should firm your resolve. Is that clear?”
“…. all right.”
Silpennon gulped as he nodded his head.
The party members entered the Dungeon side by side.
The first one to speak inside the Dungeon was Maetel.
“Artpe, there are a lot of something here.”
“A lot? It should be. This Dungeon has a pretty high monster regeneration, but it
is frequented by…. Huh.”
As soon as he entered the Dungeon, Artpe sensed an unusual amount of
signatures. He activated his Read All Creation ability, and he was able to see
that the numerous monsters were all Slimes.
A thought came to him at the same time.
‘When was this Dungeon became known to the humans?’
He was easily able to find the answer. In his past life, the Dungeon was first
found by the hero’s party when they exited the palace. This Dungeon was
revealed to the other adventurers after it was found by them. Of course, no one
in this world knew about this place at this point in time!
“Ah. It seems we are the discoverers.”
“Discoverer? Is it something good?”
“Of course, it is good. No one has touched this place, so the rewards will be
great. Since the traps are brand new, it’ll be hidden completely, so it’ll be thrilling
to go through this place. You’ll also be able to experience monsters collapsing
towards you…..”
“It sounds as if the negative outweighs the good!?”
Artpe looked down towards the end of the dark and damp corridor made out of
wood. An incredibly large army of Slimes were coming towards them. Silpennon
had also caught sight of them, and his face turned pale. Artpe let out a kind
smile towards him.
“Cheer up. You can do this.”
“Wait a moment. This is a bit different from what we’ve talked about… Goo-
ahk!?”
The Slimes knew that the intruders were ridiculously strong by instinct. This was
why they immediately focused on Silpennon, who was the only one they had a
shot of winning against.
Silpennon turned pale as he was about to encounter the Slimes. However, no
one stepped forward to help him. In the end, he was instantly buried by the
group of Slimes.
Artpe’s apathetic gaze turned towards Leseti. He asked her a question.
“Hey, guardian knight. What are you doing?”
“I trust in his highness. Well, if he dies, it can’t be help. By the way, Artpe,
would you accept me into your party if I’m alone?”
“You are very forthright.”
“Ooh-ah-roo-koo-ahh-gyah-gyah-gyahk!”
It seemed Leseti’s way of thinking reached a turning point on her 20th year in life.
Silpennon was buried by the Slimes, so it was hard to tell what he was yelling.
“Your highness, I have faith in in you! Still, just to safe, you should tell me what
kind of funeral you want! You should have told me beforehand!”
“Ooh-gahh-gyahhhhhhhhk!”
After 45 minutes, Silpennon used his Dual Wielding style to kill all the Slimes.
The three people smiled at him as if they knew he would have succeeded. He
had no words for them. He just clenched his two fists, and he made a resolve!
“I’ll become stronger… I will become stronger at all cost!”
“Yes, that’s the spirit!”
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhhh!”
This was how the hero’s party started their second Dungeon exploration.
Chapter 27 - Dungeon, Evolution and Success
In Artpe’s past life, the hero’s party was the first to explore the Slime Dungeon
first. Afterwards, the Dungeon became popular amongst the adventurers.
First, the Dungeon produced only Slimes. This was why the danger to the
adventurers was very low, and there weren’t that many traps present. Moreover,
when one killed a certain amount of Slimes, random treasure chests appeared
when the Mana within the Dungeon was activated. This was why one could
expect a decent amount of profit in this Dungeon.
“Basically, this is the best place for a beginner adventurer to grow. Moreover, it
is also a great place to learn about Dungeons.”
“So why are there so many Slimes-ahhhhhhhhk!”
“Tsk. He looked like he was going to die, yet he isn’t dying.”
“Who was it right now! Who clicked their tongue at me-ahhhhhhk!”
Silpennon was fighting hard. Normally, a talent bloomed the brightest in brutal
situations rather than a relaxed surrounding. A single misstep would allow the
group of Slimes to swallow him, and he would be digested by them. This was
why he was squeezing out his abilities, and he was able to push himself past his
limit.
When the two daggers danced in the air, the severed portion of the Slimes were
sent flying. Silpennon’s battle capability was increasing in real-time. As
expected, a genius was a genius.
“It seems one doesn’t need a coach in battle.”
“Is that so? Why is he moving like that? I have questions….”
“You can’t use yourself as the standard, Maetel. If so, everyone will be
disqualified in the preliminaries.”
“Too many! There are too many of them! Damn Slimes!”
The Slime Dungeon was different in many ways to the first Dungeon entered by
Artpe and Maetel. The previous Dungeon had a limit as to how many monsters
could form. This Dungeon created new monsters every time it had any spare
Mana.
It didn’t matter how many monsters were still left within. It spawned them as if it
wanted to make the monsters explode out from the Dungeon!
The monsters spawned within the Dungeon was influenced by the Record and
the Mana. These components were unique to each Dungeon. This was why an
adventurer was unable to claim to be an expert after exploring one or two
Dungeons.
“That is why the rooms are infested with Slimes. Well, the Slimes are activating
all the traps, so at the very least, we don’t have to worry about him dying from the
traps.”
“This is all thanks to the Slimes!”
“Ooh-ohhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Silpennon frantically swung the daggers in each hand as he cut into the Slimes.
His Dual Wielding had evolved into level 2. His growth couldn’t compare to what
Maetel went through when she fought monsters for her first time in a Dungeon.
Still, he wasn’t too bad.
However, the Slimes overcame the death of their comrades as they kept coming.
Their main objective was to eat Silpennon. The Slimes charged forward without
looking back. Inevitably, the stronger ones started to show up.
“Stop! Don’t come here!”
“Oh oh oh.”
The sight reminded Artpe of the time when the combined forces of all the
countries on the continent were sent towards the Demon King’s army. If a
hundred of such group continued to come at him, Silpennon would succumb to
them eventually!
“Eeeek. Help me before I fall!”
“I’ll bury you in a sunny place, your highness.”
“How can you call yourself a guardian knight! You're fired! Ooh-gahhhhhhhh!”
Silpennon’s struggle continued. He had been a level 7, but at some point, he
had reached level 18. As he moved deeper into the Dungeon, the level of the
Slimes continued to creep upwards. However, Silpennon was slowly getting a
feel for fighting against a large group, so a good fight ensued.
Maetel tilted her head in confusion as she watched the life and death battle
between human and Slimes.
“Artpe, didn’t the Skeletons retreat when they were at a disadvantage? Why do
these monsters continue to charge forward?”
“Silpennon looks beatable compared to us. These guys are constantly hungry.
They’ll keep attacking unless their opponent is stronger than them by a fair
amount”
“Why don’t they eat each other?”
The question was very well-timed.
“Slimes don’t eat those that are from the same race as them. However, it isn't
prudent to view monsters through common sense. An exception always exists.”
Artpe gave his explanation as he pointed towards Silpennon.
Silpennon had just killed a group of Slime, and he was wiping slime off of his
body.
“Even if they are monsters from the same race, their behavior pattern changes
depending on the Dungeon, environmental factors and other variables. Amongst
the monsters, the change that the Slime undergoes is very well-defined and
simple. Moreover, most Dungeons evolve to match the behavior patterns of the
monsters.”
“So the Dungeons and monsters live and breathe together?”
“That’s right. Maetel is smart.”
“Hoo-hoot.”
It was a rare praise, so there was a bright smile on Maetel’s face. However, the
only ones to laugh in an easygoing manner were the heroes.
“Your explanation makes me feel uneasy…. It is as if you are trying to say our
mere presence will cause changes in the behavior pattern of the Slimes.”
Leseti made a pretty sharp observation. When he heard her words, a chill went
up Silpennon’s spine. He quickly turned towards Artpe to shout at him.
“I want to leave this crazy place!”
“It is too late. It has already started.”
After Artpe finished speaking, an ominous sound of Slimes moving across the
floor was heard. The sound was amplified by several degrees.
“The Slimes…. They are retreating?”
“It isn’t just the monsters. The Dungeon is really changing…..!”
There was a room at the end of the hallway that had been sealed. The room
collapsed. It continued onto the next one and so forth. When a change occured
within a Dungeon, the most common phenomenon to occur was the collapse of
the strict boundaries that kept the rooms separate.
It also meant that the Dungeon was becoming more dangerous, and the
monsters would become stronger. In turn, the reward would also be greater.
When an adventurer feels the change in the Dungeon, one would have to make
a quick decision and act on it.
Silpennon had two choices. He could go forward or retreat.
“As I’ve said before, I’m getting out of here!”
“I have to express my regret to you. There are two type of changes that may
occur within a Dungeon. There are the Dungeons that allow the adventures to
retreat when they desire it. Then there are the ones that allow you to come in
easily, but it won’t let you go easily.”
Artpe pointed back at the sealed entrance of the Dungeon, and he smirked.
“This Dungeon is the latter type.”
Silpennon’s face crumpled.
“My god….. Doesn’t this basically impose a death sentence on the adventurers!”
“Are you under some kind of delusion? Dungeons aren’t here to help develop
adventurers. The Dungeons aren’t here to give them treasures. The Dungeons
merely exists. The danger and opportunity is distributed equitably to all.”
Of course, Artpe’s Read All Creation ability allowed him to see what changes
were occurring within the Dungeon. At its heart, this was a Slime Dungeon.
Even if it evolved in innovative ways, the only one in danger would be Silpennon.
“The prerequisites that causes the change in the behavior pattern of the Slimes is
very simple. First, the intruders has to be strong enough that the Slime can’t win
in a direct confrontation. Secondly, the intruder has to show no signs of
retreating. The intruder has to rush forward continuously. Third, there has to be
an overwhelming number of Slimes present. When all of these conditions are
met, they start eating each other to become stronger.”
“That’s what’s happening right now!”
Silpennon screamed those words out. The Slimes were wriggling around, and
they were combining to become larger. Moreover, the walls of the Dungeon
continued to collapse. The Slimes that were on alert within these rooms came
forward. They kept rushing towards the Slime that was eating its own brethrens!
“Oh oh. It is rare to see one that can eat so much. If we are lucky, this might
ratchet up a level.”
In many ways, the current situation was good for them. First, the Slime Dungeon
hadn’t been found yet, so a lot of Slimes had amassed within. Their party
including Silpennon was overpowered in terms of martial strength(Silpennon
would disagree with this point). Then there was the massive amount of Mana in
reserve that would allow the Dungeon to make changes alongside the monsters.
This was how Artpe changed history once again. The Slime Dungeon would
never be a beginner’s Dungeon from this point forward. This was the start of a
hellhole that was now under the rule of the evolved Slime!
“Up a level? What do you mean by up a level? Are you perhaps talking about a
high rank Class! Tell me it ain’t so!”
“It can't be, your highness. As you’ve seen, the Slimes are the lowest ranked
monsters that range from level 5 to level 10. The probability of these monsters
combining to form a monster over level 50 is…...”
“Ah. The Dungeon is collapsing.”
“Ooh-ohhhhhhhhhhhh!?”
Once a Slime starts to eat its brethrens, it won’t stop until it’s sure it can eat all of
the intruders.
In the beginning, Silpennon had driven the Slimes into a frenzy. Moreover, Artpe
and the other members of his party was also within the Dungeon. The Slime
knew it couldn’t beat them with a single floor worth of Slimes, so it started preying
on the Slimes on the next floor. The Dungeon received its intention, and the
Dungeon collapsed the floor!
“Kyahhhhhk!”
“Koohk!?”
Of course, the adventurers, who had found this Dungeon, fell downwards.
“Artpe!”
“Tsk!”
Artpe swung his hand, and he extended three strands of Mana String. He was at
the center as he wrapped Maetel, Leseti and Silpennon with the Mana Strings.
They safely landed on the Dungeon’s 2nd floor, which was below the collapsed
hallway.
[Geeeeeeeeee]
[Sss-oooooh, sss-oooooooooh]
“I’m starting to hear something!”
“Oh. If we are lucky, it might even gain self-awareness. Ee-yah. There are
much more Slimes on the 2nd floor! This is fun! They are all combining!”
“Ya-ho!”
“Did you guys come here to have fun!”
They were only Slimes, but the ones on the 2nd floor was much higher in level
than the ones on the 1st floor. The Slimes didn’t care if the ceiling had fallen.
They were all over the 2nd floor, and the giant Slime that was formed on the 1st
floor started eating the other helpless Slimes.
[Keeeeeeeeeeee]
“Oh oh. I don’t like it. The color of each Slime is being mixed inside that big
Slime, and it is giving me a bad feeling!”
“How can the color of the Slime change like that, Artpe?”
“As a matter of fact…...”
“If you have the time to leisurely explain the ecology of a Slime, you should do
something about that bastard, Artpe!”
As it absorbed new types of Slimes into its body, the giant Slime was dyed with
all kinds of colors! The party watched the gluttonous Slime. It was akin to
watching someone else’s house burn down. Artpe could see the level of the
enormous Slime rise in real time.
[Big Slime]
[Level : 33]
“It’s all right. It is still a lousy monster. Ah. Of course, a single hit will kill you.”
“You should have told me that first!”
As if Silpennon had been waiting for such words, he quickly ran towards Leseti.
Leseti talked about his grave and funeral, but she didn’t really plan on letting him
die. She let him hide behind her.
“For your information, it is an Elite monster now.”
“Don’t we get better rewards for killing Elite monsters?”
“It is also stronger than the monsters at the same level.”
The Big Slime was well aware of its station. It had grown a lot, but it knew it
would get cut into pieces by the other humans before it was able to kill the
detestable red haired brat.
This was why it wasn't satisfied. It kept eating all the Slimes on the 2nd floor. In
the process, the hidden passages of the Dungeons were revealed, and all kinds
of rare Slimes started to pop out. These Slimes were much more colorful. They
either possessed a faint trace of magical energy or they were stickier.
Of course, they became nutrients that fueled the growth of the Big Slime.
‘Uh. In the past, I’ve never heard of a rumor about secret passages inside this
Dungeon.’
Of course, Artpe didn’t search out Dungeons in his past life, so he hadn’t had the
chance to use his Read All Creation ability within them. Basically, a secret that
had never been found in his previous life was revealed to him in the present.
Well, this was only a Slime Dungeon. There probably wasn’t anything great….
[Goo-ohhhhhh-ohng!]
“It let out a cry!”
“It’s shining!”
“Huh. I might have been wrong.”
The rare Records that wasn’t usually allowed to be accessed by a normal Slime
had been gathered in one place. The Slime broke through another wall, and it
took another step forward. The party members saw a very rare sight where a
monster reached a high rank class through gaining a high level.
[Great Slime]
[Level : 50]
“Ee-yah. That one is splendid. It reached the status of an Elite Rare monster!”
“How long are you going to just watch!”
“Hmm. You are right. I should start taking action.”
Artpe found a good sized rock, and he put a decent amount of Mana into it. He
threw it towards a nearby Slime. After the Slime ate the rock, it was absorbed
into the Great Slime.
Silpennon cried out suddenly.
“I told you to take care of it! When did I tell you to feed the Slime!”
“Aigo. It is eating it well.”
“Stop feeding it!”
The Great Slime continued to evolve. However, the Slimes on the 2nd floor was
all gone. Even the secret tunnels were all opened. It meant there wasn’t a single
monster left on the 2nd floor.
“Ah. It is easting the treasure chests.”
“It’s all right. It takes a very long time for a Slime to digest objects. We can
recover it later after we kill it. If the item can’t last until then, it means it isn’t
worth that much!”
“I’m asking if you can really kill that thing!”
“Ah. The 2nd floor is also collapsing.”
Finally, the Dungeon’s 3rd floor was revealed. They hadn’t moved much, yet
they were able to clear the 1st and 2nd floor. It was great, since they didn’t have
to waste any calories. He pitied Silpennon, who was wasting all the saved
calories by screaming his head off.
“Wa-ah! The 3rd floor also has a lot of secret passageways!”
“The Great Slime’s behavior is set now. It will eat all of its brethrens. The other
Slimes on this floor won’t consider us enemies. The Great Slime is there enemy.
That is why….”
“Wa!”
The Great Slime was eating all the Slimes residing on the 3rd floor! While it was
doing so, Artpe kept infusing nearby rocks with his Mana. He kept feeding the
Slimes inside the Dungeon.
“How long are you going to just watch it?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe, until all the Slimes coalesces into one?”
“When will that occur!”
“That’s a very good question.”
Artpe let out a sweet smile as he answered the question.
“I have no idea!”
The Slime continued to stuff itself. It continued until they reached the 6th floor.
In Artpe’s past life, the Slime Dungeon had only been explored to the 5th floor.
Chapter 28 - Dungeon, Evolution and Success (2)
[Giant Slime]
[Level : 102]
[Goo-ohhhhhhhh….. Oh-oh-oh-oh….]
“Ee-yah. We’ve actually arrived at this point.”
They were on the Dungeon’s 7th floor. For some reason, the adventurers had
been barred from coming down this far for in the past. Artpe’s party had gained
access to this region.
Of course, the one to act in their stead was the Giant Slime that had finally went
past level 100. It was that particular Slime.
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
[Kee-heeeeeeeeeee!]
The Giant Slime had grown so big that it had to destroy the Dungeon’s
passageway to move around. The level 50 and over Slimes, who resided on the
Dungeon’s 7th floor, were screaming as they ran away.
He had only known this place as a beginner’s Dungeon. He never expected to
find high Class Slimes residing here. It seemed the Dungeon was structured in
such a way that the hidden lower floors were only revealed when the corridors
were destroyed.
Basically, a high Class party over level 250 had to come into a lowly Slime
Dungeon, and they had to indiscriminately use Skills that would cause structural
damage. Or they could do what Artpe’s party had done. Artpe had baited the
Slimes to consume each other, and this resulted in the lower floors being
revealed. This was a method that had never been used in his previous life.
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
“Oh. It’s eating them. It’s eating again.”
“How rare is that one, Artpe?”
It seemed even Maetel realized that this particular Slime was slowly turning into
something remarkable. Moreover, the evolving monster and the involvement of
the Dungeon reminded her of the first Dungeon they cleared. It reminded her of
the Record Link, so her interest in the matter was getting deeper.
“Yes, let me see…. It is a Special Rare Elite monster. Numerous requirements
has to be met for a normal Slime to reach that point. It was possible, because no
one had yet to set foot inside this Dungeon. It wouldn’t have happened if there
wasn’t an enormous amount of Slimes spawned within this Dungeon.”
“It’s really an incredible monster!”
It had went past level 100 to reach Special Rare Elite status. It had almost
reached level 120 right now, so it was a monster that would be able to kill Leseti
if she wasn’t careful. Leseti unsheathed her sword from her waist. She was very
tense as she asked Artpe a question.
“Shouldn’t we kill it soon? No, don’t we no choice but to kill it now?”
“Not really. I just had a thought. How great a Slime would form if it was allowed
to swallow an entire Dungeon? I keep thinking about it!”
“Why does your curiosity get piqued over such a topic!”
In truth, the Giant Slime had assessed the battle capability of Artpe’s party when
it reached level 100. It decided it wouldn’t fare well against them, so it charged
towards the 7th floor.
As its level grew, its ability to sense Mana became more accurate. Basically, its
intelligence was increasing.
Of course, despite this fact, the Slime continued to eat the Mana-infused rocks.
Even if it was smart, it was only a smart Slime. The fact that it was able to level
up didn’t mean that it could surpass the limitation of its race.
“Are the Mana-infused stones you are throwing accelerating the growth of the
Slime?”
“It is as I’ve said before. It takes awhile for the Slime to digest objects infused
with Mana. It is the same as the treasure chests and artifacts it ate as it
descended from the 1st floor to the 6th floor. You don’t have to worry too much
about it.”
“So why do you keep feeding it!”
Leseti and Silpennon didn’t have any deep knowledge about magic, so they were
frustrated at Artpe’s bizarre actions. On the other hand, Maetel had a rough idea
on what he was doing.
She had hunted in a Dungeon with him for the past year. In that period of time,
she had never seen Artpe waste a single drop of Mana.
“Uh. The 7th floor is collapsing.”
“Wow. There’s a silver treasure chest over there. Ah. The Slime ate it.”
“This isn’t the time to leisurely watch the Slime eat!”
The same scenario kept repeating, so Artpe was used to wrapping Mana Strings
around the party members. Artpe made sure he wasn’t hurting the others as
they landed softly on the Dungeon’s 8th floor.
[Sheeeeeee-sheeeeeee.]
[Gee-gee-gee-gee.]
There were Slimes over level 70 residing on this floor. Each Slime was
considered to be rare in terms of probability of them making an appearance in
the world.
They were all born with great attributes. Some could use simple magic or they
could change a part of their body. Some had a special camouflage ability, and
others could counterattack when they were hit with a subpar attack on reflex.
The variety of Slimes that existed here was vast. The Slimes were quite
surprising….!
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhng!]
The Giant Slime was eating every single one of them. The other Slimes were
showing up in style, but they were swallowed before they could do anything. The
Big Slime was the calamity of the Dungeon! It was like the second coming of the
Demon King within this Dungeon!
“I kinda feel bad for the Slimes now…..”
“Hey, look at that. It is extending its body to eat them all at once.”
It seemed the Giant Slime was tired of eating them one by one. It extended its
body from side to side, and it swept over the Slimes that were all over the
Dungeon. The Giant Slime melted them all down. It looked as if a wave was
sweeping through the Dungeon.
“That looks like a wave? It is so pretty…....”
“Someday, I’ll take you to a real ocean.”
“Yes! I’ll look forward to it, Artpe!”
The two Heroes were mellow even as they watched the Giant Slime stuff itself.
Silpennon looked at them with salty eyes as he mumbled to himself.
“Artpe was able to compare such a horrifying sight to a wave, and Maetel
admired him for it. I think both of them has a screw loose…..”
“It seems your highness’ delusions are slowly becoming shattered.”
When it ate all the Slimes on the 8th floor, the Giant Slime had reached level
120. At this point, Leseti would have to fight through the day and night for four
days to kill it.
“A...Artpe…. Are you sure it isn’t time yet?”
“Leseti.”
Artpe tossed several rocks with significant amount of Mana infused within them.
He helped satiate the appetite of the Giant Slime then he spoke to Leseti with a
voice that was low and silky.
“Ooht.”
At his solemn attitude, Leseti once again failed to act her age as her heart beat
faster. However, she came to her senses when she heard the words coming out
of his mouth.
“We are about to see something that will never happen again in history. Even if I
have to sacrifice Silpennon’s life and your life, I’ll have to watch this unfold!”
“Why don’t you or Maetel sacrifice your own lives!”
Artpe snorted at her ridiculous words. He gave a response to her words.
“I don’t know about you guys, but we won’t fall to a mere Slime.”
“You cowardly hero! Kill it immediately! Let’s kill that bastard!”
When it ate everything on the 8th floor, the Giant Slime took time to think this
over. Should it just charge them? Was it strong enough?
It was confident that it could eat the female knight and the red haired brat.
However, the other two brats made it feel uneasy. If it was uneasy, it had to eat
more. The Giant Slime made a firm resolve as it made a request to the
Dungeon.
Open the 9th floor!
“Maybe, this is what happens when a Dungeon encounters a hero. It could be a
special change that occurs to match the current situation of the heroes.”
Artpe watched the Giant Slime eat the level 100 and above Slimes on the 9th
floor. He became pretty sober as he mumbled to himself. Maetel tilted her head
in puzzlement as she asked him a question.
“Does that hold true when we face other adventurers?”
“What I’m discussing right now isn’t that simple of a problem. A hero is born
when a Demon King appears. A hero’s presence could create a Dungeon, a city
or even a country. A hero causes a fundamental change to one’s surrounding.”
He had explained this before to Maetel once. He wasn’t joking. It was real. The
hero’s existence itself was a miracle, and the hero was the focal point in causing
changes to the Records.
If one thought about it from that perspective, the biggest variable causing his past
life and the current life to change so starkly wasn’t the action of Maetel. The
change might be driven by the existence of the newly born hero in Artpe.
“Of course, a hero possesses incredible abilities within one’s body. However,
they have an uncharted ability to cause change to a situation. Maybe, this
Dungeon and the growth of the Slime might be aggressively helped by our
presence.”
The Slime eventually went over level 150. It was so large that it wasn’t able to
move unless it caused changes to its body. The amount and density of the
magical energy within its body wasn’t normal anymore.
These were Slimes that would have probably rested inside the heart of the
Dungeon until end of time, yet the Dungeon opened up the walls when the floor
was broken by the Giant Slime. The Giant Slimed moved at the guidance of the
Dungeon, and the other Slimes were letting out wails of resentment.
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhh.]
“That’s right. You are eating well.”
Artpe was feeding the Giant Slime by habit. As he threw the rocks infused with
Mana, he looked up. His eyes were letting out a purple light as he used his Read
All Creation ability. He gathered all information from his surrounding.
There was the crumbled walls, and the hallway that looked like it was about to fall
apart. Then there was the remains of the Slimes and the Giant Slime that was
eating all of them.
He was slowly able to see the entire structure of the Dungeon.
“The 10th floor is the end.”
“Artpe, your eyes…...”
Silpennon was taken aback as he sensed unfathomable energy within Artpe’s
eyes. Normally, it wasn’t something people noticed. This made Artpe have a
pretty good opinion of Silpennon.
“Is that perhaps the Mystic Eyes?”
“It’s a secret.”
Artpe grinned as he extended one hand. As always, three strands of Mana
String came out.
“We just have to endure it once more. You should just guard your master, Leseti.
Silpennon, you should look at what happens with both eyes wide open.”
“You…...”
A fair amount of time had passed since they had entered the Dungeon. They
had descended from the 1st floor to the 9th floor . They watched the evolution of
a single Slime. It had been a fun and exciting experience, but…. It was time for
the heroes to act in earnest.
“Just endure it once more. You should even be careful about breathing on the
10th floor. Ah. Unsheathe your sword, Maetel.”
“Yes!”
“Please use the longsword instead of the bastard sword.”
“......yes!”
The Slimes on the 9th floor were all gone now. The Giant Slime had achieved
level 168, and it thought it had a chance against them. It dragged its enormous
body towards Artpe’s party. It was very slow.
No, it had thought about going down to the 10th floor, but it decided to confront
them on the 9th floor! Silpennon was about to let out words of complaint when
Artpe opened his mouth. He let out a quiet instruction, and it changed turned the
entire situation on its head.
“Maetel, Berserk. Show off your power. You should only show it off.”
“Yes, I understand what you are trying to say.”
“Berserk!?”
Leseti knew about the terrifying Buff Skill, so she let out a shout. She wrapped
up Silpennon, and she distanced herself from Maetel.
However, she thought over what he had said. Berserk wasn’t a skill that could be
activated at will. Wasn’t it automatically activated in extreme circumstances?
Moreover, Maetel was a brat, who received her Class only a year ago. How
could she handle Berserk!It probably wasn’t Berserk. Leseti thought Maetel was
using an artifact’s option or a skill that was a poor imitation of Berserk. She had
already made up her mind as she observed Maetel…..
“Hoo-ooh…… Hoohp.”
“What the…. She can activate Berserk at will!?”
When she realized Maetel could freely control this vast power, Leseti was
thunderstruck.
Until now, Maetel had already shown herself to be strong. However, when she
used the Bone Gauntlet’s buff option and Berserk, she became as strong as a
being at level 200.
How ridiculous was this! The leader of this country’s order of knights had yet to
pass the level 200 threshold. A mere 13 year old child hero was displaying
power of that caliber!
Of course, Maetel was using Berserk, but she was able to have full control over
the skill. She was as strong as most level 200 being, who possessed a high rank
Class.
Maetel put her rising anger into her longsword. She had a very refined posture,
which was ill-matched with her slender body. She pointed the sword at the Giant
Slime as she opened her mouth.
“Are you really going to fight me?”
[Goo...goo-ohhhhhhh…..!]
Of course, the Giant Slime could feel how strong she was. It didn’t take long to
find out its answer. It immediately broke the hallway that separated the 9th and
10th floor. It dragged the party down towards the 10th floor!
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh-ohng!]
“Yes!”
As if he had been waiting for this moment, Artpe stylishly surrounded the Mana
Strings around the party as they landed on the 10th floor.
The Giant Slime had gotten cold feet when it saw Maetel’s show of force. It
didn’t even look back as it ran rampant as it ate everything. The party was left
behind, and they watched the result of Maetel showing her power once.
Silpennon and Leseti were too dumbfounded to speak.
“Good job, Maetel.”
“Don’t. If you give me too much praise, I’ll feel too good and the Berserk will be
canceled.”
Maetel was trying very hard not to smile as she maintained her stance. Artpe
snickered at her words, and he took out an item from his Dimensional Pouch.
“Uh?”
“Uh…..!?”
When Silpennon and Leseti recognized it, they both let out a strangled sound at
the same time. Artpe ignored them, and he focused his Mana into the item.
After being injected with Mana, the Demite’s Gemstone was activated. It started
emitting purple light that was brighter than the light within Artpe’s eyes.
Chapter 29 - Dungeon, Evolution and Success (3)
“That! Give it back to me!”
“You can’t take back what you gave me.”
“Ooh-gooooo.”
The two of them now knew the value of the gem. They still didn’t know what kind
of gem it was, but at the very least, they knew that it was the main reason why
men had desperately tracked them down when they ran away from the palace.
However, Artpe stuck out his red tongue as he teased them. He continued to
pour Mana into the Demite’s Gemstone.
“Can you hear me? No , I don’t think it can communicate yet.”
The Demite’s Gemstone won’t show its true worth until it was refined.
However, it was such an amazing gem that it could amplify one’s Mana, and it
had the ability to remember magic spells. Even at its current form, it was a
remarkable item. Artpe was satisfied with it until now.
“What are you trying to do with that! Are you perhaps going to feed it to the
Slime like the rocks from before?”
“You are mad. If you do that, the Slime would most definitely evolve a step
forward….”
“That is what I want.”
The Giant Slime was desperately looking for a power that would allow it to
overpower Maetel.
Again, the Dungeon’s 10th floor acted in concert with the Giant Slime’s struggle.
Large changes occurred once again. The walls that divided the rooms melted
away. All the secret passageways were revealed. The Dungeon allowed the
Giant Slime to encounter the rest of the remaining Slimes.
[Keeeeeeee!]
[Gee-geek! Gee-gee-gee!]
The floor abruptly became a large plaza, and all the Slimes thrown away by the
Dungeon knew what the Giant Slime intended. They didn’t want to die in vain, so
they did their best to oppose the Giant Slime.
The party was watching mere Slimes. It would theoretically be ridiculous for
them to feel any emotions for the Slimes. However, they were faced with an
impressive and overwhelming sight.
“Even such simple organisms fight hard to live...”
“They are no different than humans.”
“What kind of…. Humans are….!”
“Quiet.”
He didn’t want to have a discourse about life with a brat. Artpe let out a deep
sigh, then for the last time, he injected his Mana into the Demite’s Gemstone.
His preparation was at an end.
“How’s your Mana reserve, Maetel?”
“If it is just maintaining Berserk, I have enough. If I use the Option…. I think I
can use it about three times.”
“All right. You should be on standby.”
Artpe didn’t hesitate as he threw the purple colored gemstone held by his hand.
Coincidentally, one of the Slime, who had been opposing the Giant Slime,
swallowed it.
[Gee-eeee-eeee]
“It really ate it!”
Of course, it didn’t matter how high the Slime’s level was. The Demite’s
Gemstone wasn’t an item that would be dissolved so easily. The Slime, who
possessed the gem, knew it had become stronger. It coordinated with the other
Slimes to attack the Giant Slime.
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhh!]
The Giant Slime ate all of them. The Giant Slime’s wound healed easily from just
eating its brethren.
The Giant Slime’s anatomy was simple, so it was easy for it to heal itself. By
eating its brethren, it was able to grow immediately, and it was leveling up at a
fast pace. This was why the Giant Slime had targeted them.
“The number of Slimes is decreasing.”
“In the beginning, there were around 5,000 of them.”
“I don’t know how this Dungeon was made, but the effects of Mana becomes
stronger as one travels deeper into the Dungeon. This is why this floor has
stronger Slimes, and they are more numerous here.”
It was easier for strong monsters to spawn at location with high density of Mana.
Even if it was Maetel and Artpe, it would have taken them several days to kill all
the Slimes that came out all at once from the secret passageways. However, the
Giant Slime was killing all of them instead.
“This really is like the Record Link!”
“It isn’t a completely closed system, so it won’t be efficient like the Record Link.
However, if one wants to see an organism ‘evolve’, this might be a better
method than the Record Link.”
“I look forward to it!”
It was very rare to come across such a high ranked Slime, so they would be able
to look forward to the reward. Artpe and Maetel was still conversing in a calm
manner in front of such an overwhelming spectacle. Silpennon and Leseti were
taken aback by this fact, but they reached a point where they decided not to think
about it any further.
“Ah. It went in.”
The Delmite’s Gemstone was inside the Giant Slime’s body. At that moment, the
numerous mana-infused stones that was within its body reacted to the Delmite’s
Gemstone. A small resonance started to occur. Of course, this was what Artpe
had been aiming for.
“I see the end to the Slimes.”
“We really don't have much time left. Be ready, Maetel.”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
There really were many varieties of Slimes nesting here. Dungeons were
something that was rare on the continent. Maybe they were worth researching.
However, he was watching a single Slime consolidating all the Slimes it had
eaten.
[Geeeeeeeeeeeeee!]
In the end, all the structures on the 10th floor were gone, and the whole floor had
been turned into a wide open plaza. If one discounted the living and breathing
members of Artpe’s party, there was only one Giant Slime on the floor.
It had eaten everything within the Dungeon. Everything that possessed Mana
was within its body. This was an unprecedented feat. This being was pushing
itself towards a higher Class.
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhng!]
“My god. It is letting out light…. This is...”
“The Slime must be evolving!”
“There is a higher Class that can be reached!?”
Artpe’s eyes let out a strange light as he looked at the Slime letting out light from
all over its body. This was something that had never been seen before on this
continent. This moment was sweet and exciting!
Artpe had a smile on his lips before he knew it. He had come here in an attempt
to educate Silpennon, so he had never expected to hit a jackpot here. As
expected, a Demon…. A human should be good to other people in one’s life!
[Giant Slime]
[Level : 199]
When it went past level 100, it was given the name of Giant Slime.
At some point, a much bigger body appeared from within the light.
[Huge Slime]
[Level : 200]
The body of the Slime was letting out a rainbow light. Its body possessed
enormous amount of Mana, and its intelligence increased by another tier.
Its body was much bigger than before, but when it moved, it was more efficient in
its use of energy. Artpe immediately checked it with his Read All Creation ability,
and he found out the Slime had several new skills. These skills helped the Slime
efficiently capture and digest its prey. These needed skills were gathered in one
place to strengthen the Slime.
The part that gave Artpe most joy was its name of Huge Slime. It sounded
extremely simple, but the name of this entity never existed on this continent
before. If he ranked how rare it was, it would probably be considered to be ultra
rare.
“There we go.”
[There we go.]
It was as if Artpe and Slime had made a promise to speak at the same time.
As expected, it gained enough intelligence to be able decipher the human’s
intention!
[I can eat you all!]
When its body was trembling from delight, Artpe raised his voice to yell out
loudly.
“You can attack it now, Maetel!”
“Understood!”
[I can now eat you all!]
The Slime was large enough to fill the plaza. The evolved Slime attacked the
party. However, before it could use its skills, the Sword Energy gathered at the
tip of the long sword was let loose. The golden energy traveled in a straight line
to impact on the Slime!
[This isn’t enough…..!]
The Huge Slime was strengthened so much that Maetel’s Mana-infused attack
pierced its body once before it healed its wound. Maetel’s attack stalled the
Slime for only 3 seconds!
“Hyper Rubbing!”
However, Artpe had completed all his preparations beforehand, so he had plenty
of time to pull the trigger.
[Ggoo-ooooo-ooohk!?]
The Huge Slime let out a terrible scream as its body started to writhe. The preys
it had wanted to eat was right in front of it, yet it started to hit its body against the
blameless Dungeon floor and walls. It threw a fit.
It had gained higher intelligence, so the pain it perceived had increased
dramatically. The fact that it had been sure of its victory made the defeat a bitter
pill to swallow.
“I never knew magic could be used this way....”
“Magicians are a scary existence!”
The target of Artpe’s Hyper Rubbing were the rocks and the Delmite’s Gemstone
swallowed by the Slime.
It had assumed that these objects were part of its body, but they started rubbing
crazily against its body as if they had a mind of its own. There was no way it
could endure the spell without losing its mind!
[Goo-oooooooh······!]
Still, it refused to give up. It had broken through from the 1st floor to the 10th
floor, and it had greedily eaten all the members of its race. Mere pain wouldn’t
make it give up on its objective. Its greed was too strong for that to happen.
“Tsk. As expected, this level of attack won’t cut it.”
The Delmite’s Gemstone boosted the power of Hyper Rubbing by a ridiculous
amount, so he had hoped this attack would be able to bring down the Slime.
However, he had underestimated its willpower.
[Goo-ooohhhhhh! I’ll eat! I’ll eat! I’ll eat! I’ll eat!]
Even as its body was breaking apart from within, it moved its body to attack the
party. When Silpennon and Leseti saw the enormous body of the Slime move
slowly towards them, they didn’t offer any resistance. They just trembled in fear.
At that moment, Artpe put one hand atop Maetel’s hand, which was gripping the
longsword.
“Let’s attack it for the second time, Maetel.”
“Y...yes..”
This was physical contact initiated by Artpe. Maetel’s heart felt as if it was on
cloud nine. She was so happy that it was difficult to maintain her Berserk skill. If
the skill was canceled, they would lose to the Slime.
She was having a hard time controlling her emotions, so her eyes started to spin.

Artpe didn’t realize what she was feeling. He gave her an order with a calm
voice.
“You just have to attack like before. You should gather your energy and shoot it
towards the Slime. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Yes, I’ll try…...”
Maetel worked desperately to control her heart, and she gathered her Mana at
the tip of her sword. At that moment, he used the Mana Link to provide Mana to
her. When she realized what was happening, Maetel used Record Divide, so
Artpe could share more Mana with her.
Even if it was the same skill, its power would be amplified by a lot.
“Shoot it. Mana String.”
Moreover, it was possible for the two of them to share each other’s skills and
options! It was possible to combine all of them into one attack!
“!?”
Maetel felt the energy gathered inside the longsword change through magic, but
she used her instinct to shoot it.
There were black stripes mixed in with the golden light as background. This
strange energy impacted on the Huge Slime’s body, and it pierced through….
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhng!]
Artpe’s will took hold of the attack. The trajectory changed sharply as the attack
drilled deeper into its body once again!
“Hyper Rubbing!”
The attack wasn’t at an end yet. The Mana Strings that had manifested around
the beam of light were imbued with the option of Hyper Rubbing. The energy
within him manifested as friction within, and it was being delivered right into the
Slime!
It was a ridiculous composite spell. The method Artpe had used possessed such
a high degree of difficulty that it would have made all the other magicians on the
continent feel disheartened!
“As expected, a mage is amazing!”
“Artpe was always amazing!”
“C...cool…...”
Of course, everyone gathered in this place were idiots, so the only feedback he
received was the fact that it was cool and amazing!
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhng!]
The Huge Slime let out a roar that contained its rage and pain. It finally acquired
the power that would enable it to eat all of its enemies. It had been so sure, yet
an unexpected attack had been used against it!
It couldn’t use its power, because the stones within its body were constantly
vibrating. On top of that, an additional attack had been used against it. It was so
painful that it was driving it nuts!
[I’ll kill you at all cost! I’ll kill and eat you! I’ll kill you!]
“Are you going to ask the Dungeon for help again? Well, the Dungeon no longer
has anything hidden away that it can give you. So what can you do?”
There was a cruel light in Artpe’s eyes as he looked at his struggling enemy. The
Slime extended its body to hit the wall, and it attempted to eat the weaker
members of Artpe’s party. However, all of its attempts were thwarted by the
Hyper Rubbing.
It was as he said. The Dungeon had given everything it had hidden to the Huge
Slime. There were no methods available to the Huge Slime that would allow it to
strengthen itself again. Its struggle was wasted. It was all in vain.
“Uh. The purple gem…..”
Leseti found herself to be pathetic, since she was trembling in front of the enemy
without putting up any resistance. She tried to right herself when she caught
sight of the change that was occuring to the gem within the struggling Huge
Slime. The purple light was getting stronger as time passed.
“Ah. As that bastard reached the high rank Class, its ability to dissolve
substance also increased by a lot. The Demite’s Gemstone is probably providing
it with more power as it become more refined as time passes.”
When Artpe kindly gave an explanation, Leseti’s expression turned more
peculiar.
“You... you planned on refining the gem, while attacking your enemy….!?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If I wanted to kill it, I could have killed it with my modified
Mana.”
“You…...!”
Artpe had an impudent smile on his face as he replied to her. Leseti grinded her
teeth when she saw the annoying smile of the brat. However, she couldn’t deny
she was slightly in love with that smile.
After three minutes, the Huge Slime stopped its fruitless struggles. It meekly
faced its death.
A new piece of history was recorded on the continent, and it was quietly buried at
that moment.
Chapter 30 - Dungeon, Evolution and Success (4)
“Ooh-ahhhhhhh!”
“You are doing well, Silpennon. You should roll a little bit to the left. There’s a lot
of dusts over there.”
“You evil bastaaaaaaaard!”
Silpennon let out a weird groan as he rolled around on the ground. This was a
phenomena that occurred when one leveled up all at once.
“His highness barely helped in killing that Slime, so why did he get a share of the
EXP?”
Unlike Silpennon, Leseti hadn’t received a single iota of experience. She grinded
her teeth as she asked the question. She was jealous of the crown prince, who
was rolling around on the ground. He actually looked favorably on the female
knight for her sentiment, so he gave a friendly reply.
“Your understanding of this matter is fundamentally wrong. That Slime started
eating its brethren, because it feared Silpennon. At that point, Silpennon had
pulled the aggro of that Slime, and he probably inflicted some damage too. This
is the reason why it counted as Silpennon contributing to the battle.”
“It isn’t much of a contribution!”
Leseti was acting as if she was dissatisfied about Silpennon’s growth. Sipennon
bellowed from the ground as he sacrificed his clothes by wiping the dust of the
floor.
“Ggoo-ahhhhh! Your master is leveling up, so why are you complaining!”
“However, your highness, you are useless even if you level up a lot!”
“Did you just say I’m useless…. Ooh-gyahhhhhhh!”
Artpe wondered how the relation between the master and servant would change
in the future. However, it was no concern of his…. Artpe let out a sigh as he
gave a supplemental explanation.
“It is as you’ve said. The percentage of EXP given to Silpennon wasn’t high. At
most, it was around three percent. But…..”
“Are you saying he was able to achieve such an explosive growth with only 3
percent….”
“You’ve hit the nail on the head.”
The only traces of the Huge Slime left behind was the wreckage. It had been a
level 200 Dungeon monster, and it was the Dungeon’s boss. It had been a Elite
Ultra Rank monster.
Normally, the monster’s record and EXP increased substantially based on Rank
and its position. Even if Silpennon had barely contributed, it wasn’t strange to
see him increase in level by over 20.
“Moreover, you don’t have to worry too much about his Skills either. We’ll get the
[Cud] Bonus too.”
Cud was a humorous term that was coined for the skill where one’s Skill grew
once more after the monster was killed. The skill grew under the influence of the
monster’s Record, and the achievements in battle. However, Leseti’s expression
still indicated that she was having a hard time accepting the situation.
“Still, he didn’t even strike that particular Slime with his sword…..”
“Well, it seems he was able to do so.”
Silpennon was finished with his continuous level up. He shakily got up from the
ground. Artpe spoke lightly as he looked over Silpennon with his Read All
Creation ability. Above his head, there were words that were more spectacular
than what was seen on Maetel once before.
[Silpennon Le Diaz]
[Level : 49]
[Crown Prince]
[Dual Wield Lv7]
[Battle Step Lv6]
When facing the Slime, it would have been enough to just stab it once. He would
have needed to tweak the Slime’s body. When the level 200 high rank Class
monster was killed, the result of the battle was used on his skills. This was why
Silpennon possessed ridiculously high level Skills compared to his actual level.
On top of that, he was so exceptionally talented that there was a bonus added to
his skill growth. If one only considered the basic Skill level, Silpennon wasn’t that
far off from Leseti!
Of course, Artpe wasn’t going to breakdown all the information, but it was enough
information for Leseti to become shocked and anguished.
“If I knew this would happen, I would have hit it with my sword once!”
“If the monster doesn’t become truly threatened by your action, it will have no
effect. Silpennon went through his growth, because he attacked the Slime before
it evolved.”
“Why does the prince always have good luck!”
“Why are you dissatisfied with my luck being good, Leseeeeeeeti!”
Leseti kept complaining, and Silpennon gnashed his teeth. At that point, he
decided to just drop the subject. However, it seemed Leseti still had questions
she wanted to ask of Artpe.
“Does this mean you guys are too high in level to experience level ups from the
Slime’s EXP?”
“No, we aren’t there yet…. We are just used to this kind of incidents.”
“You became accustomed to it!?”
“Mmmm. Could you stand still for a moment.?”
“Kyahhh!?”
Artpe could see his reflection in her large innocent blue eyes, so he activated his
Read All Creation ability to check his own info.
[Artpe]
[Hero]
[Level : 163]
[Mana String Lv7]
[Hyper Rubbing Lv24]
[Mana Control Lv35]
[Throw Lv28]
[······]
“You...you! Do you think I’ll fall for you if you do this! You brat! You braaaaat!”
“....why did I promote such a doofus to the role as my knight protector...”
She had suddenly become Artpe’s mirror. Leseti’s face turned red as she got
angry. However, Artpe was deep within his thoughts, so her words didn’t really
register with. He let go of the angry Leseti, and he wallowed deep in his woes.
‘This is way too fast.’
He had graduated from the beginner’s Dungeon at level 145. He had fought the
knights dressed in black not too long ago, but they were lower in level by dozen
levels or more.
However, he had increased by 18 levels in one fell swoop when the Huge Slime
was killed. It goes without saying that the Skills used in killing the Slime had
grown too.
Even if their opponent was special, this was too much.
As he was thinking this, he turned his thoughts towards the Mana Link and the
Record Divide.
‘Did Maetel’s ability perhaps influence me….!?’
If so, that would be the worst! Artpe quickly turned to look at Maetel!
[Maetel]
[Level : 174]
“Good. I worried for nothing.”
She was still growing at a stable yet crazy speed!
“You didn’t worry for nothing. It is rude to stare at another woman like that!
Hurry up and apologize to her!”
“What?”
For some reason, Maetel had raised her voice, and she berated Artpe! Both of
her cheeks were puffed out, and she stamped towards him. She pulled Artpe
towards her side, and she bowed towards Leseti.
“I’m sorry. From now on, I won’t let him get close to you, Ms Leseti. You can be
at ease now.”
“Uh. Mmm. Ooh-mmmm….. No, you don’t really have to go that far….”
“Never! I’ll make sure he never gets close to you! I’ll do it even if Ms. Leseti
might get hurt a little bit in the process!”
“Why me!?”
Was her Berserk skill still activated!
It seemed Maetel’s gaze was so frightening that Leseti hide behind Silpennon.
She made him her shield. She was a true specimen of a knight protector.
“Stop going off topic. Anyways, Artpe, some change is occurring over there.”
Silpennon was slowly getting a sense of who he should trust, and who he should
ignore. He pointed towards the middle of the destroyed plaza of the Dungeon
where a light was emanating. He called after Artpe when he saw it. Artpe had a
good idea what Silpennon was feeling, so he smirked as he gave a reply.
“Dungeons are a place where one could plunder a lot of goods. This happens
when one clears a floor of a Dungeon or when one does a perfect clear. The
Dungeon Merchants, who has a contract with the Dungeons, will show up. Their
goal is to obtain the goods.”
“Is it a form of summoning magic? It really is an advanced form of magic.”
While they were conversing, the pillar of light faded away. A woman, who was
pretty familiar to Artpe and Maetel, made her appearance.
“Hello, customers! It has only been couple days, yet we meet again!”
“Kek. It’s this ajumma again.”
“I don’t like that ajumma…....”
She had smooth brown skin, and the humble clothes of a merchant couldn’t hide
her bodacious body. Her silver hair shone as if it was emitting light on its own.
Then there was her silver eyes. She had slightly elongated, yet sharp eyes. It
was none other than the middleman of the Anywhere company, Mycenae.
“I thought you would be bit more happy to see me. What kind of reaction is this?
Even I would be hurt a little bit….. Huh? Your party has grown?”
“You really appeared….. Even the royal family would have a hard time believing
such a ridiculous beauty exists, and you have long ears. Are you one of the
fabled Elves?”
“Hello, new customer. It is forbidden to inquire about the identity of a Dungeon
merchant.”
Mycenae put on her business smile as she replied with a firm voice. Silpennon
was a bit frightened by her, so he took couple steps back. At the same time,
Artpe supplemented his words with an apathetic voice.
“If you can find out the information without your opponent finding out, it isn’t
forbidden. Of course, if you are find out, you will be in big trouble like this
ajumma.”
“Koohk. I failed again…..!”
Artpe effortlessly created a Mana String. He swung it, and it shattered the
observation magic that was about to used secretly on Silpennon and Leseti. She
mumbled to herself as she grinded her teeth.
“I never expected you to be able to sense and interfere with observation magic
that wasn’t directed at you….. Still, I was able to learn more about your peerless
ability, so I didn’t take a loss!”
“However, you’ll be taking a loss from now on. I want 30% discount.”
“Ooh-goong. Ooh-oong--oohk.”
Mycenae let out a moan that was difficult to decipher. At this point, it was fair to
wonder if she enjoyed being taken advantage of by Artpe.
It was as if Silpennon had passed a baton off to Mycenae. She looked as if she
wanted to roll around on the floor. Artpe ignored Mycenae. He started looting
the Huge Slime with Maetel.
The first thing he picked up was the precious Demite’s Gemstone. The Huge
Slime’s ability was beyond expectation. One could see that some parts of the
hard gem were melted.
“Let’s see….. Oh.”
Artpe poured water over it to wash away the slime. He had a satisfied
expression as he looked at the Delmite’s Gemstone, which was letting out more
light than before. He mumbled to himself.
“If 50 more Huge Slimes shows up, I think I’ll be able to refine it.”
“You want to create 50 more of this monster!?”
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to do so, so don’t be frightened. It is rare to find
an opportunity that allows one to easily level up like this.”
“Easily…....”
It had also regurgitated all the treasures it ate coming down to this floor. It also
produced Artifacts and gold coins when the Records and Mana of the Slime was
consolidated. When Maetel saw one of the items, she let out a happy shout.
“It’s a Skill Book!”
“Unfortunately, the two of us already learned that one.”
The Skill Book was called Mana Control. It was a Skill that could be learned after
Mana Detection. It was a Skill everyone, who aspired to be a level 100 high rank
Class, must learn.
However, it was very difficult to learn it by oneself. It was hard even for those
that were born with the potential for becoming a magician. Since the skill can’t
be self-taught, one had to buy it with money. There were a lot of cases where
people gave up on becoming a level 100 high rank Class, because they couldn’t
acquire the book.
Maetel had learned such a skill at level 2. It really highlighted how bad of a cheat
her talent was. Nothing more had to be said about that subject.
“Since we already learned this Skill, we’ll merely increase our Mana by a little bit
if we use it….”
That wasn’t a bad option, but in many ways, it would be best to just sell the Skill
Book. The demand for the Mana Control Skill was high, yet there was an
absolute shortage in supply. It was the number one in demand amongst the high
rank Skills.
Basically, it was expensive. It was very expensive.
“That is why at this point….”
Artpe looked at Silpennon, who was looking at him with an absent minded face.
Artpe knew Silpennon had no knowledge of it, yet he asked in a sly manner.
“Do you know what Mana Control is?”
“What is it?”
“I knew it. You should listen carefully.”
Artpe grinned as he made a rough outline of the skill Silpennon had to learn.
Artpe even ranked the order in which Silpennon had to learn it!
Of course, the first one on the list was Mana Control.
“You…....”
“I’ll tell you this beforehand, but I’m not lying.”
“You are lying!”
“He said he’s not lying.”
“He isn’t lying, your highness. It is true that even I had to buy and learn Mana
Control with money. Most people are weeded out at this point. Of course, I was
only able to buy it easily, because I had the backing of the throne.”
Mycenae and Leseti intruded at the right time to back up Artpe’s words!
Despite their words, Silpennon graoned. He mulled over it before he shook his
head from side to side.
“I’ll learned Mana Control through my talent alone! I can do it! I’m someone
that’ll go through with what I said!”
“All right. I’ll just sell this then. How much are you will to give me for this,
ajumma?”
“I told you I’m not an ajumma! I’ll buy it for 300 gold. Of course, when I resell it,
I’ll sell it for over 350 gold!”
“All right. I’m being generous. Three hundred gold will….”
“Wait a moment!”
The retail price jumped 50 gold from the trade price. At that moment, Silpennon
yelled out to halt the deal. Artpe and Mycenae grinned at the same time, and
they turned to look at him.
“Why? Did you change your mind?”
“I’m in the middle of a negotiation. Could you not interfere, customer?”
It was as if the the times when they growled at each other never existed. When
they were trying to screw over someone else, the two of them worked in absolute
harmony! Silpennon grinded his teeth as he yelled out his words.
“I’ll kill you all someday! However, I’ll buy that! Since I am one of your party
members, I expect a discount!?”
“Of course. I’ll take your contributions into consideration, and I’ll give you a
discount. I’ll sell it to you for cheap at the price of 260 gold.”
Artpe smiled as he handed over the Skill Book to Silpennon.
Silpennon took out gold coins from his Dimensional Pouch, and he let out a sigh.
Mycenae felt sympathy for him, but she knew Silpennon had sealed his defeat
when he tried to go against Artpe’s design.
“Ah. You do realize you have to switch your Class first right? If you are dumb
enough to go into any great temple to do it, your identity will be revealed. You
should do it by buying a consumable artifact.”
“So how much is that!”
Artpe gave a sign to Mycenae. She had already been anticipating this move.
She didn’t want to lose out on a sales opportunity, so she quickly yelled out the
price.
“It is 300 gold, customer!”
“Ggoo-roo-ooh-ahhhhhhhk!”
This was the moment when the current Crown Prince took a step forward to
become the future thief.
Chapter 31 - Dungeon, Evolution and Success (5)
[Silpennon (Le Diaz)]
[Thief]
[Level : 49]
Silpennon purchased the Crystal Ball of Blessing for 300 gold, and he was able
to safely choose his new class. There was no funny business like a third hero
making an appearance. It was the same as what Artpe had seen in his past life.
The path to being a thief was opened to Silpennon.
The Crystal Ball of Blessing was a very expensive and rare artifact. After
registering its owner, it could be used several more times. Silpennon could use it
to open the path to his high rank Class in the future.
“Ho-ooh. I’m a thief.”
“Koohk. He really is a thief…...”
Inwardly, Artpe had worried another change would occur, but he could relax now.

When the crown prince she had served was turned into a thief, Leseti became
forlorn.
“Maybe I should give up on everything. Maybe I should go live in the
countryside, and feed cows…...”
“Do you think running a dairy farm is easy? The Demon King may overlook such
arrogance, but I won’t overlook it!”
“What do you think running a dairy farm involves! What type of fantasy are you
caught up in!?”
Silpennon was the only one in a peaceful state amongst all of them.
“What is wrong with being a thief? I don’t feel too bad about it.”
Crown prince was a position that allowed him to possess absolute authority, but
at the same time, it was a shackle that he couldn’t escape from. When his father
the king was killed, he had run away from his uncle’s evil influence, and he had
reached this point. Silpennon kind of liked the view of the world from where he
stood right now.
“I’m not in a position where I’m completely happy with the situation, but….. Yes,
I’m Silpennon the thief now. Hoo. It isn’t too bad. Moreover, I had always
yearned to get out of my birdcage. It feels as if I’ve grabbed freedom by the
hand.”
Silpennon kept smiling as he observed good manners towards Artpe again.
“If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what would have happened to me. The fact that
I followed after you might be the best decision I’ve made in my life. Thank you,
Artpe.”
“The hard part will start from now on. If you thank me so early, I’ll feel guilty.”
“You really are the type of person that can’t accept a thanks without making a
fuss..”
All Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army were like that. If they were
transparent about their feelings, they would meet their end before they could
even start. Ah, this also made it hard for them to return the feelings of others.
“Huh? Silpennon, Silpennon……”
At that moment, Mycenae suddenly tilted her head in puzzlement as she looked
at them. The name made her think of a hot issue right now. It happened when
she was having this thought.
Silpennon didn’t hesitate. He nodded his head.
“That’s right. I used to be the crown prince of Diaz.”
“Your highness, you shouldn’t tell her that!”
Did he decide it was information that he didn’t need to hide? Or was he just too
young? Of course, a Dungeon Merchant didn’t go around blabbing about
information regarding a customer. Still, it wasn’t wise to reveal such information
unnecessarily.
However, Silpennon was already well aware of this fact. He wasn’t an idiot.
“However, I’m not anymore.”
Silpennon looked back with a refreshed expression on his face. He wanted to
accept his current self, so he planned on making a clean break from his past.
“So stop call me by that title, Leseti. I’m only a level 49 thief Silpennon now. I
plan on burying my position as the crown prince in the darkness until we defeat
the Demon King. That is why I don't care, who finds out about it. No one will be
able to find the crown prince Silpennon.”
Mycenae’s eyes became round.
“Oh my. So that’s how it is. Somehow, I did feel an air of nobility coming from
you. Wait a second. Did my little customers already have a connection to the
throne…..”
As her imaginations started to stretch far and wide, Artpe extended his finger to
wrap the end of the Mana String into a ball. He tapped it against Mycenae's
smooth forehead.
“Ah-yaht!”
“If you act so clingy, you won’t be popular with men, ajumma.”
“Kooh…. Whatever you may take me for, before I became a merchant, men
lined up just to be able to catch my eyes! There were enough of them to encircle
the central square ten times! Customer, you are the only one that doesn’t
recognize my charm! This is the problem with kids!”
Artpe completely ignored Mycenae's grumblings as he gathered all the loot.
It was hard to express this in words. It was merely a Slime Dungeon, yet the
items and rewards gathered there was too amazing. Of course, a part of the
reason was the fact that they were the first to discover this Dungeon. Moreover,
all the secret locations had been revealed. On top of that, the artifacts were all
gathered in a single place by the Huge Slime. It all came out from its body.
The items that possessed weak magical energy were dissolved into pure magical
energy within the Huge Slime. The magical energy either strengthened the Huge
Slime or it strengthened the other items.
Of course, the remaining items would go up in value.
“There’s a lot this time around. Did you completely clean out the whole
Dungeon?”
“Yes. It is as you say. Let’s see…… I want 653 gold for all the minor items.
Call?”
“Mmm… Call.”
“All right.”
Both sides already knew that the other was a master. This was why the
transaction between Artpe and Mycenae didn’t take long.
Of course, the worth of the items was assessed and the transaction ended. It
happened way too fast. The rest of the party looked on in disbelief. They looked
at Artpe and Mycanae as if they were some kind of monsters.
Artpe handed over all the loot to Mycenae, but he held back several artifacts. It
was time for them to earnestly evaluate the worth of the artifacts. Mycenae
gulped.
“In truth, the items I really want you to sell me are those…...”
“Let me think about it.”
In truth, Artpe had wished for more Skill Books to come out, but it ended at the
Mana Control. Even the common Fire Magic Spell Book hadn’t dropped.
Instead, there were rare items that were as rare as the Huge Slime.
“Let’s talk about this potion first.”
[Slime Potion]
[All forms of liquid will be made into slime. If someone with low resistance to
Mana drinks it, one will die immediately as one’s blood would be turned into
slime. It is a very rare and foul substance. It doesn’t emit hostile Mana, so it is
perfect to use for assassination. Only a Slime that has evolved to the extreme
may produce it at a low probability. This item has almost never been seen before
within history.]
“······mmmm?”
“What is that potion, customer? What is it? It is bothering me!”
“This…. I’ll keep it for now.”
He had no idea where he should use this. However, strange and useless items
like this usually helped out at crucial moments.
“Aht. You should give me an explanation on what it is…. Ooh-eeeee”
Mycenae's cheeks puffed out when Artpe put away the potion without giving an
explanation. Of course, he wasn’t into older women, so he ignored the rest of
her words. He took out the second loot.
It looked as if it was an item that was crafted by using a part of the Huge Slime’s
body. It was a longbow that didn’t look too sturdy.
[Flexible Hunter’s Bow]
[The shape will change depending on the user’s objective. It can change from a
short bow to a ballista. Mana will be consumed to make a Mana Arrow. Its
power will depend on the user’s Archery level. Users without Archery level of
100 cannot use it. It is possible to increase durability of the item by injecting
Mana.]
After he checked the information regarding the Artifact, Artpe couldn’t hold back
his words. He tackled the issue that was bothering him.
“Ballista should not be classified as a bow!?”
“Pull yourself together, customer! That isn’t a ballista. It is a longbow!?”
Artpe activated his Read All Creation ability again, and he checked each
component of the bow. He injected some of his power to check if the bow could
change into a short bow and a ballista.
Of course, the requirement to use the bow was to be an archer of high rank
Class, but Artpe was a hero. He could easily brush aside such restrictions.
“Huhk. It really is a ballista!?”
“This is better than expected…....”
Artpe ignored the shocked Mycenae. He calmly retreated. He turned around to
look at Maetel, and he asked her a question.
“Do you have any thoughts about using a bow, Maetel?”
“It looks fun to use, but I’m not confident that I can handle anything that isn’t a
club or a sword. That is why I don’t want it.”
“You made a good decision.”
She was talented enough to pick up any weapon, and she would be able to use it
well enough to be comparable to the people of the same Class. However, if she
learned too many things, she might regret it someday. She was most suited to
close combat. She should focus on what she was best at.
“Customer, I will…..”
“I want 1,650 gold. Do you want to buy it?”
“Ooh-mmmmm. If I can find the proper owner, I’m confident I can charge twice
that price, but…..”
“You do know there is a scarce supply of this type of artifacts in the world, right?”
Artpe had a fair point. It was a bow that could change form to fit the situation!
It can be used from short range to very long distance. Moreover, there was no
need to carry around arrows, and the durability could be recovered. If Artpe was
an archer, he would have kept it. It would have been a no brainer.
“A right owner…. A right owner….”
Mycenae thought over it for a very long time. This was a huge transaction, so
she would have to invest a lot into this venture. This was why she was a bit
hesitant. Artpe coaxed her to allay her concerns.
“I have to buy a lot from you this time around.”
“······hoo-ooh. I’ll buy it for 1650 gold.”
This was how over 1,500 gold was exchanged in a single transaction. Silpennon
was a crown prince of a nation, yet even his mouth fell open at the sight.
“Are adventurers the type of occupation where one makes a lucrative amount of
money?”
“Of course, if all adventurers could find a jackpot of a Dungeon like these little
customers, they could earn as much. Unfortunately, 70% of all adventurers fail
to find anything. Then about 20% of the adventurers covet the treasures, but
they retreat when faced with danger. Nine percent of the adventurers bravely
charge forward and they are killed.”
“So that means only 1% of them are able to get what they want?”
“Moreover, if the 1% challenges another Dungeon, they’ll be back in the roulette
with 1% chance of succeeding.”
Opportunity always come hand in hand with risk. However, one shouldn’t be
delusional about the order in which it was faced. If opportunity exists within
danger, the idiots always died first.
“... I will take those words to heart.”
“Well, if one observe these customers, it does make one wonder if those
statistics are wrong!”
After Mycenae delivered the warning with a serious voice, she undercut her own
words as she turned around. She looked at the last loot left behind by the Huge
Slime..
“The last thing left is the chest plate. Its durability and Mana reaction seems to
be uncommon…..”
However, before the sensor for Mycenae's worldly desires could activate, Artpe
handed the armor to Maetel.
“Maetel.”
“Yes, thank you!”
“Why don’t you two just hurry up and marry?!”
It was called a Blast Plate. It was an armor that only protected the body from the
front.
It had a red sheen, and at a glance, one could tell it was something
extraordinary. It had the option of protecting its owner from a critical blow, and a
fixed amount of Mana was consumed to blunt the effects of an attack. The
options were perfect for a defensive gear.
The cherry on top was that it had a similar option to the Bone Gauntlet. It could
raise the user’s strength by detecting its owner’s emotions. It was the perfect
armor for Maetel, who used Berserk. Since it had an emotion type buff on it, it
was the emotion felt by the Huge Slime right before it perished. However, such
information could be omitted.
“Hue hue. The red light is too pretty.”
“Ah. I think there are more customers that will look for that instead of the
bow…..”
Maetel was happy, and Mycenae was wistful. Leseti, who didn’t have any claims
to the artifact, could only look on as she smacked her lips.
It was as if he didn’t care what they were feeling. Artpe suddenly sat on the floor,
and his eyes let out a harsh light. It was as if the main fight was yet to come!
That was what his expression indicated.
“Sit next to me, Maetel.”
“Yes!”
Maetel, who didn’t know what was going on, sat next to Artpe, and her eyes
shone too. The bizarreness of the situation doubled.
Artpe spoke in a solemn manner towards the puzzled Mycenae.
“I told you I have a lot to buy this time around, ajumma.”
“I’m not an ajumma. However, you clearly did say that.”
“Hoo…..”
Artpe shut his eyes tight. There were a lot of thoughts going through his head as
he was about to spend an enormous amount of money.
Should he do it right now? Should he? He needed money for many things in the
future, so should he make such an expenditure at this point in time?
However, he didn’t know when he’ll be able to see the Dungeon Merchant again.
It would be hard to find a suitable location such as this…..
“All right.”
“I’ll be embarrassing if you suddenly confess to me.”
Artpe replied to Mycenae's remark, which had been made in humor.
“I want you to give me all the Skill Books that can be learned by a level 150
Warrior and a level 150 Magician.”
“······.”
Artpe did the only thing that the palace did right in developing the hero.
Basically, he started on the task of turning money into ability.
Chapter 32 - Dungeon, Evolution and Success (6)
In truth, Artpe wanted to purchase all the close combat Skill Books and Spell
Books affiliated with the magician Class.
If he did that, he would basically reveal to everyone that Artpe and Maetel were
heroes. Moreover, he didn’t have enough money to purchase all of them.
Currently, this was the best Artpe could do.
“Ooh-wah. You are doing something only a noble family would do.”
Yet it was enough to make Mycenae feel overwhelmed. She searched through
her cargo to bring out all the Skill Books and Spell Books she possessed. She
couldn’t hold back her bitter laughter. Artpe appraised each one of them, and he
explained to Maetel on the use of these books.
“This is one of the psychotic things that monsters, beings from other races and
humans fight each other for. It is something they do in an attempt to live a little
bit longer. This is the most legal and safe form of doping. It is one of the very few
cheat keys allowed in this world. There is only one thing we have to give up in
return.”
Artpe grinned as gold coins poured out of the pouch held out by Mycenae.
“Money.”
“If one’s ability is lacking, this strategy won’t work. A sloppily-learned skill would
only lead to tears later… Well, I’m pretty sure you guys will be fine.”
Mycenae hadn’t seen them fight, but she had a decent idea on how talented they
were. They had the luck of finding great rewards in any Dungeon they went to.
Even if one put aside their luck, they were unperturbed after doing a full clear of
the Dungeon. Just this fact was very telling.
“Still, haven’t you learned most of the basic Skills? This means your Stats will
go up slightly. You won’t benefit much from them.”
“This allows one to buy one’s life with money…….”
“Yes. Yes. The fact that you treasure your life is a very admirable trait.”
The Skill Books were expensive. The most basic and useless ones were worth
several dozen silvers. A basic Skill Book was around 1 gold, so one could only
imagine how expensive a Skill Book would be if it was useful in battle. Maetel
counted the Skill Books as they were handed over to Artpe.
“Only 14….. Moreover, I’ve already learned 8 of them! So how much are these,
Artpe?”
“It’s 619 gold. Of course, there are some that are only worth couple golds, but
there are also ones that are worth several dozen golds. Normally a Skill Book
jumps several dozen times in value if it becomes known that it is a bit useful.”
“A book costs several dozen gold!”
“Didn’t you just hear that Mana Control was worth 350 gold?”
Maetel really didn’t like the fact that she would have to learn a Skill Book when
she already knew the Skill. She would be doing such an act in an attempt to
marginally grow her Stats. However, Artpe had provided all of this with her in
thought, so she couldn’t just spurn the gesture. She had no choice, but to learn it
all.
“Hoo-ooooh······.”
“As expected, you aren’t an ordinary talent. You were able to learn and get used
to the Skills in an instant….”
“For the love of god, you are using those expensive Skill Books in one sitting!”
“That’s the part that surprises you, Leseti?”
There was an upside in learning all the Skills at once. Each of Maetel’s stamina,
agility and strength rose by 10. Normally, one’s Stat rose by three in total when a
warrior leveled up. This meant she had gained Stats equivalent to increasing 10
levels.
Of course, a level up didn’t only give Stats, so it was impossible to do a one on
one comparison. Still, if one was in a situation where one’s death was assured, a
difference in 30 Stat points might be enough to allow one to survive the situation.
Moreover, if it was Maetel, she would be much more efficient in using the
increase in Stats.
“So this is how adventurers arm themselves.”
“I told you it isn’t like that. There aren’t that many adventurers, who are blessed
with such an environment!”
“Koohk. If I had that much support, I would be stronger…....”
“Leseti, it must have been hard on you······.”
Anyways, the purchase of the Skill Books ended without any hitch.
The problem was the Spell Books.
“There are only 9 Spell Books!? Artpe, this is a scam!”
“All of them combined are worth 608 gold? Still, you were able to prepare quite a
lot of them for me.”
“As expected, you know your stuff!”
The Skill Book prices looked inflated, but the pricing was weak compared to the
Spell Books. There were only a very small number of magic type Classes in
existence. Naturally, the number of spell books were proportionately low in
number. There weren’t a lot of them out there.
This was why it wasn’t easy to purchase a spell he wanted. The limitation of the
supply was hard to overcome. It was as Artpe had said. It was almost a miracle
that Mycenae possesed so many Spell Books.
“You should feel fortunate in the fact that you were able to meet me. Even most
magician towers don’t release this amount of material.”
“Half of these magic are for everyday chores, so stop trying to stump for
yourself.”
Artpe snorted as he learned the Spells at once. These were spells useful for
everyday life, and it was considered to be on the lower rung in terms of difficulty.
Still, it normally took several tries to learn it. However, Artpe was the possessor
of the Read All Creation ability. He could learn the Spell Books just by holding it
in his hand.
“Ho-ooh. It rose around 23 magical energy…..? That’s not too bad.”
The value highlighted the fact that Hyper Rubbing was a high rank magic spell.
When Artpe learned Hyper Rubbing, his magical energy went up by 20. He had
learned nine magic spells, yet his magic energy rose by 23!
“You are understating it by saying it wasn’t too bad! Do you realize how
monstrous of a feat you just accomplished!?”
“Hoong. If I didn’t have the ability to back it up, why would I ask for all your Spell
Books?”
Artpe finished the task as if it was nothing, but Mycenae, who was watching the
sight, couldn’t hide her shock. When one learned many magic spells at one, the
theory behind the magic spells clashed, and there was a chance one might
become a vegetable! So how was he able to do so!
This wasn’t something that could be done, because one was good at controlling
Mana. One needed an incredible amount of memorization and computation skills
to achieve what he had accomplished!
“Customer.”
Mycenae extended her hands. They moved like lightning as she grabbed one of
Artpe’s hand. Her eyes shone. Maetel growled from behind, but Mycenae didn’t
pay attention to her. She spoke with sincerity as she tried to convince him.
“Do you have any desire to use your talent in the marketplace!?”
“Nope.”
“Chet.”
After Artpe firmly rebuffed Mycenae’s entreaty, he put his mind into motion. He
had spent around 1,200 gold in purchasing the Skills and Spells. In truth, he had
prepared himself to spend up to 2,000 gold, so he had a good amount of money
left.
He thought about purchasing more potions, yet they still had plenty of
consumables. Next, he thought about equipment, but they didn’t really need a
particular piece of equipment right now.
“Mmm….. Ughh.”
Artpe thought a little bit more on it. Then he asked a question to Mycenae with a
slightly lowered voice.
“Do you have artifacts that can hinder perception? If possible, I want you to give
me a good one.”
“Hoooooog?”
Mycenae’s expression turned sly. She didn't ask any further questions. She just
took out two rings. They weren’t fancy. The two rings looked to be made out of
discolored gold. She held the rings out in her hand, and she had a triumphant
expression on her face.
“As it happen, I have two highest quality artifacts left! It is in the form of a ring so
it is easy to hide, and its outward appearance can go through minor changes.
Moreover, these were made by a high rank magician, so there’s no way you’ll be
detected by anyone under level 250…..”
“All right. I’ll buy it for 500 gold each. What do you say to 1,000 gold?”
“You aren’t allowing me the opportunity to barter.”
Artpe put one of the rings worth 500 gold on his finger. He gave the other one to
Maetel.
“I'll tell you how to use the artifact later. Just put it on for now.”
“F...five hundred gold… For 500 gold…. How many cows is that? I don’t know!”
Maetel was in a deep state of turmoil, but in the end, she put on the ring. She
wrapped her hand around the finger with the ring on it as if it was something to
be treasured. Her cheeks had turned red. It was clear that she had mistook the
gesture for something else. However, nothing bad would come from her
treasuring the ring. Artpe smirked as he turned his head….
“I want two artifacts that hinder the perception of others! Give it to me!”
Even if he threw away his rank as the crown prince, he couldn’t lose his face.
Silpennon clung to Mycenae as if he had found a road to his salvation.
As expected, the guy was pretty smart. Silpennon was in the same situation as
Artpe and Maetel where he had to hide his existence by using the item to avoid
detection.
“But, your highnes….. No, that isn’t right. Silpennon-nim, the woman clearly
said that those were her last two…..”
“I don’t care if doesn’t perform as well! You must have others!”
“Uh, oh my! Come to think of it, I have exactly two more left!”
“······.”
The party members stared at her with cold gazes. Mycenae acted shameless by
whistling under their cold gazes. This was called iron face in the vocabulary of
the merchants. It was clear that she was a master of this highest rank technique
As expected of a veteran merchant!
“Hoo. Just give it to me.”
If that was how merchants had to act, he never wanted to become a merchant.
Silpennon took out a thousand gold. The money he brought out from the palace
wasn’t unlimited. Still, he couldn’t skimp on money when it came to preserving
his own life.
“You won't regret this trade!”
“Do you perhaps have 11 of the same item still left in your possession?”
“The part about its efficacy was real. You can trust me on that part. Ooh-cha.”
Artpe let out a sigh as he got up.
He sold what he had to sell, and he bought what he had purchase. The trade
was done.
However, there was still a deal to be made for the others.
“Ajumma, I have work where you’ll have to travel.”
“Oh my. Are you asking me out on a date? In truth, it isn’t as if I don’t like you,
but you should make the request after growing up for five years, at the very
least.”
“As part of your job as a merchant, don’t you offer a service to teach beginner
adventurers? I want you to teach them about the basic common sense of being
an adventurer.”
Silpennon and Leseti had been divvying up the rings amongst themselves, and
they hadn’t expected the spark to fly towards them. They blinked their eyes. A
lesson for beginner adventurers? Such a thing existed?
“You completely ignored my words! Kook…. All right. I’ll do it!”
Mycenae acted as if she had been humiliated, but she quickly transitioned into
her business mode. In such a situation, her battle capability and bargaining
power increased by 20%! She patted her ample breast as she boasted about
herself.
“You already know this, right? I’m a veteran trader. Normally, I don’t take on
such simple jobs. This should be obvious, but my pay is pretty high.”
“However, you will apply a proper 30% discount there, right?”
“Koohk!”
She knew she couldn’t win against him, yet she stalled for time. She had a
personality befitting the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings. Artpe
thought Mycenae would have done well as one of the Four Heavenly Kings
instead of being a merchant.
Artpe spoke to Silpennon.
“Since I’ve helped you up to this point, the rest is up to you now. Originally, I
brought you guys to the Dungeon with the intention of letting you guys meet the
Dungeon Merchant. It is good for beginner adventurers like you guys to have a
good rapport with the Dungeon Merchants.”
“If we go by age, you guys could be considered beginner adventurers…...”
Silpennon was dismayed, so he mumbled those words to himself. Still, he
intended to take full advantage of the stage provided by Artpe. Since Artpe
insisted on this, he’ll acquire all the information he could from the Dungeon
Merchant!
“Ughh. The price changes depending on time. However, if a 30% discount is
applied again…..”
“It is time for us to go.”
“Yes!”
“What!?”
Silepennon and Leseti were on their best behavior as they were about to get
ready for the lesson. They turned to look at Artpe in surprise.
“Are you going to abandon us?!”
“It is as I’ve promised. We finished the Dungeon together. I increased your level
and skills. I’ve even arranged for you to receive an education as an adventurer.
What more do you want?”
“B...but…..”
Silpennon and Lesti stared at Artpe. Both their eyes shook. They looked at him
as if he was a lover that was leaving them, and in truth, he did feel a little bit bad
about this.
“I want to repay my debts, yet I won’t have any way to find you in the future.”
“When S...Silpennon-nim passes away, I planned on putting myself in your care!
Are you trying to make me a wandering knight?”
“What the hell? Who’s going to pass away?”
The man and woman fought as if their relationship as master and servant would
end soon. Mycenae stared at Artpe as she spoke in a small voice.
“You must love it since you are so popular, customer.”
“You are being noisy. Shut up. Just sell me the communication device.”
“You really provided everything for them even as you gripe. You are so cute that
I can’t help myself! Fifty eight gol······.”
“If we apply the 30% discount, it will be 40 gold, right?”
“Goo-oooooooohk!”
One’s intentions didn’t matter. It was also the fate of the hero to be blindly loved
by the people around him. Artpe was still unaware of this fact.
Chapter 33 - Come to Think of It, I'm a Hero (1)
Artpe and Maetel left the three people behind as they exited the Dungeon. Of
course, he wasn’t able to completely shed his worry about Silpennon’s future.
However, if Silpennon died after he did this much for him, it was just fate!
“So, Artpe, where are we headed now?”
“Originally, I wanted us to go into some decent Dungeons to grow our levels,
but…..”
They had entered the Dungeon to grow Silpennon to a respectable level.
However, a Huge Slime had appeared, and it allowed Artpe to become level
163. Maetel had grown to level 174. He hadn’t intended for this, yet their levels
had increased explosively. They didn’t really intend for this to happen, yet they
had experienced a tempest of growth. They really didn’t need to go searching
for a different Dungeon as of now. As expected, the power of a hero was
amazing!
Somehow, Maetel looked wistful at his words.
“So we aren’t going to any more Dungeons? I thought the Dungeons were really
fun. I love becoming stronger!”
Even if she wasn’t a hero, he surmised she would have become the strongest in
the world no matter what her Class was. While he had this distant thought, he
soon let out a bitter laugh as he consoled her.
“There will come a day when you’ll have to basically live inside Dungeons even if
you don’t want to. That is why you should be patient for now. At the very least,
we won’t be pushed around at this level.”
In the demon world, it was hard for beings under level 200 to strut around in the
Demon world, but they were in the human world. The grand master of this
kingdom had barely exceeded level 200, yet the world praised his name. No one
will be able to restrain them in such a world.
On top of that, they possessed the Record Link, and Maetel’s various skills had
grown significantly. If the specialness of being a hero was added, he wondered if
any being under level 200 would be able to face her.
In a world where level was the absolute indicator of one’s strength, the fact that
she could jump over this demarcation was an amazing talent.
“However, if we meet anyone above that level, we have to run away. The high
rank Class over level 200 differ in quality.”
“Wasn’t the Slime we just caught over level 200?”
“That one is an exception. It is like the weakest amongst the four Heavenly
Kings. He is frequently excluded from being listed amongst the ranks of the
strongest beings.”
It didn’t matter how far it had evolved. In the end, the Slime suffered an
ignominious death even after it ate all the Mana in its vicinity to become huge.
This was the reason why Artpe had been relaxed even as the Slime ate an entire
Dungeon. It wouldn’t have mattered if it evolved using 10 or 100 floors. He
would have left it alone. He would have considered it a great opportunity to
completely refine the Demite’s Gemstone.
“As expected, Artpe is amazing?”
“You always come to that conclusion.”
“Hoo-hoo-hoong.”
It looked as if Maetel was very happy that she was alone with Artpe again.
Artpe was slowly getting used to her endless affection and skinship. However,
he worried she would get sick of him some day. A person’s feeling was one of
the most powerful motivators, but emotions were temporary and fickle. It wasn’t
something that was easy to deal with.
‘It isn’t as if I want to detain the hero. However, if she stops following my
directions before we kill the Demon King, it’ll be a problem. Maybe, I can use
Charm magic…. No, that plan is impossible if her resistance to Mana is put into
consideration…. Tsk. Yes, I have to admit it to myself. I wouldn’t like myself if I
did that to her.’
He tried hard to think like the bad guy, but in the end, he let out a sigh. Yes, he
really hated messing with another being’s free will. From the time he was
enslaved by the Demon King, he had suffered under the same treatment. He
knew how shitty something like that was.
What if he did that to a hero? Even if god could forgive him, Artpe wouldn’t be
able to forgive himself.
‘Moreover, if I am to be a little bit more honest with myself, I…..’
Artpe had been trying very hard not to have these thoughts until now, yet he
attempted to confront his inner feelings…. His face suddenly turned red, and he
stopped that train of thought.
When he stopped the thought process, the scene from his past life flashed
through his mind. It was the sight of the dependable and pure hero’s face, who
had faced him in front of the Demon King’s castle.
“······Artpe, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
“Nope. It’s nothing. Hey, your face is too close. Move it. Hey.”
“I don’t want to! I want to hold your hand!”
Her timing was uncanny as she pushed her face towards Artpe. Artpe was
startled, so he tried to push her away. However, there was no way Artpe could
win in terms of strength.
In the end, Artpe had to do what Maetel wanted. She gained ownership of
Artpe’s arm. She energetically swung their arms as if they were little children
going on a picnic.
“I really love the fact that we are walking together! Just the two of us!”
“You'll be sick of it soon.”
“I’ll never be sick of it. Not even in a thousand years!”
“The scale you think in is like that of a dragon's”
In the end, Artpe had to laugh at Maetel’s innocent reply.
Then he spoke to her in a kind voice.
“Let's go recruit a new member for the hero’s party.”
“Eeeesh-eeeeng!”
As soon as she expressed her pleasure at being alone with him, Artpe
immediately declared his intention of adding a new member! This savagery was
an aspect that was befitting one of Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s
army!
In his past life, the Diaz Kingdom had been held together quite easily. It wasn’t
as if there wasn’t a rebellion caused by the Archduke, but the hero was able to
suppress it easily.
Diaz had been peaceful thanks to the hero, and they were able to prosper. This
was all before the full-out war with the Demon King’s army had started.
‘However, it isn’t like that anymore.’
Artpe sighed when they arrived at the first town, since they had left the Slime
Dungeon. The town was quite dreary. Maetel, who had expected a bustle of
people, was taken aback at the frozen atmosphere of the town.
“What’s wrong with this place, Artpe?”
“It is said that when a ruler clears his throat, the citizens would suffer. With that
in mind, the country just went through a change in ownership Of course, the
whole country will be in tumult.”
In some ways, this was the biggest change that had occurred, because of Artpe.
If Artpe hadn’t run away with the hero, this rebellion would have never occurred.
If the agitated Maetel, who was next to Artpe, was still inside the castle, the
humans that sought to satisfy their own selfish interests and desires wouldn’t
have been able to take control.
Still, it was as Silpennon had said. This occurred because of the internal politics
of the kingdom. This wasn’t Maetel’s fault. Of course, Artpe wasn’t at fault either.
This was why they didn’t need to feel any guilt.
‘Still, this does annoy me a little bit.’
Artpe let out a sigh as he looked at Maetel, who looked a bit sad. He placed a
hand atop her head.
“We shouldn’t worry ourselves over all of this. We just have to do what is within
our power, and we have to defeat our final foe, the Demon King.”
“Will everyone become happy when we defeat the Demon King?”
In the old tales, the world became peaceful when the hero defeated the Demon
King. Of course, these were only old tales. Artpe’s view was grounded in reality.
“No. However, if the Demon world loses its leader, people will rush towards the
Demon world to conquer it. For a brief time, there would be a need for
manpower, and even civilians with no abilities would have a chance to get their
hands on a good amount of loot. Of course, it also depends on the ability of
humans to defend their newly found peace.”
“The Demon world…...? What about the Demons in the Demon world?”
She was astute in the questions she asked. For an instant, Artpe thought about
his previous life where the Demon King had subjugated their entire Demon race.
He thought about himself….. In the end, he shook his head from side to side.
“You don’t have to worry about the Demon race. We just have to kill them all.”
“Everyone said that Demons are bad, but….. There are bad people amongst
humans, so wouldn’t there also be kind Demons in the Demon race?”
“·····.”
Artpe shut his mouth at the unexpected question. Her eyes did not falter. She
stared at Artpe with sincere eyes. This was why he was hesitant to give her a
rash answer.
“That’s…....”
In the human world, everyone grew up being educated that ‘Humans are good
and the Demons are bad.’
The power of indoctrination was scary. Even those that were learned and
experienced in the world held absolute hostility towards the Demon race.
‘However, she came to hate the humans first.’
To be precise, the humans that tried to kill Artpe, and it was apt to say that her
faucet was turned the wrong way. Afterwards, Maetel was able to willingly swing
her sword against humans.
In truth, Artpe had worried a lot about this fact. He worried her nature would
move closer to being that of a Berserker.
However, he just learned that he was the standard she was using to determine
what was good and what was bad. This was why he decided not to interfere in
determining what was right and wrong for her. He wouldn’t do so even if the
topic was about humans and the Demons.
‘I wonder if she’ll start to hesitate when killing monsters in the future.’
In the end, Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he lightly patted her head.
She was still only 13 years old. This was a question where even Artpe hadn’t
been able to come up with an answer. Nothing good will come from her worrying
over such a question.
“I already told you the standard of judgement you should use. You do what you
think is right. That is all there is to it. Don’t try to take on too big of a problem.
You should deal with what is immediately in front of you, and it will all work out in
the future”
“······yes, all right. For now, I want to do what you want to do.”
Artpe’s answer was a non-answer. However, she didn’t want to admit to herself
that Artpe was lacking in any aspect. This was why she decided to accept what
Artpe said as an absolute truth.
She decided to pretend that it was enough.
“But… But what if Artpe…...”
However, there was one question remaining that she needed answered.
“What happens if the Demon King is one the the good demons?”
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Fortunately, this was a question where he could give a definite answer. Artpe’s
eyes narrowed as he spoke in a firm manner.
“If the Demon king is considered to be kind, that would mean no evil would exist
in this world.”
“I understand. I’ll trust you, Artpe!”
This was how the Q&A session between the two heroes ended. He was sure a
day would come when he would come across this question again, but this was
enough for now.
The two had a serious conversation that was unbefitting of young kids as they
entered the town. Sure enough, the town was being searched by soldiers sent
by the palace.
“Have you seen him before! He’s a youth with red hair! Red hair!”
“We are looking for a black haired brat, and a blonde haired girl. Are you
perhaps hiding them in your home? Huh?”
Rough looking soldiers were searching each house. There was a reason why
the town wasn’t lively at all.
The soldiers weren’t just searching for the crown prince. They were also trying to
find the missing heroes from a year ago. When she realized this fact, Maetel
was a bit frightened. She stuck close to Artpe, but he was completely relaxed.
“The artifact that obstruct recognition is working perfectly, so we’ll be fine.”
“Still, I’m worried…...”
The two of them were using artifacts that obstructed recognition, so it looked as if
they possessed brown hair and dark brown eyes. These were the most common
color amongst the population, and they looked very average. If they were still
detained even though they weren’t heroes, they could just kill that person on the
grounds that he was a pedophile.
“Hey, you guys over there! Come here and show me your faces!”
“Of course, there are occasionally bastards like him…..”
There were people, who became violent, when they were placed in a position of
power. It wasn’t just about one’s voice becoming louder. This was especially
true when faced with young children, who looked weak.
“What did you say?”
Of course, the solution was simple. He just had to put them in their place.
“Hee...heek.”
Artpe took off his robe to reveal his changed brown hair, then he floated two
fireballs into the air. The overbearing soldier, who had been shouting towards
them, froze in place.
“You are being too noisy. I don’t care who you are looking for. Shut up. You
should go on about quietly. All right?”
“A m...mage…...!”
The soldier couldn’t reply properly. His gaze was firmly planted on the fireballs,
which were moving around freely based on the gesture of Artpe’s hand. The
nearby soldiers had already retreated.
“Hey. Aren’t you going to answer me?”
When Artpe glared as he moved the fireballs, the soldier finally bowed his head
in surprise.
“I....I’m sorry, mage!”
“If you feel that way then get the hell out of my sight. From this moment on, if I
see any of you, you won’t need a hearth to feel warm ever again.”
“Yes. Yes, sir!”
The one that gave the answer as well as the demoralized soldiers exited the
town at once. It was as if there was a flash flood. Artpe gave a light laugh as he
turned to look at Maetel.
“You just have to simply show them your power against idiots like them. This is
the easiest way to resolve the problem for both sides, so you should remember
this.”
“Oooh. Artpe is too cool…..!”
There were stars in Maetel’s eyes.
Mmm. It seemed Artpe’s message hadn’t taken hold at all.
“What’s so cool about such a cheap threat?”
“I said Artpe looked cool, because you looked cool. I just said what I thought!”
“Yes. Yes. I was the foolish one.”
Artpe let out a sigh as he turned around. Since he chased the annoying flies
away, he had to acquire a place to stay for the night.
Artpe only realized afterwards that he had made a mistake in his calculations.
“Heek ”
“H...hide!”
“Should we run away?”
“P... please spare me!”
“······.”
It seemed the townspeople had become frightened alongside the soldiers. No
one wanted to open their doors to the party with the scary magician.
“Ah…...”
It took them 30 minutes. Artpe was barely able to book a room at the inn. As he
was served soup, he decided not to use magic in front of the civilians if he could
help it.
“We’ll be on a tight schedule starting tomorrow. We won’t be resting until we get
to our destination, so you should be prepared for it.”
“When you say a comrade, who are you trying to find?”
“That is…....”
The hero from his past life had undergone countless trial and error to find her
companions. She started off with a thief, then she joined forces with a warrior,
archer and a priestess…..
However, there was a problem with the party’s firepower. Aside from the
priestess, all the members of the hero’s party were powerful beings that had the
power of hundred to a thousand men. Yet they weren’t talented enough to turn
the tide of a battle by themselves. They were only deployed in situations where a
small elite force was effective.
However, the situation had completely changed when a magician joined the
hero’s party. The magician possessed such brilliant talent that she was
considered second only to the hero! The magician’s ability was so great that the
achievement of the hero’s party was separated depending on what happened
before and after the magician joined the party.
Since Artpe had the knowledge about his previous life, his choice was obvious.
“We are going to find a mage”
Artpe didn’t care if their positions overlapped. Not, this was actually better! If a
magician joined the party early, he could develop her. If he did a good job,
maybe he could end all of this, while not having to enter the battlefield!
“I just need Artpe…..”
Maetel grumbled as if she still didn’t like the idea, but he ignored her.
At this point in time, he already knew where he could find the magician.
They just have to go see her now!
At that moment, someone knocked on the door to their room.
“E...excuse me. May I bother you for a brief moment….?”
A thin and high voice of a girl was heard. Maetel answered yes, and she didn’t
hesitate to answer the door. When the door was opened, a very plain looking girl
was standing there. She looked like the Village Girl A that could be found in any
town.
“Uh….. Ah…..”
When Artpe caught sight of her, he immediately activate his Read All Creation
ability.
At that moment, Artpe finally realized something.
The job as a hero had just started.
Chapter 34 - Come to Think of It, I'm a Hero (2)
“M...my name is Aena.”
“That’s enough with your self-introduction.”
Artpe stopped his face from crumpling when he saw the face of the girl. He
brushed aside her words.
“I want you to tell me your request, and what you will be able to give me. Keep it
short.”
“······.”
It was said from the olden times that it was crucial to clear a Quest as soon as
possible! He just needed to know the content of the Quest and the reward. He
didn’t care about minor details like her situation.
“Heek.”
“Artpe…..”
The girl, who came looking for them, and Maetel, who had been looking at Aena,
turned to look at Artpe with dumbfounded expressions when they heard his
words. Aena was barely able to open her mouth before Artpe’s expression could
crumple.
“I...in truth, the soldiers came to our town couple days ago. He was captured by
them, and he hasn’t been returned…..”
“All right. What’s the reward?”
“······.”
He even skipped the content of the Quest! If others heard his words, they might
have been impressed by Artpe’s strong desire for obtaining a reward.
However, Artpe’s expression was excessively harsh. It wasn’t directed at the girl
or the quest. His anger seemed to be directed at someone else.
“A r...reward…. I don’t have anything I can give you…...”
The girl looked like she was about to cry. Of course, Artpe knew this even before
he heard her words. The girl wore very threadbare clothes, and when he
checked with his Read All Creation ability, she didn’t possess any items worth
having on her body.
Despite this fact, Artpe continued to interrogate her.
“What? You don’t even have a single bronze coin?”
“I do have a bronze coin, but that isn’t enough…..”
Aena’s eyes started to fill with tears. However, Artpe ruthlessly pushed his hand
out towards her.
“Give it to me.”
“······what?”
“I want you to take out the bronze coin.”
Aena’s expression indicated that she had no idea what was going on, but she
took out a bronze coin.
She possessed a very dirty bronze coin. It held very little value to Artpe that he
wanted to snort, but it was a very precious and large sum of money for the girl.
The money was very important to her.
“H….here…...”
Aena thought she had come looking for the wrong people. She thought she was
getting ripped off in her time of need. Her eyes were shedding large amount of
tears as she placed the bronze coin on top of Artpe’s hand. Maetel was very
angry as she watched what was going on. She had to scold Artpe! She had to
scold him a lot! Artpe that makes a child cry was a bad Artpe!
“Artpe!”
“Be quiet, Maetel. I’m trying to assume the Quest Reward. Usually, not even
dogs interrupt that process.
“Y...yes.”
However, Artpe replied as if he had predicted Maetel would become angry. She
immediately shut her mouth. She was overwhelmed by Artpe’s attitude. She
had no idea what made him so angry from the start, but Artpe was incredibly
scary right now….. He also looked a little bit cool.
“Hoo-ooh······.”
After he quieted Maetel, he firmly gripped the coin he extorted from the girl. He
put the coin away, and after he blinked once, he stood up.
Then he spoke clearly towards the girl.
“All right. I’ve accepted your Quest reward. Your payment in advance was
100%, and your balance is 0%. I will undertake the Quest starting now.”
This was the very first Quest he had accepted in his lifetime.
“What?”
“Our account is all settled now, so we are going to go find your dongsaeng”
“Yes······?”
Aena blinked her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
However, Artpe didn’t hesitate. He put on his robe.
In truth, he was very sleepy, so he wanted to lie down. However, he could
always sleep later. He felt restless right now. It felt as if he wouldn’t be able to
take it if he didn’t move right now. This was why he prodded Aena into action in
annoyance.
“Why are you standing there doing nothing? I’ve received the reward, so I’m
going to do the Quest. Are you deaf?”
“Ah, no. But….!”
“I’m going to go find your dongsaeng starting now. I’ll somehow find a way to
track him down, and I’ll return him to your side. Are you sure you want to set this
as the condition that will complete the Quest?”
“······ah. Ah. Ah.”
The girl finally understood what was going on. Until a moment ago, she had
thought this young magician was trying to steal her money. However, he was
saying he would really find her dongsaeng in return for that coin!
Even after thinking over it, the situation didn’t make any sense to her, so she
wondered if he was lying. However, Artpe was looking at her with sincere eyes,
so she couldn’t ask him if he was lying to her.
This was why she decided to trust Artpe.
“T...thank you very much! I...I don’t know how I should express my thanks….”
“You can thank me after I find and return your dongsaeng safely to your side. I
hope I’m not too late, but…...”
Artpe grinded his teeth as he took in the sight of the girl again. He activated his
Read All Creation ability, and her status was revealed to him.
[Aena]
[Level : 1]
[Curse : The process changing into low Class Magic Type Foreign Species 1%]
[Drank water containing Cursed Mana four days ago.]
‘Which son of a bitch did this…..’
Could a person be turned into a monster? The correct answer was yes. It was
easy for corpses in places with negative Mana to come back as zombies or
ghouls. Then there were voluntary methods that would allow one to become a
Death Knight or a Lich.
Amongst the Curses, there were a decent amount that turned a subject into a
monster. Currently, a curse that turned a person into a monster was placed on
her. This was the most representative example of someone violating a human’s
free will.
He had expressed this sentiment before, but this was the type of nonsense he
hated the most.
The sound of his teeth grinding could be heard.
“As expected, Artpe is kind. You always told me ‘A person should always be
precise in one’s calculations!”
“Nope. My calculations were precise, right?”
“Pi. Liar. Artpe is just embarrassed.”
Artpe smirked as he started spouting bullshit towards Maetel.
“Listen well, Maetel. The value of an item is relative. Basically, if I think my
calculation is correct, then it is correct.”
This was why the Quest Reward was important. If judged in an objective manner,
even if something was worth a lot, it wouldn’t be worth much to him if it wasn’t
something he needed. The balance in his calculation would be skewed. It was
most definitely a tortuous way of thinking, but it was an absolute rule he followed.
“So what about you, Maetel?”
Artpe tapped his chest. It was the pocket where he put away the bronze coin.
“Is 1 Bronze enough for you as a Quest Reward?”
Maetel looked into Artpe’s rage-filled eyes. She wondered why he was so angry.
She thought maybe she’ll be able to find out the underlying reason if she carried
out Aena’s request with him.
She always wanted a deeper understanding of Artpe. She was sure this request
would move her a step closer to her goal.
If she was able to do so, that was a reward in itself.
“·····Yes. It is more than enough.”
“All right. We’ll carry out the Quest at the same time.”
The two held hands as they immediately rushed out of the room with Aena in the
front. They arrived at a very small hut, and numerous townspeople were
crowded inside the hut.
“M...magician-nim. In truth, my son was also…..”
“My d….daughter was captured. Those soldiers took all of the nearby children
saying they need to check thoroughly…….!”
“I beg of you, mage-nim. Please! Our children!”
Everyone had similar stories to Aena. When Maetel saw the crowd of people,
she wondered why they hadn’t come along with Aena. Why had they remained
outside? Maetel had a puzzled expression on her face, but Artpe already had a
good grasp of this situation.
Aena was probably sent to them as a representative of the townspeople, who
had lost their children. They wanted to make the request, but they were too
afraid to meet with Artpe. This was why they had pushed forward the youngest
and weakest amongst them to speak to Artpe.
Even amongst the weak, there was always someone that was weaker than the
others. This was why people like them always insisted on sacrificing the weakest
amongst them. When it looked as if Artpe had accepted the quest, they finally
scrambled to meet him.
Artpe spoke firmly towards the townspeople surrounding him.
“I want everything you guys own.”
“W...what? But you only wanted one bronze from Aena….”
“I received her entire net worth. I have to be fair in receiving the Quest Rewards.
So are you going to request a Quest from me? Or maybe…. Shall I extract the
price with my own hands?”
Everyone gathered at the location was struck dumb. They didn’t need to look at
Artpe’s twisted smile to know that he was serious about his words.
For some reason, the young mage was very angry right now, and if they were
rash in provoking him, their missing children wouldn’t be the only problem they
would face. The townspeople realized that they might be sent to a place where
they would never be able to return from.
“U...understood!”
“We’ll bring it!”
Everyone quickly ran into their homes. Artpe spat on the ground as he saw their
backs, and he turned to look at Maetel. It looked as if she was still having a hard
time completely understanding the situation.
“You would do well to watch this carefully. A crappy hero goes house to house to
seize goods. A veteran hero like me makes the townspeople do my work
instead.”
“······Artpe looks like a really bad guy, but you look so cool that I like it anyways.”
Artpe wasn’t a veteran hero. He had merely been one of the Four Heavenly
Kings in his past life yet he was shit talking in a confident manner. Maetel let out
an opinion that was bit strange for a hero to say. When Aena looked at both of
them with a dumbfounded expression, Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he asked
her a question.
“Do you have any clues as to where your dongsaeng was taken…. Of course,
you don't.”
“Yes. I just know that he was dragged away by the soldiers…....”
Aena once again had tears in her eyes as she lowered her head. As if Artpe had
expected this, he nodded his head. He easily organized the situation in his head.
This incident began when the heroes were born. The palace tried to acquire
them, yet they had failed. This brought instability to the throne. This allowed the
Archduke to be successful in his rebellion, and the throne was stolen.
The Archduke probably unleashed all the soldiers in this region to search for the
runaway crown prince and the heroes. He might have mobilized all the soldiers
inside the country. If he wanted to build a firm foundation for his power, the
archduke had to kill the crown prince. If he wanted to gain legitimacy for the
throne, he had to procure the heroes.
Artpe could somewhat see the natural flow of events. However, there were two
problems that he couldn’t explain.
First, the soldiers were capturing all young children to check up on them.
Secondly, Aena and maybe other children were being cursed through the
drinking water. The curse placed on them would turn them into monsters.
Of course, these two problems might have nothing to do with each other.
The Archduke might be doing a thorough job by gathering all the children. The
girl might have been unlucky in having a curse placed on her. The curse might
not have anything to do with the other captured children.
‘Still, I used to insist everything will go well before I suffered crushing defeats. I
had enough of that in my days as one of the Four Heavenly King inside the
Demon King’s army.’
This was why Artpe decided to assume the worst. It might not just be Aenea or
the children of this town. Maybe, all the children in this country were cursed.
He entertained the possibility of the people, who cursed the children, might have
ties to the Archduke. They might be acting under his order.
‘If we are lucky, it might just be a simple black magician. If we are unlucky, it’ll be
the Demon king’s army. If my past life is any indication, the Demon King didn’t
use such a full-scale tactic at this point in time…...’
He shouldn’t just take it for granted that something won’t happen, because it
hadn’t happened in his past life. No, he had to be more vigilant for that
eventuality.
Moreover, the world that had restarted thanks to his high rank ability didn’t
exactly match up with his previous life. If he domineered over others by clinging
to old memories, he might die an ignominious death that was befitting the
weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings.
‘I’ll work under the assumption that there is a connection between the Archduke
and the Demon King’s army. If so, I have a possible motive as to why the
Archduke captured all the children of this town. The Demon King’s army may
have used this opportunity to infect the children with the curse, and they are
using the soldiers to collect them….’
What were they planning to do with the children, who were turned into monsters?
He didn’t even need to ask that question. The general population would fall into
chaos, so the Demon King’s army would have achieved its goal. Anything that
happened afterwards was a bonus.
“That means….”
Artpe looked at Aena, and he thought how unlikely all of this was. If they hadn’t
come to this town… No, if he hadn’t frightened away the soldiers, it would have
been Aena’s turn to be taken away.
There weren’t any cursed children left in the town besides Aena. If she wasn’t
here, he wouldn’t have been so aggressive in jumping into this matter. He
wouldn’t have budged no matter what anyone would have said to him.
Basically, a small flame he had created at a whim had turned into this Quest.
“....so this is what it like to be a hero.”
Artpe shut his eyes as he mumbled to himself.
When he researched the progress of the hero in the past, he had wondered why
trouble seemed to follow the hero. Now that he was the person directly involved
in the matter, everything was falling into place.
He had no more excuses. Their actions forged the future. It sounded as if he
was using circular reasoning…. Ah, it couldn’t be. He probably wasn’t.
At that moment, it became noisy outside. The townspeople had brought their
‘entire fortune’
“M...magician-nim! We brought it all! This really is all our fortune!”
“It really is tough to make a living these days, so this is all we have. We are
telling you the truth….!”
“Will you really find my child just from receiving this? I feel ashamed to say this
is all we have….·!”
When everyone gathered, Artpe opened his eyes.
He didn’t plan on going through all the stuff brought to him by the people. He just
wanted to punk them for their disgraceful behaviors. He planned on saving the
blameless children from the start.
Of course, he couldn’t outwardly express such an attitude.
“You should all give your thanks to Aena. You were too scared to meet me even
though your children were captured. If it wasn’t for Aena’s bravery, I wouldn’t
have cared if your children died or not.”
The townspeople flinched at his venomous words. His words also struck a
nerve.
It should be enough to bring them to their senses. He hoped it was so.
“All right. After this, I’ll include all of you as clients. I’ll return your children…
Huh?”
He was indifferently gathering all the ‘fortunes’ gathered by the townspeople
when he saw a black pebble amongst the items. His eyes widened. A village
woman flinched, and she spoke as if she was giving an excuse.
“M...my husband found it in the past! It was so pretty that I was hoping it was an
expensive gem….. I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Artpe firmly shook his head.
“There is no way this is a gem, ajumma.”
“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! Please my son….!”
Artpe had a twisted smile on his lips as he picked it up.
He didn’t know if it was fate or inevitability. It might be either, but….. Ah ah.
This was quite fun.
“Its outer appearance looks like a gem, but this is something much more
important. Rejoice, ajumma.”
“What?”
“You saved all the children.”
“What!?”
[Obsidian of Greed]
[Rank A]
[A magical stone that sucks in all curses. If it contains a curse, it doesn’t
differentiate between Mana or a physical object. It absorbs and stores the curse.
It can be used as activation ingredient for certain special curse magic. The
amount of curse and the quality of curses will determine how much of a boos the
magic spell will receive. Currently, the stone is empty.]
Artpe’s purple eyes confirmed the true nature of the black stone, and he once
again let out a laugh.
He didn’t care who was pulling the strings to this plot. The idea of thoroughly
crushing all of them made him so happy that he couldn’t stop his laughter.
It was the first sortie for the rotten hero.
Chapter 35 - Come to Think of It, I'm a Hero (3)
The Obsidian of Greed was originally an item used to gather power of curses. It
was an ingredient used when making a more powerful curse.
This was an item for magicians who dealt in curses, and it was something they
desperately wanted. It was representative of magic stones that couldn’t be made
artificially.
‘Moreover, this one is Rank A. It means it can store a lot of curses.’
On the other hand, there was an obvious limitation to this item. If an item or a
Mana had the property of a curse, it would all be absorbed into the stone.
However, it was hard to do anything significant when the curse was already
active.
A curse wasn’t like placing a load on a person’s shoulder. A portion of a person’s
skin, bones, muscles, brain and heart went through subtle changes. These
changes permeated into one’s entire being, and the change would become
inextricably linked to one’s body.
This was why if one was rash in extracting the cursed Mana, the innate Mana
within the subject would go on a rampage before killing the subject.
“If so…. Come, Aena. I’ll deal with you first.”
“Y... yes!”
Of course, such limitations didn’t apply to Artpe, because he possessed a rare
cheat ability called the Read All Creation ability!
If he concentrated, he could get a detailed information on the composition of
plants or creatures. So how could extracting cursed Mana from affected regions
be difficult for him!
“This might hurt a little bit. Endure it.”
“W...what? What did I do······.”
“Endure it.”
“Ah, hoohk!?”
Artpe abruptly placed the Obsidian on Aena’s forehead. Afterwards, Aena’s body
started to shake. The townspeople who had been watching this sight
immediately stepped back in fright. Of course, Artpe didn’t pay any attention to
them.
“I caught it.”
He was able to pinpoint the part of her weak innate magical energy that was
being dyed black with the energy of the curse. After a precise extraction, he
spoke to her.
“Still, your erodibility was very low, so you didn’t suffer as much.”
“E...erodibility······?”
Aena was shaking from the pain as she asked him a question. She could
immediately guess at what had happened, so her eyes opened wide.
Yes, she was sure her body hadn’t felt normal.
If one felt fine when one was being changed into a monster through a curse, that
person would be the incredible one.
“Monster...Modification Curse….? Then my dongsaeng and the other children of
the town…..”
“The children were rounded up by them, because of that reason. Of course, they
are also the ones who placed the curse on you.”
“Eeeeeeeek.”
The girl bit her lips in anger. A small smile appeared on Artpe’s lips when he saw
this. Pain usually transferred into emotion. The curse had progressed to a mere
1%, yet for a brief moment when she raged…...
“All right. You did very well.”
“Ah.”
Artpe stepped back when he saw a slightly darker light within the Obsidian. He
checked her with his Read All Creation ability, and not an ounce of curse energy
was left behind. Aena blinked her eyes in wonder.
“My body feels light. I thought I had merely been tired and hungry…..”
“Did the unrest in your emotions lessen?”
“······yes.”
Artpe impishly asked the question when it seemed he already knew the answer.
Aena slightly nodded her head in confirmation. The townspeople who had been
behind her started to crowd forward.
“W...will we change into monsters too, magician-nim?”
“I’m sorry, but could you perhaps heal us too…..”
When it came to their own well-being, they were quick to step forward. Artpe let
out a bitter laugh as he shook his head.
“You guys are fine. It seems the curse was placed on children, who hadn’t
matured completely yet. So the problem is with your offsprings.”
“T...then my daughter….!?”
“Curse….. A curse!”
“It’ll be fine if I’m able to find them quickly. You shouldn’t worry about them this
early in the process.”
They had thought this was a simple matter of the soldiers capturing their sons
and daughters. However, a Modification Curse had been placed on them! The
complexion of the townspeople immediately darkened.
They were afraid of the sword carrying soldiers. However, they were more afraid
of magic and curses. These were mysterious powers of unknown origin.
“What shall we do, magician-nim? We’ll do anything. If my child turns into a
monster, I…….!”
“I beg of you! Please save my son!”
They were already very worried about their offsprings, but they found out there
was a time limit to their rescue. The townspeople were agitated, and they went
wild. If the soldiers were in front of them, they would have tried to rip them into
pieces. Moreover, Maetel was also in a similar state of agitation.
“Let’s go right now, Artpe! I don’t know where the children of this tow is right
now, but I’m sure the bad guys will do the same thing at different locations!”
“It is as you say. We don’t know where they are, so do you really want to search
the entire region?”
“Still, we have to do something!”
In truth, old stories and legends about heroes were rife with such scenarios.
Some town would fall into crisis, and the hero would try to solve a problem with
the help of the townspeople. However, a tragedy occurred when time ran out,
and the hero would receive a big emotional burden. However, the pain of this
event would allow the hero to mature mentally.
“However, we don’t need to mature mentally, so we can skip that step.”
Heroes who busily ran around deserts and jungles, while crying or laughing, were
old news to him. Artpe couldn’t afford to waste his mental and physical energy
like that.
What was so fun about searching everywhere, because one didn’t know location
where the Quest had to be carried out! He was a new breed of hero where he
would finish the Quest as soon as he received it!
“Everyone get out of my way.”
“Yes. Yes, sir!”
Several dozen Mana Threads turned into several hundred as they extended out
from Artpe. In a flash, they exited the town to spread into the region.
“Hoo-oooh······.”
Artpe looked as if he was standing still while he had his eyes closed. However,
even those that didn’t know anything about Mana could feel a pressure coming
from this strange energy, and the townspeople were unable to move. Maetel,
who had a decent idea on what was going on, let out a sigh of relief.
“If you had such a simple solution, you should have told me in the first place.”
“Who said this was simple?”
He took out a Mana potion bottle, and he drank it. He focused on his control as
he grumbled to himself.. The several hundred Mana Threads were spreading in
all directions, and the radius of the search increased steadily. It increase to 500
meters, 1 kilometers, 2 kilometers and so on.
In his past life, he was level 350, so this would have been easy. However, it
wasn’t easy at all right now! If it wasn’t for the Mana String spell that
strengthened the Mana Thread to the extreme, it would have been impossible to
attempt this move. He briefly had this thought when he learned it, but it was a
very cheat-like spell.
‘Wait a moment. I could probably overlay my spell similarly to what Maetel did
last time with her techniques…...’
He wondered if his spell could be used in a more effective manner if he overlaid
his perception skill on top of the Mana String.
Artpe immediately put his theory into action, and of course, it came back as a
resounding success. He wondered if he was stealing and using Maetel’s talent
for such a trivial matter. He had been afraid…. However, if he was to be truthful
about it, he was thankful for it.
“Five kilometer. Ten kilometer...”
“Shall I lend you my Mana, Artpe?”
“You only have a modicum of Mana, so how.…..I found them.”
He was about to grumble towards Maetel when Artpe’s eyes opened wide.
The townspeople looked at him with nervous eyes. Aena looked at him with
trust, since he had freed her body from the curse. Maetel was ready to charge
any opponents waiting for them…..
Artpe spoke to them in a solemn manner.
“Let’s go create an epilogue.”
The place was located at a hill that was pretty far from the town. In other words,
it was a great place to run into a Dungeon in the wild.
In this world, there were exactly two types of Dungeons. The first type was the
sleeping Dungeons that waited for a hero to find it. The other type were
Dungeons made by being that opposed the heroes. These Dungeons contained
dangerous traps, super secret information or secret tests. These were Dungeons
that had to be hidden away.
The common point of the two types of Dungeons was the fact that heroes
eventually found it to loot their contents. The Dungeon in this hill would suffer the
same fate.
“You guys don’t have to follow me.”
“You are helping us despite the dangers, so how can we stay behind…..”
“You guys will get in the way, so just hide somewhere nearby. Of course, it isn’t
my responsibility if you die in the process.”
He was an ex-Four Heavenly King turned hero, so he was remorseless. He
firmly got rid of nuisances that would get in the way of the Quest beforehand!
The townspeople became afraid when they realized there might be other dangers
nearby. However, they couldn’t run away while leaving their children behind.
They firmly held to their edged tools they had brought from their homes. They
stood their ground.
“W...we will wait for you here. At the very least, we will greet our children from
here!”
“Really? Aren’t you guys just scared by the fact that soldiers might attack your
town again?”
“I...it isn’t like that!”
It seemed he hit the mark. Artpe smirked as he tried to enter into the cave
located at the middle of the hill…..
“I want to go with you.”
“Ah. You again?”
Aena blocked their way. She held a branch in one hand. It was a weapon that
even a goblin would have an easy time breaking.
“The children will be afraid if only magician-nim’s party enters. The children need
at least one familiar face.”
“It isn’t as if your words don’t have merit, but you…...”
She would be perfect for the part of a supporting cast who died midway in the
story. Usually, the hero would rage at her death, and the boost provided by the
emotion would lead the hero into victory.
In truth, the girl’s words were raising so many death flags that the stench coming
from the death energy was unbearable. It wouldn’t be strange if she fell dead
right now! At the same time, it was also likely that she would come back out
unharmed, since the circumstances was a bit suspicious.
“I beg of you, magician-nim. I know these children the best. They are already
afraid from being kidnapped by the soldiers. If the magician-nim’s party
encounter the children in such a state, a large mistake may occur…….!”
She had put a lot of thought into this. At this point, he couldn’t turn turn her down.
From that moment on, Artpe decided to give up on Aena’s life. Yes, if she’s
meant to die, she would find a way to die eventually!
“All right. Your sacrifice will make it more likely that the children would be
unharmed.”
“Why is my sacrifice the premise of the children being safe!?”
“Let’s go, Maetel. I’ll leave the fighting to you. When I tell you to stop, you have
to stop.”
“I understand!”
The party consisting of the two heroes and the Village Girl A left behind the
townspeople. They charged into the cave. There was a very dark and dreary
energy circulating within the cave. A curse was mixed into the Dungeon’s air. To
be precise, it was curse meant to propagate a different spell.
“You must be enjoying it since there are a lot to eat, right?”
Artpe took out the Obsidian, and it sucked in all the curses. He never expected
to find such a treasure within the normal town A at this point in time. This was a
loss for the Demon King’s army!
“Yes. As expected, I think Artpe would become a good father. Ooh-hue-hue.”
Maetel watched Artpe fill the Obsidian with the curse. She looked on with
satisfaction as she mumbled to herself. Aena wondered if she could trust these
heroes that acted very strangely starting from the Dungeon’s entrance. She had
these thoughts, but she also didn’t have much choice. She followed behind
them.
When they entered a little bit deeper into the cave, the enemies soon appeared.
The soldiers they had seen from the town was mixed in with a batch of soldiers
they had never seen before.
The most important fact was that there was a magician wearing a hooded robe
standing within their midst.
“Huht!? They are intruders. Intruders!”
“Be careful. He’s the mage I saw in town…..!”
“Magician? That brat is one?”
It seemed the soldiers didn’t feel any shame at being found out. They
immediately got ready to attack. It meant they were fully aware of what they
were doing, and they were prepared to kill to fulfill their goals.
At this point, he was sure that there was a connection between the archduke, the
black magician and the Demon King’s army. Artpe was about to step forward as
he grinded his teeth, but Maetel took one step forward before he was able to.
“You are making children into monsters….. It’s bad.”
Maetel’s emerald colored eyes flashed from anger. Artpe realized she had
already finished judging who was good and evil.
“Anyways, we……..”
This was the part where the hero and the villains confronted each other. The
villains would lay out their twisted logic behind their actions as they mocked the
hero.
The hero would become enraged, and they would fight. The bad guys liked to
talk while fighting, so they would prattle on about the righteousness of their
actions. They would try to justify their cause. The hero would get angry once
again at their words. The Death Knight within the Dungeon meant to foster the
heroes was a great example of this.
“Be quiet! Shut the hell up!”
However, the current situation was different. Maetel swung her bastard sword
once before her enemies could pull their swords out or activate a spell. They all
fell to the floor.
She hadn’t activated her Berserk. She wasn’t even using her Strike skill. It was
a light attack that possessed not a single ounce of Mana.
“Hoo-oooooh.”
They were completely wiped out. They didn’t even have the time to give their
lines. The mage wasn’t able to call out the Black Flame Dragon sealed within its
right arm!
“Heeeek······.”
Aena had depended on them, because she had seen the power of Artpe as a
magician. However, when she saw the terrible sight created by Maetel, her face
turned pale.
On the other hand, Maetel was the one who had created this terrible sight, yet it
didn’t feel real to her. She tilted her head in confusion as she turned to speak to
Artpe.
“They are too weak, Artpe.”
Artpe did a double take when he heard her words, but a smile soon broke out on
his face. He nodded his head at her.
“It’s all right.”
Usually, a normal hero’s first quest was accompanied by failure and hardships.
However, they had unintentionally leveled up as much as they could in the
kingdom of Diaz. In other words….
“Since we are progressing towards part 2, this is normal.”
“Part 2?”
Maetel titled her head in puzzlement, but Artpe just smiled at her. While Aena
was still in an utter state of confusion, the heroes went through the entire
Dungeon.
No one could get in their way.
Chapter 36 - Come to Think of It, I'm a Hero (4)
Artpe ran through the Dungeon with his Read All Creation ability active. He was
able to find the trap. He was able to assess the number of the nearby enemies
and their abilities. He was also able to monitor the amount of Mana possessed
by the Dungeon.
His existence made any traps and ambushes irrelevant. Moreover, no one could
endure more than a single attack from Artpe and Maetel. Aena was running
without rest, yet she was barely able to keep up with them.
“They are strong······!”
“That is the third line in the ‘50 lines that no one survived after saying it’. You
must have studied it a little bit.”
Artpe had been running while he kept a hold on Aena’s hand. He lightly infused
Mana into his dagger. The dagger pierced through the throat of a retreating
soldier. When the soldier fell, the black magician hiding in the back was
revealed.
“B...blessing of the clandestine darkness…...”
“Hoohng.”
His opponent revealed his identity as a black magician by chanting a spell.
However, the dagger planted inside the throat slid out as it rose into the air
again. It embedded itself into the black magician’s heart.
The black magician had no idea what had happened to him. He fell helplessly to
the floor as Maetel also took care of the remaining soldiers in a flash. She
mumbled to herself as if she was dumbfounded by what had occurred.
“They are too weak.”
“Do you remember me telling you about the Demon world’s greatest chef?”
“Yes! I want to eat food that was cooked by that demon!”
Artpe looked at her with peculiar eyes when she said those words.
“It seems the Demons are making a once in a lifetime food here.”
“How do you know that? There are only bad people here.”
“There is a reason.”
If there was a powerful Demon present here, there was a good chance that Artpe
and Maetel would suffer a defeat. However, this was probably a minor plan, so
why would they dispatch a Demon over level 200 here? It wasn’t something that
was done lightly. All the black magicians up until now were humans, and none of
them were over level 50.
In truth, the Demon King didn’t just send the weakest first against the hero. He
sent the weakest amongst his subordinates to do all his tasks. This was also
true when he dealt with the joint forces.
It somewhat made sense if he planned on only letting the strongest survival
regardless if they were allies or not. Anyways, no matter how he thought about
it, the Demon King was an idiot.
“R...run away…..!”
“No, we can’t run away.”
“We....we have to call him…..”
“No, we can’t call him.”
The weak typically ran away when a strong opponent made an appearance. If
running away wasn’t an option, they called for reinforcement. Of course, it was
useless in front of the all-around hero Maetel and the rotten hero Artpe.
“Koohk!”
“Kah-hahk!”
They were all killed as soon as they were found, so news didn’t flow towards the
inner Dungeon where others were on standby. This was why they died saying
similar lines or they died before they could even speak.
Artpe planned on making a manuscript that wrote down the most common
phrases spoken before death by minor characters. His enemies here were
faithful in using those repertoire of phrases.
“Use the transmission magic!”
“That isn’t working either.”
“Kahk!”
At the very least, Artpe was vigilant about their use of transmission magic. They
didn’t have to be afraid of anyone within the Dungeon, but if an officer of the
Demon King’s army could be mobilized, there would be no countermeasure.
Of course, transmission magic was useless in front of his Read All Creation
ability and Mana String. His opponents couldn’t even use a simple magic or a
curse.
“D...do you guys realize what you’ve just done!”
“Yes, we already know, so you don’t have to explain it to us.”
“Kuh-huhk!”
It was as if the soldiers deluded themselves into thinking they were the archduke,
and the black magicians put on air as if they had risen to the seat of the Demon
King. However, they were all killed by Maetel’s sword and Artpe’s dagger before
they could utter their threats.
The 1st floor ended in short order, and the 2nd floor also didn’t take too long.
Aena was getting tired as she tried to keep up with them.
“How... Hehk. This is…..”
“Shhh.”
When they descended to the 3rd floor, Artpe spread his Mana Threads in all
directions. He immediately asked for silence from his party members. Then his
expression crumpled in a rueful manner.
“As expected of a first Quest…. The Dungeon ends at the third floor.
However…. The Quest started a bit too late. Tsk.”
“Sometimes Artpe says some very profound words.”
“The children are here…….?”
The curse present in the atmosphere of the 1st and 2nd floor was bearable for
normal people. However, it was possible to see the curse with one’s eye on the
3rd floor. It looked like a very thick fog.
“Koohk, magician-nim. It feels as if the air is burning…...!”
When he saw that Aena’s complexion had immediately turn pale, he took out the
obsidian as he clicked his tongue. It sucked in all the curse residing within the
atmospheric Mana.
Aena’s complexion improved a little bit, but the pain she was feeling wouldn’t
subside until he could get rid of all the curse in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, it
was fortunate that he had gotten rid of her curse earlier.
“We’ll be running at full speed from now on. Aena, you have to run as if your
life's on the line. Understood?”
“I...I understand.”
The 3rd floor was unusually quiet. There were only three people running across
the floor, so small sounds echoed throughout the hallway. All the traps were
disabled and destroyed . The soldiers and black magicians that had shown up
on the 1st and 2nd floor every time they had gotten bored weren’t present here.
The curse on the 3rd floor had been strong enough to be dangerous to them too.
“It is so quiet that it is making me feel very uneasy. Artpe…...”
“Don’t worry. The children aren’t dead yet. At the very least, not all of them.”
Artpe’s words hinted at something. It was easy to discern what he was talking
about. The expression on the faces of Maetel and Aena hardened. However,
their steps quickened as if they were responding to their emotions.
Maetel bravely ran through the Dungeon filled with the curse. Artpe tied the
Obsidian of Greed to a Mana String, and he rotated it to suck in all the curse. He
kept storing the curse as he followed her.
Aena followed behind them, and tears were already filling her eyes. She held a
branch in her slender hands. She had brought it with her as her weapon, and her
heart shook like the branch.
They passed one room than another.
Maetel suddenly came to a stop when they went past the 3rd room.
“······ooh.”
“Warrior-nim?”
“Ooooooh.”
A groan leaked out of Maetel’s mouth. Artpe had seen the information regarding
his surrounding with his Read All Creation ability, so he knew why she was
reacting that way.
If possible, he hadn’t wanted her to see this sight. However, the Obsidian of
Greed sucked in all of the fog created by the curse. It made the surrounding
brighter, so it was impossible to miss it.
“······they are dead.”
Maetel spoke with a trembling voice. One could see a dead monster at the
corner of the room. It had lying in a pool of its blood. Artpe kept silent as Aena
also caught sight of the monster.
The monster had a small body as if it hadn’t fully matured, yet its arms and legs
were abnormally long. It was wearing tattered human clothes, and it was crusted
with dried brown blood.
“Ah. Ah-ooooh.”
When she confirmed the other monster corpses, Aena let out an inarticulate
moan. The monsters weren’t wearing clothes or accessories that would allow
her to identify them. However, they all looked like her dongsaeng to her.
Artpe was able to find out that the children had turned into monsters around 10
days ago using his Read All Creation ability. However, he kept that fact to
himself. All the dead monsters here had been in the same situation as Aena’s
dongsaeng.
“Why did they kill them······?”
“That I do not know. If their goal was to make children into monsters, they
probably wanted them for something. They must have had a plan. The fact that
they killed the children instead of sending them out into the world…..”
It was hard to come up with an explanation. If the Demon King’s army wanted to
sow confusion in the outside world, they would have sent the monsters out into
the world. They had succeeded in applying the curse, yet the monsters were
killed? It was an idiotic move.
If not, maybe there was a plan that Artpe was unable to discern?
“It must have hurt a lot.”
While Artpe was going through his thoughts, Matel mumbled to herself in an
absent minded manner. The monsters had died as they spit out blood, and
Maetel couldn’t turn her gaze away from them. She kept repeating the same
words as if something had broken within her.
“It must have hurt a lot…. It must have hurt a lot….”
“Maetel.”
A red energy started emanating from her body. It was a sign that her Berserker
skill was about to be activated. Artpe quickly grabbed her, and the energy was
instantly gathered within her. The fact that she was able to retract it so easily
was scarier than the skill itself.
Maetel turned towards Artpe as she made a request.
“Artpe? The children…. Please don’t leave any behind….”
“I understand.”
When Artpe extended his hand, the corpses of the dead monsters were
incinerated in a flash. He had spent a great deal of money learning this magic,
yet he had never expected this would be the first place he would use it. He was
dumbfounded at the turn of events.
“I’m sorry, kids…. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
“Ah, ah-oooooh…..hoohk.”
Maetel mumbled to herself as she stood still. She watched the corpses of the
children turn to ash inside the fire. Aena couldn’t shake the thought that her
dongsaeng might be amongst the dead monsters. She wasn’t in her right mind.
Artpe watched them as he firmly bit his lips.
‘Maetel’s abilities are amazing, but her mind is too immature. If possible, I
wanted her to experience such dirty business later on…… Shit.’
Since the incident had already occurred, nothing could be done about it. Artpe
wanted to change the mood surrounding Maetel and Aena, so he lightly clapped
his hands. He drew their attention to him.
“We can mourn for them at a later time. We have to move before it is too late.”
“······I understand.”
Maetel firmly nodded her head. She glared at the fog created by the curse, and
she launched herself forward.
“Let’s hurry.”
The 3rd floor of the Dungeon was ridiculously long compared to the other floors.
Every time the curse was absorbed the sight of one or two corpses of monsters
revealed themselves.
Aena’s body shook every time more corpses were found, but the two heroes
didn’t stop. The only thing they did was to burn the bodies with flame when they
were found.
The only thing that deserved a special mention was Maetel’s status.
[Maetel]
[Level : 174]
[Berserk Lv13]
He knew Maetel hadn’t activated her Berserk skill, but when he checked with his
Read All Creation ability, her Berserk skill was progressing in real-time.
When she saw the corpses of the monster-turned children being burned to ash,
she threw herself further into the fog created by the curse, and a red energy
emanated from her. It looked as if it would manifest, but Maetel collected it back
into herself every time. It was as if she was building up her rage as she waited
for the moment to release it all at once.
It was something that could be seen in Berserkers that had learned to control
their emotions over numerous years. It was a stage that could be attained after
being in countless battles, yet Maetel was showing similar signs to those
Berserkers. Even Artpe didn’t dare to guess what she was feeling right now.
“I...I’ve already counted over h….hundred of them, magician-nim. What shall we
do? What can we do?”
“The scale of this operation is much larger than I expected. In a worst case
scenario, there’s a possibility of there being more of these Dungeons.
…….Maetel, stop.”
When she heard Artpe’s words, Maetel immediately stopped in place. She also
could feel it. The person responsible for these atrocities were nearby.
The Obsidian had already sucked in as much curse as it could in the
atmosphere, so the black magician on the 3rd floor had immediately known
something was wrong. This was why he had placed a trap as he waited for the
party to come to him.
Of course, a Dungeon and a magician that could cast a curse of this caliber
couldn’t defeat Maetel at her level, but…...
“I know you are angry. However, if you aren’t able to shape your rage to your
will, it will someday trip you up. Most Berserkers eventually meet their death
through this mistake.”
“Artpe······ Thank you for the warning.”
Maetel had a faint smile on her face. When he was faced with the smile, he
realized his warning had been unnecessary.
“However, I’ll never make such a mistake. I can’t afford to make that kind of
mistake at this moment.”
“·····yes. Let’s do this.”
“All right.”
When Maetel took one step, Artpe extended his Mana String to completely
disable the trap waiting for them. Of course, when he did so, their enemy
became aware of it.
“You guys saw through the trap, you damn bastards!”
There was only one enemy here. To be precise, there was only one black
magician capable of enduring the atmospheric curse.
“You guys made such a ruckus…. That is why I’m going to deal with you
myself...huh?”
The obsidian had sucked in all the atmospheric curse. One could see children
carelessly discarded all over the large room as if they were a collection of junk
materials. Then there was the middle aged man wearing a overly elaborate robe
pointing his staff at them.
“You guys are kids…..!?”
The magician was also able to see the party now. When he realized the
intruders were merely three children, his eyes widened in surprise.
“I never expected children to be able to endure the curse to reach this place!”
Artpe calmly asked the question.
“Are you the one who spread this damned curse?”
“Of course, I spread it! However, the result has been sub-optimal. Now that I
see you guys….”
An ugly smile appeared on his face..
“If this goes well, I might be able to succeed in my test!”
“A test······.”
Maetel gripped her long sword hard.
While they confronted the black magician, she continued to look over the fallen
children inside this communal space.
She saw the starving children who were sullied by the curse. They were in pain.
“A test….”
The red energy soared before it was absorbed. This process kept repeating
itself. If rage could be personified, Artpe thought the person would look like
Maetel right now.
“You are bad. You are really bad!”
Maetel couldn’t hold herself back, so she denounced her opponent. The amount
of red vapor emanating from her body kept increasing.
It seemed the black magician was unable to see this vapor. If he could feel her
heavy anger, he wouldn’t be able to smile like right now.
“Haha. You are very funny, child! Who do you think you are? What allows you
to be able to determine what is right and wrong? You have a lot to learn! A lot!”
Maetel ignored his words as she slightly bent her knees. She pushed her sword
for a to get into her stance.
There was a distance of 50 meters between Maetel and the black magician.
From the black magician’s perspective, it looked as if she had lost her cool. He
thought that was why she didn’t register the distance between them. The
magician grinned when he assessed her state of emotion. He laughed as he
raised his staff.
“It seems I’ll have to give you an explanation. I’ll tell you what my test is for. It is
for our great…...”
The bastard tried to do something evil characters had a patent on. He tried to
explain why they were doing such bad things, their final goal and the method in
which they would terrorize the world. However, he wasn’t able to enlighten them.
“Hoo-ooh.”
Maetel’s long sword cut his head off in one stroke. Normal humans die when
their head was severed. The dead do not speak. Unfortunately, the bastard
hadn’t put a curse on himself that would have turned him into a lich.
“W...warrior-nim.”
“Maetel, you…...”
Until a moment ago, Maetel had been pretty far away from her target. However,
she was putting away her sword as she stood where the black magician had
been standing previously. Aena and Artpe’s eyes turned round when they saw
something akin to magic. Maetel turned to look at Artpe, and she was in a similar
state of shock.
“It feels weird, Artpe.”
She couldn’t use magic. If so, did she borrow Artpe’s boots to use the Blink
spell? Of course not.
“It feels as if this power has always been within me.”
“That’s······ So that’s how it is.”
Artpe replied with a dumbfounded yet hollow voice.
He was having a hard time believing the information reflected in his eyes. He
already knew she was a genius, but he never imagined the possibility of her
talent exceeding the hero from his previous life.
[Maetel]
[Hero]
[Level : 174]
[Innate Ability : Acceleration]
The hero from his previous life had barely been able to awaken to her innate
ability called Acceleration at age 19.
Maetel had just awakened to it at age 13.
Chapter 37 - Come to Think of It, I'm a Hero (5)
In his past life, the hero had grown rapidly despite being severely handicapped
by her environment. She had grown from level 200 to level 374 in just a year.
Even if a great chef assisted in her devlopment, it would have been impossible
to do without her Innate Abilities.
That’s right. The hero had awakened to an Innate Ability called Acceleration at
the age of 19. The Acceleration skill could function as either a passive skill or an
active skill. It sped up all her abilities. The smallest benefit from her movement
speeding up, and the largest benefit came from it influencing her growth.
Her level up had been unusually fast until now thanks to a small fragment of her
latent innate influencing her. Moreover, the power of Acceleration allowed her to
move at unbelievable speed to cut down the black magician.
Of course, if she used it as an active skill, it would consume significant amount of
Mana. However, it was the maximization of her basic movements, so it wouldn’t
exhaust her.
‘I knew she would awaken to it faster, since she was injected into live battles at
an earlier age compared to her previous incarnation. However, I never expected
her to learn that particular ability at age 13…...’
Artpe looked at Maetel who looked confused. He mumbled to himself as he felt
dumbfounded.
Most in the human race didn’t possess an Innate ability. It was the same for the
Demon race. Even if one had the requirements needed to possess an Innate
Ability, it was unknown as to when a person might develop that Innate Ability. It
wouldn’t surprise anyone if it took several dozens of years for it to develop. It
wasn’t impossible for one to fail to develop one’s Innate Ability in one’s life time.
However, once one’s Innate Ability was awakened, one would gain a power that
was on a whole different level. One would also grow at a pace that couldn’t be
compared to the previous rate. Most of the beings that left an indelible mark in
history all had Innate Abilities. Even when an Innate Ability looks useless, it had
a special quality of overpowering other skills and Classes.
“Innate ability…....”
Maetel had heard Artpe’s explanation, but it seemed she was having a hard time
wrapping her head around it. It was to be expected. Her actions wasn't
something she had done consciously. It had resulted, because she had let her
instincts take over her body.
If she was asked to use the Acceleration ability again right now, she would be
unable to use it. Of course, the Innate Ability would continue to influence her
since it had been awakened. Her level up pace would be faster than before…..
Artpe had a thought. Maybe it would really take them less than 2 years to kill the
Demon King. He let out a feigned laughter at the thought.
“Maetel, you don’t have to worry too much about it. I’ll slowly walk you through
it.”
“I understand, Artpe. As expected, Artpe already has an Innate Ability? ······hue
hue. You really are amazing.”
It seemed she felt a little bit better after deposing the black magician. Maetel
was finally able to bring herself to smile a little bit. Aena, who had been watching
all of this, impatiently tugged at Artpe’s sleeve.
“M...magician-nim. Can we now...what I’m trying to say is…...”
“Yes, I’m sorry. This was such an unexpected development that both of us
became absent minded. We’ll finish the Quest now.”
Artpe shook off Aena’s hand, and he turned around. Beyond the dead corpse of
the black magician, he could see children writhing in pain.
“It hurts.”
“Mommy·····.”
The black magician imprisoning them was dead, yet the children was unable to
realize this fact. The children were a hollow shell of themselves. They had lost
their normal thoughts and senses. They were being tormented by the pain.
“You will be ok now, kids. We’ll help you guys!”
“Sienna, Sienna!”
“It hurts. It hurts!”
“I want to see my mom. Mommy.”
The communal space was a mess. How many children were in this place?
The number of monster corpses they discovered coming to the 3rd floor was
insignificant compared to the number of children here. If every child here
became monsters,.... If the Demon King’s army took control of the monsters
here to attack the other towns within this kingdom…..
“The war with the Demon King’s army will be hastened a little bit…..”
They had put a lot of effort in turning the children into monsters, yet they were
killed and thrown away inside the Dungeon. The black magician beheaded by
Maetel had spouted some nonsense about an experiment. It seemed they
weren’t simply trying to turn children into monsters.
‘No, this isn’t the time to have such thoughts..’
Artpe took out the Obsidian of Greed. At that moment, the flow of energy within
the communal space changed.
There was the faint energy of curse in the air, and the wicked energy leaking out
from the corpse. Then there was the curse energy roiling within the innocent
children.
All of it were changed into black smoke. This black smoke flooded towards Artpe
and the obsidian he was holding.
“Koohk.”
“Artpe!?”
Maetel had been overwhelmed by the sight created by Artpe. However, she let
out a scream when she saw him grip his head. Artpe shook his head as if to tell
her that she didn’t need to worry about him.
He was using the obsidian against numerous children at once. Even if he was
the possessor of the Read All Creation ability, he couldn’t escape the headache
created by this act….. Still, he’d rather endure the headache rather than see the
hero’s heart crumble in this place.
“You should comfort the children. There is a close connection between the curse
and their emotions…… If you speak to them in a calm voice, it should be
enough. Please do this for me.”
“······I understand.”
It was hard to tell if they were human or trash if seen from afar. The children
were carelessly thrown together in a neglected pile. One could tell that they
weren’t given much food or water. It was the perfect environment that would fuel
the advance of the curse.
“Sienna! Sienna, where are you!”
Aena kept calling out her dongsaeng’s name as she walked amongst the
children. It seems she wasn’t having any luck finding her. Artpe didn’t have any
reason to stop her. He fully understood what she was feeling right now.
“You'll be fine, children. You’ll all be fine now.... You’ll be fine.”
“Sienna······ Please!”
“Ah. Ooh-ahhhhh·····.”
It was almost like a miracle to them. At that moment, they heard a voice that
made the hearts of Maetel, Aena and Artpe brighten. In the midst of the children
groaning in pain, they definitely heard a voice that held consciousness!
“Artpe!”
There was a quick catch in her voice as Maetel let out a shout of joy. As if he
had been waiting for this moment, he started giving her directions.
“Let’s move him out towards the perimeter! More and more children will be freed
from the hold of the curse!”
“Yes!”
Maetel let out tears of joy as she took the child to the perimeter. It wasn’t just
that child. She separated the children in the throes of pain, so each child had
some room of their own. She hugged and stroked the children.
Her heart had been in a heightened state from the rage she felt. However, her
heart had now calmed down. She directed an endless amount of worry and
sympathy towards the children. When he saw this, Artpe let out a sigh of relief
even though he was suffering from a headache.
“Ah, ah-ooh-ooh?”
“I...I can see again. Who are you, noona?”
“I want you to bear with me a little bit further. You’ll make a complete recovery
soon!”
As more Mana rushed towards the obsidian, more children gained
consciousness as they were freed from the curse. It started with one child. The
number increased to 10, 50….. The expressions of the other children started to
calm down.
“Amazing, Artpe…. You are amazing.”
“Sienna!”
The number of children gaining consciousness went past 100, yet Aena hadn’t
caught sight of her dongsaeng. Aena calculated the date when she was
captured. Her dongsaeng shouldn’t have been amongst the slain monsters….
Artpe firmly bit his lips as he checked the status of the black obsidian. The
obsidian had darkened to a point where it indicated that it had almost reached its
limit.
He knew there was a limit to how much it can store, but it had filled up too fast.
This quest had been much larger in scale than he had expected it to be.
Fortunately, Artpe had prepared for the worst, so he had a contingency plan in
his back pocket.
“Reinforcement.”
In the process of smashing through the beginner’s Dungeon with Maetel, he had
acquired the Reinforcement skill. This wasn’t just a normal reinforcement skill.
The skill allowed him to improve an Artifact at its foundation. In his previous life,
Artpe wouldn’t have dare to dream about obtaining such a skill. It was a Rank
SSS skill!
This skill was in Artpe’s hands right now.
He could see the structure of all items through his Read All Creation ability, and
now he had the Reinforcement skill. He could use Reinforcement on specific
parts of an item, and it was possible for him to reinforce an item that was
supposed to be impossible to reinforce. Basically, it was a cheat.
It was as he surmised. It was possible to strengthen the Obsidian of Greed with
his Reinforcement skill. In a flash, half of Artpe’s enormous reservoir of Mana
was consumed by the obsidian. The obsidian shone brighter than before, and it
had increased in size.
Once again the flow of energy within the space changed. When the obsidian’s
absorption rate was reinforced, the cursed Mana hidden within the body of the
children couldn’t resist against the pull of the obsidian.
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“It hurts. It hurts too much!”
Screams of pain erupted from various locations. However, the pain was proof
that they were alive.
The scream became shouts, and despair turned into joy.
Artpe was controlling too much Mana flow, so it felt as if his head was about to
burst. He ignored the pain as he kept increasing the absorption rate. It would be
a tragic comedy if monsters were born, because he dawdled.
“Sienna······ Sienna!”
“U...unni.”
It was at that moment when Aena found her dongsaeng. Her dongsaeng was
sprawled amongst the children. She had been barely able to regain
consciousness thanks to Artpe’s power, and she was able to face her unni.
Artpe glanced towards them when he became loss for words.
“U...unni.”
“Sienna? Sienna, what’s wrong! Sienna!”
A tragic comedy of a situation was about to really occur right now.
“Unni, it hurts. My head and chest hurts so much. Unni, unni.”
“S...Sienna! Magician-nim! My Sienna is….!”
Artpe didn’t reply to Aena’s heartfelt plea. He firmly shut his mouth, but he was
able to see the most accurate information regarding the girl named Sienna
through his eyes.
[Sienna]
[Level : 1]
[Strength : 6 Agility : 7 Stamina : 14 Magical Energy : 23]
[Transformation Progress to Intermediate Magic-type Species 33%]
[Experiment Success]
The curse applied to Sienna had been a success, and she was being turned into
a monster. He could try to pull out the curse energy, but the change had already
started. The curse and her Mana were tangled, so his actions might make her
suffer more pain before she died.
It was an absurd situation. How could the timing be like this? Why did it have to
be Aena’s dongsaeng? It was a most laughable situation he found himself in.
This story seemed to be tailor-made for a hero’s story. It almost made him
question if this scenario was constructed from the beginning.
“Magician-nim! My dongsaeng’s face is darkening…. Magician-nim!”
“······.”
Maetel was taking care of the other children. Her face stiffened when she
realized what Sienna was talking about. However, she wasn't like Aena who kept
calling Artpe’s name. She asked Artpe a question with a calm voice.
“Artpe······ Were we too late for this child?”
“You······.”
What did she plan on doing if they were too late to do anything? Artpe was afraid
of her answer, so he didn’t ask the question. She was extremely pure, and she
wanted to save the children. In the future, he knew she would regret her decision
if things proceeded along this path.
“W...warrior-nim. She can recover. It isn’t too late for Sienna! Warrior-nim!
Please speak some sense into her, magician-nim!”
It seemed Aena could sense what Maetel was planning on doing. Her eyes
turned round as she desperately clung to Maetel.
She was only level 1, so she didn’t have the power to stop Maetel. However,
Maetel couldn’t advance as she turned her gaze towards Aena. Matel’s face was
also distorted.
“Aena…. What if Sienna harms the other children…. What would you do? How
would you handle this when the other children will become involved.…. I don’t
know the answer. I’m sorry, Aena. I don’t know….”
“You can’t, warrior-nim! Please save Sienna! Magician-nim, magician-nim!”
It seemed the conversation with Aena had the effect of pushing Maetel towards
an unfavorable outcome for Aena. Maetel firmly shut her eyes before she
opened them. Sienna was starting to change, so Maetel slowly walked towards
her.
“Wait a moment, Maetel.”
Artpe stopped Maetel at that moment.. The obsidian had reached Rank S thanks
to the power of the Reinforcement skill. He had absorbed all the curse from the
children except for the one within Sienna.
There wasn’t a single ounce of curse energy within the communal space. It
didn’t matter what the Demon King’s army had planned here. A part of their plan
ended in failure at that moment. At this point, the Quest could be seen as a
success.
Of course, this would be true if they excluded one person, Aena’s dongsaeng.
“I said stop, Maetel. The Quest hasn’t ended yet.”
Maetel continued to walk towards the child, but she obediently stopped when she
heard him call her.
“Artpe, perhaps…...”
Her mouth opened. Her voice shook.
“Is it possible······?”
“You should keep your sword unsheathed. We don’t know when she’ll run
rampant.”
“······yes.”
Maetel unsheathed her sword with trembling hands. Aena no longer held onto
Maetel. She just looked at Artpe with pleading eyes.
As he received pleading gazes from the two girls, he let out a long sigh as he
walked forward.
At his core, Artpe didn’t like adventures. He was of the opinion that adventurers
shouldn’t do adventures.
There was no reason to take unnecessary risks for him. There was no reason
why he should expect failure.
He could check all answers with his Read All Creation ability. He just had to act
when he had the right answers. It was that simple.
However, he was looking at Sienna’s information window. She seemed to be in
a hopeless situation, but two things bothered Artpe.
First, there was the ambiguous term of ‘Intermediate Magic-type Species’ written
in her info. Secondly, he saw the word ‘Experiment Success’. He hadn’t been
able to see those words in children that had been successfully turned into
monsters.
What if the goal of the tests weren’t to make children into monsters? If that was
their goal then they would have branded the monster-turned children as
successful test subjects. Why would they kill them once they were turned into
monsters?
As he kept thinking about it, he kept having questions about the word
‘Intermediate Magic-type Species’. Of course, monsters were a magic type. So
why did they use the particular expression of magic type species?
When he discovered the curse for the first time in Aena, he had seen the same
phrase. At the time, it hadn’t caught his attention. However, maybe Artpe was
operating under a misapprehension?
What if the black magicians and the Demon King’s army weren’t aiming for a
simple monster transformation?
What if the fact that the children were completely turned into monsters were
considered to be failures? What if they were killed for that reason?
What if there was something special about Aena and Sienna?
What if Sienna was the ‘only’ success in their experiments?
“Koo-koo-ahhhhhh. It hurts so much, unni. Unni, unniiiiii!”
“Sienna, no! Sienna!”
“Artpe······! Hurry!”
When it specified magic type species…. It might be referring to the ‘Demon
race’.
This test was aimed at making humans into demons.
“Shit. That damn Demon King…...”
If this was truly the Demon King’s plan, maybe the Demon King came up with a
‘control’ plan that differed from the one in his previous life!
“Maybe he is thinking about using ‘Absolute Control’ on all the beings on this
world!”
Artpe gritted his teeth as he shouted those words. He couldn’t remain calm any
longer.
The massive amount of Mana stored within his body was resolved into a Mana
Strings. It looked as if wings had sprouted from Artpe.
The dark Mana threads clung to the entire body of the human girl who was
turning into a demon. He started desperately tuning her Mana.
“I won’t let you do this······!”
Artpe’s eyes shone with a purple light.
“I won’t let you have her, you son of a bitch!”
He was able to see past everything to reach the truth. His Innate Ability always
led him towards the right path. He combined the ability with a Unique spell called
Mana String.
It was supposed to be impossible to combine the two abilities, yet they were
combined. The girl’s body was being demonified at an uncontrollable speed.
Her body twitched.
The Mana within her body started flowing backwards at the guidance of the Mana
Strings.
The hero forged a miracle at that moment.
Chapter 38 - Come to Think of It, I'm a Hero (6)
He had become a hero, so he finally stiffened his resolve to fight the Demon
King. So what the hell was this? The Demon King was trying to change humans
into demons? Artpe wanted to farm in the human world at a later date. It would
be a problem if the human world was turned into the demon world! He wouldn’t
forgive anyone who attempted to pour cold water on Artpe’s retirement plan.
Artpe’s burning will was infused into the Mana Strings, and they burrowed into
her body. From the beginning, Artpe hadn’t planned on stopping the change
entirely. A complete reversal of the change was impossible. Such tasks were in
the territory of the gods.
The only thing he could do was influence the direction of the change. Yes, it was
the same as when he made the changes to the Record Link inside the Dungeon.
‘I just have to prevent her from becoming a demon. She also has to have control
over herself. I have to protect these two things. It is a must.’
Artpe used all the experience he gained from his past life as he tuned her with
his Mana Strings. The Mana Strings infused with the power of the Read All
Creation ability continuously moved in a subtle manner to suppress the changes
caused by the Mana, and the Mana was directed towards a different direction.
Whether it was his life as a demon or a human hero, his Innate Ability had always
been with him. It was really ironic that these these two vastly different
experiences was of help when dealing with this problem.
He now had extensive knowledge about demons and humans. His knowledge
allowed him to combine the Mana String and the Read All Creation ability. It
gave him the ability to open a new path for the Mana within Sienna’s body.
“Ah. Ah-ooh-ooh-ahhhhhh.”
“Can you hear me, Sienna? You have to resist against the impulse to fight the
flow of Mana. You have to concentrate, and you have to be clear in your
thoughts. You can’t be swayed by your impulse.”
Artpe kept talking to Sienna, who was groaning from the pain she was feeling.
He continued to manipulate his Mana Strings.
In some aspects, he had to concentrate harder than the time when he had
absorbed all the curse in this communal space at once. However, he was fueled
by his anger towards the Demon King, and an urgent need to prevent Maetel
from becoming wounded by this incident. There were multiple factors driving him
forward, so this task was really nothing to him.
“Sienna, Sienna!”
“Stay still, Aena. I also feel restless, but…. If we interfere with Artpe right now,
Sienna will be in big trouble.”
“Ooh ooh ooh······!”
Maetel had calmed down thanks to Artpe, so she was able to hold back the
agitated Aena. She gathered the children to one side.
Even if they had been freed from the curse, they hadn’t bathed since arriving
here. Moreover, they hadn’t been fed. The state of their health was a mess. If
she wanted their bodies to feel the least amount of stress, she would have to
send them outside the Dungeon.
“Noonah, I’m hungry.”
“I’m cold. I’m scared. Who is that hyung? Is he on the same side as the
ajusshi? Will we turn out weird like her?”
“No, everything is fine. You will all be better soon.”
Maetel was still a child. She was at an age where she should be under the
protection of adults. However, she didn’t hesitate to take care of children who
were of similar age as her. In fact, she took care of kids that were older than her.
‘I’m tired. I’m tired and exhausted. I want to rest.’
She glanced at the cowering children, then she turned to look at Artpe. He was
using an incomprehensibly complex magic to save the last child.
His eyes didn’t falter as brilliant Mana rose out of him. She was sure he was
more tired than her, yet Artpe only thought about the task at hand. He did the
impossible without hesitation.
‘All right.’
Maetel poured strength into her body as she stood up. If Artpe had seen her,
she was sure he would have been happy at how she was handling herself. He
would have praised her. This thought allowed her to wade through anything that
was thrown her way..
‘A little bit more! Shit! A little bit more!’
Artpe was panting right now. The girl was floating in the air a little bit as she was
continuously showing reaction to the Mana.
Her skin had turned black before, but now it was the opposite. She enough white
enough to be called pale, and even her hair had turned into a peculiar milk-like
color. In truth, the Mana reaction she was experiencing was large and fierce. It
was an indication that the current situation was unstable. It felt as if the situation
could run away from him, and she would go on a rampage.
“O...oppa.”
“Hold on. You can do this.”
When Artpe saw her, he realized the truth that this wasn’t just an adventure.
This was why he couldn’t give up now. The girl labored as she opened her
eyes to look at him. He gave her words of encouragement to lift her spirits, and
he desperately guided her Mana.
‘The full sense of self that cannot be tampered. A body that isn’t sullied by the
demonic energy.’
He dismantled the Mana that was causing changes to her record and structure.
He destroyed the path laid in front of him as he promoted a new path. It was
something impossible to do if he hadn’t possessed the Read All Creation ability
and the Mana String.
He was using an Innate Ability and a Unique skill at the same time, so he was
consuming an extreme amount of Mana. This was why he was having having a
hard time breathing, and he felt dizzy. Still, he didn’t stop.
This wasn’t simply about saving a girl. The Demon King was trying some bullshit
of a plan where he was trying to turn humans into demons. This was the first
step in destroying the plan crafted by that petty and crafty coward!
The change that was turning Sienna into a demon had been occurring at a
straightforward manner. The massive flow of Mana had been repeatedly moving
forward before it gave way. Now that massive amount of Mana had come to a
stop. It was a miracle.
“······oppa.”
Artpe’s eyes suddenly flew open.
Someone was grabbing onto the edge of his robe. He didn’t even have to look to
know who it was.
“······you.”
The girl had opened her eyes, and she was looking at Artpe with a very faint
smile on her face. Her Mana rushed towards the new path paved by Artpe.
Sienna had succeeding in learning the Mana Control!
[Sienna]
[Level : 1]
[Mana Control Lv1]
“So if I go this way…. It’ll be fine?”
“Ha. When I read that you were an experiment success, I recognized…..”
It seemed this girl had some talent in dealing with Mana. Artpe smirked as he
had this thought. Silpennon had to pay 210 gold to purchase the Mana Control
skill book. He probably would have felt aggrieved if he knew about this.
However, this was great news for Artpe.
At her sense of achievement, he gave her a toothy smile as he spoke to her.
“Yes, let’s try this together once.”
“Yes, oppa.”
Artpe showed her the way, and Sienna tried hard to follow him. As her Mana
went further down the path, it was changing the density of her Mana and the light
within her. Her body was also being affected by the Mana, so small changes
started appearing once again.
In the end, this wasn’t a path that would end with her becoming a human.
However, the path wouldn’t lead her down the path to becoming a demon either.
Her free will as a human had been successfully preserved. The only thing left
was for her to confront the curse that was trying to turn her into a demon. When
she rejected it, she would become something new!
‘If this is successful, I pretty much have a thesis that would be a big hit in the
human world and demon world….!’
However, it didn’t matter which side he revealed the information to. He couldn’t
tell anyone about this, because he would become the enemy of the world. He
felt aggrieved at the fact that he couldn’t reveal this information!
Artpe took out a Mana Potion, and he drank it. Then he added more fuel into
controlling his Mana Strings.
He activated the Read All Creation to its limit. It revealed the path of the Mana
within Sienna’s body to his eyes. He merged this path with the Mana Strings,
and he sealed all the circuitry related to the demon race. Then he guided her
Mana.
Her body writhed, and her hair became luminous. However, Artpe and Sienna
no longer paid attention to such changes. Sienna was handling her Mana for the
first time, and she was drunk on the experience. Pain couldn’t hold a candle to
the joy of the Mana!
“Oppa.”
“You aren’t too far off. Just a little bit more. You need to take one more step.”
“One step.. I just have to take one more step······!”
The trace energy of the demon race was slowly disappearing. As the circuitry for
the demon race was sealed, a new Mana circuitry revealed itself.
It was a path that was neither human or demon. As she traveled further down
the path, her Mana kept getting brighter as its constitution changed! When Artpe
confirmed the changed, he unconsciously clenched his fist.
‘It’s done······! It really worked!’
“I did it, oppa!”
It was Sienna’s voice. It seemed she could also feel her curse being blocked.
In truth, he could no longer feel the energy of the Demon race within her. The
only downside was the fact that he could barely feel the energy of a human from
her. It was enough for her not to run afoul of the Demon King’s Innate ability!
“Kyahhhk!”
The circuitry was now complete. It passed through her entire body, and the
Mana started circulating within her body at a rapid pace. It created a noisy sound
that deafened everyone’s ears.
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhh!”
“Ooh-goo-goohk.”
Artpe groaned as he desperately observed what was going on. It was the
method that would allow one to escape the curse that made one into a demon.
The method that would allow him to properly fuck over the Demon King was
being engraved into Sienna’s body in real time.
Above all things, It was a very valuable record. Maybe his reincarnation
occurred, so he could learn this information!
In the next moment, a bright light was emitted from her body.
At the same time, a new information appeared in front of Artpe’s eyes.
[Sienna]
[Level : 2]
[Race : Evil Reflecter]
“Pffft.”
When he found out the name of her race, he let out a laugh. Evil Reflecter?
How can such a childish and obvious name could exist for a race! Was it
because she was born by rejecting the Demon race! It made him want to go find
god. Artpe wanted to ask what he was thinking when he made the name.
Still, he was happy. He was unsure if he could be happier than what he was
feeling right now. This really was the first step to destroy the ambitions
possessed by the Demon King!
So this was it. This was why everyone wanted to become a hero! Artpe was
feeling an emotion that clashed with him at a fundamental level, so he became
self-absorbed in it. However, at that moment, someone tugged at his robe. Of
course, it was Sienna.
“Oppa!”
“Yes, you did well.”
Artpe was breaking out in cold sweat as he smiled. He stroked her head as he
comforted her. Her skin remained pale, and her hair was white too. However,
her hair was lustrous. Unlike before, she was full of life energy and magical
energy.
She had white skin, and white luminous hair. Sienna looked very alien, but this
actually made look very charming.
She looked a little bit younger than Maetel, and the girl let out a bright and
innocent smile towards her rescuer. She had met Artpe for the first time today,
but the smile contained an unlimited amount of trust towards Artpe.
“Thank you, oppa”
“It’s nothing. I gained some very good data thanks to you. I should be the one
thanking you.”
“Heh heh.”
From the moment Sienna started becoming a demon to the moment where she
became an Evil Reflecter, he had observed and recorded everything with his
Read All Creation ability. Of course, it was still impossible for him, but this record
would allow him to research a method to counter the demonifying curse. He
might be able to come up with a method that’ll allow him to resist against the
Demon King’s ability.!
“Sienna!”
“Unni.”
Artpe let go of Artpe’s robe, and she rested herself completely on the floor. She
hugged her unni, who had run towards her.
Maetel had looked on with a nervous heart. She had been sad at the thought of
one more child becoming a monster. Maetel and the other children were truly
relieved at the sight.
“I’m glad you are fine.”
“It is all thanks to oppa. Oppa helped me.”
“······mmmm.”
Maetel had a smile on her face. However, when she heard Sienna’s bright voice
and face, she started creeping towards Artpe’s side. She grabbed his robe.
There was still a smile on her face, but there was a sense of gloominess that
was a small part of her expression.
“It is a relief that Sienna is fine. Right, Artpe?”
“It feels as if there is a smidge of regret in your voice, Maetel.”
“You are mistaken. I’m really happy. I want Aena and Sienna to live a happy life.
At the town… Just the two of them...”
Mmm. It seemed he hadn’t been mistaken. Maetel was burning with jealousy
towards a girl that was younger than her. Why was the hero wired like this!
Artpe flicked Maetel’s forehead as he sighed.
Anyways, the Quest was complete. He couldn't save the children that had
already been turned into monsters. However, he couldn’t be sad about the
missed opportunity. He decided it was right to be thankful for those that he was
able to save with his hands. When he had this thought, he suddenly felt fatigue
wash over his mind.
“······ooh-ah. I want to rest.”
“Yes, Artpe. I really want to rest too.”
Artpe’s words were heartfelt. Maetel let out a bitter laugh as she agreed with
him. They looked at each other, and they started giggling. Then they turned to
look at the children, who were staring at them in puzzlement.
“Let’s go home.”
“No. I want to wash myself first.”
“I want to wash myself too!”
“I’m hungry!”
It seemed the fear that had gripped the children were gone thanks to Artpe’s
activities. As if they had made a promise beforehand, the children started
expressing their desires. Soon, the communal space descended into chaos.
At that moment, a person with the all-round ability that could grant all their wishes
made her entrance!
“It doesn’t matter where or when. The Anywhere company is always with you. I
am the merchant Mycenae! Please ask me for anything. I will fulfill your
desires…. Oh my?”
Mycenae and Artpe looked at each other.
Mycenae put on a charming smile, and Artpe laughed as he asked her a
question.
“Ajumma, did you acquire the cleaning magic as I’ve requested?”
Chapter 39 - Hero VS Kingdom (1)
Fortunately, Mycenae quickly restocked her supply of magic books after selling
them in bulk to Artpe. All of them were sold to Artpe once again. It was a total of
five books. She was reliable in the fact that she had acquired the Cleaning
magic(45 gold).
“You guys should all gather around me. Cleaning!”
“I was cleaned in an instant!”
“My clothes are so soft and fluffy.”
This was the moment when Artpe took a step forward in becoming a lifestyle
magician. Of course, a normal lifestyle magician couldn’t clean a large group of
over 300 people at once. Mycenae turned pale at the sight.
“You have a really large amount of Mana. Are you around level 300?”
“I told you not to dig in too much, right?”
Artpe’s current level was 163. If he went by the standard of the Read All
Creation ability, his Magic Points was above 800. It was the Magic Points he had
in his previous life at level 200.
By that time, Artpe had already begun serving under the Demon King, and he
had learned all the spells available. Of course, one had to take into
consideration that Demon race naturally had overwhelmingly more magical
energy. This was why the amount of magical energy he possessed right now
was absurd.
He had been a demon in his previous life, but that was a flimsy explanation as to
why he possessed so much magical right now. Artpe had been born with
exceptional talent for magic, and it was at a level where the only plausible
explanation was the fact that he was a hero.
If he dwelled more on that thought, it felt as if he would become conceited by it.
Therefore, he abandoned thinking about that subject. Conceit was the factor
that always killed the Four Heavenly Kings! This was why he changed the
subject.
“What did you do with Silpennon?”
“Even if I’m performing a scheduled task, I couldn’t stay away when the
customers I am in charge of had just cleared another Dungeon. However…. I’m
guessing this wasn’t a run of the mill Dungeon?”
“When did ajumma became in charge of us as clients….. Well, it clearly isn’t
normal.”
She was a Dungeon Merchant, but this didn’t mean she had all the information
regarding the Dungeon she will visit next. The Dungeon Merchants were given
permission to mobilize when a pacified Dungeon had hidden treasures.
“It’s been awhile since the Dungeon Owner was exchanged from a monster to
human. He had the Dungeon barrier up······ Since he is dead, it should have
dissipated.”
Mycenae looked over the children gathered in this space, and she immediately
picked up on what was going on.
“Ah-ha. So that’s what they were aiming for….. Oh wow. You were able to
break it up. I’ll have to revise my opinion of you again.”
“You don’t have to revise it. No, just don’t look at me at all.”
“You are too much!?”
Maetel had killed him too quickly, but the black magician was around level 100.
Normally, beginner heroes shouldn’t be able to take down a level 100 being!
Maetel had shown enough force to kill a level 200 with a single blow. The black
magician had been unlucky in facing Maetel as an opponent.
However, even after Maetel had defeated the black magician, the monsters and
the children who could turn into demons were still present. Mycenae was able to
make her appearance only after Artpe got rid of all the potential risk factors.
“Customer, you surely aren’t thinking about ending our transaction after buying
the spell books? I’m sure you are going to share in the Dungeon rewards with
me, right?”
There were two types of Dungeons. There was the naturally occurring Dungeons
and the artificial Dungeons. This Dungeon was a naturally occurring Dungeon.
The magician who took over this place was proficient at black magic, but he
hadn’t been talented at Dungeon exploration. This was why all the secret traps
and rewards remained untouched.
This was what Mycenae was aiming for. Of course, since she had been able to
find the items, Artpe would be able to find them too. This was why she decided
to give up on fruitlessly searching further for more items. She wanted to
immediately enter into a business transaction.
“Yes, if so…..”
Artpe looked at his surrounding. The level of the black magician, who had taken
over this Dungeon, had to be discounted. It looked as if the original Dungeon
boss had been a weak monster. Still, it wasn’t as if Artpe could not find any
compensation using his Read All Creation ability.
“I’m hungry.”
“My stomach keeps growling.”
However, there was a problem that he had to deal with before he gathered the
Dungeon rewards. He looked at the children who looked as if they could drop at
any moment. Artpe sighed as he threw a gold coin towards Mycenae.
“First, I want you to give them something to eat. The children were starved for
couple days, so I want you to give them food that wouldn’t be too much of a
burden on them.”
“Oh my. You are so kind. As it happens, I have a consumable item that was
developed by the mage tower to be used on war refugees. However, there is a
single down side…..”
“I’ll give you an additional gold.”
“As always, thank you very much, customer!”
Mycenae distributed the items to the children with the help of Maetel and Aena.
Sienna had experienced a sudden physical change. She was changed into an
existence that didn’t get hungry much. This was why Sienna helped out in the
distribution. Of course, Mycenae showed interest in her.
“Oh my. You have very pretty hair.”
“I want you to give me an artifact that can conceal her identity.”
“I was wondering why you haven’t asked me about that. You always seems to
meet people of suspect origin. Or maybe those kinds of people are drawn to
you?”
“Ha.”
Artpe snorted at Mycenae’s words as he went around the communal space.
Every time he disturbed a location a wooden box would suddenly appear out of
thin air or the lichen growing in the cracks of the Dungeon’s wall would let out a
strange light.
He went to four locations to gather the rewards, but as expected, they weren’t
worth much.
“It should be around 29 gold.”
“Yes, here is your 29 gold. Also, this is a bonus for my dear customer.”
Artpe handed off all the items, and he received a small hairpin from her. It was a
metal adornment shaped like a butterfly.
“This stops the magical energy reaction from leaking out. The artifact has a very
simple function, but it should be enough for the girl.”
Mycenae had decided this item was enough for Sienna. Her hair and skin was
unusual, but it could be dismissed as being not too out of the ordinary for a girl of
her age.
“I want one Crystal Ball of Blessing.”
However, Artpe had other ideas.
“You want that too!? Is it because this child is a demon?”
Mycenae was shocked. She tried to get a closer look at Sienna, but Artpe didn’t
allow any further inquiry. In the end, Mycenae pouted as she handed him a
Crystal Ball of Blessing for 500 gold.
“Well, this is the end to our transaction. You should head back for now.”
“How can you push me out so coldly every time like this? Still, I won’t give up.
I’ll someday make you the king of the business world! You better be prepared
for it!”
“Ajumma, don’t try to steal Artpe!”
“I told you to stop doing that.”
After Mycenae made another loud commotion, he put away the Crystal Ball of
Blessing.
Sienna stared at him as she asked him a question
“Oppa, what is that for?”
It seemed she had become sensitive to Mana when she was turned into a Evil
Reflector. It seemed she was very interested in the artifact.
Artpe let out a small laugh as he stroked her head.
“I’ll tell you about it a little bit later.”
“Yes!”
A short amount of time had passed. All the children were brought outside, and
Artpe returned the children to the townspeople. In a flash, a reunion filled with
tears occurred….
“Mommyyyyy!”
“Son! M...my son!”
Fortunately, most of the children taken from this particular town were all safe.
The townspeople were deeply moved by the return of the children, so they
started praising Artpe and Maetel. However, Artpe gave them a warning as he
looked at them with serious eyes.
“If you spread our name, I’ll put a curse on all of you. The curse will turn you into
frogs.”
“Heek!”
Heroes were always targeted by repeat Quests, and these Quests would
cheapen the value of their names! Of course, the Demon King had created a
perfect recipe in the past where these repeat Quests helped along the explosive
growth of the hero as an unintended consequence. However, the current
situation differed quite a lot from the past.
Since he was now aware of the fact that Demon King was hatching such a
horrifying plan, they would have to move carefully. A disguise and a mask was a
must. They also had to be prepared to bury such fake identities in the darkness.
“The problem is…..”
Artpe gave a stern warning then he turned around. There were still couple
hundred children left.
“Hyung, I want to see my mom too.”
“B...be quiet. We shouldn’t cause more trouble for the magician-nim!”
“Heeng. Mom. Mommy~”
He had no problem with the children who were originally from this town.
However, he wondered what he should do with the children captured from the
other towns.
Of course, they would have to be returned to their own towns. If he was like the
heroes from the old stories, he wouldn’t have hesitated. He would have
personally returned the children to each town. However, the Quest had ended,
so he needed to move onto his next goal.
·····this kind of event always led to a more annoying and larger incidents. The
Demon King’s scheme always seemed to come in succession!
Of course, the Demon King was a chef that tried to get a richer flavor by cooking
an already seared meat once again….. Artpe was well aware of the Demon
King’s far-reaching recipes, so he was annoyed at being at the receiving end of
it!
‘I have to nip this in the bud. It would be stupid of me to be satisfied with leaving
the matter as is when I know more will come from this. Moreover….’
In the end, Artpe came to a firm resolution.
If he let his heart make the decision, he would have ended his association with
the townspeople here. He wanted to go rest. However, if he didn’t tie this up
right now, he knew he would become more exhausted by what stemmed from
this event in the future.
“You guys should move your town.”
In the end, a suggestion popped out of his mouth. The townspeople became
dumbfounded at his words.
“You want us to move our town? Why? No, how?”
“I’ll be going around to the towns where these children are from. I’ll be gathering
all the townspeople from there. I want to consolidate everyone into forming a
large town. You guys will create a small city.”
“W...we can’t do that!”
“That’ll be too hard!”
“We are already living a hard life here!”
He expected their objections. However, Artpe’s attitude didn’t change.
“If you want your children to be stolen again, you can continue on living here.
You all have to stick together right now. You have to stick together to grow your
numbers. You won’t be able to win against a country, but at the very least, you
will have grown your own presence. You have to be large enough where many
people will become aware it if something happens to you.”
If enough humans were gathered in a single location, it might have an effect on
other entities. It would be hard for the Archduke to mess with them.
It would also make it harder for the Demon King’s army to hatch a scheme. They
were able to gather and put a curse on the children as experiments, because
they were able to steal the children in secret.
“I...if we move our residences, how are we going to feed ourselves?”
“You already had a hard time making a living here. Do you think much will
change if you move? You’ll either farm or hunt for game. That isn’t my problem.”
Artpe had other things to do. He had to ruin the Archduke. Furthermore, he had
to ruin the black magicians that were messing with the entire country.
At the climax of this Quest, couple Demons would probably make their
appearances. However, he was confident that he could kill them. Maetel had
awoken to her Innate ability. It would be possible to do so with her help!
‘I’ll have to ruin a kingdom before I kill the Demon King. Mmmm. All right. I kind
of feel like a Four Heavenly King again.’
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was out of joint. However, this
actually made him quite happy.
Maetel looked at him with unshakable trust, and Sienna looked up at him as if he
was her idol. Aena and the numerous children looked on with worried eyes. The
townspeople looked to be in a state of shock and fear at Artpe’s forceful order.
“Well, we’ll start our city construction plan from this point on!”
It was at that moment when the first Quest turned into a succession of scenario
Quest.
Chapter 40 - Hero VS Kingdom (2)
Under Artpe’s unexpected edict, the townspeople made preparations to leave.
They were close to tears. Since they had given up most of their fortunes to
Artpe(there wasn’t much aside from Obsidian of Greed), so they only had to pack
some clothes.
“We’ll sleep here tonight, and we’ll head out immediately tomorrow. I want all of
you to take care of the children until then.”
“Understood, magician-nim.”
“Ho-ooh. I know magician-nim isn’t wrong, but the prospect of building a new
house is frustrating…..”
It would have been better if they had grounds to dismiss Artpe’s claims as total
nonsense. However, Artpe had brought back the children even when he wasn’t
given much as a reward. This was why they decided to pin their trust upon him..
This was why they continued their preparation for their big migration even as they
shed tears. Their hearts burned as if they had eaten mustard. Still, it was better
to be worked like a dog than actually being dead.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, oppa!”
“Good night, noona!”
“Hoo-uhng, ooh-uh-uhng. Mommy.”
Of course, Artpe knew their pain. How could he not?
He watched the townspeople people break up as they shuttled the crying children
away.
‘If they do band together to grow in size, there’s a chance they’ll be able to
escape the influence of the demons. Of course, when that occurs they’ll try to
find other ways to acquire more children….,...’
Artpe and Maetel’s role was to stop this business from getting any larger. He
would overlooked most calamities. However, he had to get in on this or it might
swallow the whole human world.
“This is the hero’s walk of life. If not for heroes, others wouldn’t be able to sense
such enormous crisis, and they wouldn’t know how to overcome it. It isn’t as if
the human world doesn’t have strong people. However, the trouble makers are
hidden until the heroes can find them. It is like a game of hide and seek.”
When the hero finds them, they proudly reveal themselves as if to say ‘I’m ready
now!’
They were sons of bitches amongst sons of bitches.
“Do you think this is happening in other regions, Artpe?”
“I hope not, but it is possible. This is why this is so annoying.”
At Artpe’s reply, Maetel’s eyes turned menacing. Since this was a problem
where his safety wasn’t involved, he had expected her to laugh off most of his
words. She had a very forgiving nature, yet her face was filled with rage right
now.
“We have to beat them up. Everyone who tries to make children into monsters
are bad!”
It seemed her mental attitude had gone through a fundamental change after what
she experienced within the Dungeon. Artpe was bitter and happy about it at the
same time. Still, he had to calm her down right now.
“You shouldn’t work yourself up too much, Maetel… You’ll see much worse in
the future.”
Maetel didn’t reply to his words. She extended her hand to firmly grip his sleeve.
He extended a hand to stroke her head. At that moment, another girl grabbed
his other sleeve.
It was none other than Sienna.
“Oppa. Oppa should come to our house and sleep.”
“Yes, magician-nim. Our humble…. It is a very humble house, but if you don’t
mind, we will take you in for the night.”
Maetel sent a guarded look towards the two girls. The hand that had been
petting her head suddenly turned into a light blow to her head with his knuckles.
“Ouch.”
While Maetel gripped her head in pain, Artpe grabbed Sienna’s offered hand as
he gave his reply.
“We’ll impose ourselves on you guys for a day. As it happens, I have something
I have to give you.”
“Really? Yes!”
Sienna let out an innocent laugh as she rejoiced.
Artpe couldn’t help but laugh alongside with her.
He would have to sweet talk another girl with a plausible story.
This was how he came to reside in the two girl’s house for a night. They had lost
their parents, so the two girls lived in a very small and old house. It was in
disrepair. It would actually be much less work to build a new hut than repair this
one.
After he unpacked his gear, Artpe called for Sienna. He gave her a small crystal
ball. It was none other than the Crystal Ball of Blessing.
“Here, take it. This is yours.”
“Oppa, you bought it for me!?”
Sienna hadn’t figured out the exact use of the Crystal Ball of Blessing yet.
However she was sensitive to Mana after she became an Evil Reflector. This
was why she was aware that a very complex structure of Mana was contained
within the Crystal Ball of Blessing.
“Oppa, isn’t this really expensive?”
“I’m not giving it to you for free. You have to repay me later with a lot of interests.
It’ll be a compound interest.”
“Yes, I understand!”
Since she didn’t know how scary compound interest was, Sienna let out a naive
smile as she replied. She took the crystal from him. Soon, she had a slightly
peculiar expression on her face.
“Oppa, it feels as if it is exploring inside me.”
“It is a substitute for the priests, and it’ll decide your future path. It’ll make a
record of you in this world. You’ll know when it adapts to you.”
“Y...yes.”
After awakening as an Evil Reflector, she had already learned the Mana Control.
Of course, he expected her to receive the Magician Class without much problem
However….
[Sienna]
[Level ? 1]
[Evil Reflector]
[Warrior Priestess]
“······?”
“······?”
Sienna found out her Class, and when he saw it, Artpe’s eyes turned round.
Maetel and Aena didn’t know what was going on so they looked on
absentmindedly. The only thing different was the fact that the crystal ball was
know glinting.
It would probably be of help in advancing in her high rank Class….. No, that
wasn’t important right now!
“Oppa, what happened······?”
“I’m not sure either.”
If she wasn’t a magician, who on this land was actually suited to become a mage!
Moroever, she had escaped her humanity to become a new race that didn’t
exist in history, yet she was a priestess!
Artpe was so taken aback by this that he wanted to run out of the house.
However, his Read All Creation ability hadn’t malfunctioned. Instead, her record
as a Warrior Priestess was show clearly in front of his eyes. There was no
double Sienna was a Warrior Priestess!
Sienna firmly grabbed Artpe’s clothes as she asked him a question.
“Oppa, does this mean I have to enter into a temple?”
“You must never do that.”
At Sienna’s naive question, Artpe gave an immediate answer. Even if a Warrior
Priestess was an occupation welcomed by everyone, she wasn’t human
anymore. There was no way she would be able to enter into the very close-
minded temples. If Artpe thought about their temperament, it would be fortunate if
Sienna wasn’t dissected for study.
Priests weren’t priests, because they had a good heart. Priests followed a
specific way of training that had been passed down through time. People had
researched a way to suck up to selfish gods in an attempt to obtain a boon from
them. This was how the they awakened to the holy power to become priests!
This was why she was in a impossible situation.
‘Her Mana has progressed in a special direction. It’s a holy power that directly
opposes evil…. It is a likely hypothesis.’
The name of her race was Evil Reflector, and the name was quite explicit. It also
outlined the direction of her development. She had been optimized to fight
against the demon race. She was so amazing that it wouldn’t have been strange
if she had been chosen as hero.
He wonder what would happen if she was given the opportunity to grow up. She
was born from an experiment that had tried to turn her into a demon. She would
now stand in the front line in defeating the Demon race. It was the biggest way
to screw over the Demon King. Moreover, it would allow Artpe’s original goal
to…...
“······Sienna.”
Artpe felt a small amount of self-hatred as he bit his lips. However, he had
already handed over the Crystal Ball of Blessing to her, so he was being
hypocritical by wavering between his decision. He kept eye contact with Sienna
as he spoke.
“You probably lived a normal life until now. If this incident hadn’t occurred, you
would have continued to live a normal life. However, the direction of your life has
changed in no uncertain terms. In the process, you gained considerable amount
of power and potential. Now that you have that power it’ll be hard for you to lead
a normal life.”
At the very least, it wouldn’t be possible until the disturbance caused by the
Demon King could be put to sleep. Sienna was a very bright child, so she fully
understood what Artpe was talking about.
“Yes. Thank you, oppa. I also want to live a different life. I want to become
stronger like oppa. I don’t want to be abused by bad people any longer.”
It was truly courageous words. Artpe wonder if what she experienced here had
hardened her heart.
Maybe, her mental state was affected when she was changed into a new race.
He just had to hope that he had led her down a better path than becoming a
demon..
“The problem is the power you possess is different from theirs. The power is
unique and alien. This is the reason why I gave you the Crystal Ball of Blessing.
People are afraid of those that are different from them. You’ll probably be
unable to display your full power out in the open.”
“Oppa, what should I do?”
She went to the heart of the matter. As Sienna asked her question, it seemed
she had an idea what the answer would be. This was why there was a look of
anticipation on her face.
This was why kids these days were scary. Artpe had this though as he turned to
look at Maetel. It looked as if Maetel really didn’t like the current situation. In the
end, she nodded with a sullen expression on her face.
She didn’t want someone else to get between Artpe and her. However, Maetel
knew Sienna couldn’t be left behind now. Since her feelings were so
transparent, it was a bit amusing to see it.
Artpe smirked as he turned to look at Sienna.
Then he suggested a way forward for her.
“······do you want to join our party?”
“Yes!”
As if she had been waiting for this question, she let out a bright smile as she
gave her answer. Artpe had asked the question, but he was taken aback by her
embarrassingly frank answer.
“······your whole life depends on this decision. Are you sure you ok making such
a decision so easily?”
“Yes!”
“You can’t!”
At that moment, Aena interjected herself into the conversation as she screeched.
She had finally been able to recover her younger sister, yet she was now
worried that Sienna would go to a distant place. However, Sienna had
anticipated her unni’s objection, so she spoke with a bright smile on her face.
“Unni, don’t worry too much about it. I’m all right. As time passes, I’ll feel much
better.”
“Sienna······.”
“If you are with me, I’m sure it’ll become difficult for you. You saw it, unni. I’m
not normal anymore.”
As her words ended, a white magical energy was emitted at the tip of Siennna’s
fingers. Artpe could clearly see a light that was similar to holy power. Moreover,
the amount of magical energy possessed by her was disparate from her status
as a level 1.
“I...I...”
“Unni. You can do this alone too, right?”
Aena’s expression darkened, but Sienna’s expression remained clear. There
was a thread of resoluteness that could be seen in her bright smile. Aena
realized Sienna wasn’t trying to convince her of anything. She was just notifying
Aena of what would be happening.
Sienna had always been a fierce girl that spoke her mind.
“We won’t be apart forever. I’ll come back. I promise. So you have to wait for
me. Ok?”
“Sienna…. Are you really going to come back to me?”
In the end, Aena declared her defeat. Sienna let out a bright laughter as she
tightly hugged Aena.
“Yes, I promise.”
“Sienna······!”
“This is quite a nice sight, so I’m sorry to have to say this. We are going to travel
together until this Quest ends.”
“Ah. That’s right.”
Artpe poured vinegar on the situation. The two sisters had embarrassed
expressions on their faces. Maetel giggled.
The night came to an end in a town that’ll be gone tomorrow.
Chapter 41 - Hero VS Kingdom (3)
He had a dream.
It was a land of despair where everything was dyed with blood and darkness. He
stood face to face with her on top of a castle wall made through the pain and
suffering of people.
No, it was a too one-sided encounter to call it a face to face meeting.
Artpe had already lost to the hero. All his magic spells had been blocked by their
magician. He had thrown his daggers in desperation, but an archer with long
ears destroyed all of them with her sharp arrows.
Normally, his subordinates were lazy, and they had treated his authority as their
commanding general as shit. However, they acted in a way that was
incongruous to their past actions. His subordinates fought desperately to protect
him, but in the end, they were easily slain by the warrior’s great sword. If they
had always done well as they did right now, their actions wouldn’t have felt
sudden and unexpected to Artpe. They decided to act in such a way at the last
moment, and it almost brought tears to Artpe’s eyes.
“Don’t do it. Wait a moment. Don’t swing that.”
“Hero······.”
The steel knight, who never took off his helmet, refused to stop. He was about to
sever Artpe’s head. However, the hero desperately halted his action.
All the other members inside the hero’s party let out a sigh at the same time.
The hero paid no attention to them as she stepped forward. She made a sincere
entreaty towards Artpe.
“Please don’t cause any trouble, and surrender to us, Four Heavenly King Artpe
Hirtana Kelduke. There is no need for us to fight each other any longer.”
“Hero! You!”
“It is impossible.”
“Everyone be quiet······ Please surrender yourself.”
Artpe hadn’t been hostile towards the hero from the beginning. She was the only
one that was aware of this fact. Artpe had watched over the hero for a very long
time, and she was aware of this fact too. If Artpe had wanted to, the hero knew
he could have killed her a long time ago.
This was why they could be on the same side. She was sure they could be on
the same side. They…..
“You speak as if the Demon King’s army isn’t on a campaign to bring peace to
the world.”
However, Artpe made light of the hero’s words as he mocked her. His sharp
purple eyes were half hidden by his drooping black hair. It wasn't just the hero.
His eyes twinkled as if he was mocking the entire hero’s party.
“Why······?”
She asked the question as if she couldn’t understand him. However, Artpe didn’t
give her an answer.
He didn’t want to stop the hero’s steps. A heavy burden was already on her
slender shoulders, and he didn’t want to add more to her burden.
Instead, he tried to relax her contorted face a little bit. He let out a grin as he
opened his mouth.
““Hero. I’m pretty sure a very good looking noonim will be coming here soon, and
she’ll be very angry when she sees my corpse. I want you to give her this
message.”
His words were very comedic when one considered it to be his last words. It
made the hero’s face scrunch up. Unlike her, the members of the hero’s party
thought Artpe was scheming to screw over the hero. This was why they started
moving before Artpe could finish his skit.
The Warrior unsheathed and gripped his great sword. The magician held a staff
that looked too heavy for her even if she was holding it with both hands. She
prepared a spell. The archer pointed an arrow towards Artpe. The red haired
thief rushed towards Artpe with his daggers drawn.
They all treasured the hero above all else. They wanted to shield her from the
fucked up truths that dominated the world.
“Don’t try to confuse her, Four Heavenly King.”
“In truth, I…. Kuh-huhk!”
The dagger scored a clean hit. Artpe had already exhausted his magical energy,
and his defensive gear were all broken. His consumable artifacts were all used
up. Artpe could no longer put up a fight, so he exposed his heart to the dagger of
the thief.
Yes, he already knew this would happen.
“In truth, I’m not too fond of older women… Kahk. Please tell her…!”
His vision was being dyed black. He could feel Etna’s Mana swell from afar.
She was the commander of the Army of Thieves.
‘Ah, if I was going to die anyways, I shouldn’t have called noo-nim here.’
He had such useless thoughts as he died.
“This makes you… It makes you seem like a normal person….!”
He could hear the tearful voice of the hero as he was at death’s door. Her voice
somehow made his chest burn.
However, he couldn’t turn back the time. This was a story that had already
ended.
This was how his previous life came to an end.
Artpe’s Innate ability had reversed the world, and he opened his eyes from within
a small human body. He wanted to hurry up and wake up from the nightmare
that rehashed the past events…...
“No······ Nooooooooooooooooo!”
He heard a female’s scream. It was the voice that he had heard during the last
moments of his previous life.
Wait a moment.
Who’s voice of despair was it······?
“······ah.”
Artpe opened his eyes. His ears were deafened by the sound. It was the worst
kind of nightmare.
He had a harsh expression on his face as he tried to get up. However, his body
was strangely heavy, so he looked down. Maetel and Sienna had fallen asleep
from exhaustion after they had a territorial fight over his abdomen.
He looked to the side, and he saw Aena who had gotten up early. She glared at
him with white eyes. She was looking at him as if he was a convicted criminal.
“······well, I’m popular. What can I do about it?”
“Hmmph!”
Aena’s cheeks were puffed out as she quickly turned her head away. Artpe let
out a bitter laugh when he saw her. Then he woke up the two brats that clung to
him like koalas. It was time to head out now.
When the morning brightened, the townspeople and the children were led out the
town by Artpe and Maetel. Since all of them had packs on their backs, it looked
as if they were refugees. Fortunately, it was late spring, so the weather was mild.
“Mmm. We are quite noticeable. That’s great..”
“Isn’t it bad if we are noticed, Artpe?”
Maetel tilted her head in puzzlement as she asked the question. Artpe let out a
light laugh as he gave an explanation.
“That only applies when we are exploring a Dungeon where we have no idea if
strong enemies are present or not. However, we know that there are only level
100 cast offs inside this region. This is why it would be more convenient if they
scouted and came towards us.”
“I see!”
When their enemies caught sight of the group, they would immediately attack the
party. In such a scenario, Maetel would be able to cut them down without being
repulsed by what she had to do.
Artpe didn’t explain any further as he expanded his Mana Threads into a wide
net. This wasn’t something like feeling an ominous feeling when one was being
watched or ambushed. He would be able to know who was going to attack him.
At the very least, it would allow him to prepare a counterattack.
As he controlled a massive amount of Mana, he directed a question towards the
nearby Village Person A.
“So which village is closest to this location?”
“The village doesn’t have an official name…. If we go past that hill, we’ll be
there.”
The town didn’t have a name. These towns were so unimportant that it would
probably not be recorded in the hero’s chronicle. They went to several of these
villages as they gathered more people. Moreover, they cleared out all the
soldiers and black magicians they encountered….
The Quest Reward would continue to bottom out.
The thought of it made him sad. However, even if the Quest Reward was
garbage now, he had to go through it to get to the next stage of this Quest. This
was the charm of a chained Quest, so he had to endure it.
‘Still, I hope this ends before the summer of this year. I want to avoid what
always occurs in the fall…...’
If he went by the schedule, they had plenty of time. They would have enough
time even if they ran in place going nowhere for four years. Even if such delays
occurred, Maetel would probably learn skills like Jump and all the techniques
associated with it. She was scary like that.
The problem right now was the fact that the world and the monsters changed
depending on the seasons. There were monsters that were calm in the spring,
and they would cause trouble in the summer. Then there were the monsters that
attacked after the fall harvest in the winter. They attacked to steal the food of the
humans. Artpe was trying to proceed on a specific route, and there were those
on this route that would be affected by the seasons..
‘If Silpennon is able to grow up quickly, I can use him. No, it might be faster to
develop this one. ’
On one side of him, a lovely white-haired girl was grabbing onto his sleeve like
Maetel. He smirked as he looked down at her.
She was skilled enough to control her Mana, and under his tutelage, she was
emitting a white colored Mana. She was moving it around with one hand. Her
skill level was better than him in his previous life. She had ridiculous amount of
potential. Why were there only geniuses around him!
The genius pouted as she looked up at Artpe.
“This is tiring, oppa.”
“Mana is nature. If you accept nature as being Mana, nature will soon become
one with your Mana. It will fill you up.”
“Ok. I’ll try harder.”
Demons possessed overwhelming more Mana compared to humans. After
consuming Mana, Demons also had a much faster recovery time. The reason for
this difference was the fact that the Demon race looked at Mana in a
fundamentally different way than humans.
No matter how much he explained it, humans were unable to understand the
perspective seen by the Demon race. There were magicians in historical records
that were barely able to understand this truth after many years. This foundation
allowed them to be able to compete against Demons.
In his past life, the magician from the hero’s party understood this perspective. It
was thanks to this magician that the Demon race’s strongholds in the human
world was all brought down. Any Demon that got in her way had died. In truth,
Artpe was more afraid of the magician than the hero in his previous life.
“Ah. It quickened a little bit. Oppa, it is as if the Mana is smiling at me!”
“······yes, I see. So that’s how it is.”
In this life, it seemed there would be at least one more terrifying prodigy that
would be on par with that magician.
Artpe wonder why such a monster-like prodigy like Sienna hadn’t made a name
for herself in his previous life.
He stroked the head of the girl that was smiling brightly at him.
“Ughhhh, Artpe. I....I want to learn Mana…..”
“Maetel, you are already pretty good at handling Mana…...”
In short order, they arrived at the first town. The town had been in a rut, since
they had lost all their children. They rejoiced when they saw the safely returned
children. They also cried for the children that would never make it back to them.
Then they became shocked at Artpe’s edict to leave their town.
“I….I can’t do this!”
“Of course, you saved my child, so I’ll give you compensation as thanks.
However, I can’t abandon the village…..”
“We won’t force you to do this. However, if you all continue to live like this, the
soldiers will steal your children once again. Shall I give you more bad news?
They won’t hesitate to torture you for information regarding my party. They will
kill several of you as an example.”
“O...our king would never······.”
“There is a different king on the throne.”
“W...what!?”
The people discussed the topic in a heated fashion, and sides were formed. The
people that lost then recovered their children followed Artpe and Maetel’s lead.
The rest stayed behind. Since the children obediently followed Artpe and
Maetel, the townspeople decided to put their trust in them.
“If the soldiers come asking questions, you guys tell them everything you saw
here.”
“I...if we do that, magician-nim will….”
“It’s all right. You tell them everything. You can even tell me what I’m trying to
accomplish. It is better than you guys dying just because you hid the
information.”
“Magician-nim······!”
The people remaining behind in the town had rejected Artpe, yet he was being
considerate towards them!
Of course, he didn’t think the soldiers would let the townspeople live even if the
townspeople told them everything. However, Artpe had given them a fighting
chance. He had done enough for these idiots who had basically forfeited their
lives, because they were afraid of change.
It took several days, but Artpe’s party toured all the nearby villages. Most towns
reacted similarly to each other, and the people who lost their children showed
strong feelings towards Artpe.
“My child! What happened to my child!”
“You did it! I bet you killed my child!”
Artpe understood their rage, so he didn’t get mad. Maetel had been restless over
the situation, and she had done well holding herself back until now. However,
her composure broke when she met the parents of the dead children.
“No, it isn’t like that. When we found the children, they were already…..”
“That’s enough, Maetel.”
They were unfairly placing the blame on Artpe. Maetel had emerged from this
tragedy alongside him, so it would have been weird if Maetel wasn’t agitated by
the current situation.
However, the truth would place the people in more danger. If townspeople
decided to stay behind, they were told the children were kidnapped, and some
had died under unfortunate circumstances.
He left it at that.
“I was too late to save them. I’m very sorry. I have no excuses.”
Artpe spoke only those words. Deception and disdain were necessary skills for
the Four Heavenly King, but he briefly put away those skills. Right now he had to
use an essential skill used by swindlers. He pushed forward with his version of
the story. There were omissions, so he wasn’t technically lying.
It was enough.
“Eek. Eeeeek…...”
“Koo-hoohk….. We already know you aren’t at fault. However, if we accept that
as fact then who should we hate!”
“Hoohk······ My baby…. My baby…..!”
In the end, many people rejected Artpe’s offer. He was a being that possessed
mysterious powers, and that fact was enough for to be ostracised by them.
On the other hand, the people who accepted his help stuck very close to him.
Artpe had to be satisfied with that fact.
Still, Maetel’s heart hurt as she took in everything.
“Artpe.”
“No one here is at fault, Maetel. The people who are dishing out the hate and the
people who are receiving the hate aren’t at fault. Sometimes screwed up
situations like this occurs. In truth, this is some of what happens in real life.”
The war in his previous life was similar. Even if the Demons didn’t want to fight,
they had no choice thanks to the Innate ability of the Demon King. A kindhearted
girl had to repeatedly fight horrific battles just because fate had chosen her to be
the hero.
What happened in her past life was about to be repeated in her present life. He
had no other words he could say except that it was screwed up.
“Ooh-ooooo. All right.”
Maetel understood the meaning behind his words, so she suppressed her
emotions. This in turn increased the frequency of her sneaking into his arms
when he slept. Sienna unnecessarily burned with a strong sense of rivalry, so
she stuck close to Artpe too. It just made Artpe exhausted.
There were a lot of words and troubles exchanged, but all the people were
gathered in a week. There were around 2,000 people gathered.
It took them an additional two days to search for a land that would be suitable for
them to live on. They ended up at the mid-slope of a hill where monsters rarely
appeared.
“So are we supposed to build the town here, magician-nim? No, I guess we have
to call it a small city.”
“There are two thousand people here. I wonder if this many people can really
live here…..”
“I’ll help you build your city. Don’t worry too much about it.”
A large number of people came here, because they looked up toward Artpe and
Maetel. It looked as if Artpe felt a bit abashed when he scratched his nose as he
spoke. However, his inner thought differed a little bit from his outward
appearance.
‘Since I’ve made a bait this large, a large fish should be biting it soon.’
This was how the city construction started.
The fish became aware of this without delay.
Chapter 42 - Hero VS Kingdom (4)
There were 2,000 people, but a thousand of them were children who couldn’t
work. Still, they were making great progress in carving out a small city at the
middle of the small mountain. All the tasks that couldn’t be done through the
power of the people was solved by Artpe. Of course, he used his Mana Strings.
“T...the mountain is collapsing.”
“It is being pulverized.”
“The forest······ An entire forest is being swallowed up…...”
The Mana Strings consumed a lot of Mana. However, the large consumption
rate became a problem only in battle where every minute and every second
mattered. Since no one had chased after them yet, he had plenty of time. He
had the luxury to be able to use the Mana Strings to his heart’s content. This
was possible because his Mana recovery rate had increased compared to his
days as a Demon.
Artpe used his Mana Strings every time his Mana recovered. He carved the
mountain, dug up the ground or he processed the trees. He had had cut down
the forest in its entirety.
Naturally, the townspeople started looking up to Artpe as if he was like a godlike
figure.
“He isn’t human.”
“I’ve seen magicians before, but they weren’t like this.”
“Did you just see that? He extended his hand once, and twenty trees just fell.”
When the large-scale construction came to an end, the townspeople firmed the
ground, and they started gathering the fallen trees to create building materials.
They were doing minor tasks compared to what Artpe was doing. This resulted
in a city being created at an incredible speed.
The ground was flattened in a half-day, and buildings started going up after
another half-day. The people that weren’t of help in the construction were given
the task of gathering food. They were sent out into the mountain.
Just the same, Artpe filled up the food stores when they didn’t bring back
enough.
How did he do so?
“Customer, who do you think I am!”
He did it through the veteran merchant Mycenae of the Anywhere company.
“You are someone convenient to use in various situations.”
“If you were a little bit more circumspect with your words, I might have agreed
with your sentiment!”
“Ah. I want you to leave behind your cheapest rations. I need enough for 3,000
meals. Tsk. I don’t have much money left after purchasing the Crystal Ball of
Blessing…. I’ll have to empty out another Dungeon soon.”
“You just straight up ignored my words…....”
Dungeon merchants rarely appeared outside of a normal Dungeon. The rules
changed a little bit when one bought a voucher from them. It was possible for
one to trade with a Dungeon merchant outside.
In this particular case, Maetel and Artpe had cleared out the Dungeon located
within this mountain. Mycenae found out about it since she designated herself as
the merchant in charge of dealing with them. She had shown up like a phantom
that was haunting them, and Artpe had pulled her outside of the Dungeon to
make a deal.
“You are young, yet I’ve never met a customer with so little manners. In five
years, I’m sure you will make many women cry thanks to your unruly heart.”
“I’ll probably be the one crying. Maetel would have beaten me with a club before
it could reach that point.”
“Hmmm.”
Mycenae narrowed her eyes as she glared at him.
“As expected, you like her?”
“Are you trying to meddle in the love life of a customer?”
“If you don’t have particular feeling towards her, I might put some of my spit on
you to call dibs.”
“By the time I grow up, the spit you put on me would have dried up, and there
would be no trace of it left.”
Artpe snorted when he saw Mycenae’s ears flutter around. If one took
compliments from merchants at face value, it’ll lead one to bankruptcy in the end.
However, his face hardened a little bit at her next words.
“I really want to hold the title of being a lover of a hero at least once.”
For a brief moment, Artpe froze in place when he heard her words. Should he
dodge the statement? Should he deny it? He mulled over it, but there was only
one answer he could give from the start.
She wasn’t fishing for information. She was sure of her own claim. He had
always had a feeling in the past that Mycenae knew about their status as heroes.
If he denied the claim, it would cause unnecessary difficulties for both sides.
In the end, Artpe shrugged his shoulders as he replied towards Mycenae.
“That’s right. We were quite skillful in keeping it a secret up until now.”
“Of course, However, I’ve already realized it from the outset. Haven’t our
meetings been quite coincidental after our first meeting? I tried very hard not to
unnecessarily arouse your attention.”
“Why are you bringing this up right now?”
He had a decent idea on why, but Artpe spoke in a sullen manner. Mycenae
chuckled as she spoke.
“I believe you have a modicum of trust in me now. I want to establish a firm
cooperative relationship. Moreover… You already know this, right? It doesn’t
matter which Dungeon you enter. I drop everything I have going on to beat all
the other merchants in showing up in front of you. It was my way of keeping both
your identities a secret. In truth, I deserve thanks for doing such a task.”
“Didn’t you do it to monopolize the trades with us, since we are heroes with bright
futures? Wasn’t it an attempt to increase your profit?”
“Of course, that is my ultimate goal.”
Mycenae boldly acknowledged that fact. Then she added more to her
explanation.
“However, I also do not want the Demon King to take over the world. This is
why I tried my best to protect the two heroes from being solicited by unnecessary
people. It is a task where my practical interests and doing the right thing
intersects.”
“Hmmm······.”
“In truth, I confirmed my suspicions when I saw all of this today.”
Mycenae spoke as she pointed towards the construction site of the small city. A
large number of people were embarking on a new life. Everyone thought the
construction of the city would be difficult, but Artpe’s complete support had made
the job much easier. Thanks to his help there were very few people that
complained.
“I thought you only went around smashing Dungeons, but you are doing very
hero-like tasks. Every person here has absolute trust in you, and they rely on
you. This also made me confident that I could trust and rely on you, customer.”
“It is very unexpected to hear such words from a Dungeon Merchant. Don’t you
guys put profit above all else?”
“All the more reason to put my trust in you”
Mycenae let out an alluring laugh as she spoke.
“Customers like you let out an always radiant light, and many people get tangled
in that light. It isn’t a coincidence that heroes are the bane of the Demon King,
In a chaotic world, the only ones able to bring the hearts of the people together
are the heroes.”
“Hoong.”
Heroes unite the hearts of the people? Heroes weren’t religious leaders. If one
discounted their abilities, heroes were normal human beings. Other people did
as they liked by relying on the heroes. It was a one-sided and disgusting
relationship. He didn’t have such a relationship with the people here, so it
seemed she was under some delusion.
“······yes, it would be convenient to have someone I can trust too.”
However, Artpe didn’t have to go out of his way to shatter such delusions. She
could package her sweet words in every which way, but in the end, it was a
business relations.
This was why this relationship had to based strictly on profits and losses.
Emotions didn’t have to enter into the calculations. He erased the countless
thoughts he had been thinking. He let out a light laugh as he extended his hand
towards Mycenae.
“Soul Contract. I’m sure you came here prepared with one.”
“Of course. I had a very hard time, since the efficacy of the contract had to be
high. I had a very hard time coming up with a story for the headquarters of the
company…...”
“A cost of the contract is usually split between the two parties. However, since
you’ve suggested it first, you should take on an additional 10% of the cost. I’ll
pay 40%.”
“Your calculations are always precise·····.”
Mycenae pouted as she brought out the contract. Artpe put his index finger on it,
and he dragged it across the contract. The basic outline of the contract had
already been created. As his fingers scanned over the contract, conditions were
modified, added and deleted.
“It isn’t just me. You are forbidden to talk about anyone I deem to be an ally.
From this point on, that will me Maetel, Sienna, Silpennon, Leseti and me.”
“However, once you start encountering more and more people, there is a danger
of me being in breach of contract without meaning to.”
“If it is a situation where they will find out even if you don’t open your mouth, the
contract will make the proper judgement. If you are careful with your words and
actions, you won’t be in breach of contract.”
“Then I needed something that would count as profit for me. I want you to sell
10% of the items you gain in Dungeons exclusively to me.”
“Of course, Maetel and any of my other party members have to agree to sell it to
you. It has to be a unanimous decision. Also, I won’t sell any items that I choose
not to sell to you to other merchants. If you don’t have the purchasing power, you
have to find a suitable owner to sell the items to.”
“Since this is an exclusive contract, could you give me a grace period to come up
with the funds? Moreover, the 3rd Clause must…..”
Artpe and Mycenae pitted their heads against each other with the contract
between them. They were precise in their calculations, and they double checked
each clause. The townspeople were busy constructing the city, but when they
caught sight of the young magician, they thought he was quite talented in picking
up women.
“······also, I have an additional addendum.”
In a flash, Mycenae raised her head from the contract to look at Artpe. When he
met her eyes, her eyes were very serious. They were clear and deep. He was a
bit surprised by them. He wondered if the conversation up until now had been a
set up for this moment.
“What is it?”
“The place is a bit far from the Diaz kingdom, but….. Does customer know about
the Forest of Eternity?”
“It is located on the border of Duchy of Tiata. It is the place of origin for the
Elves. Isn’t it centered around the World Tree?”
“······as expected, you know about it. I heard you guys were in a country town
before both of you were chosen as heroes. So how are you so knowledgeable?”
Mycenae let out a sigh at Artpe’s words. He let out a bitter laugh when he caught
a hint of irritation in her sigh.
The information regarding the Forest of Eternity weren’t widespread amongst
humans. The residents of the forest were zealous in protecting their location.
They had cut off all communications with the outside world. It was as Artpe had
said. The residents were none other than Elves.
“Then do you perhaps know what the Forest of Eternity is facing right now?”
“I can make a guess. The friction between the Duchy and the forest might have
worsened. A country that covets the Elves might have sent out an organized
group. The monsters might be causing more mayhem. The World Tree might be
drying up. Maybe, all of these events are the reason why the Forest of Eternity is
being ruined.”
“You are absolutely correct. It is all of the above. The Forest of Eternity is in
overall distress. If things continue to head in this direction, it’ll be in ruins soon.
It will all be thanks to those that thinks with their lower body instead of their
brains!”
Elves were beautiful. It was said that they were born from the vital force of the
World Tree, and they were beautiful enough to be called fairies. It was just
amongst humans. They wer considered to be one of the most beautiful races
amongst races that were capable of rational thought. Of course, many people
desired them.
“Amongst the smut that is circulated within the kingdom, 80% of them deals with
Elves.”
“Men are the worst······!”
If people were just reading books about Elves, it could be considered to be
charming. However, in the past, countless number of people trespassed into the
Forest of Eternity to kidnap Elves. The Elves had to fight against them over the
long years. This was why Elves spat on the ground when other races were
brought up.
“The manhood of Orcs and human men should be severed.”
Mycenae grinded her teeth as she spoke. She expressed her anger as her ears
fluttered fiercely. Artpe couldn’t help but chuckle. She was speaking very
serious words, so he didn’t get why she looked so cute right now.
Artpe wasn’t into older women, yet she had just delivered an effective blow on
Artpe. Sadly, Mycenae was too incensed to realize this fact. He lightly slapped
his cheek with one hand. He took in deep breaths as he opened his mouth.
“It can't be helped. However, you guys always managed to hang in there.”
“······that’s true. We’ve managed to hold out until now.”
Mycenae nodded her head. Since Artpe wasn’t going to hide the fact that he was
a hero, she didn’t plan on hiding the fact that she was an Elf. To be more
specific, she was a Dark Elf.
In truth, she possessed a powerful presence. Even Silpennon was able to pick
up on this fact. Artpe possessed Observation magic that was ranked higher than
what she possessed. There was no way he hadn’t picked up on her true identity.
“However, it has gotten worse recently. It really seems like something is
happening within the forest. Unfortunately, I was reduced into becoming a Dark
Elf, so it’ll be difficult to give direct help to the forest…..”
“The World Tree is really petty. Whenever one of you makes a little mistake, it
reduces them into Dark Elves.”
“I...it isn’t the World Tree’s fault. It was because I was inexperienced! Anyways,
that isn’t important. It is the Forest of Eternity.”
Artpe narrowed his eyes when she finally broached the main subject.
Mycenae looked straight into his eyes as she made a sincere request.
“At some time in the future, could you accept my Quest which is related to the
Forest of Eternity?”
“All right. You should also put that into the contract.”
“What······?”
Artpe had agreed to it so easily that Mycenae was taken aback.
“Is it ok for you to accept it so easily? I’m not sure I should be saying this, but the
situation within the Forest of Eternity is very dire. It might get very dangerous for
you!”
“I’ll be dragged to that place anyways if I continue to act like a hero. I have no
reason to turn down an extra reward when I know I’ll have to do this later.”
In Artpe’s past life, the Elves living inside the Forest of Eternity had suffered a a
really horrible ending. Moreover, if he went by what was happening within the
Diaz Kingdom, the current situation would probably be worse than what occurred
in Artpe’s past life.
‘I have to do something before it is too late. Tsk. I’m already doing something
annoying right now, yet I have a future appointment to do another annoying task.
This is why I didn’t want to become a hero…..’
However, he would work diligently from now on. He would do it for the peaceful
farm life he would greet in the future.
“Your counterpart isn’t here, so I’m not sure you should agree for her….”
“Ha. If you were going to say that then you should have something before you
took out the contract. Maetel is leaving everything regarding the contract up to
me. ”
At that moment, Maetel was with Sienna. They were exploring a Dungeon they
had found on this mountain. Maetel was teaching the ABC of battle to Sienna,
and they were gathering any items that was worth money.
Normally, Dungeons were very hard to find, yet it wasn’t a problem for Artpe.
“So this finalizes the contract?”
“Yes? Yes······.”
She had been trembling inside, because she thought Artpe was going to ask for
something very big. She nodded her head.
“Hoo-ooh.”
“Ooh. Oooh. I hate this feeling.”
When the draft was completed, they put their signatures on it. The Soul Contract
split into two, and two pages were absorbed into the body of Artpe and Mycenae.
It was an incredible magic contract. When there was a breach of contract, the
penalty would be inflicted on one’s soul. It was very expensive, but it allowed
each party to completely trust each other.
This was why it was possible for Artpe to ask her questions that he had wanted
to ask.
“Do you have a Skill Book that can be used by a Warrior Priestess?”
“That child was given the occupation of Warrior Priestess!?”
“So do you have it or not?”
“I don’t have it right now. Do you realize how rare a Warrior Priestess Class is?
Moreover, most of the Skill Books related to that Class is under the care of the
temples….. Ooh-ah. You are giving me a very difficult homework from the
beginning!”
“Please, I beg of you.”
Artpe had on an impudent smile. It was an expression that would never be on a
face of someone making a request. When he stood up, Mycenae grumbled at
the fact that he left the matter as is….. She smacked her lips when she felt the
energy that was being released from the bottom of the mountain.
“As expected, you weren’t just doing a simple construction job.”
Artpe had a twisted smile on his face. He didn't have to answer her. The smile
was answer enough.
“I’ll see you next time, ajumma. Please take care of Silpennon and Leseti.”
“I’m almost done with that task. If you want to purchased the Warrior Priestess
Skill Book, you’ll have to call me a bit sooner next time!”
Mycenae took something out from her pocket. She threw it towards Artpe before
she disappeared. Artpe confirmed the identity of the item as he snatched it out of
the air.
“······it’s a communication instrument.”
It probably was a communication device that connected only with Mycenae, and
it might double as a summoning device.
It seemed such services came along with making an exclusive contract. Artpe
snorted as he put it away. Then he took a step forward as he weighed the
enemy force that was busily climbing up the mountain.
“Magician-nim?”
“Yes, it is nothing. You should continue to build.”
The townspeople, who had been busy in their tasks, tilted their heads in
puzzlement at Artpe’s movements. Artpe shook his head as he waved them
away. If they got involved in this, it would get more complicated. From now on,
the situation would be in Artpe’s domain.
‘So, I just have to exclude the region containing the Dungeon where Maetel and
Sienna is traveling towards…..’
The Read All Creation ability worked fiercely as all the information about this
region was injected into his brain. He knew where Maetel and Sienna was
heading. He had the information regarding the size of the enemy force, and the
terrain they were climbing. He even had the information regarding the structural
integrity of the region supporting the small city they were building, and the mess
that was left behind when Artpe gathered the ingredients for the construction……
He finished his calculations.
“All right. Let’s do this.”
Artpe extended both his hands as he extended dozens of Mana Strings. All of
them burrowed into the ground to cause a weak earthquake.
He had uprooted all the trees, so the soil was loosely held now. The tremor hit
this region.
“What the hell? I feel a vibration.”
“Vibration? What the hell…. Uh?”
“I...it’s the soil. There’s rocks mixed in with the dirt….”
“It’s a landslide! A landslide has just occurred!”
“Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhk!”
It was a enormous landslide that was almost impossible to replicate even with
high rank magic. It engulfed the soldiers and the black magicians!
Chapter 43 - Hero VS Kingdom (5)
Artpe hadn’t chosen the site of the construction on a whim. There was a large
open space on the mountainside. It was the ideal place to build a city. Many
people would be able to live there. Moreover, this place was highly visible. If
soldiers and black magicians were tracking them, it would be quite easy for them
to find this place.
‘This is my last chance to nip this in the bud before this blows up into something
big. If their ability to judge a situation is not compromised, they would send their
biggest force towards us in haste when they realize what I’m trying to do here.
They’ll try to completely bury this in the darkness.’
This was why Artpe had baited them. Instead of allowing them to increase the
casualties of the innocents, Artpe decided to give them a target they can focus
on. As if to confirm his thought process, the soldiers immediately gathered
towards the mountain.
That wasn’t all. There was a geographical advantage that inevitably came with
being located midway up the mountain. Anyone that discovered and climbed
towards the city would all be considered to be enemies.
Lastly, while he was destroying the mountain to construct the city, Artpe had
executed the final touch to his plan. It was inevitable for him to upturn the earth
when he uprooted the trees. In the process of doing so, how difficult would it be
for him to prepare a trap within the terrain?
“Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhk!”
“T...the ground is eroding! The soil...!”
For example, Artpe had buried crystal balls that had been about to explode from
being stuffed with Mana. He buried them deep in the ground, and he detonated
them to cause massive casualties to his enemies.
“W...water!? My god! The valley! The water is coming from the valley!”
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhhk!”
For example, he might have done some funny business while he constructed the
waterways. His enemies would be swept away by the sewage.
“Boulders······ There are large boulders”
“Oh, no…. Oh my god.”
“Koo-poo-aht!”
For example, he had stacked up a pile of boulders that he had excavated from
the construction work. He sent them rolling as he caused the landslide.
“Koo-ahhhhhhhk!”
“R...run away…. Kah-ahk!”
Several thousand soldiers immediately died before they could enter into a battle.
They hadn’t even been able to locate their enemies before they were hit with a
natural disaster. The road to mountain wasn’t steep. However, a considerable
number of soldiers and black magicians had already suffered horrible deaths.
“Devil.”
“There’s a devil here!”
“A devil lives in this mountain! Run away!”
Who would actually want to climb up this mountain? The morale of the soldiers
immediately bottomed out. The black magicians were too afraid of the unknown
beings that resided on top of the mountain, so their feet were stuck to the ground.
“If they are able to use such tactics, what level are these magicians! How many
of them are there!”
“Ooh ooh. This is terrifying. What spell was that? I...I can’t win against that.”
Artpe’s purple eyes let out a steady light as he moved his fingers through the air.
The Mana Strings followed the movements of his fingers as additional landslides
occurred.
The structure of all creation was seen through his eyes, so it was possible to
know what would happen if certain parts were severed.
“Kooo-ahhhhhhhhhhk!”
“H...help me······.”
“Oh Demon King!”
The death throes of numerous people rang out. Death upon death was piling on
as their blood became a lake, and their corpses became a hill. As if to add insult
to injury, casualties continued to mount.
However, they had nowhere else to go. If they were able to act freely, they
would have left at the outset.
“Huhk!”
“L...look at what’s happening down there. What’s going on…...”
“I...it’s an earthquake.”
Of course, the townspeople became aware of the fact that something was
happening nearby. It was almost miraculous, but their current location was left
alone. Still, the rest of the mountain was collapsing, so they couldn’t help but
notice it.
“The soldiers below…..”
“The magician-nim is wiping them out.”
“He isn't making any large gestures. He is just waving his hands!”
He was using Mana Strings in conjunction with his Read All Creation ability. He
looked like a god to the people around him. In truth, this was all possible,
because he had made countless preparations beforehand. The people around
him didn’t know this fact. Basically, his abilities were great for bluffing!
‘The difference between a Four Heavenly King and a hero is paper thin.’
Artpe was pleased as he waved his hands. An additional 100 soldiers died from
one wave, and another 80 died at his next gesture. Endless pain, screams and
despair filled the bottom of mountain. However, Artpe didn’t pay the slightest
attention to them.
He already knew this would happen from the beginning. This was why he had
sent Maetel to a different location. Maetel was now adept at discerning between
good and evil. However, she couldn't put aside her tendency to shoulder every
death onto her shoulders.
‘However, I’m able to shrug it off.’
At the very least, the part of him that was the Four Heavenly King of the Demon
King’s army was better suited for this task than a hero. He was able to kill
strangers to accomplish his goals. It was something one couldn’t do unless one
was able easily forget about such deeds.
He had lived under the unreasonable orders from the Demon King. He had lived
through an unreasonable world. When the numbers of beings he had killed
exceeded a million, it was possible for him to forget about their deaths.
Therefore, there was no way Artpe would feel much when he was killing those
that deserved death!
“Is it about done now?”
He had waved his hands for an hour. When Artpe confirmed that no troops were
entering into the mountain, he retracted his hands. At this point, the mountain
looked completely different from before.
“Well, if we can get up and down from this place, it should be fine.”
“I wonder if we can be prosperous living on this mountain…...”
This place that had been normal mountain A to the villagers. However, this
mountain would now be long remembered in history. They had a faraway look as
they looked at their residential environment, but they couldn’t make their
complaints known to Artpe.
Of course, Artpe knew what they were feeling inside.
“You should focus on the construction instead of paying attention to me. Do you
really think it’ll end with just one attack?”
“Heek!”
“A...a force of that size is going to come again?!?”
“It might be a larger force. It’ll be good for you guys if I can take care of them
while I’m still here.”
A chill went up their spines when they heard his words. The people meekly went
back to work. Artpe snorted as he exited the construction site.
‘So then, let’s…....’
He had purposefully spared one person. Amongst the black magicians, there
had been one that possessed decent power, yet he had been very passive. He
kept looking around at his surrounding in a cautious manner. Artpe buried
everyone except him. He let this particular magician run away.
The bastard probably thought he was lucky. He probably thought that he had
survived, because he had more sense than the others. To be precise, Artpe had
enticed the black magician to act this way. Artpe had made the black magician
think that he was clever in his escape.
However, the black magician never escaped Artpe’s sight from the beginning to
the end.
‘Reinforcement.’
While Artpe was walking quickly, he used the Reinforcement skill on his boots.
It immediately allowed him to activate the Blink magic. The ability of the boots
had been amplified, so he would be able to use Blink once or twice a day without
consuming any of his Mana. It also considerably extended the range of the Blink
magic.
If he could advance in his Reinforcement skill, he could probably use an
additional Blink. However, his current capabilities was enough.
“Hmmph!”
Artpe used consecutive Blinks as he kicked off the ground. In a flash, he was
already running across the base of the mountain. In his previous life, it would
have been impossible for him to move like this.
He never imagined there would come a day when he would be able to physically
exert himself like this. The title of a Hero wasn’t an empty one. As he had
leveled up in the past year, he hadn’t just grown in terms of magical energy. His
physical stats had also made rapid progress.
Of course, his physical abilities were laughable when compared to a level 160
Warrior, but he was on a different level when compared to a mage of similar
level. Artpe looked exactly like a typical magician on the outside. This was why
they wouldn’t know about Artpe’s physical capabilities. This gave him an
advantage against his opponents.
“Another Blink and…. Good. I caught you.”
“Kuhk!?”
He had quickly descended the mountain, and he was finally successful in
grabbing the black magician by the back of his neck. As expected of a cautious
and meticulous person, the black magician was equipped with an Artifact that
attacked an ambusher. However, it was effective only if the enemy was unaware
of the trap.
Of course, Artpe knew the activation condition of the Artifact. He also knew its
shape, structure and power. When he grabbed the black magician, he
immediately destroyed it with his Mana String. The Artifact didn’t activate.
“Huhk!”
The black magician was shocked when he realized this fact. He had already
realized that his opponent was on a different level than him. It was enough for
him.
“P...please spare me! I’ll tell you everything!”
“All right. I was hoping you would say that.”
“Kuhk!”
Artpe moved as if he was about to charge forward, but he used the motion to
plant his opponent’s head into the ground If he found out Artpe was a child, he
might show some bravado. He had to pressure his opponent from the perch of
absolute power. It would allow him to easily extract information out of the man.
Artpe put his foot on the man’s back as he asked the question.
“So, which Demon is cooperating with the Archduke?”
There was a limit on how abrupt a topic should be broached. Artpe had already
concluded that the Archduke was behind all of this, and he was cooperating with
a Demon. He skipped over those parts to ask the next question!
It seemed the black magician was taken aback by Artpe’s question, so he
carefully opened his mouth.
“Demon? I don’t know…. Heek.”
Artpe extended his Mana String, and he leisurely placed it around his opponent’s
finger. It felt as if the Mana String was sharp enough to sever his finger at any
moment. The man gulped.
Artpe spoke in a low voice.
“Your life is worth nothing to me, but I’m guessing that isn’t true for you?”
“C...correct.”
“That means your words must change next time you speak. Understood?”
“Y...yes, sir.”
Threat and torture were essential skills for a Four Heavenly King in finding out a
secret! Usually, heroes were unable to extract information. They were either too
soft-hearted or inexperienced. It usually came back to bite them in the back, but
that would never happen to Artpe!
“I...it was a woman called Tienna. She conscripted some of the kingdom’s
magicians. She said she would help the Archduke if he cooperated with her
experiment….. I...I was one of the magician that was conscripted.”
He was telling the truth. He hadn’t originally been a black magician. He had
went through a Class change to become one. Of course, he had come here
following the orders of the Archduke, so his origin was unimportant.
However, he had said her name was Tienna. If she had exited the Demon world
to work within the human world, she would have to be talented. Artpe had never
heard of her name in his past life. It probably was an alias…..
Artpe let out a sigh as he asked the question.
“I thought the Archduke was searching everywhere for the heroes. So how did
he come up with an idiotic idea of cooperating with a Demon?”
“W...we were told that the Demon King won’t kill the heroes until the heroes
attack the Demon King’s castle……....”
Kyahh.
Artpe never expected them to leak such important information at such an early
stage!
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t feeling a bit nervous at facing a plan that was
much more sophisticated than what the Demon King’s army carried out in his
previous life.
It seemed the Demon King’s disposition as a chef hadn’t gone away!
‘Still, the Archduke believed the information, and he gave consent to let the
Demon into his country. Then there is the Demon King that refuse to catch the
heroes when a really good opportunity presents itself. He continues to follow his
recipe…...’
He wondered if it would cleaner to just let the world end. Originally, Artpe had no
desire to protect the world. He had done his best to work towards his peaceful
retirement, yet problems were coming at him from unexpected places. It sapped
his energy away.
“I...I’m telling the truth! It sounds unbelievable, but that’s the story I was told! I
completely understand your reaction. I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it,
but….”
“All right. I believe you.”
“Then you are going to spare me!”
“Before I do so, let me ask you the last question. What’s the size of the army
waiting on standby? Speak.”
The shortcut to victory was to take the enemies unawares before they could
conduct an attack. A smile of triumph appeared on Artpe’s lips. It was best to
upturn the table before the game could be set!
The black magician gave an answer
“There is none······.”
“······huh?”
At Artpe’s questioning voice, the man gave additional information with a defeated
voiced.
“That was all of us······ It is impossible for the kingdom to spare any more
soldiers. You’ve killed over 10,000 soldiers and over 20 black magicians. How
can there be more? The Diaz Kingdom is ruined now. When the Archduke finds
out about this, I’m sure he will cry…...”
“······.”
Artpe became silent as he heard the black magican’s words. His ardent
lamentation reeked of helplessness .
It was the moment when a hero ruined a country.
Chapter 44 - Two Hero's Party

“Well, you can get up now.”

“Yes······ A child!? Kahk!”
“You aren’t going to amount to anything much.”
After he extracted the time-sensitive information, Artpe spared the black
magician as promised. The black magician's two arms were tied together, and a
warm marble was placed near his chest. It would immediately explode if the
black magician tried to use magic. Then Artpe took his gold and artifacts. No
matter how he did it, he had spared the black magician’s life.
“You are so young, yet how can you be so brutal······.”
“I’m sure you know about the experiments that was carried out by the Demon
with the help of the Archduke. Can you say that again? Who’s brutal?”
Did the black magician relax a little bit when he found out Artpe was young? He
had the guts to bad mouth Artpe, but when he heard Artpe’s voice, he
immediately shut his mouth. He knew his life could be easily taken away if he
spoke carelessly.
On the other hand, the battle had ended so suddenly that Artpe had a hard time
accepting the truth. He was barely able to realize that everything wasn’t settled
yet.
“Do you have other locations where you conduct experiments?”
“W...we don’t. There are still black magicians left in the kingdom, but there are
only one or two left….”
Nothing could be done with just two black magicians. If they were capable of
doing something, they were out of Artpe’s league as of now, so he just had to
ignore them.
Did he really solve everything at once?
Artpe was having a hard time believing in his own accomplishment, so he
lowered his voice further to give additional threats. However, the only thing he
accomplished by doing so was to bring about the black magician’s teary eyed
confession. It brought back childhood nightmares for the man.
At this point, he knew it was true. Diaz really had no answer!
“Maybe, if all the forces of Diaz could be gathered to attack this place, it might be
possible. However, the whole country isn’t on the side of the Archduke. It isn’t
as if he could unilaterally gather all the magicians within the kingdom. There is
also the issue of him receiving help from a Demon to take control of the throne….
The only ones that could be sent to this place were troops that were completely
under the command of the Archduke. Since all of us are dead…..”
Artpe didn’t need to hear any more to know what would happen. In short order,
the ownership of the Diaz Kingdom would definitely change again. Or maybe the
kingdom itself would disappear.
Artpe had a far away look as he looked past the mountain. His gaze came to
rest on the mountain of corpses and blood that was flowing like an ocean. It was
a nice and peaceful view that went well with what Artpe was feeling.
“All right. What about the demon?”
“The demon trained us, and she left after giving giving us orders. I...I’m telling
you the truth. If her presence became known to the opposing factions, the
Archduke’s position would have been untenable…. This is the condition the
Archduke had to work with.”
Was that really true? What if the Archduke stationed his troops nearby in case
something went wrong? Wouldn’t he use the Demon to turn the kingdom on its
head when something went wrong?
Artpe had a habit of always imagining the worst case possible. Then he thought
about what he would do in such a situation. He went through that process, and
he realized there was nothing that could be accomplished by him going to the
palace. This fact calmed his heart.
“Yes, if they are at a dead end, maybe it might be better for the Diaz Kingdom to
fall.”
“T….then I can…...”
The black magician slightly narrowed his eyes to look at Artpe’s expression.
Artpe had let go of everything, and his heart was feeling lighter. It seemed the
black magician was trying to use that moment to his advantage. He was trying to
secure him own safety. Artpe put on a bright smile as he spoke to the black
magician.
“Of course. I gave you my promise, so I’ll spare you. However, you do realize
I’m not going spare you for nothing?”
“S...sure. I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll give up on black magic to live a peaceful
life! Maybe, I’ll go to the countryside to tend some cows?”
“Are you looking down on the dairy industry?”
“Heek!?”
Artpe put him in his place before he used the Read All Creation to read the black
magician’s information.
[Deyus von Signema]
[Black Magician]
[Level : 70]
[Strength : 8 Agility : 9 Stamina : 16 Magic Energy : 169]
Artpe’s magical energy was over 800. Even if one took into account the almost
100 level difference, the gap was ridiculously large. Moreover, while Artpe
possessed magical energy over 800, he also had considerable amount of
strength, agility and stamina. Artpe was several dimensions apart from the black
magician, and the difference was unsurmountable.
However, despite this fact, Deyus’ talent wasn’t too bad. It seemed he had been
diligent in his magic studies every time he had leveled up. Basically, he had
done tasks that would raise his magical energy. Normally, the simple and honest
ones that work really hard didn’t get lured by black magic…..
Artpe was tilting his head in puzzlement when he caught the florid last name.
He realized the truth through intuition.
“Your parents are nobles from the Archduke’s faction?”
“How did you know that!? My father is the right hand man of the Archduke, so I
had no choice….. Huhk!”
Deyus von Signema was so surprised by Artpe’s pointed question that he
unintentionally blurted out the information. He flinched when Artpe’s smile turned
vicious.
“Ah, it doesn't matter. You can’t gain much from using me against my family. I’m
ready to sever my relationship from the family. I’m willing to go live a quiet life in
the remote countryside…..”
“No, I was just thinking you have the setting to become a legendary hero.”
“L...legendary? Setting?”
“Yes. I will spare you, and I’m starting to have an idea on how you can be of
benefit to me.”
Deyus von Sigmena had a bad feeling when he heard Artpe’s words. The next
word out of Artpe’s mouth pretty much confirmed Deyus’ thoughts.
“Have you heard of a Soul Contract?”
“Are you ok, Artpe!?”
“Oppa!”
When Artpe returned to the site of the construction, Maetel and Sienna were
already back after finishing their Dungeon exploration. They had already
surveyed what had occurred below the mountain, so they had a good idea on
what Artpe had done.
“I’m not hurt at all, so you guys don’t have to grope me like that.”
“But there are so many corpses here?”
“It was like cutting a bread with a knife. There is no way I would cut my finger
doing such a task, so you guys should relax.”
Maetel’s talent made her a genius, but she couldn’t kill ten thousand troops. This
was true even if she used her Acceleration skill, which was a total cheat ability.
What he had done was possible, because he was a magician.
“Still, I’m glad Artpe is unharmed.”
“Oppa~.”
When the two girls were sure Artpe was unharmed, they clung to his side. Deyus
was staring at this curious sight, but he quickly lowered his gaze to the ground.
Thankfully, Deyus was quick on the uptake. As Artpe had that thought, he spoke
quietly towards Maetel and Sienna.
“I think we should leave tomorrow, so you guys should make preparations.”
“Tomorrow!? Isn’t that too fast?”
“Didn’t you originally say it would take over a week, oppa?”
That’s right. He had originally allocated around a week for all of this. He had
assumed there would be at least two more attacks by troops under the command
of the Archduke.
“My secondary power was stronger than I thought…..”
It seemed the Archduke of Diaz was dumber than he had assumed.
“I’m not sure what you are talking about, but does this mean the people here are
safe now?”
“For now, they are.”
Of course, even if the townspeople gladly left behind their former residences to
come to this place, it didn’t mean there won’t be any calamities or threats in the
future. Even if the Archduke was ruined, it wasn’t as if his power base would all
disappear. Moreover, the Demon King’s army was alive and well. This was why
this location was the ideal location to place this city.
‘We will stay here tonight. However, we’ll have to move on when the day
brightens. We’ll have to move as if we are really busy…..’
Artpe let out a light sigh as he spoke to his party.
“You two did well in going to the Dungeon. It’ll be busy once again tomorrow.
Both of you should wash and rest. Sienna, you have to do a good job saying
farewell to your sister.”
“Yes!”
Sienna hugged Artpe tighter before she disengaged. She turned around as she
ran off. Level 28 could be seen clearly above her head. Laughter slipped out of
him at the absurdity of it.
“How come there are only monsters around me?”
“But Artpe is the most incredible one amongst us.”
Maetel spoke as she glared at the retreating back of Sienna. Artpe gave a non-
committal answer as he mussed her hair a bit roughly.
“You should go rest.”
“But Artpe is going to work again.”
“Since I’ve made this mess, I can’t just leave everything as is.”
Maetel had a sullen expression on her face, but she knew there was nothing she
could do. She nodded head.
Maetel glanced at the black magician Deyus, and she asked Artpe a question.
“This person is a bad guy. Is it ok for you to be with him like this?”
“I gave him my word that I would spare him, so I have no choice. Instead, I’m
thinking about using him in the future.”
“Ooh, ooh-ooh.”
It didn’t matter what Artpe was saying at that moment. Deyus’ mind was filled
with the word Soul Contract. He couldn’t hear anything else. What scary things
will he have to do with his soul on mortgage!
Maetel really didn’t like Deyus, who was letting out a foul energy. However, she
saw that he was shaking in fear, so it seemed he couldn’t do anything against
Artpe.
As expected, Deyus didn’t have any allies here. He was destined to shake in
fear until he was given an order.
The night passed quickly . Artpe stood at the center of the construction site, and
he did all the tasks that could be done with his Mana Strings.
He had made a mess of the mountain, so he tidied it up. He gathered materials
that would be used for construction, then he searched the mountain for animals
that could be used for food…..
As he used it more, Artpe realized that Mana String was an incredible magic.
This was especially true when he used it with his Read All Creation ability. The
Mana Strings could gather and analyze all the information in its surrounding. It
used the information to move in the most efficient manner. It sometimes felt as if
he was moving in all directions at the same time.
Even the one using the magic was surprised, so how would those watching him
feel? Other people couldn’t see the Mana Strings. It was as if Artpe was
changing everything just by waving his hands. He looked like a god.
“I really don’t think he is human.”
“Do you doubt it after seeing all of this? He is a god. A god!”
Thanks to Artpe’s exertion, the city had a foundation by the time morning came.
The people felt the truth in their bones. They realized how much construction
could be done by working with a magician, who possessed a basic knowledge of
architecture.
“It is possible to create waterways like this? How surprising.”
“This place is already better than our town!”
“I love our view. It is quite open.”
“This should be good enough.”
Artpe even checked the wooden barricade around the small city. He made sure
everything was perfect before he withdrew his magic. He had used Mana Strings
every time his Mana had recovered. Usually, it took a long time for Unique
Spells to develop, but it had already reached level 10.
“······shall we go now?”
He cleared everything. It was impossible to clear a Quest as thoroughly as this.
He had finished the base Quest alongside the hidden Quests. He hadn’t
intended to do this, but he kept completing the Quests that had popped up in a
row. It was ironic, but he was done now.
“Magician-nim, are you perhaps leaving already?”
“Magician-nim······.”
It was almost supernatural as to how the townspeople were able to sense his
impending departure. They were flustered as they hung onto him. However,
Artpe was firm in his attitude.
“I did all I could do here. No one will be able to threaten you if you stay within
this city. There’s no one left to put a curse on you, so you can be at ease and
resume your lives. Ah. I want you to forget about my party, and don’t ever speak
about us. You should always bear that in mind.”
Artpe had rescued the kids, and he had gathered the townspeople to construct a
city on the mountain. They owed him a lot, yet he wanted them to forget about
him. They were surprised by his demand.
“Magician-nim······.”
“I’m going.”
It seemed the townspeople wanted Artpe to live in the city. They wanted him to
rule over them, but Artpe didn’t hold any lingering attachment to this mountain.
He had been forced to carry out this Quest, and he hadn’t received any rewards.
He hated those types of Quests the most! Artpe wanted to run out of here as
soon as possible. He dragged Maetel and Sienna with him. The people came
out in droves, yet he ignored them all.
“Sienna, you have to be happy!”
“I’ll be back, unni!”
The most memorable sight was Aena and Sienna. Aena was crying, yet Sienna
had a big smile on her face.
It seemed she didn’t want her unni to worry about her or maybe she really wasn’t
sad….. He wanted to think it was the former, but Sienna’s face was way too
bright for it to be true.
“Aena unni will be safe if she lives in this town. It is enjoyable for me to be with
oppa. This is what is best for the both of us!”
“It isn’t enjoyable for me if Sienna is with us.”
“Maetel unni, you joke around too much.”
The two brats armed themselves with congenial smiles as they sparred with each
other. Artpe decided not to intrude. In fact, he didn’t even like acknowledging it.
Deyus was being dragged by the rope, and it felt as if he was staring at Artpe.
He also decided to ignore him.
“Magician-nim!”
“Magiciaaaaaaaaaaaaan-nim!”
He had completely turned away from the city, and the gazes of the townspeople
was squarely on his back. It stung. What did he actually do that merited them
calling after him with such fervor? He was afraid his resolve would weaken if he
turned around to look at them.
‘Humans are simple beings. I did all of this knowing this would would happen.
What emotion am I supposed to feel when the people react in a the manner I
predicted?’
It was a thought that was unbecoming of him. Artpe tsked as he shook his head
to free himself from those thoughts. He took out the communication device, and
he soon had a connection to Mycenae.
“Ajumma.”
[Hello, customer. My name is Mycenae. Mycenae.]
“Did you finish their education?”
[······it just finished right now]
“All right. I’m going to visit them once, so you should wait for me with them.”
[Did you really contact me for that...]
Artpe ruthlessly severed the connection, then he turned to look at his party.
“Silpennon’s party will be in charge of this black magician. Of course, I will put a
fail safe in place….. After we tell them what to do, we can go on a merry trip to
find a magician. Does anyone have a question?”
“Yes, I have one!”
Maetel raised her hand high into the air as she spoke.
“The level difference between Sienna and us is large. Since we are leaving
behind the black magician in their care, what if leave behind Sienna too?”
It was a weirdly compelling suggestion, but Artpe let out a bitter laugh. It was
possible for Maetel to become smart when she was trying to eliminate her
competitor! On the other hand, Sienna was flustered as she gripped Artpe’s
sleeve.
“I like oppa. I can raise my level quickly, so don’t throw me away. Ok?”
Of course, Artpe didn’t plan on leaving behind Sienna. Unlike Silpennion, she
was a cute and honest girl. It was a plus, but there was a fundamental reason
why she was different from him.
“Silpennon is different from Sienna, Maetel. If I want to explain this difference, I’ll
have to give you a long lecture on what Classes are….. I’ll give you a short
explanation for now. Maetel, do you know about those that are called nobles
when they aren’t nobles?”
Maetel shook her head from side to side without much strength. Artpe nodded
his head in a solemn manner as he gently put one hand on Sienna’s head. Then
he spoke to Maetel.
“We have one right here. You should greet her. She is the noble healer of our
party.”
Chapter 45 - Two Hero's Party (2)

Priests were always stiff-necked. They were all stuck-up. However, there were
good reasons why they were able to act that way. The first reason being priests
were as rare as magicians. The second reason being they were considered to
be talents indispensible in all situations.
“It isn’t as if there aren’t any magic spells that could heal wounds. However, the
effectiveness of a magician’s Heal is crap. It sucks. Even if the magician had
enough Mana to use Heal, one would be better off using scouting, defensive or
offensive magic. On top of that, the probability of getting wounded increases as
the Dungeons become more dangerous. It is impossible to last just using
potions. This is why all parties want and seek the help of a priest.”
Of course, it was a bit of a different story in regards to heroes. They could learn
skills from all Classes. It wasn't just the magician’s Healing spell. They could
even learn the priest’s Cure spell.
However, Artpe already consumed an extreme amount of Mana using the Mana
Strings. He didn’t have the luxury to learn and use the Cure spell. Maetel was
an idiot, so she couldn’t learn the spell.
However, a priestess with no attachment to any temple had shown up in front of
him. He had Sienna, who was naturally gifted with high magical energy.
Even if she was a Warrior Priestess, she wasn’t completely dependent on her
holy power. Her magical energy was structured in a way where she could stand
on her own. Still, she was a priestess, so she would be able to learn the Cure
spell!
“Oppa, my level is low. Will I be helpful to you?”
Sienna felt considerably relieved at Artpe’s words. She looked up at him as she
asked him the question. Maetel was explicit in expressing her disappointment.
However, Artpe lightly ignored Maetel as he stroked Sienna’s head.
“Of course, you will be of great help.”
“What a relief.”
Of course, this was under the assumption that she learned the Cure Spell that a
Warrior Priestess could learn. He had no choice but to put his trust in Mycenae
to make that part come true.
“It hasn’t arrived yet.”
“?? I took a chance in signing an exclusive contract with you, yet ajumma is
being very unhelpful.”
“You really are a rude customer! Moreover, you called me ajumma again!”
Mycenae grinded her teeth, but it was true that she hadn’t been able to acquire
Artpe’s order. She didn’t know why she was giving excuses. She let out a sigh
as she gave Artpe the other item he had ordered. She pushed the Soul Contract
towards him.
“Will this be all, customer? I’m going to go rest. This side venture has made me
very tired.”
“You suffered a lot helping us. Take it easy. We’ll see you again next time. ”
“Thank you, Elven merchant-nim.”
Silpennon and Leseti gave a courteous farewell. It seemed Mycenae wasn’t
totally devoid of feelings. She put on a soft expression as she raised her hand
towards them.
“For this business trip, I’ll consolidate the education fee, and the items
expenditure cost. I’m givubg you a 30% discount, so it will be 1,287 gold.”
“Kyahh. I guess we can’t move past that.”
“How can I move past that? Just be a good boy and give me my money.”
Silpennon helplessly paid out her business expenses. After Mycenae was sure
she received her dues, she started to move away with her cart behind her. She
gazed at Artpe.
“I’ll contact you as soon as I acquire the Skill Books. When that happens, please
come to the closest branch of the Anywhere company.”
“If possible, please hurry it up.”
Sienna was undoubtedly a Warrior ‘Priestess’, yet there was no one here that
could give her the education she needed as a priestess. This was why she was
simply learning Mana Control and fighting techniques.
It wasn’t just Mana. She was pretty talented at controlling her body, so she was
making progress on both fronts. However, as her combat skill level and Mana
Control level kept climbing, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was
amiss.
“Ah. I want you to gather Skill Books and Spell Books for all the other Classes. I
want you to acquire everything you can get your hands on. Do you get what I’m
trying to say?”
“Of course. You can leave it to me. Also, you should prepare the money you will
have to give me.”
“Hoo.”
Artpe smirked when she mentioned money. She suddenly had the desire to ask
him more about it, but she came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t give her an
answer. She clicked her tongue as she disappeared.
“Let’s go after we finish our business here.”
“So why did you come back here again? Huh. By the way….”
When Mycenae exited, there were only six people left inside the Slime Dungeon.
Sienna stuck close to Artpe’s back as she warily looked at the other people.
Silpennon’s eyes turned round when he caught sight of Sienna.
“You gained another woman, Artpe. You are young, yet you are already like this.
It is terrifying to imagine what you will be like in the future.”
“When you start paying attention to the gender of one’s party member, that is
when you have a problem on your hand.”
“Party member? You put her in when you didn’t put us in?”
Silpennon looked aggrieved. As if Artpe understood Silpennon’s feeling, he
nodded his head.
“I know you are disappointed that my party gained a member. I know all about it.
That is why I am here to supplement your party. I brought a talent here. You
should say hi to Deyus.”
“No, what we want is to join your party….. What did you just say?”
Instead of Sienna, Artpe pushed Deyus towards Silpennon’s side. For some
unknown reason, Deyus had his head covered with a hood. However, he
couldn’t resist against Artpe’s strength, so his face was revealed.
At that moment, Leseti instinctively unsheathed her sword.
“You dare show yourself, insect.”
“Deyus······.”
“C...crown prince.”
His face turned ashen as he faced Silpennon. Silpennon’s face was cold as his
expression hardened.
It seemed they were acquaintances. Moreover, it seemed they weren’t on good
terms.
“Artpe. I’m sure you brought him here as a party member for us, because you
don’t know this man’s identity. I cannot accept this man. His family once swore
an oath of loyalty to the king, yet they betrayed us by taking the side of the
Archduke. They killed numerous knights that tried to protect me…..”
“Silpennon, I already know who he is.”
“What!?”
Silpennon became incensed, but the smile on Artpe’s lips remained. He put a
hand on Deyus’ shoulder as he spoke.
“You should explain it. Tell them what you did, and how you came to be with
me.”
“W...will you stop them from killing me?”
“Of course. I have a use for you.”
“······ughh.”
Deyus closed his eyes tight when he saw the Soul Contract in Artpe’s hand.
While he was being bombarded by murderous intent from Silpennon and Leseti,
he let out a sigh before he opened his mouth.
“Your highness. In truth, I······.”
The explanation was brief. He hadn’t been on the scene of the revolt, and he
hadn’t become a black magician by choice. However, he had been part of the
troops dispatched to destroy the evidence of their crime. It was most definitely a
sin that was worthy of death. It was good that he was able to admit that fact,
but…..
“How effective is a Soul Contract? How great must it be for you to spare him?”
“If he breaks it, his soul is up for forfeit.”
“Amazing.”
Deyus wasn’t going to be a regular party member. This truth was quite clear to
him. Silpennon stared at Artpe as he asked a question.
“If it is alright with you, could you include a clause of my choosing in the contract
for me?”
“Of course. However, you can’t kill him.”
“Of course, If I kill him, I can no longer torment him..”
“Heek.”
Deyus’ face turned paler, but there was no one here that would help him. In the
end, he had to sign the Soul Contract, which was filled with unreasonable
provisions. At that moment, the crown prince’s party gained a low rank slave.
“There is a limited amount of spells that can be used by a black magician. Still,
unless you can find the help of a priest, he might become your best party
member. His talent isn’t too bad, and he will be good at following directions.”
“I...I’ll do anything…...”
The content of the contract was bleak. Deyus had a look that could only be seen
on those that had lost their country. The only comfort he could derive from this
was the fact that he hadn’t been killed like his fellow black magicians.
“I know it is hard for you to emotionally accept him, but you and Leseti will be
safer if you use him. This is why you shouldn’t kill him. You should take him
along with you guys.”
“I understand. I’m surprised that you thought so much about us.”
Artpe had retraced his steps to bring Deyus here. It seemed he had been
worried about them. Silpennon was moved by the gesture, but in a flash, a
twinkle shone in Artpe’s eyes.
“In truth, that wasn’t the only reason I am here.”
“I should have known.”
Silpennon immediately became disappointed. However, he would soon be
singing a different tune when he heard Artpe’s next words. He spoke about the
main reason for coming here. He spoke about why he added Deyus to their
party.
“I came here to give you an offer that you cannot refuse.”
“I’ve heard that from somewhere before·····.”
Silpennon narrowed his eyes. Artpe had spoken similar words when he rejected
Silpennon’s offer! He waited to see how great this offer was.
Artpe took out a map.
“Mmm······ A map?”
“It looks to be of high quality…. It’s the map that was commissioned by the
throne!?”
It was a map of the Diaz Kingdom. Artpe had acquired it when he killed the
knights that were trying to assassinate Silpennon. The odd part about this map
was the fact that there were circle drawn in various locations. Moreover, there
were numbers written starting from 1 in random order.
“What is this······? What are these circles? No, what does these numbers
mean?”
Silpennon cross examined him. Artpe let out a light laugh as he gave an
explanation.
“These are all Dungeons.”
“What!?”
“What did you say!?”
“Pardon me!?”
Silpennon, Leseti and even Deyus was surprised. There were 20 or more circles
drawn on the map. They couldn’t believe these were all Dungeons!
However, Artpe’s expression didn’t falter at all as he spoke those words.
“I’m sure the Dungeons are here, so you can trust me on that. Of course, several
of them have already been discovered. However, if you guys want to smoothly
raise your levels, you should visit all of them.”
When he heard those words, a thought suddenly lit up inside Silpennon’s head.
It was as if he was having a hard time believing his own thoughts. He carefully
asked Artpe the question.
“Wait a moment, Artpe. The numbers start from one, because….”
“Yes. If you go in order, you won’t have too much difficulty clearing the
Dungeons. You will be able to grow as you clear them. This is especially true
for you, Silepennon. You have to visit all of them to grow your Seeking skill and
your Trap Dismantling skill.”
“You·····.”
Astonishment was followed behind by shock. Silpennon’s party decided not to
think further on the subject. Artpe knew about Dungeons that were not
discovered yet, and he also knew what level of monsters would appear within
them!
“Within Deyus joining your party, you are only missing a priest. Aside from that
fact, you have the perfect party. Since there are undiscovered Dungeons pointed
out here, the reward will be quite lucrative. You can use the leftover money to
purchase Mana potions and Stamina potions. Also, if you suffer defeat in a
Dungeon, you can use the communication device to contact me.”
“You······.”
He knew Artpe’s ability was boundless, but his knowledge was beyond bountiful!
Was it really possible for a human to know all this?
“How can this be·····.”
“Hmm. It is possible because it’s Artpe.”
“Yes, it is because he is oppa.”
Leseti’s mouth hung open in amazement, and she just accepted the situation as
is. However, Silpennon wasn’t dumb enough to believe that. Deyus, who was
listenting from the side, wasn’t dumb either. Maetel and Sienna wasn’t just
talking about the veracity of knowledge. They believed nothing was impossible
for Artpe to achieve in this world, so they naturally accepted his words.
“Hoo…. All right. Whatever.”
For a brief moment, Silpennon had puzzled over it. However, in the end, he
decided not to challenge the veracity of Artpe’s claim. Artpe would gain nothing
from lying to them. If he started doubting Artpe’s ability, he felt as if he would be
going down a rabbit hole. It would be better for his sanity to just believe
everything Artpe had said.
However….
“Since you’ve told us the reward, I’m guessing you will now offer your terms?
Right, Artpe?”
“I like the fact that you are smart.”
Artpe grinned as he made his declaration.
“I want you guys to give me half of the Dungeon rewards.”
Chapter 46 - Two Hero's Party (3)

“Half? Are you sure that is enough?”

Artpe’s stipulation made Silpennon feel dazed. Artpe was telling them everything
about the Dungeons, and he even told them about the levels of the monsters
they would face. Despite this fact, he only wanted half of the reward. It didn’t
matter what others said, but according to Silpennon’s standards, it was a very
generous offer. It was so generous that it was as if Artpe had given the
information away for free. However, Artpe nodded his head as if it was
reasonable.
“You have to think about you, Leseti and Deyus. The most crucial part is
acquiring Deyus’ skills, Spell Books, equipments and potions. If you think about
the combined cost, I’m pretty sure not much will be left from your half of the
reward. You should think of it as improving your chances of survival. Instead of
saving your money, you are strengthing yourselves. That is why you’ll have
barely enough to pay for my half-share.”
“Artpe······.”
Silpennon and Leseti was floundering around in a soup of emotions. Deyus was
confused. He wonder if this might be good for him in the long run.
They didn't’ realize that he planned on using them in his future confrontation with
the Demon King. It would allow him to avoid hardship in the future. It had been
a while, since he had thought like a Four Heavenly King. Artpe continued to
speak.
“Also, I’ll give you a list right now. You will never sell these items from the
Dungeons to the merchants. You have to keep it, and you have to give it to me
at a later date. There is the Crown of Wisdom, Scroll of Destruction, Eye of
Prophecy, Spring of Tears, Spear of Twilight…...”
Silpennon busily wrote down the names of the Artifacts given by Artpe. He tilted
his head in puzzlement. He could tell that they were were terrifyingly high ranked
Artifacts just by their names. He wondered if they would really come out from the
Dungeons.
“Then there is the Blood Fragment… All right. That’s it.”
Artpe spoke the name of dozens of Artifacts without hesitation. Silpennon, who
had written it down, had a very sour expression on his face.
“I’ve never heard of these items, yet I can tell they are incredibly valuable. Are
you sure these items will come out from such low level Dungeons?”
“This is why I want you to diligently train your Seek skill. Then you’ll be able to
find them. No, these items will come out from the Dungeons. You better not
leave the Diaz kingdom until you find them all.”
Arte’s expression was alway composed. Of course, these Artifacts had all come
out from the Dungeons in his previous life. These artifacts were worth so much
that it was ill-matched to be within the low level Dungeons.
In the first place, Artpe had given them the locations of these Dungeons,
because he wanted to acquire all those Artifacts. However, Artpe and Maetel’s
levels were too high to go there themselves. Moreover, it was an annoying task
since the Dungeons were located far apart from each other.
It was convenient to have others that would do the task for you!
“I want you put your trust in me, and do what I say.”
“I don’t particularly like your laid back attitude, but…. All right, I’ve digested
everything you’ve said. You are saying we should work in parallel with each
other.”
“Artpe······ If you weren’t here, I… Kyahhk!”
Letseti looked deeply moved as she grabbed Artpe’s hands tightly. She was
thrown aside by Maetel and Sienna. Silpennon wasn’t amused with his former
guardian knight’s antic, so he glared at her. Then he carefully put away the
valuable map.
“This has been a learning experience, Artpe. So this is how you suggest a
proposal that can’t be refused. I accept your proposal.”
“All right. Let us go on our separate paths.”
Artpe, Maetel and Sienna.
Silpennon, Leseti and Deyus.
No matter how one saw it, they were divided into the hero team and the support
team.
They firmly shook hands.
It would take them two years to meet again.
“I’ll be back after I become strong. Will you accept me into your party at that
time?”
“All right. I’ll think about when we reach that point.”
“No, I don’t like it. I don’t like Silpennon.”
“Why, Maetel!”
“I don’t like you!”
It would be hard for them to meet up again, but Silpennon believed that they
would be able to become friends someday.
The two party dispersed.
“Artpe, I’m curious about one thing.”
After leaving the Dungeon, they were walking quickly down the mountainous
path. While they were walking, Maetel asked Artpe a question.
“About what?”
“It’s about the magician we are going to meet.”
He had explained at ad nauseam about the magician’s abilities, and the reason
why they had to bring her into the party. Did she still feel repulsed by the
prospect of growing the party? Artpe tilted his head in puzzlement as he turned
to look at Maetel.
“What about the magician?”
Maetel’s eyes narrowed as she asked the question.
“Is the magician a female?”
“Uh, yeah. The magician is female?”
He never expected her to ask about the gender of the magician. It was a
question that had nothing to do with one’s ability! Artpe was dumbfounded as he
replied to the question. When she heard the answer, Maetel’s expression turned
more sullen.
“Artpe, did you send the black magician towards Silpennon, because he was
male?”
“······eh-whew.”
As expected, she was under a massive delusion. Artpe let out a sigh as he
flicked Maetel’s forehead.
“Gender isn’t important. Silpennon’s party didn’t have a magician, and I had a
magician under my thumb. The pieces fit together. That is why I sent him along
with Silpennon. I didn’t exclude him from our party, because he is male.”
“Eeesh······ What if he had been a young and pretty girl?”
“I don’t know what answer you want from me. I would have let the person join
Silpennon’s party irrespective of age and gender. Are you done now?”
“Oooh-mmmmm.”
It seemed Maetel wasn’t satisfied with Artpe’s answer. She let out discontented
sound as she stuck close to him. It seemed she was trying to use skinship to
express the feeling she wasn’t able to articulate. When she did that, Sienna stuck
to him on the other side as if they were in competition.
Yes, he was now used to it. He hadn’t wanted to get used to it, yet he had.
What should he call the bitter feeling he was feeling right now?
Artpe was absorbed in self-contemplation as he let out a sigh.
This time Sienna asked a question.
“Oppa, where can we find this magician-nim?”
“Ah······ The place is called Aedia. It is a country that is more advanced in magic
research compared to the Diaz kingdom.”
“She’s in a different country!?”
Maetel suddenly expressed her shock. Artpe smirked when he saw this.
This small hero possessed incredible abilities, yet her knowledge, experience
and intelligence was lacking compared to her capabilities. Still, he couldn’t have
her set her sight only on countryside villages. He also couldn’t keep her tied
down in the dark Dungeons.
It was time for her to broaden her horizon. He would be able accomplish that
task by the time they meet the magician.
“We have to cross an ocean, so it’ll be a pretty long journey. Of course, I’ve
already planned out the route…..”
Artpe took out another map. He had found more than one map of this kingdom
on the knights he had killed.
“Well, look here. Do you see the city at the end of the map? This is a key
location that links the Diaz kingdom to the other kingdoms. It is a harbor city
named Frate. We’ll travel across the ocean to reach Aedia.”
The distance to Frate was around 300 times the distance they had traveled after
Artpe and Maetel ran away from their town at the age of 12.
To be fair, the incidents with the Hero’s Dungeon and the Curse of the Demon
had prevented them from traveling far. Still, Maetel had lived her whole life in the
countryside. She would now be traveling an unfathomable amount of distance.
“Wahh-ahhh. It’s far away. It might take us 3 months to walk there.”
“Of course, we aren’t just going to go straight towards the city. We’ll learn what
we have to learn, and we’ll kill the monsters we have to kill. We’ll also buy what
we need to buy. There is also the problem of the ocean being uncrossable
during the fall and winter. This is why I intentionally plan to go there through a
roundabout way.”
The ocean was uncrossable during fall and winter only for normal people, but the
two girls didn’t argue the point. Their attention was solely on the fact that they
were going to hunt monsters. Their eyes shone fiercely.
They looked as if they were ready to slaughter the monsters at that very moment.
It wasn’t an expression that should be seen on a 12 and 13 year old girls……
However, when one thought about the path they would have traverse in the
future, they had the right attitude.
“We’ll be on the road heading towards Frate. I intentionally didn’t tell Silpennon
about the Dungeons we are going to visit. We have to gather funds for our trip,
and he have to increase Sienna’s level.”
“You told them about so many Dungeon, yet there are still more Dungeons left?
As expected, Artpe is…..”
“Yes. Yes. I’m amazing.”
There were a total of seven Dungeons on the way to Frate. Most of them were
similar to the small Dungeons he had pointed out to Silpennon. However, two
were large Dungeons, and one needed 3 months to clear each of them.
Of course, it took 3 months for normal people without the Read All Creation
ability.
“If we go through these Dungeons, Sienna should be at a level where she would
be able to operate with us in Dungeons. Of course, this is all possible, because
she has a special property that comes with being a Warrior Priestess.”
“Really?”
“Of course. She isn’t normal.”
Sienna’s talent was almost at a genius level.
Maetel was talented in all things except magic. Artpe was reborn as a hero
possessing everything he had when he was one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Artpe’s talent had been reinforced. Sienna was less talented than Artpe, but if
the two of them never existed, Sienna probably would have become the hero.
This was how great her potential was.
“In other words, we just have to provide a smooth flow of ingredients, and
Sienna’s growth speed will become ridiculously fast. ”
In the past, the Demon King had used Demons as ingredients to make the hero
into a delicious dish…. He made her into a warrior. Now Artpe would use his
Read All Creation ability alongside his memories of his past life. He would make
Sienna into a fantastic member of the hero’s party. When he followed the
Demon King’s orders, he had observed and learned what he the Demon King
had done. Even if he was half as successful, he could turn Sienna into a
monster!
“I’ll follow everything oppa tells me to do! If you want me to do something, I will
do anything for you. Anything.”
When he saw Sienna’s blind affection and actions, it was as if he was looking at
Maetel. This was why a sigh automatically slipped out of his mouth. When he
finished having that thought, Maetel started growling at Sienna.
“Eeeeeee. I don’t like it.”
“I like unni, but I like oppa much more!”
“I don’t like you!”
In Sienna’s case, she had retained her life thanks to Artpe by being turned into a
different race. On top of that, he was teaching her about Mana. It wasn’t as if he
couldn’t see why she followed him in such an unconditional manner.
In fact, the more he thought about it Maetel’s attitude felt different from Sienna’s
attitude.
What the hell happened with his past self to make Maetel like this!
“Both of you are members of this party, and you will have entrust each other’s life
to one another in the future.”
“I know I have to hold it back for Artpe, but I can’t get rid of my dislike for her!”
“I’m willing to entrust my life to unni!”
“The fact that you like me makes me not like you more. If you act like that, I can’t
hate you without feeling unsettled!”
Ah, maybe everything might turn out ok if it was like this. He looked at the
growling Maetel, and the smiling Sienna. In the end, they were innocent children.
When they grow older, their feelings would mature, and their behavior would get
better too.
It wasn’t as if he hated the flood of honest emotions directed towards him. Still, it
would be much better without all this great fuss.
“I like oppa and unni. It would be great if all three of us could get along.”
“I want to live in peace only with Artpe!”
‘By the look of things, it doesn’t seem things will calm down anytime soon…..’
Artpe kept letting out consecutive sighs as he continued to walk. He still had
some complaints about his party members, but this was the start of the true
hero’s party!
If things went according to the Demon King’s plan, Artpe and Maetel wouldn't
have discovered the experiments occuring within the kingdom. Or maybe they
would have discovered it too late. It was supposed to be a massive Quest that
should have cost them blood, sweat and tears to resolve.
Unfortunately for the Demon king’s army, Artpe had resolved everything at super
speed. Artpe had messed up a long term plan that the Demon king’s army
planned on exploiting for about 3 years! He had ended it in just one day!
The Archduke hadn’t even been able to progress much in the experiment that
was supposed to turn humans into Demons, yet he had lost most of his troops.
His influence had rapidly decreased, and of course, he was unable to receive
support from the Demon. Artpe had basically ruined the plan of the Demon
King’s army in one fell swoop.
The Archduke had already used an unjust reason to take over the throne, so the
nobles that had hated him rebelled against him. In the end, the Archduke was
overthrown, and he had been chased out of the country.
The new king was the cousin of the previous king. Count Hadein was placed on
the throne, but he was merely a puppet of the nobles. Still, the chaos within the
Diaz Kingdom calmed down, so it was still a fortunate outcome.
It took them exactly one year.
“Hoo-ooh. It seems trade has been completely restored. Shit. This is why I
wanted to get here earlier.”
“There are so many people here, Artpe! There are more people here than the
people I’ve seen in my entire life!”
“Oppa, are we going to ride that ship?”
After a year, the hero’s party arrived at the harbor city of Frate.
Chapter 47 - Two Hero's Party (4)

There was no business in this world that always worked out as planned. Artpe’s
party was so off course from his original plan that the only thing right was the fact
that they were traveling in a straight line. The travel was filled with sighs,
complaints and shouting.
Still, nothing significant happened during their one week march.
He had bought the highest quality bedrolls from Mycenae for each of the party
members, but all three of them had to squeeze into one. It was a very tight fit,
but it was also very warm and cozy. Maetel was in charge of harvesting herbs,
while he started the fire. Sienna was in charge of cooking. This was how the
daily chores were divvied up. It was a fantastic yet simple setup.
They didn’t possess many clothes, so washing them was quite simple using
Artpe’s magic. There probably were few in this world that could travel as easily
and comfortably as them.
They had traversed an incredible amount of distance in one week, so they had
arrived at the first Dungeon one week ahead of schedule. The problem started
when they entered the Dungeon.
It was a Dungeon where beast-type monster Gnolls appeared. They were
humanoid monsters with a dog-like head. It was supposed to be a Dungeon with
five floors with a variety of Gnolls ranging from level 30 to level 50.
Sienna was level 28, and she was of a race that could use powers that exceeded
her level. This was why Artpe and Maetel merely had to make sure she didn’t
die. Aside from that fact, Sienna had free reigns to combat the Gnolls.
The Gnolls had similar build to a human, and they were quite clever. It allowed
Sienna to gain a variety of battle experiences. Her level rose steadily as they
traversed through the five floors, and the occasional high level monsters made it
easy to increase Sienna’s level.
Artpe had assumed it would be this way, and everything went as planned. A
week passed after they entered the Dungeon, and Sienna bravely reached the
5th floor as she increased her level to 47.
“Huh, Artpe? Didn’t you say this Dungeon has five floors?”
The problem started from that moment.
“I did.”
‘In my past life….’
If it was Artpe’s words, Maetel trusted him implicitly even if there was no
evidence to back up his words. Maetel tilted her head in puzzlement as she
asked the question.
“So why is there a staircase leading further downwards?”
“That is a really good question.”
Artpe glared at the secret staircase that had appeared as if it had every right to
be there. He spoke with a fed up voice.
“I’m not sure either…..”
This was one of the Dungeon cleared by the past hero! He was sure it ended on
the 5th floor. The items dropped here had been poor, but the weak hero had
been able to develop her basic martial skills here. Artpe had found out this
information when he researched the records.
Even if the Silpennon of that time had poor skills as a thief, Artpe never expected
him to miss such an obvious secret staircase!
No, maybe the god was giving them something extra since there was an
additional hero present?
He had researched about the human world and the hero, but he hadn’t been able
to visit all the sites himself. This was why he waved the white flag. He had no
way of determining which theory was correct.
Still, how could he retreat when a Dungeon’s secret had been revealed?
Traditionally, heroes entered into suspicious places first before asking any
questions. They opened suspicious boxes first to see what is in it, and they
stepped on suspicious traps first to see what happened.
They were psychopaths!
It wasn’t as if they had extra lives to spare, yet they did things that were
considered to be absolutely crazy. It seemed Artpe’s party would be doing
similar tasks that followed in the footsteps of those heroes!
“Sienna, the monsters we are going to face from now on will be a bit too hard for
you to handle. This is why you have to be ready to retreat when I tell you to
retreat.”
As they got ready to head down the stairway, he made a strong entreaty towards
Sienna. However, Sienna let out a bright smile as she tightened the fists
equipped with the Battle Knuckles.
“It’s fine. I’m strong now!”
“It is all thanks to me!”
Mycenae had a bright smile on her face as she stood behind Sienna with a
money pouch in hand. She had finally succeeded in acquiring the Cleric’s Cure
spell and the Holy Battle spell. Artpe snorted as he shooed her away with his
hand.
“You were barely able to acquire the basics. If possible, I want you to acquire
weapon skills that are primarily for the Warrior Priestess class. Then there are
the active skills…...”
“You probably want skills and spell books that both of you can learn too?”
Mycenae laughed as if she already understood everything.
“I never dreamed there would come a day when I would be able support the
hero. Anyways, please wait for me. Everything jumps in price when one wants
to acquire goods so suddenly. I’m trying very hard to gather as many items at
the cheapest price in the shortest amount of time possible..”
“All right. We’ll put our trust in ajumma, and we…..”
Artpe spoke as he took a step onto the stair leading down to the 6th floor of the
Dungeon.
“We are going to go make some money now.”
It was as Artpe had expected. High rank Gnolls over level 60 started appearing
in droves on the 6th floor. The Gnolls were equipped with decent armor and iron
mace. These were opponents that was a bit overwhelming for Sienna.
Still, Artpe made a resolve to push her forward.
“When I think you are in danger, I’ll restrain them with my Mana Strings. Of
course, your contribution would decrease, so you won’t be able to gain the full
experience. The reward you will gain is ridiculously low compared to the danger
you will face…. Still, you will surely grow faster than before.”
“Oppa······.”
If he just made sure she didn’t die, this environment would be a blessing for
Sienna. Of course, she had to overcome the fear, pain and powerlessness she
would feel facing such powerful enemies. Still, the fruit that would be waiting for
her at the end would be very sweet.
“This is similar to the first Dungeon I experienced with Artpe. I had a lot of
shortcomings, but Artpe helped me.”
“Now I can provide a much more precise and faster support.”
Artpe became more proficient at using Mana Strings as he used them more.
The Mana Strings were very sensitive and reactive to the movement of his
fingers. He could use up to 10 strands. In the playground called a Dungeon, he
could use them to search, deter, attack and defend. In the space controlled by
his Read All Creation Ability, nothing could escape his will.
“Oppa.”
Sienna’s expression remained bright.
“If oppa says I can do it, then I can do it!”
“······all right.”
He experienced facing too many opponents that were much higher in level with
Maetel in the past year, so this all seemed par for the course. However, amongst
the adventurers that explored Dungeons, their actions were beyond reckless.
This situation was considered to be something that should never be done.
On top of that, Sienna wasn’t a hero, yet she had to go through such tribulations.
It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t worried about all of this.
“Let’s do this.”
“Yes!”
However, Artpe had confidence in Sienna’s talent and will. He was also
supremely confident about his own abilities. This was why he decided to go
forward with her. The Gnolls shrank away at the presence of Artpe and Maetel,
but they became emboldened when they caught sight of Siena. They howled as
they attack Sienna as a pack.
[Ggae-gae-gaeng!]
[Koo-hwahk!]
Two thirds of the pack was instantly slaughtered by Maetel’s bastard sword. The
remaining Gnolls flinched as they tried to run away, but Artpe prevented them
from doing so with his Mana Strings.
[Goo-ohhhhhhng?]
[Ooh-ohhhhhhhhhh!]
Some unknown force was preventing them from running away, so they became
confused for a brief amount of time. However, when they realized there wasn’t
an additional strike coming as a follow up, the Gnolls once again turned their
attention to Sienna.
Artpe gave an explanation.
“The dog head of Gnolls isn’t just a decoration. They are very dumb.”
“I think they are more stupid than the Skeletons with no brains.”
It was the worst insult that could come out of Maetel’s mouth. However, when
one saw the Gnolls keep attacking with increased fervor as if nothing had
happened, it was an apt observation.
“Koo-oohk······ I can do this!”
Sienna was the only one fighting them, and she had a hardened expression on
her face. Her fists were still weak, and her self-healing ability was lacking.
However, she didn’t back down as she glared at her opponents. At this point,
Artpe would have already given her a passing grade.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhng!]
[Ah-ooooooh! Gah-roo-roo-roo-roo!]
The Gnolls mindlessly howled as they swung their maces. Sienna quickly
assessed their attacks, and she planted her fists into their abdomens. She
couldn’t avoid all the maces, yet she was showing excellent body movement for
someone that wasn’t level 50 yet.
“All right. We did it.”
“Yes, I dont’ think she’ll die.”
Sienna was effectively fighting amongst the pack of Gnolls. Artpe let out a sigh
of relief when he confirmed this. Her growth plan had to be tweaked, but he also
judged that she would be able to become much stronger in a shorter time frame.
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhhp!”
Sienna was striking out with powerful punches. Her fist cleanly lodged inside the
eye of a Gnoll as she was able to land a Critical Hit. At that moment, the flow of
the battle started turning towards her favor.
[Kwehhhhhhhhk!]
[Koo-hee!?]
“······hooo.”
Humans were supposed to be weaker than them, yet one of their own had been
killed. This truth made the Gnolls rage….
However, a marvelous smile on Sienna’s face greeted the Gnolls.
Sienna just had an epiphany about the flow and momentum of a battle.
After two days within the Dungeon, Sienna safely raised her level to 50.
She used the Crystal Ball of Blessing to acquire the high rank Class as a Warrior
Priestess.
From that point on, there was a jump in her growth.
As time passed, Artpe had to step forward less with his Mana Strings. It was
proof that the degree to which she was contributing to the battle had increased.
When they slaughtered all the monsters and found all the hidden treasures on
the 6th floor, her level had reached 60.
“Still, we are fortunate that this place is easier than the Hero’s Dungeon, Artpe.
Isn’t it?”
“Just the thought of that place makes me grind my teeth. Don’t talk to me about
it.”
“Where the heck did unni and oppa go that you guys speak of it that way…..?”
The Dungeon slyly extended into the 8th floor. Fortunately for them, the floor
didn’t reach double digits like the disaster that was the Hero’s Growth Dungeon.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
“Hahp!”
In the Boss Room on the 8th floor, Sienna safely killed the level 75 Gnoll
Chieftain in a one on one battle. Sienna proudly took its Sledge Hammer as a
trophy.
The head of the black steel hammer was unusually large and sharp. It wasn’t
something a level 75 Gnoll should be using. At this point, Artpe once again felt
that the luck of the hero’s party was a cheat.
“Oh my, customer. Could it be that the metal used to make that helmet was…..”
“I’m not selling it.”
“Customer, you are too much!”
Mycenae appeared once again with impeccable timing. This time she hadn’t just
acquired hand to hand combat skills. She had brought weapon skills too.
Mycenae was about to say something, because she felt sorry for the small girl
carrying around such a large hammer. However, her words dried up when she
saw Sienna swing it around with both hands.
“I thought it would take us one week to clear this Dungeon, yet we spent one
month here. Mmm. Perfect. This is such a perfectly fucked up situation.”
“Because of me…. I’m sorry, oppa.······ I’ll fight harder next time!”
“No, you were fine. Actually, you really overdid yourself. The only reason why
this situation is fucked up is because of god.”
“If so, I’ll kill god for oppa!”
He thought he had heard that line from somewhere before. He let out a big sigh.
Maetel once again showed her competitive spirit when she heard Sienna’s
words. Sienna kept letting out a bright smile.
Afterwards, a similar pattern emerged.
Fortunately, there was no changes to the second Dungeon. However, they found
a secret tunnel inside the third Dungeon that continued until the 14th floor.
While they were traveling towards the fourth Dungeon, they encountered a
cursed old lady living in a small city. They had to waste time in curing her. Then
the 5th Dungeon was a Dungeon filled with Undeads, and Sienna stumbled into a
secret prerequisite by being a Warrior Priestess. A path of suffering opened up
that led the party down to the 20th floor.
They encountered similar harsh difficulties on the sixth and seventh Dungeons.
At that point, Sienna hadn’t just grown enough for a single person. She grew
enough for three to five people to become an superb Warrior Priestess.
She smashed through all tribulation, which seemed to have been prepared for
her, with her hammer. If she couldn’t handle a boss monster, Maetel and Artpe
smashed it.
They had entered the Dungeons to help the development of the little Warrior
Priestess.
However, the difficulty of the Dungeons were all over the place that even the
heroes increased in their level. The word chaos was insufficient to describe their
situation.
“Wow. That’s the ocean! It really is amazing! Pretty!”
“This is also my first time seeing the ocean, unni. Wa-ahhhh.”
At the end of the tribulation, they finally reached Frate. At the latest, he had
planned on arriving here during early spring. However, they had arrived during
summer when the warm winds could be felt. Thankfully, they hadn’t arrived here
during fall. Artpe kept wiping away at the sweat that kept trickling into his eyes
as he spoke to his party.
“Well······ Shall we go rest a little bit?”
“Yes!”
It was the day they entered into Frate.
Maetel was level 191, and Artpe was level 187. Sienna had reached the level
159.
Chapter 48 - Frate's Festival (1)

The inn owner gave Artpe’s party a once over. He tsked as he spoke.
“A single night in the guest room will cost 5 silvers. The cost of the meal and
bath water will have to be paid separately.”
In the past year, the three of them had been under the influence of Maetel’s
Innate ability. They had grown a lot, so they no longer received questions like
‘Are you kid alone?’ or ‘Where’s your guardian?’
The fact that they didn’t hear such words was a blessing, but…..
“Why is it so expensive? This inn doesn’t look so grand that it should be
charging 5 silvers!”
It was too expensive! A cheap inn in a big city should cost a silver. At most, it
should cost two silvers! At Artpe’s righteous indignation, the innkeeper snorted
as he gave a retort.
“Do you not know what kind of a situation Frate is in? The numerous countries
connected to Diaz by the ocean are participating in a limited-time auction right
now. This auction was stopped three years ago, but it is being opened once
again this year. The merchants from Diaz kingdom as well as other kingdoms
are all gathered here. The streets are packed with people that came to spectate
this auction. You should be thankful that there’s at least one room left.”
“It was stopped 3 years ago!?”
If that was true, it was no wonder people were all gathering here. When Artpe let
out a sigh, the innkeeper took advantage of that moment. He started acting in a
condescending manner.
“I’ve been saving that room. I was going to rent the room to someone that could
pay a higher price. However, I’m being very considerate towards you and the
two women. I’m sure they’ll be annoyed if you take them to somewhere that is
more run down than this place.”
Artpe hadn’t wanted unwanted attention, so they were wearing robes. The
Artifacts they possessed was influencing how their appearance was perceived,
and it was supposed to make them look average. However, it didn’t allow them
to hide their appearance. It was becoming more troublesome especially for
Maetel as she got older, because she was becoming more and more beautiful.
He wouldn’t go into the trouble it had caused.
“Ah, yes. You were being considerate.”
“Of course. I’m not joking. You should go out right now to search for another
room. No one will give it to you as cheap as me..”
Artpe could read what the owner was thinking. Basically, Artpe had come in here
with two beautiful women(It was still more fitting to call them beautiful girls) on
both arms, and he was jealous of Artpe.
This was why he was being verbose. He was trying to get the beauties to say
thank you to him. He was old, but he was acting a bit cute. If everyone was as
innocent as him, it would be worth living in this world.
“All right. I’ll pay the 5 silvers.”
“Each meal costs 30 bronze per person. A single tub of bath water is worth 1
silver. Have you tried our store’s buttered corn cob? It is absolutely amazing.”
“This is the first time in my life visiting this inn, so how could I have tasted it? All
right. I’ll try in once tonight. I don’t really need the bath water. So...”
Artpe handed over 5 silvers and 90 bronze as he asked a question.
“When’s the auction, ajusshi?”
“It’s tomorrow.”
“The timing is uncanny.”
He had to spend a lot for lodging because of the auction, but in the end, this was
a golden opportunity for Artpe.
Originally, this auction used to be held periodically in the harbor town of Frate. It
had been the gathering place of various items ranging from specialty items made
in Frate to Artifacts. Loot gathered from nearby Dungeons and ocean were had
been gathered here. The auction had been the confluence of treasures!
It was very difficult to have a complete assessment of the worth of specialty items
when one went into an auction. However, Artpe could clearly and accurately
assess the worth of any items that was viewed through his eyes.
In his previous life, he had participated in auctions in the human world. He had
cleared out all the treasures that the humans had failed recognize.
Of course, it had all ended up in the hands of the Demon King. The very thought
of it made him wake up at night. It made him grind his teeth. However, it was no
longer like that! He could pocket everything now!
“Why? Are you going to participate?”
“It is a festival that hasn’t happened in 3 years, so shouldn’t we take the
opportunity to look around?”
“If so, you should take good care of the ladies. Gangsters always gather in
places where there is money. If you go out with the pretty girls, you could
probably fill an ocean with the men that’ll try to pick a fight with you.”
“I’ve already experienced it plenty, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Artpe snorted as he took the key from the innkeeper. As always, Maetel and
Sienna behaved as they watched him speak to the innkeeper. It was the
absolute rule of the party. They had to leave the negotiations with other people
to Artpe.
“Ooh-wah. It is really small.”
The room had a single bed, and there was a lot of dust covering it. There was
also a chair in the room. That was it. First, he used his cleaning magic. It took
him two seconds to make the room look like it was new. Then he placed his
bedroll on top of the bed to make it cushy. Next, he took out an enormous
wooden tub that could easily fit two people with room to spare from his
Dimensional pouch. He created water and fire at the same time, and he filled the
tub with hot water. He created a cozy bathhouse where no one would disturb
them.
“There is nothing Artpe cannot do.”
“You guys wash up first. I’m not sure about myself, but you guys are really dirty.”
“Let’s wash together!”
Maetel yelled out energetically, but Artpe pushed the two towards the wooden
tub. Then he closed the curtain. Maetel and Sienna continued to complain
loudly, but he completely ignored them.
They were now at an age where such proprietary had to be observed. Their level
was high, and they possessed warrior type abilities. So their development was
much faster than the girls their age. Artpe decided to omit that line of thought.
“Let’s see...”
While the two girls were taking a bath, Artpe carefully leaned back on the chair.
The chair was so weak that it felt as if it would give way at any moment. He
gently closed his eyes as he stretched out his Mana Strings into the surrounding.
The Mana Strings went past the inn towards the large roads. Then they went
past the large roads to the square. From the square, the Mana Strings extended
out to the whole city.
That’s right.
He was surveying the entire city from within the small room of the inn.
In the past year, the party had focused on Sienna’s growth rather than the
development of Maetel and Artpe. Above all else, their goal was to arrive at
Frate, so they hadn’t bee able to raise their levels too much.
However, Artpe had focused on gaining command over his Mana String until he
was sick of it. He also focused on increasing his proficiency in other magic
spells. There were the basic everyday magic like Fire and Aqua. Then there
was the Hyper Rubbing, which had been unexpectedly helpful in decisive
moments. Obviously, Mana String had developed into being his main spell.
He had used all his spell whenever he had Mana to spare, so most of his spells
had exceeded level 40. Amongst his spells, Mana String had reached level 51.
No words need to be said, but the power and effectiveness of his spells couldn’t
be compared to before.
It wasn’t just the level of his spells. Whenever he gathered money, he used
Dungeon merchant Mycenae to gather spell books for all classes. He used them
to increase his Magic stat. It resulted in his Magic stat reaching 1,200 when he
was at level 187.
In his prior live, Artpe had gone past the 1,200 mark when he had reached level
300. His magical energy reached a realm where his level couldn’t be use to
gauge his power. Moreover, he possessed enough magical energy to overcome
disparities that should be impossible to overcome. He possessed that power
within his hands.
His spell level was over 50, and he possessed a massive pool of magical energy.
It had reached 1,200. It would have been strange if he wasn’t able to search a
mere city with his magic.
His Mana Strings had started out as several dozen strands, but now it had
branched into hundreds than thousands. In a flash, his Mana Strings had
blanketed the entire city. The Mana Strings were able to observe everything
near their vicinity, and all the information was delivered to their owner. Nothing
could escape Artpe’s eyes.
Nothing.
“······huh?”
However, when he completed his search of the city, he wanted to deny the
validity of his absolute ability. It felt as if he learned an information that should be
present in this city.
‘There is no way······ There is no way she’s here.’
He denied the reality of the situation as he strengthened his Read All Creation
ability. Artpe was so taken aback that he had almost fallen over backwards in his
seat.
Afterwards, the curtain was put aside, and the naked form of the two girls was
revealed to Artpe’s eyes.
“Artpe, you should wash now!”
“You guys should put on some clothes.”
Artpe had one Mana String ready in preparation. He used it to close the curtain
again. His reaction speed was on par with the speed of a goblin shooting its
poison dart. Maetel clicked her tongue quietly from behind the curtain. He
ignored her as he gave them instructions.
“Once yous put on your clothes, you guys should rest after eating dinner. Later,
you should tell me what the buttered corn cob taste like.”
“What about oppa!?”
Sienna, who was putting on her clothes from behind the curtain, asked in
surprise. Artpe let out a sigh. It seemed his body was now used to making that
sound. He got up from the chair.
“I have something I have to do. I have to go do it right now.”
“Let’s go together!”
“You guys will blow my cover.”
In this city, it might have been better if Silpennon had been with him. In his past
life, Silpennon had been awesome at sneaking around.
Unfortunately, Maetel and Sienna were incapable of moving around quietly.
Maetel had used the authority as a hero to learn a thief’s skill called ‘Covert
Steps’, yet it failed in making her able to move around quietly.
However, Artpe was different.
[Artpe]
[Level : 187]
[Stealth Lv19]
Even in his past life, there had been too many powerful beings around him. He
had to learn how to move around quietly without being noticed. Now that all the
skill restriction was lifted when he became a hero, his talent for being clandestine
blossomed!
Of course, it wasn’t something he was proud of at all!
“That is why you shouldn’t follow me.”
“Chet.”
First, Artpe retracted all his Mana String before he stepped out of the inn. As he
walked amongst the large population, he naturally activated his Stealth ability.
He melted into the crowd. Then he closed his purple colored eyes as he took off
his ring.
The hair and eye colors, which had been changed into different colors, returned
to their original coloring. His appearance, which had gone through minor
changed to make it average, returned to its original form. Of course, he had his
stealth activated, so no one noticed the change of his appearance.
‘As the throne kept changing hands, the efforts to find the heroes had died down
considerably. They’ve already forgotten the names and description of the
heroes. At a certain point in time, it became more about hiding our unique
appearances rather than hiding our identities with the artifacts.’
Of course, they had been able to avoid considerable amount of conflict using the
artifacts. Still, he had worried about the possibility of facing someone that could
see through the artifacts. He would have the tackle the issue of explaining why
he was hiding his appearance using an artifact.
‘Mycenae was confident that anyone below level 250 would be unable to see
through it. I came to the same conclusion when I evaluated the artifact.’
This was why he had to take off the artifact right now.
His opponent was over level 250.
‘It might have been better to have ignored her…...’
Still, it would cause him way more trouble if she developed a weird
misconception of him. This was why Artpe took the risk to assess his opponent’s
situation. It should be fine if he didn’t get too close. It would probably be ok if he
observed from afar…...
“Oh my.”
“Ah.”
He had been walking as he had such thoughts. As he walked amongst the
countless people, his eyes met a woman’s eyes as if by a miracle.
When their eyes met, Artpe realized his Stealth ability had been seen through in
an exceedingly easy manner. However, that wasn’t the only problem he faced.
“Ah, hello. Are you here by yourself?”
When the woman discovered Artpe, she approached him. Her cheeks were
slightly red. She had long red straight hair, and she had striking blood-colored
eyes. She was taller than most most man, and she possessed a voluptuous
body that 100 out of 100 men would turn to look at her. She was a beautiful
woman.
Moreover, Artpe knew this woman better than anyone in the human world.

[Etna Carlyfate Mirecarde]

[Demon race]
[Level :376]
[She is bound by the Innate ability Absolute Control.]

‘I planned on observing her, yet I was caught on the outset. This is crazy….’
Artpe let out a sigh
It was the moment when he encountered the woman, who had been the 2nd
ranked Four Heavenly King in his previous life.
Chapter 49 - Frate's Festival (2)

Etna, who was the leader of the army of thieves, had her eyes fixed on Artpe. As
he met her red-hot eyes, Artpe kept cursing the gods inside.
‘This situation has become a big headache for me now. I wanted to move as
quietly as possible, yet I was discovered by Etna. This happened despite the fact
that she doesn’t have any Thief type abilities. Either god placed a curse on me
or the Demon King placed a blessing on me. It has to be one or the other. I’m
sure of it.’
In his estimation, it didn’t seem she was here on the orders of the Demon King.
He assumed she wasn’t here for a mission. She probably had come here,
because she wanted to participate in Frate’s festival. She didn’t have any of her
underlings or equipments with her. There were other evidences that also pointed
towards this conclusion. However, there was one decisive fact that gave the
most credence to this conclusion.
The Demon world’s greatest chef would never send a midboss so early in the
process!
‘Should I have ignored her? No, she would have found me once I decided to
stay in this city.’
Of course, his opponents couldn’t find out he was a hero unless they had the
help of a high ranking priest. However, it was also true that Artpe couldn’t hide
his massive reservoir of magical energy.
She was at the pinnacle of the Demon race, so she probably realized how
talented he was as a mage. It really was something annoying, but the meeting
between them was inevitable.
‘I have to get out of here without raising any suspicions. I have to come up with
an idea. I have to think….’
“I...if you aren’t with anyone, would you like to go have a drink with me?”
“······ehng?”
Artpe had been very tense, but he came back to his senses at that moment. No
matter how he thought about it, she was using a line to pick him up. When he
looked at her expression, he realized, she wasn’t paying attention to his magical
energy. She was focused on Artpe himself!
“No, I’m here with my girlfriends.”
While Artpe lived with Maetel and Sienna, he had become proficient at deftly
turning aside their pursuit of him. He had instinctively turned down Etna. It was
too late by the time he realized what he had done. He came to his senses, but
Etna already had a sullen expression on her face.
“Is that so······? Women theses days have great eyes. They already placed dibs
on you despite you being so young….”
‘It seems she thinks I’m young….’
If she hadn’t been one of the Four Heavenly king, she could have been the
waitress A of the neighborhood’s pub. This was how friendly she was towards
humans. Even in his past life, she had been very attractive, so she was easily
able to make a favorable impression on others. Moreover, she had an outgoing
and sociable personality. This was why she had been given periodic
assignments to scout the human world on top of her own heavy responsibilities.
‘Once I start thinking about my past life, the memories are endless. She isn’t the
Etna from my previous life. I wanted to focus on this present life, so she is the
number one person I had to avoid….. Shit.’
“I do have a moment.”
“Huh?”
She was in low spirits as she turned away from him. Artpe could have left Etna’s
desolate figure alone. However, he thought it would be a great opportunity to be
able to gather information about the current Demon King’s army from her. He
couldn’t miss out on this opportunity, so he stopped her.
“A cup of tea should be fine. This is my first time visiting Frate, so it would be
great if you could tell me about this place.”
“······ah.”
The beautiful woman’s expression had been filled with disappointment, but now a
smile blossomed on her face. How could she show her feelings so overtly? It
was a wonder.
Etna didn’t realize Artpe was already viewing her as a half idiot. She had on a
bright expression as she spoke.
“Yes, you should leave it to me. I’ll tell you everything!”
She was the past and current Four Heavenly King. He was the former Four
Heavenly King turned into the current hero. It was the start of a weird couple’s
date.
Both of them had already done a cursory search of their surrounding. Soon, they
decided to head towards a nearby pub.
The pub would have alcohol and other types of beverages. There would be no
better place to talk, since they would be within a crowd of people.
“The auction that occurs periodically in Frate is called Frate’s Festival. The size
of the people gathered here, and the various specialty items and artifacts that
shows up here makes everyone go wild for this festival.”
“So are you here to participate in the auction?”
“Yes. Ah, you can call me Etna.”
Etna told him her real name as a Demon. She acted as if it wasn’t a big deal. If
all Demons were as innocent as her, Artpe thought the Demon King would have
been killed at the outset.
“I’m Artpe.”
Since she told him her real name, Artpe did the same. First, Artpe wasn’t a rare
name in this world. The second reason being it would raise major red flags later
on if she discovered he had given her a fake name.
“Oh my. Even your name is cute.”
“You should continue with your explanation. In truth, I just heard from the
innkeeper that it has been 3 years since the last festival.”
“You do know that the Diaz Kingdom was in turmoil recently? That turmoil has
died down somewhat, so Frate’s Festival was recommenced. When the kingship
of the Diaz kingdom changed hands, the humans followed the king’s example.
They went nuts as they shed a massive amount of each other’s blood.
Naturally, in the process…..”
Countless legends were born during this time period, and a curse had spread
within the kingdom. On top of that, the Artifacts became strengthened. Humans,
monsters, Demons and even Artifacts consumed the records of others to grow.
“So you are saying all those Artifacts will show up here to be auctioned.”
“Exactly. These items were reborn through the blood of the people. The people
who made such horrors will gather here in excitement…...”
It was called a festival. He didn’t know who made up the name, but he had a
great sense for naming it that way. Artpe and Etna shared a bitter laugh. It was
as if they’ve promised beforehand to laugh at the same time.
She smacked her lips as she asked him a question once again.
“Do you want to have a drink?”
“I really want to, but I’m still underaged.”
“Then I’ll be the only one drinking. One beer!”
He was 14 years old, but his outer appearance didn’t fit his age. He looked
pretty mature for his age. Still, he had a youthful face, so he couldn’t boldy order
alcohol for himself.
While Artpe became shy about drinking alcohol, Etna tried to down the alcoholic
beverage she ordered in a refreshing manner…. She tried.
“Ooh-ehhhk. It’s warm.”
She blanched as she put it back on the table. It hadn’t been her intention, but
her action evoked another memory from Artpe’s past life.
‘She’s the youngest daughter of the Phoenix, and she had been blessed by hell
fire. She was the pure one amongst the thieves. All flames obey her, but this
means the cold rejects her..’
Anything she grabbed started to heat up. This was why she went looking for cold
things throughout the year. This was also why he had gifted her an ice sculpture
in his prior life. The ice had originated from the first winter of this world. It
alleved her need a little bit.
Of course, he hadn’t given her the present, because he had liked her. He had
wanted another Four Heavenly King as an ally. However, the gift had been a
little bit too effective. It was one of the choices Artpe had made that he always
regretted.
She had misunderstood his intentions. Her affection towards him became much
more intense when she thought he had liked her….. It also meant that ‘his’
jealousy had also intensified.
“The alcohol is too warm!”
“No way. Our beverages are very cool and refreshing!”
When she voiced her complaint, one of the waitress got angry with her. At that
moment, Artpe smirked as he placed his hand on her cup. A faint light sparkled,
and in the next instant, frost covered her cup.
“Uh······?”
“It’ll last until you drink it.”
“No way····· Uh?”
When Etna put her lips on the cup, she became surprised. Her scorching
magical energy was still being transmitted into the metal cup, but a cold energy
from the cup was neutralizing the heat.
While the heat and the coldness fought a tug of war, her alcohol maintained a
cool temperature. It flowed down Etna’s throat.
“Oh my······.”
Etna felt the cold alcohol travel down her throat, and it elicited a deep smile on
her face. She moved her face towards the still beaming face of Artpe. Her voice
hardened slightly.
“You aren’t going to hide what you are?”
“I felt a powerful magical energy from you. It was strong enough to make it hard
for me to breathe, so I know you are a higher caliber of magician compared to
me. I’m sure you are able to see me more clearly than I see you. So what would
I accomplish by hiding what I’m capable of?”
It wasn’t just that fact. He knew Etna was level 376, and she was the
commander for the army of thieves. She was also one of the Four Heavenly
Kings from the Demon King’s army. He knew all of it.
Despite all the knowledge he possessed, Artpe was exceedingly excellent when
compared to those his age. He was weaker than her. This was why he decided
to act like a magician that was naive about the outside world. He planned on
being faithful to this role. He activated a skill he developed as the weakest
amongst the Four Heavenly kings. He activated his Method Acting skill.
“Didn’t Etna approach me because of that? You got close to me after seeing my
magical energy, right?”
“Uh? Ah, uh. Huh? Yes!”
He made up a valid reason for her. He gave her an out where she would be able
to justify her own actions. However, she had become flustered by his words. It
was a very cute sight where it did not befit her age. Still, Artpe wasn’t into older
women, so it had no effect on him! He drank the lemonade in front of him as he
waited for her to calm down.
“Yes, your magical energy is absurdly outstanding compared to those your age!
That is why I was surprised. Yes!”
“Fortunately, it seems you don’t plan on bullying me after learning that
information.”
“There is no way I would have bullied you! Never!”
The surprised Etna started waving both her hands in denial. Even in his past life,
Etna had avoided taking a single human life unless she was explicitly given a
command by the Demon King. He was confident that she didn’t hold any evil
intent towards him. Still, he had asked the question as part of a plan! He was
trying to exploit a weakness with his next attack!
“Please I hope you understand where I’m coming from. Suddenly, a strong and
pretty noona like Etna approached me. Isn’t it unreasonable to expect me to not
to be on my guard.”
When she heard his words, Etna’s smile stretched from ear to ear.
That’s right! She was weak against flattery!
She kept grinning as she nodded her head.
“I’m not bothered by it at all. It’s fine. Yes, I just thought Artpe was coo…… I
had a favorable impression of you! Of course, age and skill doesn’t always
match up. Still, it doesn’t matter how talented you are. You’ve reached a stage
that can’t be reached unless you go through several life-or-death crisis. I just
thought that was incredible…..”
“You look young to me, Etna.”
“Hee······.”
Naturally, Artpe enacted a second wave of flattery. He didn’t even need to see
the result. It was a critical hit.
“Is that so? I look young. Mmm. Ooh-mmm.”
It didn’t matter if it was a human or a demon. After a certain age, the ultimate
compliment that could be given to a woman was that she looked young! The
effect of this phrase was amazing! Her weakness had been assaulted, and the
gap in Etna’s defense was revealed!
Etna was so happy that she didn’t know what to do with herself. Artpe’s emotion
remained cold as he watched her. He was using all kinds of methods to avoid
becoming suspicious to her, and he was buying her good will. He was going to
use the advantage he gained to acquire first hand knowledge about the Demon
King’s army. This was the only thought going through his head.
“So you really just talked to me out of curiosity?”
“Yes, that’s right …..of course.”
······huh? He thought he saw a single cloud cross her constantly smiling face.
Was he mistaken?
He tilted his head in puzzlement as he continued his conversation with Etna. He
had to find out what had caused the conflict of emotion on Etna’s face, so he had
to keep her here as long as possible.
“All right. I’ll put my trust in you. So you should tell me about other sights worth
seeing in Frate.”
“Yes, I will….. By the way, if I order another beverage, will you cast another spell
to keep it cool for me?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you! I want another glass of highball!”
At Artpe’s assertion, a smile akin to a full moon was plastered on Etna’s face.
He had done something so simple, yet she was truly happy. She really wasn’t fit
for the role of the Four Heavenly King. He let out a bitter laugh inside as he
faced her.
Her mouth opened easily.
“If we are talking about what you should do in the harbor town…..”
Around two hours passed from that point.
Their conversation started with Frate, but their conversation naturally moved onto
other topics. Etna didn’t talk about the specifics of her circumstances to Artpe.
Still, she talked about her everyday life, and she talked about stories that was
reminiscent of what happened in their past lives.
Of course, he already knew her identity, so it was easy for him to decipher the
current situation of the Demon King’s army through her stories.
‘It seems there isn’t another Artpe in the Demon king’s army. I’m sure about
that.’
He had wonder if there would be another existence like Artpe, but with a different
name. He also wondered if there was someone different with the same name as
him. Neither case was true. It seemed no one in the Demon world was given the
same position as what he was given in his previous life. Moreover, there was no
one who had possessed a similar ability as his.
He also learned something knew. Unlike Etna’s ranking in her previous life, she
was ranked 3rd amongst the Four Heavenly Kings.
She mentioned three beings that were above her. He was sure by the speech
and behavior she describe that two of the three was the Demon King and ‘him’. It
was the being that was ranked number one in his previous life. The remaining
third figure must be the other Four Heavenly King!
‘My existence was completely erased. However, it seems someone else was
inserted as the new Four Heavenly King in my place. I wonder who it is? It was
someone that was able to reach a higher rank than Etna. It seems nothing is
turning out like my previous life.’
Of course, he couldn’t ask her more detailed questions. It would basically reveal
the fact that Artpe knew Etna was a Demon, and that she was one of the Four
Heavenly Kings. Instead, he let out a laugh befitting his age as he spoke his next
words.
“Etna, you are so strong, yet there are others that are stronger than you? I don’t
know which country’s magic tower you are from, but it interests me.”
“I’m not from a normal place. It is as you’ve said. I’m strong, but there are others
that are stronger than me….. It isn’t a place where a person with a normal heart
cannot survive.”
Etna’s voice was as serious as it could be. When he heard her words, Artpe
couldn’t hold back a sigh.
It was something he had repeatedly felt in his past life, but he couldn’t believe
how lax this woman was. If he wasn’t careful, she would probably reveal that she
was from the Demon world by mistake.
Artpe tried very hard not to dig any deeper into Etna’s words. He was barely able
to focus the topic on her.
He could see the anguish she had possessed from the moment she was
dominated by the Demon King to the last moment he had died in his previous life.
It was so clear to him that it was as if he could grasp them with his hand. He
didn’t know it, because of his Read All Creation ability. The anguish she was
feeling was similar to what he had felt in his previous life.
Maybe, that precipitated it.
He gave up on trying to act like a child. He spoke with words that held a good
amount of his true feelings.
“There aren’t that many that is special from the beginning. One starts out with a
normal heart, but it gets continuously chipped away by one’s environment. In the
end, it takes on a shape that looks special to other people. Others may think
think it is special…. In truth, it is something that is egregious hurtful and sad.”
“Oh my.”
Etna’s eyes turned round in surprise when she heard his words. Then she
started chuckling. Her expression looked as if she had been sucker punched.
Artpe realized he had made a very serious mistake.
He might have made a mistake that exceeded the ice sculpture he had gifted her
in his past life.
“You are an angel sent from the heavens to soothe my heart. What should I do?
I’m conflicted. Should I just wrap you up and take you away with me?”
“Please refrain from doing so. You will make my girlfriends cry.”
“······yes, I’ll refrain. However, when I meet you again, I really might not be able
to hold myself back.”
As she spoke those words, she got up from her seat. Her chest sensually
jiggled, and every male eyes were on her. Her chest was large enough that it
made one wonder if they were a burden to her slender body. Of course, Artpe
was unfazed.
He was unfazed.
“Artpe, I went through the effort of talking you about Frate, so I’m sorry about
this.”
“H..huh?”
“I want you to leave this city as soon as possible. You should do so with your
precious girlfriend.”
“What?”
“Goodbye for now.”
Her last farewell contained a teaspoon of regret, and two teaspoon of
anticipation. Artpe knew she had a secret she was keeping. Etna didn’t say
anything further as she suddenly disappeared from her sesat.
Since she hadn’t left the city, Artpe could find her with his ability. However, he
didn’t feel the need to do so. He had heard everything he needed to hear.
‘She wants me to leave the city? That means Etna hadn’t come here for sight
seeing. That can’t be. There is no way the Demon King would use her at this
juncture in time. This city doesn’t have any weird items or people. Maybe, it has
something to do with something on one of the boats that will influx into the
city…...’
However, Artpe couldn’t continue down that train of thought. He was so inwardly
focused that he hadn’t been able to properly activate his Read All Creation
ability. This was why he didn’t notice the two people that had moved stealthily
towards him.
“Artpe!”
“Oppa, where did you go go by yourself?”
These rascals…. He was sure that their inability to move stealthily had all been
an act. Artpe let out a big sigh as he got up from his seat.
“Can’t I spend some quality time alone?”
“Then why is there a cup on the other side? Ah, I also smell a sweet citrus type
perfume! Woman! It was a woman!”
“Wow. Unni is amazing!”
Maetel made a sharp observation. At such times, she didn’t seem dumb. She
even showed qualities that would make her a great detective. Artpe absent-
mindedly had such thoughts as he was interrogated under the clutches of Maetel.
Of course, he had no intention of leaving Frate.
This stage would truly be his from now on.
Chapter 50 - Frate's Festival (3)

Artpe had died. His life had come to a absolute end when he had been stabbed
by the thief’s dagger.
The thief clicked his tongue. He retrieved his dagger as he let out a sigh. The
hero looked on with dazed eyes as she spoke with a voice devoid of strength.
“Silpennon······ Why....”
“There is no way that man had any intentions of coming to our side. He’s our
enemy. We have to kill our enemies. It will endanger you If you hesitate.”
“No. That isn’t it. That can’t be true, because he…....”
Before she could continue her words, the Mana in the atmosphere started to burn
up in flame.
The magician had already sensed their enemy approaching, so she had quickly
thrust her staff forward to cast a defensive spell.
However, the enemy’s Mana exceeded what the mage could block. In the end,
the hero’s party all suffered from burns. The warrior acted tough by crushing a
potion bottle with his hand, and he splashed it over the party to heal them.
“Unforgivable.”
A seething yet earnest voice of a woman rang out from the top of the castle wall.
“You bastards… There is no way…. I won’t forgive you.”
“F...Four Heavenly King.”
“Fire Witch Etna!? He really called her here!”
“Look, Maetel! That bastard never intended to side with the humans!”
The warrior was appalled, and the thief yelled out as he grinded his teeth.
However, the hero no longer heeded their words. The only thing she had eyes
for was the sight of the witch clutching the corpse of Artpe. She easily pushed
aside the thief with the brush of her hand.
There was a deep blood colored flame surrounding the entire body of the witch.
However, it couldn’t evaporate the tears that were falling from eyes.
“How dare you do this to my Artpe. He was my only remaining hope, yet you
guys…..!”
“How laughable, witch! You’ve killed thousands to hundred thousands of
humans. You’ve ended the lives of family members and lovers!”
“We are past the point where we can persuade her with logic. Everyone raise
your magical energy. Let us kill our enemy.”
The hero had become despondent at Artpe’s death, so the archer calmly tried to
lead the party. The archer had an arrow drawn back, and there was a thick cold
energy hovering around the tip of the arrow.
The witch possessed extremely strong power of fire. This was also why her
weakness was the most well defined amongst the Four Heavenly Kings. Even
though she was a much more powerful exististance than the Four Heavenly King
they had just defeated, there was a chance that they could win against her.
“Please help, Regina.”
“Yes.”
The mage calmly nodded her head, and she started chanting her spell. Despite
them being overwhelmed by the witch’s spirit, the fight would start now. She had
trained too much as a magician to give up and back off so early in the fight.
Instead of changing the nature around her, she changed herself to be closest to
ice. She reinforced the change as she created a new technique to resist against
the heat. Then she placed the blessing of the Winter Queen on the members of
the hero’s party. It especially strengthened the cold energy placed on the
archer’s arrow to the extreme.
However...
“Ridiculous. How laughable! You cannot endure my wrath with just the blessing
of the Winter Queen. You would have to bring the Winter Queen here if you want
to do that!”
While she clutched Artpe to her, the Witch started to unleash a torrent of her
power. It was as if she controlled all the flames of this world. From the depths
much deeper than the foundation of the castle wall, magma started erupting from
the ground. The magma quickly covered several hundred meters to hit the
hero’s party.
The heat emanating from Etna spread to the entire castle wall. In a flash, the
whole region turned into a magma field. The party barely had enough ground to
stand on. The sky was thick with clouds, yet it started to part. The gray colored
sun of the Demon world appeared from between the clouds as the sunlight
created a pillar of fire.
Several hundred thousand Fire Spirits cackled as they revealed themselves.
“Koohk. That monster.”
“We’ll win this.”
The thief let out a curse, and the magician calmly made a declaration. Her words
were echoed by the members of the hero’s party, and it buoyed their power.
“It is too hot. I can’t approach her.”
“You idiot. You should take off that can of an armor.”
“I can’t take this armor off. It is cursed.”
“······who did it?”
The hero’s party was trying to resist the heat in one way or another as they got
into formation. The witch quietly opened her mouth. There were enormous
fireballs floating around her. Dozens, hundreds, thousands, hundred
thousands….. They floated into the air to assault the hero’s party.
“Who killed Artpe?”
“It was me, witch!”
“······no.”
Finally, the hero took a small step forward at that moment.
She had barely been able to steady her wavering eyes. Strength returned to the
sword she was gripping.
“I’m the one that killed Artpe Hirtana Kelduke.”
“······you did, hero?”
The witch twisted her mouth. She had lost Artpe, and things couldn’t go back to
how it was. The violent flames matched her anger as it swirled around her body.
“Yes, I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you, so that I can hate without
reservation.”
All the Fire Spirits turned to look at the hero. It was as if half of the world was
against her, but the hero calmly opened her mouth in front of such a sight.
“He wanted me to tell you something at the end..”
“What did Artpe say! What was his last words!”
“He said he doesn’t particular like older women.”
“What······?”
The hero had a small smile on her face. It was a smile that was holding back her
tears.
“It seems you are a bit slow. You were ditched.”
“······hoo, hoo-hoo.”
Surprisingly, the witch Etna laughed when she heard the hero’s words. For a
brief moment, the anger of the Flame Spirits lessened a little bit.
“Artpe, you idiot. I already knew that from the beginning. You should have left
some other words behind, you dummy…...”
“You······.”
Etna quickly stole a hand towards her eyes to wipe at her remaining tears. Then
all the Fire Spirits gathered to revolve around her arms.
“In the end, it was me. In his last moments, he thought about me. Yes, that in
itself makes me happy. That is why…...”
The flames exploded.
The daughter of the Phoenix gave a proclomation.
“I’ll send you all to a painless death. It will only take an instant.”
“Bring it on!”
The hero also wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes. She flawlessly
entered into her battle mode. She bravely charged towards the flame. The
warrior and the thief followed behind her. The mage lifted her staff, and the
archer notched another arrow.
The victor of the battle was the hero.
“······.”
“Ah.”
Artpe slowly opened his eyes. Maetel’s face was close enough where their
noses were about to touch. Maetel’s eyes were round as she kept puckering her
lips. She was slowly narrowing the distance between him and her. The Mana
String appeared out of nowhere, and it impacted on her forehead. She pulled
away in pain.
“You are too much, Artpe!”
“Ah.”
Artpe ignored her as he replayed the scene he saw within his dream. In front of
Artpe’s death, the Witch of Flame Etna had gone berserk. Then there was the
hero Maetel. She refused to back down as she charged forward with a sad smile
on her face.
This was obvious, but he didn’t remember seeing such a sight. If he did, it meant
Artpe was an Undead.
‘Was it really what happened after I died….. There’s no way that can be true.’
After Artpe had died, his Read All Creation ability had immediately sent him into
the past. This was why there was no way he possessed the memory of what
happened after his death.
It had been a very long time since he had met Etna. Maybe he had created a
dream with her personality and actions as a basis. He decided to accept that
theory as the truth.
It was merely a false dream, yet he couldn’t easily forget what he had seen.
Etna’s scream continued to ring inside his head.
‘I was her last remaining hope…. If she herself told me that at the time, I might
have fallen for her. I was also exhausted by everything at the time like her.’
It seemed his meeting with Etna had been a shock to his system. He kept telling
himself that he hadn’t liked her, but he might still have some lingering feelings left
for Etna.
‘Even if I do have some feelings for her, I have to throw it away. I won’t have to
fight her right now, but since a madman like the Demon King still exists, I’ll
eventually have to face her. I’ll be in a similar situation as what I saw in the
dream today…..’
A bitter smile automatically formed on his lips. On his opposite side, Sienna was
still sleeping as she grabbed onto him. She mumbled in her sleep as she tried to
find Artpe’s body heat again. He put the blanket over her, and he got out of bed.
Maetel had woken up early like Artpe. She got up from the bed as she asked
him a question.
“Artpe, what are you going to do today?”
“Originally, I planned on sightseeing various locations, and I wanted to participate
in the auction….. Still, I don’t think things will turn out so well like that.”
He inferred it from what Etna had said to him yesterday. The Demons had
inflicted a curse on the human world a year ago. It seemed the stage for the
second assault on the human world would occur in Frate. He had no idea why,
but the Demon King’s army always seemed to show up in the path of the hero.
Still, he didn’t plan on running away now that he knew something was going to
happen here.
‘In the first plan hatched by the Demon King’s army, the highest level opponent
was level 100. Even if they hatched two or more secret schemes in the past
year, the one in charge of this plan should be around level 150. The variable
here is the Four Heavenly King Etna. It seems she’s aware of the plan, but the
chances of her participating in the plan is low. I can say that with 100% surety.’
Why?
This was the Demon King’s style. If the Demon King wasn’t such an
unreasonable idiot, the human world would have already been wiped out from
the outset. In terms of magical energy and martial prowess, the human world
couldn’t hold a candle to the Demon world.
‘Still, Etna already had a rough idea of how much magical energy I possessed,
yet she told me to get out of the city. Mmmm. If I see myself as an outside
observer, I would judge myself to be around level 300.’
Of course, he didn’t have any proper area of effect magic spells. His magical
energy was really high compared to his level, but his true skill level was well
below that of a level 300 magician. However, from the outside, he would look
like a level 300 mage. This fact was important. It would allow him to use one of
the indispensable skills of the Four Heavenly King. He would be able to use his
Bluff skill.
‘I don’t think the Demon world would have invested a strong enough force to be
able to stop a level 300 magician…....’
This meant there was only one answer left.
‘They’ll invade in a manner that would make one feel dirty just observing it.’
Artpe furrowed his brows as he thought about the experiments in Diaz. They had
tried to turn humans into Demons. From the start to the completion of the Quest,
Artpe’s party had never been in danger. However, the Quest had been
annoying, and it had done a lot of damage to the psyche of everyone involved.
He assumed it would be the same this time around. It seemed the Demon King
was using a significantly different approach compared to his previous life. He
was using a method that would put Artpe in the foulest of moods.
“Eh-eet.”
“Hey.”
At that moment, Maetel had seen him frown. Maetel spoke as she grabbed his
cheeks. She kneaded it as if his cheeks were clay. She tried to get his face to
relax.
“Don’t worry too much, Artpe. It doesn’t matter what happens. I’ll protect Artpe.”
“It isn’t me I’m worried about. Other people will be in danger.”
“Then I’ll save those people!”
She was second to none in the human race in terms of being dependable. It was
als true that he felt much better at her boasts. Artpe smirked as he petted her
head.
“Yes, I’ll put my trust in you, hero-nim.”
“Yes, you should trust only in me!”
That’s right. Artpe and Maetel were heroes, who possessed Innate abilities.
Thanks to Etna he was able to get a basic idea on what might occur here.
If he had the time to worry, it meant he should use that time to better use. It
would be more productive to make preparations.
‘All right. First things first….’
If he was to point out what troubled him the most, the first thing to come mind
was the curse.
It could make people act crazy. It could spread a disease. It could turn the water
foul.
All of this could arise from cursed Mana.
He was absolutely certain that a curse was included in the plan of the Demon
King’s army.
Thankfully, Artpe had a method of defeating curses. It was the Obsidian of
Greed, which had turned into a first grade item during the first Quest.
If he used it in conjunction with his Read All Creation ability, he would be able to
extract curses. It didn’t matter if the curse had been activated or not. It
possessed a cheat-like ability.
There was still a good amount of wiggle room before the Obsidian would be
upgraded into S Rank. If this venture wasn’t enough to push the Obsidian into
the next rank, he could use his Reinforcement spell to advance the Obsidian. He
had trained the Reinforcement spell as much as the other spells for the past
year, and it had reached level 43.
“If I have this, all curses will…… Uh?”
He had used his Read All Creation ability to frequently check his surrounding, but
he hadn’t checked anything within his clothes. He finally realized a serious
change had occurred within his robe.
“It’s not here?”
“What’s not there, Artpe? Hesitation?”
“I don’t have scruples in the first place.”
“Your love for older women?”
“I never had that in the first place.”
“Then why won’t you kiss me!”
He pushed the hero far away, since she was pestering him. Then he conducted
a thorough search of his robe, yet he couldn’t find the Obsidian of Greed. The
only thing to come out from his robe was the Demite’s Gemstone, which had
refined about 1/50 of itself, and the Chaos Egg.
No, it was no longer the Chaos Egg.
[Beast of Greed’s Egg]
[From within the chaos, it had combined with a cursed item. It created the
Beast’s Egg, which is waiting to be born. It covets all negative energy, so it might
hatch immediately if negative energy is provided. ]
“······ah.”
“Huh? Isn’t this Artpe and my love’s…...”
“If this is the fruit of our love, I don’t want such a love..”
“You are too much!”
Artpe finally realized the reason behind the disappearance of his Obsidian of
Greed. However, he couldn’t ask the egg why it had eaten the obsidian. He let
out a short sigh as he raised the communication device.
“Uh, ajumma······ Do you have artifacts, potions, or items that originated from
evil…..?”
Since he couldn’t ask the question to the egg, he had no choice but to ask it
when the being inside egg was hatched.
Chapter 51 - Frate's Festival (4)

[Customer, I told you you just have to find the nearest branch of Anywhere
company. Jeez…. If you just wanted to hear my voice, you didn’t have to come
up with such a strange request. I would have picked up the call. Of course, I
would do so if you paid me a bronze coin per second!!]
“We are currently at Frate.”
[Huh······?]
It was as if he could see Mycenae tilt her head in puzzlement by the tone of her
voice. Artpe smirked as he continued to speak.
“Ajumma, you are in Frate right now. Right?”
[Huhk. How did you…...]
Obviously, he had thoroughly searched Frate yesterday, and in the process, he
became aware of everyone that resided within the city. He didn’t have to
remember the record of strangers, but when he did find someone he knew, there
was no way he would forget that person.
[How did you know that!? It seems you are pretty good at stalking too!]
“Stop spouting nonsense. You should ready the items I need then you should
contact me. I’ll be waiting for you to contact me.”
[Aht. Wait a moment, customer…....]
Artpe ended the transmission, and he got up with a refreshed feeling in his heart.
Maetel was giving him an odd look, but he knew she was going to start spouting
some nonsense. He decided to ignore it.
“I’ll be a bit busy going around the city. Will you be ok?”
“Yes, I’m not tired at all.”
It was to be expected. If a city could bottom out Maetel’s stamina, it probably
shouldn’t be called a city.
“All right. Let’s wake up Sienna, then we can head down.”
“Isn’t Sienna still too young? Since we will be doing something arduous, let’s let
Sienna rest. The two of us can do it.”
A ridiculously thoughtful words had come out of Maetel’s mouth. However, Artpe
knew why she was saying such words. Arte let out a sigh as she flicked Maetel’s
forehead.
“Ah-yaht.”
“Even if I sent out Sienna by herself, she would be able to take care of most of
what we are going to do today by herself. So you don’t have to worry about it
being too tough for her.”
“Artpe is an idiot who doesn’t know how I feel!”
The three of them ate soup and bread before they went out into the streets.
Artpe already knew the lay of the land, and he knew about the population
residing within the city. The information was registered in his mind when he
explored the city yesterday. Now he just had to gather information regarding the
additional people that will come into the city. He also had to find where the
trouble would start today within the city while gathering the items he wanted to
acquire.
“Huhk.”
“Look at those women.”
“They still look very young. What is the world coming to?”
It was as the innkeeper had warned. When the three of them walked the streets,
everyone’s gazes were on them. They appropriately took the precaution of
wearing a hood, yet it hadn’t mattered.
“Oppa.”
“Heek. Why are they all staring at us?”
Sienna and Maetel were tense as they stuck close to Artpe. At this point, Artpe
had no idea if they were sticking close to him, because they were afraid or they
just wanted skinship.
Maetel tried to keep Sienna in check by acting this way, but she was becoming a
role model for Sienna on how to act around Artpe.
Did she realize this fact?
If someone saw them, they would think they were sisters. Then there was Artpe,
who was between them….
Of course, he would receive disapproving gazes.
Artpe desperately wanted a male member to join his party as soon as possible,
but when he thought about the past hero’s party, he knew it was a dream that
would be hard to achieve. His only salvation was Silpennon, but for some
reason, Maetel hated Silpennon as if he was a bitter foe…..
He let out a sigh as he reassured them.
“It’s all right. I’m pretty sure not many people will approach us.”
Of course, it was true that it was hard to hide the appearance of the party
members with a robe and a hood, but that wasn’t the only reason why they were
the focus of everyone’s attention.
Maetel had two swords hanging from her waist, and Sienna had the Sledge
Hammer strapped to her back as her main weapon. They were intimidating for
most people on the streets.
It was said that beautiful flowers had thorns.
When the men saw the especially large thorns in the form of a hammer and long
sword, no one was brave enough to approach the girls. Even if someone
approached them, they would show the men the taste of their thorns.
“I did a cursory search of this place, and according to a reliable informant,
something will happen here today. Let’s nip that in the bud, so we can enjoy the
auction. That is our main goal.”
“An informant you trust······.”
Maetel had a sullen expression on her face. It seemed the citrus perfume from
the day before still worried her. Artpe stroke her head as he soothed her.
“When we meet that trustworthy informant again, there is a high probability that
she’ll be an enemy. That is why you don’t have to worry about her.”
“It isn’t as if you can’t fall in love with an enemy…...”
“You don’t have much free time, yet you seem to be crafting a pretty decent
novel.”
“I...I’m ok with having one more unni.”
At what point did their education go wrong? Artpe let out a sigh as he created his
Mana Strings. He didn’t do a widespread search like yesterday. He expended a
small amount of Mana, but at the same time, he increased the efficiency of his
search. However, it was a fruitless effort.
“There are a lot of ships docked at the harbor.”
“The really rare items should be coming in today. They aren’t just coming over
the ocean. They’ll be traveling here over land, and the Dungeon Merchants will
be using their Teleportation magic.”
It would be disappointing if the Dungeon Merchants didn’t participate in such a
large auction. They mainly traded within the Dungeon, but the Frate’s Festival
was a market they couldn’t ignore. They could sell the loot they acquired in
Dungeons at an exorbitant amount of price, and it was a great opportunity for
them to stock up on items that would be required by adventurers, who explored
the Dungeons.
“This is why Mycenae is here too. She’s probably choosing which items she
wants to put up for auction.”
[Customer?]
Mycenae contacted him at the exact moment when he talked about her. He
wondered if maybe she was the one stalking him. He was a bit nervous as he
raised the communication device to answer her.
“What?”
[As a veteran merchant, I’ve rarely had to say these words….. However, I think
it’ll be a bit tough for me to acquire those items.]
“Are you really a veteran merchant, ajumma?”
[You really are able to say such rude words without batting an eye! However….
Koo-ooooooh.]
After a brief amount of time had passed, she spoke with a voice drained of
energy.
[The artifacts and the potions of evil origins are strangely out of stock. I
contacted the headquarters, and they are also out. Usually, such foul items have
a limited market... Even the really useless ones have all been sold. However,
the really powerful ones are being auctioned today…. Ah. The Death Knight’s
helmet, and the Blood Gold Halberd I purchased from you will be auctioned
today!]
“Ajumma, you are my exclusive merchant, yet you aren’t being of much help to
me. Shall we nullify the contract?”
[If you really need such evil artifacts, you can purchase them at auction! There
will be a lot coming out today!]
‘There is a high probability that something will occur at the time of the auction.’
Artped didn’t give any additional explanation to her. Instead, he asked her a
question.
“So do you have items like the Obsidian of Greed?”
[······oh my. The timing of your request is quite strange. All the Dungeon
companies including the Anywhere company is out of that item.]
When he heard those words, a lightning struck within his head.
“······could you repeat that?”
[All the companies are out of the Obsidian of Greed. The companies gradually
ran out in order. Yesterday, the last two Obsidian left in the Anywhere company
was sold. I don’t know who bought it, but they paid a premium price for them.
They purchased each of them for the obscene price of 10,000 gold.]
Artpe thought about it. This meant that he didn’t have to make preparations for
other possibilities.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed the main plan of the Demon King’s
army was to use a curse!
Shit! No wonder!
Since the plan had failed last time, the Demon King’s army must have done a
thorough analysis on why their plan had failed. Now they had gotten rid of the
main component that had interfered with their plan!
It was a very cute tactic!
‘The number of artifacts with evil origins is abnormally in demand. The curse has
to be connected to the items. This means it might be a curse related to a
human’s greed, and the desire to slaughter others. No, wait a second. Now that
I think about it….’
Artpe recalled the conversation he had with Etna yesterday. What was the topic
they discussed with each other?
She said the Frate’s Festival was being held after a 3 year hiatus. Didn’t she say
the artifacts that were strengthened through blood and tears shed in Diaz would
be featured as part of this event?
Artpe had brought up the topic first, and the flow of the conversation had been
very natural. This was why he hadn’t paid much attention to it. However, he
remembered that she kept sighing as she showed regret when discussing the
topic.
If so, the underlying cause of her behavior hadn’t simply been about what she
had experienced up until now in Diaz. It was an emotion born out of knowing the
plan that was being hatched here. He had thought her behavior arose, because
she was overly humane. However, this new theory was more complling to him.
All the cursed, lamenting and evil artifacts were gathered in this festival. Then
there was the curse prepared by the Demon king’s army…..
‘The thing that immediately comes to mind is the strengthening of a curse. Or
maybe it might be a charm. Either way it’ll rile up the emotions of the people. If it
activates within this city full of desire…...’
The only thing that would arrive would be a festival of death and madness. The
people excited about the revitalization of Diaz’s economy would all tremble in
fear.
Since the plan had exquisite timing, he couldn’t tackle it. Artpe wanted to
compliment the Demon King’s army, since they outdid themselves this time.
However, he would have done so only if he still held the position of Four
Heavenly King!
[Customer? Customer? Please answer me! You have the honor of being able to
talk to me directly, yet you seem to not realize the worth of having such an
access!]
“Thank you for the good information, ajumma.”
[I’m not an ajumma! Please call me Mycenae!]
“Mycenae.”
[Oh my·····.]
Mycenae’s voice immediately melted.
[Look at how nice that is.]
“Since I’ve received good information from you, I’ll give you a good piece of
information to you as a bonus.”
[Oh my. You are even able to abide by the ethics of commerce.]
“You should withdraw all the items you submitted for today’s auction.”
[You tricked me, you charlatan!]
“I warned you.”
Artpe ended the connection. It was up to her to make her own choices and
actions now. The only thing that was important to him right now was finding a
way to stop the disaster that was going to occur today using the information he
just learned right now.
“Etna said I should get out of the city as fast as possible.”
Maybe, this was Etna’s way of asking for help. Since she couldn’t go against the
will of the Demon King, she had searched out Artpe, who had high amount of
magical energy and knowledge. Maybe, she wanted him to recognize her secret
signals, so he could stop the Demon King’s plan.
Maybe, he was reading too much into her actions.
It didn’t matter which scenario was true.
It didn’t change what Artpe had to do.
“Originally, I wanted to solve this in a lawful manner, but I have no choice now.
Let’s go, Maetel and Sienna.”
“If you aren’t going to use a lawful method, how are you going to solve this,
Artpe?”
Artpe grinned as he gave an answer.
“I’ll use the way of the hero.”
“The way of a hero is an illegal method!?”
“This is unexpected.”
Maetel replied in shock, and Sienna giggled.
Artpe ignored them as he valiantly walked forward.
His destination was already decided.
It was the main square of Frate. It was where the Frate’s Festival would take
place. There would be countless people gathered there. It was where the
artifacts and greed was all gathered.
The auction house would be at the center of the Demon King army’s plan.
Chapter 52 - Frate's Festival (5)

“Waaaa. There a lot of people here.”

“There are a lot of security too. It seems our job might not be as easy as I
thought.”
At this point in time, all humans were focused on what was going on in Frate. Of
course, a massive number of people would be gathering here at the auction
located at the main square.
There were booths selling food that they had never heard of before, and there
was a decent amount of vendors selling children’s toys. The eyes of Sienna and
Maetel twinkled everytime they walked past a vendor. They looked like grown up
young ladies on the outside, but at times like this, they were without a doubt still
kids.
He had already expected it to be like this. He let out a sigh as he spoke.
“You guys can each pick out one thing you want to eat.”
“Ya-ho! I love you, Artpe!”
“Oppa, I want to eat those large candies!”
The hero and the Warrior Priestess started chewing on the candy-coated apple
candies they bought from a vendor. They were quite innocent as they showed
simple pleasure at eating the treats. Artpe took the precaution of trying not to
draw attention of the people around them as he led the two girls towards the
auction.
“Can anyone participate in the auction?”
“I heard a rumor that participation will be denied unless you can come up with at
least 3,000 gold.”
“Three thousand gold! There must be amazing items being sold if we have to
prepare 3,000 gold!”
An enormous public auction house had been constructed in the shape of a circle,
and there were a lot of people milling around it. Even if someone was murdered
with the auction house, he didn’t think people would pay much attention to it.
Artpe turned around to look at the dummies swinging and playing around with
the stick that had held the candy…..
“Eh-eet.”
“Ooh-boohp.”
Maetel had pushed the candy towards his mouth, so he decided to take a bite. It
was a clean bite where the crunchy fruit within and the candy on the outside
entered into his mouth. He tasted an almost unbearable amount of sweetness.
However, that wasn’t what was important here….
“This candy is cursed.”
“Huh!?”
Sienna and Maetel expressed their shock at the same time. It was to be
expected. The candy had been so delicious that they were each having a
second helping. They had no idea something was wrong. Artpe gave a light
blow to the heads of the two girls. They were looking at him with round eyes, so
he gave an explanation.
“You are a hero, and you are an Evil Reflector, who’s also a Priestess. Our
existence itself gives us immunity from most curses. However, that doesn’t
mean you shouldn’t keep an eye out for curses. You guys have to develop your
senses.”
“As expected, oppa is amazing…..”
The curse was one of the ones he had assumed would show up. It was a curse
that would cause rage and madness. It didn't matter how much one ate the food
infused with the curse. For a fixed amount of time, the curse would stay hidden
within the body, and it would only activate when a certain prerequisite was met.
Of course, the items that met this specific prerequisite were busily coming
towards the auction house through various routes.
‘Most of the vendors on this street are selling such products. Moreover, it is
cleverly hidden, so one won’t pick up on it unless one posses a decent detection
skill. Even if one became aware of it, it isn’t something that can be easily
dispelled. It is a very complicated curse….’
As expected, the situation was moving along in a way that he had predicted. The
more important point was the fact that the curse of anger wasn’t the only one
spreading across the city.
If he just looked around right now, he could see the curse within food and drinks.
There was even a curse spreading through air. There were all kinds of curse
that amplified emotions, and there were ones that turned humans into monsters.
He even saw one that weakened people through his Read All Creation ability.
It seemed they planned on taking over the whole city. By looking at the size of
the plan, it seemed they started preparing for this plan as soon as the kingship
exchanged hands.
Moreover, the hero’s party arrived right when the large event was prepared to go
off! It was to be expected.
Shit!
‘However, I can’t deny the fact that I’m able to move around more freely.’
Artpe waited for them to eat all their candies before he gave them an order.
“I want you guys to destroy this auction house right now. I want you to act crazy
as if the curse of rage had been activated.”
“······huh?”
The eyes of Sienna and Maetel turned round. However, Artpe repeated his
instructions verbatim, so they knew they hadn't heard his words wrong. Maetel
was taken aback, so she shouted out her words.
“That’s a crime!”
“Moreover, that isn’t something a hero should do.”
“What kind of image do you actually associate with a hero!?”
Artpe didn’t go out of his way to explain that part to them.
“I want you to make your appearances a little bit more indistinct with the artifacts.
I want you guys to pretend fight, while destroying the auction house. However, I
don’t want you to make it seem you guys are intentionally destroying the place.
You have to show no interest in the auction house. What do you think? It’s
easy, right?”
“······.”
“...y...yes”
At such an absurd request, Maetel was at a loss for words. Sienna was barely
able to answer him. Artpe continued his explanation.
“Currently, there aren’t many people within the city that will be able to stop you
guys, so you’ll be able to cause a ruckus for a long time. People will solely pay
attention to the two of you, and when you completely destroy the auction house,
I’ll be able to achieve my goal too. When I finish my work, I’ll give you guys a
singal. When that happens, you must get out of there without being detained.”
“But, Artpe, wouldn’t the auction be stalled if the auction house is destroyed?”
“Of course. However, if they use all the available resources, they’ll have no
trouble starting the auction on time.”
“So what’s the point of us destroying the auction house?”
“That is a very good question.”
Artpe let out an evil laugh. He was holding the egg of the Greed beast that was
waiting to be hatched. As if it could sense the curse in the air, the egg twitched.
It was a pitiful sight.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
There was an amazing amount of people gathered at the central square.
In the midst of them, Maetel’s anger filled voice (she was acting) rang out.
“You thieving caaaaaaaaat!”
What kind of intro was that!?
“It isn’t just one or two days. You are quite persistent in trying to get at my man!
I can’t forgive you!”
“Koohk!”
Maetel’s powerful kick landed a direct hit on Sienna’s stomach. Sienna flew
several dozen meters in the air before she impacted on the wall of the auction
house.
“Kyahhhhhhk!”
“A...a person flew!”
“Run!”
The angle of her flight was beautiful. Miraculously, no one except Sienna was
hurt. The impact was powerful enough to push the people crowded around the
auction house backwards in fright.
“Dieeeeeeeeeee!”
Before the worried people could approach Sienna, Maetel came forth for a
second round of attacks. Sienna didn’t even have time pick herself up before
Maetel attacked.
She was gripping the enormous bastard sword with both hands, and she was
focusing the strength of her entire body on that swing. Sienna was barely able to
dodge it, and the bastard sword impacted on the wall of the auction house. The
strength of the strike was transferred into the wall, and she easily toppled the
wall.
“T...the auction house!”
“You are dodging like a little mouse!”
‘When did Maetel’s way of speech get so rough?!’
She’s acting, right?
After she indulged herself by making up a novel in her spare time, she gained
this acting ability, right?
Please tell me I’m right!
Don’t tell me she is pouring out her real feeling by exploiting this opportunity!
“Hoo. Unni is a real scaredy cat.”
Maetel had made the entire city tremble in fear, and Sienna finally started her
counterattack! She didn’t care if the people around her retreated in fear. She
planted her main Sledge Hammer on the ground as she grinned.
“It seems unni is really scared that oppa will fall for me.”
“You······!”
“However, you do know that oppa likes younger women, right? Unni, you are
already done. Oppa is mine now!”
‘You guys are only 1 years apart!’
“I...I’ll kill you······!”
Maetel finally activated her Berserk! At this point, she didn’t care about the
defenseless people or the auction. The soldiers and the fighters associated with
the merchant association could only look on in fear!
“B...Berserk.”
“She’s a Berserker.”
“A Berserker’s blind passion is making her fight! She is expressing it through
physical violence!”
“This is the end! The city is ruined!”
“Koo-ahhhhhhhhng!”
Maetel activated her Acceleration ability, and she charged forward at a crazy
speed! Sienna desperately dodged the attack. Instead, another blameless wall
of the auction house was hit by the bastard sword. It crumbled under the assault.
“Unni is acting this way, because you aren’t confident in yourself. Aren’t I right?
Recently, I noticed oppa is laughing more for me than unni!”
Finally, Sienna let out her first attack! The Sledge Hammer was the ideal
weapon when one wanted to destroy something. It was also under the influence
of her destructive magical energy. The already large hammer became larger as
she swung it!
“Hooht!”
There were few in the human world that could measure up to her speed, but she
had lost her sense of reason through Berserk. This was why Sienna was able to
dodge the attack easily, and the blameless auction house took the blow in her
stead!
“At this rate, everyone within the auction house will die!”
“Stop yelling! You don’t want to become the target of the Berserker!”
“S...someone go get the head of the auction house!”
“Dungeon Merchants… Where are the Dungeon Merchants!”
“Customer, we want 7,500 gold to intervene in this fight! Ah, no. We require
8,000 gold! We require 8,500 gold! T...this is idiotic! The cost needed to
intervene is incalculable!?”
“How dare you!”
The place was a crucible of chaos. The people there wondered if this was how
hell looks like. Shouts, screams and Mana was all mixed all in as everything in
the surrounding was being destroyed!
“I...if it wasn’t for you, it would have been just the two of us for the past year!”
“It isn’t as if I want him only for myself, unni. You can share him a little bit! I want
him too!”
“No······! He is mine! I won’t give him up to anyone!”
Maetel and Sienna was speaking with such venom and anger that it was hard to
think of it as acting. As they spat out their words, the bastard sword and the
hammer were swung at each other. Each blow narrowly missed each other’s
body every time. It only destroyed the blamess surrounding.
The officials of the auction were trembling with fear. The Dungeon Merchants,
who were talented in magic and martial prowess, hesitated. They wondered if
they could really stop this fight.
Then there was Artpe. He wondered if he should just abandon the plan before
Maetel really killed Sienna. He was conflicted as to whether he should just
retrieve and run with the two girls.
“I won’t forgive yoooooooooooooou!”
“Kyahhhhhhhk!”
At some point in time, Maetel finally got in a critical hit. Sienna was kicked to the
floor, and Maetel had stolen her Sledge Hammer. Maetel imbued a massive
amount of Mana as she brought it down!
Sienna thought she really might die if things progressed any further. She
desperately rolled on the ground to avoid the blow. Maetel’s hammer blow was
magnificent. It destroyed the stage. The traces of an auction house was
nowhere to be seen.
“H...huh, huhk.”
“That is a technique that can be learned by a small number of Berserkers called
Earth Break….!”
It was just a normal Bash skill.
‘Since the moment I’ve been waiting for is here, I should do what I came here to
do…..’
Artpe had been watching the sight from afar, and he activated his magic as he
had a heavy heart. He imbued his Mana String with stealth ability. It held tightly
to the egg of the Greed Beast. When everyone’s attention was on Maetel and
Sienna, he used that moment to secretly sneak in the egg.
He moved it towards the absolute center of auction house’s stage. It was where
Maetel had made a big hole with her hellbent attack!
He made sure the egg was buried, and he put dirt over it.
His task ended perfectly.
“S...stop immediately! I...I order in the name of the l...lord, Count Melud!”
At that point, the one in charge of Frate finally stepped forward. He was a noble,
yet his safety wasn’t guaranteed. His legs were shaking, but he had shown up
himself to stop the crazy girls.
It was admirable.
Artpe decided to give him high marks for it. Of course, the count himself didn’t
look too happy~
“Uh. Firework······?”
“Beautiful.”
As if he had been waiting for the lord to step forward, a pretty firework bloomed in
the sky. Of course, it was a signal from Artpe that signified the success of his
plan.
“Aht.”
“Ah······.”
Maetel and Sienna was panting to gather their breath. They hesitated as they
looked at the firework. Both girls clicked their tongue.
“Let’s finish this somewhere else.”
“Hoong. Do you think unni will win just by changing the venue?”
The two left as they provoked each other until the end!
Of course, the power they displayed was so terrifying that no one dared to stop
them. It was possible for Maetel, but there were a good number of people
amongst the Dungeon Merchants that would be able to stop Sienna. However,
they weren’t going to intervene unless it was profitable for them. The Dungeon
Merchants abstained from doing anything.
The two criminals successfully walked out from the scene of the crime!
“This… What the hell happened….”
“We were unlucky, lord. Of all places, those monsters decided to fight here….”
“How can a man be worth all of this!”
“It seems this person is receiving the love of those two women. I don’t know who
he is, but I’m jealous······.”
“Jealous? It is obvious that man will suffer an early death.”
“Koo-hmm. That....”
Artpe cleared his throat as he released his Stealth spell. He appeared in front of
the lord. Of course, he still had his disguise on through his artifact.
As expected, everyone turned their attention to him. Artpe felt like dying from
embarrassment, but he opened his mouth to speak.
“That is······ They are my companions.”
“You are the one receiving the love of those two women!?”
“Uh. That’s······.”
He was thankful that their fight had attracted attention away from him, but why
the hell did they have to fight over such a topic! Artpe kept sighing as he pushed
one hand forward. A white magical energy burned at the tip of his fingers.
“This important location was destroyed thanks to my party members. I’m not
sure if this will be enough to compensate for everything. I’ll want to help you
restore the auction house. Ah, of course, I’ll also give you money for
reparations.”
“Ohhhhhhhhh!”
The lord let out a acclamation when a rare mage made an appearance.
Moreover, unlike his terrifying companions, he was full of common sense!
How could the lord turn him down?
The lord welcomed him. He even gave a promise to not chase the two girls if
Artpe helped with recovering the auction house.
This was how Artpe joined in on the work of reconstructing the auction house.
They were able to restore it back into excellent shape.
The auction would be held later that night as scheduled.
Chapter 53 - Frate's Festival (6)

“You were quite bold in your actions, customer!”

It was Anywhere company’s veteran merchant Mycenae. It had been awhile,
since they had met outside of a Dungeon. Mycenae slapped a file against her
knee as she yelled out in agitation.
“I had no choice.”
“You had no choice? Bullshit!”
She was wearing an artifact that hindered recognition, so she looked a bit
indinstict. However, Artpe and Mycenae knew each other very well, so they
acted very familiar with each other.
The auction house also kept the identities of the participants a secret, so each of
them were wearing a mask that also hindered recognition.
However, all they did was affect the outer appearances, so if one wanted to know
the other’s identity, it could be discerned.
The auction, by its nature, couldn’t publicly reveal the identities of its participants.
So everyone kept their eyes down as they participated with this unspoken
understanding.
Artpe grinned as he asked her a question.
“So did you withdraw your items?”
“There is no way I could have pulled all of it out!.... Fortunately, I was able to
take off the ones that were going to be entered under my name beforehand.”
She called him a swindler and other bad names, but in the end, she obediently
followed Artpe’s words. It was pretty cute.
When Artpe had a broad smile on his face, Mycenae pounded her chest as if she
was about to suffocate from the frustration she felt. Soon, her eyes turned sharp
as she made calculations.
“Didn’t you say you needed my items? Will you be purchasing my helm and
halberd?”
“Nope? I don’t need it anymore.”
“I knew it’ll be like this! How did I end up in an exclusive contract with such a
customer!”
Mycenae felt so indignant that she threw a tantrum in her seat. Her ears fluttered
fiercely. He ignored Mycenae as he raised his head. The sun was setting, and
the moon was starting to peek out. He caught the sight of a cloud that changed
its outer appearance as the ownership of the sky exchanged hands. It was a
really splendid sight.
However, when he brought his gaze down, he caught sight of the stage of the
auction house. He saw the numerous people surrounding the stage.
“Ha.”
They were hiding their outer appearance with artifacts, and their faces were
covered with masks However, they couldn’t hide their greed and madness.
He could see them so clearly that it was as if Artpe could grasp them with his
hands. The curses looked like something that would detonate by itself. The fuse
wouldn’t have to be lit. In his past life, Artpe had always been surrounded by
such twisted beings.
They were disgusting and pitiful.
“You…. Ah, you’ve probably seen this sight quite often.”
“You are being shameless by changing the topic like this…. Yes, I’ve seen it so
much that I’m sick of it. Still, I’m one of them. I’m just able to hide my greed a
little bit better than them.”
“I like your honesty. Truthfully, I’m the same.”
They were currently sitting in the upper seats where only the VIPs amongst the
participants could enter.
Artpe was invited here, because he had been instrumental in restoring the
auction house. Before he knew it, Mycenae came and sat besides him. He had
thought she had been exaggerating with her words about being a veteran
merchant, but it seemed she held a pretty high position.
“Ooh-mmmm?”
For a long time, Artpe checked the seats around him. Mycenae tilted her head in
puzzlement as she asked him a question.
“Where are the other two…..?”
“I don't know where they went.”
It was a lie. He knew where they were. He had worried they would go outside to
fight a life or death battle. Fortunately, they had hidden themselves as they
returned to the inn. They were probably resting right now.
Yes, their mission had ended. It was now Artpe’s stage.
······well, if he needed something from them, he just had to call them back.
“Hoo-hooht. That means I’ll have you to myself tonight.”
“Yes, it really is a great place for a date.”
Mycenae put on her business smile, and Artpe responded with a rotten smile.
Mycenae laughed as if she knew meaning behind his words. Artpe looked
behind her, and he caught sight of a woman sitting not too far away.
She wore a very fancy red butterfly mask. It could not hide her bewitching
beauty······.
“······bbah-doo-doo-doohk.”1
It was the sight of Etna Carlyfate Mirecard, who was fully charged with anger.
“Heek.”
She had taken a big risk in giving him a warning. Instead of leaving the city, he
was being shameless by coming to the most dangerous location within the city.
Moreover, he was laughing it up besides a woman, so of course, she was angry!
“Uh, this might be dangerous. Someone might die.”
“Did you suddenly catch a fatal disease, customer?”
“I'm not talking about myself. I’m talking about ajumma.”
“Why me?”
Artpe quickly looked away from Etna, but he knew her gaze hadn’t faltered. He
could feel her gaze on him. Soon, Mycenae picked up on the eyes upon them.
“You really are talented in picking up women…. You really outdid yourself by
getting such an amazing beauty.”
“If someone else hears you, they’ll be under the wrong impression.”
Of course, the most messed up part was that her words weren’t a
mischaracterization of this situation.
No, he knew she loved Artpe in her past life, but even if he looked mature for his
age, he was only a 14 year old brat! He was well aware that she had lived over
several hundred years at the very least, yet she had her heart stolen by a 14 year
old brat! Was that woman really of sound mind!
“What are the guards doing? They should be arresting such a woman.”
“Even at a glance, she looks really strong. Is she perhaps stronger than you?”
“Yes, a thousand of me could attack her at once, and we won’t be able to win
against her.”
“If she is that strong, guards...no even a nation would be unable to detain her.
…..huh?”
At his words, Mycenae’s eyes turned round.
“Does that mean that woman is a D…..”
“It is great that you are quick on the uptake, but you shouldn’t say it out loud.”
“My god. Does this mean this auction has Dem-ah-ooop-oop!”
“Quiet.”
As expected of a veteran merchant, Mycenae had quickly assessed the situation,
and she expressed her shock. Artpe quickly put a hand over her mouth. If
someone heard her, the timeline of the chaos that would erupt here would be
accelerated.!
“Ooh-oop-oop! Oop!”
“Are you going to be quiet?”
“Oop!”
Mycenae desperately nodded her head, so he took his hand away from her
mouth. She immediately grabbed his arm, and he yelled out in a small voice.
“We have to run away immediately, customer!”
“Why the hell would I run away? The Quest is already in progress. I can’t run
away.”
“This Quest has no reward. Let’s abandon it! You should run away quickly with
me!”
“What do you mean by there is no reward?”
Artpe tilted his head in puzzlement over that portion of her words. Mycenea’s
expression turned blank when he answered her. Even at this moment, countless
artifacts filled deceit and evil was gathering here. Then there were the energy
from humans and the Demons he was aiming for. It would all be his. He had a
satisfied smile on his face.
“They are all mine.”
“What······?”
If it was all for Artpe, what would happen to the people gathered here to
participate in the auction?
She was sure Artpe didn’t have that much money. Moreover, he couldn’t just
steal the items through brute force. She had no idea what he was thinking, but
Mycenae suddenly remembered the brutal act of destruction he engineered not
too long ago.
“Customer······ I still haven’t heard the reason why you destroyed the auction
house.”
“The one that destroyed the place was Maetel and Sienna. I know nothing.”
Artpe easily ignored Mycenae’s eyes, which was filled with suspicion, as he
whistled to himself. He was being so impudent that she wanted to bit him hard.
It was time for Artpe to persuade her to his side.
“I’m confident my obsession with money is on par with any merchant here, but I
value my life over all else. Even if you possess a Unique skill and great talent in
magic, you won’t be able to contend with the Demon race. That is why you
should give up on the idea of acquiring those items and run away…..”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll protect you.”
“Even if you drop such a cool line, it doesn’t mean that scary woman is going
anywhere!”
While Mycenae and Artpe spoke in an intimate manner, the participants of
auction continued to stream in. There were the nobles of the Diaz kingdom, and
the movers and shakers of the market. Then there were the nobles and
merchants from other countries, who had diplomatic ties to Diaz.
If everyone in this auction house was killed, it would cause mass confusion. The
confusion that was sowed when the Diaz kingdom exchanged hands one year
ago wouldn’t be able to hold a candle to what would erupt. If the worst case
scenario occurred, Frate’s Festival would never be held again in the future.
“This way, master.”
“I’ll be the one serving you today, your excellency.”
“Hmmm······.”
“I’m looking forward to this.”
Of course, these people were well aware of their own importance. This was why
they traveled with guards that were around mid-100s in terms of level.
The problem was the fact that every single one of them had the seed of a curse
hiding within their body. When the curses were triggered, they would basically
become excellent steeds that could be used by the Demon King’s army. No one
here would be able to escape.
So what would happen if Artpe stepped forward and said, ‘This festival should be
canceled’?
Would the people retreat?
He would tell them the Demon King’s army is aiming for the human world, and
they should disperse.
Would they retreat while saying, ‘Ah. Is that so! It took us two months to get
here, but since it is the Demon king’s army, we’ll go wash our feet and sleep in
our home!’?
Would they really go back to their home?
No way.
Artpe would be fortunate if the people don’t accuse him of being a minion of the
Demon King’s army. Then there was a chance that these curses were planted
over a long period of time, and if he caused a ruckus, it might act as a catalyst in
stimulating the curse. It might set off the curses for sure.
This was why he chose to overturn the board. He would act as if he was dancing
to their tune, and at the last most crucial moment, he would completely reverse
the cause and effect.!
“Are the two other customers going to bust up this place again…..?”
“I don’t use such lowbrow methods. Actually, that is the worst way to go about
doing things.”
Artpe answered Mycenae’s words with a snort.
Mycenae wondered what Artpe was aiming for. She kept thinking about it, but
she had no idea what it could be. She groaned as she moved her head into
gear.
“It has something to do with the reconstruction of the auction house.”
“I’ll give you 60 points for that answer.”
“That’s a failing grade······ You are strict.”
“Eeeek. Artpehhhhh······!”
On the other hand, Etna’s gaze continued to be planted squarely on Artpe.
Mycenae and Artpe (from the outside) looked as if they were sharing an intimate
conversation. The sight made her anger boil.
At first, she had been worried and nervous about Artpe, who had come here by
ignoring her words. However, such docile emotions continued to erode away as
she watched him play with another woman. Her anger grew!
She was being like this even though Artpe wasn’t her man!
At first, Artpe thought she was inserted into the field to put down anyone that
tried to interfere with the plan. However, her attention was marked solely on
Artpe, so this didn’t seem likely.
Or maybe she was staring at Artpe, because she decided he was the most
dangerous person here…..······ Anyways, it seemed she wouldn’t get anything
done today.
‘It is unfortunate that she is staring at me, but she won’t be able to stop my plan. I
am the puppet master today.’
Even as Artpe smirked, he felt his inner heart become a little bit heavier.
If Artpe hadn’t been here, the plan of the Demon King’s army would have
proceeded without a hitch. Since she was at the heart of the site where the plan
would be carried out, she would witness all the atrocities…..
She had an unusually weak heart, so she would become wounded by this event.
It happened quite often in his past life.
She never had the time to recover. She continuously became wounded, and as
her level climbed, her soul rotted away to a point that there was no way to
recover it.
‘She really is the type of woman that would do well living in the countryside while
feeding cows.’
In fact, the problem was with god, who gave them such twisted destinies. It
would be great if Maetel and Sienna grew up fast, so they could kill god!
“However, today will be different.”
“Yes, customer? What did you just say?”
“Thank you for waiting so long!”
Mycenae seemed to have picked up the meaning behind the words Artpe had
mumbled to himself. She was about to question him when the auctioneer
appeared on stage with exquisite timing. The greed of all the humans gathered
in the auction house was focused on the auctioneer.
All the artifacts had been gathered inside the auction house. The Demons didn’t
enter the auction house. They were spread all of the city and port. They smiled
as if they were waiting for something. As if it was blessing the hell’s banquet that
was about to start, the moon let out a bleak light.
[Ba-dump]
It was a very faint heartbeat that could be heard by Artpe. Artpe was sure he
caught the sound, so he let out a laugh. The auctioneer, who hadn’t heard the
sound unlike him, let out a sonorous shout.
“The auction will start now!”
The curtain rose on the stage.
Chapter 54 - Frate's Festival (7)

“Two thousand gold.”

“Two thousand five hundred.”
“We’ve got 2,500 gold. For reference, this amulet’s prior owner was Sir Patra.
He had won every battle he had participated in. He was executed after the
rebellion when it was found out that his cousin had been involved with the
archduke’s faction. The ability and luck of this item made its owner victorious in
battle. At the same time, it has the curse of false accusation over it. In the
hands of a good craftsman, its performance can be overwhelmingly improve!”
“Sir Patra….. I’ll express my admiration towards him by bidding 3,000 gold.”
“Three thousand three hundred gold.”
The greed of the people were used as firewood. The auction heated up. Most of
the artifacts and treasures were sold for an exorbitant amount of price. People
paid several thousand gold for each item. The crowd as a whole were going
nuts.
The artifacts that were relatively low priced, bulk items and specialized items with
no controversial stories behind them were all sold during the day. The ones that
were being put up for auction were the absurdly expensive items, and the
artifacts with questionable stories behind them.
“Next is Marquis R’s wife’s private…...”
“Five hundred thousand gold!”
“Seven hundred thousand gold.”
How could people get excited and pay a high price for a simple piece of cloth that
holds no magical energy? Even if the owner was a beautiful woman, it doesn’t
mean a piece of cloth would gain some kind of special significance.
Artpe thought humans were truly foolish as he turned his head. When he did, he
found that Mycenae was staring at him with displeasure. Artpe decided to make
an excuse.
“You know what’s going on here?”
“Even if you are young, I guess you are male.”
“It isn’t like that. I wasn’t looking at it, because I wanted to buy it. I was curious
as to the thought process behind the scoundrels that want to buy the lingerie.”
“Yes, I’m sure you were doing that. You are at an age where you should be very
curious about such things, so it isn’t as if I can’t understand it…. However, you
should refrain from putting your hand on your party members. It won’t end with a
joke.”
“I already know, ajumma. I don’t want you to even joke about such a subject.”
Currently, Artpe didn’t fear the Demon king the most. He worried Etna or Maetel
would come at him at night. He was worried they would assault him by throwing
their body at him. He knew he would be on the losing end if he lingered on this
topic, so Artpe changed the topic by force.
“Anyways, they already know each other’s identity, yet they don’t hesitate to buy
such items.”
“······it happens only in Frate. Everyone becomes a bit freed from their rank and
power. If people become restrained when they enter the Frate’s Festival, it
would cause an immense negative impact on Diaz’s economy. This is why no
one is objecting when they know the underwear of someone’s wife is being
traded.”
“Moreover, it has been 3 years since the last festival, and the power of the throne
is as weak as it has ever been. This is also after the rebellion…… It holds all
the ingredients that is needed to make things worse”
Moreover, the spoon of the Demon King’s army had been placed in this pot.
They had fantastic timing.
Artpe felt the upsurge in the atmosphere inside the auction house, and the curse
was slowly being activated. Artpe could feel it through his entire body as the
cursed artifacts started resonating with the activating curse. He let out a deep
sigh. When Mycenae saw this, she must have had a slight misunderstanding.
“······so do you want the underwear of Marquis R’s wife?”
“I don’t need it.”
“If it is underwear, I can give you mine. It’ll be 1,500 gold.”
“I won’t accept it even if you give me 1,500 gold.”
“Customer, you are very rude!”
“I’m better than the immoral merchant, who is trying to sell me her underwear for
1,500 gold.”
The tension within the auction house continued to build, and it felt as if it would
explode if a single spark was introduced. At that moment, a new cart was
brought in. It was placed on the auction house’s platform.
Artpe unconsciously looked at it, and he became a bit surprised at what he saw.
“Next item is…. This is quite surprising! It is the longsword of Sir Edward
Meletin, who ended the rebellion!”
“What!?”
“Sir Meletin!?”
The auction house was overturned once again. There were individuals that
suddenly stood up from their seat. Some even unmasked themselves by
mistake.
Artpe had been surprised by the artifact itself, but the people here were clearly
surprised by the name of the artifact’s owner.
He asked Mycenae a question.
“Who’s Edward Meletin?”
“Didn’t you just hear what he said? He’s the one that ended the rebellion. He
was a knight employed under a nameless marquis, yet his sword was able to
emit strands of fire aura. He burned the black magicians and knights that were
under the Archduke’s faction. When he captured the Archduke, everyone was
shocked! They thought a new powerhouse had made his presence known. It
was speculated that he was one of the top-ranking knights with a level over 250.
They wondered how and why this man had been unable to distinguish himself
before…..”
“Ah. I see….”
So that’s how it was. Artpe answered without much energy as his eyes took in
the longsword.
The complete information about the item was reflected in his eyes.
[Netherworld Flame Sword of Madness]
[The Fire Spirit Meltia was born from a volcano in the Demon world. She lived
freely for tens of thousands of years before she was forcefully imprisoned by the
power of a curse. Three types of metal mined from the volcano in the Demon
world was combined to make a sword where she was imprisoned. The sword
can emit an outrageous amount of fire, and it can burn everything it cuts. As a
price for using this power, the user’s magical energy will be depleted, and in the
end, the soul will also be harvested. The soul once again turns into the chain
that keep Meltia imprisoned. This in turn increases the artifact’s power.]
“Of course, he wasn’t known until he acquire that sword…...”
“Huh? Do you perhaps know something about it? Aht! That’s right! If it is you,
you should have the information regarding that sword…..”
“Koo-ooooooooooh.”
The sight of the description of the sword made him feel disgusted. He felt
dumbfounded by it, and at that moment, he heard a groan from nearby.
He didn’t have to turn around to know the owner of the voice. It was none other
than Etna.
She was born from fire, and she held domain over all fire. A Fire Spirit was
trapped within a mere item through a curse, so he didn’t have to ask her to know
what emotions she was feeling right now. Did she perhaps enter into this auction
with the purpose of recovering this item? It made him wonder.
However, that was impossible. That sword was the trigger that activated the
curse of the Demon King’s army. He was sure of that point.
“Koo-oohk. Kooooooohk.”
“Etna······.”
Artpe carelessly spoke the name of Etna. He quickly took control of his own
mouth. What would be accomplished by calling her over? She couldn’t go
against the Demon King’s orders. It wasn’t as if Artpe could step forward in her
stead to overturn the board.
“This sword of fire contains the valor of Sir Edward Meletin! We’ll start it at 5,000
gold!”
“Seven thousand gold!”
“Eight thousand gold!”
The highlight of the auction was probably this flame sword. It didn’t matter if one
was a count, marquis, baron or a viscount. Everyone became excited as the
price of the sword kept increasing.
“I have to buy that!”
“Sir Edward Meletin······ I’m sure it was that sword!”
As soon as they entered Frate, the curse that had been secretly building within
their body started to reveal their teeth. The curse started to encroach on their
body.
There were the participants bidding on the items, the people that were guarding
the bidders, and the people that didn’t have the money to bid. The ones without
money couldn’t speak out, so they were burning with desire. It didn’t matter who
they were. The curse influenced them in an impartial manner.
“Nine thousand gold!”
“Ten thousand!”
“Eleven thousand!”
“Twelve thousand!”
“We’ll changed the minimum amount you can raise the bid to 2,000…..”
“Fourteen thousand!”
“Huh. This is weird. This is too….”
“······it has started.”
Artpe realized the trigger had been pulled at some point. It was as the Demon
King’s army had intended. The desire of humans within the auction had reached
its zenith, and it caused the curse to thicken. It was thick enough to be seen with
one’s eyes.
Then another curse was activated, and the curses started to stack. It was
something even a level 200 magician wouldn’t be able to escape easily. The trap
was encircled around everyone’s neck.
Then the Demons that resided in the port and the outer city started to make their
move. Everyone was focused on the auction house at that moment. The
Demons unhesitatingly emitted a vast quantity of magical energy to trigger
another curse. In a flash, the curse reached its zenith, and it covered the entire
city!
“Koohk!”
“Kyahhhhhhhhhk!”
Artpe had recognized it early on. The magical energy was formed into the shape
of a magic circle. Everything and everyone gathered within the auction house
was being used as ingredients. It was a magic circle that embroiled the entire
city!
There was no turning back now. The whole city would be imbued with the curse.
A very small spark could burn the city to the ground!
“Twenty two thousand!”
“Twenty six thousand!”
“My god.”
Mycenae was a Dungeon Merchant. As a basic requirement, her level was high,
but her understanding of magic was also deep. Of course, even she didn’t
pinpoint what was wrong within Frate. However, she was well aware of the fact
that the people were acting in an abnormal manner.
“C...customer, this is…..”
She wondered if she should just run away from here. At this point, she didn’t
care about her reputation as a merchant or the Anywhere company. She looked
ready to cry, and by instinct, she grabbed Artpe’s hand.
From the beginning to end, Artpe continued to remain in his seat. He grinned as
he looked at Mycenae’s expression, then he firmly held her hand.
“I told you I’ll protect you. Don’t worry about it.”
“······.”
Mycenae shut her mouth. The hand that was holding her hand was so
dependable that she forgot that he was younger than her for a brief moment!
She acted silly, because she had suffered a surprise attack by Artpe. However,
at that moment, the situation was approaching its climax.
“Thirty six thousand······!”
“I said thirty six thousand first!”
“Then thirty eight…...”
“Fifty thousand!”
“Fifty thousand······!? Eeeeeeeeek······.”
“I don’t have that much money. I don’t have that much money….. Shit. The
treasure is right in front of eyes, yet I’m going to lose it!”
“If I can’t solve this with money…...”
“You dare!?”
It was very natural as to how the spark would be lit. Someone just had to
unsheathe his sword or chant a magic spell, and it would spur the magic circle
into completion.
The curse would be spread towards the city, and if things went well, it could
spread to the entire country. It could even spread across the border to burn
everything. It was a clean and bold strategy that wasn’t seen even in the legends
or myths.
It seems the Demon King really put effort into this plan. If he acted this way in
the previous life, Artpe wouldn’t have died!
“This is my revenge, you damn bastard.”
Artpe smirked as he mumbled to himself.
It happened at that moment. It felt as if blood was about to be shed inside the
auction house when the sound of a roar rang out.
[Mwahhhhhhhhhhhh!]
“Koo-ooooooh-ook!”
“What the hell······!?”
The nobles and their knights had been about to confront each other for the
Netherworld Flame Sword of Madness. However, they all fell to the floor at the
same time.
It wasn’t just their movement being suppressed. The yell that had come from an
unknown source had completely dominated their mind and body. The energy
that had been making them act crazy was dispersed. It was as if they had just
woken up from sleep. Their eyes turned round as they looked at their
surrounding.
“What am I doing······?”
“M...my god. Tomas, I want you to put your sword away! We are supposed to
fight with money, yet you are trying to show off with your martial prowess. This
isn’t an action that is befitting a noble!”
“However, his lordship…. His lordship gave the order…. Mmmm? What the
hell?”
“Die!”
“Koohk!?”
While some people were confused, the ones that were still unable to break
completely out of the curse were still in an agitated state. They were about to
attack the confused people that had stopped in place! Once again, the roar filled
the auction house.
[Mee-oh-ooh-ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
No, it wasn’t just the auction house. The yell rode along the energy of the curse
that was gathered inside auction house, and it spread into the magic circle
formed by the Demons.
Of course, most of the curse’s energy that was boiling up in the city was being
‘eaten.’ The trigger and the fuel was being consumed before it could explode.
This was why the curse lost its energy before the people residing in the city had
any idea something was wrong.
“W...what the hell is this…..?”
As a Four Heavenly King of the Demon King’s army, Etna had to polish her
senses over the countless number of years. This was why she was the first one
to realize something was wrong. Her eyes turned round.
She knew that the auction house had been destroyed and rebuilt that day.
However, she only sensed a strengthening spell that reinforced the structural
integrity of the auction house. She hadn’t sense any other trace of Mana. Who
could have done this? Someone had casted a intricate spell that had tricked
even Etna!
“No, the only one culprit that could have pulled this off was Artpe…..”
Etna looked at Artpe with dumbfounded eyes when her gaze met his. Artpe had
such a mischievous smile on his face that she wanted to pinch his cheek.
However, Artpe opened his mouth before she could say anything. He just
shaped his words without vocalizing it, but his message was delivered to her.
‘I’ll get it back for you.’
“Get back what…...”
She unconsciously spoke the question out loud, but in the next moment, she shut
her mouth. Artpe had casted a spell over the auction house. To be precise, it
was a ‘Spell Modification Spell’ that he casted using the Greed Beast and his
Mana Strings. There was still another step that had yet to occur.
[Kyahhhhhhhhhhhk!]
[Koo-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]
“T...this sound!?”
The first stage of the spell was to let the Greed Beast suck in the curse that was
supposed to spread into the city using the magic circle. However, the curse
hadn’t completely dissipated. The second stage of his plan was to send the
remaining curse energy into the Demons on standby using the magic circle.
[Auction house! It is at the auction house!]
[Koo-hahhhhhhhhhhk! It is mine! I’ll have it!]
All of the city’s greed was focused on the auction house. Of course, the cursed
Demons unhesitatingly headed towards the auction house.
The auction house had been at the center of the magic circle. In the process of
reconstructing the auction house, he had used his Mana Strings to make a
fundamental change to the magic circle!
“Demons! It’s the Demon race! Demons appeared from all over the city, and
they are rushing the auction house!”
“Then the abnormal state of our mind from a moment ago…..!”
“Demons! It’s the Demons! We are being raided by the Demons!”
Everyone within the auction house came to their senses as they stood up. Artpe
let out a leisurely smile as he watched this sight.
He had made fixes to the Record link, and he had transformed Sienna’s curse.
In the process, he had become quite good at modifying spells. He had access
to the heart of the magic circle, so of course, he was able to make changes to
this curse! It wouldn’t have made sense if he was unable to do so!
“Customer, this is······.”
“It was supposed to be humans vs humans. I just changed it to Demons vs
humans.”
Artpe spoke in a nonchalant manner as he laughed. Mycenae had no idea how
he was able to use such a method. All she could do was stare at him with her
mouth wide open.
“I had my eyes wide open, yet you got me ······ Amazing.”
Moreover, it was the same for Etna. She possessed abilities that was close to
what a high rank magician possessed, but she didn’t deal with highly difficult
spells. Her ability was focused on making powerful magic using fire. Of course,
Artpe was well aware of this fact. This was why he was able to use such a bold
strategy.
The items in the auction house was supposed to cause conflict amongst the
humans, but the humans automatically lost interest in the items when they were
faced with the prospect of facing Demons. Of course, those items were…..
[Mee-ahhhhhhhhhhng!]
“Yes. You should eat a lot and grow rapidly.”
As its owner, he could vaguely see its form. The Greed Beast was eating the
energy of the curse that was filling the auction house.
The egg was able to be hatched, because countless requisite was gathered and
overlapped in this place. It was busy eating the curse and evil mana that was
right in front of it. It would probably be able to materialize fully when it was able
to eat everything here.
“Well, I should…..”
Artpe let out a truly satisfied laughter as he turned around. He could feel the
explosive energy of the Demons on the other side. They were all bundles of
EXP that would be good for him.
“...put the finishing touch on this.”
From the start to the end of the second Quest, everything had progressed
according to his calculations.
It was time for him to acquire his reward.
Chapter 55 - Lunatic Wave (1)

Fortunately, the humans had one advantage on their side. The strongest people
in Frate were all gathered within the auction house.
“What about the guards within the city!”
“The Demons aren’t an opponent that can be stopped with just the guards!
Fortunately, it seems the Demons are mesmerized by something within the
auction house. They are coming straight for this place…..”
“Mesmerized······? Wait a moment. Weren’t we also…..”
The humans realized that they had also fallen fallen prey to the scheme of the
Demon King’s army. They vaguely realized this truth. Of course, they had no
idea that the plan had been broken and changed by Artpe. Fortunately, they
were well aware of the fact that they would have been screwed over by the
Demon king’s army if they hadn’t come back to their senses.
“Auction… We are stopping the auction.”
“We have to move the artifacts to safety······.”
“We shouldn’t waste our time on that! We have to face the Demons!”
“No, the artifacts are already gone! Was this also a part of the plan hatched by
the Demons…...”
“How many times do I have to say that facing the Demons are more important
than the artifacts!”
Of course, there were still some foolish people that desired the artifacts despite
being freed from the curse. However, the Greed Beast had been busily eating
the artifact, and in turn, it had forcefully canceled the confusion being felt
amongst the humans. Some had wanted to take advantage of the confusion to
slip away with the artifacts, but the artifacts were missing. This was why they
had no choice, but to focus on the Demons!
“This is all thanks to me!”
“Customer······ For once, could you answer my question properly?”
“I don’t know anything. My secretary handled everything for me.”
“You don’t have a secretary!”
He didn’t mind continuing the banter with Mycenae. Unfortunately, he couldn’t
leave everything to the humans. The situation was too desperate to do so.
Even in such a disordered atmosphere, he scanned over the people getting
ready for a fight. The guardian knights were pushed to the forefront by the
nobles of Diaz, and there were the figures dispatched from other countries and
merchant companies. Unbeknownst to him, Etna had approached him, and she
was glaring at him. He turned to look at her.
“Are you going to participate? If you help, it would be reassuring.”
However, Etna didn’t even bother turning down his offer to join the party. She
tackled a different subject.
“······Artpe, did you perhaps know this would happen?”
“What are you talking about? You were the one that gave me the hint.”
“But you…..”
He was right. She had taken a risk in giving Artpe a warning. She did it knowing
that her identity might be revealed.
However, she had taken a liking to this human despite it being their first meeting.
She had been taken aback at how deep he had burrowed into her soul. The
human had left behind a mark in her soul. That was why she hadn’t wanted to
see Artpe get hurt.
No….. If she was being more truthful, she didn’t want him to leave her behind in
this scene of violence.
Artpe was a talent that was rarely seen in the human world. She had wished
Artpe would pick up on the hint she dropped. She had wanted him to completely
foil the plan of the Demon king’s army.
She knew she had been wishing for the impossible.
She was under the yoke of the Demon King, so she hadn’t been able to give him
a proper hint. It would be ridiculous for her to expect him to have a complete
grasp of the situation. There was no way he could have made preparations for
this event. Even a hero wouldn’t have been able to accomplish it.
“Yet I was able to accomplish something so hard to accomplish?”
“You can read my mind!?”
“Nope. I just made an educated guess. I thought you would be shocked at my
damn fine abilities.”
Etna was at a loss for words. Even if he had the ability to back it up, it was hard
to act like this big of an asshole. If he was a Demon, she would have wanted to
recruit him to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings. This was how big of an
asshole he was being. As if Artpe could understand what she was feeling, he
smirked as he once again asked her for her help.
“Let’s stop talking about such nonsense for now…. So, are you going to help
us?”
“······I’m sorry. I’m unable to do anything.”
Yes, even if she wasn’t given explicit orders not to do so, she wouldn’t be able to
side with the humans against the Demon king’s army. At this point, she had
basically acknowledged that she was a Demon with her own words.
“Yes, I guess it can’t be helped.”
If he was like any other human, he would have said, ‘You bitch! You are a
Demon!’
Or it was the perfect time to say, ‘‘You filthy bitch! I knew it from the time you
proudly swung your big chest in front of me!’. However, he didn’t say anything
along the same line. On the contrary, it was Etna, who became surprised.
“How are you able to accept everything so easily!”
“I want you to get out of here quietly, Etna. No one here can identify your
magical energy. ”
“So why are you able······!”
Artpe activated his Read All Creation ability, and he saw the dark magic shackles
around Etna’s neck. It was something only he could see. After he glanced at it,
he spoke.
“Sir Meletin’s sword. That’s the item you want, right? Just give me a location
that’ll be convenient for you. After everything ends, I’ll look you up, and I’ll bring
the sword along.”
“You······!?”
Even his parting shot was perfect. Etna felt as if she had been laid bare and
thrown in front of him.
She wondered if her feelings for him was also revealed to him. She was angry,
taken aback and a little bit happy. Her face turned red from feeling those
emotions.
“How much do you know about me!”
“Everyone that heard you grind your teeth when the item came out could come to
the same conclusion.”
“Ughhh.”
It was a lie. He probably knew all the secrets regarding the sword.
Despite this fact, he was going to do this for her….! Why! Her confusion kept
mounting, and it was getting hard for her to think straight. Etna was close to
tears.
However, she had no choice, but to listen to him right now. She had lived for
over 200 years, yet at this moment, she felt as if had reverted into being a child.
“The Demons are coming. Hurry, Etna.”
“······I’ll be at Jaime’s Inn. It is in sector C.”
He memorized the information then he nodded his head.
“I’ll be there.”
“Also······.”
Etna hesitated for a brief moment. She was barely successful in picking out a
word that she would be able impart to him.
“Ocean.”
“Ocean? What about the ocean… Huh? Wait a moment.”
The word had come out of left field, but Artpe suddenly had a thought. He
quickly turned his head, but Etna was already gone. This hint was direct and
pertinent to the current situation, so he had no difficulty discerning the meaning
behind it.
“This is nuts. It wasn’t just a one and done…..?”
“What does she mean by the ocean, customer?”
“It is an annual event that occurs in the ocean! You should already know about
it.”
“Annual event….. Ah!?”
At that point, Mycenae had a complete grasp of the situation.
There was a reason why the Frate’s Festival had always been held early in
summer. There was a reason why ships couldn’t traverse the ocean during fall
and winter. As a merchant that was part of a merchant association, there was no
way she wouldn’t know about it.
“Lunatic wave!”
“That’s right.”
Her eyes turned round.
“We shouldn’t be worried about the Demons right now! We haven’t put up the
barriers yet, and there are several dozen ships docked at the port!”
“That is why we have to bring down the Demons as soon as possible. Shit!”
Artpe quickly moved towards the entrance of the auction house. The lord of
Frate and his knights were already stationed there.
“Magician! Are you going to help us?!”
“Lord, once I help you defeat the Demons, will you wipe the slate clean for me
and my party members of all our wrongdoings? It is your call.”
It was a deal that took care of the past and what was to come! The lord
unhesitatingly nodded his head.
“It’s a deal!”
“All right. Then I want you to take all the guards to the port. I want you to shut
down the port, then I want you to put up the barriers!”
“Barriers? What the hell are you talking…..”
It didn’t take the lord too long to pick up on what Artpe was implying.
“Are you trying to say the Luatic Wave is about to start now!?”
“I want you to think about the people and artifacts that were gathered for the
Frate’s Festival. Then there is the curse that was placed here…. This was their
plan from the start!”
Lunatic Wave.
It was a phenomenon that lasted from fall to winter. The monsters residing in the
ocean invaded inland.
All of creation was infused with Mana, and this included the ocean. However, the
quantity of Mana within the ocean waned during the fall, and as a consequence,
the Mana on land swelled. The monsters within the ocean was sensitive to this
change, so they ventured inland.
Of course, ships couldn’t travel the waters during this time period. All the regions
with access to the ocean were sealed off before the fall arrived. Tall barriers
were raised to block the monsters. This was also the reason why Artpe had
wanted to cross the ocean before fall.
However, that plan been all for naught!
“It seems the Demon king’s army can cause changes even to the rules of
nature!”
“The conditions needed to precipitate this was sufficient. Currently, the problem
we face right now is the fact that the city is an overwhelmingly attractive target!”
This particular Frate’s Festival had been excessively grand. This resulted in a
large number of humans gathering at this location, and in turn, it had also
attracted a lot of sea monsters to Frate. Then the Demon race used various
curses to amplify the amount of Mana within Frate, and all these factors induced
the Lunatic Wave.
There was a chance that their curses had extended into the ocean!
‘It was a single plan that caused two effects. Splendid. It was an excellent plan,
you demon king bastard! Shit….’
What grinded Artpe’s gears the most was the fact that he wouldn’t have been
able to prevent this situation even if he had known about this beforehand. Artpe
had the ability to tangle up a magic spell, but he wasn’t able to cancel the magic
spell.
Artpe had firmly been under a misconception. He had thought the plan was to
cause the humans to fight each other. He thought it was a ploy to cause
confusion within Diaz.
Wrong!
It didn’t matter what method was used to precipitate this event. The goal was to
activate the curses. The amount of Mana within Frate had to explode upwards.
Even the Greed Beast that was going nuts right now had become a very good
ingredient in inducing the Lunatic Wave.
He had done his best, yet it felt as if he had been played by the Demon king. It
was a dirty feeling. It had been a long time since he felt the taste of defeat. He
hadn’t felt it since he was chosen to be a hero in this reincarnated life.
“Kyahhhhhhhhhh!”
“Get out of here, lowly Demons! Get out!”
“You dirty Demons! You dare invade human land!”
“You will never be able to look down on the power of humans again!”
The humans gathered here didn’t realize that a bigger calamity was about to hit
them in the near future. This was why each of them were spouting one liners in
an attempt to look cool. Then they started fighting with the Demons. Blood and
tears were being shed by the brave people. It would probably be a fodder for a
future heroic tale. Maetel would probably look at this sight, and she would have
said ‘Humans are amazing!’
However, Artpe had already expanded the range of his senses, and he could feel
the ocean vibrate and heave. He could feel the sea monsters rushing towards
them. He didn’t care about some shitty hero’s tale. At this rate, Frate would
meet its end. There was a chance that Diaz might fall!
“Hurry, lord!”
“But this place······.”
“I’ll stop them with my comrades!”
“Koohk······ Understood!”
If Artpe hadn’t flaunted his power earlier, the lord wouldn’t have listened to his
words. However, Artpe had shown his overwhelming ability and leadership in the
reconstruction of the auction house, so his words made the lord move.
“Please take care of this place!”
“Leave it to us!”
The lord nodded once towards Artpe, and he quickly gathered his knights before
he left the auction house. Artpe let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Etna’s
warning hadn’t been too late. They might be able to avoid the worst case
scenario.
“The only thing left is······.”
He stretched out both hands as he activated his Mana Strings. He let out a sigh.
The fact that he was able to twist the curse was great. Thanks to his efforts,
several dozen Demons were out of their minds as they rampaged. However, if
he had known the Lunatic Wave had been waiting for him in the near future, he
wouldn’t have twisted the curse in this fashion!
“What are you going to do, customer? There are way too many Demons here
that are close to level 200.”
“Are you going to help us?”
“Yes, and it isn’t just me. The other merchants are making preparations to do the
same. It seems we’ll somehow live past this, but….. Customer.”
This woman should have lived a fair amount of years, yet she was scared of a lot
of things. If she was like Maetel and Sienna, he could have just stroked her
head. Unfortunately, it was impossible, since he was still too short.
Instead, he firmly held Mycenae’s hand once more as he spoke.
“Don’t worry. Maetel will somehow come through for us. ”
“Aren’t you supposed to reassure me by saying, ‘I’ll somehow figure things out!’
It would have made me fall for you for sure!”
“What do I gain from seducing you, ajumma?”
Artpe snorted as he raised the communication device. He had one that
connected him to Silpennon’s party, and he had one that allowed him to
communicate with Mycenae. Of course, he made preparations in case his party
was split up. He had purchased a communication device, so he would be able to
contact Maetel.
“Maetel, I want you to come towards the auction house as fast as you can with
Sienna right now.”
[Yes!]
He liked this about Maetel. He didn’t have to explain the tiresome details to her.
He could end things just by saying one word!
[I’ll be there, Artpe!]
“Yes, I’ll be waiting.”
She was so dependable that it made him almost want to fall for her. After he
heard Maetel let out an energetic reply, he ended the call. Artpe once again
turned his gaze towards the battlefield.
The humans were weak compared to the dozen Demons present, yet the
humans were putting up a fight. He had seen this several hundred...several
thousand times in his previous life.
“Shit.”
He was now on the other side, yet he had to put on the same mental attitude he
had in his past life.
“DIe, you sons of bitches!”
As he let out out rough words that didn’t befit a hero, Artpe joined the battle
between Demons and the humans!
Chapter 56 - Lunatic Wave (2)

“Kyahhhhh!”
“Humans, those items are not meant for you. It is meant for us to wield!”
“Koohk. You bastards…...!”
“These bastards are overtaken by madness! They were already strong, but now
they are impossible to stop with the madness afflicting them…..!”
Artpe had flipped the curse, and it caused the Demons to reveal themselves to
the humans. At the same time, Artpe had prevented the Demons from running
away. He wanted to create a situation where the Demons would have to confront
the humans.
His plan had worked very well. The Demons didn’t even think about hiding their
presence as they ran full tilt towards the auction house. However, even Artpe
couldn’t do anything about the strengthening effect the curse had on the
Demons.
“Fortunately, the Demons aren’t casting any magic spells.”
“They aren’t of sane mind, so how can they calculate and cast complicated magic
spells?”
Artpe snorted as he raised a finger. Mana Strings started to appear from the tip
of his finger. One strand, two strands, four strands….
In a flash, several dozen strands were emitted, and they started to coil around
each other. They formed into something that resembled a rope.
Of course, he didn’t end it there.
“Hyper Rubbing.”
“You really are persistent about using that magic spell.”
After several dozen strands of Mana Strings were twisted into one, Hyper
Rubbing was applied. In a flash, an immense amount of friction was caused.
The Mana Strings heated up as Mana was consumed.
Artpe swung it horizontally. The several Demons that were trying to jump over
the line created by the knights were all flung backwards. The level of these
Demons ranged from mid hundreds to early two hundreds, yet they couldn’t put
up much fight against the attack. They were sent flying.
“Kyah-hahk!”
“Kooo-ahhhhk!”
“Oh oh! As expected of the Magician!”

“Hoohp!”
Artpe wasn’t swinging a weapon with substance. It was a magic whip. This was
why he could swing it tirelessly as he attacked the Demons from a distance.
Hyber Rubbing was applied to the several dozen Mana Strings, so even a short
contact would create a violent backlash. It was as if the defensive gears and the
skin of the Demons weren’t event there. The Mana Strings broke through
everything, and it even caused the flesh underneath to burn.
There was the damage caused directly by the friction, and the damage caused
by the heat created by the friction. It was a result that couldn’t be achieved
through a simple fire spell.
“You can’t see it when I’m using a single strand, but when I use several dozen
strands at the same time, the Hyper Rubbing becomes much more beneficial to
use!”
“If you have the time to leisurely give such commentaries, you should swing the
whip more!”
Mycenae also had a weapon. She took out a long bow that looked familiar.
Artpe realized that it was the bow he had sold to her after acquiring it from the
Slime Dungeon.
“You bought that for your own use!?”
“Temporary! It is temporarily in my care! If I clean and repair it, I can sell it as a
new item!”
Mycenae was nonplussed as she spoke words that made her sound like a scam
artist. Then she changed the form of the bow. It was reborn as a ballista that
was normally used in siege warfare. A large bolt made out of magical energy
appeared. It was letting out a subdued silver light.
“You have to ensure that I’m safe, customer!”
“I don’t know. You should ask Maetel to do it.”
“You are being hateful!”
Mycenae fired the arrow through the ballista. She followed Artpe’s example by
attacking the Demons from a distance. The damage was secondary to the fact
that their attacks were restricting the movements of the Demons. It was of big
help to the humans.
“Ballista!?”
“I don’t care what it is. The time is now!”
“Koo-ahhhhhhhk!”
“Please let me send this as business expense to the Anywhere company!”
“Just shoot your arrows, dummy.”
There was one Demon, who hadn’t suffered under the full effects of the
madness. Artpe’s whip shot out to surround the Demon’s neck, since it was
about to chant a magic spell.
“Kahk. Kuh-huhk!”
“Good bye.”
When they received his command, the Mana Strings untied itself. It caused a
powerful rotation. The already powerful friction increased precipitously as the
several dozen strands of Mana Strings started to rotate. This was a marriage
between magical energy and physical force. It was the strongest offensive attack
Artpe could use right now.
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhk!”
It did have the downside of rapidly consuming his Mana, but the power of the
attack was peerless. The Demon’s chant was canceled, and his life was also
canceled. Artpe naturally absorbed the record of the Demon, and he sensed a
natural swell of Mana surge forth within him. Artpe smiled.
“All right. It seems I went up a level. The Demons lose some of their power
when they enter the human world, but their EXP remain high compared to the
other monsters.”
“You are probably the only one in this world that treats the Demon race as a
good source of EXP.”
The two of them swapped endless banters. Artpe kept swinging his whip, and
Mycenae kept shooting the ballista.
The other humans were desperately fighting the Demons, but all the humans
combined couldn’t touch the number of Demons they had killed. In a short
amount of time, Mycenae had killed two Demons, and Artpe had killed three.
“I somewhat expected this, but it seems you are special even amongst the
Dungeon Merchants.”
“If it’s you, you probably had an idea of how strong I am, right?”
“I did have some idea as to how strong you were.”
Of course, he was lying. He had more than a vague idea of her power. From the
moment he saw her, he had a complete understanding of her fighting power.

[Mycenae]
[Dark Elf]
[Dungeon Merchant]
[Level : 199]
[Archery Lv59]
[Mana Control Lv38]

If one was strictly talking about level, she was superior compared to Artpe and
Maetel. She also lived longer than humans, and the Elven specialty skill level
was extremely high.
The only problem she had encountered was the fact that she had advanced to
level 199 two years ago. It basically meant that she hadn’t been able to advance
to a high rank Class.
If one wanted to become a Dungeon Merchant, it wasn’t just about one’s
potential to become a merchant. One had to possess inclination towards fighting
and magic. One had to be talented in a combination of multiple disciplines, so it
was a very tricky Class to advance in. Many merchants let out blood, sweat and
tears, because they were deficient in terms of fighting ability or magic. They
were unable to advance for a very long time.
However, Mycenae was the opposite case. Her cultivation in fighting and magic
was sufficient. She was overqualified. However, she lacked in her talent as a
merchant. It was the only thing that was holding her back. She probably went
around touting herself as a veteran merchant, because of her inferiority complex
regarding this issue.
“······customer. I know you find me to be pretty, but could you focus on the
Demons?”
“Pfft.”
“You snorted at that!?”
Artpe retracted his thoughts as he focused on the battle in front of him. There
were around 30 Demons left. Artpe and Mycenae were in a great spot. They
were fighting from the safest location possible. On the other hand, many humans
had already died at the frontline.
It wasn’t as if there weren’t any Priests residing in this city, but they weren’t able
to heal everyone and dispel the curses. There weren’t anywhere near enough of
them.
“Koohk. Is this how the humans will fall······!”
“Lord! Where’s the lord! That coward ran away!”
“We have to make do with what we have. Don’t falter and endure!”
“Kyahhhhhhhhhk!”
The humans let out a resounding shout as they resisted against the Demons. It
was a decent looking picture, but Artpe could only let out a sigh.
“These humans are really weak.”
“Shhh, customer! They might hear you!”
There were only three humans that were over level 150. If they were inferior in
terms of level, they should have learned how to work in concert with each other.
However, they were brutes. The only method of fighting they knew was to throw
their body at their enemies. They were basically on the same level as the grunts
of the Demon king’s army! This was why these two groups always killed off
each other!
“Please support this side, magician!”
“Even if you hadn’t said anything, I was going to send an attack!”
Artpe checked his remaining Mana. He still had 70% of his Mana left, but the
real threat wasn’t the group of Demons. It was the Luatic Wave! While he was
controlling his Mana Strings, he turned to look at Mycenae, who was throwing fire
balls towards the Demons. He was checking up on something.
“Ajumma, do you have some Mana Potion you kept back in reserve?”
“······I can’t sell it to you?”
“I’ll pay for it all later.”
“I’ve received your order!”
After unloading her ballista, she had a brief moment when the ballista was
reloading. She used that brief moment to hand over the Mana Potion. He held it
in his mouth as he increased the number of Mana Strings.
“Die, you maggots!”
One swing of the whip pierced through three Demons. He kept rotating the Mana
Strings, and the whip kept letting out heat. It was almost preternatural as to how
the whip found only the most vulnerable spots on a Demon’s body to cause
damage. The Demons suffered critical wounds.
“Kyahhhhhhhhk!”
“Koo-hahk!”
Artpe was prioritizing his attacks against Demons that were of similar or lower
level than him. This was why he was able to pierce them easily. There wasn’t
much resistance against his Mana. The humans had no real understanding
about Artpe’s ability, so it looked as if Demons were being killed every time he
swung his whip. Their morale rose as they cheered.
“The peerless magician is helping us! The Demons are so scared that they
aren’t able to attack us properly!”
“Rush them! It is time! Don’t let this opportunity slip away!”
The knights and Dungeon Merchants shouted at the same time as they faced off
against the Demons. However, the Demons were still dying at the same rate, yet
the human force was getting smaller at a faster rate. Basically, the humans were
too weak!
‘This won’t do. How ridiculous would it be if we can’t defend against the Lunatic
Wave, because of this?’
Even if it would disadvantage him later on against the Lunatic Wave, should he
kill all the Demons right now by pouring out all his magical energy? It happened
when Artpe was dithering.
“Hooo-ahhhhhhp!”
“Eh-eet!”
“Koo-hahk!”
“Koo-ohhhhh!?”
Finally, Maetel and Sienna had arrived at the battlefield!
“Huhk. Those girls were the ones that caused the big ruckus earlier…....”
“Berserker! That girl is a Berserker! Is she perhaps a Demon…..”
The nobles and knights, who were in the midst of fighting against the Demons,
flinched in surprise. However, the two girls didn’t pay any attention to the gazes
they were receiving from the other humans. They charged towards the Demons.
“Ha!”
“Hoo-oohp!”
Maetel gripped her long sword as she used Acceleration. It was as if she was
sliding across the surface of the ground. Each time her sword lashed out several
Demons were cut down. Sienna threw her Sledge Hammer. It crushed the head
of a Demon that was about to break through the line of humans.
“She’s strong!”
“My god······ She wasn’t part of the Demon race!?”
Once she invoked her power, Maetel didn’t stop. She activated Berserk to push
the power of her muscles to the extreme. She planted her foot into the ground,
and she shot forth like an arrow. She pierced through the body of a Demon.
“Koo, hahk…...”
“Next.”
The Demons that were left were all over level 200. They were strong, yet even in
Artpe’s past life, the hero had easily ignored the level difference. The Demons
were cut down with a single strike.
“No one here was able to face a Demon one on one, yet she killed it with one
blow!?”
“Strong······ They are too strong!”
“Hooooooo-ahhhhhhp!”
At that moment, Sienna had reached the spot where she had thrown her
hammer. As soon as she retrieved it, she filled herself with magical energy, and
she stomped on the ground. The wave of magical energy had a widespread
effect as it impacted against the Demons. At the same time, it imparted healing
energy towards the humans. It was a main skill used by the Warrior Priestess. It
was called the Divine Ground.
“Ggooh-ahhhhhhhhk!”
“What is that cursed ability!”
“Priestess! She’s a Priestess!”
“That girl was a Warrior Priestess!”
“The girl that was having a fight of passion with the Berserker was a Warrior
Priestess…. It seems the temple has gone full monty.”
It didn’t matter where she was or what point in her development she was in.
Artpe knew Maetel was crazy strong. The unexpected one was Sienna. She
hadn’t reached level 160, yet the Demons were unable to anything against her
attacks. It was a shocking sight.
No, she’ll probably move past level 160 soon. Around half of the Demons here
would be turned
Into her EXP.
‘Evil Reflector······ I knew that her race was created as an antagonistic force
towards the Demon race, but I never expected it to be like this.’
Sienna’s magical energy rebuffed the Demons, and all her skills contained her
magical energy. This meant all her skills had the effect of dispersing magical
energy of the Demons. Artpe had known all of this, yet it was entirely different to
see her in action.
‘Can’t I just make her the hero?’
One thing was for sure. The decision to accept Sienna as a party member was
one of the finest decisions he had made in his life.
“That weak brat became so strong in just one year.”
It seemed Sienna’s performance had also left behind a big impression on
Mycenae. He smirked when he heard her express her admiration. He weighed
in on the situation with his words.
“Humans normally change really quickly just like that.”
“That is the strength of the humans…..”
“Strength······.”
Artpe hadn’t planned on praising the human race as a whole. The fact that
humans changed rapidly was a strength, but it was also a crucial weakness.
‘Since she’s a priestess….. Nope, that’s fine.’
His mind had wandered during battle. It seemed he couldn’t let go of the habit he
picked up as the Four Heavenly King. Artpe clicked his tongue as he swung his
Mana String.
“Let’s wrap this up quickly. The night has just begun.”
“That is also my wish, customer.”
Mycenae laughed as she answered him. When her Mana arrow was reloaded
into the ballista, a loud sound of an explosion was heard from the port.
“It’s here.”
Artpe clicked his tongue as he mumbled to himself. At that moment, humans and
the Demons under the influence of the madness curse stopped what they were
doing for a brief moment.
“Oh no.”
“This is nuts….. Can it be? It’s happening right now?”
“Oh my god.”
[Zeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!]
Afterwards, an ear-splitting sound rang out through the entire city.
It was an alarm magic that warned of an impending Lunatic Wave.
Chapter 57 - Lunatic Wave (3)

After the ambush by the Demons, the Lunatic Wave had arrived. It was said that
unfortunate events happened in series. It perfectly described what Frate was
facing
“Luantic Wave! I’m sure it’s the Lunatic Wave! Lord! Where’s the lord!?”
“He’s already at the port······ I see! The lord had already foreseen this!”
“I believe a Lunatic Wave happened during the summer time several hundred
years ago at a different port city!”
All the port cities had guidelines for what to do in a Lunatic Wave. Even the
guests visiting the city knew it.
However, even if one wanted to follow the guideline, it was impossible to do so
with the Demons in their way. The knights finally realized the intent of the
Demon King’s army, and they quivered in anger.
“My god. Did the Demons use the curse to induce the Luantic Wave!”
“The Demon King is sacrificing his subordinate Demons to bring Diaz to ruins?
How laughable!”
Of course, the Demon King had no intention of sacrificing his subordinate
Demons.
However, there was no need for Artpe to step forward, and say something like ‘In
truth, I’m the one that made the Demons go crazy!’
“Koohk. Those damned Demons!”
“Die! Die! We won’t let you do as you like! You won’t bring ruin to Diaz!”
The people were going to die by the Lunatic Wave, while they were fighting off
the Demons. Of course, their heart was in the dumps.
Artpe had all killed all the Demons that were weakly affected by the curse.
Those were the Demons that would have gone off script. Now the remaining
Demons surged forward as they matched the intensity displayed by the humans.
The Demons rampaged as if they had lost their minds.
“I was hoping the Lunatic Wave would be delayed, but those were merely hopeful
thoughts.”
Artpe clicked his tongue as he looked over the battlefield…. When Maetel and
Sienna had joined the fight, the battle had tilted completely towards the humans.
After he confirmed this truth, he nodded his head.
“It’ll all work out somehow. As expected, Maetel is a cheat.”
Since Maetel and Sienna was at this site, everything would wrap up quickly. It
would be good for him to stay here and earn EXP from killing the Demons, but
Artpe’s abilities would be more effective elsewhere. Instead of the small confines
of the auction house where he couldn’t move without getting into a fight, he
would be able to borrow the power of nature to create a miracle at the port!
“Ajumma, I’ll be going to the port…….”
“······ooh ooh.”
After he made a quick plan of action, he was about to move when Mycenae firmly
grabbed the sleeve of Artpe’s robe. She had her head turned away to avoid
facing Artpe, yet she had a firm grip on him. Artpe was dumbfounded, so he
asked her a question.
“······what are you doing?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Shouldn’t we move after we wrap things up here....”
“······.”
It was a busy situation where every second counted, so why was she acting as if
she was weak? He was about to yell at her, but he caught sight of Mycenae’s
ears. Her ears were fluttering delicately. Artpe’s eyebrows furrowed.
‘She’s been weirdly afraid, since a while ago. Maybe….’
Did she perhaps have Demon-phobia?
Artpe tested his theory as he took a step away from her. She let out a gasp, and
she gripped him tighter. It was a completely different sight from the brave figure
that had been firing her ballista by his side.
“You······.”
“Maybe you can take me with you? Yes?”
“Ajumma, how were you able to function as a Dungeon Merchant until now······?”
Artpe let out a sigh. The tremble in her ears became worse when he moved away
from her and when the screams of the Demons increased in loudness. He knew
he couldn’t do anything about this.
“Yes, I guess nothing will change if you leave this place. All right. We’ll go
together.”
“Hoo-ooooh.”
She let out a sigh of relief as she put away the ballista. Afterwards, she looked
over the auction house one last time. There were people screaming their hearts
out as they fought with their lives on the line. Then there were the people that
couldn’t exit the auction house. They couldn’t fight, so these people were
hiding…..
Then there were the pathetic humans that were trying to find the missing auction
items with bright eyes. She also caught sight of the Greed Beast that let out a
happy cry as it ate all the curse and evil energy.
“I’ll see you later.”
[Mee-ahhhhhhhhng!]
Artpe whispered in a low voice, and the Greed Beast gave a rumbling answer.
He had feared the worst case scenario might have come true. He had
wondered if the Greed Beast would consider Artpe, who was the owner of the
egg, as an enemy. Fortunately, the Greed Beast had acknowledged him as its
master.
“Hooo.”
When he heard its reply, he smirked as he grabbed Mycenae’s hand. Then he
lightly pushed off the ground.
In the next moment, the two arrived at a location far away from the auction
house.
“Huh······?”
Mycenae blinked her eyes when her surrounding suddenly changed. She looked
around as she spoke in an accusatory tone towards Artpe.
“I wasn’t able to sense you activating your magic.”
“Usually, the magic spells infused into Artifacts can be activated in a stealthy
manner.”
“Customer, you have an artifact with Teleportation magic….. Uh-muh?”
Mycenae felt Artpe grip her hand again. He once again pushed off the ground,
and they traveled a distance of several hundred meters. Her eyes widened when
she saw this.
“Did you perhap use Blink right now!?”
“After I reinforced it, I’m able to move bring along another person.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. Blink was a spell developed as a means for a
caster to escape from danger by himself-kyahhhhk!”
Artpe didn’t give Mycenae time to reply as he used it once more. For reference,
the boots worn by Artpe had reached this state.
[Blessing of the Wind Spirit’s Boots+2]
[The black leather boots is infused with wind. It was reinforced twice with a
special skill to be made into a legendary artifact. The user can use Blink five
times a day without consuming any Mana. The Blink can also be activated when
the user is being attacked, and anyone in contact with the User can be moved
too. Additional Mana can be used to activate Blink. The additional Mana
increases the travel radius by a significant amount.]
“It would be great if I can reinforce it one more time. However, if I want to
reinforce it further, I’m going to need a Magic Stone.”
“I’ve heard about the legends regarding enchanters. There are so many types of
reinforcement enchanting skills. They can be temporary or permanent. There
are ones that requires the user to fulfill a special requirement to activate it. There
also ones that can be used on humans, inanimate objects, the environment…..
Then there is the reinforcement skill that is above all other reinforcement skills. It
allows one to ‘overlap the reinforcement skill’ on the same item.”
“I didn't know the Reinforcement skill I earned was that type of Reinforcement
skill..”
Of course, he had gained this great Reinforcement skill in the Hero’s
development Dungeon. It really was a bitter experience, but he couldn’t deny the
fact that Maetel and he had gained many important things in there.
“In that sense, I’m going to Blink two more times.”
“Wait a m-kyahhhhhhhhk!”
The boots’ Blink activated, and he was used to using it now. It really took them
two Blinks for Artpe and Mycenae to arrive on the port’s barrier wall, which was
facing the ocean. The monsters were crawling in front of them. There were
more monster than there were high waves.
“We are here.”
“How can this be Blink? What the hell is….”
“Huhk! Magician! Also, weren’t you the merchant from the Anywhere company?”
“As always, I am in your care….ah-yaht.”
The lord was tirelessly moving along the wall to encourage the soldiers. He
became surprised when he saw Artpe. Even in such a desperate situation,
Mycenae was trying to go into her business mode. Artpe poked her in her side,
so she would back off. He surveyed the situation.
“Fortunately, we are still at the early stages of the Lunatic Wave, so the weak
ones are coming to shore.”
“Y...you are correct! However, we are faced with a problem. This isn’t the only
region where the monsters will try to invade. Somehow we were able to raise the
1st tier barrier wall around the whole place….
“You encountered a problem when trying to raise the 2nd tier walls.”
They had built 3 stages of barrier walls to stop the sea monsters from entering
the city.
Normally the 1st tier of barriers were buried deep within the water. It was raised
when the Lunatic Wave was about to happen. It was easy to put in place, but it
also meant that the wall was low. Basically, it could take care of the minor
monsters, but the monsters above them would break through it.
The ships in the dock had to be isolated in specific locations for the 2nd tier of
barrier walls to be activated. It was a barrier made out of magic. It was a barrier
made out of a large concentration of Mana, so it also had the effect was
attracting the monsters to stay near the wall. It was a fantastic barrier, but….
“Everyone’s ships are docked at the pier.”
“That is a problem…..”
They didn't have the time to isolate the ships into their designated locations, so
the barrier couldn’t be put up. The fact that they were even able to raise the 1st
barrier wall was an effort to be commended. The lord let out a deeper sigh.
“We tried to skip the 2nd barrier to raise the 3rd barrier. However, the ships that
were parked between the 1st and 3rd barrier prevents us from raising the 3rd.”
“Hmmm······ From my perspective, it doesn’t sound like a big problem.”
“What?”
Before Artpe spoke again, he turned his head to survey his surrounding.
Everyone was busily moving around in an attempt to do their assigned tasks, so
no one would be able to hear their conversation.
“Lunatic Wave is a natural disaster. Even if all the customers here lost their
possessions, they won’t be able to lodge a complaint against you. Isn’t there a
treaty between countries that specify this stipulation?”
“A...as expected of a magician, you are well informed…..”
“If you hadn’t defended against the Lunatic Wave aggressively like you are doing
right now, it might be a different story. However, you are doing your best right
now, so they won’t be able to place the blame on you. Isn’t it so? You are
working your heart out right now.”
Artpe’s words completely untied the knot within the lord’s heart. A small smile
returned to the face of the lord.
“That’s right. You are right. Yes, I was worried for nothing. The lives of our
people are the most important! Absolutely! Then we have to put up the 3rd tier
barriers….”
“No, why are you jumping to that conclusion?”
“Mmm?”
The lord tilted his head in puzzlement. If the gesture was done by a cute girl, it
was forgivable. However, an old man was making such a gesture, and it was
really creepy. Artpe pushed down the urge to beat him up, and he continued his
explanation.
“It is as I've said, lord. If we do our best, no one will complain even if we destroy
all their possessions.”
“That is why I said we should ignore the boats to put up the 3rd tier barriers….
Ooh-mmm?”
At that moment, the lord finally understood what Artpe was getting at. The
raising of the 3rd tier barriers weren’t their best option…. If they did their
absolute best, they would be able to raise the 2nd barrier!
The lord’s face was filled with shock. At that moment, Artpe smirked as he
continued speaking.
“In the process of us fighting hard, we can destroy all the ships. We can sink
them all, and they wouldn’t be able must up a complaint. Aren’t I right?”
“Y...you.”
Devil! The Devil was right in front of him! The lord’s face turned pale as he
shook his head. There had been a hint of a smile on Artpe’s lips, but now that
smile deepened. The words that drove the final nail in was spoken by Artpe.
“If we are to do this, we have to do it now, lord. The figures from the foreign
lands are all gathered at the auction house.”
“······d...did you perhap put all of this into your calculation!”
When Artpe heard his words, the corner of his mouth lifted as he smiled. Yes,
this was the moment he had been waiting for. From a deep place inside his soul,
the instincts of the Four Heavenly king boiled up to the surface. He started
bluffing hard!
“Of course! From the beginning to the end, I’ve calculated everything!”
Of course, he was lying.
The lord’s whole body shook at such ruthless and evil calculations made by the
magician.
However, it didn’t take him too long to nod his head.
Chapter 58 - Lunatic Wave (4)

“Since we are going to do this….. We have to be as discreet as possible.”

“I’m not sure what you are trying to say. I said the possessions of the guests
would be damaged during the heat of the battle, but I never said I would do
something myself.”
“What?”
The lord had hardened his heart. He finally convinced himself to go along with
Artpe’s suggestion, yet Artpe had given him such a shameless answer.
When the lord was about to answer him, an enormous merchant ship that was
docked near them started to sink
This was happening despite the fact that the monsters were still being held back
at the 1st barrier walls!
“You······.”
“Amazing! I never expected to a sea monster that can attack from long distance
would make its appearance!”
“There is no way anyone would believe such bull….hoohp.”
The lord was using his reasonable part of his brain to tackle this issue. However,
he shut his mouth when Artpe gave him a sharp look. Mycenae acted as if she
had already stopped listening to the conversation. She started mounting her
ballista on the wall.
“Ee-yah. It is an incredibly strong monster. That, that and that…. Those boats
are all sinking.”
“Customer, it looks as if you are enjoying this more than anything I’ve seen you
do before. Am I mistaken?”
“I...it is a terrifying monster. It’s a terrifying monster. Yes, a monster….”
Everything could always be justified by using force. The lord was holding back
tears. He knew the truth, yet he couldn’t reveal the truth. Artpe ignored him as
he used his Mana Strings to sink the ships in order.
He made holes in the hull of some ships, and he capsized others. Artpe
possessed the Read All Creation ability, so he could clearly see the internal
structure of the ships. He was able to easily sink a ship by lightly swinging his
Mana Strings.
“W...what the hell is going on······.”
“T...the attacks are coming from unexpected places! Everyone be prepared!”
“The ships are all sinking….. How are they doing that!”
The soldiers and knights had been busily running around on top of the wall when
they caught sight of the sinking ships in the coastal waters in front of Frate. The
sight boggled their minds.
What would happen if a monster with such overwhelming power attacked them
instead of boats? Strangely, this particular monster was focused on sinking ships
rather than killing humans!
“The ocean is already crawling monsters, so we can’t run away through that
route. However, they are specifically targeting the ships…...”
“The Lunatic Wave came much earlier than expected….. It will be hard year.
However, we gained something when they sunk all our ships! Isn’t that right,
lord!”
“Lord!”
Everyone on the 1st barrier wall turned to look at the lord. He knew the dirty and
evil truth, so he didn’t have to fake his bitter expression. He raised his voice.
“We’ll activate the 2nd tier barrier wall! Everyone aside from the members
manning the 1st barrier should all come with me!”
“Yes, sir!”
“We will follow our lord!”
The fighting spirit of the humans were boiling upwards. The lord had a heavy
expression on his face. It was as if he was asking himself, ‘Is it really alright to
do this?’
However, it was true that they had gained more time by following Artpe’s
instructions. The extra time was precious in defending against the monsters.
The lord let out a bitter laugh as he lowered his head towards Artpe.
“Magician, may I leave the 1st tier of barrier walls in your care?”
“Of course. You should withdraw everyone from here. You should divert them to
the 2nd and 3rd tier barrier walls. No, it isn’t just the barriers. Don’t you have a
lot to do within Frate?”
“The fact that you are here during a crisis makes me feel very reassured…..
Then I’ll leave this all to you.”
They had gained a lot of time thanks to Artpe, but this didn’t change the fact that
they were still in a desperate situation. The lord hastily gathered all the soldiers
and knights. They left to activated the 2nd tier barriers.
This meant the only ones facing the ocean on the 1st barrier wall was Artpe and
Mycenae. No one else had stayed behind.
“Huh?”
Artpe was flustered as he mumbled to himself.
“He really took everyone!?”
“That’s what you get for bluffing and acting high and mighty.”
Mycenae grumbled as she loaded and shot her ballista. It pierced several
monsters that surged up from the surface of the water. However, there were so
many monsters that one could hardly notice the loss of these monsters.
“Anyways, you’ve already spoken those words, so you have to take
responsibility. This might be obvious, but I cannot hold them back by myself.”
“Still, I never expected him to pull out everyone….”
As it was noted before, the 1st barrier wall was low in height. Since the Lunatic
Wave had started not too long ago, the monsters they could see were small fries.
However, monsters that could easily jump over the barrier would show up soon.

This was especially true for monsters that had the upper body of a human, and
the tail of a fish.
When these monsters surged out of the water, their lower body changed into
human legs. The merfolk were the greatest threat during the Lunatic Wave.
When the merfolks made their appearance, it was fair to assume that the 1st tier
of barrier was useless.
“I have to cover this large area by myself…... Whatever. I’ll do it.”
He had been unable to break the habit of bluffing. It had carried over from his
days as the Four Heavenly King. He could blame no one, but himself!
Moreover, it wasn’t as if he didn’t have a plan he could use for this scenario.
Artpe admonished himself as he vowed to become a little bit more humble in the
future. Then he activated his Mana.
“Customer, it isn’t too late to talk to the lord…..”
“No, just wait.”
Artpe had an aggrieved expression on his face as he placed a hand on top of the
barrier wall. He activated his Read All Creation ability, and he was meticulous in
finding out the exact structure of the barrier wall that was separating the ocean
and Frate. Mycenae had no idea what he was trying to do, but she was getting
more and more anxious.
“Customer, there are so many monsters gathered at the base of the wall that
they’ll form a mountain.”
“Just wait.”
“Customer, I caught sight of mermen and mermaids in the distance.”
“Just wait.”
“Customer······.”
“It is done.”
When Mycenae thought the barrier wall was going to fall in its entirety, Artpe was
able to confirm the structure of the barrier wall. We succeeded in gathering all
the information. When he raised his head, his frightening purple eyes flashed.
“Customer, that monster is about to cross over the barrier….”
“They won’t be able to come over now.”
As he confidently made the declaration, he activated a single magic. It was
aimed at the point of contact between the barrier wall and the ocean waters.
Basically, Artpe’s magic would be applied when the monsters tried to climb over
the wall. It was the Hyper Rubbing spell. It had developed during the fight with
the Demons, so it had reached an overpowering level of 49.
“Customer, did you just use that right now…. Mmmm?”
“There are two ways of activating the Hyper Rubbing. The first method is to rub
against a target. The second method is to impart the power of rubbing on a
target.”
In the past, he had rubbed the floor to make it slick. He had used the first
method to do this. The second method was used when he imbued the power of
rubbing onto the soap during the shower.
Of course, it was possible to combine the two methods. This was seen when he
used his Mana String whip. However, the method he was using right now was
the second method.
“The ocean water······ No, it’s the monsters!”
When he first learned Hyper Rubbing, all he could do was to rub his target in a
vigorous manner. Even if he put in a lot of Mana into the spell, he couldn’t
created a magic that could change one’s environment.
In the past, magicians thought about researching the Hyper Rubbing spell, but it
was useless in practical life. No one dared to use it in battle. This was why most
could raise it to level 20 on average. Level 30 was the highest someone had
developed it before. Artpe had also thought that level 30 was the limit of Hyper
Rubbing.
[Koo-goo-rooooooooooo!]
[Kee-ahhhhhhhhhk!]
However, he didn’t have any of the spells that had been available to him in his
past life. He had no choice, but to rely on the Hyper Rubbing spell. In turn, he
had found ways to use the magic spell in real battles, and it had widened his
repertoire. He realized a truth about the world through this meaningless magic,
but his biggest achievement was the growth of the Hyper Rubbing spell. It
wouldn’t be an exaggeration if one called him the Emperor of Friction.
“T...the waves…. New waves that seems to be resisting against the waves of the
oceans are forming!”
“The friction causes vibration. As I control the Mana, I can control the cycle and
intensity of the vibration.”
The waves started small, but the waves kept adding to each other as the size of
the waves grew larger. Artpe was raising the barrier wall as he controlled the
vibration caused by the friction. He even controlled the waves that were forming
as he grew the size of the waves.
[Kyahhhhhhhhhhhk!]
[Kee-heeeeek! Kyahhhhk!]
This was occurring everywhere the barrier wall was installed!
“Amazing······ You are too incredible, customer! Still, it would have been simpler
if you used the magic spell that creates waves!”
“I don’t have it! I don’t have such magic!”
Artpe threw a tantrum as he created a bigger wave. Most of the weak monsters
could not overcome the waves. They were pushed backwards. Even if monsters
were strong enough to push past the waves, they couldn’t withstand the
incredible amount of friction being created by the barrier wall. They were
repelled.
In other words, Artpe was really defending the 1st tier barrier walls by himself.
“L...look over there.”
“Magician-nim has control over nature.”
“W...we shouldn’t be doing this right now ! While Magician-nim is buying us time,
let us complete the 2nd tier barrier walls.!”
However, Artpe wasn’t done yet. He had somewhat recovered the magical
energy he had expended when he placed the Hyper Rubbing spell on the entirety
of the barrier wall. He once again placed his hand on the barrier wall.
“Customer, you should help me now to snipe the monsters…. What are you
doing now?”
“Reinforcement.”
Artpe’s hand flashed, and a massive amount of Mana flowed out of him again.
All of the Mana was put into the barrier wall. The barrier wall slowly started to
vibrate more as it let out a purple light.
“Wait a moment. This isn’t an artifact. How are you going to use Reinforcement
on a regular barrier wall….kyahhhhhhhhhk!”
Mycenae had been doubting Artpe until the barrier wall started to shake. He
easily took her by surprise again.
The 1st tier barrier walls were about to become obsolete, since the troop of
mermen could easily overcome the low barrier walls. However, when the 1st tier
barrier walls received Artpe’s Mana, the wall evolved at a fundamental level. Of
course, its sturdiness had increased, but it also increased in overall size!
“All right. I think I can use Reinforcement twice on the wall in one sitting…. I’m
going again.!”
“Kyahhhhhhhhhhhk!”
Another round of purple light burst forward, and in a flash, the barrier wall surged
upwards! It was over 10 meters in height!
“Ohhhhhhhhhhh! Magician-nim breathed his magic into the barrier!”
“It grew! It is about the same size as the 2nd tier barrier walls! Oh my god!
What is his level!”
[Vibrating wall infused with the will to protect Frate+2]
[This nameless and plain barrier wall had been touched by the hands of a
magician. The records of the people, who had fought in the past Lunatic Waves,
were absorbed. The wall was born again, and this process affected the power of
the special spell that was placed on the barrier wall. It turned into a large artifact
that can emit vibration.]
Artpe let out an embarrassed laughter when the artifact was born. He hadn’t
expected it to work.
“Ha ha ha. I’ve done it again.”
“Customer, you always cause trouble, but…. The scale of this is too big!”
Artpe didn’t need to maintain his Hyper Rubbing any more. The barrier wall had
been given the power of vibration, so it could repel the weak monsters with
waves by itself. Even if monsters could approach the wall, it could increase the
intensity of it vibration to cause damage to the monsters. And to top it off, the
barrier wall was too tall now. Monsters couldn’t even attempt at jumping over the
wall.
“Ah, the large troop of mermen are here.”
“You are right. They are coming…. They were a step too late.”
The troop of monster mermen had confident expressions on their face as if to
say, ‘We’ll just climb over that low barrier wall!’
They had an exquisite timing in making their appearance. It made one want to
ask them if they were the main characters of this story.
[Goo-rooo-roo······ Ooh-uhng?]
[High! It is high!]
They finally arrived at the 1st tier barrier walls. However, these weren’t the
human made walls that they had heard about from their mothers and fathers.
They were baffled. The mermen froze as they came face to face with the
massive barrier wall.
It was supposed to be a wall they could easily jump over…..
[Ggoo-uhhhhhhng! Wall! It hurts!]
[We can’t cross it! The wall is insurmountable!]
[I want to go home!]
The troop of mermen and mermaids despaired at their twisted reality. Naturally,
they took steps to avoid the reality. However, Artpe wouldn’t let them do so.
Mana Strings were emitted from the tip of his fingers. He no longer needed to
maintain his Hyper Rubbing spell. He could slaughter them to his heart’s content
now!
[Koo-ahhhhhhhk!]
[Keeeeeeek!]
“You aren’t even worth much EXP, yet you dare to come here! Come back with
stronger monsters!”
“Mmmm······ It seems we no longer need the 2nd and 3rd tier barriers…..”
Mycenae carefully observed her surrounding as she raised her ballista.
After two hours, the nobles from the other countries that had been occupied with
the battle against the Demons came running towards the port. They despaired
when they found no traces of their boats. They realized their ships had all sunk.
Even at that moment, not a single monster was able to cross the 1st tier barrier
wall.
Chapter 59 - Lunatic Wave (5)

“Artpe!”
“Oppa!”
The moment Maetel neatly annihilated all the Demons she came running towards
the port. In a flash, she used her amazing jumping ability to climb atop the
vibrating wall. It took her a single leap, and when she arrived at the top, she
clung to Artpe. As if Sienna didn’t want to lose to Maetel, she tried to jump onto
the wall, but her physical ability was inferior compared to Maetel. She had to
push off once more midway up the wall.
“Artpe. You did this, right?”
“That’s right.”
“It is really high up here!”
Maetel’s Mana detection had always been exceptional, but it became much more
sensitive as she traveled with Artpe.
She was like a hound that could smell anything that possessed Artpe’s Mana.
When she saw the unique wavelength of his Mana being emitted in droves from
the barrier wall, she knew his hands had touched the wall.
[Keeeeek! Come down here, humans!]
[L...listen to my song! Hear me sing!]
The more important fact right now was the fact that numerous monsters including
mermen were unable to invade the territory of humans. This was thanks to the
barrier wall being in the way.
Artpe and Mycenae were killing a massive amount of monsters, but the number
of monsters present in the ocean was growing. It was said that the ocean was a
treasure trove of life, and this phrase was being proven right by the massive
number of monsters that was continually growing.
It made one wonder if there was an end to this monster rush.
“We are fine for now. We’ll be able to relax until the barrier walls falls. ”
“Ah. So that is why I saw people carrying out tasks all over the city instead of
manning the wall.”
“I found it particularly reprehensible that they left everything to you….. If an
outsider saw this, one would think you were Frate’s lord.”
The residents of Frate had many tasks to do if they wanted to face the Lunatic
Wave. Food had to be put away as reserve. Then they had to close several
roads that could be used by the monsters once they entered the city. More
barriers had to be erected on the roads.
However, this year’s Lunatic Wave had arrived so suddenly that they would have
had to endure it with nothing but their body. However, Artpe had executed an
effective plan that had given all humans within the city some time. It had given
the humans some breathing room. It was unintentional, but Artpe was carrying
out tasks that befit a hero.
“Artpe is too kind.”
Maetel had no idea how a wall could continuously vibrate and make waves
without an outside source of Mana. However, she understood that many people
would be saved thanks to what Artpe had done. However, Artpe decisively
shook his head from side to side.
“I’m not kind. I just want to smash all the plans hatched by the Demon King.
Moreover, I want to kill all the monsters, so I can monopolize the rewards.”
“Hoo-hoo.”
Whenever he got embarrassed, he always uttered such silly things. Maetel
found that part about him to be endearing. Maetel was having such thoughts to
herself. Artpe snorted as he avoided her gaze. As consequence, the blameless
monsters were cut into pieces by the Mana Strings.
Instead of flirting with Artpe, Sienna had decided to kill the monsters. However,
when she caught sight of the mermen, she tilted her head in confusion. She
asked Artpe a question.
“Oppa, they look like humans. They aren’t humans?”
“Mmm······ I guess this is a good opportunity to give you this explanation.”
The mermen had pushed through the wave to approached the barrier wall.
However, they couldn’t do anything, because of the vibration caused by the wall.
Unlike the dog-headed Gnolls, the mermen had the ability to adapt. They gave
up on trying to climb over the wall, and they focused on directly attacking the
humans on top of the wall.
Their upper body looked human above the surface of the water, and their lower
body was under the surface of the water. It made it very difficult to differentiate
them from humans.
“In the case where monsters look like humans, it is mostly a ploy to take the
humans off their guard. Since they look like humans, it causes humans to have a
sense of kinship with these types of monsters. It drops the guard of the humans.
These types of monsters use this weakness to attack their opponents.”
“Yes, I see. Is that how it is?”
Maetel was a cruel hero. When she determined her opponents were bad guys, it
didn’t matter if her opponents were humans or non-humans. She ruthlessly cut
them down. She tilted her head as she asked a question. Artpe brushed off her
words as he continued to speak.
“There is nothing strange about monsters resembling humans. The dominant
race of this land are humans. The important thing isn’t the appearance of the
monsters. It is more about our mental attitude towards the monsters.”
“Artpe, that shouldn’t be a problem for us, right?”
Maetel once again let out a bright smile as she butted into the conversation.
“When they do bad things, we kill them. However, that doesn’t mean all
monsters do bad things!”
“······yes, that’s right.”
She got half of the answer right. Despite this fact, Artpe let out a bitter laugh as
he nodded his head. He acknowledged her anwer. For Maetel and Sienna, the
depth of this answer was sufficient. The rest could be taken care of by Artpe.
‘It would be great if good and evil can be determined in such a simple manner…
The problem arises from the fact that not all monsters are evil. There are
monsters that have developed their intelligence, so they have the self-control
needed to suppress the urge to harm other creatures. Sometimes it is hard to
determine the line between monsters and other foreign races. This problem
comes up for discussion sometimes between humans and even the Demon
race… Tsk. I can think about this later.’
Artpe retracted such thoughts as he raised his head. Many mermen had thrown
their body against the vibrating wall early on, so their body was dyed with their
blue-colored blood. All their eyes had turned red, and they were throwing spears
towards Artpe and Maetel. It seems these mermen were unable to control their
base instincts.
There were many individual differences between Mermen. They were similar in
that facet as the humans! However, none of them should have been affected by
the Lunatic Wave. So they didn’t have to think too hard before acting against the
mermen!
“That is why we can just kill them all.”
“Yes. Understood, oppa!”
Sienna let out a bright smile as she extended both her hands. She possessed a
special Mana that was unique to her. She was the only person on this world,
who possess it. Her Mana flowed through her body, and it gathered at her
fingertips.
“Divine Punishment!”
She couldn’t jump into the ocean to wage an underwater warfare. This was why
she chose to use the attack magic of a priestess! She possessed a high rank
class of Warrior Priestess, yet she hadn’t been able to learn much specialized
skills of her Class. However, she had learned a simple spell where she could
smite her enemies by gathering her holy power.
“Divine Punishment! Divine Punishment! Divine Punishment!”
Normally, this attack magic was used to keep others in check. However, Sienna
was able to overlap this weak attack magic multiple times to expand its power
and area of effect. She was able to come up with a powerful magic on the spot,
and the attack struck the ocean.
It was the same concept of waves adding to other waves to create an enormous
wave. She combined several attack magic into one. She was able to cause
meaningful damage to her targets!
[Kee-ahhhhhk!]
[It hurts! I want to go home!]
[Koo-hahk!]
Sienna’s overpowering magical energy washed was the ocean, and it inflicted
stun effects to the monsters. If one didn’t know she was a Warrior Priestess, one
would mistake her for a magician.
“She really does have talent for magic…. Huh?”
Artpe was lamenting the fact that Sienna had been unable to traverse the road
suited for her when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve. He turned to look
behind him. It was none other than Maetel. Her cheeks were puffed out.
“Artpe, what should I do? There are too many monsters to target each of them
with my long sword!”
“You can’t do anything here. You should make preparations. I’m sure the higher
ranked monsters will show up later. You should eat and recover your stamina.”
“I’m not hungry yet!”
“Over here!”
“Everyone gather over here! The inner wall isn’t vibrating. Place the ladder
here!”
Maetel was sulking in a major way as she stamped her feet. At that moment,
humans were climbing ladders to climb up the 1st tier barrier wall. The number
of humans on top of the wall was steadily growing. These were foreign nobles,
merchants and knights. They had just finished lamenting the fact that their boats
had sunk to the bottom of the sea. Afterwards, they had had come to the barrier
wall with their fighting equipments.
Even if they were foreigners, they couldn’t ignore the danger being face by Frate!
“I’ll help in the defense, magician-nim!”
“Magician, thanks to you this city...no, this country was saved. From now on, I
will help you with everything I got!”
“······could you point out which son of a…. Could you point out which monster
sunk our ships?”
Artpe put on a suitable business smile as he assigned them to various parts of
the wall.
Maetel finally came to a big decision as she raised her head.
“I understand now..”
“You should go there…. I told you I don’t know which one did it. Salvage? You
should ask your own country about that…. Huh? What did you just say,
Maetel?”
“It’s been my dream of mine to enter into the ocean!”
She had suddenly made an offbeat announcement, Artpe was going to laugh it
off. However, Maetel didn’t give him the chance to reply to her words. She took
couple short breaths before jumping off the barrier wall.
“Ee-yahhhhhhhhhhhhhp!”
She didn’t jump towards the inner part of the wall. She jumped outwards where it
was teeming with hundreds of thousands of monsters! She jumped towards the
location crowded by an overwhelming number of monsters.
“Oooh-ahhhhhhhh, Maetel!”
“Huhk! The berserker jumped into the ocean!”
“As expected of the berserker…! I’m sure of it. She is trying to just end her life
through this fight!”
“I’m pretty sure she lost to the priestess in the quarrel for the magician's love.”
Crazy nonsense were being spouted by the people around him. Artpe wondered
if he should drop them all into the ocean, but he decided it wasn’t time to do that.
“Maetel, you idiot! Come back up here right now! If you had an artifact that
allowed you to walk on water, you might…….”
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhp!”
As always, Maetel extinguished Artpe’s worries. When she was about to hit the
surface of the water, she took a violent swing with her long sword. Three
mermen were cut open, and she used the recoil of the attack to jump once again
into the air!
“Eh-eet, hahp!”
[Koo-ahk!]
[Kyahhhhhhk!]
It would have been disappointing if it had ended with a single attack. However,
Maetel once again swung her sword right before she fell in a different location.
This times she cut open four monsters.
She kept repeating it again, again and again!
“Uh······.”
He had been about to use his Mana String to fish her out, but Artpe froze halfway
in an awkward position. She said it had been her dream to enter into the ocean,
yet there wasn’t a single drop of water on Maetel’s body. It was as if she was
playing on dry ground. She was hopping across the water!
“That is······ Uh…….”
“Customer, what am I supposed to say when you look at me as if to say ‘how is
that possible?’.......”
“Unni is amazing······.”
The fact that she was able to move around lightly without feeling the weight of
her armor was the norm for her.
However, she currently had to take into account of the location of the monsters,
their resistance to her attacks, the power of her swings, the recoil of her attacks
hitting the surface of the water…… The fact that she was able to calculate all of
that factors before moving…..
“······you want to try that, Alfred?”
“I'm sorry, lord. I’ll die if I try that.”
Artpe had wondered if other knights had Skills that would allow them to jump into
the ocean. Fortunately, no swordsman or warrior was able to do so. Everyone
was absentmindedly watching Maetel go ham on top of the ocean.
“Yes, it is as expected. She’s the one that is strange. It is only her.”
“This scene is worthy of being recorded in the history books. However, it does
look unsightly!”
It really would have been a interesting sight if around 100 knights jumped into the
ocean by following Maetel’s example. He was a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t
be able to see it, but he tamped down on such thoughts.
At that moment, he saw an enormous shadow appear in the distant ocean.
“Mmmm······.”
He felt an atmosphere that could only be felt when the final boss came out.
Artpe hoped it wasn’t the case, but when the enormous shadow entered into the
range of his Read All Creation ability, his hope was dashed into pieces.

[Kraken]
[Level : 267]
“My goodness. This is nuts.”
“What’s wrong, customer? If we can hold out like this for several days,
everything will be fine…..”
Artpe let out a bright laughter as he answered Mycenae’s question.
“The Kraken has surfaced.”
“······customer, you are really good at making a joke.”
If she really thought he was joking, she wouldn't have put away her ballista. She
was getting ready to run away. If it was Artpe’s words, Mycenae always trusted it
to be true before asking any questions. It was a somewhat praiseworthy and
cute.
“Where are you going?”
“Let me go!”
However, that was a separate issue. He wouldn’t let her run away. Mycenae
had quickly packed her items. However, he firmly gripped her should when she
turned away.
“Mycenae. Since, we’ve come this far together, let us meet our end together.”
“You only say my name in an attentive manner in situations like this! Let me go!
I have to live!”
“If you run away to the city, I’m sure there are Demons waiting for you.”
“Ooh-ahhhhhhh! Customer, you are bad! You are a bad guy!”
Mycenae let out a cry. In the next moment, it was as if the monster was
responding to her. A enormous tentacle appeared in the distant ocean.
The boss wave had begun.
Chapter 60 - Kraken (1)

Kraken.
It was a monster that existed since the distant past. It was a large monster of the
ocean. Over the numerous years, it had eaten its competitors to grow in size. It
had the combination of overwhelming size and massive amount of magical
energy. It was a calamitous monster. Sailors, who lived their entire life on the
ocean, couldn’t even catch sight of its shadow. Still, when it did show up, it
destroyed everything and everyone in the region. This was why no one knew if it
was a squid, an octopus or a crustacean. Still, this monster appeared frequently
in legends.
[Kraken]
[Level : 267]
[Oooh-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
Moreover, this Kraken had shown itself in the ocean in front of Frate. It was still
very far away, so Artpe could discern only two facts. The first fact was its level,
and the second fact was that the Kraken was a squid.
“It has impeccable timing!”
“Oppa, is that edible?”
“Nope. However, we usually eat their kind.”
The humans had been about to coalesce into a unified front in an effort to face
the monsters. It was supposed to be a tale of brotherhood and bravery amongst
the humans. However, the final boss had shown up at that moment!
“There is no doubt about it! It’s the real Kraken!”
“Its legs are incredible big!”
“C...can it be?”
“Kraken!? It really is that dreadful being!”
The current situation was so unfair that it verged on being immoral. It wasn’t the
case where a final boss made an appearance to scare its opponents. It had
locked in on Frate as its target, and it was making a beeline from the deep sea to
the coast!
[Kee-heeeeeee!]
[It’s here! That bastard is here!]
Humans weren’t the only ones to shake from fear in the presence of the Kraken.
The sea monsters had lost their mind as they coveted the inland, but they felt
fear when they realized the Kraken was approaching them.
[We follow its words. Obey!]
[If we don’t listen to it, we’ll die. We’ll all die.]
This was especially true for the mermen and mermaids. They spouted some
nonsense about obeying the Kraken. It seemed there was a clear hierarchy
between the Krakens and the mermen.
It was extremely rare for a monster of Kraken’s caliber to appear in a Lunatic
Wave. It seemed this Kraken was aggressive as it ruled over the mermen of this
region. It seemed the Kraken was the leading this Lunatic Wave!
“Why did it have to show up this year!”
“Customer, let me go! Please!”
“No way. If we are going to stay alive, we do it together. If there are going to be
any deaths, you will die alone.”
“Isn’t that a roundabout way of saying you’ll throw me out as bait, while you guys
run away! I’m right, aren’t I? Let me go!”
Mycenae was on the verge of tears as she fell to the floor.
In truth, she was well aware of the current situation. Once she decided not to run
away, she couldn’t escape the clutches of the Kraken.
Moreover, there was a record of her entering Frate. If she left solely on the basis
that the city was a dangerous place to be, a huge crack would form in her
qualification as a merchant. She would have thrown away her wares and
customers in pursuit of her own safety. Even if she was able to survive through
running away, it would be tough for her to be a merchant in the future.
“On the other hand, if you survive this, it might count as an Achievement.”
“Achievement······?”
Artpe’s words stopped Mycenae’s tears. A thought came to her when she heard
his words.
“When you say Achievement….. Are you perhaps…..”
“When one is trying to gain a high rank Class, this requirement is more important
than one’s level.”
“I have to put my life on the line if I want to move forward?”
“It is up to you to make the choice.”
He didn’t know how she felt about being a merchant. Since she was a Dark Elf,
he was sure there was some backstory as to why she became one. On the other
hand, she wouldn’t be able to drop the Class easily. This was true even if her life
was in danger.
“······how? Is there a method that’ll allow us to win against such a powerful
monster?”
In the end, she put strength into her two legs to stand up, and she carefully
posed the question to Artpe. He let out a sigh as he gave an answer.
“I’m working through that problem right now.”
Obviously, the humans in this place were of no help. The highest level amongst
them was lower in level than Sienna. None of them could last a second against
the Kraken. Moreover, there were only a very select number of people that could
use magic. Artpe and the Dungeon Merchants were the only ones that could use
magic.
“If the Kraken hits this barrier wall with its full strength, it’ll eventually fall.”
“Barrier wall…. Reinforcement… That’s right! Wait a moment, customer!”
It seemed Mycenae had come up with an idea. She desperately clung to him as
she asked him a question.
“Customer, didn’t you say you could duplicate the effects of Reinforcements if
you had Magic Stones?”
“I was talking about small items like my boots. If I want to further Reinforce such
a large barrier wall, the amount of Magic Stones I would need…..”
Artpe stopped mid-speech. Mycenae was looking straight at him with
incandescent eyes. This was the first time he had seen such sincere eyes since
she had talked about the Eternal Forest with her Soul Contract in hand.
“Is it possible, customer?”
Was that the reason?
Artpe acted out of character by talking somewhat seriously towards her.
“······according to my calculations, the Kraken won’t be able to destroy or cross
the barrier if I Reinforce it twice more.”
“Is it really possible for you to calculate the amount of Magic Stones you need?”
“I would need around 500 Magic Stones that is over level 200. It doesn’t matter
what properties they possess. It just has to be a high rank Magic Stones that is
over level 200.”
Magic Stones were rare drops from monsters. It was a crystallization of pure
Mana.
Each Magic Stone possessed different properties, and since it was the purest
form of Mana, it was often used as supplementary ingredients for artifacts. Of
course, it was traded at high prices. As the level of monster it had dropped from
increased, the price also increased precipitously.
Moreover, if one was talking about 500 Magic Stones that only dropped from
level 200 monster and above…..
“We could have bought every item put up for auction with that amount.”
“Even if we empty all of Diaz, I question as to whether that much Magic Stones
could be found.”
“It’ll show up. I’m sure it’ll show up.”
Mycenae spoke with strong conviction behind her words.
“Money can even summon ghosts.”
“You······.”
“I need to go and negotiate, customer. Please wait a moment. I’ll be sure to
bring all 500 of them.”
Mycenae immediately turned around as she jumped off the barrier wall.
However, it wasn’t the sight of someone trying to run away. The sight of her
retreating figure was something that could be seen only with a person that had
put their life on the line.
“She’s only an ajumma, yet she is trying to act cool······.”
However, at that moment, he was sure of one thing. If they were able survive
today’s ordeal safely, Mycenae would be able to advance to the high rank
Merchant Class.
‘Yes, if we are able to survive today…..’
The humans were running about in confusion at the appearance of the Kraken.
Alongside the humans, the monsters were plunged into a state of confusion too.
They were acting as if the world was ending today. As expected, the irresistible
urge to run away tempted everyone.
At that moment, Maetel realized that the Kraken had made its appearance, so
she hopped across the surface of the water. She returned to Artpe’s side.
“Artpe, what should we do to catch that thing?”
“If we make the ocean boil, wouldn't it cook completely on its own?”
“Wa-ah. I bet that’ll be delicious!”
Maetel let out an innocent laugh at Artpe’s joke. In the next moment, her lily-
white hand pinched Artpe’s cheek. Even in the corner of her smile, there was a
small piece of rage that was infused within it. It was a rage that was suited for a
Berserker.
“Ah-ya-ya.”
“I'm being serious right now. Artpe?”
“I’m being serious too. It would be great if someone would make the ocean boil.”
“How can there be a person in this world that can make the ocean boil!”
There weren't’ any humans that could do it, but there were Demons that could
pull it off. Artpe let out a sigh as he kept that answer to himself.
If Etna stepped forward to use her magic, she could solve this easily with one
attack. However, she was under the Demon King’s shackles, so she couldn’t get
directly involved in this matter. He frowned as he thought the world was really
fucked up. Artpe spoke towards Maetel.
“I trust Artpe, but I also know that there are things that are impossible to
accomplish in this world. Artpe, that is why…..”
Maetel whispered in a small voice. It was small enough that Artpe and Sienna
was the only ones that could hear her words.
“You have to tell me if we have no chance of winning. I’ll run away with Artpe
and Sienna in tow.”
“You’ll leave everyone to their certain death?”
“The fact that people will die makes me sad, but if Artpe dies, my world loses
meaning. Artpe is the one that taught me to choose what is more important to
me.”
It seems she received unnecessary specialized education from him!
Artpe clicked his tongue as he flicked her forehead.
“I can’t win against it, but I can make it retreat. So don’t even think about running
away.”
“Yes, I’ll put my trust in you. Just tell me what I have to do, Artpe.”
“Oppa, I’m ready too!”
Maetel and Sienna had killed Demons in the auction house earlier, and their
levels had risen thanks to it. Maetel was level 195, and Sienna’s level rose to
174.
If a little bit more time had been given to them, they would have easily broken
through level 200. This was to be expected of Maetel, but Sienna had also gone
through an explosive growth. It was thanks to her power to dominate and kill
strong enemies.
However, this didn’t mean they weren’t in danger.
“Since this is an absurdly dangerous task, a single mistake could kill you.”
“What do I have to do?”
“You have delay the Kraken as much as possible. You have to delay him as
much as possible. You have to hit it with meaningful attacks to attract its
attention, and you have to decrease its speed.”
“······.”
She knew it was a possibility, but once he gave the order for a direct assault,
Maetel turned absentminded for a brief moment. She turned her gaze towards
the ocean. The Kraken was still a long ways away, but it was charging towards
them at terrifying speed. The sight of the Kraken filled her eyes.
She replied with a vacant voice.
“That guy······?”
“Yes. In this place, you are the only one that can pull this off.”
Maetel had a high rank ability called Acceleration. The only one that could match
the reaction speed of the vicious Kraken was Maetel with her Acceleration skill
activated. Maetel was a genius where she could move on instinct. He confirmed
this fact when she moved across the ocean.
“Let’s link our Mana. It’ll allow you to use Acceleration to your heart’s content. It’ll
allow you to stall for enough time.”
“······I understand.”
Artpe had told her to stall for time against a level 267 large monster, and she
accepted his request. Both of them were already halfway crazy. However, the
most crazy thing here was the situation they found themselves in.
“I’ll give it a try. I’ll go right now.”
“The most important thing here is your life, Maetel.”
Artpe took off Maetel’s battle boots, and he put his black leather boots on her
feet. When the artifact accepted the will of its owner, it shrunk in size to fit
Maetel’s feet.
“If it gets too dangerous, I want you to run away immediately . At that point, I’ll
abandon this place.”
“Ah-ooooooh.”
He told her the instructions on how to use the boots. Unfortunately, none of
Artpe’s words were reaching Maetel at this point.
“I...is this heaven? Ah-ooh! Heaven!”
Artpe’s actions had broken through the the threshold of Maetel’s happy meter.
He had placed her in heaven. When she didn’t move, Artpe tapped her
shoulder.
“Maetel? Hey!”
“······haht. Yes! I can do any tasks you ask of me now!”
“Are you all right······?”
“I’m completely fine! It feels like I’m walking in heaven!”
“You don’t seem all right at all!?”
Maetel was facing Artpe, and her face was glowing. If the Kraken tried to take
the boots off of her, she would probably use her superhuman strength to rip the
Kraken into pieces. Artpe became worried. He was unable to pinpoint what he
was worried about. Maetel left him behind as she quickly turned her body
towards the ocean.
“I’ll go right now! Artpe? Do you mind if I kill it?”
When he heard her words, his worry started to spike uncontrollably!
“No. Don’t kill it. Run away! I told you to run away!”
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhhhp!”
Maetel’s energy had been fully charged. She didn’t listen to Artpe’s words as
she jumped towards the ocean. She didn’t bother killing any monsters. She
charged forward as she used either the head of the monsters or the head of the
spears as stepping stones! She was charging with such ferocity that it made one
wonder if she would really just kill the Kraken.
‘However, there is always a gap between reality and ideals…..’
The fact that heroes overcame all impossible situations was something that was
only possible in old stories.
If one wanted to turn the impossible into possible, one had to turn one’s eyes
away from one’s ideals to face the uncomfortable reality.
He turned around with a hardened expression on his face. He faced the other
girl, who was waiting for her orders.
“Just tell me what to do, oppa!”
“Sienna.”
“Yes!”
Sienna spoke with a dependable voice. If he asked her for the stars in the night
skies, she would have gotten them for him. It was probably safer for her if he
had asked her for the stars. Instead, he asked her to do a task that was much
more dangerous.
“······actually, you’ll have to face someone that is more dangerous than Maetel’s
opponent.”
“Huh? There is a more dangerous opponent here than the squid?”
“She isn’t our enemy right now, but that’s right.”
In truth, Artpe had told Mycenae a single lie.
He would need to consume 500 Magic Stones from monsters over level 200 if he
wanted to Reinforce the barrier wall twice. He told the truth up until that point.
However, the two additional Reinforcement had no chance of holding off the
Kraken. He needed to Reinforce it one more time. Moreover, he had to
Reinforce the barrier wall with a property that was completely opposite of the
Kraken. Artpe would have to execute the world’s strongest and splendid
Reinforcement.
The supplementary ingredient needed for this Reinforcement was simple.
“I want you to take this letter to Jaime’s Inn located in C Sector.”
“Jaime’s Inn located in C sector…..”
Sienna repeated his words as she took letter he had written during the few
minute break. Then he spoke with a desolate smile on his face.
“You will find a woman waiting there for me. Tell her that I want to hold her hand
once.”
The third supplementary ingredient for the Reinforcement was none other than
the magical energy of the Fire Witch Etna.

Chapter 61 - Kraken (2)

“Magician-nim!”
After he sent off the two girls to different locations, it didn’t take too long for Artpe
to be surrounded by numerous people. They came in waves. The inner city
should be safer than the top of the wall, yet people were convinced that the
safest place was near Artpe.
“Magician-nim, please look at the Kraken!”
“Do something! I beg of you! We don’t have the power to do anything against
the Kraken, magician-nim!”
“Magician-niiiiiiiiiiim!”
When he saw the people blindly cling to him, he thought about what happened
one year ago in the mountain village. At that time, they begged for his help.
They had looked at him with desperate eyes.
They didn’t care what price Artpe and Maetel would have to pay in order to help
them. Even if they knew it, they had acted as if they were ignorant of that fact.
Since the two of them had the power, the people had acted as if it was a given
that Maetel and Artpe would have to help them..
“Stop sticking so close to me. Get off of me.”
Artpe dislodged them using his cold voice, and he extended a finger. He pointed
towards the location where the 3rd barrier wall was being erected. The lord of
Frate was standing near it, and it looked as if his soul had been sucked out by
the appearance of the Kraken. One could also see the Dungeon merchant
Mycenae, who was trying to hold the lord’s attention as she gave a desperate
speech.
“Even if you guys pool all your powers together, you won’t be able to do anything
against the Kraken. It is the same for me. I have no chance of mixing it up with
the Kraken with my bare body. If you want to survive, you have two choices.
You can try to avoid the Kraken coming ashore by running away towards the
mountainous regions. Or you can give that merchant what she needs.”
“However, that merchant is spouting nonsense! We are in a dangerous situation,
yet she is trying to make profit off of the trade…..”
The man went into a lengthy speech.
However, the argument could be simplified into this.
Level 200 Magic Stones were items in high demand, yet the supply was
extremely limited. This was why many sellers of Magic Stones colluded with
each other to fix the price. However, their rivals were present here, so it would
be impossible to fix the price.
“So what price will you be satisfied with?”
“Money isn’t important! We are talking about my family’s Magic Stones. It isn’t
something that should be sold in bulk. I have to find the proper owner…...”
“How much?”
“I...I would have to receive 15 thousand gold each…...”
“······what?”
It was idiotic to boost the price of an item that was hard to trade. However, Artpe
was sure of one thing. There was no way a level 200 Magic Stone was worth
over 5,000 gold.
Mycenae told him she would take care of everything with money. However, she
probably never expected the nobles to act like this. Even Artpe thought it was
ridiculous.
“I’m the one who asked her to acquire the Magic Stones. You all probably know
this, but it is impossible to fight off the Kraken with the power gathered within this
city. The best way to stop its charge is through the barrier wall. However, a
barrier of this caliber can’t withstand the Kraken. I have to Reinforce it using a lot
of high rank Magic Stones. If not, this city and the people within it will be
smashed into pieces.”
“Still, you are talking about 500 Magic Stones······.”
“That is why you aren’t cursing out the merchant. You are bad mouthing me.
Well, let me ask you this. Am I the one trying to profit from this dangerous
situation? Or is it you guys? ”
Artpe’s gaze was bottomless. It was hard to thinking of him as a 14 year old. He
was oozing with charisma, and it prevented the people from arguing with him.
They shut their mouths. This was an ability that existed only in true heroes.
Artpe was really annoyed right now, so he didn’t realize this fact.
“But…..”
“Koo-hmmm. Kmm, kmmm….”
Despite his words, they refused to open their mouths in the end.
Some wondered if the magician was lying to screw over the foreigners. Others
wondered if Reinforcing the barrier wall was really the only way out of this. There
were countless excuses running through their heads, and Artpe could clearly see
through all of them. He wasn’t using his Read All Creation ability. In the past, he
had countless encounters with such people, so his prior experience let him know
what they were thinking.
A bitter smile appeared automatically on his lips.
“Hoo-ooh…. Humans really the same whenever or wherever you encounter
them.”
“But magician-nim…...”
“Fuck off. Get out of my sight.”
If he acted on his emotions, he would have thrown the lot of them into the ocean.
However, Mycenae asked him to leave it all to her. He wouldn’t step forward
until she asked for his help.
Artpe turned his head away. These humans refused to give anything, yet they
still expected protection from Artpe. He looked at the battle that was occuring on
the ocean.
It was said one should be thankful for small mercies. After the Kraken had made
its appearance, the other monsters became timid. There were monsters that
were barely able to move in the presence of the Kraken. Even as the humans
were running about in confusion, no monsters were able to cross the vibrating
wall.
“Maetel…...”
After he finished assessing the situation, his eyes naturally turned towards her.
Maetel was speeding across the ocean. She was quickly approaching the
Kraken. Once Maetel decided to do something, she showed no hesitation or
fear.
If she wasn’t a hero, no one was qualified to be a hero. Even though he was still
in a dangerous situation, he chuckled.
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhng!]
Kraken let out a roar. The wave containing its Mana spread across the ocean,
and it attracted more and more monsters to the shores of Frate.
A portion of the monsters were swept up by the Kraken’s tentacles, and they
were eaten. The rest followed behind it.
It seemed the Kraken wasn’t planning on dragging this out. It was filled with the
will of wanting to end this quickly.
“Hoo-ahhhhhhp!”
At that moment, Maetel bravely got in its way. While she kept the momentum of
speeding across the ocean surface, she put her magical energy into her long
sword. She shot out a beam of energy!
She decided to take this approach, because she came to the conclusion that she
would bounce off the Kraken if she attacked head-on.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhh!]
She was a hero approaching level 200, so her strike was effective against the
Kraken. She had worried the Kraken would just shrug off her attack. She had
worried it would continue to charge forward. Fortunately, it stopped moving when
it received Maetel’s attack!
“Not yet! Stay there!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhng!]
The Kraken was pissed off. It swung its house-sized tentacle towards Maetel.
However, Maetel followed Artpe’s advice as she used her Acceleration skill to
avoid its attack. Then she used her beam again!
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
The energy construct was emitted from the tip of the long sword, and it traveled
in a straight line. It split open the forehead of the Kraken as dark blood started to
flow.
Everyone had given up when they saw the overwhelming size of the Kraken.
However, the people of Frate let out a cheer when Maetel’s attack wounded the
Kraken.
Artpe coldly assessed the damage, and he shook his head from side to side.
“The damage is akin to being pricked on the finger with fish bone.”
“You speak in such hopeful terms.”
He had spoken those words to himself. He hadn’t wanted anyone else to hear it,
yet someone replied to his words. Artpe let out a sight. An out of breath woman
had just climbed up to the wall. He raised his hand towards Mycenae as he
asked a question.
“Did you gather all 500?”
“Not yet. I’ve gathered around 180. I contacted the Anywhere company’s
headquarters, and the outcome was positive. Moreover, I was able to receive
support from the Diaz kingdom’s nobles. However, it was as you’ve said. The
problem came from…..”
“There is a limit to the supply of Magic Stones that could be gathered in Diaz. I
knew this would happen. In the first place, the appearance of monsters over
level 200 is very low here.”
Still, the nobles and the merchants from foreign countries that could make up the
insufficient supplies were also gathered here. Artpe took the pouch containing
the 180 Magic Stones. It was unfortunate, but it might still be possible to
accomplish the 1st Reinforcement.
“So what are you going to do? These pigs are refusing to sell their Magic
Stones.”
“No, they will sell it to us.”
There was still a bright light twinkling within her eyes. Her eyes swept over the
nobles and merchants gathered atop the barrier wall. She just noticed that most
of them were from foreign countries. It seemed the greedy ones had sharp eyes
for assessing the situation. They decided not to hide in the city. They were on
the front line, yet they decided they were safest near the strongest being within
Frate.
“Everyone. Please I beg of you once again. The communication magic and the
item summoning magic will be provided by the headquarters of the Anywhere
company. We promise to help you out in gathering the items. We are willing to
buy the Magic Stones of level 200 monsters for 6,000 gold. You aren’t selling it
for a loss.”
“Who are you to demand this of me! I can’t sell it at that price. It will drop my
family’s name into the mud!”
“Six thousand gold? Ha! If the participants of the last Magic Stone auction within
the capital heard of that price, they would have all mocked you! Fifteen thousand
gold! There is no way I can go under fifteen thousand gold!”
Fifteen thousand gold.
It seemed this was the highest price the Magic Stones had sold in their country.
He couldn’t believe how foolish these people were. Artpe was looking around
the crowd when he had a realization. The ones asking for a high price for the
Magic Stones were part of the leadership group that represented each country’s
trade administration. The nobles and the merchants knew their future were up in
the air right now, but even if they wanted to make the sale, they were afraid of
crossing these important figures. They couldn’t easily step out of line.
“Hoo. I see. Is everyone of the same opinion?”
“So you want us to take all the loss?”
Even if they had ideas of selling the Magic Stones for less than 15 thousand
gold, they couldn’t do so if some were able to sell it for the price of 15 thousand
gold. Greed would naturally rise from within them. That was why all the humans
gathered here planned on sticking together. They planned on insisting on the
price of 15 thousand gold.
Even the Anywhere company would go bankrupt if they bought 320 Magic
Stones for the price of 15 thousand gold. Mycenae no longer tried to convince
the nobles and the merchants. She looked straight at Artpe as she spoke.
“Artpe-nim.”
“What?”
Until now, she had always referred to him as customer. He had no idea what
changed her mind, but he willingly went along with her request.
“It seems their argument hinges on the fact that they don’t believe the barrier wall
could be Reinforced again. If you show them the evidence, they might take my
words a little bit more seriously.”
“Do you really believe that? Even if I use Reinforcement in front of their eyes, it
looks as if they’ll come up with a different excuse.”
“I’ll deal with it somehow once we reach that point.”
“Ha!”
Good.
She was showing a backbone that befits a hero’s exclusive merchant.
Artpe didn’t reply to her words. He just grinned as he threw the pouch containing
the Magic Stones into the air. The string on the pouch loosened, and the 180
Magic Stones letting out prismatic radiance scattered into the air.
“W...what the hell!”
“Each of them are treasures worth over several thousand gold…..!”
“M...magician-nim! What are you trying to do······.”
“Watch this well. You won’t be able to act ignorant after this.”
Artpe placed one hand on the barrier wall. The scattered Magic Stones landed
all over the barrier wall, and he activated his Reinforcement skill.
“W...wait a moment.”
“It really······?”
In a flash, the barrier wall let out a brilliant purple light as the wall started to
vibrate. The 180 Magic Stones started to turn into pure magical energy in ones
and twos. They were being absorbed into the barrier wall!
“Hoo-ooh······.”
“Wait a moment.”
The purple light swallowed all the Magic Stones, and for a brief moment, silence
blanketed the surrounding. The people on the wall were dumbfounded. They
had just witnessed Magic Stones worth several hundred thousand gold disappear
in a flash. It happened when they were about to speak.
“Magician-nim, what are youuuuuuu-uhhhhhhhhh?!?”
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhhk!”
All the light was absorbed into the barrier wall, and it shot up several dozen
meters!
“Be careful! Don’t fall over the wall!”
“T...the port is being destroyed! Everyone grab onto the barrier wall!”
“My god…. Even the corpses of the monsters…..”
In the process of Reinforcing the barrier wall, the wall absorbed everything it was
lacking from its surrounding. It absorbed the Records of its surrounding to
expand its size. It hardened and consolidated the change, and a much stronger
power of vibration emanated from the wall.
It resulted in forming an overpowering barrier wall. The 2nd and 3rd tier barrier
walls couldn’t hold a candle to this one. Originally, the barrier wall was simply
made out of stone. However, after it went through three Reinforcements, the wall
was infused with a black purple light. There was a metallic sheen to the wall. It
displayed its dignified presence.
[Frate’s Guardian Wall+3]
[Owner : Artpe]
[The desire of the people wanting to protect the country and city was
consolidated through the power of the great magician. A jumbo artifact was
created by him. Most monsters will be unable to approach the wall thanks to the
the powerful vibration emitted by the wall. If the owner desired it, the wall can
decrease in size to increase its strength.]
“My god.”
“T...the barrier wall did get higher….”
“The Magic Stones… All those Magic Stones are gone. It seems the merchant
wasn’t lying!”
Of course, the power of the Reinforcement skill was amazing. Still, Artpe never
expected to be given the ownership of the wall!
Still, he felt tears coming to his eyes when he thought about the amount of Magic
Stones he had to consume to accomplish this!
“It’s high.”
“The monsters clamoring below look like trash from up here…...”
Not even the mermen….no, even the Mer-King would be unable to approach a
barrier of this caliber. The past Lunatic Waves would have had to pack up and
retreat if they had to face this barrier wall.
However, even this barrier wall could only last 5 minutes against the Kraken.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhng!]
“No! You can’t come this way!”
Maetel was still holding out against the Kraken. However, the Kraken refused to
stop its charge as it dealt with Maetel. The distance between the Kraken and
Frate was contracting. If it wasn’t for Maetel, the Kraken would have already
reached inland.
“You saw it, right! If he Reinforces it one more time, he can stop the Kraken!
We aren't forcefully taking your Magic Stones away for you! We are paying a fair
price for them! Your Magic Stones can save your own lives! It can save this city,
country and even the continent!”
“Koo-hmm. However, there is no guarantee he’ll be able to succeed in
replicating this effect again….”
“Magician-nim, it isn’t as if I don’t trust you….. It is hard to believe that such a
vast amount of Magic Stones were consumed.”
“Even if the wall becomes sturdier, can it really hold off the Kraken?”
Mycenae grinded her teeth. Even in such a situation, the humans were trying to
find a way to weasel out of everything. They were being threatened with death,
yet these dim-witted people were unable to let go of their possessions!
“This auction has already been a bust! Still, you can think of it as your money
saving your own lives! It isn’t a situation where even one of us should be backing
off! How long are you all going to take a back seat!”
“The ship I took to get here was sunk. I’ve already taken a massive financial hit.
That’s right Sir Frantz hasn’t taken any losses yet. I also heard that his family
has a pretty good amount of Magic Stones…..”
“Ah, it isn’t like that. I don’t possess any of them. The head of the family has it
firmly within his grasp, so I don’t possess the authority to...”
The nobles had nowhere to run anymore, so they started selling each other out.
If 320 Magic Stones were gathered, the rest of them would be off the hook from
selling their Magic Stones. Each of them struggled desperately to be in the latter
group. It was hard to listen to their words.
“······I now know all your intentions. I’ll give up on purchasing the Magic Stones.”
Mycenae was cold and firm with her words. It stopped the bickering between the
nobles and the merchants. When a brief silence descended, Mycenae took
couple breathes before she raised her head. The light in her eyes was terrifying.
However, she didn’t look at the other people gathered atop the wall. She looked
straight at Artpe as she asked a question.
“Artpe-nim. I will be sure to give you the money later with interest. Do you have
any interest in selling your product?”
“What product?”
If an answer akin to a soul came out of her mouth, it would have horrified
everyone. However, she spoke the name of a more terrifying product.
“I’m talking about this barrier wall. In truth, I spoke to the lord of Frate before
coming here. I’ve confirmed with him that he decided to give the ownership of
this barrier wall to Artpe-nim.”
“······ho-oh.”
A single strand of smile appeared on Artpe’s lips when he heard her words. He
now knew Mycenae and the lord of Frate had come up with this ploy. They had
guessed things might turn out like this with the nobles and the merchants. It
seemed things were rolling along as she planned!
“What price do you think I should ask for it?”
“Whatever you want.”
“I like how you think.”
Everyone could only watch as the negotiation continued between Artpe and
Mycenae. They didn’t even have to ask to know what would happen in the
future.
“All right. I’ll sell you this wall. I’m assuming the Reinforcement fee will be given
separately?”
“If I do agree to pay that price, will you help punish those that infringe upon my
private property rights?”
“Private property rights. I like that word.”
Artpe and Mycenae looked at each other as they smiled.
The nobles and the merchants finally realized that they had no choice from the
start.
Chapter 62 - Kraken (3)

“I...I’ll sell it for 6,000 gold.”

“Yes, I’ll sell it too. You cheap and dirty….!”
The nobles and merchants finally changed their attitudes when they became
afraid. There was a real possibility of being thrown off the barrier wall now.
They’ve been trying to convince Artpe that their main houses didn’t possess any
Magic Stones, or they talked about not having the authority to sell the Magic
Stones. In a flash, they had changed their tune. It was as if they had convinced
the head of their families through telepathy.
However, the price of items changed in a fluid manner. In fact, there were cases
where the role of buyers and seller could switch. The nobles and merchants
were still unaware of this possibility.
“No, I’m the one that’ll be selling.”
“W....what are you selling?”
“What am I selling?”
“Have you finally lost your mind?”
Mycenae’s cold voice entered into the ears of all the humans gathered atop the
barrier wall. Her words flowed like water. It was as if she had prepared her
words beforehand.
“I’m selling the rights to be protected by this barrier wall. All the citizens, nobles
and merchants of Diaz had helped in acquiring the Magic Stones. They are also
carrying out various tasks like cleaning up the city. They have paid the price. As
it so happens, the foreign nobles and merchants gathered here haven’t
contributed anything.”
“What? This is a structure that is part of the lay of this land. How can you claim
rights to it…..”
“Ah, this isn’t just a structure.”
Artpe grinned as he placed his hand on the wall. The enormous barrier wall
started to slowly contract in size. The nobles felt the change, and they were
taken aback.
“If I wanted, I can reduce the size of the barrier wall. It is possible for me to
install this anywhere I want. That’s right. I can move this barrier back to where
the 3rd tier barrier is right now, so I can protect only the people that has the rights
to be protected.”
“M...my god······.”
“This doesn’t make any sense! How can you decrease the size of the enormous
wall through just your will!”
“You want to test me?”
Artpe’s laughter deepened. The barrier wall decreased further in size, and it
reached a point where the monsters clamoring in the ocean could realistically
think about jumping over the wall.
[Kyahhhhhhhk!]
[They are coming towards us. We have to produce some kind of result or we will
be punished!]
[Kill them! We have to kill them!]
It was unknown as to what kind of connection there was between the Kraken and
the mermen, but they started throwing their spears towards the top of the wall. It
was hard to tell if they were screaming or yelling as they threw their spears! A
lucky throw of the spear hit a knight on his helmet. Everyone on the wall ducked.
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhk!”
“I...I’ll buy it! I’ll buy the right to be protected by this wall!”
“I’ll buy it too!”
In truth, he was already at his limits as to how small he could make the barrier
wall. As the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings, his Bluff skill had
pierced the heavens as to how good it was. He had activated his skill, and he
had delivered a critical hit. Everyone present really believed he could move this
wall to wherever he wanted!
“All right. I’ll take 3 level 200 Magic Stones from each of you. I will provide the
communication magic and the transfer magic for free. Let us start the trade.”
This was how Mycenae was able to acquire Magic Stones needed to Reinforce
the barrier wall without making any payments. She was actually able to acquire
more Magic Stones than the number he needed. Artpe let out a bitter laugh as
he watched the people desperately try to contact their home country and main
family.
“It really seems humans can’t come to their senses unless they are pushed to the
edge of the cliff.”
“Isn’t it? They are really detestable.”
“It is also true that you tried to make a profit when the possibility of a trade
became assured. You are the same as them.”
If it wasn’t for Artpe’s bluff, Mycenae’s plan would have been blown into pieces.
He rolled his Mana String into round ball, and he gave a light blow to Mycenae’s
head. She grumbled as she pouted.
“Do you know how much I’ve already invested into this venture? If this deal
hadn’t worked out, I might have had to give up on being a merchant. I would
have had to run away. In my attempt to gain Achievement for my high rank
Class, I might have lost everything. If it hadn’t worked out, I would have been so
depressed that I wouldn’t have been able to shove bread down my throat.”
When he listened to her, he realized she had a point. It was true that he had
been able to acquire 500 Magic Stones thanks to her. That was why he decided
not to interrogate her any further.
‘There is only one problem left…. Etna isn’t here yet?’
When he successfully used his Reinforcement again, everyone believed that they
would be saved. In truth, this was a dud if Etna wasn’t here.
‘Etna, let’s hold hands this once. I was so careful as to not go against the
conditions of the Absolute Control…..!’
The Kraken was close enough to Frate that the civilians within the city could see
it. Artpe watched as Maetel desperately tried to block the Kraken. She was
giving it all including using her Acceleration and Blink. He unconsciously
clenched his fists.
“Hoo-ooh…. Hooht! Ha-aht!”
[Goo-wuhhhhhhhhh!]
Usually, the user of the Acceleration ability suffered from the enormous
aftereffect that came with using the ability. The aftereffects increased when one
used it more and more. Currently, Maetel hadn’t just used the ability once or
twice. She had used it over several dozen times, and she was using it in rapid
succession.
Even if he was providing her with his Mana, the damages caused when using the
ability couldn’t be shouldered by Artpe. It was clear to Artpe’s eyes that Maetel
was slowing down.
‘Shit······ I guess it really was too much for us. Should I just run away with
them? All right. If she doesn’t show up when Maetel uses two more
Acceleration, I won’t look back…...’
At that moment, a mature voice of a woman could be heard in his ears. She
wasn’t the main character, yet she had made her entrance with exquisite timing!
[Artpe.]
[Etna, you…. Message magic?]
Artpe’s expression crumpled. As soon as he heard the message magic, he
activated his Read All Creation ability. He confirmed that she hadn’t come
anywhere near the barrier wall. She was using a long distance method to deliver
her message. In the end, it meant that she wasn’t going to show herself here!
[I want to make this clear…. I might be able to do so after all of this concludes.
However, I can’t step forward right now. If you come to me, I can hold your
hand. However, it is impossible for me to approach you first. It is impossible for
me to hold your hand.]
“......shit.”
It seemed the Demon King’s Absolute Control placed on her had become more
complex than the one from his previous life. Artpe grinded his teeth as he tried to
figure out what he should do. Then he picked up on a clue from her words.
[Wait a moment. I can hold your hand if I go to you?]
[......yes]
Of course, Artpe couldn’t leave his place atop the wall. However, it seemed
being observed by other people was the only reason why she couldn’t come
here. If there was a way to bring her magical energy to him…...
‘Can I do this through the Mana String?’
Until now, he had used his Mana String to connect himself to an item or someone
else. He had never made a connection between two separate entities. He had
never attempted it in the past, but it was possible.
[All right. I’ll send it to you.]
[Huh? Send?]
First, he made several dozen Mana Strings, and he connected the ends to the
barrier wall. He sent the other end straight towards where Etna was hiding.
[Oh my? This contains your Mana. It was generated using your Mana…. What
the hell is this? It is an incredibly high rank magic!]
Artpe knew Etna had sufficient ability to be able to identity the Mana String. As
expected, she reacted immediately.
Artpe sent her a firm and short message.
[I want you to grab that.]
[······Artpe, I thought you wanted to hold my hand?]
Had she expected some kind of romantic gesture? Etna answered him, and he
could hear disappointment in her voice. Still, she obediently grabbed onto the
Mana String. Artpe felt a thrill when the Demon King’s innate ability didn’t
activate.
“Artpe-nim, I brought the rest!”
“You have excellent timing. This is very good.”
He already had prior experience of doing two Reinforcement at once! He
immediately took the pouch from Mycenae, and he threw it into the air. At the
same time, Etna’s oppressive magical energy of fire rode along the several
dozen Mana Strings. It was being transferred into the barrier wall!
However, it didn’t end there. Maetel was desperately calling out his name from
across the wall!
“Artpe, I’m at my limits! I can no longer stall it!”
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
“Kyahh. That side has impeccable timing too! Shit!”
The Kraken sensed a massive amount of Mana being concentrated at the barrier
wall. It gave up on killing Maetel, and it charged straight for Frate. The Kraken
hadn’t been too far from the port, so its enormous body rammed into the barrier
wall before Artpe could activate his Reinforcement skill!
[Koo-ahhh-ohhhhhhhh!]
“Kyahhhhhhhk! Ah, Artpe-nim! Hurry! Hurry!”
“Magician! Magicia-ahhhhhhhhhh!”
The effect of the attack was amazing! Just a single charge from the Kraken put a
crack in the barrier wall, which had been Reinforced three times. The Kraken’s
tentacles were thick, and it was dozen meters long. They shot forward like
waves as the tentacles threatened the people atop the wall!
“Uh. Uh-hoo.”
“Kraken. T...the Kraken is right in front of our noses.”
“Magician-nim! Magician-nim!”
Its truly devastating destructive ability and the visual it presented drove the
people out of their minds. Artpe bit his lips when it looked as if the tentacles
were threatening to climb over the wall.
“I can’t move while I use Reinforcement. Maetel, do something!”
“Eeek. I understand. I’ll try!”
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhh!]
[We follow its order!]
[We cannot refuse. Kill the human!]
Maetel dragged her tired body forward as she tried to desperately interfere with
the Kraken, but the school of mermen got in her way.
“You dare! You guys should all disappear!”
[We won’t sink alone.]
[We will take you down with us, human!]
Maetel had raised her Berserk to its peak state, and she was cutting down
everything in her path. However, the number of mermen crowding the coastal
waters were overwhelming. She kept swinging her sword, yet there was no
daylight.
“Eeeeek!”
“Shit. It’s shaking······!”
Artpe was so frustrated that he was about to lose his mind. He was successful in
incorporating Etna’s Mana and the Mana of the Magic Stones. Everything had
been going smooth, and he just needed to complete his Reinforcement Skill.
However, he was having a hard time progressing in his Reinforcement when
there were interruptions.
“A little bit faster…. Shit….!”
Artpe was repairing the shaking wall in real time as it took the Kraken’s full
powered attacks. At the same time, he was trying his best to continue the
Reinforcement. It wasn’t enough. At this rate, the wall would fall before he could
finish his Reinforcement!
“I’ll be there, oppa!”
Sienna had been tasked to lure Etna. She had been successful in her mission,
and she arrived at that moment. She jumped atop the barrier wall in one fell
swoop, and she let out a sonorous shout. Her two hands were filled with magical
energy, and she was holding up a sledge hammer that was letting out light.
“Unni did it, so I can do it too!”
“Sienna… You… Hey!”
It was reminiscent to what Maetel did earlier. Sienna dived towards the ocean!
Fortunately, the mermen were focused on Maetel, and the Kraken was focused
on the barrier wall. No one was paying attention to her.
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhhhp!”
It was surprising as to the degree in which no one paid any attention to Sienna.
When she was about to collide, she focused all her magical energy into her
sledge hammer. She brought it down on the Kraken’s head!
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
At that moment, the Kraken had been filled with the thought of destroying the
barrier wall. It suddenly came to a stop as all its tentacles writhed in pain.
Sienna hadn’t reached level 170 yet, but she had caused a debilitating pain to
be felt by the Kraken. It was a surprising turn of event. She might have caused
more damage than Maetel.
“Good job, Sienna!”
If he had his Read All Creation ability activated, he could have seen how this was
possible. However, he had more important things to do! Artpe didn’t lose this
chance to further his Reinforcement. Etna was still connected to the barrier wall.
She gritted her teeth as she sent him a message.
[How much of my magical energy are you planning on taking!]
[I just wanted to hold your hand, so I have no idea.]
[We aren’t holding hands, you swindler!]
His magical energy, Etna’s magical energy and the magical energy of 320 Magic
Stones coalesced into one. The magical energy morphed into a state that was
suitable for the Reinforcement skill, and it spread throughout the barrier wall. In
a flash, two successful Reinforcement had occurred!
[Hellfire Sentinel+5]
[Hellfire was infused to complete the barrier wall. Any being below level 200
cannot damage the wall. In the case of water or ice type beings, one would have
to be at least level 300. The barrier wall’s durability can be consumed all at once
to execute a powerful fire type attack with area of effect.]
“It’s done!”
Artpe let out a cheer in an ungentlemanly fashion. Everyone, who had been
watching him, had a confused expression on their face. Until now, the
Reinforcement had been accompanied by light, and loud changes. No changes
were seen.
“Magician, nothing has changed…..?”
“Did you perhaps cheat us!”
“M...my Magic Stones! Give me back my Magic Stones! It is worth 45 thousand
gold!”
“Hoo.”
He smirked when he saw the unenlightened get mad. Afterwards, Maetel used
her final Acceleration to grab the unconscious Sienna, who was plummeting
towards the water. Then she went straight towards the top of the wall.
“Artpe!”
The Kraken had taken a serious hit from Sienna, so it had fallen into a Stun
status. The school of mermen tried to catch them in its stead, but it was
impossible to catch up with Maetel, who was using Berserk and Acceleration. In
the end, she was successful in landing on the wall with Sienna in tow.
“Did you succeed, Artpe?”
“Of course. You did well, Maetel. Also, Sienna…. Good. She is unharmed.”
She had fallen unconscious, because she had expelled all her magical energy at
once. Aside from that fact, she was fine. Artpe brushed her head once. Sienna
was breathing evenly. He extended his Mana String, and he wrapped them
around the body of his party members.
“Everyone should be prepared.”
[Koo-rooooo-ahhhhhhhhhh!]
The Kraken was a beat too late in coming to its senses. It let out a roar as if the
world was ending. The Kraken’s preys were snatched away. Its rage was on par
with Maetel’s rage.
Artpe spoke.
“This round of vibration will be pretty strong.”
Afterwards, the Kraken charged towards the barrier wall, and there was a
terrifying collision.
This was the flame created by the daughter of the Phoenix. It manifested itself in
this world through a proxy.
Chapter 63 - Kraken (4)

When the Kraken collided with the barrier wall, hellfire came into existence. It
shot out as if was about to burn the whole world. The hellfire burned as it
crawled all over the body of the Kraken. It was a flame from a bygone era where
humans of this world weren’t able to face it.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhk! Koo-ahhhhhhhh!]
The flame ruthlessly pierced through the Kraken’s thick skin as it started to burn
flesh, blood and innards. The murderous hellfire was trying to roast it alive. The
Kraken lost all of its reason as it went berserk.
[Kee-ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
As its struggles became fiercer, the barrier wall responded with more flames. It
was unforgiving towards the attacker. The flames flooded forth, and it encircled
the Kraken’s entire body.
It was as if the flame had a will of its own. It was as if the flame was punishing
the monster that had invaded the human territory.
“My god······.”
“If that really was created through the magician’s power…..”
“I have to concede the fact that 500 Magic Stones was worth investing in this
barrier wall!”
There were enough monsters here to easily wipe out a single country, yet their
charge was being blocked by a single wall. Of course, the barrier wall was
Reinforced with fire, and it worked in concert with the vibration. The boiling
ocean and churning the waters inflicted continuous damage to the monsters.
The Kraken was also taking continuous damage. It couldn’t be compared to the
damage inflicted on it by Maetel and Sienna.
[Kee-heeeeee!]
[W...we have to run away!]
The other monsters were swept up in the Kraken’s rampage, and they were
dying before they could even put up a fight. The vibration and heat emitted by
the barrier wall couldn’t be overcome by monsters under level 200. All the
monsters in the vicinity of the Kraken died by being swept up in the Kraken’s
rampage.
“Mmmm?”
Several dozen monsters were being killed each second. This was the
consequence for being near the mighty fight between the Kraken and the barrier
wall. Artpe was looking at these monsters when he suddenly realized something.
The Record and EXP of the dead monsters were being sucked into him.
‘Is it because I was acknowledged as the owner of the barrier wall······?’
He had talked about transferring the ownership of the barrier wall to Mycenae,
but this was a human matter. The wall wouldn’t care about trade since Artpe had
Reinforced the wall.
‘In my past life, I’ve never benefited from using this type of Artifacts so I had no
idea….. However, I can feel it right now. There is a firm connection between
me and the Hellfire Sentinel.’
The Mana String connecting the wall to Etna was severed long ago. Currently,
the supersized artifact was solely under the jurisdiction of Artpe.
Moreover, the number of monsters killed by the heat and vibration emitted by the
barrier wall would soon reach 10 thousand. Many of these monsters were well
below level 100, but at this number, Artpe’s level would rise.
‘Maybe I should just live up here until the Lunatic Wave ends.’
His level was increasing even as he did nothing. The experience was so sweet
that he was having thoughts that were slightly off. However, Artpe quickly gave
up on the idea he was having.
A single level rose from the death of 10,000 monsters. By the time he reached
level 200, he would barely be able to raise a single level even if he could gather
all the monsters of the ocean to crash against the barrier wall.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
“T...the Kraken is continuing its attack.”
“Everyone get down from the barrier wall! It will overtake us soon!”
“That monster!”
The Kraken’s thrashing was becoming more severe. The Kraken suffered
excruciating pain and burns on each attack, but it didn’t back down. Either its
body would fail or the barrier would fall. The choice was binary. It wouldn’t stop
until the end.
“Ah, Artpe-nim. Are you really sure the wall can stop it?”
“Absolutely.”
He had completed this wall with the help of Etna, so this wall wouldn’t fall. The
Kraken was probably aware of this fact, yet it didn’t stop.
Why was this?
Was the Kraken normally this stupid?
That couldn’t be it. The Kraken had gained a good amount of intelligence over
the years. The wall wasn’t something that could be easily overcome. It should
have retreated after one or two attacks. The Kraken was supposed to be a
sensible monster. It should have put its own survival over all else.
So why was it acting like this? Its body was so large that he couldn’t find the
answer initially. However, his Read All Creation was bringing in bits and pieces
of information in real time. In the end, he found his answer.

[Kraken]
[Level : 267]
[Irregular Status: It is spellbound by the curse of Madness.]

The curse of Madness had been placed on the Kraken.

[Koo-haaaaaaa!]
[We follow the Kraken!]
[W...we’ll follow it. We’ll destroy the wall!]
There were a good number of monsters inflicted by this curse. They knew their
deaths were assured, yet they rabidly crashed into the wall. The monsters met
their promised deaths. The sight reminded him of what happened within the
auction house not too long ago. He had fought against Demons that weren’t of
sound mind. He now knew who had placed the curse on the Kraken and the
monsters. The answer was quite obvious.
When the Demons activated the cursed magic circle within the city, the magic
must have traveled towards the monsters of the ocean to trigger a similar magic.
They weren’t just trying to induce a Lunatic Wave. The Demon King’s army had
decided to bury Diaz. The plan was meticulous, and it had been well executed.
If Artpe hadn’t been here, it would have been a horrible massacre. The thought
made him shudder.
“The Demon King’s army is moving for real now…..”
The artifacts related to the curse, the magic spell that was activated within Frate
and the Lunatic Wave meshed together in an intricate manner to create this
situation. No matter how he thought about it, something was definitely off about
the chef! The Demon King’s army didn’t move in this style!
It seemed the information he gained from Etna was lacking. He let out a sigh as
he had this thought.
Everyone was still looking at him.
“What? You should all go do your assigned tasks. Why are you all standing
around like this?”
He was taken aback at their unexpectedly undivided attention. He tilted his head
in puzzlement. When they saw this, Mycenae acted as the representative for the
group. She asked him a question. The light in her eyes was truly earnest.
“Artpe-nim, how long do we have to hold out like this?”
“I’m not sure. I guess we’ll do this until their madness end, and they get tired.”
“Can’t you kill it….? As it stands, the people will continue to live in fear.”
“Ajumma, can you truly ask me in good conscience as to whether I can kill it
when you look at the size of that bastard?”
An extra large monster of Kraken’s caliber had significant amount of recuperative
powers. It was no joke.
He had pooled together everyone’s power to create this barrier wall, but it only
had the power to deter the Kraken. Over half of the damage received from the
wall was recovered through its natural recuperative powers. It would probably
take one or two month for it to die. Even that timeline was overly optimistic.
“That is why we have to give up on the idea of killin…...”
“Magician, we have to kill that Kraken.”
Someone interrupted Artpe’s words. He looked towards the noble. This
particular noble was someone that held a lot sway amongst the foreign nobles. If
Artpe had to guess, he probably was a count or a duke.
“At this rate, we will have no excuse we can give to our respective countries.
Just my country alone lost around 100 Magic Stones. At such a cost, we can
only expect to hold out and hope for the Kraken to turn back? Of course, I am
well aware that our survival itself is a miracle, but you have to think about what
our respective countries will think.”
“So what you are saying right now is…. You need some result that would justify
the use of the Magic Stones?”
“As expected of a magician, you are wise. You hit the nail on the head.”
The noble let out a bitter laugh. Since they had already surrendered the Magic
Stones, they needed a result that matched what they spent. It was a valid line of
reasoning, so Artpe heard the noble’s case.
However, that’s as far as he went.
“As I’ve said, you are asking for impossible. The only thing I promised was the
safety of the city and your lives.”
“It really will be tough for all of us. I’m sure this will affect Diaz’s relationship with
the other countries. Can’t you do anything about this?”
The noble spoke those words thinking Artpe was a citizen of Diaz. It was
basically a threat. The noble was implying that Diaz would be put in a
disadvantageous position if Artpe didn’t step up.
Artpe snorted when he heard the nobleman’s words. He was a Demon that was
reborn as a human. The emotional attachment he had towards the country he
was affiliated was almost nonexistent…..
“Look here, ajusshi. It is truly regrettable that it has to be this way, but I have no
method available to me that would allow me to kill the Kraken. This will end in
sorrow if you threaten someone who doesn’t have the ability to do anything.”
“Didn’t you already create several miracles already!”
“That was all done through my ability. Those weren’t miracles. They are called
miracles, since it never happens!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
As if it was responding to Artpe’s annoyed voice, the Kraken rammed into the
barrier wall once again. At that moment, something that made him question his
eyes occurred.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhh! Goo-oh-ahhhhhhhhhhh!]
The rampaging Kraken had thrown its entire body towards the barrier wall, and a
very small crack formed on the wall.
“Uh…....”
The cracks were so small that only the owner of the Read All Creation ability was
sure of what had happened. The wall had cracked. Moreover, once a crack
forms, there was a high probability that the crack would widen.
Cold sweat started flowing down Artpe’s back.
“What’s wrong, Artpe-nim?”
“A miracle that is slightly disadvantageous towards us has occurred…...”
In the case of Ice type and Water type monsters, there was no way in hell it could
have caused any meaningful damage to the wall unless the monster was over
level 300.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
So how could a level 267 Kraken accomplish this? How? Until now, its strikes
hadn’t done anything to the barrier wall!
‘Wait a moment. Now that I think about it…..?’
In an instant, something flashed within his mind.
A normal Kraken was always categorized as pure Ice type monster or a Water
type monster. There was no exceptions to this rule.
However, the Kraken had flinched when it took an impact wound from Sienna. It
was the reason why Artpe hadn’t been late in completing his Reinforcement.
Why did it do that?
A mere curse of Madness shouldn’t have caused such repulsion from Sienna’s
magical energy!
As he held this question in his mind, Artpe turned to look at the Kraken. He once
again activated his Read All Creation, and he finally figured it out.

[Kraken]
[Level : 267]
[The experiment for Demonification had failed. Several curses related to the
mind had been stacked. The Demonic gene is out of control.]

‘My god······ This is connected to the Demonification experiments conducted in

Diaz!?’
The Kraken was a pure Ice or Water type monster. However, the failed
experiment had imbued twisted properties of a Demon unto the Kraken, and it
was boosting the Kraken’s power. When he realized this fact, Artpe
unconsciously mumbled to himself.
“I have to kill it······.”
“I knew it! It is possible!”
“There is a fundamental difference between a task one can do, and a task one
must accomplish even at the risk of one’s life. Anyways, you guys should get out
of here.”
“What?”
The nobles were enraged by Artpe’s harsh words. Artpe snorted as he spoke.
“The wall will fall soon. If that is fine with you, you can ride on your high horse by
staying here.”
“Why would this wall fall…...”
[Koo-oooooooohng!]
At that moment, the Kraken rammed into the wall again. The Hellfire Sentinel
sent out stronger flame and vibration. As a price, it couldn't avoid the fairly large
crack from forming. This time other people realized what had happened.
“T...the wall is...”
“Run away! Everyone get down from the wall!”
Artpe didn’t go out of his way to help them. He didn’t owe them anything. Aside
from Artpe, Mycenae, Maetel and Sienna, everyone quickly clung to the wall. It
took them less than a minute to evacuate from the wall. They practically jumped
off the wall, and they ran towards downtown.
Artpe was in awe when he saw this.
As expected, humans were able to perform superhuman feats when their lives
were on the line. It would have been great if they could have used some of that
superhuman ability in fighting the Kraken. The fact that they couldn’t do so was a
shortcoming that couldn’t be fixed.
[Ka-hahhhhhhhh! Kee-ahhhhhhhhh!]
When it realized there was a crack forming in the wall, the Kraken’s rampage
became increased in intensity as time passed. The corpses of dead monsters
filled the ocean. There was so many bodies that they were starting to stack up.
As Artpe’s level grew, his restlessness grew alongside it.
“I trusted in you, Artpe-nim!”
The one to take this development the hardest was Mycenae. If the Kraken
couldn’t be defeated, it would be the end for her!
“You learned a great lesson, ajumma. You shouldn’t trust people so easily from
now on.”
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
He spoke in a playful manner, but Artpe’s head was still churning to come up with
a way to defeat the Kraken.
Fortunately, he had an outline of a plan that would allow him to kill the Kraken. It
was the Hellfire Sentinel. The wall’s durability could be consumed at once to
inflict a powerful area of effect fire attack. The wall’s final attack still remained.
‘The problem remains that I have no idea if that single attack will kill the Kraken.’
If it died from the final attack, it would create a happy ending. If not, they would
be in a far worse situation. If the Kraken was still alive, it didn’t matter how
critical of a wound he could inflict on the Kraken. The Kraken would easily
destroy the 2nd and 3rd tier barrier wall constructed by the humans.
‘I have to find some way to weaken it….. But how? Shit. I haven’t learned any
proper magic yet!’
Magicians were beings that possessed unfathomably strong powers.
Unfortunately, most of the great magics that could turn the tide of the battle
could be learned after level 200. Artpe’s level was still lacking, and such
precious magic spells rarely came on the market.
This was why Artpe wanted to cross the ocean to Aedia as soon as possible! He
wanted to be in the land of magicians!
“I have no choice. Somehow, I’ll······.”
[Nyaa.]
“Nyaa?”
Artpe was grinding his teeth as he was about to quickly yank free his Mana
Strings.
At that moment, he heard a strange voice ring in his ears. Artpe repeated the
voice he heard. It just slipped out of his mouth. Maetel looked at Artpe with
sparkling eyes. Her eyes said she was about to perish from the cuteness of his
action.
“Artpe, we are in such a desperate situation, yet you are playing such a prank!
Jeez! You are too cute!”
“No, I didn’t…....”
[Nyaa!]
Artpe immediately closed his mouth. Just in case, he quickly turned around to
see if it was Etna. However, she was hiding within the shadow of the streets.
She had her eyes firmly closed as she clasped both her two hands together.
She was earnestly wishing for his victory. She looked suited for the role of a
holy maiden rather than a Demon.
‘Then who…. Ah?’
Fortunately, he found the answer shortly.
No, it was more accurate to say the answer came to him.
[Nyaa! Nyaan!]
“You······.”
Something flew at lightning speed through the air, and it latched onto Artpe’s
arm. Then it rubbed its head against his robe.
It had black fur, and its purple eyes shone much brighter from within the
darkness. It was shaking its tail in a threatening manner, and it fearlessly
stretched its four legs….. Artpe activated his Read All Creation ability, and he
was able to confirm its identity.
“You······ You were a cat?”
[Nyahhhhhh!]
It stood 20 centimeters tall, and if one included its tail, it was 40 centimeters long.
The cat let out a fierce cry.
After stuffing itself, the Greed Beast had finally came to see its owner.
Chapter 64 - Kraken (5)

[Nyaaaaaaaa.]
There was an intruder on top of the barrier wall. Despite the fact that they they
were in a desperate situation, the atmosphere amongst the hero’s party was
shaken for a brief moment.
“What is that black cat, Artpe?”
“I don’t care about the cat. We have to do something about the Kraken right
now, Artpe-nim!”
“Everyone be quiet for a moment.”
[Nyaa, nyaa-ah-ah-, nyaa-ooh-ee-ooh-ah!]
When the Greed Beast was born, there had been a feast prepared right in front
of its newly opened eyes. It seemed a deep impression had been created on the
Greed Beast. It started talking about which one was tasty, and it went into the
topic of how some curses were sweeter than others. It started describing its
impression of what it ate. This was useless information to Artpe, but it seemed
there was a different taste to each curse and evil energy.
[Nyahh, nyaa-oooh, nyaa-nyaa-ah!]
“Yes, yes. I’m glad you were able to eat such delicious foods.”
As Mycenae had pointed out, he couldn’t leisurely play with the cat right now.
However, he couldn’t hide the smile that had formed on his lips when he saw it.
The Greed Beast had sought him out.
It felt as if he had just unearthed the final key that would solve this situation.
“So are you a bit full now?”
[Nyaaaaa.]
“You ate that much, yet you are still hungry. Yes, all right.”
“Huh? Artpe can understand what it is saying?”
“Yes, I’m its owner.”
Everyone else heard cute cries coming from the cat, but Artpe clearly understood
the intent behind the noises it created. There was a powerful connection
between Artpe and the Greed Beast. It was something that couldn’t be replicated
even with a Soul Contract.
This was also something that was unique to the Magician Class. It was the
power of ‘Familiar Control’.
Normally, magical energy was imbued into a living creature to form a contract.
When animals become familiars, they were given superior abilities and
intelligence compared to the normal animals.
Most magicians chose birds for its ability to fly, but there were eccentric
magicians out there that chose cats, mice or even bugs as familiars.
However, there was a rule.
‘Monsters couldn’t be made into familiars. The only thing close to such a skill is
the Demon race’s Control skill…..’
However, this wasn't a normal monster. It was a beast that was in charge of one
of the 7 Deadly Sins, and he had unwittingly created a Familiar contract with it.
Was this possible because he was a hero!
This shouldn’t be possible even if he was a hero!
However, that wasn’t important right now.
The important fact was that the cat was still hungry.
“Look at that.”
[Nyaa?]
The cat climbed up his arm, and he willing allowed the cat to perch on his
shoulder. He raised a finger to point at the Kraken. Its gluttony had originated
from consuming curses, so of course, the Greed Beast could recognize what he
was pointing out.
“Can you feel it?”
[Nyaa!? Nyahhhhh!]
There was an appetizing curse energy infused within the Kraken’s enormous
body. The Greed Beast had purples eyes that resembled Artpe’s eyes. Its eyes
shone from excitement. The cat was showing signs of wanting to attack the
Kraken at that very moment. He calmed the cat by speaking in a level manner.
“I want you to eat all of that. However, that bastard is a scary monster, so you
have to be careful. If not, you might get hurt.”
[Nyaaaaaa!]
The Greed Beast snorted at Artpe’s words, which was tinged with worry.
If it was hit by the big brute, it would no longer call itself the Greed Beast. It
would call itself the Groan Beast. When the cat gave such a reply, Artpe nodded
his head in a solemn manner.
“All right. Come back after you are done. When you succeed, I’ll give you a
pretty name.”
He had given the cat its first instruction.
[Nyaaaaaa!]
After it received its orders, the confluence of evil Greed energy hidden within the
small cat manifested itself in the form of a black fog. It charged towards the
ocean. The eyes of Maetel and Mycenae turned round when they saw this.
“I knew it had too much magical energy, but it wasn’t a cat in the first place!”
“It isn’t a living organism!? Aht! Now that I think about it, I saw the trace of its
Mana within the auction house….”
“Shhh. Curiosity killed the Dark Elf merchant.”
“You are too selective in giving details!”
Mycenae wanted to ask him about what happened to all the items that had been
inside the auction house. However, she knew they would all be in trouble if she
voiced such thoughts out loud. This was why she firmly bottled up the urge.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but can we win now, Artpe?”
Maetel asked the question instead of Mycenae. Her eyes were brilliant as if they
were emeralds, and her eyes were filled with her trust towards Artpe. Artpe
grinned as he answered her.
“If we can’t win with this gambit, we have to break this off cleanly. We’ll run
away. Everyone should gather your stuff, so we can run away at any moment.”
He spoke in a dependable manner, but his words had turned towards a cowardly
direction!
“Artpe-niiiiiim!”
“That is why I told you all to get down from here.”
Artpe placed a hand on top of the barrier wall. It was a familiar sight. He had
done the same thing several times as he Reinforced the wall. However, the
Mana emanating from him was different. It was very sharp and destructive.
The Mana was refined for purely destructive purposes. It looked as if he was
making a set of Mana Strings before he returned it to pure Mana.
“Hurry. You should take Sienna along with you.”
If Sienna had been conscious, she might have been helpful against the Kraken,
who was polluted by the Demonic gene. However, she had been put into
unconsciousness through unnatural means. This was why Artpe had to do this
somehow with the help of the Greed Beast!
“Go right now.”
He once against ordered the party members to head down, and his voice had
taken a turn for the worse. However, Maetel pouted as she shook her head from
side to side.
“I’m staying here with Artpe. Ajumma can take care of Sienna.”
“All right. You can stay here, and ajumma can take care of the rest.”
“Eeeeek. I’m pretty sure I had a pretty active part in all of this not too long ago.
Now you want me to meekly retreat with a party member in tow as if I’m some
kind of an extra. I can’t stand it!”
Mycenae grumbled, but unlike her words, she obediently took Sienna down from
the wall. Even if she was rotten, she was a Dark Elf. She didn’t need to rely on a
ladder. Even with a person in tow, she bounced down the wall. The sight of her
back looked really cool, but Artpe didn’t even glance at her. She was treated like
an extra until the end.
[Koo-oohhhhng!]
[Nyaaaaaa!]
On the other side of the wall, the Kraken showed no signs of tiring as it continued
its rampage. It was feeling pain from the flame and vibration, but it was using
pain to fuel its anger. The curse of madness and the Demonic gene was a great
combination. As time passed, the blackened flesh exfoliated from the Kraken’s
large body, and its skin was getting tougher.
‘······if I let things go on any further, a new race like the Evil Reflector might be
born here.’
However, the Kraken was unable to create such an anomalous event, because
the Greed Beast was present. The Greed Beast was able to consume curses
within Demons and humans. Of course, it would be able to extract the curse
from a big dumb squid!
As a the owner of the Read All Creation, he wanted to see a new Record being
made. However, he wouldn’t jeopardize his life to see it.
Artpe spread his Mana into the entirety of the barrier wall as he sincerely wished
for the Greed Beast to finish its mission safely. He couldn’t drag this out any
longer. He had to end this by striking a decisive blow.
“Artpe, there are more cracks forming on the wall.”
“It’s all right. It’ll becomes easier for me to attack as it breaks the barrier wall. My
attack procedure is already in place. It’ll immediately engage as soon as the wall
falls. The remaining problem is the timing of the attack.”
Best timing…
He had to wait until all the curse and evil energy to be taken by the Greed Beast.
The Kraken had to be in a structurally unstable state. Artpe was using his Read
All Creation ability to hone in on the right moment. An endless light emanated
from him as he continuously monitored the status of the Hellfire Sentinel and the
Kraken’s body.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhh!]
[Nyaa, nyaaahhhhh!]
The Krakken was obsessed with trying to break the Hellfire Sentinel, so it didn’t
notice the Greed Beast invading its body. It was as the Greed Beast had
guaranteed. The cat leisurely burrowed into various parts of the Kraken’s body,
and it stuffed itself of cursed Mana. It didn’t take too long for a change that was
visible to the eyes to occur.
[Koo-ha-ahhhh, kee-ooh-ahhhhhh!]
The Kraken charged once again, and an enormous collision occurred. At that
moment, a part of its thickened skin, which had formed over time, to fall off!
Black blood erupted from where the crust used to be, and it lessened the power
of the curse within the Kraken. It let out a cry of pain, and the Greed Beast
shouted with joy.
[Koo-oh-ahhhhh!]
[Nyahhhhhh! Nyah-ooh-oh-ahhh!]
“Is that cat trying to copy the scream of the Kraken?”
[Koo-ohhhhhhhh!]
The Kraken was feeling pain, yet it looked as if it was trying to forget the current
pain by producing a bigger pain. It madly rammed itself into the barrier wall. The
vibration was caused naturally by the wall, but the tremors caused by the
Kraken’s attack amplified the vibration. It was bad enough that a normal person
would immediately fall.
“A little bit more…. Just a little bit more······!”
[Koo-oh-ahhhhh!]
As the wall kept losing its durability, Artpe carefully inspected the wall. He
mumbled to himself in a dejected manner. The Greed Beast started to consume
the curse at a much rapid pace as instructed. The blood mixed with the curse
flowed from various parts of the Kraken’s body, but the Kraken was showing no
signs of slowing down.
“I made a mistake. The Kraken is devoid of its soul. It might be the curse or the
effects of the Demonification experiments, but there isn’t a single ounce of
conscious thought left in its mind.”
“Artpe, the wall…..”
“I know! Shit!”
The Kraken’s power was much stronger than expected, so the wall was falling
much faster than expected. Artpe was spreading his Mana to try to slow down
the collapse. He was trying hard, but there was a limit to what his Mana could
do.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhh!]
[Nyaaaaaaaa!]
The Kraken intertwined several dozen tentacles, and it struck a powerful blow
against the wall. The sound of the wall cracking could be heard, and one could
see an unrecoverable wound form on the heart of the barrier wall. It was as if a
lightning had struck the wall. The wall cracked in half from top to bottom. It
formed right bewtween Artpe and Maetel.
[Koo-ohhhhhhh!]
“Artpe!”
“Maetel, you should get down before it is too late!”
“But!”
“Right now!”
Artpe sensed that the moment had come. It didn’t matter if it hadn’t been
weakened all the way. Even if a single attack couldn’t kill it, he had to use the
attack right now. If not, the barrier wall would collapse, and that would be the
end to everything.
“I ask his favor of you, Etna….!”
He was hoping Etna’s prayer would reach the gods! If it did reach them, that
would be a problem too! Artpe struck the wall with his mana-infused fist. He let
out a shout that carried his anger!
“Dieeeeeeeee!”
It happened when his magical energy spread to the entirety of the wall! The wall
broke into countless fragments as it showered down towards the ground. Each
of them were surrounded by hellfire, and they looked like comets falling from the
sky.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhh!]
[Nyaa!? Nyaaaaaaahhhh!]
The Kraken’s body had a lot of surface area, so he was being pelted by the
meteors! It let out a wretched scream. The Greed Beast was burrowed inside
the Kraken’s body, so it didn’t receive any damage. However, it made a fuss by
asking why Artpe was attacking the Kraken when it wasn’t finished eating.
However, that was of no concern to Artpe.
“You should eat as much as you can then you should retreat!”
[Nyaa! Nyaa-ah! Nyaa-ah-ah!]
Artpe bit his lips as he slowly fell through the air. He was checking how critical of
a damage each of the massive amounts of rocks were causing. He came to the
conclusion that it wasn’t enough.
The Kraken was refined by the life energy of the ocean, and the demonic energy.
It had become extremely hard, strong and durable. The attack would destroy
70% of the Kraken’s body, but the remaining 30% could easily lay waste to Frate.
It wasn’t enough. Even if it was half dead, he couldn't win against it. He couldn’t
kill it.
They had to run away.
When he came to that conclusion, a laugh came out unbidden. He finally
grasped his station in the world. It was so pathetic that he couldn't stand it.
‘The skill of running away with exquisite timing is one of the skills needed for the
weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings. Heroes are the only one that could
fight a fair fight until the end to come out on top. I’m a fake, so this was
impossible from the start. I should just run away, and they could curse me for
doing so. This is obvious to me now.’
He fell slowly towards the ocean as countless fragments either grazed or hit the
Kraken. In that short amount of time, he took some time for introspection.
The sense of defeat filled his body, and it couldn't be erased. Who the hell did he
think he was? Why did he step forward in a battle that couldn’t be won? Did he
unconsciously become drunk on the respect given to him by other people?
It was truly funny. No, it wasn’t funny at all.
‘I don’t have any right to deride the humans. It seems I was born as a human,
and I’ve been influenced by the way of humans. All right. I realize this now. We
have to run away. I'll run away with Maetel and Sienna. This time I’ll do it the
rightway from the beginning. I will never stepforward again. I’ll do everything
from the back. It is sufficient for Maetel to be the only one in the front line. Yes,
this is it.’
“Artpe!”
“······huh?”
Someone interrupted Artpe’s thoughts, which was expanding in an uncontrollable
manner. Artpe was relying on the gravitation pull to descend. When he dumbly
turned to look, he identified the owner of the voice. He caught sight of Maetel.
She was relying on the Blink Boots he had put on her feet to run towards him.
“Idiot, we have to run away now…..”
“I got you······ Record Divide!”
Maetel didn’t listen to Artpe’s words as she used Blink. When she grabbed his
robe, she activated her Unique skill.
She was trying to share her magical energy through her skill, but what would that
accomplish? He was about to snort when he felt the magical energy flow into
him. His insides became numb.
“You… How······?”
It wasn’t Maetel’s magical energy.
This was obvious, but it wasn’t Artpe’s magical energy either.
“Artpe, can you do it now?”
He was taken aback by Maetel’s question, but he firmly nodded his head as an
answer.
“I’ll try.”
“Yes. That’s my Artpe!”
Maetel let out a bright smile, and Artpe couldn’t help but snicker. His whole body
had been dominated by the feeling of helplessness. Now it felt as if energy and
hope was surging up within him.
The magical energy flowing into him was the type of magical energy that
absolutely negated the demonic energy…. It was the magical energy of Sienna,
who was still unconscious.
Chapter 65 - Kraken (6)

Maetel had used Record Divide to deliver magical energy to Artpe. It wasn’t her
own magical energy. She had brought Sienna’s magical energy. In the process
of experiencing the Record Link and Artpe’s Mana Link, she had perfected her
unique skill!
Originally, it was a skill that allowed her to share spells and abilities with Artpe.
However, she had brought along Sienna’s ability too. Something
incomprehensible had happened.
However, Artpe didn’t ask how this was possible. He used that time to think
about how to kill the Kraken using this new factor.
The conclusion was simple. He just had to Reinforce the fragments that were
still falling towards the Kraken.
If the Hellfire Sentinel was intact, it would have been impossible. However, it had
broken apart completely, and each fragments were basically akin to a high rank
consumable artifact. This was why it was possible for him to pull this off. He
would have to consume a massive amount of Mana, but Artpe would be able to
pull it off by squeezing out every ounce of Mana from within his body.
“Reinforcement.”
Artpe activated his skill, and at the same time, he took out the Demite’s
Gemstone. It couldn’t be used as it was originally intended, since it wasn’t
completely refined. Despite this fact, it could be used in the manner he had used
against the Slime. It could receive and amplify Artpe’s magical energy.
“When I made the resolve to retreat, I never expected to be pushed back into
another risky venture like this…….”
“This isn’t risky. Artpe can do this.”
After transporting Sienna’s magical energy, Maetel clung to Artpe. She gave up
her remaining magical energy to him. The two were clinging to each other, so
they were falling faster towards the surface of the water. It was a desperate
situation, yet she looked at Artpe with absolute conviction.
“We can do this.”
“······yes, you really can’t help but be a hero.”
The hero insisted on ‘we’. It was as if she was scoffing at Artpe, who had
thought about doing all of this alone. She truly looked like the hero he had seen
in his past life. It made him laugh. The laughter was a mixture of admiration
towards her, and the derision he felt towards himself. It was a fifty-fifty mix.
Until now, he had recklessly tried to do everything by himself. When he found
himself unable to succeed, he had labeled himself as a ‘fake hero’. He did as he
pleased, and his thoughts were like a self-fulfilling prophecy. He had been ready
to run away. Artpe had been under a misconception. Even in his past life, the
hero had never tried to accomplish tasks by herself!
She had always had companions by her side. In his past life, Artpe couldn’t
understand the reasoning behind it.
One plus one was always equaled two. Usually, conflict occurred when you put
people together. There was a far greater chance of encountering a Dragon than
to find people one was able to work synergistically with.
As a Demon, Artpe took no heed of others. He considered them to be
hindrances, and he considered it fortunate if he wasn’t hurt by them. It wasn’t as
if he liked being by himself. However, the situation, the era and the state of his
mind at the time made him fly solo.
This was why he couldn’t completely discard his old habit even after his
reincarnation. He was with Maetel and Sienna now. However, he had assessed
their abilities, and he had put them in separate categories. He had acted as if he
was being rational, and he had done everything his own way. This was why he
had only thought about sending away Maetel and Sienna from the front line. He
had considered their roles to be done.
However, that wasn’t true. Heroes had the ability to make the impossible
possible. They made things that shouldn’t exist together to be able to coexist
with each other. The proof was right in front of him right now. Sienna’s magical
energy was being absorbed and amplified within the Demite’s Gemstone.
Sienna’s magical energy was being transferred through Maetel, and it was
manifesting from Artpe’s hands.
“We aren’t a chimera. What the hell is this? It makes no sense.”
“Heh heh. I didn’t think it would work. However, when I tried really hard, it
worked.”
“How can you come here with such a mentality? You really are the worst.”
She really was the worst. She was so ridiculous that he couldn’t get annoyed
with her. He could only laugh. He was happy. He would have to question her
later on, but it was fine for now.
“Go.”
Artpe spoke in a whisper as he unleashed the magical energy. It was transferred
to all the fragments of Hellfire Sentinel that existed in this world. He activated his
Reinforcement skill to Reinforce all of them again. He coated Sienna’s magic
around the fragments, and the flames were Reinforced. Their speed was
increased, and a target was set.
His merciless eyes flashed as if he was the Demon King that would bring about
the destruction to this world. In the next moment, his mouth opened once again,
and he spat out fire with his words.
“Blow up the head of that damned squid!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhh!]
Kraken wallowed within its pain as it roared, and it sent out its blackened
tentacles.
Before they could reach Artpe and Maetel, white flaming comets hit the Kraken’s
body.
The attack was the complete opposite to the Kraken’s attribute. Unlike the
previous attacks, this attack melted the body at a fundamental level!
[Kyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk!]
[Nyaa!? Nyaahhhhhhhhhh! Nyaa nyaa! Nyaa nyaa nyaa-ah-ah!]
The Kraken let out a desperate cry. The Greed Beast was taken aback. If it
continued to be greedy, it might die alongside the Kraken. It quickly retreated. A
twisted smile appeared on Artpe’s lips when he heard the Kraken’s roar and
scream. It was a horrible shriek filled with a curse towards him.
‘It is done. We won.’
When he was sure his Reinforcement was successful, he was dominated by the
feeling of delight and accomplishment. They hadn’t retreated. They had won.
He didn’t want to help those damn humans, but he was thrilled that he was able
to finish all of this without holding himself in contempt.
It felt as if the parts that he felt deficient about himself was made whole. The one
to fill that deficiency was the hero, who was falling with him.
[Koo-ohhhhhh, koo-ahhhhhhng!]
All the Mana within Artpe was emptying out, and he was steadily losing
consciousness. He wondered if he was going to die after achieving victory. If he
was hit by an errant tentacle, it would be the end of him. There was no way he
could be that unlucky. At the very least, he wished Maetel to be safe…..
Countless thoughts crossed his mind. Even as they were plummeting towards
the ocean, he caught sight of the hero. She refused to let go of his hand. He
wasn’t thinking anything. He instinctively called out the name of the hero.
“Maetel······.”
“Huh?”
Maetel had also exhausted all her Mana, so she was in the same boat as Artpe.
She was close to losing consciousness. There wasn’t a single ounce of energy
within her voice as she responded to the tired voice of Artpe. He extended his
hand to hold her lightly, and he spoke as if he was in a dream.
“Hurry······.”
“Yes······.”
He was moments away from losing consciousness. It was the moments after the
victory. He wasn’t of sound mind at that moment. Artpe spoke words that he
would regret for the rest of his life.
“Grow faster… You…. ”
“Huh······ Huh!?”
Maetel was also losing consciousness like Artpe, but at his words, she instantly
regained consciousness as she replied to his words.
He wanted her to grow faster? Why? Of course, there was only one reason why
he would want this!?
“Ah. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaartpe? Wait a moment. Can you say that again! Say
it one more time!”
“Hooo······.”
However, Artpe couldn’t finish his words as he lost complete consciousness. His
body became slack. There was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to remember
his words even after he woke up.
“Eeeeek······ All right, Artpe! I’ll grow up as soon as possible!”
However, Maetel had clearly received his words, so Maetel didn’t care what
happened!
“Faster… If I grow up faster······! Artpe will….!”
Her eyes were burning with resolve and determination. It wasn’t up to her as to
how fast she could grow, but such a small problem wouldn’t get in her way. It
would be of no problem to her!
She’ll grow up fast. Artpe said he wanted her to grow up fast, so she would grow
up fast! She would grow up fast, and…..
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhht!”
She used her transcendent will and the power of love to regain full
consciousness. She clutched Artpe’s unconscious body to her. In the next
moment, the two plunged into the ocean together.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhng!]
“Oooh-ohhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Artpe’s worries hadn’t been unfounded. The Kraken did execute a final attack,
but it couldn’t scratch the burning will of Maetel. After squeezing out its least
strength, the Kraken died in vain.
Maetel had used the power of her will to transcend everything. As she watched
the end of the Kraken, she felt a massive and overwhelming amount of EXP flow
into her and the members of her party. She was finally able to let go of her
consciousness. It was the moment where the hero’s party had achieved
complete victory against the Kraken.
[Nyaa······ Nyaa-ha-ha-ha-ha!]
The only one conscious until the end was the Greed Beast. It let out a roar of
delight as if it owned the world.
As if it wanted to prove its own existence, it let out an evil cry that was filled with
greed.
When Artpe opened his eyes, he saw two girls clinging onto him as they slept.
“This again?”
It was something that always happened, so he wasn’t surprised. He let out a
sigh as he raised his hand towards his head. However, he realized something
was there. He felt soft fur that flowed dowards. He felt a warm sensation, and
he felt a head rubbing against his palm in a cute manner.
[Nyaa.]
“It was you?”
Artpe gripped the Greed Beast by the back of the neck, and he brought it up in
front of his eyes. It looked like a cat, but its fur was black as ebony, and it
possessed purple eyes. No matter how one looked at it, it looked similar to
Artpe.
“Did you get influence by me during your birth?”
[Nyaaa.]
“Yes, I see. You protected us while we slept? Thank you.”
[Nyaa, nyaa-ah-ah. Nyaaah!]
“That’s right. I did say I’ll give you a name…...”
Artpe thought about it for a brief moment before he opened his mouth.
“All right. How about Amethyst?”
[Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]
It answered by saying it would rather be called the Greed Beast if it had to
answer by that name. It seemed the cat wouldn’t allow him to half-ass this.
Artpe clicked his tongue as he spoke the next candidate.
“How about Roa?”
[Nyaa······ Nyaa, nyaa-ah!]
The cat said it wouldn’t give the name a 100 points. It was mediocre, but it
decided to accept the name. It nodded its head as it licked Artpe’s cheek. It
seemed the Greed Beast was fully mimicking a cat. Its rough tongue licked him,
and it wasn’t a bad feeling.
“How long have I been out?”
[Nyaa-ahhh.]
“Two days?”
[Nyaa.]
After expending a massive amount of Mana, he had fallen unconscious. Even if
he had experience multiple level ups, he had been prepared to be unconscious
for a week. However, the answer that came back from Roa was encouraging. A
slight smile formed on his lips.
“Maetel and Sienna….. Good. It seems they will wake up soon too.”
Maetel and Sienna probably pushed themselves more than he did. Still, the level
267 Kraken held massive amounts of EXP. It was divided into three... no, it was
divided into four if Roa was included. Their levels had increased in a crazy
manner. This was why the aftereffects of the fight had been reduced by an
overwhelming amount.
Artpe felt truly relieved when he realized the girls weren’t hurt. He was surprised
at this emotion, but he accepted it. He brushed the head of the girls, who were
acting spoiled.
“Ooh-mmm······ Artpe. Artpe.”
“Still, level 215 is a bit much, Maetel.”
He spoke such words, but Artpe’s level was 216. It seemed his role in this
venture had been much larger than Maetel, so the share of the EXP was skewed
more towards him. He wondered if there had been a time when his level had
been higher than Maetel’s level. He realized this was the first time it had
happened. Once Maetel finds out about this, she probably would be incredibly
happy.
‘Sienna is also at level 199. When she regains consciousness, I’m sure she will
progress into her level 200 high rank Class.’
In killing the Kraken, she surely would have gained her Achievement. If she
wasn’t able to acquire her high rank Class, no one in this world was qualified to
get it. He was sure of it.
[Nyaa! Nyaa nyaaa!]
“Yes, yes. You were born not too long ago, yet you are level 150. How much
curse did you eat?”
[Nyaa!]
“It isn’t just the curses? ······Uh?”
It spoke the truth. The Greed Beast or Roa hadn’t just eaten the curse energy
like the curse of madness. It had eaten all the evil thoughts of other beings, and
it even ate the Demonic gene of the Kraken. It had eaten everything in a greedy
manner!
“Nothing is wrong with your body, right······? If you suddenly become a thrall of
the Demon King, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
[Nyaa! Nyaa nyaa nyaa! Nyaa nyaa!]
Roa spoke out in anger at Artpe’s cold words. It said there was no way it would
be controlled by such trivial energies. Still, there was a limit to how valiant one
could be.
“It seems that wasn’t the only thing you ate. Can you spit them back out?”
[Nyaa-ah-ah······?]
“You can digest anything I don’t need. You just have to give me the important
stuff.”
[Nyaa······ Nyaa. Nyaa-ah.]
“Yes, you are a good girl.”
She was a smart beast that knew the reality of her current situation. She had no
choice, but to obey Artpe’s words. Artpe scratched the back of her neck at her
praiseworthy act. It seems it was quite pleasurable. She purred. She was
completely a cat.
“You are awake, Artpe-nim!”
He was enjoying a rare moment of peace when the door suddenly opened.
Mycenae charged into the room. Her ears were trembling with anger.
“If you are awake then please hear me out, Artpe-nim! Those assholes outside
are talking about how they should divvy up the Kraken’s corpse!”
“What? They want to divvy up the Kraken’s corpse?”
Artpe answered with a dumbfounded voice. Mycenae vigorously nodded her
head in anger.
“That’s right! They claim they had contributed in killing the Kraken by donating
their Magic Stones. They are claiming they have partial rights to the corpse….
They only cooperated, because they had no choice if they wanted to live. They
are being shameless!”
“First, calm down, Mycenae.”
“Ah-ooh-ooh.”
When Mycenae heard Artpe speak her name, she reflexively calmed down. He
waited until the fluttering of her ears lessened. Then he nodded his head as he
spoke.
“So they looted the Kraken? Did anything of significance come out?”
“No, if someone dared to touch it, a fight would have broke out. Therefore, no
one has touched it yet…. No, that isn’t the important part! They are talking
about divvying up the corpse when the person responsible for killing the Kraken
isn’t present! It is unacceptable…..!”
“I see. They haven’t tried to loot it yet. That is why everyone is still excited.”
“What······?”
Normally, Artpe would have been hopping mad, but his expression was as calm
as it could be.
Mycenae had no idea what was going on, so her ears drooped. She had a
dumbfounded expression on her face. Artpe petted the Greed Beast Roa, who
was clinging to him. He nodded his head.
“Sure, they can divide it amongst themselves. It’s all right. It isn’t much.”
“Artpe-nim······ Did you perhaps do something before you lost consciousness?”
“Me? Nope. I was unconscious, so how could I have done anything?”
Artpe smirked. Roa, who was nestled against Artpe, also smirked.
“I didn’t do anything. I didn’t.”
[Nyaaaaaaaaaa.]
There was no need to interpret what Roa's meow meant.
Chapter 66 - The Quest Isn't Done Yet (1)

As Artpe had predicted, Maetel and Sienna regained consciousness in short

order. They were surprised at how much they had gotten stronger after they had
woken up. This was especially true for Sienna. She was dazed.
“Oppa was able to kill the Kraken unscathed. What a relief….. Still, I think I
received to much EXP. Also, my skill is strangely more powerful now.”
“That’s because you contributed the most in killing the Kraken….. Huh? It
seems you aren’t aware of this fact. Maetel, did you really get Sienna’s consent
before you brought her magical energy?”
Artpe’s question was sharper than Maetel’s long sword. Maetel turned up her
smile to 120% as she answered him.
“My feelings and thoughts for Artpe is the same as Sienna! Of course, my
feelings are much stronger compared to hers.”
Basically, she hadn’t received consent from Sienna. She was able to take and
use someone else’s magical energy as she pleased. Artpe was having a hard
time figuring out the skill called Record Divide. Before he did anything, he flicked
Maetel’s forehead several times.
“I told you countless times that there is a close relationship between Mana and
one’s life. If she hadn’t leveled up, Sienna would have been put in a precarious
situation.”
“If I didn’t do it, Artpe would have died!”
“Oppa!? You almost died!?”
At Maetel’s words, Sienna freaked out as she reacted to the news. Maetel knew
this was her chance. She told Sienna all about what Artpe and she had endured,
while they faced the Kraken. After hearing the complete story, Sienna clapped
her hands saying they had been fortunate.
“This means I was able to have a deep understanding with unni! I'm so happy.
I’m so happy that I was able to help oppa.”
“There’s a deep understanding between the two of you? When did you two
develop…. Ah.”
There was that incident. They had fought in broad daylight at the auction house.
They spoke about squishy feelings that sounded as if they were revealing their
hearts…. No, they were probably acting.
Artpe didn’t want to dig into it any further, so he shut his mouth. Instead, he
grabbed Roa, who was perched on top of his head. She had been playing with
his hair. He introduced Roa to them.
“This is Roa. She'll be with us from now on. As you can see, she isn’t a normal
cat. She’s the Greed Beast.”
[Nyaa.]
Roa lifted a paw as she gave her greeting. Even if they were told that she was
the Greed Beast, she looked like a dignified black cat on the outside. Sienna
was at an age where she loved cute stuff, so her eyes shone. She sounded
pleased.
“You are too cute! You are very very cute!”
However, Maetel tackled the issue from a totally unexpected direction.
“Artpe, is Roa a female cat or a male cat?”
“She’s a female cat. Are you trying to compete even with a beast?”
“Grrrrrrr······.”
[Nyaa······.]
When Maetel heard that the cat was female, she started growling. Maetel
became guarded. Roa, who had to face Maetel’s hostility, was taken aback by it.
“She really is cute….. No, Artpe-nim! This isn’t the time to be doing this!”
There was a cordial atmosphere amongst the hero’s party. Mycenae couldn’t
stand it, so she express her anger.
“Yes, yes. I’ll go out. I’m coming. Tsk.”
Artpe was lackadaisical as he got up. He put his robe around his body. No one
instructed her to do so, but Roa entered into his robe out of her own accord. She
hid atop his head.
It was the corpse of an enormous level 267 large monster. It was something
rarely seen in the human world. Artpe felt depressed at the thought of facing the
humans demonstrate their greed.
He got out of the bed first, then he waited for Maetel and Sienna to equip
themselves. After they were done getting ready…...
“Artpe, I’m hungry.”
“Oppa~ I want to eat buttered corn.”
“All right. Let’s eat before we go.”
[Nyaa!]
“Ah ah! Really! Artep-niiiim!”
They decided to go eat first.
“You are finally up?”
“We’ve been waiting for you, magician.”
It was as if they had been trying to eat all the meals they had missed for the past
two days. They enjoyed their meals thoroughly before they went to the square.
It seemed all the foreign nobles, nobles of Diaz, the lord of Frate and the
merchants were all gathered here. If things went a little bit awry, a much dirtier
and thicker greed compared to what was seen in the auction house yesterday
would emanate from them.
“Wow. It looks really big seen in this light….burp.”
“You dummy, don’t speak and burp at the same time. Where did your dignity as
a human go to?”
“It really is big. Oppa killed this. Oppa is too cool.”
Of course, they weren’t the only ones there. The Kraken was so large that he
wondered how they moved the corpse inland. Moreover, the Kraken’s corpse
had been kept intact. It was being guarded by an awe-inspiring number of
guards….. Artpe was baffled by all of this, so he asked the lord a question.
“I’ve only killed the Kraken. The Lunatic Wave has started, so it won’t end until
the winter ends. Is it ok for you all to be here doing nothing?”
“Since you’ve killed the Kraken, the size of the Wave has decreased. Two days
has passed, yet the size of the Wave barely increased in size. We still have
time. This is all thanks to you….”
“The more important thing right now is the Kraken!”
“Magician! We want to talk to you about divvying up the Kraken’s loot!”
“Koo-hmmm······.”
The foreign nobles were jumping up and down in excitement. The only one that
was subdued amongst them was Frate’s lord, count Melard. He probably also
coveted the Kraken’s corpse, but the defense of Frate was more important to
him.
“Even if you don’t raise your voices, the magician will understand your words.
Everyone should calm down, and we should wait for him to speak. This will
allow us to do this quickly, and it’ll finish without any conflict.”
“How can I do that! These bastards are trying to steal my share of the Kraken
through unfair reason!”
“Who are you accusing of theft? I acquired the share to the barrier wall through
the merchant over there! I bought it with my Magic Stones early on! I’m different
from you guys, who held out giving the Magic Stones until the last moment. You
only gave it up, because you didn’t want to die!”
“Everyone should calm down! Aren’t you ashamed of your behavior as nobles!”
“How can we calm down right now!”
This was why the count had remained here. If he vacated his post of watching
over the corpse of the Kraken, he was worried a fight would have broken out. He
was at a point where he wished the corpse of the Kraken would just disappear.
‘Thankfully, the lord has a good head on his shoulders. If people like him didn’t
exist, the country would fall into ruins.’
Artpe shared a bitter laugh with the lord before he stepped forward. Everyone’s
attention was focused on him. He let out a deep sigh, and he looked over the
Kraken’s corpse. He had planned on talking about everyone’s share after he
made an accurate assessment of the worth of the Kraken’s corpse.
‘Huh…..’
However, he found an information that he hadn’t been able to catch with his
Read all Creation ability when the Kraken was alive. During the fight, he hadn’t
been focused on analyzing what was within its body. He had focused on its
health and overall status of the Kraken. It was understandable as to how this
had happened.
The Read All Creation was a god-like ability that allowed it to discern all
information that could be seen through his eyes. However, there was a limit on
how much information Artpe could receive and process. This was why he had
trained his ability to show him information on topics he was focused on.
In conclusion, he had done a thorough search of the Kraken’s inner anatomy,
and he was barely able to find an entity within it.
‘Besides the fact that there is something within it….. It is still alive? Moreover,
this being belongs to the race of….. Wait a moment. This smells like another
Quest…..’
He had thought he had nothing to hide. Greed Beast Roa had looted the Kraken
once already. The only thing that could be gained from the Kraken was its big
body. Of course, the parts of its body were useful, but it wasn’t anything he
coveted. This was why he had been ready to give away most of it after he
gathered the important items….. However, the story had changed once he found
‘another possibility’ within its corpse.
“All right. I am a magician that is second to none in this world in terms of
fairness. I’ll make my verdict now. My three man party will take 50% of the loot.”
“You want 50%?! That is too high!?”
“Artpe-nim! You only want 50 percent…..”
If one was being frank, the hero party had done everything in this fight. Five
hundred magic stones was worth an enormous amount, yet the Reinforcement of
the barrier wall couldn’t have been done without him. Moreover, Sienna and
Maetel wouldn’t have been there. The barrier wall wouldn’t have been used to
defeat the Kraken.
He had every right to take the entire corpse for himself, so he was being
generous by announcing his 50% cut. Of course, the generosity was influenced
by the fact that Roa had already looted the Kraken.
A portion of nobles couldn’t hide their anger and discontent. They were barely
able to keep their cool, but the nobles started making snide comments. Artpe
snorted as he spoke in a disinterested manner.
“Next, there is the merchant that played a huge role in making the barrier wall,
which blocked the Kraken. Mycenae’s share is 20%.”
“That merchant tried to cheat us out of our items, yet you are giving her a 20%
cut! Are you out of your mind !”
“If this particular merchant wasn’t here, we would have all died. So shut the hell
up!”
At Artpe’s rough rebuke, the nobles shut their mouths.
Since Artpe wasn’t a noble, they couldn’t bend him to their wills through political
pressure. He was also a powerful magician, so they couldn’t subdue him through
violence. If Artpe had tried to coerce them all through his magic, they could have
shouted with righteous anger. They could have invoked the name of their
countries. However, Artpe was speaking as the most accomplished combatant in
this battle. He also spoke about the contributions made by the other people in
battle. There was nothing they could gain by raising their voices.
“Then there are the nobles and merchants of Diaz, who provided 180 Magic
Stones for the construction of the barrier wall. They sold it at a ‘cheap’ price. I
believe 20% share is fair for them. The rest will take the 10% share. These are
the foreign nobles and merchants, who paid 320 Magic Stones, in exchange for
the right to be protected. That is it. Are there any objections?”
“T...ten percent….. You want us to share 10 percent amongst the 100 of us?
Y...you bastaaaaaaaard!”
The noble couldn’t stand it any longer, so he unsheathed his sword. He pointed
his sword at Artpe. However, neither Maetel and Sienna stepped forward to help
Artpe. They knew how much strength and martial force he possessed.
Artpe’s eyebrows twitched as he looked over the noble.
“I split it up fairly. Do you have a problem with it?”
“How is this fair! I’ve never experienced meeting such an obstinate person! I
gave up three Magic Stones, and I want a fair compensation!”
“You should speak the whole truth. You’ve already received a fair
compensation.”
Artpe extended his hand to grab the sword. The Mana Strings erupted like vines
as it climbed up the sword. The Mana Strings reached the man’s neck. The
nobleman couldn’t see the Mana Strings, but he could feel the pressure caused
by them. He squeaked as his body tensed.
“I’m talking about your life. The rest is just a bonus. Am I not right?”
“Y...you bastard…. You dare to threaten a marquis of the Diatin Kingdom!”
“I’m pretty sure you were the one to threaten me first. I’m pretty sure we made a
clean transaction, yet you are going back on the terms of the deal. You are
trying to double dip. If that isn’t a form of threat, what is?”
“T...that wasn’t a fair trade…...”
When he added strength into the Mana String, the nobles sword broke cleanly.
The bastard finally realized that he was facing someone with unfathomable
abilities. He finally realized this fact.
“If you don’t like the price you paid for your life, I can take it all back. Shall we
settle our account after nullifying our previous agreement? I’m ready to do so.”
Artpe was trying to prevent more annoying incidents from occurring. He spoke
as he gathered his Mana. The noble’s face paled.
“M...my country won’t allow….”
“Do you really think that your northern country will be able to find me? No…. If I
decide to do something to you here, do you think I’ll leave behind any witnesses?
You were shaking in fear behind the wall, while we killed the Kraken. It has only
been two days, yet have you forgotten this fact?”
“Koo, kuh-huhk…..”
Artpe’s imposing presence was mounting. It was as if the Demon King’s Four
Heavenly King had made his appearance. The murderous intent rose until it
choked their throats. It was hard to breath in this atmosphere.
“Such fearsome Mana…..”
“He probably became much stronger after defeating the Kraken. He might be the
strongest human in this world…..!”
No one there could say anything. They could only feel sorry for the marquis of
the Diatin Kingdom, who was feeling the full brunt of Artpe’s killing intent.
Nevertheless, Artpe spoke words that held more venom than before.
“I’m playing along with you guys, since I don’t want to create more annoying
incidents. If I kill you, it will be inevitable. I will have to destroy your country at
some point in time. ······so how do you want to play this? Are you going to
create trouble for me?”
No one there could laugh off Artpe’s words as a lie. They believed that Artpe
was capable of destroying a nation. This was also true for the marquis of the
Diatin Kingdom.
“N...no. I...I’m not going to”
“What about you guys?”
The nobles and merchants had been showing a bold front until a moment ago,
yet they avoided meeting Artpe’s gaze right now. When he saw this, Artpe felt
truly appalled by it.
If they knew they were going to end things like this, why did they all raise their
voices? Why did they have to force Artpe to growl and show off his power? This
was why he considered humans to be no better than dogs. However, it was also
true that Artpe had humored them, and he played on their level. Artpe was the
same as them. He was also pathetic.
Still, he had to continue this pathetic farce to achieve his goal.
“All right. Since we’ve concluded our discussion, let us start distributing it. Since
we no longer need to guard the corpse, you should quickly send the guards to
the 2nd tier barrier wall. Those with no claims to the corpse of the Kraken should
also go. You should be vigilant against the murderous intent of the monsters, not
the greed of humans.”
“I...I understand!”
“Understood, magician-nim!”
The square became quiet. There were greedy people still present, yet no one
had the fortitude to reveal their greed.
“Let us start the looting.”
“Y...yes sir.”
The marquis of Diatan couldn’t withstand Artpe’s killing intent, so he had pissed
his pants. Artpe discarded him, and he approached the Kraken’s corpse. As he
approached it, he gave orders to Roa in a low voice.
[When I mess with the corpse, I want you to play along by pouring out the
worthless items.]
[Nyaa-ahhhh.]
Artpe messed with the Kraken. Roa opened her mouth.
The collaboration between the master and servant was perfect.
Chapter 67 - The Quest Isn't Done Yet (2)

When Artpe started going through the motion of looting the corpse, Roa followed
her master’s directions. She spat out a massive number of items. She had
worked hard to gather all these items, so she felt aggrieved. There were unshed
tears in her purple eyes.
This was for the benefit of the people gathered around the Kraken. It looked as if
the Kraken was pouring out Artifacts thanks to Artpe’s looting.
“T...there are so many of them!?”
“Huh? I’ve seen this spear from somewhere before…...”
“It was said that the Kraken swallowed whole ships that sank to the bottom of the
ocean. I’m sure there are numerous weapons from each kingdom mixed in
there.”
Since the items from the auction house were mixed within the pile, it was
reasonable to make such an assumption. However, as expected of a highly
intelligent magical beast, Roa taken out all the unremarkable items. She was
able to accurately gauge the amount of curse energy and evil energy within the
items. This was why she was able regurgitate the items that were considered to
be unremarkable. The sense of disharmony between the humans quickly
dissipated.
“However… Mmmmmmm.”
“Shit…. My three Magic Stones came back as shit!”
It was a legendary monster that was over level 250. The Kraken had been the
tyrant of the ocean, yet the loot looked extremely ordinary. They couldn’t help
but let out a sigh. It was to be expected. Roa had eaten all the corrupt energy
within the items.
“Are there any Artifacts that was newly formed through the Kraken’s Record and
Mana?!”
“I guess not. Shit. I heard this happens sometimes. Why did it have to occur at
this moment!”
“Maybe, this is a blessing in disguise. Even if such items existed, it would have
ended in the hands of the magician. We would have been unable to do anything
about it.”
Artpe had been worried Roa might have spat out something of high value. His
eyes were fierce as he looked over the items. However, there was no way Roa
would make a mistake. She had executed her task flawlessly. She was so
thorough that Artpe wondered if it would have been better if she had spat out
more items.
“This should be enough to cover your share. You guys can take it and divvy it
up.”
“No, I think I’d rather want the Kraken’s corpse than these items….”
“What? You want me to take weapons and equipments that’s useless to a
magician? Or are you trying to say you find equipments of my companions
lacking?”
“It isn’t like that...”
When Artpe put some strength behind his glare, the noble quickly shrank into
himself. Artpe was acting like a gangster, but since they didn’t know the specifics
of what Artpe had done, they were unable to argue with him!
“Your share will be covered by this spear. You can have this shield…....”
“How…. How can this be! How! This can’t be possible! Why!”
“If I knew these items would drop, I wouldn’t have given up my Magic Stones….
Shit!”
This was how the merchandise that were submitted by the nobles and merchants
were returned to them as their share of the loot. The weapons and items were
clean. There were no curses or evil energy imbued within them. No further
troubles would arise from this! Mycenae already knew what was up. The white of
her eyes were displayed as she mumbled to herself.
“This was why Artpe-nim said those words towards me earlier…...”
“The Kraken’s corpse solely belongs to my party and Mycenae. People, who
received their shares, should join the front line. Even if you are foreigners, you
entered into the Diaz Kingdom, so you all have obligations to help out against the
Lunatic Wave. I’m sure you are aware of that fact?”
“There still might be something left within the Kraken’s corpse!”
“So what if something remains within it?”
Artpe smirked as he questioned the nobel.
“What are you going to do about it? You qualify for 1/1000 share of the loot, so
what right do you have to make such a demand?”
“I...I’ll go to the barrier wall.”
“Artpe is too cool······.”
Artpe was successful in chasing off the nobles and merchants. If he took the
entire Kraken for himself, they would have become suspicious. This was why he
used his Mana Strings to slowly remove the tentacles. He was working on the
20% of the Kraken he would have to give to Mycenae.
Mycenae looked worried as she watched the humans leave. They were grinding
their teeth in frustration. She grabbed his sleeve.
“Artpe-nim, it is truly satisfying to see you act this way, but it also means Diaz
won’t be able to avoid the backlash….”
“You are probably right. They can’t do anything to me, so that’ll pick on people
they will have better odds against. They’ll lodge complaints against the nobles of
Diaz.”
“I see. You are right.”
“This will lessen the influence of the nobles, and it would give the puppet king
some breathing room. Even if the nobles try to lessen the damage by shifting the
blame to the puppet king, the result will be the same. Either the nobles will get
weaker or the puppet king will become weaker. It is an either-or situation. In
either case, it’ll help Silpennon recover his kingdom later on.”
“······.”
Mycenae received an unexpected answer, so she was at a loss for words. She
hadn’t the faintest idea as to how far ahead Artpe was thinking about. Of course,
Artpe wasn’t thinking too seriously about his answer! He was just noting the fact
that it wouldn’t be too bad if things turned out like that.
“I’ll cut them up for you roughly at this size. I’m sure I don’t need to explain to
you on how to process a Kraken?”
“Artpe-nim seems to know everything.”
“I don't know everything. I just know what I know. I’m pretty sure I told you this
before.”
Mycenae’s share was quite generous. She was given half of the tentacles, and a
good amount of the Kraken’s body was carved out for her. It was more than
enough for the Anywhere company to celebrate her return. The only problem was
the fact that she still had to haul this big body parts back.
“I heard the body could be used as ingredient to create a Mana reagent. It can
also be used to make nutritious tonics. It is the part of the body with the most
use.”
“However, the most coveted part is the tentacles.”
Roa had absorbed all the curses and the Demonic gene, so the Kraken had been
weakened. Still, a Kraken was a Kraken.
The tentacles became tougher in death. Each tentacle had tens of thousands of
suction cups, and hooks on the surface. The tentacles were frightening. Many
weapons could be made with just one tentacle. Amongst all the weapons that
could be made, the most famous one was a whip made from the Kraken’s
tentacle.
“There are parts we can sell from the head. You can look forward to that. Ah,
you should give up on the ink. I’m going to use it.”
Artpe knew he was very lucky. The Kraken had been gripped with madness, so
it wouldn’t have been strange to see the Kraken swivel its head in all directions to
spray its ink. He didn’t know if the Kraken liked to fight only with its body or if it
was unable to expel any of its curse. The Kraken hadn’t used its ink during the
battle. It either rammed the wall with its body or it swung its tentacles.
“This is the Kraken’s ink? I’ve never heard of it.”
“I can see why. It is usually used for curse magic. Moreover, there’s also the
fact that not many people survive an encounter with a Kraken to spread such
information.”
“E...even if you want to sell it to me, I won’t buy it!”
Maybe this was the aftereffect of what had gone on in Frate. Just the mention of
curses made her face turn deathly pale. Mycenae’s ears fluttered as she backed
away. He cackled when he saw this.
He changed the subject.
“Actually, it isn’t only used with curses. It is used in creating high rank magic
books. A massive amount of pure Mana was infused deeply within the ink
through the years, so a Magician could easily create a magic book with this
ingredient. These magic books won’t be absorbed into one’s Record after
reading it once. It’s like the Demite Gemstone. It absorbs Record to evolve. It
support the Magician as it becomes enriched.”
“That has nothing to do with curses! Eeek. You are making fun of the trauma I
suffered······!”
Mycenae’s body and ears trembled from the indignation she felt. Artpe cackled
once again when he saw this. Maetel was watching Artpe from behind him.
There was a slightly withdrawn look in her eyes.
“Artpe, let’s hurry up and take what is ours. Then we can go rest. I have
something I want to talk to you about.”
“······Maetel, your voice sounds a bit scary.”
“I’m just too tired right now. I’ll become better soon if you are by my side. If you
are near me….”
“Your voice just turned scarier……”
Artpe lost his nerve at the odd energy coming from her. He could no longer open
his mouth. Mycenae also felt as if she would be murdered by Maetel if she
remained here. Under such fears, she called forth the staff from her company.
She quickly ran away after she gathered everything she could gather.
The butchering of the Kraken continued. There were still some people left.
These particular humans still held lingering attachment towards the Kraken, so
they had remained to watch.
However, they soon realized Artpe was just butchering the Kraken. There was
nothing new that could be gained from the Kraken. They had no choice but to
leave. This was how Artpe passed the time as he waited for everyone to
disappear from this place.
However, the lord of Frate continued to wait until the end. It was quite
unexpected.
“From what I’ve seen of you, I thought you would be the first to run to the top of
the barrier wall.”
Artpe paused from his task of butchering the Kraken, and he spoke towards the
lord. As if he had been waiting for this, the lord nodded his head as he spoke.
“Of course, the Lunatic Wave is important. However, I thought this would be the
only time I would be able to talk to you. ”
When he heard those words, Artpe paused for a brief moment. It was
imperceptible. Artpe commended the lord inside for figuring that out, but his
outer appearance remained calm.
“What are you talking about? I’m in the same boat as you. I can’t get out of here
until winter.”
“Is that so? I got the impression that you were going to leave immediately. That
is why I wanted to express my thanks before that happened. Even if you aren’t
leaving soon, I’ll give you a token of my appreciation. Thank you.”
The lord spoke those words as he pushed a small pouch towards Artpe. The
pouch was imbued with fairly deep magic. It was none other than a Dimensional
Pouch..
“I would have liked to have repaid you with a better item, yet this is all I have left.
Still, in terms of how much it can hold and its ability to reduce weight, it was
evaluated to be the best in this country. It should have plenty of space to put in
the Kraken.”
Artpe had been listening half-heartedly to the lord’s explanation as he took the
item. His eyes turned round in surprise. He couldn’t help it.
“What the…. You weren’t exaggerating. This really is an amazing treasure.”
Dimensional Pouches were somewhat common. However, when one tried to find
the better functioning Dimensional Pouches, the price increase was very steep.
Then there were the ones that couldn’t be bought with money. This pouch was
part of the collection of items that were made by Archmages from the distant
past.
If a Dimensional Pouch was able to contain the incredibly large Kraken, which
was several hundred meters in length, it was well beyond the realm of being a
normal Dimensional Pouch.!
“You know you will be taking losses from the result of my actions, yet you are
giving me such a precious item…...?”
“Loss?”
The lord smirked at Artpe’s reply. He looked at Artpe with kind eyes as he
spoke.
“Countless lives within the city were saved, because of you. When I think about
the weight of the blood and tears that could have been on my shoulders, I can
laugh off any threats those bastards can come up with.”
“······.”
He hadn’t expected such a great response from the lord. Artpe became silent.
In his past life, he had seen a lot of hypocrisy and pretense from humans. This
was why he knew the lord was speaking the truth.
‘Yes, I saw so many disgusting humans that I forgot about people like him. They
are very small in number, but there really are humans like him in this world.’
It felt as if he was hit on the head. When he was faced with the endlessly selfish
humans, he had fought fire with fire. He acted only in his own interest as a
response. This was why this sudden attack by the lord had hit its mark.
“You······.”
The lord wasn’t done. He continued to speak.
“We truly fell short. We made such a foolish mistake by trying to protect the
wrong things. We were able to avoid an irreversible calamity thanks to you.
However, it seems humans are creatures that can’t help but make the same
mistake over and over again. We once again showed such crude behaviors in
front of you….. Still, I want to make sure that you know this truth. There are a lot
of people out there that are of of like mind as me.”
In his past life, Artpe had lived for several hundred years. This human had lived
not even one fifth that number, yet he was able to see through Artpe. Artpe felt
he still had a long way to go. He couldn’t stop his laughter from coming out.
A crinkle started to form at the edges of the lord’s eyes. The lord’s intelligent
eyes reflected his years of experience. He looked straight at Artpe as he brought
his words to a close.
“We know the worth of what you have done. We cannot do what you can do, but
there are many people out there that respect what you have done. Please
continue to help the other humans. I know you are disappointed in humanity, but
there will come a day when you will find hope from humanity. I truly believe this.”
“Hah······.”
It was a complete defeat.
However, it didn’t feel too bad.
Artpe took the Dimensional Pouch being offered. He nodded his head as if it
couldn’t be helped.
“I’m just one human. The fact that I become disillusioned and disappointed by
humanity doesn’t mean it’ll greatly affect the human world….. All right, lord. I’ll
be sure to remember your words.”
“It is very fortunate that you think so.”
The lord was past being middle-aged, and he was at the cusp of entering his
latter years. When he saw the spite within Artpe’s eyes lessen by a small
amount, he let out a truly bright laughter. Artpe was strangely embarrassed when
faced with the lord’s smile. He snorted as he turned his gaze away. However,
words that didn’t match the expression on his face leaked out.
“I will be leaving soon, but…. It was my fault for destroying the reinforced barrier
wall. I’ll reconstruct the first barrier wall.”
“No, the barrier wall was used to defeat the Kraken. It was done out of necessity.
Moreover, the place where the 1st barrier wall stood is filled with water and
monsters now…..”
“Do you really think that’ll be a problem for me?”
“······no, it won’t be a problem. Then I'll head to the frontline ahead of you. I’ll
say this again. Thank you very much.”
The lord had already seen what Artpe could do. The lord laughed as he
expressed his thanks once again. He headed towards the frontline where the
humans and monsters were confronting each other. He didn’t turn around to look
at Artpe.
Artpe’s 3-man party was the only ones left there.
“Are we going to leave this place too, Artpe?”
“We’ll have to finish butchering this bastard.”
The work he had to do right now had to be done away from prying eyes.
However, he had received a special tool. He didn’t really need to stay here.
He put the entire Kraken within his pouch. The pouch remained light. He
grinned in satisfaction as he turned to look at his party.
“All right. Let’s go receive our next Quest.”
“Quest!?”
The Kraken had fulfilled its role, and it exited the stage in an ignominious
manner.
It was time to to meet the new character that would appear from within its
stomach. A new stage would be set.
Chapter 68 - The Quest Isn't Done Yet (3)

The humans were in a heated battle at the port. They were trying to stop the
advance of monsters that were coming out from the ocean. No one was the
wiser when they left the city to head towards the mountain. No, there would be
one person within the city, who would notice. Etna knew he had left, but she
didn’t follow after the party. It seemed she was going to behave by waiting at
the inn.
“I think we are far enough.”
When he reached a large clearing, Artpe took out the corpse of the Kraken from
his Dimensional Pouch. He had taken off a lot of parts for Mycenae, yet the
corpse was still enormous. After butchering the tentacles and body of the
Kraken, the corpse was at a size where the dissection of the corpse wouldn’t be
too great of a challenge.
“We are almost done with the body….. All right. Let’s put that aside for now.”
“You are going to use it on the barrier wall? Right, Artpe?”
Artpe couldn't help but laugh at Maetel’s sharp insight. For some reason, she
became unusually smart regarding any work related to Artpe.
“That right. I’m going to dry the Kraken’s body, and I will grind it into fine powder.
It’ll become a great ingredient that will allow me to Reinforce various materials.”
“As expected, Artpe is too kind.”
“I’m just trying to restore the barrier wall, so they can’t use it as a talking point
against me.”
No one believed the bullshit Artpe was spouting. Artpe simultaneously activated
several magic as he spoke. He let out fire, wind and Mana Strings. He dried the
body of the Kraken, and he minced it into fine powder. After putting away the
powder inside his Dimensional Pouch, the only part left was the Kraken’s head.
“Hoo-ooh······ Let’s do this.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the head was the most important part of the
Kraken. Artpe let out his Mana Strings, and his movement became more careful.
“First, I’m going to split open its head, and I have to carefully extract the ink sac.”
“The sac is pretty small compared to the enormous size of the Kraken.”
“If the sac is capable of producing a lot, it doesn’t have to be large. Here it
is······.”
Then he added something special to it. It was something only Artpe could do.
He Reinforced it. He Reinforced it twice, and the ink sac went through a
transformation. Its size decreased to a point where Artpe could hold it with one
hand. Of course, the ink within the sac was also Reinforced.
However….
“Huh..”
“What’s wrong, Artpe?”
He had a hunch that he would be able to Reinforce it one more time. When he
had this feeling, he tilted his head in puzzlement. Normally, he was able to
Reinforce an item once or twice. It was a limit that couldn’t be surpassed without
the support of ingredients like the Magic Stones.
‘Did my skill evolve thanks to the fight with the Kraken?’
It was as he suspected. He had to rampantly use his Reinforcement skill in the
fight against the Kraken, and it allowed him to acquire some kind of an
Achievement. When his EXP was being tallied, his Reinforcement skill had
grown.
As a result of this venture, Artpe’s Reinforcement skill had reached level 51.
When he arrived at Frate, his skill level had been 43. He had gone through an
amazing burst of growth.
No, the skill level wasn’t the important part right now. The important part was the
fact that he could use Reinforcement three times on his party’s equipment
without the need of Magic Stones.
“Hey, you guys should come here too.”
“Yes!”
Artpe immediately Reinforced the ink sac. Then he Reinforced his boots and the
other equipments of his party members in one fell swoop. The effect was
amazing. His boots had already boasted cheat-like abilities, but the equipments
of his companions were close to reaching its shelf-life. Their equipments were
perfectly restored, and they had evolved into something better. He was satisfied
with the result.
“Oppa! Oppa! The hammer can store and release vibration now!”
“Finally, the true power of that metal type will be revealed..”
“Wow. I can shoot my Beam twice in a row!”
“Yes, let’s just call your move as the Beam from now on.”
If he had his way, he wanted to Reinforce the Demite Gemstone. However, the
Demite Gemstone had a sense of self, so it was like trying to Reinforce a
person. It was impossible to do for now. However, it also meant that he would
be able to Reinforce it some day in the future…..
‘I’ll worry about it when I reach that point. The more important thing right now is
in front of my eyes.’
Artpe shook his head from side to side as he stopped churning his thoughts. The
completed ink sac was the perfect size for portability. He hung it inside his robe.
Even if the Kraken slammed its body into him, Artpe’s bones would be crushed,
but the ink sac wouldn’t burst open. Aside from the ink sac, most of the
remaining organs became food for Roa. He gave her parts like the liver. These
were organs that possessed strong Mana, yet it was poisonous for human
consumption.
[Nyaa, nyaaaaaa.]
“All right. Since you are going to eat all of this, you have to spit out the other
items later on.”
[Nyaaa.]
The loot given to the nobles were fake. The true Artifacts containing the
Kraken’s Record and Mana was within Roa’s stomach.
It seemed the innards of the Kraken prepared by Artpe was pretty good. Roa
didn’t think too much on it as she readily nodded her head. Artpe scratched the
underside of her chin as he continued the butchering.
After a short amount of time had passed, the head was completely dismantled.
The only thing left was its enormous stomach. When she looked over it,
Maetel’s eyes turned round.
“Artpe, there’s something alive inside!”
“You should unsheathe your sword. Be ready.”
“······yes.”
The meaning behind Artpe’s words were simple to discern.. There was a living
being inside the Kraken’s stomach, and it was a monster. Maetel didn’t dig too
deep into the subject. She unsheathed and gripped her sword.
“All right. Here I go.”
When Artpe confirmed that she was ready, he controlled his Mana Strings to
carefully split open the stomach.
From within it, a beauty with dazzling white skin and ocean-colored hair
appeared.
“Koo-ooh······ Hoo-oohk······.”
She had a very distressed complexion, and she was gasping for air. There was
no vitality or magical energy remaining within her body. She would have died
within a day or two if she had remained inside the Kraken.
Moreover, the Demonic gene had invaded deep into her body…… It was
obvious that she had been a sacrificial lamb for the Demonification experiment.
It wasn’t a coincidence that she was inside the Kraken’s stomach. No, if he
considered the worst case scenario, she had been allowed to be swallowed by
the Kraken as part of the experiment. This might all be interconnected.
“Eeeeeeeeek!”
However, Maetel didn’t care about the deep implications of all of this. She didn’t
care about the condition of the woman. The only thing that mattered was the fact
that the woman was naked. Maetel grinded her teeth in anger as she pointed her
sword at Artpe.
“Now I will use this sword on Artpe’s eyes!”
“Calm down. I didn’t rescue her, because she’s a woman!”
“Unni, this monster is suffering under the same symptoms as me. I’m sure oppa
was able to identify this.”
“Oohk.”
She was barely able to put away her sword when she heard Sienna’s words.
Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he spoke.
“Mermaids possess above average intelligence compared to other normal
monsters. If I’m able to converse with her, I can acquire information from her.
This is why I’m trying to keep her existence a secret. That is the reason why I’m
trying to save her.”
“What are you going to do after you extract the information? ······Will you kill her
afterwards?”
Maetel had once declared that all monsters were her enemies since they all did
bad things. However, it seemed she didn’t have the courage to point her sword
towards a mermaid groaning from weakness. Artpe was inwardly relieved by this
fact. He shook his head from side to side.
“I won’t kill anyone that will help me. I’ll make a similar arrangement as the one I
made with Deyus, so you don’t have to worry about it. ”
“Yes, I understand. However, it would be great if we can clothe her as soon as
possible.”
“Jeez. She’s a monster.”
“However, her body is amazing! This isn’t good for Artpe’s eyes!”
It was true that she was a monster, but the mermaid looked exactly like a human
on the outside. It did feel weird to stare at her naked body. Artpe quickly placed
a cloth over her naked body.
[Nyaa?]
“Yes, you know your stuff. I’ll leave it to you.”
Roa sensed that it was her turn, so she trotted off of Artpe’s shoulder. She
hopped onto the mermaid’s stomach, and she opened her mouth wide.
[Nyaaaaaaaaahng.]
That was all she needed to do. The Demonic gene, which was dominating the
mermaid, was sucked into Roa’s mouth. It was a clean extraction. Artpe knew
she possessed this talent, yet he couldn’t help but be surprised when he
witnessed it in action.
“I’m glad that the Chaos Egg absorbed the Obsidian of Greed….”
“It really is an absurd ability. If we had Roa from the beginning, neither I nor
oppa would have suffered.”
At one point, Sienna had been in the same situation as the mermaid. She had
been reborn as an Evil Reflector through Artpe’s hands. It seemed the sight of
the all of this was leaving behind a fairly deep impression on Sienna.
If she hadn’t become an Evil Reflector, she wouldn’t have had to live a life full of
battles. Was she sad about this fact? Artpe had such thoughts for the first time
as he watched Sienna. She was always laughing, so he might be under a
misconception. Maybe she…...
“However, I’m able to travel with oppa and unni thanks to what happened. I
prefer my current situation, oppa.”
“Are you learning mind reading skill with Maetel?”
“Heh heh.”
He couldn’t even have his own thoughts around his party members. Artpe
grumbled as he retrieved Roa. She let out a playful yawn. She had completely
disposed of the curses and Demonic gene that had been dominating the
mermaid’s body.
Aside from the weakened state of the mermaid’s body, she was fine. Basically,
she went from a critically fatal state to a normal fatal state.
“Sienna.”
“Yes.”
Sienna put down her hammer, and she approached the mermaid. Sienna
extended a hand towards the mermaid. Her warm magical energy flowed into
the mermaid’s body. The mermaid immediately opened her eyes, which was
ocean blue. It was the same color as her hair. She let out a groan.
“Koo-hoohk, hoohk?”
Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he opened his mouth. The words that flowed out of
his mouth wasn’t the language of the humans. It was the language of the
monsters. It was specifically a language that would allow him to communicate
with underwater monsters like the mermaid.
[You regained consciousness in one go. Since the Demonic gene was fostered
within you, you should be in pain right now. However, your body is being purified
right now, so you should endure it.]
“Kahk, keh-hoohk!”
How great would it be if one could endure pain just because someone told one to
endure it? Sienna’s magical energy spread towards the entirety of the mermaid’s
body. It bolstered her vitality, and her wounds were being healed. However, the
mermaid couldn’t endure the pain of the healing process, so she screamed
continuously.
It might have been better if she hadn’t regained consciousness. She suffered,
because she had immediately regained consciousness. Fortunately, Sienna’s
Mana was specialized. She was able to bolster the magic within the mermaid.
She was able to finish the healing in short order.
“Kah-oohk, hee-koo-ah-oooooh······.”
Sienna took back her hand, and she backed away. Her treatment was finished,
yet it seemed the mermaid was still in the throes of pain. She intermittently let
out a moan as she crawled up into a ball.
There were tears in her pure eyes, and one could see fear towards the humans
surrounding her. Artpe shook his head as he spoke to her.
[You’ll be fine now. The wounds, curses and Demonic gene are no more. You
won’t die if you obey my words.]
It was such a sinister statement that he would have been worthy if he was
chosen to be the Demon King. The slender mermaid shook in fear when she
heard his words. If Maetel was able to understand his words, she would have
been angry with him. Unfortunately, she didn’t know the language of the
monsters.
However, the answer that was given by the mermaid was unexpected.
[I...I understand. You rescued me from overwhelming danger. I’ll will serve you
as my master.]
[Huh? ······ah. So that’s how it is.]
Even amongst the humans, there was a debate as to whether mermaids were
monsters or a kindred species. They were one of the races where the opinions
were split.
When the Luatic Wave approached, they lost some of their sense of reason.
They appeared alongside the normal monsters to fight the humans. This was
why the popular opinion was that the mermaids were monsters. However, they
were also unique in the fact that mermaids of high intelligence were able to
escape the effects of the Lunatic Wave.
Moreover, the ones with the high intelligence were famous for repaying their
debts no matter the cost. If the debt was small, they repaid the debt through
gems from the ocean. If the debt was large, they dedicated their lives to the
person they were beholden to. They became subservient.
‘Normally, people interact with mermen and mermaids as enemies. Therefore, it
is very hard for them to incur a big enough debt where they will dedicate their
lives to you. This rarely happened in history.’
If Maetel found out about this, it would become a huge headache. Maetel didn’t
care if she was a monster or not. Maetel considered all pretty female to be
potential enemies….. Still, he had saved her with the aim to mine information
from her. He would just release her from her debt after things resolved itself
somewhat.
Artpe easily turned the page of his thoughts as he spoke to her.
[You probably have a decent idea of what this mess is all about. I’ll get straight
to the point. Someone purposefully got close to you guys, and a curse was
spread amongst you all. Am I right?]
[Yes, someone did do that.]
[Why were you inside the Kraken’s belly?]
[The bastard captured me, and he gave me to the Kraken as food. The Kraken
was too powerful to control through brute force. This was why they placed a
curse on me, and the curse was passed onto the Kraken when it ate me.]
Mmm. As expected, these were sons of bitches of the highest order. Artpe
nodded in a solemn and dignified manner as he queried her.
[Is he still within the ocean?]
[He is still there. He has taken over the deep sea mermaid kingdom of Anaid.
He is making the curses there.]
[Do you know his name?]
[I do. He is a man named Madelrude.]
When he heard her answer, he felt a sense of incongruity. He tilted head in
puzzlement. He had heard this name before. Soon, he came up with the
answer.
“Medelrude was the name of the previous duke of Diaz…..?”
He realized the truth that he hadn’t finished his first Quest yet. Artpe was barely
at to realize this fact.
Chapter 69 - The Quest Isn't Done Yet (4)

He immediately gathered all the information he needed to know from the

mermaid. Then he took off his own camouflage artifact. He put it on the
mermaid. (Maetel once again became enraged at this gesture.) After he
somewhat disguised her identity, he gave her a skirt and an adequate top for her
to wear. Then he returned to the city with her.
Of course, the Lunatic Wave was still going on, so the streets of the city was as
quiet as ever. Everyone was trying to survive until the end of the Lunatic Wave,
so they had changed their way of life.
“Fortunately, there aren’t any people here that’ll make a fuss after seeing you.”
[Human clothes are uncomfortable.]
[Endure it until we reach a place with no human eyes.]
[Understood.]
A mermaid’s lower body turned into that of a fish when one was underwater.
However, when one came out to dry land, the mermaid’s lower body naturally
turned into human legs. The mermaid became bipedal.
Even if mermaids were capable of walking on two legs, human clothes were
incredibly uncomfortable to them. The mermaid was restless as she kept
grabbing and letting go of her skirt.
[Do you perhaps have a name?]
[I do. My name is Sheryll Anaid. For your convenience, you can just call me
Sheryll.]
[All right. You probably won’t have any occasions to call me by my name, but my
name is Artpe….. Wait a moment. Did you just say Anaid?]
He reacted way too late. Artpe had been trying to foster a friendly atmosphere
by exchanging each other’s names. However, something about her name had
caught his attention, and he furrowed his brows.
[Didn’t you just say the mermaid kingdom was called Anaid?]
[That is correct. I am the 37th Queen of the Anaid Kingdom.]
They were like fishes. Their population number was incredibly high. Fortunately
for Artpe, Sheryll wasn’t the future Queen, so he hoped there wouldn’t be any
complications. As he had these thoughts, he opened the door to the inn, and he
led her in.
“So that’s what I did to the Kraken…..”
“Give me one more beer! I still can’t forget that bastard’s face······.”
“Hey, innkeeper!”
It was as if the quiet street outside had been a lie. The 1st floor of the inn was
crowded with people. Soldiers that were finished with their shifts on the barrier
wall were inside the inn. Then there were the mercenaries that were quickly
called into the city. There were even merchants from other countries present
there.
Artpe didn’t want to fault these men, who were boasting as they drank alcohol. If
one thought about the endless stream of Lunatic Wave in the near future, it was
good for them to rest and let off steam like this. When the next shift on the wall
was relieved, the inns and pubs would continue to be busy.
“Uh. Look over there…..”
“It’s a woman.”
“My eyes just brightened. She brightens up my eyes.”
Artpe’s party had entered in the midst of such men. They glossed over the
presence of Artpe, but the atmosphere clearly changed when they saw the
women, who followed in behind him. It wasn’t just a single woman. Three
beautiful women had come in.
Two of them looked young, and they were equipped with imposing weapons.
The ratio of men to women was incredibly high inside the inn, so they became
the focus of the men.
“What about them•?”
“Hey, you better avert your eyes. You’ll follow my advice if you don’t want to die!”
However, everyone quietly retracted their gazes from them.
First, they remembered the sight of Maetel and Sienna fighting each other in the
square. They had been incredibly scary. Secondly, they had crushed and cut
down the Demons, who had mowed down the humans as if they were stalks of
wheat. Lastly, the person that stopped the Kraken was here. The monster would
have devoured Frate and the entirety of Diaz if he hadn’t been here. Everyone
here knew the face of the young magician, who possessed incredible amount of
magical energy.
“For him, I might…...”
“I can see why the two of them were fighting over him.”
“I heard he has a dirty personality. My employer grinded his teeth with vexation
because of him.”
“Shut up, you idiot!”
Artpe completely ignored all the idiots gathered here as he approached the
counter. There was a woman working behind the counter. She was working the
counter instead of the innkeeper. The innkeeper was delivering food, but he
quickly retook his position. He greeted Artpe.
“Wow. You are back! You are a magician!”
“I’m not here for anything important. I’ve added another party member, so I want
to ask you if I have any additional fees I have to pay…..?”
“All I can say is that I’m jealous of you! Shit! You already gained one more
woman in such a short span of time! Moreover, she is very pretty!”
The innkeeper was brutally honest! Of course, his reaction would change if he
found out that Sheryll was a monster. Still, it was pretty entertaining to see the
innkeeper’s vexation, so he let it be.
“So should I give you more money or not?”
“You are taking all of them into the same room as if it is all in the day’s work….
No, I don’t need it! If you are able to sleep comfortably within such a small
room, I don’t care if you bring three or five women! Do as you want! You can
sleep with them all there!”
“I get it, so stop crying while you speak…..”
The innkeeper suddenly grabbed Artpe’s hand. He spoke with sincere eyes.
“I heard you were the magician that killed the Kraken. Thank you for protecting
our city. Yes, if it is, you deserve it…..! Please fulfill my dream in my stead! You
can fulfill my fantasy of having enough wives to fill up a villa….”
“You are being really creepy. Can you let go of my hand?”
The inn keeper had met a lucky adventurer, who would be able fulfill his dream.
It seemed he was in a good mood. The innkeeper declared in a generous
manner.
“Eh-eet! I’m in a good mood! I’ll provide dinner for you guys for free!”
“Since you are providing a free service, can you deliver it to our room?”
Delivery service was impossible, but it was possible to take out the food. Artpe
took the buttered corn cobs, which were the specialty of this inn, and other hot
foods to his room with his party members.
[Hoo-ooh.]
When they entered the room, they were free from the gazes of other people.
This was why Sheryll immediately threw off her skirt. Maetel immediately
launched herself towards Artpe, and Artpe swiftly dodged Maetel as he threw a
cloth towards Sheryll. He praised himself, since he somehow managed not to
upend the plates he was carrying.
[Cover yourself with this!]
[Understood]
After the suffocating and desperate struggle, the four of them settled into the
room.
Maetel remained wary of Sheryll. Sienna hugged Roa, who had exited Artpe’s
hood. Unlike Maetel, who was wary of Roa for being a female cat, Sienna had
taken a liking to Roa.
[······are you sure that is edible?]
[Huh? You mean this? Try it.]
Sheryll’s eyes were planted on the buttered corn cob. He wordlessly handed one
over to her. Sheryll hadn’t been fed properly, so her bony hands closed around
the butter corn cob. She started to slowly gnaw on it.
[You should eat it slowly. You are healed, so you won't have any problems
digesting the food. However, you aren’t immune from a stomach ache..]
[Understood. Thank you very much.]
He spoke as he gave each party member a cob.
“You can call the mermaid as Sheryll from now on. She’ll be with us until the
Quest ends. She will ‘only’ be with us until the Quest ends…. She is a monster,
but she won’t oppose us. You can be at ease.”
“Quest······ That horrible curse is spreading inside the ocean, oppa?”
“The archduke is a bad man. That curse should never see the light of day
again.”
He had been worried that they would focus on Sherryl. Fortunately, Sienna and
Maetel was focused on the Quest. He nodded his head as he spoke.
“You already heard this from me, but the ones responsible for the demonification
experiments are hiding underneath the ocean. This includes the archduke, and
his remaining forces. He is probably with some Demons…...”
In the process of suppressing the archduke’s forces, Artpe had seen the work of
the artifacts released by the Demon King’s army. He had suspected that the
Demon King’s army wouldn't let go of the archduke so easily. It seemed they
had retrieved the archduke.
Madelrude was the ex-archduke, and he was a noncombatant. He took his
remaining magicians, who had experimented with the curse, to the ocean. At the
command of the Demon King’s army, he seized the mermaid kingdom of Anaid,
and he had started spreading the curse.
“When he coveted the seat of monarchy after chasing out the previous king, I
recognized what kind of man he was. You really get tired of facing someone like
that.”
“I can never forgive him.”
“······oppa, you are going to punish him?”
Both Maetel and Sienna had memories regarding the Demonification curse, so
they couldn’t laugh about it. Blood, tears and death of countless people dwelled
within their memories.
They had thought everything was resolved without them needing to attack the
palace. That was why Artpe’s party had quickly went on their way. However,
now that the archduke was in their way, there was no reason not to tidy up the
loose end. Artpe bared his teeth as he replied.
“Of course.”
In truth, he wasn’t doing this just to carry out the Quest. Artpe bit into his own
buttered corn cob as he spoke.
“If all of this hadn’t occurred, we would have been on a boat by now. I’ve already
told you that our destination is Aedia, right?”
“Yes. However, the Lunatic Wave…...”
“That’s right. Basically, any travel across the ocean is blocked when a Lunatic
Wave occurs. Since all ports are shut down, no ships can depart. However, that
doesn’t mean we can’t cross the ocean. If we can’t travel atop it, we can travel
underneath it.”
“Underneath the ocean….? Ah.”
Sienna tilted her head in puzzlement, but her eyes turned round as she turned to
look at Sherryl. She was still busy gnawing at the buttered corn cob, but her
existence was a form of an answer.
“That’s right. You said it was an underwater kingdom.”
“Yes, whether it is humans or monsters, the maintenance of roads is the first
thing that has to occur when building a nation. I’m thinking about borrowing their
road to cross to Aedia.”
He had never been to the mermaid kingdom, but he knew of their existence.
Moreover, he knew that they had created an underwater passageway that was
free from being attacked by other monsters. He had heard about this before.
However, he had no use for such roads in his past life, and if it was possible, he
didn’t want to use it in his current life. However, the path atop the ocean was
block, and they had a reliable guide now. There was no reason for them to
hesitate using the underwater road.
“So that’s the main reason why oppa helped Sherryl. Ah, it will also be
necessary for us to fight the bad guys in the process.”
“You are correct. Do you guys have a rough idea of what is going on?”
“Yes..”
[Hmm…. Mmm. Hmmm.]
The humans were talking about whether they should save the mermaid kingdom.
It was unknown as to whether she could understand them. Sheryll was still
focused on eating the corn cob. She had the look of a mature human woman,
yet she was showing an innocent side of her. She possessed a subtle allure.
At that moment, Maetel whipped her head around towards Artpe.
“Artpehhhhh?”
“No, I wasn’t charmed by her. It’s the truth.”
Shit. He was sure these girls were using mind reading skills! Why couldn't he
confirm it through his Read All Creation ability!
Artpe clicked his tongue. He turned his gaze away as if to avoid her
interrogation. He thought about the fact that he didn’t have the time to play
around here like this. He stood up from his seat as if the right moment had
come.
“You guys should eat dinner then rest. We’ll head out tomorrow.”
[Nyaa.]
Roa had behaved herself until now as she remained in Sienna’s embrace.
However, she jumped back into Artpe’s hood. Maetel pouted as she argued with
Artpe.
“You are running away, because the topic got difficult.”
“What about oppa?”
“I have things I have to resolve in the city. I have to put up the barrier wall,
and…. I have someone I have to meet.”
“When you say you have to meet someone….”
Maetel mumbled to herself as she repeated his words. The light in her eyes
changed in a flash. Until now, she had the eyes of a wife worried about her
husband cheating. However, her eyes currently held the look of a maiden trying
to hold back her lover from heading into battle.
“Artpe, you can’t got with that woman. Okay?”
If Sienna had said this, he would have understood it since she had met Etna.
Maetel hadn’t met her, yet she was somehow able to discern what was going on.
This was the first thought that came into his mind.
“If you are so worried, you want to follow me?”
“······no, I trust Artpe. Artpe said you don’t like older women, so I’ll believe in
your words.”
Her face said that she didn’t believe her own words at all. Moreover, he had no
idea how she found out Etna was an older woman. Artpe became a bit upset,
but this was karma. He gently brushed Maetel’s head, who was looking at him
with worried eyes. He wasn’t sure what was going through her head, but he
wished his actions would calm her down.
“I’ll be back.”
“······yes.”
“Don't stay out too late!”
Sherryl was still gnawig at the corn cob. Artpe smirked as he told Sherryl to wait
for him here. Then he exited the room.
He started walking toward the Jaime’s Inn located in sector C.
Chapter 70 - The Quest Isn't Done Yet (5)

Jaime’s inn should have been similar to the inn occupied by Artpe’s party.
However, the atmosphere inside the inn was subdued. Artpe opened the door to
the inn. When he entered, he saw that every single person had their head buried
in their table.
“······what the hell?”
[Nyaa.]
Artpe surveyed his surrounding. He wonder if they were in mourning. A female
waitress ran up to him, and she whispered to him.
“A man tried to make a pass on a pretty woman, and she······”
The following story was something a normal male shouldn’t hear if one wanted to
maintain one’s mental health.
Indeed, everyone was taking some time to extend their sympathy towards this
man. Artpe also gave a short prayer. He prayed for the rest of the man’s life.
He would no longer be able to have any children now, so he wished the man to
live an enjoyable life. Ah… He wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself.
After he finished his prayer, he raised his head. The female employee asked him
a question with a solemn expression on her face.
“Would you like to order something?”
“No. I’m here to meet someone..”
Before Artpe ascended the stairway, he wondered if he should go put on a
codpiece. However, he gave up on the idea, since he couldn’t stop her if she
truly wanted to harm him.
[Nyaa, nyaa-ahhhhh?]
“I need a chastity belt instead of a codpiece? No, she has a law-abiding spirit.
She won’t lay her hands on an underage male.”
[Nyaa······.]
Artpe ignored Roa’s narrowed eyes, and he knocked on the door at the end of
the third floor. It was the corner room. She had been constantly emitting a thin
thread of magical energy. It allowed him to locate her. Even if he didn’t have his
Read All Creation ability, he would have been able to easily locate her room.
[Come in.]
“I’m coming in.”
Artpe heard Etna’s reply. He relaxed as he opened the door when he heard her
calm voice. For a split second, he worried a sack would be placed over his head.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
“Artpe.”
“Hello, Etna.”
A beauty with burning red eyes was standing there.
“······yes, hello. Are you feeling a bit better?”
“Yes.”
He thought the greeting they had exchanged hadn’t been that bad, but Etna
remained still. She didn’t budge from her initial position after opening the door.
Artpe felt the need to say something, so he opened his mouth.
“I came here to give you what I promised. I wanted to come here as soon as
possible, but I lost consciousness.”
“It’s all right. I haven’t been waiting too long…..”
Etna had a soft smile on her lips as she spoke. However, she clamped her
mouth shut when she saw the sword that appeared in Artpe’s hand.
The long sword had a red sword aura, and it was named the Netherworld Flame
Sword of Madness. It was famous for being the sword of a knight, who
performed admirably during the rebellion within the Diaz kingdom. In truth, the
Fire Spirit Meltia was sealed within the sword. It allowed the user to perform
incredible feats, but in the end, it took the wielder’s life as the price. It was a
demonic sword.
Of course, Roa had completely extracted all the curse from it, so the Fire Spirit
could leave the sword if it wanted to. This was obvious but the curse was
something that couldn’t be harvested so easily even if one wanted to do it.
“······no, I’m not alright anymore after seeing this. The curse… How were you
able pull this off….. No, if I start talking about it, it’ll lead me to talk about all the
other thing I want to ask you.”
He was sure he had done everything she wanted, yet Etna’s expression
remained absolutely serious. Her mouth moved several times as if she was about
to say something, but in the end, she closed her eyes shut as she sat down on
top of the bed.
The brief silence felt as if it had lasted an eternity. A hollow voice flowed out
from her mouth..
“Artpe…. Who are you?”
“I’m young, yet I have a crazy combination of level and ability. I’m a damn fine
kid magician.”
“No, I’m not talking about that! There is this sword, and the infallibility you
showed me that day….. Are you perhaps a….”
However, she couldn’t finish her words. Artpe could clearly see the black
shackles around her neck. It was an absolute yoke that couldn’t be broken if one
was from the Demon race..
“....what I’m trying to say is…..”
The shackles disappeared. It seemed she was successful in choosing her
words.
“I have a bad feeling about this. It is as if I'll have to fight you one day. It feels
inevitable.”
“I’m much weaker than you right now. If you want to kill me, now is the time.”
“······eeek.”
Artpe spoke jokingly, and it caused Etna to glare at him as if she really wanted to
kill him. Artpe finally smirked as he continued to speak.
“We aren’t going to fight right now, so why worry about it? If we do fight later on,
we can worry about it when we reach that point.”
“I envy you. You are able to speak such words with ease. You alway seemed
like an old soul, yet you are acting your age right now.”
“I am a kid”
“······yes, you are a kid. How the hell did I….”
After Etna finished her words, she let out a big sigh.
However, when she raised her head again, her expression became a bit brighter.
“All right. I give up. I’ll do as you’ve suggested. It would be foolish for me to
worry about it. I’m living a life where I have no idea what I will do next.”
“Are you feeling a little bit better?”
“I’m not fine, but I decided to act as if it is fine. That is my specialty. Hoo-hoo.”
Her words made light of the situation, but from the perspective of someone
hearing her words, he could tell that wasn’t the case. However, her attitude
changed before Artpe could react and say anything. She acted as if the prior
conversation had never happened.
“Hoo-ooh······.”
Her body became a little bit less tense, and her eyes narrowed slightly in a
mischievous manner. She acted as if this was a normal interaction between a
man and a woman. She asked him a question.
“So who is your girlfriend amongst the three of them?”
How come every single woman Artpe knew decided to use this question as an
introduction? Artpe lamented as he opened his mouth.
“She’s the most pretty one.”
Of course, he didn’t have a girlfriend amongst the three of them. Even if his lie
was revealed, he decided to pick lies that would put a broad smile on Etna’s face.
When Etna heard his answer, she let out a sigh as she replied.
“I’m glad you didn’t answer by saying all three of them were your girlfriends.”
“What if I had given that answer?”
“I won’t stand for a playboy, who makes many women cry. That is why I would
have put you in a situation where you would be able to make only one woman
cry.”
Artpe got ready to run away as he spoke.
“I’m sorry, but could you translate it into words that I can understand?”
“I would have immediately kidnapped you, and I would have bounced from this
place.”
“You stay there. Don’t come this way.”
“It’s a joke. I’m joking.”
She was sitting at the edge of the bed. She patted the spot next to her. Artpe’s
own safety had been threatened, so he was very hesitant. However, in the end,
he did as she wanted.
Their bodies weren’t touching, but the two of them were close enough that they
were able to feel the faint traces of each other’s body temperature. Artpe weirdly
felt ticklish, so he tried to widen the distance from her. Etna kept looking at him
with soft eyes, so he had to give up on that idea.
“Is that your cat? She is incredibly well behaved.”
“She’s my familiar.”
[Nyaa-ooh.]
It seemed Roa picked up on the mood, so she was well-behaved. No, she might
be too afraid of Etna at an instinctual level. Etna extended her hand, yet Roa
didn’t even think about running away. She offered her body up to Etna. Roa was
completely in a nonresistance mode.
Etna also realized this fact, so she let out a bitter laugh.
“······it has also been like this. Animals have always been sensitive to my
energy. It has always been like this.”
“I’ll bring her back after I raise her. She’ll be strong enough that she won’t be
afraid of you.”
“Oh my. Are you already requesting another date? I’m glad.”
Etna carefully retracted the hand she had extended towards Roa. This time she
gently took Artpe’s hand. Her hand was slender and delicate. Her hand felt hot
as she grabbed his hand in it entirety.
When Artpe tilted his head in puzzlement, Etna pouted as she spoke.
“You said you wanted to hold my hand.”
“Ah. I cooked up those words, because I wanted your magical energy.”
“Ooh-doo-doohk.”
The same sound that was coming out of Etna’s mouth was heard from the joints
of Arte’s hand. Etna ignored Artpe’s scream as she kept holding onto his hand.
After a long while, she finally let go of his hand. His hand was red.
“You are young, yet you are trying to play with a woman.”
“Are you saying it would have been fine if I was older?”
“Yes. ······so please grow up fast..”
“······huh?”
What the hell? Didn’t he say something similar to someone? Artpe felt himself
sink into an odd mood.
Before he could dredge up the answer from his memories, Etna extended her
hands to grab his shoulders. She gently pulled him towards her, and she gave
him a light kiss on his cheek. Her kiss felt blissful hot befitting the daughter of the
Phoenix.
“Uh······.”
“Hoo-hooht.”
At the unexpected sneak attack, Artpe became dazed. Etna let out a bright smile
as she stood up. There was a mischievous smile on her lips.
“When you grow up and if we don’t need to fight each other at taht time, let’s
meet up once again in earnest.”
“Didn’t I tell you that I have a girlfriend?”
“Hoo.”
Artpe used the invincible shield to protect himself, but his defense broke into tiny
pieces. Etna snorted.
“You really think I can’t tell that you were telling me a lie? You are great at hiding
everything else. I don’t know why you are so obtuse regarding this subject.”
“Uh······.”
….it was weird. Everyone seemed to be able to read his inner thoughts today.
He wondered if a magic that revealed his inner thoughts was placed on him. He
explored his face with his hand. Etna let out a cloudless laughter when she saw
this.
“I want to stay with you longer, but my time limit is approaching. I have to go
now.”
“Etna?”
“Also, this is my present to you.”
Etna pushed the sword towards him. He didn’t even have to check it. It was the
Netherworld Flame Sword of Madness he had given her when he entered the
room.
Artpe received the sword, and he looked over its information. The Fire Spirit
Meltia wasn’t residing within it, but a powerful fire energy remained within the
sword. Artpe immediately realized that it was Etna’s power.
It was absolutely inferior compared to the sword that had Meltia residing within it.
However, the Record left behind by Meltia remained inside the sword, and it
worked harmoniously with Etna’s power. It had turned into an Artifact that was
priceless.
“I’m not as good as you, but I’m skilled at enchanting items with my power.
Please take care of this sword. You should think of it as me. Ah, you can’t give
it to that girl. I’ll really hate you if you do.”
How the heck did she know that he had been planning on giving to Maetel…. He
was having such thoughts, yet he shamelessly shook his head from side to side
on the outside.
“No, I was going to use it. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hoo-hooht. It sound like a lie, but I’ll trust you. Be seeing you.”
In the next moment, Etna really disappeared from the spot. She completely
disappeared using the same method she used in the pub couple days ago.
However, she had traveled a much vaster distance compared to before. She
controlled fire, yet she travelled quickly like the wind.
[Nyaa.]
At that moment, Roa was barely able to regain her composure. She hopped on
top of Artpe’s lap. She looked up at him as she cried. Her eyes were filled worry
and fear.
[Nyaa-ahhhh······.]
“No, she isn’t a woman that would be swayed by her affections. If a day comes
where she has to kill me, she won’t hesitate to kill me.”
[Nyaa nyaa, nyaa-ooh-ahh.]
“Yes, if that happens, she’ll probably be hurt more than me. That is why….. .”
Artpe thought about the lonely expression on her face, and the black shackles
that encircled her neck. She was supposed to be a radiant fire that should be
freer than anyone else. She wasn’t able to spread her wings. When he thought
about her miserable state, it made him grind his teeth.
Still, he was able to confirm something once again today. He was sure of it now.
In the past, the Demon king’s power had felt absolute to him, but he was no
longer afraid of it now.
“I’ll end him with my own power this time around. Are you going to help me,
Roa?”
[Nyaa!]
Roa gave a short yet fierce answer. Artpe smirked as he petted her head. Then
he stood up. He equipped the flame sword given to him by Etna, and he hid it
using his robe. Then he bravely headed outside.
“I’ll take care of my remaining tasks.”
After bartering with Mycenae, he was able to flawlessly rebuild the 1st barrier
wall. It was already late into the night when he returned to the inn.
It seemed Sherryl and Sienna had already become friends. They slept as they
leaned against each other’s shoulder. Unlike them, Maetel was glowering as she
waited for him. She wasn’t up for anything important.
“What do you have to say for yourself, Artpe?”
“You might not believe me, but nothing happened. I had other tasks I had to
finish.”
“I want to hear a detailed account of what you did. Come here.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He wanted to go to sleep. The night was fast coming to an end. It took him 30
minutes to convince Maetel that nothing had gone on between Etna and him.
After being harassed by her, he was finally able to go to sleep within her
embrace.
From Maetel’s perspective, she was trying to make up for the time and affection
she had lost to Etna. This was nothing but a form of punishment from Artpe’s
perspective.
Still, it was strange. He was able to sleep really well that night within her
embrace. He slept for three hours. He had been busy running around Frate, yet
all the fatigue he had accumulated was completely washed away as if it had
been a lie.
Chapter 71 - Underwater (1)

“Mmm······ Ah.”
When he opened his eyes, he was faced with Maetel’s smooth and dazzling
white neck. He tried to twist away from her, but Maetel had imprisoned him with
her two arms. His attempt was met without much success. It wasn’t as if she
had learned ground technique from someone, yet she had a perfect hold on him.
He was once again surprised by her talent.
“How the heck did I sleep like this…. No way. I’m sleepy again.”
Artpe couldn’t escape, but it didn’t feel tortuous or suffocating. The softest parts
of her body was enclosed around him. It was such a perfect hug that he
wondered if she had researched it.
‘It’ll be bad if I sleep too deeply…. Ah, great. The sun is up.’
It was slightly tortuous, yet it also felt good. He was stuck in a strange
imprisonment. He was barely able to raise his head to check outside the
window. The world was still dominated by darkness. It was possible that he had
slept for a whole day, but that was unlikely. If he really slept for a whole day, he
couldn’t do anything about it.
“Wake up, Maetel.”
“Mmm, Artpe…..? Eh-hee.”
When Maetel’s eyes were half-open, she checked Artpe’s face then she let out a
bright laughter It seemed she had been worried throughout the night that he
would leave with Etna.
“Artpehhhh~”
“Stop acting like a baby and get up, you dolt.”
Maetel continued to cling to him, so Artpe flicked her forehead. He was able to
safely extract himself from the tortuous yet blissful imprisonment. It seemed
Maetel was no longer angry. She looked to be enjoying herself even if she was
was hit by Artpe.
“You guys should get up too. We have a lot to do in the morning.”
“Oppa······?”
[M...master. I should have waited up for you. I apologize for falling asleep.]
[You don’t have to apologize for that.]
Artpe watched his party members rub sleep out of their eyes. He sat them side
by side then he emptied his Dimensional Pouch. Over 100 Skill Books and Spell
Books fell out.
“What is all of this, Artpe!?”
“What do you mean what is all of this? These are Skills and Spells we’ll learn. I
acquired it after I sold the corpse of the Kraken.”
He had used about 50% of the Kraken’s body in creating the barrier wall, but it
still meant he had a lot of parts left to sell. The Kraken’s body had been very
large, and he had claimed most of it. He set aside a portion that his party might
need in the future, and he had sold a significant amount of Kraken parts.
Krakens rarely appeared in this world, yet one could always find buyers that
needed ingredients from a Kraken. At that moment, Mycenae was trying to sell
her share of the Kraken’s corpse, so the entire Anywhere company was working
on this task. This was why Artpe was able to sell it so easily.
Of course, Skill Books and Spell Books were hard to acquire even if one had
money. However, Mycenae was his personal merchant, and she played a big
role in the extermination of the Kraken. This was why she was able to acquire
her level 200 high rank Class as a merchant, and the items she could acquire
increased precipitously.
Artpe wasn’t someone that would squander such an opportunity. He was
successful in acquiring a large amount of Skill and Spell Books. He chose to
receive these items instead of money for the Kraken by-products.
Since he had charged past level 200, he had the prerequisite needed to learn
area of effect magic(AOE) spells, yet he couldn’t purchase any from the
Anywhere company. They weren’t carrying any, and this was the only part of this
venture he found wanting.
“I’ve purchased a total of 159 Skill Books and Spell Books. I have about 20,000
gold left, but the gold will probably used to buy Skill Books and Spell Books at a
later date.”
“Artpe, are you sure you weren’t meant to be a merchant instead of a hero….?”
He might have given Mycenae a bigger cut, so he could sell his portion more
easily. It was a high level tactic where he gave benefits to his opponent, so he
could smoothly take what he wants.
“There’s too many!”
“Most of the skills that has nothing to do with the Warrior Priestess is all yours, so
you should learn all of them.”
Maetel was in shock, so she picked and learned a Skill Book at random. There
was a profound and mysterious expression on her face.
“Blacksmith’s Efficient Blade Sharpening…. Why would my power grow from
learning this, Artpe?”
“If you want to use the Efficient Blade Sharpening skill, it requires an exquisite
amount of physical strength.”
“The world of Skills is very mysterious……”
“Wow. There are an incredible amount of Skills I can learn, oppa!”
“Ajumma’s authority to acquire items was broadened. We now have direct
access to the corrupted parts of the temple!”
“There are really too many bad people in this world!”
However, Sienna was able to become stronger thanks to these bad people. It
was a very ironic situation.
“This one and this one…. Wow. Battle Priestesses use these types of Skills!”
“You’ll gain more in the future.”
“Ooooh. My body feels nauseous when I try to learn them one after another.”
Artpe smirked when he saw Maetel and Sienna quickly pick up and learn the Skill
and Spell Books. He also started to learn the Spell Books. This was a bizarre
sight that could only be seen with a hero’s party. Sherryl looked on in a
dumbfounded manner.
“You learned the Carpentry skill, so how will that skill make you stronger? I I
really don’t understand it, Artpe.”
“I also don’t know how it’ll be of help. However, I think i’ll aid me in my life as a
dairy farmer.”
They quickly learned the Skills and Spells. It took 30 minutes for the hero’s party
to clear the last of books that started out as a pile of books.
He had basically converted the Kraken’s body parts into Skill and Spell books.
This was why both Artpe and Maetel was able to increase their Status to level 50
in one sitting. They were slowly reaching a point where they had learned every
single Skill and Spell they could learn at their level.
On the other hand, Sienna wasn’t a hero, so there was a limit to which Skills she
could learn. Even if one took that into consideration, he had purchased a
massive quantity of Skill Books for a Warrior Priestess, and common spells that
were shared with Priests. Her already monstrous Status had gone through a
significant increase.
The defeat of the Kraken was also accepted as an Achievement, so she was
able to advance to a level 200 high rank Class using the Crystal Ball of Blessing.
Her abilities reached a whole different dimension compared to what she was
before the fight with the Kraken.
“Oppa, are we going to leave immediately?”
“We have one thing left to do. It is time to see the most important loots.”
[Nyaaaaaa.]
Roa sensed that it was her turn, so she let out a very tired cry. However, Artpe
was merciless. He picked her up by the scruff.
“I won’t drag this out. Spit out everything you acquired from the Kraken.”
[Nyaa! Nyaa-ah? Nyaa-ah-ah-ah!]
“You can’t.”
[Nyaa-oooh······.]
‘I like having numerous small items, but I also like big items! I want one for
myself!’
Artpe coldly turned down Roa’s request.
Roa sulked as she opened her mouth. Exactly four items fell out of her mouth.
The amount of loot from the enormous Kraken was small, but this meant each
one of them were incredibly valuable.
“The first one is the bastard’s Magic Stone. If it is possible, I’ll use it later as an
ingredient for Reinforcement.”
A level 267 Boss Monster Magic Stone was hard to come by. When the Magic
Stone emitting a bright blue light appeared, he immediately placed it within his
Dimensional Pouch.
The remaining items were metallic boots with the coloring of the ocean. The
gauntlets were also letting out a similar luster… Then there was the Spell Book
that was covered with a dark water colored leather. The leather binding was
letting out a serious amount of power. It was confirmation that the book
contained a high level AOE magic.
“It finally came out.”
“I can feel an incredible amount of Mana from within······ I’m getting dizzy just
looking at it!”
He became more sure when he saw Maetel’s reaction. She became nauseous
at just seeing the title of the high rank Spell Book. Artpe gave the boots and
gauntlets to Maetel and Sienna. Then he picked up the Spell Book with an
elated expression on his face.
In sequence, his face started to crumple.
“God Flush······.”
“Artpe, what is it······?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
It was an AOE magic spell. It really was an AOE spell. The requirement for
learning it was on the low side, and it was quite powerful. If he possessed the
special requirements, he would be able to use it with relatively low Mana
consumption. It was a mighty fine Great Magic, but…...
“Why do you have such a sour expression on your face, Artpe?”
“Because…....”
Artpe let out a sigh as he gave an explanation.
“It is a Flush type magic. It’s a legendary magic spell that had a big impact when
the sewers of the Magic Kingdom of Aedia was being made….... Moreover, I’ve
never seen a prefix added to this type of magic.”
“Huh······?”
What did the magic spell have to do with the sewer system?
The party members didn’t know the origin story, so they tilted their heads in
puzzlement. Artpe let out a vocal sigh, and he learned the God Flush.
In the entirety of Artpe’s past and current life, he had never seen this rare AOE
magic. Just learning this single spell had increased his Magical Energy by 30.
This fact actually made him feel more annoyed.
“Yes, if it was just strong, it would have been great. It is powerful, but…...”
The boots took on the qualities of the Kraken, so it was possible to stick onto any
surface. It was an incredible Artifact that allowed the wearer to move freely
underwater and above water.
On the other hand, the gauntlets stored Mana, and it was able to imbue
properties of a Kraken and its strength to a weapon being held by the gauntlets.
The two Artifacts went through three Reinforcement in the hands of Artpe. After
they were changed into entirely new Artifacts, they were given to Maetel and
Sienna.
“This is fun!”
“I think I’ve double in strength, oppa!”
“Yes, you did become twice as strong.”
They learned all the Skills and Spells. Moreover, the loots were distributed to the
respective party members. If they met the Kraken from yesterday, they might be
strong enough to face the Kraken in a direct confrontation.
Still, they needed to defeat the Kraken to have necessary power needed to
defeat a Kraken in battle. It highlighted the absurdity of his life. It was akin to
saying he needed to defeat the Demon King to be able to acquire a magic that
will be able to inflict critical damage to the Demon King!
“I don’t think there is another Kraken in this ocean…..”
“Artpe, I’m hungry.”
“The sun is about to come up, so we don’t have time to eat. You’ll just have to
pray the Mermaid Kingdom has dinner that’s tastier than seaweed.”
If one considered the power of the party, it wouldn’t be a problem to cross into
Aedia. In fact, it made one wonder if they could break into the Demon world.
However, Artpe tried to be patient. There was a change from his past life to his
current life. The Chef’s recipe had changed. It was more aggressive and bold.
After he removed all traces of his party, they immediately exited the inn. Of
course, the Lunatic Wave was still ongoing, so each barrier wall was manned by
soldiers. Still, if they couldn’t trick the soldiers, they had no rights to call
themselves the hero’s party.
“Artpe, it feels as if you haven’t told us all the important facts.”
Maetel walked beside him as she firmly grasped his sleeve. It seemed she just
had this thought. She tilted her head in puzzlement as she asked the question.
“We are going into the ocean?”
“That’s right.”
“How are we going to breathe?”
Artpe let out a refreshing laughter as he replied.
“That is a good question.”
“If you tell me that you don’t know the answer, I’ll hit you. ….with my lips. I’ll hit
Artpe’s lips with my lips.”
“I’m sorry. It was a joke. I’ll tell you now, so stay there.”
Before he knew it, the number of threats she issued had increased. Artpe
seriously mulled it over. He wondered if he had ruined Maetel. He had no
choice, but to reveal the correct answer.
“There is a magic spell called Underwater Breathing. It’s difficulty is
unnecessarily high, but it allows one to breath underwater. However, the spell
doesn’t help with one’s mobility within the water, so it doesn’t sell well. It is an
ambiguous spell. I was able to buy it cheap thanks to this fact.”
“Magic is really incredible.”
“I can’t always rely only on my Mana Strings.”
It would have been great if he was able to acquire a more proper AOE magic!
[Master.]
Sherryl the mermaid walked clumsily as she continued to follow after them. She
grabbed Artpe’s sleeve, and she spoke as if she was whispering her words.
[The Road of Mermaids will open soon.]
“All right. Let’s go.”
Artpe led his party past the 3rd barrier wall, and they arrived at the 2nd barrier
wall. The monsters were unable to get past the 1st barrier wall, which Artpe had
reconstructed during the night. The city guards were split between the 1st and
2nd barrier wall.
The ones stationed on the 2nd barrier wall were all sleeping. The ones on the
1st barrier wall were quite loud as they moved around.
“Everyone be alert on your patrol! The Mermen might try to crawl over this wall
at any moment!”
“Sir, it is strange. We haven’t seen any mermaids for awhile. Moreover, the
other monsters are fearful of making contact with the wall. They are staying
back….”
“The magician-nim is really amazing. He rebuilt the barrier wall yesterday.”
“I told you not to relax, you useless bastards!”
The party was moving carefully to avoid being seen by the knights. Naturally,
they were able to see the 1st barrier wall, which Artpe had finished building in the
night. It looked much sturdier than the 2nd barrier wall. It was impossible not to
look at it.
The metallic barrier wall was letting out a subdued red light. No one knew why
the barrier wall was metallic even though no metals were used in creating the
wall. Fortunately, the water didn’t cause the wall to rust.
“That’s the new wall made by Artpe.”
“It’s incredible, oppa. It looks incredibly sturdy.”
“Of course, it is. It better be if you consider the materials that went into it.”
It was true that the Hellfire Sentinel was completely destroyed in the fight against
the Kraken. However, the wreckage containing the boiling magical energy was
left behind. While Artpe blocked the swarming monsters, he retrieved the
fragments. Then he combined it with the ingredients gathered from the Kraken’s
body to make a new 1st tier barrier wall. He then used three consecutive
Reinforcements. The barrier wall was inferior to the Hellfire Sentinel, but it was
incomparably sturdier that the original 1st tier barrier wall.
The lord of Frate was present during the construction process, and he was
touched by Artpe’s work. He suggest they name the wall after Artpe, but Artpe
rejected the idea with a single stroke.
“So we’ll cross the 1st barrier wall, and we’ll immediately enter the ocean?”
“Even if we put aside the monsters for now, we’ll never avoid the gazes of the
people. That is why we’ll enter from here.”
“From here······?”
Originally, the port was placed between the 1st and 2nd tier barrier wall. It had
also been the location where the ships of the foreign nobles and merchants had
been anchored. Of course, there were no traces of these ships left behind. The
port was destroyed by the attacks from the Kraken, other monsters and Artpe’s
magic. It was just filled with water from the ocean now.
The monsters were unable to cross the 1st tier barrier wall, so an atmosphere
akin to what one saw at a peaceful lake was formed. However, the traces of
battle were within this body of water. It was filled with countless blood and tears
of monsters and humans.
“Then there are the merchants ships filled with shipment buried within this water.
Loots will also be present. They are all untouched.”
“······Artpehh~”
“Even if you look at me with those eyes, you won’t be able to trouble my
conscience. You should give up on it. I’m not stealing anything. I’m just
excavating the treasures buried within the ocean!”
Artpe was in control of the finances of the hero’s party, so he was allowed to be
shameless! Maetel looked as if she really wanted to argue with him, but she
stopped herself. It seemed she had a rough idea on how much the Skill Books
and Spell Books had cost him.
“I know Artpe isn’t always good. I know this, and I’m also bad for tolerating it.”
“I would go further than that. I’ll be blunt. I’m a bad guy. If that is all, let’s go!!”
Artpe casted the Underwater Breathing spell, and the party started walking. Of
course, he didn’t need to cast it on the mermaid Sherryl and the magic beast
Roa. The fact that he was able to cast it simultaneously on three people was
incredible. It was a waste of breathe to expound on how amazing it was.
“Maetel, you should throw a rock over there.”
“Yes.”
Maetel’s powerful throw created a enormous ripple on the surface of the ocean.
As a side benefit, several monsters nearby died. It wasn't even a Skill! She just
threw a rock!
“······mmm? I heard something suspicious from over there!”
“Could it be another Kraken coming this way? What’s going on!”
The plan to create a distraction with Maetel had created a result that was a bit
excessive. All the knights on top of the 1st and 2nd tier barrier wall were looking
towards the ocean. In that moment, the party entered into the artificial lake.
 They were able to make a clean escape, and the hero’s party submerged into
the ocean.
Chapter 72 - Underwater (2)

“There really isn’t much that is worth salvaging.”

“Should you really be saying that, Artpe?”
Artpe grumbled with all his heart. Maetel couldn’t believe what he was saying, so
she asked again. She was justified in doing so. The Dimensional Pouch had
plenty of space even when he had put in the Kraken’s head. However, he had
filled the Dimensional Pouch with the loot he had gained from the ocean.
“You should look at it this way. The truly important items were already put up for
auction. If the ships contained items that were worth several hundred thousand
golds, they would desperately be trying to recover it by now. It wouldn’t matter if
the Lunatic Wave is going on or not.”
“Isn’t it, because they don’t have the ability to enter the ocean and retrieve their
items?”
“Of course, there is that.”
Artpe’s words weren’t too far off from the truth. He was able to gain
miscellaneous items from each ship. There were gold, gems and some small
Artifacts. They were worth around 3,000 gold in total. It was enough to buy two
pairs of underwear worn by the wife of Marquis R. No noble or merchant would
risk their lives to recover such a pittance.
“There were a total of 50 ships, so I made around 160 thousand gold. Maetel,
this is called the economic of scale.”
“Artpe is a really bad guy.”
Artpe did feel sorry for looting all the content of the ships, so he put the wreckage
into a neat pile. It could be salvaged later if anyone wanted to recycle the
materials. By the look of it, there was no way a human had done it. It was
arranged in a natural manner, yet he made it so that the monsters would have a
hard time destroying it.
After he finished his work, he looked around his surrounding. Monsters were still
unable to bypass the 1st barrier wall, and he had completely cleared all the
ships. He also collected money and items from the dead monsters. Everything
was perfect.
“All right. Let’s go.”
[In this place…. I lost many compatriots. Many were merfolk from my kingdom.]
Sherryl spoke as she glared at him. Artpe had treated all the monsters including
merfolks in terms of items and gold. It might have created a feeling of defiance
within Sheryll. Artpe was careful not to allow water to enter into his Dimensional
pouch. As he put away the pouch, he retorted in a light tone.
[Humans fight and kill even amongst each other. There is no way we would
spare the Merfolk when they are the aggressors. If you want to argue with me on
this point, you looked up the wrong address.]
[Not all humans try to kill each other. It is the same for the merfolk. We aren’t all
cut from the same cloth. This was especially true for the merfolk from the Anaid
Kingdom until those men came…..]
There was resentment within Sherryl’s voice. When she pledged loyalty to Artpe,
she hadn’t said anything about what happened during the Lunatic Wave. It
seemed when she was faced with the aftermath, her feelings had surged
forward. It wasn’t as if Artpe couldn’t understand what she was going through, so
he gave a somewhat suitable response.
[However, if you guys stayed within the deep sea, there would have been no
reason for the humans to be hostile against the merfolk.]
[If master can truly drive out our enemies and withdraw the curse casted over
kingdom….. The merfolk of the Anaid Kingdom will never invade the human
realm. The great flow of Mana that visits us once a year will not guide our
actions.]
Basically, she was implying they were civilized enough to be free from the effects
of the Lunatic Wave. When he heard those words, he remembered that the
merfolk hadn’t played an active role in any events from his past life. This was
why he became a bit more interested in the merfolk.
‘The merfolk built their own civilization, so why didn’t we pay much attention to
them…. Ah, that right. There has never been a case where one of the merfolk
was able to get past level 200 to gain a high rank Class.’
Their potential might be limited, or it might be an environmental factor. The
actual reason was immaterial. They had never produced a powerful mermaid or
merman that was able to leave their mark in history. Even if they had the
advantage in number, over half the population were at a level where it made
them useless. They were lousy monsters with levels in single figures. This was
why humans and the Demon King’s army hadn’t paid any attention to them.
‘······the elite Mermen fighting units that were enhanced with the Curse of
Madness can’t contend with the hero’s party or the Demon King’s army.
However, they can be used as a sufficient threat against the humans. They
couldn’t be transported using the ocean road.’
In his past life, the Chef had focused more on cooking the hero’s party instead of
humanity. This was why the Demon King hadn’t done anything like this in the
past. As expected, one could tell a lot had changed from his current life just by
looking at this single issue.
Yes, he had already decided to wipe out the rest of the Archduke’s forces. It
wouldn’t be bad if he cleaned up all the issues in regards to the merfolk that was
connected to the Archduke. Artpe always hated leaving behind loose ends. It
was something that remained from his days as one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
[All right. Most of everything you wish will come true if you guide us properly.]
[I am master’s servant. I’ll do whatever master wants. I just follow master’s
order.]
At Artpe’s response, Sherryl’s face visibility brightened. She was trying to hide
her emotions, so she worked hard to reply in a calm manner. He couldn’t help
but laugh at the sight.
Moreover, Maetel couldn’t understand the words of the mermaid, yet she was
glaring at them as she stood next to him. It was a bit scary.
“Oppa. If we want to use that road, don’t we have to be on the other side of the
1st barrier wall? What are we going to do now? Do we have to destroy that
wall?”
“I went through the effort of creating that barrier wall, so I won’t destroy it with my
hands. We’ll tunnel below it, and we’ll be able to exit on the other side.”
Since he couldn’t bore through the barrier wall, he would make a temporary
underwater tunnel to cross to the other side. It was such a simple plan that it
made one wonder if such a plan was any different from making a hole in the wall.
While Artpe’s party members were taken aback by the news, Artpe took out two
strands of Mana Strings. He intertwined the two strands, and he created a drill
by rotating it. It was an exquisite use of Mana and magic, but in the end, the
magic was….
“Artpe learned a lot of magic spells, yet in the end, you use the Mana Strings.”
“This is different.”
Artpe let out a smile of triumph, and he casted two more magic spells. The first
was Hyper Rubbing. It was a magic that could increase friction to the extreme.
The other one was called Haste. It increased speed.
It was almost impossible to combine magic spells. This was also true with
combining the attributes of Skills. However, Mana String was a Unique spell. It
had the ability to strengthen itself by adding the power of other Skills and Magic!
“Go, Mana String!”
“In the end, oppa can’t deny the fact that you always use Mana String and Hyper
Rubbing as your main power…….”
“That part of Artpe is too cute.”
Even if Artpe was being cute, the result created by his magic wasn’t cute at all.
The Mana drill was created by combining three magic spells. The drill started to
rotate, and when it impacted on the ground, it started making a hole. The speed
was so fast that everyone looked on in disbelief.
“We’ll charge through like this! I know it is creating a cloud of dust, but you’ll just
have to endure it!”
“Everyone outside will realize what is happening! Hurry! Go faster!”
[S...such a terrifying magic spell…...!]
The two strands of Mana Strings violently rotated as they widened the hole then
the tunnel started to lengthen. The members of the hero’s party boldly ran
through this tunnel.
When they reached a depth that couldn’t be covered by the 1st barrier wall, the
Mana Strings immediately changed direction as they continued forward. Artpe
was truly meticulous. He collapsed the tunnel as soon as they passed it. He
perfectly tied the loose ends.
“All right. As expected, it worked perfectly.”
“We are already outside, oppa!”
[The tunnel is already perfectly repaired!]
If he wasn’t a magician, others would mistake him for a professional excavator.
No one would be able to tell that a hole had been drilled here!
[Kee-ahhhhhhhhh!]
[H...humans! They appeared from within the earth!]
[We have to kill them!]
The monsters, who had been residing near the ocean floor, glared at Artpe’s
party when they came into view. Amongst them, there were merfolk that were
from the Anaid Kingdom. It was undeniable. Moreover, the number was much
higher than Sherryl had estimated.
[How can this be? There are so many of them…..]
Sherryl’s eyes widened when she saw them. She knew a conflict with her people
would occur, but when she was faced with it, she realized the reality was crueler
than she had imagined. This idea was represented for example in marriage or
when one was giving birth.
[Can you not see me, people of the Anaid Kingdom! I am Anaid kingdom’s
princess! I am Sherryl!]
[Kill!]
[Kyahhhhhh!]
She readily presented herself in front of her vassals, yet their answer were
spears and streams of water. Sherryl created a water spear, and she was able
to block the attacks in time. Her face was filled with sadness and anger.
[How can this be….. It isn’t just the humans. They didn’t even hesitate when
attacking a mermaid.]
[Am I to assume that all the merfolk within your kingdom is in a similar state?]
[Before I was eaten by the Kraken, only 5% of the population was like this.
However, a week had passed, so…...]
[I don’t care how many of them were turned. No, it might be easier for us if all of
them were placed under the curse.]
Why was that? The ones that were suffering under the curse would hold
absolute animosity towards the force that had placed the curse on them. Artpe
would be saving the merfolk from now on, and he would be in their good graces
for saving them. It would make it easier to swing them towards his purpose.
Moreover, even if there were countless powerful curses, he had a monster that
could eat it all. He grinned as turned to ask Maetel a question.
“Maetel, the humans above have no idea what we are doing, right?”
“Yes, I listened to their conversations. There is a fierce debate going on as to
what they should have for breakfast.”
Maetel’s senses were incredible. She was at the floor of the ocean. Her senses
were developed to a point where she could hear the conversations of humans
talking outside the water. He believed it, since she said so.
Since it was morning, he leisurely thought about the buttered corn cob. It had
been delicious. As he had such thoughts, he took out Roa from within his robe.
“Roa, you can eat all of their curses. The Quest has just begun.”
[Nyaa?]
‘Really? I can really do as I like?’
Her purple eyes were twinkling as she checked once again with Artpe. He let out
a bitter laugh as he nodded his head.
“Just don’t kill them.”
[Nyaa!]
Roa immediately shot forth inside the water. In the process, the black fog that
had been maintaining the shape of the small black cat dispersed into the
surrounding.
[Nyaaaaaaaaaaaang!]
Roa immediately absorbed the unclean energies from the broad domain! The
merfolk of the Anaid Kingdom were spread amongst the countless monsters.
Their eyes widened as they felt pain.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhk!]
[Koo-hoohk, hah-ahk!? W...where am I?]
After feeling the wretched pain, the merfolk of the Anaid Kingdom became sound
of mind. It seemed the other monsters were sensitive to the change that had
occurred. They turned to reveal their animosity towards the merfolk . Artpe used
his Mana Strings to cut off the heads of these monsters.
“I didn’t kill all you bastards, because I was scared of you guys. I just wanted to
get on my way as soon as possible.”
They couldn’t even overcome the barrier he had erected. They had been
listlessly moving around in front of the barrier, yet they dared to bare teeth
towards him? Their foolishness was boundless.
Artpe stretched out his two hands, and he freely swung 10 Mana String. The
ocean was being filled with the blood and corpse of the monsters. Sherryl had
been in a stupor when she saw the mayhem created by Artpe and Roa. He gave
a firm order toward Sherryl.
[You should retrieve the confused merfolk. You are the princess of the Anaid
Kingdom. Can you do this?]
[They are being overwhelmed to this degree….. My god.]
Sherryl once again realized that her master’s abilities were much greater than
what she had imagined. She had no idea if this would be a boon or a misfortune
for her.
[What are you doing? Aren’t you going?]
[I...I’m going!]
Sheryll had been in a stupor when faced with the might of her master. When she
heard Artpe’s words, she quickly slapped her own cheeks. Then she rushed
towards the water filled with blood, corpses, black fog and confusion. She yelled
out.
[Follow me, merfolk of the Anaid kingdom! My lord has come to save our
kingdom!]
[P...princess!?]
[Sherryl-nim! My god! She was eaten by the Kraken! The princess has come
back from the dead! Our princess has returned!]
[Oh oh, princess-nim!]
It didn’t take long for Artpe and Roa to kill all the monsters in the region.
Moreover, Sherryl was successful in gathering all the merfolk of the Anaid
kingdom, who had regained their sense, around her.
Even now the number of monsters influenced by the Lunatic Wave were
increasing in number. However, Artpe decided to leave the rest to the humans.
His party had grown several hundred fold, and they headed towards the Road of
the Merfolk.
This was the moment when the legend started with the Anaid kingdom. They
weren’t of the merfolk. It was a legend made by humans from port city of Frate,
and a single magical beast
Chapter 73 - Underwater (3)

The Road of Mermaids were hidden deep within the ocean. It was something
that normal monsters would have a hard time finding.
Of course, Merfolk infected by the curse congregated near the road, but the
combined number of curses present wouldn’t even be considered a meal for
Roa. Roa did a forced cleansing, and the freed mermen joined their party as
they entered into the road.
“Look over there, Artpe. Is this all made out of magic?”
“This is amazing. There really is a road within the ocean.”
When they entered the Road of Mermaids, the eyes of Maetel and Sienna turned
round. In a good way, it felt as if they’ve been hit in the back of the head. They
were filled with wonder.
First, the road was very large, and the demarcation between the road and the
ocean was clear. Even if a normal sea monster was able to enter into the road,
an environment had been created where these monsters wouldn’t be able to do
much within this road.
“Magic······ Yes, this is our race specific magic. It is a contract that binds the
whole race from the olden days. All mermen that makes use of this road has to
fortify and maintain this road.”
Artpe knew about the Road of Mermaids, but this was the first time he had seen
it. When faced with the real thing, he couldn’t hide his surprise. Unlike his
surprised party members, he could accurately assess what had been done to
create road using his Read All Creation ability. This was why his surprise ran
much deeper.
[Road of Mermaids]
[The mermen used their power over water to create a form of pocket dimension.
All beings aside from the mermen will suffer reduction in power, and this loss of
power in turn strengthens the road.]
[The Anaid Kingdom’s road is unlike the other merfolk kingdoms spread across
this world. It boast a degree of standard that is unmatched by the other roads,
master.]
Her master possessed amazing abilities, yet he had been surprised by the road.
Sherryl felt tremendous pride at this sight. By the time they reached the road,
about 1,000 merfolk had been freed from the curse, and they had joined Artpe’s
party. Sherryl’s mind and body had reached an equilibrium by this point in time..
[You should be proud of it.]
[It is an honor, master.]
She couldn’t hide the delight she felt at Artpe’s praise as she answered him.
Currently, she was in her human form. Basically, it meant the Road of Mermaids
was a passageway with no water. They had used their mastery over water to
separate this space from the ocean.
“By constructing it like this, you made sure the other underwater monsters
couldn’t make use of your road. This was well thought out.”
“All mermen are able to breath through either their gills or their lungs…....”
“Gills? Lungs?”
Sienna spoke in awe. Maetel, who heard her words, tilted her head in confusion.
Sienna also grew up in a mountain village, so he had no idea why Maetel didn’t
know this information like Sienna. Artpe let out a quiet sigh, and he just stroked
her head. Maetel’s eyes narrowed in pleasure. When her eyes opened once
again, she had completely forgotten about her question about the gills.
While the party admired the road, the mermen recovered their thoughts and
strength. They started becoming argumentative with Sherryl.
[Princess, how dare you obey the orders of such a young human?]
[If it is princess, you easily possess the qualification to represent our kingdom.
Yet you lower yourself to a mere human…..]
[He will become the savior of our kingdom, so hold your tongue. He is above all
of us even if we weigh our entire kingdom against him. ….you’ll all realize this
fact soon.]
[Koohk. If the princess says so…...]
[I do not doubt princess’ eyes. I’ll trust and follow you.]
Artpe had been a bit worried. He wondered if the merfolk would rebel. However,
Sherryl was able to take control of the situation.
Since she was the 37th princess, he had wondered if she had any real authority.
It seemed her authority was stronger than he had expected. Somehow, he knew
this would cause more complications later on, and the inside of his head became
more complicated.
[Nyaa. Nyaahh.]
“······are you still hungry?”
[Nyaa.]
Roa kept tapping on Artpe’s hand as she let out a cry. Until now, she had
absorbed the curses within a thousand merfolk. However, when she felt more
curse energy in the distance, she wanted to immediately dash out.
“Ah, all right. You can go on ahead and eat first.”
[Nyaaaaaaa-ohhhhh!]
When Artpe gave his consent, she turned into fog as she raced down the road.
The merfolk, who had their curses absorbed by her, shrank back. Artpe ignored
them as he started walking.
“Shall we go too?”
[I will guide you. ….no, they’ll probably search us out first.]
[No, that’ll be impossible for them to do.]
Artpe’s purple eyes flashed. Against the Kraken, he had been unable to gather
all the information at once, because the Kraken had been too large. That wasn’t
the case anymore.
[I’ll be the one to find them first, and I’ll kill them all.]
The ocean was deep and large. The road was long out of necessity. Thankfully,
the road was being treated as a form of pocket dimension that was cut off from
the outside world. Basically, one was able to travel at an overwhelming speed on
the road compared to traveling outside. Artpe’s party was able to sense the
reality of this fact when they saw the landscape of the ocean change.
“Wow. A shark just passed by us, Artpe!”
“I’m glad you know what a shark is.”
“I heard sharks are delicious.”
“······.”
“Artpehhhh~.”
He couldn’t stand Maetel’s pleading eyes, so Artpe used his magic to catch the
shark swimming outside of the road. He recovered it, and he placed the shark
inside his Dimensional Pouch. Maetel was full of glee as she clung to Artpe’s
arm. Sherryl was next to him, and she was shocked by what he had done.
[You manifested your magic outside of the Road of Mermaids, and you were able
to teleport an item outside to recover the shark….]
[I Reinforced my boots once more. That is why I can use Blink on small items
under my possession. It isn’t too big of a deal.]
The merfolk had created this pocket dimension, but Artpe was able to discern the
structure of the pocket dimension using his Read All Creation ability. The act of
manifesting magic outside the pocket dimension had been easy, and the
recovery of the shark’s corpse was easier than his prior task.
Maetel couldn’t comprehend his explanation, so she covered her ears as her
head started to spin.
The landscape wasn’t the only thing that changed. As they traveled further down
the road, they kept running into groups of dozen or several dozen merfolk. More
merfolk kept joining their group.
[Koohk. What the hell were we doing…..]
[Aht, princess! It’s princes Sherryl!]
Roa had already sucked out all the curse. She had eaten the curses to it roots.
The merfolk were in a state of confusion as they regained their sanity. However,
Sherryl was able to calm them down. The process of the merfolk joining their
group was smooth. They followed Sherryl.
[You are now in the 2nd battalion. Go join them.]
[Thanks to princess Sherryl we were able to regain our sanity. Princess is our
only hope.]
[We will regain what is precious to us from the ruffians who invaded our kingdom.
Hurry! Let us march!]
As they progressed further down the road, the probability of encountering merfolk
increased.
Since they were deployed for the Lunatic wave, these merfolk were combat
troops. Even if they were combat troops, it was rare to find mermen or mermaids
over level 100. They couldn’t even put up a decent fight before their curse was
sucked out by Roa.
[You are in the 3rd battalion! And you will in the 4th battalion!]
[How long has it been since we were all gathered in one place like this?]
[This isn’t a good thing. The place we were supposed to defend with our life lies
defenseless. If I try to think about what is going on inside our kingdom, a sigh
automatically escapes my lips.]
[Do not worry. We march with our savior.]
[Savior…. I wonder how skilled this so called Savior is…. That’s the question I
want answered.]
[The princess said to trust in him. That is enough for me to put my trust in him.]
If one heard their conversation, one would realize that they were no different from
the residents of the human nations. They possessed intelligence, culture and
structure on par with humans…..
Would Maetel really be able to kill them on sight just because they were
monsters?
Suddenly, Artpe was worried, so he turned to look at Maetel. However, she was
smiling as she walked arm-in-arm with Artpe. Artpe decided not to worry about it
right now.
“Yes, I think I’m expecting too much.”
“I think Artpe just had a discourteous thought about me.”
“You are the discourteous one. My worry for you is turning into a discourteous
thoughts in real time.”
“Ah.”
When she heard his words, Maetel’s eyes shook severely. She stuck closer to
Artpe than before, and there was a bright light in her eyes.
“Artpe, did you perhap worry about me…..?”
“······I’m curious. What do I have to do to be hated by you?”
“You should give up on such thoughts.”
“You are so assertive!?”
One thousand, one thousand two hundred, one thousand five hundred, two
thousand…. The number of purified mer-soldiers rose exponentially. There was
so many of them filling the road that they had to march in single columns. The
line was endless. Artpe started to get worried as he looked at them.
[They won’t starve to death?]
[If we have Mana and water, we can maintain our body’s vital activities, master.
Merfolk are capable of consuming food, but not everyone is allowed to do so,
master. Food is only given as a method to replenish stamina and mana to the
fighting force and the ruling class.]
Mmm. This part really made them seem like monsters. Artpe let out a bitter
laugh as he nodded his head. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have a sense of taste,
but it seemed the lack of food didn’t affect their ability to live. The rest of the
monsters were like them. They only repeatedly killed humans and other living
beings, because the act allowed them to acquire Mana and Records. It allowed
them to grow. Moreover, it wasn’t as if humans were free from these constraints
either.
[Nyaa!? Nyaa-ah! Nyaa-ahhhhhhhh! Nyaa nyaa! Nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-ah!]
They were quickly marching down the road when they suddenly heard a cry.
Roa’s voice was loud. Everyone on the Road of Mermaids could hear the cry. It
was akin to an exultant cry let out by a pirate captain when a treasure island was
found.
[T...this sound…. It is the sound of the magical beast!]
[P...princess! Get behind me! I’ll protect you!]
[No, you don’t have to be on your guard. You’ve already experienced it, so you
should know this by now. The magical beast is under the control of my master.]
[He controls that horrific magical beast!?]
The trauma caused by Roa couldn’t be washed away. All the merfolk backed
away in shock. Artpe was the only one puzzled by what had just happened.
Why was she so happy? Roa was born recently, and the way she expressed her
emotion was very simple. What could cause her to be so happy…...
[Nyaa-ah! Nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-ahhhhhhhhhhh!]
“It seemes she found the source of the curse.”
“Artpe, I’m starting to get a little bit worried.”
“It’s all right. This is business as usual.”
After 30 minutes, Roa came back with a bloated belly. She had an extremely
satisfied expression on her face, and she promptly fell asleep in Artpe’s arms.
 She had an extremely satisfied smile on her face, and she even talked in her
sleep.
[Nyaa-ah-ah, Nyaa-ooh-ah······.]
“You little rascal·····.”
She had fallen asleep before Artpe could tell her to rest. Was it a form of
declaration saying she could no longer eat any more curse? He wondered if he
should retrain her from the bottom up. However, if results were any indication, it
seemed he wouldn’t need to retrain her. The appalled voices that rang out in the
distance was a proof of this.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhh! That was the Artifact bestowed to us by the Demon King!]
[What happened! Why did you blow up the entire laboratory, Demon!]
[You did this, human!]
“Artpe, they are too noisy.”
“······yes. I somewhat expected this to happen, but…...”
It seemed Roa had already consumed all forms of negative energy existing within
the kingdom.
Chapter 74 - Underwater (4)

After they had heard the screams and shouts that seemed to contain the world’s
anger, it didn’t take them too long to arrive at the mermaid kingdom. They were
able to arrive at Anaid without much complications. Of course, their army was
quite large, so Artpe hadn’t expected to stay hidden from their enemies in the first
place.
When he decided to use the Road of Mermaids, his stealth had been broken.
When he granted Sherryl’s request of freeing the merfolk from their curses, the
cat was out of the bag.
“Oh. I can see the entrance leading into the kingdom. It is connected directly to
the road.”
“The center of the Road of Mermaids is the mermaid kingdom. Of course, it is
interconnected.”
“Oppa, I see other humans there! Ah, I also see a being that isn’t human…...!”
The mermaid kingdom was protected by the magic that ruled over the road. In
addition, there was another layer of dimensional magic that protected the
kingdom. From outside, the mermaid kingdom looked like a miniature model
placed within a crystal ball.
It really was a beautiful sight. However, if one looked closely within the kingdom,
one would find out that its beauty didn’t reflect reality. A flock of humans was
causing a huge disturbance within the kingdom.
“I...it isn’t there. It’s gone! The artifact he provided for us is gone!”
“I’m sure the merfolk committed treason against us!”
“You stupid and dull humans! You couldn’t even protect a single item, and now
you are making such a fuss!”
There was a blonde-haired Demon woman amongst the humans. When he
checked her information with his Read All Creation ability, he realized she was
the Demon that had a direct hand in creating the mess within the Diaz kingdom.
He realized she was Teana.
‘Are all the Demons acting so boldly as her? Maybe, they are all working under
their real name.’
When he heard that name for the first time, he had thought it sounded similar to
Etna’s name. He wondered in secret if Etna had switched up her name to work
under a pseudonym. However, that idea was blown into smithereens when he
met Etna in Frate. He had worried unnecessarily, because their names were
constructed in a confusing manner. That sin alone made her deserving of death.
“Your highness, the merfolk army is flowing back towards us! The curse was
dispelled!”
“There are humans amongst them….. I remember getting a description of that
bastard…. Ooh-doo-doohk.”
“Those bastards are the ones that interfered with our Demonification
experiments. I’m sure of it!”
“Those insolent brats dare to boldly show up in front of me!”
There was no way one would be able to hide a large army that numbered in the
three thousand. Before Artpe’s party was able to enter into the kingdom, they
were already in the crosshair of their enemies.
[Master, the knights protecting the man named Medelrud are all over level 150.
They are veteran knights. Moreover, there is a scary Demon that uses a
terrifyingly evil energy. A single wave of this woman’s hand neutralized all the
soldiers protecting the royal palace!]
[That sounds about right. She is over level 200.]
Now that they had reached the kingdom, it seemed fear sprouted anew within
Sherryl. She grabbed the sleeve of Artpe’s robe, and she took a slight step
backwards. However, merfolk arrayed behind them were unafraid.
[Princess, we are all gathered in one place. The result will be different this time
around!]
[We have to kill those ruffians. We have to take back our kingdom and ocean!]
[All troops get ready for battle! We will escort the princess to the palace! We will
cut down anyone that interferes with us!]
[Ooh-ohhhhhhhhhh!]
They had gone crazy after having a curse placed on them not too long ago, yet it
was as if they had completely forgotten about it. Each of them raised their
weapons to show their resolve. It seemed Sherryl was very touched by this act.
Courage returned to her eyes.
[E...everyone…. All right. With all of you and my master by side, I will no longer
be afraid!]
“Yes, yes. I’m glad you guys made some breakthroughs.”
Roa was the one that did everything! Sherryl had let go of his sleeve as she
turned to look at the merfolk. Artpe just nodded his head as he leisurely took a
step forward.
[However, if I let you guys charge forward, countless tears and blood will be
shed. You guys should stay back. We will take care of them.]
At the same time, he made a declaration to the merfolk. Of course, the merfolk
had a dumbfounded expression on their faces. It was as if Artpe had slapped
their faces. Sherryl was taken aback, and she once again moved closer to Artpe.
[M...master? If we are to stand up to them…..]
[You seem to have the wrong idea. I didn’t free all the Merfolk, so that I can use
them in battle. I just did it, because you requested it. ….it is time for us to
complete the Quest. There is no need for your participation.]
[W...what!? You insolent human······.]
[Quiet! The one that saved us all was my master. Show him respect!]
They were at the cusp of battle where two large forces were about to clash, yet a
single person stepped forward in an unperturbed manner. Of course, everyone’s
gaze would be focused on him. Maetel was also taken aback, so she grabbed
Artpe.
“They’ve become very vigilant against us.”
“Of course, they are vigilant. However, you should be aware of this, Maetel.
You have to be confident that you are going to win even if your opponent is
vigilant. If you aren’t, you shouldn’t attack them in the first place. You should
only be vigilant if you don’t know the identity of your opponent, or if you can’t
discern their number…. You only become vigilant if you aren’t confident in your
own forces. I’m not like that.”
Artpe’s eyes were shining brightly. If a hidden Kraken made its appearance, it
might be a different story. However, he had made a thorough assessment of the
players present here.
“It doesn’t matter if there are a lot of them. They can even use whatever Artifacts
they have. They can’t win against us. You know why? We caught a Kraken that
we shouldn’t have been able to kill in this lifetime, and we’ve become incredible
strong. This happens quite often with the Demon King’s army, so you should
keep this in mind. Their plan misfires quite often.”
“Y..yes!”
Matel quietened down as she accepted Artpe’s convincing words. He smirked as
he turned his gaze. He caught sight of the Demon and Sienna. Sienna was
gripping the handle of the hammer that was strapped to her back.
“Sienna, you should prepare yourself.”
“Yes.”
There was no need for the entire hero’s party to step forward. Artpe and Sienna
would take care of this. The two of them would be enough. The Chef’s recipe
had been pretty tight. However, as a result, the food transformed into something
more delicious compared to the previous life’s hero!
Artpe looked defenseless as he conversed with his party members in front of his
enemies. It seemed the Demon was extremely irritated by this dispaly. In the
end, the Demon named Teana attacked first. An evil energy shot forth!
“Death’s Baptism!”
“You dare?”
Artpe snorted as he faced the black fog created by her. It was a powerful magic
that could only be used by a Demon over level 200, but·····.
“H...how can this be….. Priest!? They told me you were a magician!”
Her magic was extinguished in vain. It couldn’t get past the semi-translucent
barrier created in the air by Artpe. The barrier was one of the spells he had
purchased in this venture. It was the temple priest’s spell called Holy Barrier.
Unfortunately, Sienna was walking down the road of the Warrior Priestess, so
she couldn’t learn the high rank spell that was exclusive to the regular priest and
priestess class. However, Artpe was a hero. He could willfully ignore such
restrictions. He learned the spell.
“Sienna, it’s time!”
“Understood, oppa!”
Normally, when the flow of the battle was going poorly like this, the Demon was
in charge of saying something ominous. The Demon would utter nonsensical
words in such a way that would indicate that this wasn’t over. It was supposed to
make the hero’s party feel leery. Artpe became annoyed when his opponents
alluded to the fact that there was more to come in the future. He hated it! He
just wanted to end the Quest here! Please!
“Hoohp!”
Sienna had been prepared to receive his firm instructions. She ran forward. It
was as if she was shot out of a cannon. At first, everyone snorted at the sight,
but in the next moment, their eyes widened in shock.
“Wait a moment, the energy emanating from that hammer….. Can it be….”
“This doesn’t make any sense. She is too young. This is impossible. My eyes
are playing tricks on me!”
“Ha-ahhhhhhhhp!”
There was a milky white energy coalesced around her hammer. It was the most
iconic skill that could be learned by a person possessing the high rank Class of
Warrior Priestess. It was the Divine Hammer! Sienna’s unique Mana was
infused with the skill. A strange aura that was neither light or dark was formed. It
was a gray translucent aura.
However, one thing was for sure. This energy was absolutely lethal against
Demons.
“Y..you even have a high rank Class Warrior Priestess with you!? Yes, I see now!
The only human that is capable of using a magician’s ability and a priest’’s ability
at the same time…... Eeeeeek! Human, I have an urgent business I have to
attend to, so I’ll be leaving now!”
When operating in the human world, Demons had to be aware of the possibility
of running into a hero! This was why they had to learn several important lessons
before they were able to leave for the human world.
One of the lessons was the Bluffing Skill. The Demon had to make it seem that
there was a backup plan that the hero would have to worry about. It was a tactic
used to disturb the heart of the hero. Secondly, one had to promise the hero that
they would meet once again in the future. It would put burden on the hero’s
heart. It was called the ‘I’ll leave for now’ skill.
“You are surely a hero! I’ll leave for now, but now that I know your identity, you
are finished! Soon, there will come a day where you will bow down to the Demon
King!”
[Who’s gonna bow down to whom? I’ve done that so much that I’m fed up with it,
you damned bitch!]
[D...Demon language!? Who the hell are you!]
After he was reincarnated as a hero, Artpe had put in tremendous effort to build
up the foundation of two skills. Fortunately, luck had been with him, and he was
able to perfect the two Skills. It was time for these abilities to shine!
“Mana String!”
“In the end, you used that spell again!?”
“Koohk!?”
Several strands of Mana Strings flashed forward. They streaked past Sienna to
reach the Demon.
“Teleporta….. What the hell! I’ll use the Artifact…. This one too!?”
The Demon had prepared for the worst case scenario. She was able to cast her
own Teleportation spell, and she possessed the Emergency Blink Artifact. This
item was supposed to used to escape a crisis. Unfortunately for her, Artpe’s
Mana String disturbed magical energy on top of interfering with the physical
world.
The magical energy she emitted was tied up, so she couldn’t activate her spell.
Moreover, he used his Read All Creation ability to identify all her Artifacts. He
either snatched or destroyed all her Artifacts! This was only possible using Mana
Strings where magical energy and laws of nature was combined.
“Of course, it would be much easier to use a Mana Restriction spell. It can bind a
target’s Mana for a limited amount of time. Shit!”
“You always complain, but you are able to accomplish everything using your
Mana Strings. Artpe is too cool!”
“Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhk! Hero! What the hell did you do to me!”
She had tried to teleport, but it was completely blocked off by Artpe’s Mana
Strings. Moreover, the Mana Strings was wrapped around her. She glared at
him as she tried to manifest a different attack spell. However, before she could
do anything, Sienna reached the Demon. She brought down her hammer.
“Ha!”
After a short shout, a bold strike impacted on the Demon. The shock wave
created sent Madelrud and all the humans nearby tumbling backwards.
“Koohk, ggoo-ehhhhhhk!”
So how would the Demon feel after taking a direct hit? At Sienna’s single strike,
her shoulder and arm was completely crushed. Her Mana had been disrupted
before she could manifest it, and it ran rampant in her body. She squealed like a
stuck pig, and she completely let go of her consciousness.
“H...how can this be·····.”
“We couldn’t even lay a finger on that Demon, yet he easily…....”
Until now, the merfolk had been repressed by the Demon and the ex-Archduke
Medelrud, so they were surprised by what had happened. However, the one to
feel the most surprised was Medelrud, who had been in league with the Demon.
“H...how…. How can he easily subdue the Demon…..!?”
When Medelrud was the Archduke, the Demon had come to him as an emissary
of the Demon King. She had always remained above everyone as an
overwhelmingly powerful being. At times, she revealed to him pieces of
knowledge about black magic and curse rituals. When he saw the strange
ancestral magic, he had completely given up on resisting or manipulating her.
So who the hell were these people! This boy taunted the Demon with a very
playful tone! He also neutralized her as if she was toying with her!
“Eh-eet. One more time······!”
“······wait a moment, Sienna. Don’t end her. Just bring her here.”
“Yes. Understood!”
Sienna was about to end the Demon by bringing her hammer down once again.
However, Artpe immediately stopped her from doing so. She took a wide swing
with her sledge hammer to push back the group that was approaching her. Then
she carried the unconscious Demon back to Artpe.
Medelrud and the other humans shrank back. They had seen what Sienna could
do with a single strike. Since the Demon was the strongest amongst them, they
didn’t even budge an inch as they watched Sienna retrieve the Demon.
“Artpe, why did you spare the Demon? ······is it because she’s a woman?”
“What did I ever do to deserve suspicion every time like this…. I’ll tell you all
about it later.”
Artpe flicked Maetel’s forehead as he gave his reply. Afterwards, his gaze
headed towards the humans, who were shaking in fear.
“Let’s talk about it after we end them.”
This was obvious, but there were no other hidden bosses aside from the Demon
amongst Medelrud’s party.
It was the moment when the curtain closed on a Quest that had dragged on for a
year.
Chapter 75 - Underwater (5)

“I…. I was merely used by the Demon named Teana.”

Medelrud’s face was crumpled. He was on his knees as he raised both his arms
into the air. This was the first words spoken by him. Artpe nodded his head to
indicate that Medelrud should keep talking.
“So?”
“In the beginning, her deal appealed to me. I wanted to become king. However,
it was a trap. For the price of earning the Demon’s help, I had to carry out tasks
for her, and each of them were horrifying. I regretted my decision right away.
However, I couldn’t turn back….”
Artpe watched Medelrud’s miserable expression. He continued to speak in a
remorseful manner. It seemed Medelrud was a pretty good actor. Artpe had
such thoughts as he encouraged Medelrud to talk more.
“I was in such a situation when you guys showed up to ruin everything. The test,
which we were conducting under the Demon’s instructions, failed. On top of that,
I sent an army consisting of men absolutely loyal to me to bury you guys, yet they
were wiped out.”
“At the time, I was truly dumbfounded by your actions. You really didn’t think
about the aftermath. You are truly an idiot.”
“I didn’t think anyone was capable of stopping me. After the dirty experiments
conducted by the Demon ended, I thought Diaz would fall into my hands.
However, all my plans went up in smokes. No, I guess in a way it was an
inevitability. Heroes always interfere with any work related to the Demon King’s
army. Isn’t that right, hero!”
The Archdue Medelrud had been speaking calmly up until now. However, he
shouted those words as he grinded his teeth. It seemed a sudden and
unexpected feeling of resentment had surged forth at his own predicament. This
was why Artpe mocked Medelrud to his heart’s content.
“If you knew a hero would show up, you are the retarded one for going through
with the plan.”
“I thought the heroes were already dead…. You foolish brats ran away by
spurning the protection of our kingdom. If you hadn’t run away, things wouldn’t
have turned out like this!”
“Well, we became this strong thanks to not entering the palace..”
“······you guys are merely 12 year old brats that ran away after rejecting the
protection of our kingdom….. You guys did that to become stronger? You were
able to have such thoughts at that age?”
Medelrud’s expression turned blank at the unexpected answer. Artpe shrugged
his shoulders.
“You should continue with your story. So what? When you were barely able to
escape Diaz, was the Demon with you?”
“Kooh! I was somehow able to preserve my remaining forces…. I planned on
gaining a foothold in another country. However, at that moment, the witch
enticed once again.”
“Enticed?”
Artpe stopped speaking. He had a good idea what had transpired, so he no
longer had to hear what Medelrud had to say. There was no way Medelrud could
have been ignorant of what had gone on around him. Artpe just had to look at
the state of Anaid to confirm this fact.
“Did you perhap think about conquering the mermaid kingdom of Anaid to use
the merfolk as your soldiers? Let me take it a step further. Did you plan on using
them to re-conquer Diaz? I bet you wanted to retake the royal palace.”
“······.”
It seemed Artpe had hit the nail on the head, so Medelrud remained silent. Artpe
was baffled by this.
What the hell did he say before? He was only used by Teana? There was no
way that was true. He had known what he was getting into from the start. The
Demon and Medelrud had known each other’s intentions from the start, and they
had been in a mutually beneficial relationship!
“So tell me again. Who’s taking advantage of whom?”
“She lied to me! I never knew the curse would work like that!”
No, Artpe really didn’t need to hear more of what Medelrud had to say. Artpe
was so disgusted that he waved his hand. Mana String emanated from the tip of
his fingers, and it cleanly severed the head of the former Archduke Medelrud.
The bastard kept spouting disgusting excuses, and now he would be silent for
eternity.
Medelrud had once been at the top of a nation, yet his end was ignominious.
However, if one considered the weight of what he had done here, he had met a
peaceful end.
“H...his lordship!”
“How dare you do that to our lord······.”
“If he is so precious to you, you should go serve him in hell.”
“Koo-hahk!?”
If he faced them any longer, he thought he would lose all the faith in humanity he
had gained from conversing with the lord of Frate. This was why Artpe severed
their heads in one fell swoop.
By the sound of it, it would probably would have been better if he hadn’t heard
what they had to say. These men had cooperated with the Demon King’s army.
They weren’t worthy of being heard!
[He was able to easily kill those powerful men!]
[Amazing. We couldn’t even put up a fight against them, yet he killed all of them
with a single wave of his hand…..]
The merfolk shrank back when Artpe’s abilities were verified with their eyes.
However, Artpe hadn’t been explicitly trying to show off his power. He snorted
as he retracted his hand, and he burned the corpses.
The kingdom of the merfolk was similar to the road. There were places that were
filled with air, and there were places that were filled with water. Moreover, the
Road of Mermaids was connected to the entrance of the kingdom, so of course,
this space was isolated from the ocean. This was why it was possible to use fire
magic here.
“All right. This eliminates the possibility of them coming back as Undeads to
haunt us later on.”
“So that is what you were worried about, Artpe…...”
Just the mention of the the Archduke Medelrud gave Artpe the hives.
Artpe had done his best to leave no loose ends behind! He didn’t turn back
around until he meticulous searched for the remnants of Medelrud’s forces. He
made sure there wasn’t any traces of them left behind. Now it was time for him
to take care of the business in regards to the Demon….
[Master.]
He was about to continue his work when he was interrupted. Of course, it was
Sherryl. She was like a dog waiting for an order from her master. He couldn’t
ignore her, so Artpe gave her instrutions first.
[All the evil energy within the kingdom was eliminated, so you guys take care of
the rest. Our Quest is completely over now. There is no reason why it’ll affect
you guys any more.]
[I...I understand, master.]
Sherryl had been very nervous. She had thought they would have to face off
against the combined might of the Demon and the humans. However, everything
ended quickly thanks to Artpe and Sienna. She was a little bit dazed, but she
was able to quickly assess the situation. She quickly gave orders to the merfolk.
[Go to the test site, 1st battalion! The Curse is gone, but I’m sure there are still a
lot of merfolk imprisoned there! The 2nd battalion shall act as the emergency
security force. I want you to make sure the civilians within the kingdom are safe!
…..I also want the 3rd and 4th battalion to join them.! Go before it is too late!]
[Understood, princess!]
[We will follow your orders!]
Mmm. As expected, her dominion over the merfolk was too absolute when one
considered the fact that she was the 37th princess. Artpe slowly started question
what happened to the other 36 princes and princesses. The king of the merfolk
had ruled this land before the invasion of the humans. Artpe wondered what had
happened to him.
[They are all dead.]
After she instructed her underlings, she had returned to Artpe. Sherryl’s answer
to his question was truly shocking.
[What did you just say?]
[They were fed to the Kraken. The royal family possessed the most Mana and
high rank potential….. Medelrud and his group wanted to cast the Demonification
curse on the Kraken, who was already suffering under the curse of madness.
They were all fed to the Kraken.]
Even if he didn’t hear about it, it was obvious as to what had happened
afterwards. Still, he felt the need to ask the question. He asked with a bitter
expression on his face.
[So you are the last scion? You possessed the most potential, so you were the
medium they were going to tie the curse together in the Kraken?]
[······I guess that is one way to look at it. The humans wanted complete
dominion over the kingdom, so they weren’t going to leave behind any variables
like the royal family. Even if we weren’t sacrificed in the experiment, they would
have used some other method to get rid of the royal family······.]
Since the 37th princess Sherryl would tie the curse together within the Kraken,
she was spared for couple more days, and she was safely rescued by Artpe
before she died. When the merfolk were freed from the curse, they were relieved
that a member of the royal family had survived, and they were following her….
Even if there was a preposterous human standing behind her, they had no choice
but to follow her.
‘I should have known it would turn out like this.’
Since she was the 37th princess, he had thought there was no way she would
have a path to the throne. Artpe was foolish for having such thoughts. Who
cares if she was low on the totem pole in succeeding the throne? If everyone
was dead, her turn would come! Somehow, Artpe knew what she was going to
say next.
[That is why······ Master.]
As if to drive home his worry, Sherryl’s eyebrows shook, and she lowered her
head.
[When we recovered the kingdom, I became the representative of our kingdom.
The kingdom will belong to master. This is something I should tell you after I
ascend to the throne. However, I thought it would be better if you knew this
beforehand…..]
Artpe was a human that had saved her life. At the same time, he had easily
returned the kingdom to her care. It was something the merfolk had considered
to be an impossible task. Of course, this was the natural progression of the
events.
If he thought about it, it was truly ironic. Medelrud had been chased out of Diaz,
and he pulled off all kinds of shenanigans with the Demon to gain possession of
the mermaid kingdom. Artpe gained what they had wanted by defeating them!
[You just regained your kingdom, yet you are giving it all to me. Are you sure you
are fine with this?]
Artpe let out a sigh as he asked the question. However, Sherryl answered back
with an unwavering voice.
[We are determined to see this through. Master, you killed the evil men, who
tried to dominate our kingdom through force and fear. You also released us from
the curse. The merfolk must repay our debt. Even if you weren’t my master, you
would have become the ruler of our kingdom in the end.]
Her words were flowing out naturally like water, but it wasn’t as if Sherryl looked
completely thrilled about it. How could she enjoy handing over her kingdom to a
human? Still, it was much better than being ruled by Medelrud. This fact gave
her comfort.
Artpe was flabbergasted, so he asked her a question.
[Who the hell taught you to repay a debt no matter what?]
[It is an instinct for the merfolk. We had to find a way to survive in this harsh
ocean, and it is an ancestral wisdom that was ingrained within our body.]
[Let us say you trust this wisdom, and you follow me until the end. What if I
suddenly lose my mind someday? What if I ruin the kingdom like Medelrud?]
At that moment, the light in Sherryl’s eyes shook. However, she immediately
fixed her expression before answering him.
[Master won’t do such a thing.]
[You became a little bit worried by my words.]
[······that is true.]
[How the hell is that wisdom? You are just being idiotically stubborn!]
[But······.]
When Sherryl looked at him with a worried expression, Artpe let out a laugh once
again. Before Medelrud invaded the kingdom, the merfolk had never had any
meaningful interactions with the humans. This was why Sherryl was still unable
to judge the humans. This was why this single phrase from Artpe worried her.
He thought her innocence was very cute. He didn’t show any outward signs of
what he was thinking, yet Maetel was like a wraith as she moved in to pinch his
cheek. He was terrified of Maetel, so he quickly erased such thoughts. He gave
Sherryl instructions.
[Do you remember the reason why I entered the Road of Mermaids?]
[I do. Master wanted to use it to go to Aedia.]
[That’s right. From the beginning, I only wanted one thing from you. I don’t need
you, and I don’t want your kingdom. I’m fine with you just guiding me to Aedia.
You don’t even have to follow me. It is sufficient to send a subordinate in your
stead to guide us.]
[What······?]
The light within Sherryl’s eyes shook. He wondered if she wanted him to explain
it again, because she hadn’t understood what he meant by his words. It seemed
that wasn’t the case.
[Master…. Are you rejecting me?]
After a brief silence, Sherryl spoke. For some reason, her cheeks were puffed
out. Artpe didn’t know the reason behind her reaction, so he was baffled by it.
He replied to her.
[No. It isn’t as if I don’t like you. However, I don’t want to unnecessarily make
trouble for you when you have to rule over Anaid from now on.]
[I’ve already solemnly promised everything that I am to you, master. So why are
you trying to put a stain on my promise?]
[I’m not going to coerce you into doing anything you don’t want to do. That is
what I’m trying to say right now!]
[You don’t have to take my feeling into account. I want to repay my debt as an
honorable mermaid. I want to repay the favor to a worthy master!]
Mmmm. This was giving him a headache. He took back his previous thought
that said merfolk possessed intelligence on par with the humans. These guys
were idiots!
[Nyaa.]
“Huh?”
‘It isn’t as if I don’t like you, and I’m not saying you are annoying either. I’m not
trying to insult you now. I just want to suggest the best path forward for you and
your kingdom. I still have a whole life in front of me, and I can’t be tied down by
this kingdom.’
He was about to say this to Sherryl. However, Roa, who had been sleeping
soundly after her feast, opened her eyes wide.
“You were sleeping well up until now, so what’s up?”
[Nyaa, nyaa-nyaa-ah. Nyaa-ha-nyaa!]
After she squeezed out of Artpe’s arms, Roa’s butt started to wiggle by itself.
This was obvious, but she only displayed such reaction when she detected a
curse or an evil energy. She had already eaten all the evil energy within the
kingdom, yet she was showing such a reaction. This was why it was impossible
for him to comprehend what was going on.
[Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa? Nyaa nyaa-ah, nyaa-oooooh-nyaa.!]
Roa was willing and kind enough to explain it to her owner. Her butt and tail was
wiggled back and forth as she did so. It was as if she was couldn’t wait to dash
out.
“An energy that hadn’t been here before has suddenly shown up? You think it is
as delicious as the curse within the Kraken?”
[Nyaaa!]
[Koo-goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
[R...run away······!]
[Ggoo-ahhhhhhhk!]
When Roa gave a fierce nod in confirmation, a horrifying roar rang out at the
same time as the scream of the merfolk. Sherryl’s face turned pale when she
heard the sound. She yelled out in alarm.
[M...my god….. Our brief absence caused the ancient temple to show up!]
Artpe had a rough idea what her answer would be, but he couldn’t help himself
from asking the question.
[What is the ancient temple?]
[It is where the horrific beasts of the ocean was sealed. The Anaid kingdom
exists to protect the seal! We diligently rotated guards to protect the seal.
However, we weren’t able to protect it for over a week, because we were
invaded by the humans. In the end, the seal is….!]
[Yes. I see.]
He let out a benevolent smile at Sherryl’s reply, and he nodded his head.
However, he was cussing up a storm inside.
Of course, his Quest wouldn’t end so easily! He should have anticipated this
when he was able to easily take care of the Demon and the humans!
The hero’s tough destiny had brought out something they shouldn’t have
encountered! Their destiny had called out even the ancient monsters!
Chapter 76 - Underwater (6)

In his past life, the hero never went into the ocean. By the look of it, it didn’t
seem Maetel was scared of water, and she didn’t seem particularly averse to the
ocean.
However, the magician joined up with the hero’s party after the war with the
Demon race began. The hero’s party wouldn’t have been able to enter the ocean
until the magician joined the party. Moreover, they didn’t have the time to
leisurely explore the ocean after the magician joined the party. This was the
most rational explanation.
‘Also, the Demon King’s army hadn’t paid attention to this place either…..’
He never expected an ancient temple to exist within the ocean. When everyone
became easygoing and inattentive after the death of the Demon King, this place
would have suddenly been discovered, and it would have probably driven the
world into fear once again. This place was set up like a hidden boss!
[Nyaa-ah, Nyaa-ah-ah-ah. Nyaa-ooh-ooh.]
“It isn’t as strong as I’m making it out to be? All right. I’ll trust in your words.”
After he received Roa’s opinion on this matter, Artpe immediately turned to look
at this party. He gave them instructions.
“I want the two of you to go ahead of me, and I want you to stall them. I’ll follow
behind you soon with Roa.”
[Nyaa!? Nyaa nyaa! Nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-ah!]
“I’ll be there soon, so hold tight.”
“Yes, I understand!”
“You have to come as soon as possible, oppa!”
Matel and Sienna unhesitatingly nodded their heads, and they immediately ran
forward. He didn’t need to tell them where to go. After the seal was broken, the
ancient temple was letting out a terrifying amount of energy. It was as if it was
inviting outsiders to search it out.
[Master, are you going to help us!?]
[You should gather all the merfolk, and you guys should stay back. You guys
don’t have the power to block what is to come.]
[Master······ I understand.]
Sherryl’s expression was a 50/50 mixture of thankfulness and indignation. She
nodded her head as she retreated towards the back. It was a good sign. She
was able to assess and accept her own shortcomings. It was something truly
difficult for one to do. If she could do this consistently, she would be worthy of
ruling over the merfolk.
[Nyaa-ahhhhhh······.]
“Just be a little bit more patient, Roa. This won’t take long.”
The reason why Artpe hadn’t left with his party members was quite simple. He
still had someone he had to attend to.
“Hey. Get up.”
“Koohk!? Koo-ooooooh-ahk!”
The Demon had fainted after taking a thorough beating from Sienna. Artpe
violently woke her up. The Demon named Teana tried to attack Artpe as soon as
she woke up. However, he had readied several dozen Mana Strings. She was
immediately thrown to the ground.
“Ggoohk, ggoo-roo-roohk!”
“If you tell me what I want, I’ll spare you. This is a promise.”
“Koo-ooh-hahk! Ggoooooooohk!”
She couldn't move her body no matter how much she struggled. In the end, she
realized the only body part she could move freely was her mouth. She glared at
him with cursed-filled eyes. She opened her mouth.
“Koohk. You are being magnanimous, because you are a hero? Ridiculous!”
“I’m just saying we should make a deal. For the price of guaranteeing your life,
you should feel motivated to talk to me.”
“What······?”
She never expected such words to come out from a hero, so she had a
dumbfounded expression on her face. Artpe didn’t give her the opportunity to
think too much on it. He immediately asked her a question.
“Who’s giving you orders?”
“Why would you ask such a useless question? The answer is obvious. He is the
Demon King, who possesses peerless nobility and magical energy…...”
“Stop lying to me.”
He brushed aside Teana’s words. A truly crafty light flashed within his purple
eyes.
There was nothing that could stay hidden in this world when faced with his eyes.
“You don’t have a collar around your neck.”
“Koohk!?”
When she heard his words, the Demon’s eyes widened. This was one of the two
reasons why he had spared the Demon. She was a Demon that wasn’t under
the fetters of the Absolute Control. It was as if time paused for a brief moment.
Artpe continued to speak.
“The Demon King does not trust the Demons under his command, so he uses his
Absolute Control no matter what. You are a Demon dispatched to the human
world, yet he didn’t put his fetters over you? You should come up with a more
believable lie. Who is it? Who is ordering the Demons away from the eyes of the
Demon King?”
“T...that…. H...how did…..”
Teana stiffened at his words. She faced his unwavering eyes, and her body
escaped from the control of her will. Her body started to shake. Blood was
flowing from the Mana Strings threaded through her body, yet she was barely
cognizant of the pain.
“H...Ho….How….? You...you! Are you a Demon? You are a Demon! You have
to be!”
“I’m the one that is asking the questions. ….are you going to give me an
answer?”
Artpe’s words were soft, but his attitude wasn’t tranquil at all. Teana had thought
Artpe was merely a hero that was very outstanding compared to his age.
Currently, he felt like a god-like existence, who could see right through her. She
was having a hard time breathing.
“N...no. I can’t….I can’t tell you anything. I’m following the orders of his majesty,
the Demon King. Yes! Hero, you are merely a human boy! What would you
know about any of this!”
“You should think hard on it, Teana.”
Artpe raised one hand. A massive amount of magical energy was put into the
Mana Strings, and they were packed tightly to form a transparent dagger.
“You aren’t fettered by the Absolute Control, so you are able to talk. Isn’t that
right? You are free. You can choose between life or death. It is up to you.”
“N...nope…. I won’t. I’m afraid. I can’t talk. I can’t talk. You don’t know, hero.
You know nothing.”
Since he didn’t know, he wanted to learn through her.
She said she won’t say anything, and he had no way of forcing it out of her.
However, he did figure out one thing. This woman was about to face death right
now, yet she was much more worried about ‘someone else’s wrath’ if she opened
her mouth.
“All right. I have no choice, since you won’t talk. In truth, it isn’t as if anything
would have changed if I found out his name.”
“What······?”
Artpe gave up on interrogating her. He let go of the sharp Mana Strings he had
brought out. Teana was puzzled by his action, but her puzzlement soon turned
into fear. She watched as a black cat stepped forward instead of Artpe.
[Nyaa-ah-ah.]
“Ah, no.”
When faced with Roa, Teana finally realized what kind of power was hidden
within the cat. In a flash, her fear spread through her body like a wildfire. It
dominated her entire body.
“Roa, this is an experiment. It is a very important experiment. You know what to
do?”
[Nyaa-ah.]
“No. I’m not doing this, because I like Etna. I don’t want to fight when it is
unnecessary.”
[Nyaa-ah, nyaa-nyaa-ah? Nyaa-ooh-ah!]
“You are being noisy. It isn’t like that. Do you want me to get beaten to death by
Maetel?”
Even as she heard the affectionate dialogue between the master and servant,
Teana’s body started to shake from fear. She used all her strength to move her
body, but there was no way she would be able to escape this. Artpe’s smile
became twisted when he saw what she was trying to do.
“You guys experimented on humans. I want to conducts a similar experiment.
However, I can only conduct this experiment on Demons.”
“No. Don’t do it. I beg of you, hero. Just kill me. Please. You can’t do this.”
“All right. Shut up.”
Artpe smirked as he pushed Roa forward. Roa looked annoyed, but she obliged
by opening her mouth.
[Nyaaaaaaah.]
As a Demon, Teana was born with a demonic gene. In a flash, the demonic
gene escaped the confines of her body, and Roa’s mouth started to suck it out.
“Ggooh-ahhhhhhhhhhhhk!”
Teana’s ghastly scream filled the entire square. The merfolk had been busily
moving around, because of the unbound ancient temple. The horrifying scream
brought all of them to a halt as their bodies shuddered.
“Mmm. I don’t think you got all of it.”
[Nyaa-ah?]
“Nope. You should suck it all out. You should also monitor what changes occurs
to her body and mind during this process.”
“Ggoo-roo-roo-roo-ggoo-ahhhk!”
Teana’s screams were getting louder as time passed. However, Artpe and Roa
showed no signs of stopping it. Roa used all her might to suck it all out, and in
the process, Artpe tinkered with Teana’s body. He tried to fix her circuit.
It wasn’t as if his actions were fruitless. He was able to modify a portion of how
she was wired through his will, but that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t easy to change
the Record of her race.
“Ggoo-ahk! Ggooooahk! Kahk, Ggah-goo-goo-goohk!”
The demonification curse had tried to modify the body of Sienna. He was
attempting something that was on a different level. He was extracting the
demonic gene from a pure-bred Demon, and he was trying to create a new race.
If such a task was easy, Artpe would have been a god-like being instead of a
human.
He just needed to gain a small hint from this. That would be enough.
“Ah. As expected, I can’t do it yet.”
[Nyaa.]
“No. We still earned a significant amount of Record.”
“Hoohk. Ggoo-oohk…..”
How long had it been? Teana’s screams seemed like it would never end, but her
screams finally lessened in volume. She wasn’t dead, but she was very close to
being dead.
Her skin was dyed blue, and her luscious hair had shriveled to resemble roots of
green onions. She was barely gasping out her breathe. This was the only
evidence that she was alive. She no longer had tears to shed, so blood was
flowing out from her eyes. It was hard to tell if she had her eyes opened or
closed.
“I...I’ll….I’ll kill….you…...!”
It seemed she still had enough energy to spit out those venomous words. Still,
Roa had sucked out all her demonic gene, so nothing was left.
Artpe spoke.
“How do you like experiencing this for yourself? You probably now have some
idea as to how shitty your actions were. Isn’t that right?”
“You aren’t a hero…. You are more like a Demon…..!”
“As expected, we are cut from the same cloth, so I can’t hide it. Yes, I think so
too.”
Teana’s words were filled with venom, but Artpe acknowledged her words with a
cold smile on his face
Of course, not all Demons were evil. However, they lost their innocence and
purity over the course of their lives. In the end, they fell to become degenerates.
This was why it was amazing to see Etna, who was able to keep her warm heart
until the end. This was why he felt great pity for her.
“I was born as a hero, so I was trying to act like a hero. However, it was as I had
suspected. I can’t follow the road of a traditional hero. On the other hand,
Maetel looked too good in the role, and I couldn’t just leave her alone….. I
decided to do what works for me, while I support her. What do you think? Isn’t
the role distribution between us pretty great?”
“Die······!”
She was at death’s door, and she yelled out those words with the last strength
she possessed.
It was a trigger for a curse. It was the worst kind of curse. It was a curse casted
at the expense of one’s life and soul. The curse twisted the destiny of the cursed
closer towards death. It was a curse that one would suffer once or twice if one
lived amongst the frontlines. The only difference was that the purity of the curse
was ridiculous high.
[Nyaa!]
Of course, her final curse was merely a tasty snack for Roa. Artpe stroked her
head. Teana let out a hollow laugh when her curse was blocked. She had made
the curse by squeezing her soul, yet it was all in vain.
Ah ah. He was an opponent she couldn’t beat from the start. Only he could win
against this vicious hero. Even he might not…….
“Your majesty······!”
It was the last of the last moments for her, and she finally let out the final words
befitting an extra. Teana had been the dark secret behind the Archduke’s
faction, who had shaken up Diaz and the ocean. This was how her life was lost.
Roa let out a small cry as she hopped down onto her body. All the magical
energy holding her body together was gone, so her corpse turned into dust. The
only thing left behind was what looked to be a spell book.
“What the hell? This isn’t a spell book. It is a genuine grimoire.”
In fact, he had been searching for a suitable book he could use as a personal
spell book once he acquired an excellent ink called the Kraken's Ink. As it so
happens, he had come across this book. Of course, it was a grimoire that was
already inscribed with content. It would be a bit troublesome to modify it, but with
Artpe’s ability…...
“······ah.”
A cold smile formed on Artpe’s lips as he looked through the grimoire.
Yes. That’s right. If he thought about what this woman did in the human world,
the content of the book was obvious. He no longer needed to delve deeper into
the grimoire. He put it away.
[Nyaaaaa.]
“No. It is mine.”
[Nyaa.]
She hmmphed as she sulked. Roa tapped Artpe’s arm with her tail. Artpe petted
her as he picked her up, and he turned around. Sherryl was still waiting for him
at the same spot.
[Master······.]
All kinds emotions were expressed on her face as she stared at him. Artpe was
truly embarrassed, so he scratched his head.
“What is it? Did you witness everything? Now that you know what kind of human
I am, this should go fast. You shouldn’t serve a master like me. You should just
focus on ruling your country. Ah. As a last request, you should forget about
what happened right now.”
[Thank you, master.]
“······ehng?”
Wait a moment…. What did she say? He heard words that should have never
come out of her mouth. Was he mistaken?
“What did you just say?”
He was taken aback, so he asked the question in reply. Sherryl took short steps
towards him. She grabbed both his hands as she spoke.
[If it is for you, I will do anything. You became the representative of the merfolk,
and you expressed our rage. You punished our enemy the ‘right’ way. Every
merfolk of this kingdom will remember your benevolence.]
“Mmmm······ Uh·····.”
What was the right way? What was she talking about? She seemed to have
interpreted his actions in a slightly weird way. Moreover, it seemed the
misunderstanding was too deep to undo all of this.
Artpe wondered what he had to say to this dumb fish, but he quickly gave up on
that train of thought.
“I’m going to go to the temple for now!”
[I will wait for you here, master. Please come back safely!]
He knew something was wrong with Sherryl’s words, which was full of loyalty, but
he decided to go to his other party members with Roa for now. An unknown that
had never revealed itself in his past life was waiting for him.
Chapter 77 - Is This Really Happening Again? (1)

[Goo-goo-ohhhhhhh!]
[Koohk. This region is falling apart! Everyone run away! Activate the defensive
magic!]
[Currently, the defensive magic….. It doesn’t work!? The defensive magic can’t
be activated!]
[I knew it would be like this when they invaded us.]
[My god. All the Mana is being sucked into the temple!]
The ancient temple was accessible through the underwater tunnel that had been
bore through the ocean floor. It was only accessible through the kingdom of the
merfolks, so it was understandable as to why the true nature of this place hadn’t
been revealed in his previous life.
The only problem right now was the fact that the merfolk were unable to take
control of the situation. The situation was akin to a powder keg that could
detonate at any moment, and it could put the entirety of the ocean in danger.
[What about the human party!?]
[They went in, but they haven’t returned. They might already be dead…..]
When Artpe arrived at the site, the situation had already digressed into the worst
case scenario. Artpe pushed asided the merfolk as he approached the
underground tunnel, which was letting out copious amount of evil energy.
[Get out of my way.]
[Huh. It’s the princess’ master······.]
[Shh! Be careful with your words!]
Maetel and Sienna had already entered the temple. The merfolk had stayed
outside as guards. They were trying to make sure none of the creatures within
the temple exited the temple. They were busily moving around setting up
defensive measures that had been prepared beforehand in case of emergency.
They tried to activate traps, but the temple was sucking in Mana from the
surrounding. This was why none of their measures were working properly.
[What the hell is this? None of these are working properly. When were these
made!]
[I...I just know that it has been over several hundred years.]
[Of course, they would become defunct after such a long period of time······.
There is nothing you guys can accomplish by staying here. I want everyone to
back off.]
[But······.]
[Back off!]
The merfolk could only bite their lips when confronted with Artpe’s harsh order.
Artpe clicked his tongue as he asked Roa a question.
“Can you eat all the Mana here?”
[Nyaaaaaaa!]
She didn't even reply to her master’s words. She immediately opened her
mouth, and she started eating the energy within the temple. However, she was
unable to eat all the energy being emitted by the temple. She could only absorb
twisted energy, negative energy and energy with intense emotions infused within
it.
Her efforts were enough to calm down the quakes occurring in this region.
However, if the temple’s tunnel was left alone, it would bring down the Anaid
kingdom. Artpe sighed as he put down Roa.
“We will go at full speed from now on. I want you to eat everything you are able
to.”
[Nyaa!]
Roa gave a fierce reply, and her body immediately changed into black fog. She
charged into the tunnel. Of course, Artpe followed behind her.
This was obvious,but the ancient temple and the underwater tunnel was outside
the influence of the Road of Mermaids. Artpe wasn’t good at swimming,
However, he knew how to move through the water. He just had to activate the
Hyper Rubbing within the water to cause a vibration!
[Nyaaaaaaahng!]
“I’ll feed you everything within this temple, so don’t worry about it. However, we
have to join up with our party before we can do that.”
[Nyaa.]
As they traversed the tunnel, they encountered numerous corpses of monsters
strewn about. It was terrifying, but these creatures looked to have originally been
merfolks. They were just much larger in size than a normal merman, and they
possessed magical energy that was dyed with evil.
“These merfolk weren’t part of the Anaid kingdom…. I see.”
There were two possibilities. Either they were combatants from elsewhere or
they used to be part of the merfolk population. Maybe the ancient temple was
sealed after the mermaid kingdom was established.
So who was the subject of this seal? Was it done by the merfolk that established
this kingdom? Somehow, he had a hunch that this wasn’t the case. The scenario
was a bit different, but it felt as if he had experienced something similar in the
past….. Artpe was deep in thought, but Roa woke him up from his revery.
[Nyaa! Nyaa!]
“Yes, yes. We’ll pick up the pace. Anyways, they seemed to have resolved
everything really quickly. They just zoomed past this place.”
Artpe was well aware as to how strong Maetel and Sienna was. Still, he had
been conservative in his judgement. He had traversed through the underwater
tunnel, and by the time he arrived at the entrance of the ancient temple, he had
seen the corpses of several hundred creatures. They were all high level
monsters that exceeded level 210 or 220. This wasn’t something one could do,
because one was strong. As expected, they could probably just charge towards
the Demon world…..
[Nyaa!]
Roa called Artpe once again. Artpe raised his head, and he took in the
underwater landscape. He replied in a low voice.
“Yes, I see it too.”
[Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa!]
There were truly large fragments of a boulder strewn about near the entrance to
the temple. It seemed the boulder had acted as a seal for the temple. Artpe
spoke to Roa, who was busy eating.
“You have to pick up everything, and you have to give it back to me later. All
right?”
[Nyaa, nyaa nyaa-ah······.]
She had been cheerfully eating everything, but he had asked her to throw up
everything later. Those words really dampened Roa’s appetite. However, her
master had already fed her truly delicious things before, so she had no choice
She clicked her tongue as she ate the boulder that had sealed the temple. She
didn’t leave a pebble behind. She ate everything.
[ Nyaa!]
“You ate it all? Good. Let’s go. We don’t have far to go.”
After they passed the entrance to the temple, there were pillars and hallways
decorated with enormous stones and gems. As he traveled faster, the Mana of
his party members became vivid. It was as if he could almost grasp it with his
hands.
Even if their enemies were strong and fast, Artpe was able to catch up without
getting into a single battle. Soon, he was close enough to hear the battle being
conducted by Sienna and Maetel.
“Hoohp!”
[Koo-gahhhhhhh!]
[Cursed beings! Those that oppressed and caged us….!]
“Hahhhht!”
The monsters had the lower body of a fish, so they were able to swim freely
through water. Maetel and Sienna didn’t budge an inch as they fought the
monsters. No, it was apt to say they were overpowering the monsters.
“Hahp!”
[Koo-hahk!]
“Hoo-ahp. Unni get out the way!”
“Kyahhhk!?”
Thanks to the boots acquired from the Kraken, Maetel was able to move freely
under water. She was able to dominate her foes. Sienna couldn’t move as fast
as Maetel, but she was able to kill all her enemies with a single powerful blow.
Of course, this was possible thanks to the gauntlet she acquired from the
Kraken.
[Dark Blue Ocean Spirit’s Blessed Boots +3]
[It is a new Artifact created by Reinforcing the Kraken’s Soul Boots three times.
It allows the user to walk on top of water. Moreover, it allows the user to freely
and quickly move around under water. Just by wearing this item the user’s
resistance to water and ice type attack increases. It amplifies strength and
magical energy if the user is fighting underwater.]
[Dark Blue Ocean Spirit’s Blessed Gauntlet +3]
[It is a new Artifact created by Reinforcing the Kraken’s Soul Gauntlet three
times. It has the ability to pull and store the ambient Mana in nature. The ability
to store Mana is much greater underwater. The stored Mana changes form
through the blessing, and it is imbued on the equipped weapon. It rapidly
increases the weight, durability and magical energy of the weapon.]
“Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
[Koo-hahhhhhk!]
Sienna’s sledge hammer was already large, but it grew further in size thanks to
the power of the gauntlet. She threw the hammer. Since the hammer possessed
properties of water, there was no resistance from the water. It destroyed a whole
region before flying back into Sienna’s hands.
He never knew one could use the short range type skill called the Weapon
Boomerang in such a horrifying manner. It was only a common low rank skill.
Artpe gave up on thinking on the subject. He approached them.
“Oppa!”
“Artpe!”
Sienna and Maetel had just cleared the area. They greeted him with bright
smiles on their faces. Of course, Roa was busy looting and sucking out the evil
energy from the corpses created by the two girls.
“Artpe, what happened to that female Demon?”
“I killed her.”
“Yes. All right.”
He thought she would ask why he would kill a Demon he had already saved
once. He had expected her to ask about the manner in which the Demon had
died. However, Maetel just nodded her hand, and she grasped Artpe’s hand.
That was it.
“Anyways, you should look at that. The merfolk that are showing up here are a
bit strange, Artpe.”
“Aren’t they like Demons?”
“······yes.”
It was as if he was reading the words within her heart. Maetel weakly nodded
her head at Artpe’s words. The evil energy and the cunning nature of these
monsters reminded her of the Demons she fought at the auction house. They
were too similar.
“If the demonification experiments against the merfolk had succeeded, I think the
result would have been like this.”
“If it succeeded, it probably would be backward compatible. There is a reason
why it is called the ancient temple. These merfolk are of a different breed than
the merfolk of the Anaid kingdom. I’m not sure if they were changed or they were
always different like this…...”
Maybe, it wasn’t a coincidence that Teana chose to experiment on the merfolk
after the humans. It was possible that she hadn’t known about the ancient
temple. However, it was more likely that she had captured all the merfolk of this
kingdom to release the seal over the temple.
‘Of course, I’m only talking about possibilities….. The situation is a bit too
coincidental.’
If he traversed the temple to reach the end, he’ll find his answer. He might find a
secret of the merfolk or he might find the being that sealed these merfolk.
Maybe, he might find a connection to the Demon race.
The only problem was that the temple was bigger than he thought. His party was
somewhat used to exploring large Dungeons now. In the past, they had entered
a Dungeons with a light heart, yet they had come out with heavy luggages
numerous times!
“Please don’t let this take one year….. Hoo. Let’s head in for now.”
“Artpe, what are we going to do if we get hungry? We are underwater!”
Maetel was more afraid of the starving beggars fighting within her stomach than
an invasion by a large Demonic army. When she suddenly realized this fact, she
became frightened. When she asked her question, Artpe could only answer her
in a benevolent manner.
“Did you forget that we have the Kraken’s corpse? If it is just the three of us,
there is enough for us to survive for 5 years. Don’t worry about it.”
[Nyaa?]
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Kraken’s corpse…. I want to eat it! I’m hungry!”
“No, we have to go a little bit further.”
“Let’s go right now! Immediately!”
The impudent Greed Beast had busily ate curses up until now, yet she was
covetous of what the humans had to eat. Then there was the gluttonous hero.
She didn’t care if the giant squid was used for the demonification experiment.
She only cared if fit was tasty or not.
“Hoo-hee. I’m glad you are ok, oppa.”
“Sienna······ Thank you.”
Sienna calmly greeted him with a bright smile. Sienna was Artpe’s saving grace.
He stroked her head as he spoke.
“All right. Let’s loot everything here too.”
The hero’s party had cleared numerous Dungeons in the past. Their abilities
were truly astonishing.
The temple was so large that it made one wonder if this place was really built by
the merfolk. They continued to advance, and they ruthlessly cut down any evil
merfolk that attacked the party. As if to break up the monotony, there were traps
and curses interspersed in between. They crushed or ate everything in their
path, and the party advanced without a hitch.
It wasn’t just the size of the place or the difficulty of the monsters. It was such a
harsh environment that a level 200 high class party would have given up on this
place after a week.
Since they were deep underwater, there was considerable amount of pressure
on their bodies, and they had to constantly have the Underwater Breathing magic
activated. The most critical factor was the fact that a Dungeon Merchant couldn’t
appear in this place. There was no way they could purchase food here.
[Nyaa! Nyaa nyaa nyaa?]
“All right. It is clean. This guy had a poison that kills anyone that consumes its
flesh. The poison would have caused high fever and diarrhea before it ultimately
causing death. Now it is a good source of protein.”
“Ya-ho! It’s time to eat!”
Since the Greed Beast Roa was able to absorb all the negative energy, the
hero’s party was able to acquire provisions from the monsters they fought.
“Mmm. It’s tasty. This taste like shrimps.”
“Oppa, the ocean is really great! It is full of tasty things!”
“······I’m the sinner. I’m the one.”
[Nyaa-oooh, nyaa-ah!]
In front of hunger, they didn’t discriminate in eating human-like monsters.
Normally, they would eat the Kraken, but when they got sick of eating the
Kraken, they laid their hands on the merfolk. Even if they were uncomfortable
with the upper half of the body, a merman’s lower body was that of a fish. The
lower body stayed in the form of a fish, and they didn’t feel any guilt since it
tasted like seafood.
“Artpe, I don’t like it boiled or steamed. I want to roast it.”
“Even if we try to roast it, it’ll become boiled. Don’t complain. Just eat.”
“What if I give Artpe a kiss instead?”
“You can’t.”
“Heeng. Why didn’t that work?”
This was how Artpe’s party arrived at the center of the temple without a hitch.
At that point, two months had passed since they entered the ocean.
Chapter 78 - Is This Really Happening Again? (2)

For the past two months, they slept, ate and did business in turns. They used
the rest of their time to tirelessly advance through the ancient temple. The
ancient temple was longer and deeper than any Dungeon they had gone through.
On the other hand, the party had grown so much that their martial prowess
couldn’t be compared to before.
They were rising in level as they fought the ancient merfolk. Even though the
merfolk’s levels also rose steadily, it didn’t slow down the speed of their advance
through the temple.
“Oohp. The water is heavy.”
“Oppa~”
At some point, the party realized that the temple’s hallway had narrowed. They
realized the atmosphere within the temple had changed.
“Artpe, our surrounding became darker.”
“The Mana’s property has changed….. The truly dangerous beings will come
out now. You should be on your toes.”
Once one enters the deep ocean, it’s a place where sunlight doesn’t reach. The
only light that illuminated the surrounding was the Mana infused within the ocean
water. As the properties of Mana changed, the light naturally changed in
strength and chromaticity. It also meant that the abilities of the monsters
changed depending on where they lived!
[Nyaaaaaaa.]
“You are very drunk on the energy.”
If one had to pick a member of Artpe’s party, who had grown the most in the past
two month, it would have have to be Roa. She was born as the Greed Beast,
and her growth was dependent on what she ate. After being born, she had been
traversing on the silk road up until now. However, the ancient temple exceeded
anything she had come across before.
“As we travel further inward, the evil energy is being upgraded into becoming
demonic in nature, so this result is to be expected. But…..”
[Nyaa, nyaa-oooooh.]
Roa was currently at level 222. Sienna possessed the lowest level amongst
Artpe’s party at level 235. This show how ridiculously fast Roa had grown. Of
course, Maetel possessed the highest level at 246. Artpe was close behind her
at level 245.
‘It’s incredibly hard for humans over level 200 to develop further. Every one of us
were able to increase our levels in just two days. This is why a hero’s ability is
labeled to be the best. Even the chef would be surprised by it.’
At this point, Artpe was sure of one thing. Maetel’s Innate ability of Acceleration
was being shared by the party.
If not, he couldn’t explain why Sienna and he was growing at comparable speed
as Maetel!
“Hmmm······.”
“What is it, Artpe? Even if I am pretty, I’ll get embarrassed if you stare at me like
that.”
“You are becoming more shameless.”
“It’s because I take after you, Artpe! We really are made for each other.”
He had enough circumstantial and material evidence to support his claim. If he
explained it to her, she would just tilt her head in puzzlement. He didn’t know if
she was acting ignorant or if she really wasn’t cognizant of it. In either event, this
was what she wanted in her heart, so Artpe didn’t go out of his way to tackle this
issue.
Even if her Innate ability was shared by the entire party, Maetel’s growth speed
remained crazy. There was no change, so it wasn’t a big problem. At this point
in time, he wondered if her ability was being applied equally instead of being
split.
[Koo-hoo-ahhhhhhhh]
Artpe’s party was traveling at high speeds. They were vigilant of their
surrounding as they explored the heart of the temple. At that moment, they
heard the breathing sound of terrifying monsters from far away.
“I wondered why we didn’t run across anything for a long while.”
“It feels like they are mid-bosses. If we compare it to the Demon King’s army,
they are like the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“So they are inconsequential?”
“······yes. I guess they are.”
These were elite monsters that had been asleep for countless years. They had
opened their eyes to punish the delinquents that had dared to invade the deepest
part of the temple. It wasn’t just one or two monsters. Artpe already sensed five
of them.
“They are over level 250······.”
“It’s all right. We can win against them.”
“Of course, we can win against them. Still, you shouldn’t underestimate them.
You should face them one at a time.”
“All right.”
As one traveled further up in level, the difference between a single level became
stark. Moreover, one had to keep in mind that monsters drastically increased in
power every 50 levels. If one considered this point, the monsters living at the
heart of the temple were truly calamitous.
What would have happened if they were released into the ocean? The Lunatic
Wave that impacted on Diaz would look like a joke compared to what would
happen.
‘I’ve always had this thought, but isn’t the world too unstable? If there were no
heroes, the Demon King’s army would have no reason to step forward. In spite
of that the human realm seemed destined for ruin…....’
Artpe grumbled as he raised his hands. White magical energy was produced
from the tip of his fingers. It covered the entire party as it formed a pentagonal
barrier of light.
It’s identity was a Priest’s skill called the Holy Barrier. It was mainly used to
block magical energy, but it also had the effect of resisting against physical
attacks. This barrier could be used in conjunction with Mana String and Hyper
Rubbing. It increased the power of the barrier to fantastical level. Now Artpe
didn’t hesitate to call these two spells as his main power.
[Ka-ha!]
After Artpe created the barrier, a monster valiantly charged out from the
darkness. It rammed into the barrier. Just a single collision created a large
crack, and instead of maintaining the barrier, Artpe purposefully broke apart the
barrier. The fragments of the barrier embedded itself into the body of the
monster.
[Koo-wahhhhhhng!]
[Hweeeee. Our enemies······!]
“They are coming from other directions. Be on your guard!”
Holy Barriers formed wherever Artpe waved his hands. As if they were keeping a
promise, the monsters rammed their heads wherever the barriers had formed.
Of course, Artpe was using his Read All Creation ability, so he was able to read
their Mana and life signs. He could predict their paths, so he had created the
barriers beforehand. From the perspective of the monsters, it was a very
frustrating development.
“Sienna!”
“Yes, unni!”
The rest of the party members didn’t pay attention to the other monsters. They
focused on the monster that had charged in first. They focused their attack on
the monster that had been battered by Artpe’s magic. This was a tactic that
couldn’t be used unless they were confident that Artpe could block the advance
of rest of the monsters.
[Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]
“Now!”
Roa absorbed the monster’s demonic energy. When the monster lost focus,
Maetel used her long sword. It shot out towards the monster’s body under the
influence of her Innate ability of Acceleration.
[Koo-oh-ahhhhhhhhh!]
“Divine Hammer!”
Her consecutive attacks didn’t allow the monster to form a skill or a spell. It
screamed as it tried to retreat. Hover, Sienna was already ready for it. She
gripped her enormous hammer, and she brought it down on the monster! The
monster was already filled with evil energy, so Sienna’s single blow brought its
life to an end.
“One down! Next!”
“Hurry up!”
“I’m going right now!”
While the girls were able to leisurely kill a single monster, Artpe was busy using
consecutive Holy Barriers and Mana Strings.
Artpe’s Mana Strings were connected to ten Holy Barriers. When Artpe twitched
his fingers, the Holy Barrier sliced through the ocean water to stop the charge of
the four monsters. How much spare Mana did one need to pull this off? It was a
shocking sight!
“Divine Hammer! Divine Hammer!”
“Hoo-ooooohp! Beaaaaaam!”
[Nyaaaaa!]
Artpe was amazing for blocking monsters over level 250 by himself, but the rest
of his party members were amazing too. The three of them were able to kill each
monster by pouring out their skills at once.
Artpe was famous for possessing vast quantities of Mana, so he was the
exception. Of course, the battle was a bit of a handful for Maetel and Sienna.
However, all their difficulties were solved with Maetel’s Record Divide skill. For
them, Artpe’s magical energy was like an endless source.
[Kyaa-hahhhhhk!]
[This is vexing. Our enemy is right in front of our eyes…...]
He had been telling the truth that each level up brought significant change.
However, the level up of the members of the hero’s party couldn’t be compared
to a normal level up. Their increase in ability was overwhelming.
In the past two month, Maetel had perfected and adapted the use of
Acceleration, while they explored the temple. Sienna was able to showcase
more powerful abilities than Maetel when she faced Demons or monsters that
possessed the Demonic gene. They were able to flawlessly kill opponents that
were 10 or 20 levels higher. They didn’t even receive a single scratch in the
fight.
Roa got ahold of the enemy to weaken the monster. Maetel brought down the
guard of the monster, and Sienna finished it by striking the monster with her
powerful energy. Their ability to link their skills had reached full maturity.
“Artpe, there is still one left!”
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
“Tsk. What a nimble bastard······.”
In no time, four monsters were killed and there was only one left. The remaining
monster was much bigger and stronger than the others.
It possessed brutal power. It could break his Holy Barrier with just one charge.
This particular monster had come after Artpe from the beginning. It had charged
after Artpe once it had caught sight of him.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhng!]
In terms of Mana, Evil Reflector Sienna would repulse the monster more.
Maetel’s attacks were able to create a more destructive result. It wouldn’t have
been strange if the monster had decided to attack either of the girls. However,
the monster had come after Artpe as if he was a sworn enemy. He had no idea
why this was the case.
“Sienna, give me your Mana!”
“Yes!”
He shared Sienna’s Mana through Maetel. Since this monster possessed
Demonic energy, this monster was only a slightly annoying foe.
“Die!”
[Koo-haaaaaaaaaaaaaahk!]
The Mana String was formed after being infused with a significant amount of
Sienna’s Mana infused within it. Several dozen threads shot out at once from
Artpe’s body. They pierced through the entire body of the monster, who had
been charging forward as if it wanted to crush Artpe.
It was reminiscent of a magic that had appeared only once in the past. It was a
magic used by the highest priest, who was the proxy of a god. It looked like
highest ranked imprisonment magic called the God’s Chain.
[Koo-ohhhhhhng! Ooh-goo-ahhhhhhhng!]
There were eight thick octopus legs attached to its lower body. It stretched its
legs out all at once to resist against the attack, but Maetel and Sienna followed
up immediately with their attack. In the end, it died in a futile manner. Maetel
was right. It hadn’t been much of an opponent like the Four Heavenly Kings.
This fact hurt an unknown portion of his heart.
Maetel tilted her head in puzzlement, while she looted the dead enemy.
“This guy has the face of a human, yet it only made unintelligible sounds.”
“As we travel deeper, we are more inclined to find such beings. As these
monsters fail to reach an equilibrium between their demonic energy and pure
Mana, their intelligence starts to deteriorate. They chose the wrong path to
become stronger, and this one is probably at the end stage of this process.”
[Nyaa nyaa-ah.]
It didn’t matter if her enemies were smart or dumb. They were just delicious
preys for Roa. However, she suddenly tilted her head in the middle of
consuming the monster’s demonic energy.
[Nyaa-ah? Nyaa nyaa-ha? Nyaa-ooh-ahh?]
“You tasted this somewhere before? It probably taste like all the monsters you’ve
been eating up until now.”
[Nyaa, nyaa nyaa! Nyaa nyaa-ah nyaa nyaa nyaa!]
“Ha. You are forcing me to delve deeper into this.”
Artpe let out a sigh as he widened both his eyes. It wasn’t difficult to read the
information from a dead corpse.
His Read All Creation ability assessed the Ancient Merman, who had octopus
legs. All the records regarding the monster appeared in front of his two eyes…..
[Ancient Kraken Merman]
[Level : 261]
[Mixed blood between Ancient Kraken and the Ancient Merfolk. The Demonic
gene was applied to the two Races. It caused an overlap that resulted in a
miraculous birth. An excessive amount of demonic energy is focused in this
small body, and it ate away at its soul. It grew in an unbalanced manner.]
“······what?”
Artpe couldn’t believe his own two eyes, so he spoke out with a dumbfounded
voice. However, this was information found through his Read All Creation ability,
so there was no way the information was wrong.
He quickly checked the corpses of the other four monsters. Their names were
revealed to be either Ancient Merman or Ancient Mermaid.
They were of an ancient race of the ocean that arose from the primal source of
demonic energy.
Yes, they were all the same except for the one called the Kraken Merman.
[Koo-oooh-ohhhhhhh.]
As if it had been trying to time this exact moment, an imposing sound rang out
from the deepest part of the temple.
It was the sound of mourning for the children that had died in this place. The
voice sounded as if it wanted its children to rest in peace, since it would finish
what they had started.
Artpe already knew the identity of the monster.
It truly was an unfortunate turn of events!
[Koo-ohhh-ahhhhhhng.]
The voice sounded a little bit closer. Soon, it would be very close. Artpe let out a
benevolent laughter as he caught Roa by the scruff of her neck.
“Hey. I thought you said this place wasn’t that dangerous.”
[Nyaa-ahhhhhhhhhhh.]
Roa replied by pointing out there was no way she could know everything. Even
her master hadn’t known about this. To his regret, she had told him the correct
answer. Artpe could no longer berate her. Moreover, even if he had known that
there was a dangerous being hidden within the temple, he probably would have
entered no matter what!
“Artpe, is it the boss?”
“Yes, it’s the boss.”
Artpe answered Maetel’s question. He let out a bitter laugh as he spoke further.
“We’ve become stronger. I’m sorry, but we’ll have to put our lives on the line as
always.”
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhng!]
Soon, the heinous beast that had been sealed within the ancient temple made its
appearance. The Ancient Kraken made its appearance.
This time it was an octopus.
Chapter 79 - Is This Really Happening Again? (3)

It possessed a pitch black body, and its terrifying eyes looked on in an arrogant
manner. The thing that stood out the most was the size of its body. It was no
wonder why this temple was so large. If the humans that were defending against
the Lunatic Wave saw this monster, they would have quickly given up on any
prospects of living.

[Ancient Kraken]
[Level : 291]
[One of the beast born from the ancient primal source of chaos. After being
sealed for countless years, it has been severely weakened.]

“Mmmmm. So it is already in a weakened state.”

Artpe faced the enormous Kraken as he solemnly nodded his head. Its single leg
could probably crush the Hellfire Sentinel. If this opponent hadn’t been in a
weakened state, his party wouldn’t have stood a chance. It was a fortunate turn
of events.
[Nyaa, nyaa-ah!]
“Hey, I already know that.”
Roa salivated whenever she discovered any source of demonic gene or negative
energy. She always wanted to attack her preys immediately. However, she was
stuck to Artpe’s arm in fear. She knew that she would be killed if she took a
wrong blow from the monster.
She had decreased the level gap compared to the previous Kraken, but this
Kraken held an overwhelming advantage in magical energy and strength.
‘However, this is a bit…. Ah, I see how it is. I had a hunch that it might turn out
like this.’
When the Ancient Kraken was mobilized, he was able to see the heart of the
ancient temple, which had been surrounded by darkness until this moment.
Everything was revealed in front of his eyes. Artpe’s sharp eyes caught sight of
the ‘altar’ located at the corner of the temple. In a single moment, he was caught
up to everything.
However, Artpe wasn’t able to leisurely observe the temple as long as he
wanted.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhh!]
“Koohk!?”
He wondered if the vibration around the Ancient Kraken would continue
indefinitely. However, in the next moment, water and Mana coalesced into
several dozen strands. The magic spell shot towards Artpe’s party like lasers.
Artpe quickly formed his Holy Barriers to block the attack. Of course, the Holy
Barriers were pulverized.
“Artpe, do we have to call back the red lady again!?”
Even if Artpe put the Blink Boots back on her, Maetel didn’t have the courage to
fight this monster head on. So she desperately called out after him.
Artpe stacked several dozen Holy Barriers at once, and he was able to stop the
lasers. He shouted back some unexpected words.
“I feel like we can win against it!”
“What!? How?”
“I want you guys to turn around and run towards the entrance of the temple! I
want you to draw its attention!”
“It feels as if you are throwing us out there as sacrifices. I’m wrong, right!?”
Even as Maetel tried to undercut Artpe’s orders with her words, she obediently
turned around. She grabbed ahold of Sienna, who couldn’t run as fast as her.
Then she used Acceleration to run away with Sienna in tow!
Several strands of water tried to chase after her, but Artpe blocked them with the
several dozen Holy Barriers he had created. The attack was in vain. This made
the Kraken lose interest in chasing after Maetel. Instead, it started to head
towards Artpe!
“Maetel, provoke it!”
“Ooh-ee-sheeng!”
At Artpe’s firm instructions, Maetel had no choice but to provoke the Ancient
Kraken. Maetel was sharing Mana with Sienna. She put all of Sienna’s Mana
into her long sword to amplify its power. Then she shot out her sword beam!
[Koo-goo-ohhhhhhhhng!]
No matter how high its level was or how long it had lived, the Ancient Kraken was
weak against the Mana of an Evil Reflector. The Ancient Kraken didn’t have the
time to avoid the attack, so it took the beam head on. Cross-popping veins
arose from the black body.
It probably suffered very little pain from the attack when one considered the size
of its body. However, its eight tentacles twitched, and an incredible amount of
water was sent towards the girls. It flew like a bullet!
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhng!]
“Kyaaah. It is effective.”
“Artpe, I hate you! I’m going to kiss you later!”
Its body was massive, so everyone had assumed it would be a bit slow in speed.
However, it started charging forward as if it would break everything that got in its
way. It didn’t care if it destroyed the temple. Maetel was taken aback. She
desperately activated Acceleration to start running away.
“Divine Punishment! Divine Punishment! Divine Punishment! Divine
Punishment!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhh!]
Sienna was being carried like a sack by Maetel. She extended one hand
backwards, and she continuously used her Divine Punishment skill. She was
trying to slow down the monster, but her attacks only made the monster angrier.
There was no doubt that her attacks were a great way to provoke the Ancient
Kraken.
[Goo-wahhhhhhhh!]
“You guys are doing great! Maetel and Sienna fighting!”
“Hate you! I hate you!”
The Ancient Kraken ceaselessly sent streams of water towards them, while it
rushed through the temple at ridiculous speed. Maetel was desperately
activating her Acceleration skill. They were returning at a speed 100 times faster
than the speed at which they explored the temple.
‘This will burden their bodies, but······ If we kill it, a level up is a guarantee.
Please suffer a little bit more, Maetel.’
Artpe hid himself. He waited until the Kraken was completely out of sight. He
took in a deep breath as he opened his eyes. His vision was filled with the altar,
which he had observed once before.
There was one book bound in red leather and another bound in blue leather
placed atop the altar. It was a familiar sight.
“Sunbae-nim, you also came here?”1
[Nyaa-ah?]
He knew heroes were busy bodies, but he never expected one to leave behind
his trace in such a place…... No. In truth, he had an inkling of an idea that this
might be the case when he entered the mermaid kingdom of Anaid.
It was said that Anaid was constructed couple hundred years ago.
It was unfortunate that he couldn’t pinpoint the exact era. However, it was
several hundred years ago, so it was an era that had nothing to do with the
current hero or the Demon King. It was when the legends of the prior generation
or the one before that had lived. This was why he hadn’t ruled out the possibility
that the previous generation’s hero had visited this place. Moreover, this
sunbae-nim had was proficient in magic to tie an entire Dungeon with the Record
Link. If it was this sunbae-nim, he would have been able break the common
sense and the Record regarding the merfolk of the Anaid Kingdom. He tied all
the merfolk together. This would have made it possible for the merfolk to create
the Road of Mermaids. His suspicion had deepened over time.
Now he had found the altar, and his suspicion had been confirmed.
‘That’s right. The merfolk couldn’t have made such amazing magic by
themselves..’
Artpe let out a sigh as he approached the altar. As expected, there were words
related to the ancient temple. It was the heroic tale left behind by his sunbae-
nim.
“I couldn’t handle the Ancient Kraken, so I drove it into this place. Then I sealed
it. The merfolk that were born close to the source of the chaos were used as
mediums to tie down the Ancient Kraken. This seal will remain unbroken for
several thousand years at the very least. The seal was placed using merfolk
possessing demonic energy. If merfolk with demonic properties show up once
again in the outside ocean, I cannot guarantee what will happen to this seal······.”
Stop it. Please don’t tell me that the Demons plotted all of this with this in mind!
He wished fervently that the Demon King’s army wasn’t this smart. However, no
matter how much he thought about it he came to the conclusion that the Demons
had known about the condition that would unseal the ancient temple. Artpe could
only sigh.
‘They came up with a perfect plan, and they carried it out meticulously. The only
variable that could have turned the table was us!’
Conversely, the Demon King’s army had set up such a meticulous plan, yet his
party had been able to solve everything. This fact made him feel annoyed! In
truth, Maetel and he had fucked over all plans carried out by the Demon King’s
army! He even foiled plans that were only suspected of having Demon
involvement.
Artpe really didn’t want to become the main character,yet the events around him
kept twisting to push him into the spotlight! For what reason! Why! At this rate,
this would negatively impact his plan of living a peaceful life as a dairy farmer in
his old age!
I reincarnated for nothing!
[Nyaa-ah-ah.]
“All right. I’ll calm down.”
Artpe scratched the back of Roa’s neck as he regained his sense of calm. He
continued to read the words carved into the altar.
“If you are reading these words, it means the seal has been broken, and you
have killed the Kraken. I give my thanks to you. As a reward, I prepared a
Unique Skill Book and a Spell Book, which responds to your Class. I hope these
items will be of help to you. If the one to kill the Kraken was a hero, you did well
my junior. You’ve already visited my grave, right? This Skill Book and Spell
book will strengthen the Unique Skill and Spell you have already learned.”
[Nyaaaaaa.]
Artpe had no idea how he pulled it off, but his sunbae had embedded two
functions into a single Skill Book.
The first function was like the Cultivation Dungeon they had visited. The content
of the Skill Book was determined once one learned it. The second function was
a contingency plan where it would strengthen the skill and spell one had learned
within Cultivation Dungeon. Since Maetel and Artpe had learned the requisite
skills from the Cultivation Dungeon, their skills were qualified to be strengthened.
‘He expected the younger generation hero to have found his grave first. His
attitude is very shameless…....’
They actually went there, so it couldn’t be helped. Moreover, he had no idea
what method was used to create such a Skill Book and Spell Book. He was
baffled.
‘However, the important point right now isn’t the fact that the sunbae had
established the Anaid Kingdom and the Road of Mermaid. The fact that he had
sealed the Kraken within the temple, and the preparation of the Skill Book and
the Spell Book isn’t important either.’
The most important phrase was written elsewhere.
This was it.
[The altar will fall once the Skill Book and Spell Book is learned. If the altar falls,
the temple falls. Be careful when you escape this place. If you are my junior,
you already know this fact since you’ve already visited my grave!]
“That bastard did the same thing here again!”
[Nyaa?]
This sunbae bastard didn’t provide any answers, yet he was trying to bury his
juniors alive after letting them learn the skills! He had an inkling that this would
turn out like this, and he had been right!
Still, he was looking forward to this. When he destroyed the temple, he’ll find a
way to defeat the Kraken. The odds were still slim. When he discovered the
altar, he had hopes that something would happen if he destroyed it.
‘The problem right now is the fact that we haven’t defeated the Kraken yet. We
can’t learn the Skill or Spell yet.’
Artpe focused his attention on the words left behind by his sunbae. If he learned
the Skill and Spell, the altar would fall. Then the temple would fall. The normal
order was to learn the Skill and Spell to trigger the destruction of the altar…...
“If the altar falls first, will the temple follow?”
[Nyaaaa······.]
Roa cried as if she found him to be hopeless. Artpe ignored her as he opened
his Dimensional Pouch. He took the Skill Book and Spell Book! The Skill Book
and Spell Book couldn’t be taken separately, but he was using the Dimensional
Pouch. It was possible to suck in both items through the suction created by the
Dimensional Pouch!
“It worked!”
[Nyaaaaaaaa!]
This in turn caused the destruction of the altar. The altar had been controlling
the flow of Mana within the temple. It caused the Mana to flood in an
uncontrolled manner, and it started the collapse. It started to cause destructive
fissures in the surrounding! As expected, the prior hero was great at weaving
magic, yet he was idiotic about setting the crucial details!
Artpe had yelled out in delight, but he was in a tight spot. The enormous temple
was crashing down on itself, and the large fragments were falling towards Artpe’s
head. He had used a similar attack on a Kraken before, and now he was in a
position of suffering a similar fate!
“Hoo······ Let’s head out, Roa.”
[Nyaa-ah-ah······.]
Roa grumbled that she would have gone with the unnis if she knew things would
turn out like this. He ignored her cries. He firmly held onto the Dimensional
Pouch, which held the precious Skill Book and Spell Book. He turned around,
and he activated the ability of his Blink Boots.
“Let’s go!”
[Nyaa nyaa-ahhhhhht!]
If he could see a location, he could travel there with a companion using the
Artifact. After Reinforcing it three times, Artpe could activate Blink as long as he
had Mana left. If he didn’t have this boots, he wouldn’t have invited trouble like
this.
[Nyaaaaa! Nyaa-ah-aht, nyaa-ah!]
“It’s all right. If I hadn’t destroyed this, we would have died here anyways!”
As expected of an ex-Four Heavenly King, he lived a life that was closely
connected with death. He prayed that Maetel and Sienna, who had gone ahead
of him, didn’t get hit by the fragments from the temple. He activated his Blink
ability.
He was able to predict the trajectory of the fragments using his Read All Creation
ability. He Blinked into safe spaces! None of the fragments were able to hit him
as it destroyed the ocean floor.
[Koo-wahhhhhhhhhhng!]
He heard a roar in the distance. It seemed a large fragment had hit the Kraken.
It made Artpe laugh. All right. The true boss fight would start from this point on!
“Artpe, I hate youuuuuu! I’ll do something worse than kissing you!”
“······.”
[Nyaa-ah-ah.]
“Shut up. Don’t make any predictions.”
Suddenly, he felt a little bit afraid of going forward. However, he had no choice.
Artpe thought about getting purposefully hit by a fragment, so he could use it as
an excuse. As he seriously mulled this idea over, he activated Blink again.
Chapter 80 - Is This Really Happening Again? (4)

The Ancient Kraken had been sealed several hundred years ago by a hero. It
had faded into the darkness, and it had been forgotten over the long years.
However, the Ancient Kraken finally revealed itself once again to the world. It
was incredibly angry right now.
[Koo-ga-ahhhhhhhh!]
The Ancient Kraken’s son was dead. The seal wouldn’t have been completely
broken unless its son was dead.
These damn heroes were also emitting an annoying energy that disturbed its
core being. They had also went so far as to commit acts of brutality. They were
destroying the entire temple before it could get out of this cramped prison!
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhng!]
All the materials making up the temple was critically harmful to the Ancient
Kraken’s demonic gene! Moreover, these materials weighed several dozen to
several hundred tons. These fragments were dropping towards the Ancient
Kraken. Of course, the assault of the fragments caused harm to it.
Moreover, the Ancient Kraken was truly enormous, so it didn’t matter how fast it
was traveling. It couldn’t avoid the falling temple fragments. It was being
continuously pelted by the fragments infused with holy power. The Ancient
Kraken’s hard skin cracked under the assault, and blood gushed forward.
“If you are going to destroy this place, you should have told us! Artpe is bad!”
“When he said we can win against it, he meant he was going to do this. As
expected, oppa is amazing. He is too cool.”
“He is cool! That is neither here nor there!”
Maetel and Sienna was simultaneously facing the destruction of the temple and
the anger of this savage monster. It was an unbearable situation.
She was able to endure the backlash of her Acceleration skill relatively well
thanks to her growth. However, she was running away from a level 290 boss
monster, while she was dodging the temple fragments. It put an unbelievable
stress on her mind.
“Unni, it’s coming!”
“You have to deflect that. I can’t dodge it!”
“That!? ······eeek. All right! Ha-ahp!”
Maetel was continuously activating her Acceleration, while she carried Sienna.
While she was being carried, Sienna deflected any fragments that Maetel
couldn’t dodge using her hammer! Their ability to work together was a vision to
behold.
“Ah, unni! I just had a good idea!”
“I probably won’t understand it, so don’t explain it to me. Do as you please!”
“Yes, I understand!”
Maetel was too busy using her Acceleration repeatedly, while she assessed her
surrounding. Unlike her, Sienna had some time she could spare. SHe hadn’t
been mindlessly deflecting the fragments. She had been brainstorming to come
up with an idea to help Maetel.
Currently, she had a gauntlet that imbued the power of the Kraken into her
weapon. Then there was the hammer, which had gone through three
Reinforcements. It had the ability to store and release vibration. If she activated
both abilities at the same time, maybe…..!
“Unni, you don’t have to dodge that fragment!”
“That one is really big. Eh-ee. Whatever!”
Maetel didn’t trust Sienna, but she trusted in Artpe, who had faith in Sienna.
Instead of dodging the fragment that was falling from above, she charged
towards it. Of course, the Kraken continued its mad chase after them.
“Hoohp······ Just a little bit more!”
“Sienna! I don’t know what you are trying to do, but hurry up! I want to kiss
Artpe, not that hunk of rock!”
When Maetel once again activated her Acceleration, the Kraken shot another
stream of water. There was an incredible driving force behind the water, and it
was charging violently towards the two girls. At that moment, a truly large temple
fragment fell towards the heads of the party members!
“Ha-ahhhhhhhhp!”
Sienna used the Kraken’s power to strengthen her hammer, and she focused the
power of vibration stored within the hammer. She unleashed all the power as
she swung the hammer overhead. The head of the hammer hit the fragment as
the fragment was about to drop on top of them. The fragment was deflected.
“Goo-oooooooh?”
“Kyahhhhhhhk!”
It was such a heavy fragment that the rebound caused Maetel and Sienna to be
pushed forward in a rough manner. Yet, somehow the fragment changed
direction to head straight towards the Kraken. The fragment containing a
massive amount of Sienna’s holy power squarely struck the Kraken!
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhh!]
A scream that was unlike any before erupted from the Kraken as it writhed. It
was so painful that the Kraken stopped its charge, and its eight legs spread out
as it caused mayhem.
From all around its body, balls of water coalesced to shoot towards the two girls
like beams of laser. Maetel felt something hot on her trail, so she desperately
twisted her body to dodge the attack.
“What the hell did you do!”
“I just attacked it! It must be really painful! Unni, let’s hit it again with the same
attack!”
“I’m going to die. I’m really going to die!”
Maetel had a tearful face as she once against charged forward. It wasn’t a
simple charge. She kept calculating paths that would make her come across the
falling fragments. She was doing this while she used her Acceleration skill. It
allowed Sienna to easily swing at the falling fragments with her hammer.
Moreover, it allowed all the momentum generated by their sprint to be
transferred into the fragments.
Even Artpe wouldn’t have been able to calculate the route in such a short amount
of time. Of course, Maetel was taking the most optimal route by instinct. She
was the best at tasks that involved moving one’s body. No one could catch up to
her in that aspect!
“Uh uh…. Eh-eet!”
[Koo-ha-ahhk!? Keeee-hahhhhhhhhk!]
Maetel’s efforts resulted in Sienna being able to strike the fragments with a much
more natural swing. This resulted in the fragments containing much more power
behind it compared to the first fragment. The proof could be seen by how the
Kraken reacted. It writhed in a more violent manner.
[Koo-hahk! Kee-hahhhk!]
“······unni, I think we might kill it before oppa get here.”
“No. This is only the beginning······ Sienna, hold tight!”
“Kyahhhhhhhhh!”
In the past, they had killed a Kraken that had been suffering under a curse of
madness. It had repeatedly charged forward like a battering ram. Instead of
fighting its enemies, it felt as if the Kraken had been trying to overcome an
obstacle.
However, the Ancient Kraken was acting differently. While it charged forward, it
continuously shot water lasers towards its enemies. Now it started to shoot out
its ink!
[Goo-ooooooohng!]
“Koohk. It is cutting us off from the ambient Mana······!”
“Unni, be careful!”
It was a truly astounding development. The ink shot out by the Ancient Kraken
had the effect of absorbing the nearby Mana for its own use.
What was the effect of this attack? It immediately made it harder for Maetel and
Sienna to generate Mana. Moreover, the water lasers started forming from every
direction. Up until now, it had only formed only around the Kraken’s body!
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhhh!”
“Unni!”
She resisted against the Kraken’s Mana, which was pressuring her from all sides.
She forcefully energized her Mana to activate the Acceleration skill, then she
activated the option contain within her boots.
This would cause a significant amount of burden on Artpe, but she had no
choice! She maxed out her Record Divide. She pulled Artpe’s vast magical
energy towards her.
“Hoo-ooooh······.”
She shut her eyes tight before she opened them. She activated her senses to its
fullest extent. She was able to capture the location of the falling temple
fragments, the tentacles, the Kraken’s body and the reaction caused by laser’s
energy. On top of that, she chose directions that would bring her close to
fragments that would add to the power being imbued by Sienna’s strikes!
“That one, and that one! Hit them!”
“Ooh-goo-ahhhhhhh. All righhhhhhhht!”
There was a flurry of lasers, ink and tentacles coming towards her, yet Maetel
didn’t allow these attacks to hit her. She even increased her speed further. It
made it harder for Sienna to swing her hammer, but she didn’t have time to
complain about it!
“Hoohp! Hoo-ooooooh-ahp!”
[Koo-ha-ah! Koo-wee-ooh-ahhhhhhh!]
Sienna followed Maetel’s direction. She swung her hammer with all her might,
and she sent two additional fragments towards the Kraken. The Kraken
controlled its lasers to shoot down one fragment, but it was helplessly struck by
the remaining fragment.
Since both sides had increased their speed, the impulse generated was much
larger. The fragments infused to the brim with Sienna’s holy power exploded
after being embedded deep within the Kraken’s body. It caused profound
damage to the Kraken’s enormous demonic energy.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhh!]
The Kraken was going completely insane. Ink was pouring out of it, yet the
hero’s party was still able to run away from the Kraken! Artpe caught up with his
party around this time.
“What an absolute mess····· Roa!”
[Nyaa nyaa nyaa-ahhhhhht!]
Roa, who was being held close to Artpe’s bosom, opened her mouth. This was
obvious, but she was sucking in the ink being released by the Kraken!
“Aht······ Artpe!”
“Don’t look back! Just run!”
The ocean water had been dyed black. When the ocean water regained its
normal color, the Kraken’s control over the ambient Mana lessened. Maetel and
Sienna started running away at a much faster speed.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhng!]
The Kraken immediately perceived Artpe’s presence, so it turned its head to look
at him. At that moment, a fragment sent by Sienna embedded itself inside the
Kraken’s head before exploding. It had no choice, but to change direction again.
In the next moment, Artpe’s several dozen Mana Strings took control of a falling
temple fragment, and he threw it. It pierced through a tentacle. He couldn’t
borrow Sienna’s Mana, but he could cause sufficient damage with just the temple
fragments.
[Kweeeek, kwee-ooh-ahhhhh!]
The Kraken was being assaulted by troublesome attacks from both sides. The
creature of the ocean felt as if would pass away from the stress. Moreover, it
had spread its ink to dominate the field, yet it was being sucked away into some
unknown place!
“Maetel, I want you to increase your speed! Sienna, you are doing well! Keep
attacking with the fragments!”
“It is easier said than done!”
However, she obediently followed Artpe’s words by increasing her speed. She
made it look easy. Artpe followed after them, and he once again threw multiple
fragments towards the back of the Kraken’s head. Then he used consecutive
Blinks to arrive next to Maetel.
“Artpe, you better be prepared after this ends.”
“I did all of this to save both of you. Anyways, we have to change our tactic.”
Artpe took hold of Maetel with one hand, and he used his other hand to get ahold
of Sienna. Maetel’s Acceleration was fast, but it was slower than Artpe’s Blink.
He could travel a distance of several hundred meters with a single Blink. It was
time for him to turn the table.
He gave orders to his party members as he used Blink to dodge the Kraken and
the temple fragments.
“Roa! You should suck in everything you can! Ah, I want you to store the ink
separately.”
[Nyaa-ahhhhh, nyaa nyaa-ahhh-nyaa!]
She grumbled that he was a very bad owner. However, Roa obediently followed
his order. Then he gave orders to Maetel, who had passed the baton off to
Artpe. She had nothing to do after he had shown up.
“Is it possible to share the power of Acceleration using Record Divide?”
“Ah. ······yes.”
They were in a desperate situation, yet there was a slight pause before Maetel
gave her reply. It meant she felt guilty about something. As he had suspected,
she had been sharing her Acceleration ability with her party members all along!
However, this wasn't something he should call her out on. He was thankful,
since they were able to accomplish many things thanks to her sharing her ability
with them. Artpe decided not to interrogate her.
“All right. While you share your Acceleration with Sienna, I want you to destroy
any obstacles we can’t dodge using your long sword’s beam.”
“Yes!”
The Kraken was either sending several dozen streams of waters or its tentacles.
They were all being stopped by Artpe’s barriers. Still, Artpe couldn’t to several
dozen task at once, so he decided to shift a portion of his burden to Maetel.
“Sienna, you are on offense. Your attack power will increase when you receive
the Acceleration ability! I want you to hit only the biggest fragments!”
“I am confident, oppa!”
“Let’s do this!”
He used consecutive Blinks to travel several hundred meters. One of the
temple’s pillars appeared right in front of them!
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhp!”
Sienna used the Kraken’s power and the power of vibration to strike the pillar
with all her might. The pillar broke into several dozen fragments, and they were
sent towards the Kraken, who had been chasing after them!
[Koo-goo-oh-ahhhhhhhh!]
[Nyaa! Nyaa nyaa-aht!]
Roa had absorbed all of its ink, so they no longer had to worry about dodging the
lasers that had formed from all directions. That’s right. When Artpe and Roa
joined the fray, the Kraken was surprisingly ineffective in its attacks!
[Kyaa-hahhhhhhh! Kee-oh-ahhhhhhhk!]
It couldn’t kill the annoying heroes. It couldn’t even catch up to them. It was
being continuously pelted by the temple fragments, and its health was starting to
approach a dangerous territory. Finally, the Kraken’s anger reached a critical
point.!
“Crazy!”
In that moment, the several dozen water lasers doubled then tripled. Then an
overwhelming amount of ink was spouted from the Kraken. Even Roa would
have a hard time eating such a large amount of ink. The Kraken used the ink to
instantly dominate the surrounding ambient Mana. The Kraken’s body was
peppered with holes, and blood shot out from these critical injuries instead of
water. It added to the speed of the Kraken’s charge!
“Artpe, its gaining on us! We are really going to get caught!”
“Oppa, I don’t see anymore good fragments I can use to attack it! At this rate we
really…..”
“We really will…..!”
Artpe shouted.
“There’s the exit! I want you to strike that!”
“Yes!”
Sienna obediently followed Artpe’s words. After Sienna struck the ceiling, Artpe
used one last Blink to exit the underground tunnel. Afterwards, a horrific
earthquake shook the region. It sounded like a thunder storm. The underground
tunnel collapsed accompanying an explosive roar!
[Koo-ooooh-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
The Ancient Kraken let out a cry. However, its lasers nor its tentacles could
chase after the party members.
The Ancient Kraken was buried alongside the temple and the underground
tunnel.
Chapter 81 - Is This Really Happening Again? (5)

[Koo-wahhhhhh! Kee-hahhhhhhhh!]
Did the scream of a damned soul from the depth of hell sound like this? The
sound that made everyone, who heard the sound, shudder in fright rang
throughout the ocean. The ocean floor shook as it crumbled. All the deep-sea
organisms had already fled far away. It was the same for the monsters.
[The humans are here!]
[W...what the hell is in there!?]
[You guys haven’t left yet?]
As all of this unfolded, an awful lot of merfolk had gathered at this location.
Maybe, merfolks weren’t really monsters. They might be another humanoid
species. It seemed they were really poor at following directions. In that aspect,
they were really like humans! Or maybe they were dumb. They might have
forgotten his words in just two months!
Artpe would rather perish than become responsible for the merfolk. He had
these thoughts as he let go of Maetel and Sienna. Since she knew this wasn’t
over yet, Maetel didn’t complain too much. She quickly stepped away from him.
“Artpe, somehow we got this far, but….. It isn’t dead yet, right?”
“There is no way it would die just from that.”
At the end, Sienna’s strike had been a critical blow, and the Kraken had been
buried deep beneath the ocean floor. Even though the Kraken was buried alive,
the Kraken was continuing its rampage. He couldn’t guarantee that the temple
fragments and the rocks of the underwater tunnel would be able to withstand the
Kraken's assault.
[Kwah-ohhhhhhhhh!]
“Wow. Look at that. The ground is shifting.”
They had somehow safely escaped the clutches of the monster. He let out a
deep breath. First, he had smoothly reached this point. In the process of getting
here, he had used much more Mana than he had expected, so he was having a
hard time keeping his wits about him.
Maetel had indiscriminately used her Acceleration, and Sienna had attacked the
Kraken by hitting the temple fragments. Artpe had used Blink. Most of their
actions consumed Mana. This was probably easy to forget, but Artpe was
maintaining the Underwater Breathing magic. It took constant consumption of
Mana to maintain the spell.
The quantity of Mana possessed by Artpe was transcendent, and if he hadn’t
possessed it, he would have died. He would have died a dozen times over.
“Shit······ I have to use that magic.”
Artpe was drinking the highest grade Mana Potion he had purchased from
Mycenae. However, the potion’s effect didn’t kick in immediately. It would be a
long time before his Mana filled up to the point he desired.
The Kraken will probably escape before his Mana filled back up. Artpe’s party
and the long history of the Anaid Kingdom would come to an end! Artpe drank all
his Mana Potions, and he desperately gathered the ambient Mana around him.
At the same time, he put his brain to work.
‘Mana. The Mana is a must…...’
Demite’s Gemstone…. He could use it if needed, but it wasn’t enough. He
could drink multiple Mana Potions, but the efficacy of the potion would be close
to nil now.
Yes, there was the Kraken’s Magic Stone!
If he consumed that item, he might be able to pull this off!
However, it wouldn’t be enough. Artpe’s eyes could clearly see the status of the
buried Kraken. As if to confirm that he couldn’t kill it, the damn Kraken moved in
a very lively manner!
The only reason why it couldn’t escape its prison was the residual holy power left
within the temple fragments. Once the Kraken’s demonic energy pushed away
the holy power, its violent rampage would overturn the entire region.
At that moment, Artpe suddenly had a thought.
“Maetel, what is the range of application for the Record Divide?”
“My comrades and…… Those that are far weaker than me.”
“What about the merfolk over there?”
Maetel watched the merfolk, who were starting to congregate around the party.
After thinking over it for a brief moment, she nodded her head without hesitation.
“I believe I can do it. It will be hard if I don’t have consent to take their Mana.”
“All right. Wait a moment.”
Basically, it wasn’t impossible. It was just hard to do . This fact terrified him. A
hero normally took and commandeered resources from innocent people. So he
didn’t feel much guilt in doing this. Artpe immediately turned towards the merfolk,
and he shouted at them.
[All of you guys come over here! I want to use your Mana!]
[M...mana!? Human, how can you use our Mana…..]
[Does this human share the same purpose as that man? He might be trying to
experiment on us! You are a diabolical human!]
It seemed he wouldn’t be able to accomplish this through an amiable
conversation. Artpe was resigned as he was about to use a more coercive
measure. However, a voice containing an iron will rang out from beyond the
crowd of merfolk.
[That man is my owner. Soon, he will be the owner of this kingdom! All the
merfolk shall follow his orders!]
It was Sherryl’s voice. She held a position of leadership amongst the merfolk, yet
she had remained in this place. Artpe was taken aback by her appearance, and
his mouth fell open when he saw the thousands of merfolk following behind her.
They had willingly cut off their own escape route. How foolish can they be!
However, the merfolk thought differently from Artpe. There wasn’t a hint of
hesitancy within Sherryl’s voice.
[Master will soon become the kingdom. If the master dies, the kingdom will not
exist! You should think of it that way! Anyone with a drop of Mana left shall
follow his order!]
[Princess. No, her majesty the queen…...]
[The queen has spoken!]
There were those that were disgruntled by the situation. There were those that
were uneasy about all of this. However, the merfolk didn’t show any outward
signs of their emotions. They obediently followed their queen’s orders. They put
their lives in Artpe’s hands. Maetel’s green eyes twinkled when she saw this.
“It is possible!”
“It is a skill that hasn’t been Reinforced yet, but it is capable of…... All right.
Let’s do this right now! I want you all to send as much of your Mana towards
me!”
Artpe activated the Mana Link with Maetel. Maetel used the Record Divide to
gather the Mana from the nearby merfolk. Artpe pulled the Mana towards him,
and he activated his magic!
“Sienna, do you need Mana? Shall I share some with you?”
“Yes, oppa. If we kill that, I know I’ll level up. I’ll fight until I’m close to death!”
“Our Sienna had grown up to be really strong······.”
It hurt him to see it, but that didn’t mean he would refuse her the access to the
Mana. Artpe gritted his teeth, and he took out the Demite’s Gemstone.
He had used this item at every important junctures, but the item still remained in
its rough gemstone form. When he successfully ended this battle, Artpe thought
he would be able to refine it…....
“Please last through this battle. I’ll soon bring out your true form…...!”
The Mana from the merfolk went through Maetel. Then the Mana was passed
onto him. He poured it all into the Demite’s Stone. At the same time, he started
chanting the great magic spell.
“The mystery that fell from the sky. The cradle of creation. We are nestled in
your bosom, and I will lead you by my hand. Accede to my demand. Wash away
those that sully your purity. Maintain your mysteries.”
Each words brought forth a blinding purple light, and it amplified the Mana.
If he could see it with his eyes, it was within the range of the great magic. He
created a magic circle with the amplified Mana. He expanded the circle, then he
set the range. Just this act created a pressure that made the ground shake.
“I will become your proxy. Entrust your power to me. Germinate the power of life.
Turn yourself around. Become the mace of death that destroys my enemy.”
“Oh my. He is too cool······!”
This was the first time Maetel had seen Artpe use a great magic spell. Her eyes
twinkled. Artpe could only let out a bitter laugh when he heard her words. He
already knew the result of this magic spell.
[Koo-goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
As Artpe was getting closer to finishing his spell, the Kraken felt a sense of
danger. Its rampage became fiercer. This finally caused a part of the ground to
give way, and the Kraken shot a stream of water towards Artpe!
“No, you don’t!”
Artpe was chanting his magic, and Maetel was using her Record Divide. Sienna
stepped forward in their stead. She took center stage. She focused the
hammer’s power of vibration, and she brought down a fierce swing towards the
stream of water. The attack was neutralized accompanying a loud boom.
Somehow, she was able to block its attack, but it hadn’t been a simple attack.
Afterwards, several strands of water streams erupted as they completely
dismantled the surface of the ground. An enormous tentacle erupted from the
newly created space!
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhh!]
[The bastard’s tentacle came out!]
[H...human! You took our Mana, so you should do something! Please show us
something!]
The merfolk started speaking in a respectful tone when their lives became
threatened.
Artpe snorted. He smiled as he spoke the final part of the spell. At the end, he
mixed Sienna’s special Mana, which was antagonistic against demonic energy.
He poured it into the Demite’s Gemstone. Then he once again pushed the
magical energy towards the core of the magic circle!
“Oh ocean. Show us your anger! Wash away the filth, and prove your purity!”
The activation of the spell was impending, so he took out the level 267 Kraken’s
magic stone. He had no choice. He had to let this magic stone go, and the
waste almost brought tears to his eyes. However, this was a necessary sacrifice
to kill the damn monster once and for all.
Artpe knew what choices and sacrifices he had to make for his survival. He
knew this better than anyone else, since he had been the weakest of the Four
Heavenly Kings in his past life!
“Shit······ Flow downwards! God Flush!”
Artpe broke the magical stone, which had come out from a Kraken, with all his
might. He used the magical energy to activate the magic circle to its peak, and
he uttered the final words to the spell.
God Flush was a great magic spell that was left behind by the Kraken. It had
been the owner of this magic stone. Moreover, the target of this attack was
another Kraken. It was a truly funny and ironic situation. However, the result
wasn’t funny at all.
[Koo-oooh!? Koo-ooh-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
The tentacle had been freed into the ocean water, and it had been trying to find a
target. However, the tentacle suddenly stopped moving. An unnatural silence
descended on the battlefield. Everyone became puzzled by the silence. He had
consumed such an overwhelming amount of Mana to use this spell, yet the result
was silence.
“Artpe, what did you just······.”
“Maetel, I want you to hold me.”
Maetel squashed her own question, and she spoke in a reliable manner towards
Artpe.
“Yes!”
“Me too!”
[Nyaa nyaa-ahhhhhhht!]
In regards to anything that had to do with skinship, she would never turn it down.
She didn't even ask him any questions. When she heard his word, she hugged
him. As if she didn’t want to lose, Sienna also hugged Artpe. Roa was stuck
between them, and she yowled as if she was about to be crushed to death.
Afterwards, the ocean water sloshed.
“It is about to start.”
Artpe mumbled quietly to himself, and he shut his eyes tight.
One didn’t need to ask what was about to start. The silence from a moment ago
felt like a lie. The torrent of water struck the region!
“Kyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk!”
“Artpehhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
[Nyaaaaaaaaaaaht!]
It was an enormous whirlpool. A whirlpool had erupted in the middle of the
ocean. It was created by sucking in everything that made up the ocean. The
whirlpool dragged everything downwards towards the ocean bed. Artpe’s party
had to struggle to get out of the helical flow of the water.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
Of course, the terminal end of the whirlpool landed on the Kraken.
[Kah-hah! Koo-hahhhhhhk! Kee-ehhhhhhh!]
The enormous vortex dragged down the ocean water. It was powerful enough to
pulverize the enormous temple fragments. It freed the Kraken for an instant, but
in the next moment, it was swept alongside the pulverized remnants of the
temple fragments. The frightening centrifugal current caused enormous wounds
to form on the Kraken’s body!
[M...my god. The god of the ocean is angry!]
[H...he isn’t human. He is the god of the ocean! He has descended to save us!]
It was as if the enormous whirlpool was punishing the Kraken. When the merfolk
saw him control the ocean, they mistook Artpe for the god of the ocean. In truth,
it wasn’t an overreaction to call him a god based on what he did!
[Ggooh-ahhhhhhhhhh!]
“As expected, a level one spell comes out like this when using a magic stone·····
Shit!”
“Kyahhhhhhhhh!”
“You sneaked a kiss on my cheek. Ooh-gyahhhhhhk!”
It wasn’t just a kiss on the cheek. Maetel acted as if she couldn’t win against the
current of the whirlpool, and she kept pushing her mouth towards his face. It
seemed Sienna was quick to pick up on Maetel’s bad behavior. She also joined
in!
Artpe was currently hanging onto his party members. If not, he would be swept
away by the great magic God Flush. Is this what you reap what you sow meant?
He could only moan in a low voice as the hero and the Warrior Priestess
displayed their physical affection all over his body.
[Kee-heeeeeek! Kee-hahhhhhhh!]
The scream of the Kraken was getting louder and louder.
The Kraken’s body was being assaulted. It was being sucked below to the ocean
floor by the pressure. Moreover, Sienna’s holy power was layered on top of the
attack. The pieces of the pulverized temple fragments dug into its body like
needles.
The blue ocean churned with its black blood. Soon, it was as if the entire ocean
was dyed black. Artpe thought about ordering Roa to absorb everything.
How long did it last? The whirlpool had started below the surface of the water,
and it had dragged the Kraken towards the absolute floor of the ocean. As the
whirlpool continued to travel downwards, everyone became free from the
influence of the current created by the whirlpool. They could no longer hear the
screams of the Kraken, and they could no longer see its tentacles. It had been
completely swallowed by the ocean.
As if Maetel was finally satisfied, she let go of Artpe, and she asked him a
question.
“Artpe, what happens if that monster doesn’t die from this?”
“That is a very good question.”
Artpe smirked as he answered her.
“We have to kill it no matter what.”
Chapter 82 - Is This Really Happening Again? (6)

At that moment, the residents of the ocean was holding their breath. A
spectacular and frightening whirlpool had dragged the Kraken down to the ocean
floor, and it was as if the scream of the Kraken was still ringing in their ears. No
one thought this horrible monster could be killed. The merfolk had seen its
writhing tentacles, and Artpe’s party had seen the entire body go down. Artpe
had confirmed its death, yet he continued to look warily towards the ocean bed.
He gripped his weapon tight.
“······.”
[······.]
“······.”
[······.]
However, the Kraken didn’t show up no matter how long they waited. The
silence lengthened indefinitely until Artpe’s party broke it.
“Ooh-goo-ahhhhhhhhhh.”
“That’s right! It’s a level up! My head huuuuuuurts!”
“Koohk.”
When the Ancient Kraken lost its life, the EXP came pouring in! It was divided
amongst the party members. Basically, this was the surest proof that the Ancient
Kraken had died.
The problem was the fact that the EXP of the level 291 Ancient Kraken was
being shared amongst the three of them, and they were writhing around in pain.
It was as if they were dancing.
“Hoo-goo-goohk! Artpe! Why does our level up always have to be so painful!?”
“It’s because we always fight insanely high leveled opponents! Normally······
This is supposed to happen once in a lifetime!”
“Heeeeng. Opaaaaaaaaa!”
While they were dancing, Maetel ascended to level 261. Artpe earned a little bit
more EXP than her, so he was at level 263. Sienna had contributed to the battle
just as much as them, so her level climbed steeply to 247.
Their skills also went through a similar growth. This was especially true for the
great magic called God Flush. There weren’t many situations where one would
use such a spell, yet he had used it to finish off the Kraken. It increased to level 5
in one go.
Of course, level and skill made up the foundation of his existence, and both of
them had grown. This was why Artpe suffered under a bigger headache. It was
a trivial problem…. No, it was pretty annoying.
“Ooh-goo-goohk, it hurts…...!”
[B...be careful of the humans. They are acting strange!]
The merfolk became wary. They thought the humans might be suffering under
the curse of madness. However, they didn’t attack Artpe’s party. Instead, it
didn’t take long for them to writhe in pain like the humans.
[Wait a moment. My body is… Something is wrong…. Koo-hahk!?]
[Ooh-ahhhhhhhk!]
[It hurts! My head hurts so much!]
The merfolk hadn’t been able to directly harm the Ancient Kraken. However,
there was a very simple reason why they were going through this development.
Maetel had gathered their Mana. They had contributed in the extermination of
the Ancient Kraken. A very small portion of the Ancient Kraken’s massive
Record was given to them.
[My body······ My scales!]
[I’m dying! I’m dying!]
They had received an extremely small amount of EXP compared to Artpe’s party.
However, the average level of the merfolk were below level 100. This was why
the EXP was considered to be an overwhelming amount. Soon, many merfolk
were growing by at least 10 levels.
Moreover, there were those credited with more achievement than other. This
allowed these merfolk to evolve into a higher rank!
[M...master! My body······ Something is wrong! Koo-hahk!?]
Of all the stupid things, there was one that was evolving in the wrong direction. It
was the queen of the Merfolk Sherryl Anaid. She had made a promise to serve
Artpe as her master.
[Koohk······ Koo-ahhhhhhhk!]
By this time, everyone was in a celebratory mood. Sherryl was the only one
amongst them letting a horrible scream. It felt as if her high pitch scream would
rupture his eardrums. He frowned as he turned to look at her.
However, his expression quickly changed in the next moment. It would have
been better if she was being a crybaby. She was the only one greeted with
calamity in this happy occasion!
[Why are you······ Damn it!?]
When the Ancient Kraken was assaulted by God Flush, it had let out a copious
amount of cursed blood into the ocean water. Currently, Sherryl’s body was
letting out a light, and her body was sucking in all the blood. Her body, mind, soul
and magical energy was being dyed by the demonic gene. She was evolving in
a direction she should not proceed!
‘That’s right. Sherryl is the only one amongst the merfolk that survived the
demonification experiment…...! Maybe, one of her ancestors was an Ancient
Mermaid! Shit!’
His growth caused his head to hurt. He gripped his head as he quickly rushed
towards Sherryl. Roa quickly opened her mouth to suck in the Kraken’s Blood,
but most of the blood had already flowed into Sherryl!
“Roa, we have no choice. We’ll have to extract the demonic gene that is already
in her.”
[Nyaa-ah, nyaa nyaa-ah!]
[Koohk. Ggooh-ahhhhhhk!]
In the past, Sherryl had experienced receiving the demonification curse. This
was why the her change was advancing really fast. His eyes couldn’t keep up
with it. On the other hand, she was originally a mermaid. It should be possible to
extract demonic gene! At the very least, she wouldn’t die!
“I...I’ll help!”
“Thank you. I want you to stick close to her!”
Sienna was also suffering through pain caused by leveling up all at once. She
scrunched up her face as she followed after him. First, Artpe was going to use
Roa to extract the demonic gene. Then Sienna would inject her Mana into
Sherryl. At the same time, he would take direct control of the Mana, and he
would coat Sherryl’s body with the Mana.
[Ggrrr-oooooooh. M...master.]
[This is why I told you not to come here······ You are unlucky.]
[You didn’t come out for over two month. I was worried….. Koo-hahk!]
She needlessly follow after him, but it was also true that he would have had a
hard time using the God Flush at the crucial moment in battle without the merfolk.
This was why he couldn’t berate her. Artpe sighed as he observed her insides.
He had succeeded in pulling off this procedure with Sienna, but he couldn’t
underestimate the task in front of him. Sherryl was a mermaid. The structure of
her Mana was markedly different from a human. Moreover, the demonic gene
that had invaded her body was different from the demonic gene from a pure
Demon.
‘I can see why the Demons aimed for this temple. Shit…..’
The demonic gene had invaded her entire body, and somehow the demonic
energy within her body was more potent than the one within a Demon. It was
more pure. The demonic gene had found a new and qualified owner. It
improved her body and magical energy to new heights. However, as a price, she
was being dyed with pure evil. Roa had her mouth open as she tried to suck it in.
However, the demonic gene was tenacious. It resisted the extraction.
[Koo-ha-ahk. M...master!]
[Endure it.]
He knew the mana structure of the Ancient Mermaid and the Ancient Kraken.
However, his knowledge was still lacking. Something was missing. He churned
his brain to find another hint, and he suddenly had an epiphany.
‘The Grimoire!’
He quickly took out the Grimoire he took from the Demon Teana. He opened it.
The Grimoire was bound with black leather, and the magical energy within it was
incredible. This was why the water pressure couldn’t damage it, and the
Grimoire didn’t get wet.
[Ggooh-ahhhhhhhhk!]
When the Grimoire was brought outside, the Mana dominating Sherryl’s body
displayed a strong reaction. How could it not? The cause and the effect didn’t
match up, but Sherryl was heading towards the ultimate goal sought by the
Grimoire!
If he let the two resonate with each other, Sherryl would be born-again as a
powerful entity. Of course, Artpe wouldn’t stand by and let that happen.
“You are merely a book. You don’t get to assert yourself. I am your owner!”
Artpe pored over the grimoire. He read the passages, and he controlled the
Mana in the exact opposite manner described. His purple Mana clashed with
the black Mana of the book.
The Grimoire’s Record and will was truly impressive. It didn’t approve of its new
owner’s disposition, so it resisted fiercely. However, Artpe had grown once again
after killing the Ancient Kraken. Surprisingly, the black Mana could no longer put
up a fight against him, and it started to move according to Artpe’s will!
[Koo-hahhhhhh!]
[Don’t let go of your consciousness. Endure it|! If you die, it’ll be the end of this
kingdom!]
He continuously spoke to Sherryl like he had done with Sienna. He desperately
held onto the Grimoire as he controlled the Mana. He wasn’t aiming for the
Ancient Merfolk, Ancient Kraken or the Demon race. He was trying to create a
new path for her.
‘The structure of Mana for a mermaid…. What was the Mana structure for a
mermaid? Shit. I know it, yet it doesn’t move the way I want it to······! This is
much harder than what I did with Sienna!’
[Nyaaaaaaaaah!]
“Koohk. We can’t allow it to shift back!”
Roa and Sienna was also fighting desperately next to Artpe. Roa was trying to
extract as much demonic gene as possible. Sienna erased the trace left behind
by the demonic gene, and she used her power to recover Sherryl’s body!
Thanks to their efforts, Sherryl’s change had slowed down.
[Koohk. Koo-hoo-ahhhhh!]
[Eeek. Shit…. You said you are the queen of the merfolk! Hey!]
[Koo-hahk!]
In truth, she was in a much better spot compared to what Sienna had went
through. The only problem right now was the fact that Sherryl was mentally
weaker than Sienna by a significant amount.
If she had a strong grasp over her consciousness, he would have guided her like
he had done with Sienna. She would have been able to direct the Mana within
her body.
However, a fundamental change had occurred within Sherryl’s body and mind.
The shock had made her lose consciousness. It really highlighted how mentally
strong Sienna was. However, he was dealing with Sherryl right now!
[Ggoo-hooooooohk!]
[You idiot······ You said I shouldn’t tarnish the pledge made by a mermaid.
However, you are the one tarnishing it right now!]
[······hahk!?]
Artpe had been prattling on as he said all sorts of things. Surprisingly, Sherryl’s
eyes flew open, and she regained consciousness. Artpe was dumbfounded
rather than being happy at the sight.
‘What the hell is up with this pledge!’
[Master. I cannot inconvenience my master······!]
After regaining consciousness, she desperately grasped at her Mana. Her Mana
had ignored the will of its owner up until now. It had gone on a rampage as it
changed her body. However, she was able to briefly stop the progress of her
Mana. Artpe seized the opportunity. He took hold of her Mana, and he led it
down a new path.
Of course, he had no idea where where this new path was. However, he knew
the wrong answers. When he eliminated all the wrong paths, he was left with
one!
[Master······!]
[Just shut up and follow my lead! ······it’s done!]
There had been a tug of war within Sherryl’s body over the flow of her Mana. In
the end, Artpe was the winner.
The black grimoire worked according to Artpe’s will, so it was letting out Mana
that was dyed purple. According to the guidance of his Mana, Sherryl’s Mana
structure went through incremental changes. Slowly, it changed according to
Artpe’s will.
“Oppa!”
“Do it right now. I want you to give her the strongest blessing you can give!”
“Understood!”
[Nyaaaaaht!]
Roa and Sienna also used the last spurt of their powers, and they extracted the
demonic gene from Sherryl’s body. Artpe pushed out all the impurities, and he
filled up her circuit with only her Mana. Then he slowly withdrew his own Mana.
Sherryl also recognized his will, so she desperately tried to harmonize her mind
and body.
[Hoo-ooh······ Ha-ahhhhhhhhh!]
The last of the demonic gene was expelled from Sherryl’s body. Unlike before,
her body was emitting a radiant light.
[Ah ah. Ahhhhhhhh!]
“I think we succeeded, but······ Be ready.”
“Yes. Please······!”
[Nyaa-ahhhhh.]
Artpe glared fiercely as he readied himself if things got ugly. However, the light
slowly faded away, and Sherryl slowly walked out of the light. He got a complete
assessment regarding her status through his Read All Creation ability. He
couldn’t help but laugh.
‘What the hell? Is this really happening again!?’

[Sherryl Anaid]
[Genesis Mermaid]
[Mermaid Queen]
[Level : 139]

How the hell do they come up with the name of these races?! Artpe took a step
back as he tried hard not to laugh. As if she had been waiting for him to move,
Sherryl took a step forward.
[Master······ I give my thanks to you. Also, subjects of my kingdom…..]
After suffering through enormous pain, she had found the right direction as she
evolved. Her deep blue eyes were much mature than before. She looked at her
surrounding. It was as if everyone was looking at her. The merfolk were all
facing her, and they were taken aback.
[My god······ The very first mermaid recorded in our kingdom’s history is here!]
[M...my queen······!]
All the merfolk recognized Sherryl’s form, and they all bowed their heads. Artpe
wasn’t sure what was going on, but it seemed these fishes had another ancestral
line besides the Ancient Mermaid. After coming to this conclusion, he turned
around.
In truth, it didn’t matter if Sherryl had become a Genesis Mermaid or a Chaos
Mermaid. He just had to make sure she didn’t suffer the fate of the Ancient
Mermaid.
His party and the merfolk had finished their level up. Moreover, Sherryl had
evolved without any trouble.
The most important thing right now was the looting of the Ancient Kraken.
Chapter 83 - Is This Really Happening Again? (7)

The members of the hero’s party stood side by side as they looked down at the
underwater stone grave. It had been a complete collapse, and the corpse of the
defeated Ancient Kraken remained within this grave. Yes, it was deep within.
Maetel opened her mouth..
“Artpe, I’m curious about one thing”
“What are you doing with your hand? Recently, you always seem to grab me
before I even ask anything of you.”
“No way. I would never do that.”
Maetel retracted the hand she had been sneakily extending towards him. She
asked him a question.
“The Kraken is buried deep within the ocean, so how do we take it out and loot
it?”
“I’m thinking about using the great magic spell again. ·····are you disappointed?”
“Piii. I hate you, Artpe.”
It was a grave mistake to think that Artpe would always be slow to come up with
an answer. As more time passed, Maetel was starting to come after Artpe in a
direct and open manner. He wouldn’t easily give ground to Maetel!
‘Now that I think about it she is 14 years old. Is it her puberty? In the past, I
could just grab her hand, and she would smile all day…....’
She gradually wanted more and more from him. It seemed she was spooked
when she saw women like Mycenae and Etna loiter around Artpe’s vicinity. She
became persistent in trying to seal the deal. Artpe didn’t want to complicate his
life any further, but if things progressed well like this…..
‘······I guess that won’t be too bad. Huht!?’
In a flash, the mere fact that he was having such a thought made him want to
bash his own head in with a hammer. He quickly turned around. He could
confirm where the Kraken was buried, so he just had to use his magic spell.
However, before he could do that….
[I want you guys to head back first.]
[We'll wait until master’s work is done. We’ll return together.]
[When the buried Ancient Kraken is brought out, its Demonic gene will overtake
all of you. If you want to see the merfolk suffer the same pain as you, do you as
you please······.]
[If I’m being truthful, I prefer that outcome by a large margin.]
Sherryl replied with a strong voice. He hadn’t noticed it before, but after the light
surrounding her disappeared, a small gem-like crystal letting out purple light had
appeared on her forehead . It created an additional aura of mystery around her.
[I know what was done before was wrong, but I’m sure this is the primal source of
energy. If master can share the demonic energy with me, I can adjust the
energy, and I can lead my people down the right path. Master instructed me by
showing me the right path. I’ll depart this knowledge to my people.]
[······.]
A deep purple light was being emitted from the forehead gem when Sherryl
proclaimed her unequivocal commitment. This was accompanied by new
information being displayed in Artpe’s eyes.

[Sherryl Anaid]
[Genesis Mermaid]
[Mermaid Queen]
[Level : 139]
[Innate Ability : Race Command]
“Ha.”
He never expected to see a day when a mermaid would awaken to an Innate
Ability. He didn’t reincarnate for nothing. Artpe burst out in laughter when he
saw something he never expected to see.
One couldn’t develop Innate Ability just because one was strong. It didn’t matter
if one was wise. It also wasn’t an ability one could gain, because one was born
from a good bloodline. Talent, experience, luck and Record must all be in
harmony for one to have a chance of developing an Innate Ability.
Moreover, her Innate Ability was called Race Command. It was a terrifying
ability. If a human with this ability had shown up, he would probably be able to
newly write history by creating a unified empire.
Artpe once again had a hunch that he had caused this trouble. This situation
might progress into something enormous. It couldn’t be compared to the time
when he had saved Sienna.
‘If she is able to advance the other merfolk without a hitch…. No one will be able
to ignore them just because they are merfolk. This is turning interesting.’
Yes,it was true that a variable had shown up on the Demon King’s side. There
would be no downside if one or two variables appeared on his side. He put on a
fairly confident expression, and he willingly accepted the request made by his
first familiar.
[All right. I want you to take this as far as you can. However, if it turns out weird
like the Ancient Mermaids, I’ll personally end them.]
[I won’t let master lift a finger. If that happens, I’ll kill them myself.]
[You are good at talking.]
Artpe snorted as he once again turned towards where the Kraken was buried. He
put away the grimoire, which had fulfilled its role. He didn’t take out the Demite’s
Gemstone either. He just raised his hand, and he set a similar magical circle like
before.
When she saw this, Sienna tilted her head in confusion. She queried Artpe.
“Oppa, you gathered an incredible amount of Mana before…. Even if you’ve
leveled up, are you sure you have enough? Shall I lend you my Mana?”
Despite Sienna’s worry, he just pointed towards the location in front of him with a
smirk on his face. It was the location where he had activated the great magic.
He had activated a great magic called God Flush to end the Kraken, and the
traces of the magic circle still remained there. Of course, it could only be seen by
people like Artpe and Sienna, who possessed supreme gift in dealing with Mana.
“There is an advantage in using magic through a magic circle. This is especially
true when the Mana is undisturbed. When one uses the same spell in the same
location, the Mana consumption drops below half compared to before.”
“I see…. Then we should be careful in locations where our enemies created a
magic circle?”
“No, you can use your unique Mana to disrupt the Mana flow. You can erase the
magic circle. I’ll explain in more detail later.”
“Yes!”
In the past, Maetel had shown an instinctive ability to do this very thing. She
had taken control of the surrounding magic, so no other magic could be activated
near her. However, he didn’t expect Sienna to possess such genius talent. The
fact that there were already two heroes was already causing him a headache.
“So······ The mystery that fell from the sky. The cradle of creation.”
After he finished giving the short magic lesson, he started chanting the magic
spell. It was the exact same incantation he had used against the Kraken! Matel
belatedly tried to stop him.
“Wait a moment. If you create another whirlpool, wouldn’t it bury the corpse
further? Wouldn’t it be harder for us to take it out!?”
“No. This magic spell has two patterns for activation.”
The first was a downward flush. What was the second pattern?
Maetel easily figured out the answer to his question.
“It surges upwards······?”
“That’s it! Flow backward, God Flush!”
In a flash, the magic circle let out a brilliant light. In the next moment, a silence
that had been observed once before descended on the party. However, Artpe’s
party had experienced this magic once before. They knew it was the silence
before the storm. He didn’t say anything, yet Maetel and Sienna clung to him.
Then the spell arrived.
“Kyahhhhhhhhhk!”
“It’s gushing! The rocks are soaring upwards!”
Water sprang up from a place deeper than the ocean floor. The surging water
crushed the pile of stones into dust, and the dust covered the entire region.
Of course, Artpe had already expected this to happen, so he protected his party
with a barrier he prepared beforehand. This God Flush was being used to bring
out the corpse of the Kraken. He didn’t need to invest too much Mana into this
spell. This was why he had plenty of Mana left to create a barrier.
[I...it is coming out.]
[Huge······ It is too large..]
[How dreadful. Is that really its corpse? Is it really dead?]
Soon, the Kraken’s corpse appeared alongside the surging water and rocks.
Since it had been infused with Demonic energy, it had been thoroughly beaten
with holy power. It was also swept up in the surge water after being flushed
down before. Its corpse was in tatters. It was in worse condition than the Kraken
that had been beaten to death by the Hellfire Sentinel.
“Is it because it was sealed away for a long time? Wow. Its body was
completely destroyed.”
“What are you going to do with it, Artpe?”
“It is something you like the most”
At Artpe’s words, Maetel’s eyes gleamed.
“I can eat it!?”
“Yes.”
Artpe solemnly nodded his head as he answered her.
“I’ll make it so that you’ll never be able to eat a normal octopus again.”
“It’ll probably take us about 100 years to eat it all…...”
[Nyaaaaaa.]
Artpe’s party earnestly talked about the meals they would have during their
travels. While they were doing so, Sherryl had gathered the merfolk in one
location. She chose merfolk with potential and qualification.
[I ask this of the merfolk that had advanced from the previous battle. Are you
ready to return to your primal form?]
[Queen······ We are willing!]
[Her majesty have already walked the path. We will willingly follow in your
footsteps!]
Candidates were selected in short order. When she nodded her head, the rest of
the merfolk moved to the back She extended one hand. All the demonic energy
that was flowing out into the ocean waters were gathered towards her.
Sherryl wasn’t the Greed Beast Roa, yet she was able to control the demonic
energy. She possessed an Innate ability called Race Command, and there were
abilities that came from being a Genesis Mermaid. It would have been
impossible for her to do this if not for these conditions.
[At the end of your pain, I’ll be waiting for all of you. We will return to a form that
we were unable to regain for a very long time. My master revived this Record,
and it is our duty to propagate it.]
[Ggooh-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
[Koo-hahhhhhhhhhk!]
When the demonic energy flowed into their bodies, the merfolk let out horrible
screams as they writhed. The result was the same as Sherryl from before.
However, a bright light was emitted from Sherryl’s forehead gem, and she was
able to freely control the demonic energy that had settled within their body.
[Oh primal energy. Guide those that obey me through the right path!]
Of course, Artpe didn’t care if the merfolk were starting a new mythos. He
started looting the Ancient Kraken in earnest. The first thing he had to do was
put away the broken altar.
“The Kraken, temple fragments and altar fragments are all gathered in one place.
All right. Let’s go!”
“Aht! I saw that before in sunbae-nim’s Dungeon!”
“You are really late in noticing it.”
Originally, the altar was supposed to suck in all the Mana and Record making up
the temple. It was supposed to impart the Mana and Record into the Skill book
and Spell book. However, Artpe had unintentionally broken the altar first. If he
wasn’t careful, the altar would lose its significance. He won’t be able to use the
Skill Book and Spell Book.
“However, I’m already well acquainted with the Mana patterns of sunbae-nim’s
magic spells. I’ll be able to reverse engineer it with no problems….······!”
“I can feel the Mana being concentrated within the altar….. Yes, I see. That is
why the temple fell.”
Artpe didn't respond to Maetel’s words. He grinned as he placed both hands on
the altar, and he concentrated. When the temple fell, the Mana couldn’t find its
owner. It rampaged as it spread into the surrounding. However, the Mana was
starting to gather within the altar at Artpe’s guidance!
That wasn’t the end. The Mana and Record were sucked out from the Kraken’s
corpse and the temple fragments. It was all absorbed into the Skill book and
Spell book.
How long had it been since he started to pull the Mana from his surrounding? All
the light within the surrounding dimmed a little bit. As a result, the brilliant light
around the Spell book and Skill book became apparent. The reward he could
earn from the Kraken decreased by a little bit, but it was a small price to pay for
strengthening their skills.
“It’s done. Grab it, Maetel.”
“It feels as if Artpe is feeding me…… I wish it was the reverse.”
The Skill book had the ability to strengthen Maetel’s Record Divide. The Spell
book had the ability to strengthen Artpe’s Mana String. He had been using the
cheat-like spell as his main spell up until now. He felt a flutter at the prospect of
his spell being strengthened. The Spell book was absorbed into his body, and he
waited for a change….
For some reason, the change never came to him.
“Huh. Did it fail?”
“It’s all right, Artpe. We’ve been succeeding at everything up until now. It is ok to
fail once.”
“Thank you for consoling me, but there is no way this should have failed…
Huh?”
He checked with his Read All Creation ability, but he couldn’t find anything
wrong. There had been too much change within him, so it was hard for him to
figure out what had gone wrong in the middle. Artpe felt very leery about the
situation, but Maetel didn’t make any fuss about it. Therefore, he decided to
overlook it for now.
“Shit······ I’ll be sure to get my revenge against that sunbae bastard.”
“Sunbae-nim probably never expected the altar to be pulled out in the middle of
the process.”
He had a dirty feeling. It was as if he hadn’t brushed his teeth.
Artpe destroyed the altar, which was of no use to him now. Then he started to
loot the Kraken.
It was funny, but the loot that popped out was exactly four in number. One
particular item caught his eyes.
“Level 291 Boss monster’s magic stone······.”
He had consumed the level 267 monster’s magic stone already. This acquisition
soothed his heart.
Somehow, he couldn’t erase the thought that this was a zero-sum game, but this
item’s level was much higher. He would be able to put it to better use. He firmed
his resolve. He would Reinforce the Artifacts with it. He put the magic stone
away.
When he looked over the rest of the loot, he found a black bastard sword, a black
helmet, and an enormous tower shield, which gave off a bad feeling with its
uneven surface. They were all made out of a black metal.
“We did our best to hunt down a strong monster, yet there is nothing here that
Artpe can use.”
For some reason, Maetel looked dejected. Artpe smirked as he stroked her
head.
“The fact that our vanguard gets stronger means the probability of us winning in a
battle increases. So don’t worry about it. You’ll be able to swap out your
bastard sword now.”
She switched between a bastard sword and a long sword depending on the
situation. She had been swinging this particular bastard sword since she was 12
years old. No matter how much he Reinforced it, there was a limit to its function
based on the item’s basic stat. She was able to acquire an absurdly reliable
weapon here.
“Yes. I will protect Artpe with this sword.”
“Sp I have to use this helmet and shield?”
“It might be a bit stuffy, but this is for your safety. There will also be less men
bothering you, since they won’t be able to see your beauty.”
“Oppa, it is embarrassing if you say stuff like that.”
Sienna behaved herself as she blushed. She took pleasure in his compliment.
Maetel used to be like this……..
“Ah. There is something we have to do before you guys can take it.”
Roa had been obediently held in Artpe’s bosom as she missed out on the
appetizing demonic energy of the Kraken. She had been grinding her teeth at
the lost opportunity. He brought her forward, and he ordered her with a stern
voice.
“I want you to suck out all the curse within the Artifacts. What a nasty piece of
work. It placed traps on the Artifacts even in its death.”
[Nyaa-ah, nyaa nyaa-ah nyaa.]
She said she would be satisfied for now. Roa gave a coy reply as she opened
her mouth. All the curse was sucked into her mouth. The only thing left were
artifacts that had turned pure-white.
“That thick darkness was all cursed Mana!?”
“My shield turned pretty!”
Artpe smirked when he saw that his party members loved the Artifacts they
received. After divvying up the loot, he turned around. Sherryl had done well.
She had been successful in leading the merfolk towards being a primal race. A
mature aura like the one surround Sherryl emanated from the newly born merfolk
He had no idea if the merfolk would sink completely. Maybe, they might float to
the top by taking advantage of this new possibility····· At the very least, he was
sure that Sherryl Anaid would stand center in the middle of history. At this fact,
he felt an emotion that was hard to pin down. He let out a sigh.
He had acquired a lot of things, but it truly was time for them to leave towards
Aedia.
Chapter 84 - A Wrong Encounter (1)

[Master, you are the one that told me to keep to my oath.]

[I don’t remember giving such orders. My personal assistant did it.]
[Master, you don’t have a personal assistant. I’ll become master’s personal
assistant!]
His party had completely erased the dark cloud hanging of the the mermaid
kingdom of Anaid. On top of that, they had caught two Krakens. They even
gained Achievement he hadn’t wanted to accomplish.
He was about to shrug everything off as his party left for Aedia. However, there
was one obstacle left. After all the disturbance subsided, Sherryl Anaid had
received the support of all the merfolk to be queen. She was the Genesis
Mermaid Queen.
[The favor I received from master was indescribably large. You hadn’t just saved
my life. You revived the glory of the merfolk, which had been long forgotten.
You guided me…... That is why I am going to throw everything away. It is my
turn to follow you, master!]
[What about the merfolk? You did your best to turn over a new leaf for your
people.]
Sherryl’s Innate ability and the demonic energy of the Kraken were used
splendidly to create more Genesis Mermaids and Mermen. He gestured towards
the new elite troops as he spoke.
[You don’t have to worry about them.]
Sherryl pounded her chest as if that would be of no problem. Her breasts jiggled
so much that Artpe was getting distracted. He wanted to ask her to stop, but if
he spoke those words, he had no idea what kind of punishment he would receive
from Maetel.
[They were reborn as primal merfolk. They can rule supreme in this ocean, and
they will be able to improve. I will stay by master’s side, and I will assist you. It
doesn't matter if it is day or night. I will give my body and mind all to you!]
[I don’t need your mind, and I really don’t need your body….]
At Artpe’s rejection, tears started to fall from her large eyes. Purple light flashed
from her forehead gem, and at the same time, she yelled out.
[In truth, I need you, master!]
[Damn it.]
He had noticed this when he guided Sienna to become the Evil Reflector. In the
process of becoming a new race, Sienna and Sherryl seemed to have developed
a sense of loyalty and awe towards him.
The proof was seen in the merfolk. Sherryl clung to Artpe, and in a similar
manner, the merfolk were clinging to their queen!
[You can’t, my queen! Please stay with us and lead us!]
[We cannot lose your highness!]
[That human······ I am fully aware that our kingdom has found peace through the
work of this human, but we cannot let you go with him!]
[I’m sorry, but this has to do with the oath of a mermaid. It can’t be helped.]
Sherryl was holding onto Artpe, and the merfolk were holding onto Sherryl. The
situation was the highest manifestation of chaos.
Maetel’s expression indicated that she really didn't like Sherryl. However, the
mermaid was powerful, and she was insisting on following them. She couldn’t
reject Sherryl in front of her face. Maetel struggled with her feelings. Sienna had
been in a similar position as Sherryl in the past, and she was pretty fond of
Sherryl. That was why she had a big smile on her face. Roa was too busy
eating the demonic energy she had been given permission to eat.
[Hoo-ooh······ Not a chance, Sherryl. You will attract more attention than us.
Moreover, you are very strong, but you are still too lacking to travel with us.]
[How can this be······.]
Sherryl despaired.
Good. It was effective! Artpe pushed forward.
[Sienna is level 247, and she has the lowest level amongst us. She is higher
than you by over 100 levels.]
[B…but master…. Thanks to master’s blessing I was able to evolve, and I
awakened to a power that transcends my level!]
[Yes. However, your ability is specialized. It allows you to control the merfolk. It
isn’t particularly useful when facing a monster. Are you confident that you will be
able to kill a level 200 monster by yourself?]
Artpe’s merciless comment brought tears to Sherryl’s eyes. However, truth was
always cruel. Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he continued to speak.
[That is why you should do tasks you are most suited for. You’ve already given
me plenty of help in the process of killing the Kraken. The only thing left is to
assign me someone that can guide me to Aedia. We are humans, and you are a
mermaid. Our paths diverges here, so let’s cleanly part ways.]
[Master, you are cruel······. The fact that I can’t refute your words makes me
more upset.]
Sherryl’s head fell when she was continuously attacked with the truth. Artpe let
out a bitter laugh as he watched her. He suddenly had an idea, so he spoke to
her.
[Let’s do this.]
[What is it?]
Sherryl immediately raised her head. Her reaction was so fast that he wondered
if she had been waiting for this.
[This isn’t just about the merfolk of this ocean. Whether it is this continent or a
different one, I want you to rule all the merfolk of this world. I’ve already killed all
the Krakens here, and I’ve eliminated all the demonic energy in this region. Is
there a reason why you have to cling to this place? That is why I want you to go
on a crusade.]
[Crusade······.]
[It isn’t just about the merfolk. I want you to kill any monsters of the ocean that
refuses to listen to you. If the monster is strong, I want you to swarm and kill it.
If they agree to listen to your words, you can bring them under your command. I
want you to snatch up everyone within the ocean. In other words, I want you to
become the empress of the ocean. When you achieve this, you’ll have nothing
left to do in this ocean, right?]
[That will take a very long time to accomplish, but you are right…...]
[Your level will have increased by then.]
[You are talking about something that is absurdly far-off, but you are correct
again.]
Artpe let out the smile that was peculiar to a swindler. He spoke to her.
[At that time, I’ll allow you to join my party]
[······you want me to absorb all the merfolk of the ocean into my kingdom. On
top of that, you want me to become the ruler of the ocean’s monsters. Is this
what you are saying?]
[Yes.]
At that point, Artpe had another thought. Normally when he made such a
request, his opponents spouted words like, ‘How can I do that! It is an unfair
deal! Let’s terminate the contract!’ However, his opponent was the mermaid
Sherryl. She had already sworn her life to him. If it’s her, maybe…...
[Hoo.]
As expected, Sherryl let out a relaxed smile as she nodded her head!
[All right. I’ll do it. I thought you were going to ask me to go kill the Demon King.
If that’s all you want me to do, I can do it. I’ll even raise my level higher than
master’s level. When I come looking for you, you shouldn’t be mean to me.]
[I guess it is great that you are full of confidence…...]
Genesis Mermaid. It was a truly frightening race.
Artpe let out a bitter laugh as he turned around. A black cat was stuck close to
the corpse of the enormous Kraken, and she was sucking out the enormous
amount of demonic energy residing within the dead Kraken. Her tail was
swooshing back and forth. He lightly flicked her tail with his finger. She turned
around with a scrunched up face. It was as if she was telling him not to interfere
while she was eating.
[Nyaa!]
“Roa, are you satisfied by what you ate?”
[Nyaa nyaa nyaa-ah!]
“You are still hungry? You’ve already used this ploy on me before.”
[Nyaa-ah-ah······.]
After she endured through the wait, she had been enjoying her buffet time.
However, he was trying to restrict her meal again! Roa pulled back with a sullen
expression on her face.
Artpe took out a regular empty potion flask, and he Reinforced it three times. In
a flash, he created a magic reagent storage bottle. He pushed it towards Sherryl.
[You’ll probably have a use for this in the future. You can harvest it.]
[I’m honored.]
Sherryl took the flask, and she approached the enormous corpse of the Ancient
Kraken. She pull out all its demonic energy, and she stored it within the flask.
She refined the demonic energy as she extracted it from the Kraken. By the time
the flask was full, there wasn’t a single drop of demonic energy left within the
corpse. Artpe mumbled to himself, He had a satisfied expression on his face.
“It is safe for us to eat it now.”
“What is the best way to eat an octopus·····?”
“Unni, I heard that it is tasty stuffed within a bread.”
[Nyaa nyaa-ah. Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa.]
Artpe let his party members get into another debate about how they should cook
the octopus. While they were debating, he meticulously looked over the Ancient
Kraken’s corpse.
In the end, he took the hooks that were nestled within the suction cups, and he
took all its ink. He confirmed that there was nothing left that were of any worth.
The remaining parts could only be used as food ingredients. He confidently
butchered the corpse. He left 90% of the corpse in place, and he put away the
rest into his Dimensional Pouch.
He only took 10%, but there was enough to eat for 10 years.
[Since your kingdom went through a war, you are probably short on food. Since
you took out the poisonous energy, you can be at ease. You can feed your
people with this.]
[Master······ I don’t know how I will be able to repay all of your kindness.]
He acted as if he didn’t care about her at all, yet at the most crucial moment, he
showed her his benevolence! At his words, Sherryl became deeply moved. In
truth, Artpe wasn’t confident his party could eat all of it, so he was leaving it
behind. However, he just let her think whatever she wanted.
“I’ve done everything I can do here. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
“We are going to go meet our new party member?”
[Nyaa-ah.]
[Let’s go.]
[No way.]
They had finally come to an agreement, yet Sherryl nonchalantly tried to bury
herself within Artpe’s party. Artpe violently kicked Sherryl out. However, a
genuine smile formed on her face as she retorted. When he first met her, he
would have never imagined seeing such an expression on her face.
[You have told me to conquer the ocean. As soon as I heard those words, I gave
orders to the merfolk. Of course, some of those under my rule will be swept up
by the Lunatic Wave. However, those that aren’t influenced by the Lunatic Wave
will outnumber those that are influenced. Basically, my elite force has already
started their conquest of this ocean.]
[What?]
[The overall task might take a good amount of time, but it won’t take too long to
conquer this side of the ocean. As you probably know, the monsters near Diaz
is…. They are very weak.]
This fact could be confirmed just by seeing the merfolk residing here. They were
a race that had established a kingdom, yet the strongest one amongst them was
Sherryl at level 139! She was only at that level after going through much growth.
In such an environment, the hero’s party had somehow come across Krakens
and other strange monsters. They were very unlucky!
[So what?]
[I have nothing to do here. If I’m near my people, their morale will rise, but these
are monsters they can defeat without me. That is why I have time to guide you
myself.]
[······.]
He wanted to refute her words, but he couldn’t open his mouth to denounce her
when he saw her twinkling eyes.
[I just want to serve you a little bit longer… May I not?]
[Ughh.]
It had always been like this even his past life. He was weak when a woman truly
spoke from the bottom of her heart. It was the main reason he had died in vain
as one of the Four Heavenly Kings. He always wanted to fix this trait, yet it was
easier said than done. If he could have fixed it, he wouldn’t have become the
weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings.
[Eh-whew.]
In the end, he let out a sigh. He nodded his head.
[All right. The ocean road isn't that long. Let’s go together.]
[Thank you, master! I will serve you to the best of my abilities! I’ll get you to your
destination faster than anyone else can!]
[Your monologue makes me a bit nervous. I’m guessing I can’t just pay you off
with money…...]
He had already accepted Sherryl joining the party. When he turned around,
Maetel was waiting for him. She was glowering at him. Artpe put on a small
smile as he shook his head. Maetel spoke.
“Punishment.”
Artpe completely ignored her words. He yelled out in a refreshing manner.
“Well, let’s go!”
“Punishment. I’ll carry it out when Artpe is sleeping. ······it’ll be as I’ve always
done.”
“Hey, wait a moment. What did you just say? Hey. Hey!”
Maetel no longer said anything. Artpe wonder if he should set alarm spells and
trap spells before he slept in the future. As he seriously thought about it, he
stepped onto the Road of Mermaids. Sienna and Roa followed next. Sherryl
followed from the rear of the party. Countless merfolk wailed as they saw their
queen go out for an excursion.
Two months passed.
“I kinda expected this, but why the hell would an underwater Dungeon suddenly
appear here!”
[This is quite strange. This is a Dungeon that had never been found before!]
“Artpe, this Dungeon is fun! The space here is upside down!”
“Oppa, there is another staircase here.”
[Nyaaaaaaaa!]
Their path always seemed to be derailed. Another three months passed as they
faced more trial and tribulation. They were barely able to arrive at Aedia’s port
town called Belata.
It was late winter, and the party members felt the biting cold wind on their skin. It
was the winter when Artpe and Maetel turned 15 years old.
Chapter 85 - A Wrong Encounter (2)

Aedia was the most advanced nation on this continent in regards to Magical
Engineering. In truth, it wasn’t just Magical Engineering. They performed
extensive research on traditional magic, black magic, dimensional magic, and
other disciplines…… If he was being blunt, Aedia was the headquarter of
magical studies. If one wanted to discuss magic on this continent, it all started
and ended at Aedia.
“Then there is the holy nation of Paladia that is on the opposite of Aedia. Aedia
and Paladia are separated by two oceans and a continent. This is true for all the
temples spread across the continent, and the priests and holy knights associated
with these temples. They are all affiliated with Paladia.”
“So what is Diaz famous for, Artpe?”
“Diaz isn’t known for anything. The only thing they can do is create buttered corn
cobs.”
He wanted to ask her how she couldn't have missed this fact when witnessing
the mess within Diaz. However, he held himself back from speaking. When
Maetel heard his words, she became a little bit sullen. He let out a bitter laugh as
he spoke again.
“However, you were born there, so that should be enough for Diaz.”
“······Ah. You can’t stay stuff like that so suddenly.”
The nation’s power was weak, and the monsters that appeared within its borders
were weak. Even the amount of ambient Mana within Diaz was low. However,
heroes continued to be born there for some reason. He had been trying to
convey this fact, yet he seemed to have delivered it in a misleading fashion. It
had truly been a long time since Maetel’s cheeks had turned red from
embarrassment.
He had been telling her facts, and if she derived pleasure from his words, he
decided to leave it as is. He turned around to look at his companion, who had
travelled with his party. In the past five month, the Genesis Mermaid Queen
Sherryl Anaid had broken through level 200. Of course, everyone within Artpe’s
party increased rapidly in level, so this was nothing new.
“Thank you for everything up until now, Sherryl.”
In the past, she still had some traces baby fat on her face. However, her beauty
had completely ripened. The mermaid Sherryl’s mere presence let out a dazzling
and brilliant light. She spoke with a voice full of regret. Artpe answered her.
“From this point on, it is human territory. I can no longer serve you.”
In the past 5 months, her appearance and level weren’t the only parts that had
gone through a change. As she evolved, her intelligent had increased. This
especially affected her understanding of Mana and the fundamental
understanding of the other races on this continent. She was able to make rapid
progress.
One of the results was her ability to learn languages. In the past, she had only
been able to speak the language of the merfolk. Now she spoke the human
language. She was able to communicate with her party members with no
restrictions.
“You are pushing it already by following me this far. Hurry up and go back.”
“I won’t be able to serve you for a while. I can’t be by your side, master. I don’t
know where I’ll find solace in my life······.”
“There are thousands of merfolk waiting for your return. What kind of nonsense
are you talking about?”
“Jeez. It didn’t work.”
Sherryl replied in a playful manner. She moved like a wave moving across a
seashore. She casually approached him. She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek,
then she retreated. It was a gesture that contained her loyalty and affection.
“I will wait for the day when I will get to serve you again. I’ll be back with the
ocean in my hands.”
“Yes. I’m glad you’ve become so imposing······.”
“I’ll see you later, Sherryl unni.”
“You would have been a great mermaid if you hadn’t wagged your tail at Artpe.
When we meet again, please bring a husband with you.”
[Nyaa.]
Each party member gave their farewell in their own unique way. Sherryl gave a
warm smile to everyone except Maetel. Sparks flew as Sherryl responded to
Maetel.
“You better make your move before I return. By that time, you won’t hold a
candle to me.”
“······ho-oh. You’ve really become brave.”
He decided this was their way of saying goodbye to each other. Artpe decided to
believe in that. If not, he couldn’t bear the heartburn it would cause.
“I’m really going to go now.”
She had been standing at the edge of the pier. She lightly jumped backwards.
Her body turned into bubbles, and the bubbles melted into the ocean water. She
wasn’t dead. It was one of the the spells she had gained as a Genesis Mermaid.
When she used the spell, Sherryl could travel through the ocean at speeds that
was unfathomable by humans. When he saw this, Artpe wondered if he had
revived a truly terrifying race.
Maetel was grinding her teeth as she observed everything.
“Why is Artpe so popular! Wh! Why! All the women like Artpe. Aren’t there any
other men on this world besides Artpe?!”
As someone who liked Artpe the most, she wasn’t qualified to say those words.
Artpe gave a suitable reply.
“You are also popular. In fact, Silpennon likes you. He’s a former prince of a
nation.”
“I don’t need anyone else. I only need Artpe······.”
She was 15 years old now, yet she kept saying things that were unbecoming of a
hero. Unlike her wrongheadedness, her body was growing at a ridiculous speed.
Anyone who saw her right now would think she was a grown adult.
This was especially true when her breasts and butt were displayed when she
took off her armor. There was no way her Innate Ability would influence her in
such a way, but they were so full….
“Artpe? Why did you headbutt that pole?”
“This is another form of meditation. Don’t worry about it.”
“Do you want me to heal you, oppa?”
“······thank you.”
Unlike Maetel, who tempted Artpe with worldly desires at the sight of her, Sienna
was still at the cusp of being adulthood. Her growth was also fast, and she also
had a nice body. However, she was growing at a more conscientious pace than
Maetel.
“Let’s head in.”
“It seems there are no boats here, since it is winter.”
“They built four layers of barrier walls here. However, it seems the 1st and 2nd
barrier wall were completely destroyed.”
It was easy to forget right now, but they were still in the midst of the Lunatic
Wave. The humans didn’t open their docks until spring. It wasn’t until Mana
filled up the ocean once again. Of course, Sherryl was conducting her crusade,
so the number of monster attacking this place should have decreased. However,
the humans were unaware of this fact.
“The city doesn’t have a lot of people either.”
“Winter is a really lonely season.”
[Nyaa.]
Even if the city didn’t have an active population, they would have been noticed
since they had just popped out of the ocean. However, Artpe’s party was using a
consumable Artifact they had acquired within the underwater Dungeon. It was
called the Ocean Jelly. This was why they were hidden from prying eyes right
now.
Ocean Jelly was an item acquired when they defeated monsters that looked like
jellyfishes. It was a treasure that hid anyone that ate the Ocean Jelly. The best
characteristic of this consumable Artifact was the fact that the camouflage
became more complete depending on how much Mana one possessed.
This was obvious, but no one in this city…..no one in this nation had the
capability to discover them.
Moreover, Artpe and Maetel was encroaching on level 280.
After defeating the Ancient Kraken, Artpe’s party had been on the road to Aedia
for the past five months.
It wasn’t as good as receiving expert attention from the chef. However, it made
one wonder why it was like this under the ocean.
That monster was inside the ocean? That monster was here too? Why is that
bastard here? He had to ask these questions to himself, because he kept facing
powerful monsters one after another. He kept finding Dungeons crawling with
monsters. Naturally, the average level of the hero’s party went up as a result.
Artpe and Maetel had crossed the level 260 mark after killing the Ancient Kraken.
They had almost increased 20 levels since then.
“Mmm. At this rate, I think we might be able to invade the Demon world…...”
“Let’s do that!”
“Heek.”
[Nyaa! Nyaa nyaa nyaa-ah!]
Artpe was half serious as he mumbled to himself. However, Maetel’s eyes
immediately twinkled when she heard his words. She yelled out loud. Sienna
became a bit scared, so she stuck close to Artpe. The one that gave the most
enthusiastic response was Roa. The Demon world was full of curses and
Demonic energy that Roa would go nuts over.
“No, we aren’t ready yet. Let’s stick to our original schedule.”
[Nyaa-ah······.]
“Artpe, you are being too cautious. But that side of you is wonderful.”
“Up until now, you’ve escaped dangerous situations way too easily. I think that is
why you are lacking a sense of crisis. Even if you think you can’t be killed, a
single mistake could kill a humans. No, this applies to all beings.”
“Ah······.”
Artpe had lightly thrown those words at her, but it shut Maetel’s mouth up.
What was she thinking?
When Maetel kept her mouth, her mature looks made Artpe sometimes think
about the hero from the past. He also became silent as he looked at the side of
Maetel’s face.
Finally, she opened her mouth.
“I was being too rash. Artpe is trying so hard to protect me. I said we should go
to the Demon world, because I didn’t want more women to join our party…. I’m
an idiot. I know Artpe is amazing, so I put all my trust in this fact. I acted childish
by asking for the impossible.”
“Is that really the only reason why you wanted us to go to the Demon world
immediately!?”
“But all the new members of our party are women·····.”
Maetel stopped beating herself up. She pouted. However, she soon shook her
head, and she clung to Artpe’s arm.
“I won’t complain anymore. Artpe can do whatever you see fit to do. You can
bring 10 or even 20 women. If I’m the first amongst them, I can tolerate it.”
“They aren’t all women.”
“Really!?”
Color immediately returned to Maetel’s face.
“I hope he is a handsome man! He should be handsome enough to make the
magician fall in love with him!”
“Very. I heard a rumor that said he is very handsome. I’m not sure if he would
be in favor of joining our party or not······.”
“He must be really famous if there are rumors about him.”
“Yes, I think so.”
He was the next candidate Artpe wanted to bring into his party. He was so
famous that it wouldn’t have been strange for Artpe, who was from the secluded
mountain village of Diaz, to have heard about him. The only problem was he had
no idea if he could make the man join his party without a hitch.
This man had been in the hero’s party in Artpe’s past life. He was such a strange
figure that he had no idea how the hero’s party had been able to bring him in…...
“It might be, because Maetel’s appearance.”
“Im not that pretty. I don’t think I’ll be able to pick him up.”
“You are so full of it everytime you say such words. Let’s go.”
The effect of the Ocean Jelly wasn’t infinite. He didn’t think there was anyone
within the city that could see through their camouflage, but there was no
downside in being cautious.
He thought about going inland as fast as possible. Moreover, he had some
business he had to deal with next…...
As he had such thoughts, Artpe turned his head, and he discovered someone
had encroached with the range of his Read All Creation ability. Artpe
immediately grabbed his party members, and he used Blink. In a flash, they
traveled several hundred meters. They arrived at the heart of the city where
there were a lot of people.
“Artpe, why did you suddenly….. Huh.”
“······unni, you felt it too?”
Instead of answering her, Maetel narrowed her eyes as she got into her fighting
stance. Sienna did the same. Artpe tried to use Blink again, but he heard a
voice before he could do so.
[Found. Camouflage status. No ill or murderous intent. Be wary of the
noncombatants.]
When he heard the voice, Artpe gave up on using Blink again. His shoulders
slumped as he lamented.
“Why now? Why here?”
“Artpe, I don’t know the answers even if you ask me those questions…. Ah.
Shall I kill the gods for you?”
“Yes. Please do so.”
At Artpe’s earnest voice, Maetel let out a bright smile as she nodded her head.
She brought up her finger like an aunty wanting a freebie when buying fish. She
pointed at the throw-in as she asked him a question.
“What about her?”
“Ah. You can’t kill her..”
“Found. ······strong. Battle…. No chance of winning. Impossible to run.
······attempt conversation.”
She spoke in a voice that was hard to understand. A brat wearing a robe was
slowly walking towards them. Artpe checked her once again. He let out a sigh
as he spoke.
“She’s our next party member.”
She had been the previous hero party’s strongest firepower. It was the moment
when they encountered the magician Regina.
Chapter 86 - A Wrong Encounter (3)

“Mmm? Did I leave the fire on at home?”

“My wife is nearing the end of her pregnancy. I shouldn’t be going to the pub
right now.”
“The war shouldn’t affect this place, but there is no downside in being
careful…….”
The surrounding people were slowly vacating the street. The people had not
sensed the grave mood of the party. They weren’t exiting, because they were
being courteous. A powerful magic had taken control of their perception. A
powerful suggestion was being hammered against them. It said, ‘If you don’t
immediately go into a building, something really bad will happen.’
It was basically akin to assassinating the will of hundreds, maybe thousands of
humans. It wasn’t something a normal human could pull off. Even an Archmage
over level 300 would have a hard time accomplishing this spell. Yes, it was a
show of power that suited the Demon race.
However, the magician that created such a grand sight didn’t pay attention to the
retreating humans.
She glared straight at Artpe. She was on guard against him.
“You are powerful. You possess an authority that cannot be resisted against……
What is your purpose in coming to this land?”
The small girl’s face slightly crumpled when she felt Artpe’s magical energy.
However, she didn’t retreat. Instead, she asked him a question. There was fear
and a slight hostility towards him. The weakest emotion he could feel was
curiosity.
Somehow, he had to establish an amicable relationship with this girl. However,
Artpe had no idea how he would be able to achieve this. A sigh automatically
slipped out. If the amount of times he sighed corresponded with his wealth, he
would probably be ranked as one of the richest man on this continent.
Why did he have to achieve his goal as soon as he came ashore? Moreover, it
happened in the worst possible way! In his past life, this girl should have been in
her tower at this point in time. She should be in her room spending her day in a
tedious and boring manner….
However, this only applied to the girl from his previous life. The flow of history
was running in a completely different direction now. He was already well aware
of this fact. She was the ultimate reason why he had stepped onto this land, so it
shouldn’t have been strange to see the Archmage Regina reside in this port city.
“Oppa, are you sure it is this kid? She’s really small.”
“······she is small. Is she perhaps another rival? No, Artpe said I should grow
quickly…. What should I do? I’m so confused!”
Sienna and Maetel started to prattle on to their heart’s content. However, their
words didn’t reach Artpe’s ears. It wasn’t visible, but he was too busy competing
with the girl with Mana.
Up until now, no one had been able to compete with Artpe in terms of how much
Mana one possessed. The fact that she could contend directly with him in terms
of magical energy meant he didn’t even need to bother gauging her ability. She
was one of the best.
‘Yes, her abilities were already complete to a certain degree at this point in time.
That is why I wanted to join up with her as soon as possible…...’
In his past life, the magician Regina was in charge of AOE damage dealing within
the hero’s party. When the hero’s party invaded into the Demon King’s castle,
she still possessed her small physique.
She was currently wearing a similar robe to Artpe. The black robe covered her
entire body, and the hood was covering her face. No matter how much one tried
to look at her face, one could only see her golden eyes. A normal person would
not have paid attention to her. She looked like a small kid wearing a musty robe.
However, it was different for Artpe. In front of his eyes, no one could avoid his
observation.
He could see her. He could see the magician Regina. Her face, slender body,
Record and her nature was revealed to him.
[Name : Regina De Patreta Elocants Rodelrote]
[Class : Winter Magician]
[Level L 250]
[Strength : 125 Agility : 125 Stamina : 125 Magic : 1,750]
‘She has 1,750 Magic at level 250. It is immense even after seeing it once
before.’
Of course, Artpe has reached level 280, so his Magic was close to 2,300. It was
too simplistic to say that he was much stronger than her. Artpe possessed the
special magical energy of a Hero Class, and he had learned numerous skills. He
had also inherited the Mana characteristics of a Demon. This was why his
magical energy had experienced such overwhelming growth compared to other
magicians.
If he was to get to the point, Regina’s magical energy status had reached a high
rank territory that no other humans had ever reached in the past. The past
hero’s party was able to carry out such acts of brutality, because she possessed
an idiotic amount of magical energy.
It was the same for Artpe too.
“Hello. The weather is great, right?”
“There is a snowstorm forming right now. Majority of humans try to avoid such
weather.”
“Your response is quite dreary.”
In his past life, she had reached a territory that should have been close to
impossible for a human to reach. A girl, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere,
had reached it.
She wasn’t like Artpe, who had returned to the past through his special Innate
Ability.
How was this possible!
The answer was simple.
She wasn’t human.
[Race : Demite]
Demite was the highest of Artifacts that possessed its own will. It could gain
level and Class. She was a golem that was made out of Demite. This was the
Archmage Regina’s true identity.
If one didn’t have the Read All Creation ability, no one would have never been
able to guess this.
A golem was made with the priceless Demite!
Moreover, the golem developed into becoming an Archmage!
If he had been a normal hero, he wouldn’t have known what she was. He would
have adventured with her over the long years. Initially, she would be unable to
express herself emotionally. However, he would notice her heart slowly change
over the years, and when he realized this fact, he would be happy. Then he
would start to dig in into the truth about her. He would find out her buried past or
her secret, and he would despair. Despite her being a golem, he would accept
her even though she was a golem. Their relationship would advance, and he
would take another step in becoming a true hero…….
It would have been a great opportunity of growth for the hero.
However, Artpe possessed the Read All Creation ability. He didn’t have to go
through all that. He had seen through to the truth from the start.
This was why his relationship and mental attitude towards her wouldn’t grow. He
wasn’t moved nor inspired by her. Regina was just a golem. Artpe simply
acknowledged the fact that a golem had appeared in front of them. That was it.
He probably had to tell Maetel and Sienna about her, so they wouldn’t be
shocked by this fact.
So what if she was a golem? It didn’t matter if she wasn’t a human. Artpe
treated everyone in a fair manner in thought and action. They were either his
enemy or his ally. If possible, he hoped Regina would be in the latter category.
.
“Mana response detected. Search…. Unadvisable. Resistance….
Unadvisable. Recalculate possibility of running away. Unadvisable.”
Did she detect his use of the Read All Creation ability? After suddenly spouting
such words, Regina slightly lowered her head. She looked crestfallen. Artpe
smirked as he raised boths hands.
“You already know this right? We hold no hostility towards you.”
“If that is true, you should reveal your identities. Why are you using a
camouflage Artifact?”
When asking for another person’s name, one had to reveal one’s name first. He
wanted to point this out, but it was true that he had come here camouflaged. He
decided to lose on this argument. Artpe wondered how he should proceed, but
he decided to act as usual.
“It isn’t as if camouflaging oneself is illegal. So why are you holding us up? Why
are you posing as an interrogator?”
That’s right. He went for the shameless approach. Regina had been silent, but
when she was accused of being a fraud, she glared at him as she spoke.
“I am carrying out a secret mission given to me by my country.”
“So we are getting in the way of you carrying out that secret mission? Is that
right?”
“······.”
At that moment, the position of advantage had switched. Regina quickly closed
her mouth. She realized she had given away information about herself. Still, this
didn’t mean she did anything to rectify it. She stood frozen absent-mindedly.
It seemed she was puzzled as to how she should proceed. It was
understandable.
Whenever she hadn’t been able to solve her problems with words, she always
somehow solved the problem with a show of power.
However, she couldn’t win against any members of Artpe’s party. Obviously, this
was the first time she had faced such a situation. On top of that, she hadn’t dealt
with any complicated problems that wasn’t related to magic. Of course, she
would become panicked in such a situation.
“I······.”
At that moment, she once again opened her mouth. She was trying to say
something. Artpe patiently waited for further words from her. In the end, his
patience bore fruit.
“What should I do?”
“Why are you asking me that!”
She was another one that would give him a headache! Artpe reacted
instinctively to rebuke her. Then he let out a sigh as he opened his mouth.
“We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves from other people, so we are
maintaining the camouflage. As you can probably see, our powers doesn’t look
common. Right?”
He didn’t plan on telling her everything, but by observing her state, Artpe thought
she would back off if he cooked up a somewhat believable story. The most
important thing right now was the ‘secret mission’ she was carrying out. He had
to make her believe that his party had nothing to do with her mission.
“Do you have intentions of attacking civilians or soldiers?”
“If I had such intentions, wouldn’t I have gone after you first?”
“······your line of reasoning sounds plausible. I’m drawing a conclusion that you
aren’t an enemy or an ally. You are a third party.”
Afterwards, her expression turned peculiar.
“You aren’t an ally or an enemy, so you shouldn’t be on this land.. ······Where did
you come from?”
“You think in binary terms about as much as me. I’m not sure how you can come
to such a conclusion….. Wait a moment.”
Artpe stopped Regina from speaking her absurd words. He raised his head. As
a precaution, he had been setting up Mana Strings infused with his Read All
Creation ability. He had been worried another magician would intrude on their
conversation. He had worried it would make the current situation more
complicated.
At that moment, something had disturbed his Mana Strings.
“You said you are on a secret mission?”
“That’s right. It is a secret mission, so I can’t reveal the details. If you are going
to forcefully extract the information from me, you will be considered an enemy. In
that scenario, I will run away.”
“I don’t plan on extracting the information, so you don’t have to bounce.”
Artpe’s eyes turned calm and bottomless. It happened when he was about to
use his magical energy for real. The powerful Mana reaction caused particles to
become concentrated in his eyes. It was the result of ambient Mana being drawn
in from the air. Maetel always liked Artpe, but she like this Artpe the most.
“However, it seems I’ll soon find about about it whether I like it or not. What do
you think?”
“······acceptable.”
“Artpe, I also know what you are talking about.”
Maetel ignored the question and answer session between Artpe and Regina.
She spoke with a cold voice that was like iron. Her hand was already on the
sheathe of her longsword
“There are idiots, who are letting out murderous intent, coming towards the city.”
It wasn’t just one or two people. There were around 100 of them. Moreover, the
murderous intent was coming from normal knights. They were the elite of the
elites.
It seemed they weren’t coming to fight someone specific. It didn’t matter if one
could or couldn’t feel their murderous intent. Their movement indicated that they
would indiscriminately kill everyone.
He planned on taking a leisurely tour of Aedia. He planned on seeing some
sceneries, and he planned on visiting all the magic towers to inquire about magic
books. However, Artpe could smell the blood that was about to be shed in the
coming battle. His face crumpled in a wretched manner as he mumbled to
himself.
“This shouldn’t happen unless there is a war going on. That means…....”
“I believe that you guys are a third party.”
At that moment, Regina’s vigilance against Artpe’s party was completely lowered.
She gave an explanation.
“Magic Kingdom Aedia is in its fifth month of war against the allied forces of the
Daiatan kingdom and the Duchy of Tiata. If you are humans from this land, there
is no way you wouldn’t have known about this.”
“Yes, thank you for informing us.”
“By the amount of power you all possess, I judge that you guys came from
across the ocean. You didn’t want to draw attention to yourselves, so you chose
the option of camouflage. Excellent decision.”
“Yes, thank you for acknowledging it.”
“I would like to make an offer to the third party.”
It seemed she was unable to pick up on Artpe’s sarcastic remarks. Regina’s
voice had been cold and hard. However, there was a bit of relief in her voice as
she spoke to them.
“This is from the magical kingdom of Aedia. We would like to extend an offer for
you all to join as wartime mercenaries. The reward will be high, and you will gain
rank. If your war record is excellent, you will be promoted to commissioned
officer. You may be appointed to a branch manager. You’ll feel great.”
“Where did you get that manual you are reciting? Why don’t you give me a
straight answer?”
“Secret.”
He had no idea who had inserted those suspicious words of invitation into her.
Even if she tried to convince him with a sweet offer, Artpe had only one answer.
He immediately turned down the offer.
Chapter 87 - A Wrong Encounter (4)

He didn’t care if the headquarters of the mages was attacked. An attack on

Aedia was Aedia’s problem. He had no inclination of fighting another country by
joining Aedia’s side. Of course, when he decisively turned down her offer, a
weak expression of dismay appeared on Regina’s face.
“Very difficult······.”
Regina had a troubled expression on her face as she hesitated. In the end, her
shoulders slumped a little bit as she mumbled to herself.
“Failed negotiation. Opponent shows no hostility. Ignore and carry out mission.”
“What is your mission?”
“Secret.”
After telling him that it was a secret, she turned around. She gazed past the city
towards the force of several hundred rushing towards them. This was obvious,
but she was a golem made by the magicians of Aedia. She had to follow orders
given by her country. This was why it was her mission to face an army that was
invading her nation.
“You know what? I kind of want to have a conversation with them.”
Artpe spoke carefully. However, at his words, Regina’s pupils shook in a severe
manner. She shook her head from side to side as she opened her mouth to
speak. There was a slight tremor in her voice.
“Unacceptable.”
“Is that so? Do you have to kill them for your secret mission?”
“Secret.”
Artpe unintentionally succeeded in stirring up her emotions. Up until now, he
was sure Regina had never shown her tearful face to anyone! It was starting to
get pretty fun dealing with her. However, he couldn’t let this drag on any further.
“Maetel.”
Artpe looked at Maetel, who had a conflicted expression on her face. He
solemnly nodded his head as he flicked his finger. It was a combo moves
between the two heroes. Everything happened in lightning speed.
“Eh-eet.”
“Koo-oohk.”
When he flicked his finger, Maetel moved. Regina didn’t even have time to chant
her defensive magic. All her defensive measures were pierced by Maetel.
Regina fainted from the assault! The combination of moves was more suited for
a villain than a hero. However, this suited his goal for now.
“All right. Carry her.”
“Yes!”
“All right. Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
Artpe and his party headed towards the road, and they quickly exited the port city
of Belata. They had briskly wrapped up their work, yet swear words kept pouring
out of his mouth..
“Shit. Why the hell did a war break out right now?”
The Daiatan kingdom was located north of Aedia. On the other hand, the Duchy
of Tiata was located south of Aedia. It seemed Aedia was fighting a war against
the allied forces of Daiatan and Tiata.
This was obvious, but in Artpe’s previous life, Aedia had never fought a war
against Diatan and Tiata. In fact, it had been a war between the Duchy of Tiata
and the Daiatan kingdom. In his previous life, Aedia had come in support of
Tiata. This was understandable, since Duke Eritahd of Tiata was the brother of
the current king of Aedia.
“Why would the Duchy of Tiata betray Aedia? Why did they join up with Daiatan?
This shouldn’t have happened.”
“Did Daiatan make an offer that the Duchy of Tiata couldn’t refuse?”
Maetel carefully told him her conjecture. Artpe smirked as he nodded his head.
“Yes, that’s possible. At the very least, Daiatan is probably thinking that very
thing right now.”
“You don’t think that’s the case?”
“Of course.”
The Duchy of Tiata was a city state that broke off early from Aedia. Since there
were blood ties between Tiata and Aediaa, there had always been a close
relationship between the two. That is why it would be a big blow to Aedia if
Diatan was successful in luring Tiata away.
However, Artpe was having a hard time believing Tiata had betrayed Aedia. In
his past life, Aedia and Tiata worked hand in hand with each other. In fact, one
of their joint ventures had caused the hero of his past life to become disappointed
in humanity…...
“Wait a moment······?”
Artpe’s stopped walking. The other party members stopped walking. Maetel was
carrying the unconscious Regina. Her limbs were limp.
“A joint venture······ Could it be?”
“Artpe?”
When Maetel called out his name, Artpe quickly turned his head to look at her.
“Do you remember my promise to Mycenae?”
“Yes. You promised to take on a quest related to the Forest of Eternity.”
“That’s right. In truth, the Forest of Eternity shares borders with the Duchy of
Tiatia.”
The aloof tribes of Elves lived within the Forest of Eternity. Tiata and the
surrounding nations were always covetous of the forest and the Elves. This was
why there was always a war underway in an attempt to possess them.
In the end, Aedia helped Tiata bring calamity to the Forest of Eternity, and it had
created a big wound in the hero’s heart.
‘If this war is related to that…….. This is pure speculation.’
The incident from his past life occurred when the hero was over twenty years old.
However, Mycenae had spoken about this very subject during the making of
their personal contract. It was safe to assume that Aedia and Tiata had long
been at this venture.
So why would they suddenly sever their relationship with each other?
Aedia had always supported the work of the Duchy of Tiata, so it was hard to
fathom Tiata revolting against Aedia….. If one took into account their close
relationship, the alliance with Diatan was a farce. Therefore, the thing they were
aiming for was…..
“Maybe the war that is occurring right now is…...”
“Artpe, you can explain it to me a little bit later. They are almost here.”
Maetel’s voice stopped his train of thoughts. When he raised his head, he
caught sight of them too.
A group of men and horses were heading straight for the port city of Belata.
There were several hundred of them. There was a nefarious energy emanating
from each one of them. It looked as if they were willing to destroy anything in
their path.
Artpe shook his head from side to side. It was a signal that let Maetel know that
she shouldn’t act yet. Artpe cleared his throat, and he yelled out in a friendly and
inviting voice. He made sure his intentions couldn’t be misunderstood by his
opponents.
“Hey, guys. Why don’t you guys stop for a brief moment?/ I have some
questions I would like to ask you!”
However, the answer that came back was unbelievably cold.
“They are enemies! I can feel magical energy around all for of them!”
“Let’s just mow them down! We were told to kill all of them! Leave no witnesses
alive!”
“These bitches are extraordinary beauties, captain. If it is fine with you, we can
capture them alive…….”
“We are working towards a great cause, so don’t reveal such filthy and crude
personal desires! Kill them all!”
“······yes, sir!”
Artpe had called out to them first, yet he was instantly labeled as an enemy!
They planned on killing Artpe’s party. Fortunately, they didn’t act like the knights
from the old stories. They didn’t say, ‘Ku-he-he. I want you to capture the pretty
women alive!’
“People these days are really heartless.”
“Artpe, aren’t they enemies? ······I’ll kill them?”
“We will, but······ Wait a moment.”
Artpe sighed as he waved his hand. His Hyper Rubbing spell had almost
reached maturity. The spell created a smooth surface. The horses couldn’t stop
their own momentum, so they slid across the floor.
The low level soldiers fell, and they couldn’t get up again. The nimble soldiers
amongst them were barely able to avoid the crash. They were able to stand on
solid ground once again.
“Magic! He’s an enemy magician!”
“Damn it. Throw it!”
Each of them brought out a dagger. When one was hit by the dagger, it would
disrupt the magician’s flow of Mana. Moreover, an extreme pain was created to
disrupt the casting of a spell. These were weapons typically used against
Archmages. It seemed they came prepared with Artifacts that would allow them
to subdue magicians. It seemed Daiatan was taking this war pretty seriously…...
“You dare?”
“Koo-hahhhhhhhhk!”
“Ggooh-ook, gooh-aaaaaaaaaah!”
At Artpe’s hand gesture, several dozen Mana Strings plucked the daggers out
the air, and he sent them back from where they came from.
In such a brief amount of time, Artpe’s Mana was injected into the daggers. They
exploded when they reached their owners. Anyone that could sense Mana was
shocked by his surprising technique.
“We can’t fight him. I have no idea what method he is using!”
“Retreat. Retreat!”
“Tsk.”
Artpe clicked his tongue. He didn’t like to indiscriminately kill all the humans.
However, the thing he despised more was seeing soldiers run away immediately
when the upperhand was taken from them.
“I have something I want to ask you.”
“Huhk!?”
In that moment, Artpe stood in the middle of the battlefield that had gone to hell.
He became better at using the Blink Boots the more he used it. Whether it was
a spell, skill or an Artifact’s option, he could use it as if it was an extension of his
body. He was proud of this fact.
“H...h...how the hell…...”
Several knights tried to rush him with their weapons. However, in the next
moment, Mana Strings extended out from Artpe’s entire body. He bound the
soldiers tight. They could do nothing.
“Hurry up and run······ Koohk!?”
It was the same for those that tried to run away. The Mana Strings were infused
with critical amount of magical energy and killing intent. They covered the
battlefield in no time. The several hundred knights were unable to move.
When he first learned the Mana String, it had been burdensome to create just
five strings. After he reached level 280, he possessed more Mana than what he
possessed in his previous life. Artpe had sufficient Mana to create 500 strings.
“So…. Who’s the leader?”
After he subdued everyone, Artpe opened his mouth. However, no one
answered him. Artpe had no choice, but to change the question.
“Where are you from?”
Finally, one knight cautiously raised his head as he yelled out.
“W...we are the knights of the exalted Diatan kingdom!”
“However, Aedia’s army isn’t here. Don’t you guys know about the international
law of engagement?”
“······.”
Soldiers had to fight soldiers. It was clear that this city had only civilians. If they
attacked this place, it was the worst taboo amongst the agreed upon international
laws. It was enough to make Diatan become the pariah of the continent.
Since they knew they what kind of sin they were committing, sillence quickly
descended amongst the knights. Artpe snorted.
“When did knights become a band of ruffians?”
“Our foremost goal is to win this war! We are willing to become ruffians for our
cause!”
“However, if you lose after committing such acts, you would look like useless
trash. Isn’t that right?”
Artpe sounded bored as he spoke. He flicked his hand. In a flash, the Mana
Strings subduing the knights were gone. The knights were taken aback. They
immediately stood up.
“What······!?”
“D...don’t attack him. He can use his magic again at a moment’s notice!”
“Vigilance! Be on your guard!”
Fortunately, they weren’t too stupid. They no longer tried to run away.
Moreover, they didn’t try to attack Artpe again. Artpe was satisfied when the
knights warily stood in place. When Artpe chilled as he stood in place, one of the
knights slowly approached him. He looked to be the leader.
“Are you perhaps….. Are you not affiliated with Aedia?”
“Did you ever hear about such a strong magician like me residing in Aedia?”
“You magical energy and appearance······ I have never heard of you. You were
able to subdue our knights with a slight wave of your hand. If we knew Aedia
had a monster like you, we would have never went against Aedia even with the
help of our collaborators.”
It was too bad for them, but Aedia already had Regina. She was weaker than
Artpe, but she would be able to easily overpower these knights.
In other words, Daitan was fighting an unwinnable war. Regina’s secret mission
was probably to take out these knights.
“I already know you aren’t Aedia’s magician. So why······?”
Why was he in a country that was in the midst of a war? Why did he subdue
them? Why was he sparing them? They had a lot of questions.
Artpe’s reply was simple.
“I want to meet your superiors. I’ll tell you my reasons.”
Artpe’s eyes twinkled in an evil manner.
“Hire me. I want to join in the war against Aedia as a wartime mercenary. It’ll be
very expensive to hire me.”
Chapter 88 - Sleeping With the Enemy (1)

“Wartime mercenaries······!?”
The captain’s eyes opened wide. He couldn’t believe the words coming out of
Artpe’s mouth. The magician in front of him was powerful enough not to be
attached to any nation, yet he said he wanted to be a wartime mercenary. It was
such a practical word.
“That’s right. I’ll make sure you guys win against Aedia no matter what.
However, you will have to pay the price.”
“Even if I’m offered such a deal….. It isn’t within the scope of my authority to
accept it.”
The captain never expected to encounter such a situation, so he was extremely
taken aback. On the other hand, it wasn’t as if he could turn down the offer from
a supernaturally strong being, so the captain planned on getting ahold of Artpe
using flattering words.
However, at that moment….
“Kyahhhk!”
The shrill scream of a girl could be heard alongside the sound of an explosion.
When he turned to look, he caught sight of Regina floating in the air. Maetel
was below Regina. She was grinding her teeth as she jumped towards Regina.
“Where are you going!”
“Running away.”
“You can’t go!”
When Maetel landed, she bent her knees. She activated her Acceleration ability,
and she was able to jump several hundred meters into the air. She turned a
simple jump into a hyper jump.
“Koohk······!”
Regina used several dozen types of spells at once. She tried to use
Teleportation magic at the same time as she tried to bind Maetel. However, the
two beams emitted by Maetel’s longsword cancelled all her magic spells. When
Regina saw this, her eyes turned round. Afterwards, Maetel grabbed her by the
scruff.
“I said you can’t go!”
“Kahk!?”
Maetel threw Regina towards the ground! Even if Regina was a golem, her
function was geared more towards magic than physical ability. She couldn’t
withstand the shock, so she fainted.
“······.”
“······.”
A delicate girl had floated into the air, and she had used dozens of spells. In the
very same moment, another delicate girl destroyed all the spells, and she had
thrown the first girl towards the ground. It was a distance of several hundred
meters. All the knights amiably fell silent when they witnessed this sight. Artpe
let out a bright smile as he continued to speak.
“They are my party members. Aren’t they strong?”
“You guys are a powerful collection of individuals. Where have you been all this
time? Why have you stepped forward at this moment in time?”
The captain asked in a serious manner. Artpe also answered in a serious
manner.
“We came from within the ocean.”
“It seems you have no intentions of answering my question…. Well, it doesn’t
matter. Your words have reassured me. If it means victory for our nation, we are
willing to ally with everyone except the Demon race…. My superiors will
probably not turn down your offer.”
“All right. The most admirable part is that you guys won’t ally yourselves with the
Demons.”
“Ha······.”
When Artpe replied in a joking manner, the captain’s face crumpled in a peculiar
way.
“We did try to kill the civilians, and it is a sin that can’t be washed away. Even if
we were stopped in our attempt, it is a sin that we must bear for the rest of our
lives. However, even we won’t sell out the entirety of humanity. Would such
foolish people really exist in this world?”
Such people existed…... However, Artpe declined to speak this out loud. There
will come a day when they’ll find out this truth. It might be sooner rather than
later.
“I’ll bring my party members. Ah. Before I do that…..”
“Mmmm?”
Artpe lightly wave his hands. That was all that he did. One of the knights had
been standing around absentmindedly, and blood erupted from an unfortunate
location.
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhk!”
“I’ll be back. You guys can wait for me here.”
“······.”
The nearby knights were shocked as they took a step backwards. Artpe spoke
as he put on a cold smile. The captain couldn’t say anything despite Artpe’s act
of violence. The knight had lost the possibility of a future, but the captain had a
hunch as to why such an act had been committed against him.
The knight that had just died right now had spoken up right before they clashed
against Artpe’s party. He had spoke vulgar words when he saw the beauty of
Maetel and Sienna.
“Captain, he is too dangerous! We have to turn him down!”
“We will be creating an irrevocable problem!”
“No. I want you all to be quiet.”
When he saw Artpe use Blink to head towards his party members, the captain
spoke in a low voice.
“How can I not know that? However, this magician doesn’t need to deal with us
to accomplish what he wants. On top of that, he is someone that we can’t
control. If this is all true, wouldn’t it be better to make it so that our nation
benefits in the process?”
“Still, he didn’t need to kill one of our comrades! Moreover, there are knights
here that have lost their arms to him!”
“It isn’t as if his actions were groundless. He had a personal grudge against that
knight. He has a good case for the actions he took.”
“But...!”
“I’ve already prepared to give up my life for this war. Isn’t it the same for you
all?”
“······.”
The captain looked at his subordinates, who had shut their mouths. He spoke
with a bitter voice.
“I want you to keep your personal feeling in check before you make your call. If
you still can’t accept my decision, you can officially bring it up with my superiors.
The decision will be made from up on high.”
“Koohk······.”
While there were heated exchanges going on between the knights, Artpe re-
joined his party. He check on Regina’s status.
“As expected, she is quite sturdy. She fell several hundred meters to impact on
the frozen ground, yet she has no outward injuries.”
“Tsk.”
He ignored the sound of Maetel clicking her tongue as he carried Regina. He
had just met the magician, and he couldn’t let her go free. He planned on taking
her with him like this. When Maetel saw this, she asked him a question.
“Artpe, isn’t this kid affiliated with Aedia? So why did you talk about joining up
with Daitan? If we want this kid to join our party, we should be fighting on the
side of Aedia.”
“It isn’t as simple as that. Aedia, Daitan and Tiata are currently….. Moreover,
we have to keep what is happening in the Forest of Eternity in mind.”
“Do you think the Forest of Eternity has something to do with what’s happening
here?”
“Maybe. That is why I’m going to check it out for myself.”
He would drag along Regina as he did so. Regina’s sense of self was sparse,
but it wasn’t as if it wasn’t there. He could probably guide her towards the right
decision. He was sure she would join up with them.
Moreover…...
“By the way, you tried to kill regular soldiers for your own gain. It looked as if you
didn’t feel any regret in doing so.”
“If it is for Artpe, I’ll do anything...ah-yaht.”
She was speaking out loud such terrifying words, so Artpe flicked her forehead
pretty hard.
“There are other ways to achieve your goals. There is no reason why you should
harm other people. This is especially true for the innocent people. You bear the
responsibility of holding the Hero Class, so you should think hard on my words.”
“But Artpe…… Wouldn’t there come a time when I would have to do the very
thing I mentioned? There might come a time when I will have to cut down an
innocent to achieve a goal we really want. At the very least, there will come a
time when I would have to harm such people…. Wouldn’t that time come in the
future?”
At her words, Artpe stopped for a brief moment. Why would it not happen? They
were heroes, and each of their actions affected the world. He could think up too
many scenarios that it put him in a tough spot. Unbeknownst to them, they might
have already harmed innocents several times without realizing it.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Despite this fact, Artpe was firm with his words.
“That will never happen.”
At the very least, he wouldn’t let her experience it. He would do the dirty work.
In his past life, the hero’s comrades did the same thing.
This was why she would always shine with the light of purity. She would be
radiant like herself from the past.
Artpe didn’t voice his thoughts out loud, yet Maetel’s expression turned nasty.
“Artpe, you are thinking about something weird again. I always know.
Sometimes, Artpe puts on a grim face like right now!”
“As expected, you really are using a mind reading skill.”
“Eeeeeek.”
Maetel looked pretty angry as she glared up at him. However, Artpe didn’t budge
an inch. Maetel was out of patience, so she was about to unleash her rebuke
like a wildfire. At that moment, Artpe extended his hand, and he placed it on her
head.
“This isn’t a problem that I can accept and forget just because Artpe patted my
head…...”
“Be a little bit more patient, Maetel.”
“Huh······?”
“When you grow up a little bit more and your heart is a bit more hardened, I’ll
share everything with you. …….until that time, I want you to leave everything to
me.”
Artpe came up with an adequate cover for himself, but his words caused her
cheeks to turn red. It was as if her cheeks were about to explode. She was
already in a good state, but she was barely able to squeeze out a rebuttal.
“B...but Artpe is the same age as me…...”
“I’m more mature mentally compared to my age. You are more immature
compared to your age. Of course, there is a difference between us.”
“Artpe is bad.”
He hadn’t hesitated to assault her with the truth. Maetel pushed her lips forward.
However, it seemed she had accepted his words. She leaned in closer as she
slightly moved her lips.
“When the time come, you have to share it with me.”
“All right.”
Good. As expected, she was a simple woman. He was mumbling these
thoughts inwardly as he let out a smile of satisfaction. At that moment, Maetel’s
lips fluttered, and she let out some sharp words. It made Artpe’s heart stop.
“You have to tell me everything Artpe is hiding.”
“······.”
It was an unexpected counterattack. Unless one was an idiot, one would have
picked up on the fact that he was unusual. She was supposed to be an idiot, so
he had never expected Maetel to say such words.
How long had she known? Maybe, she knew it from the beginning? He didn’t
think that was possible, yet she had kept her thoughts secret. She had brought it
up at this moment. He wasn’t sure about anything any more.
“Artpe?”
For a brief moment, Artpe was at a loss for words. Maetel slightly raised her
head, and she her gaze remained fixed on him. Her emerald colored eyes were
pure and unfathomably deep. It was as if she was looking deep into his soul.
“You······.”
“Are you going to share it with me?”
“....all right. I lost. I’ll tell you.”
It was a complete defeat. Maybe, she called into question his attitude, because
she wanted to lead the conversation this way. Artpe cleanly admitted his defeat.
“Someday… I’ll tell you someday.”
“Yes, that is enough for now.”
Maetel’s face became much brighter as she backed off. Artpe felt sorry towards
Maetel, but he couldn’t tell her the whole truth. So from when to when should he
make up the story? He had to make is so that the story sounded plausible.
Maetel had to accept it as the truth.
Artpe decided to take a day off in the future, and he would come up with a story
that no one would suspect it to be false. When he was having such thoughts,
someone grabbed Artpe’s sleeve.
“Oppa, I feel left out…....”
“Ah.”
Sienna had been excluded from the conversation between the two heroes. She
was close to tears at that moment. Even if she was very patient, she couldn’t
endure the space that had been created between Artpe and Maetel! It was a
space where only the two of them had existed!
“Will you share it with me too, oppa? You’ll share it with me, right? Yes?”
“Yes, I’ll share it with you too.”
“Ya-ho! I love oppa so much!”
He planned on making up a story to tell Maetel, so it wouldn’t matter if he had
one more audience. Artpe didn’t hesitate at all as he nodded his head. Sienna
was so happy that she hugged him. Sure enough, Maetel became angry when
she saw this display.
“Wait a moment. I worked so hard to hear that answer from you, so why did you
give such a prompt answer to Sienna? Wasn’t it supposed to be a secret
between Artpe and me!?”
“That’s because oppa likes younger women. Isn’t that right…?”
“Stop saying words that’ll be misunderstood. Let’s go.”
Artpe patted his noisy companions, and they headed towards the knights. Of
course, Regina was still unconscious.
The captain had mentioned that his superiors had the authority to make
decisions. He wanted Artpe’s party to meet with his superiors directly, so the
captain quickly acquired a carriage. After Artpe’s party got on the carriage, they
were treated with utmost care.
Of course, they were still deep within enemy territory. They couldn’t place
flowers on the road or blow trumpets on the way back. Still, the knights were
extremely submissive in their behavior as they treated Artpe’s party with respect.
It made one wonder if this was how being a noble felt.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Regina, who had abruptly been kidnapped by Artpe’s party, had not resisted.
She knew she couldn’t run away, so she obediently sat next to them. She kept
spouting words like ‘incomprehensible’ and ‘I cannot understand’.
“You’ve shackled me. I cannot go against Aedia. It is cumbersome to keep me
as a hostage. Why haven’t you killed me?”
“I want to bring you into my party. That is why I can’t kill you.”
“You’ve shackled me.”
Regina kept repeating the same words. It was as if she was trying to say, ‘How
can you not understand me at one go, you moron!’ Artpe let out a bitter laugh.
“Yes, I already know. A restriction has been placed on you, right?”
“······that’s right. Have you realized what I am?”
“Yes. Aren’t you a golem?”
“Affirmative.”
If a golem could defy its owner, no magician would want to make a golem. That
was why a magical shackles were placed over most golems. They couldn’t defy
their owners or specific candidates chosen by the owners.
The magicians didn’t need an Innate Ability like the Demon King. It was possible
to create these shackles during the process of creating a golem. Regina was
probably talking about this.
“If you know I am a golem, why would you want me in your party…...?”
“I want to know your own thoughts. Can you tell me what your thought are
without the restriction influencing your answer?”
Artpe asked her a question. Regina slightly raised her head. There was a slight
expression of puzzlement on her face.
“My personal thoughts aren’t important. The restrictions are absolute. I follow
Aedia.”
“No, the important thing right now is what you think. That is why I'm not trying to
persuade Aedia. I’m trying to persuade you”
“Your kidnapping of me is a form of persuasion?”
She was pretty astute in asking her questions, but Artpe let out a big grin as he
shook his head.
“If we hadn’t used hard measures, you would have run away. I want to keep you
here, since I have to show you some stuff. I apologize for kidnapping you.”
“If apologies were the be-all and end-all, we wouldn’t need laws.”
······it seemed her sense of self wasn’t weak. It seemed she already had a firm
sense of self. Artpe looked at her face with suspicion, but her face remained
expressionless.
“I feel this is human foolishness. A golem is a golem. It is impossible to
persuade one just by simply showing one a different perspective.
……..additionally, a golem can only be a golem. My appearance was chosen for
me. I look younger, but I’m not younger than you.”
“······where did you hear such words?”
“I exercise my right to remain silent.”
Artpe smirked when he heard her reply. He turned his gaze away. Maetel was
sitting next to him, and she was glaring at Regina with sharp eyes.
“I don’t like you.”
“A woman’s jealousy…it is ugly.”
“······I’ll kill you.”
Artpe clicked his tongue as he watched Regina and the hero bicker.
‘It seems I won’t be able to persuade her any time soon. Still, I accomplished the
intended goal of depriving Aedia of its greatest power.’
It wasn't up for debate. Regina was Aedia’s strongest card. Since Artpe had
pocketed their strongest card, Aedia was probably in a state of panic.
From now on……...
“I have to upend the table.”
“Ah. Oppa, you have pretty evil expression on your face.”
“You are quite observant.”
Artpe grinned as he replied.
“I was thinking about starting our Quest now.”
“Were all the Quests we’ve been doing up until now misdoings!?”
Chapter 89 - Sleeping With the Enemy (2)

He really wanted to use consecutive Blinks to head towards his destination. His
reservoir of magical energy was massive, but he couldn’t use Blink with all of the
knights in tow.
This was why Artpe tried hard to come up with an alternative traveling method.
In the end, he had to match paces with the knights. In truth, he wasn’t in a
hurry. He actually achieved the original goal he had set for his party once they
entered Aedia. They could spend half the journey traveling in a leisurely manner.

“We’ve discovered scouts. 11 o’clock. There are four of them. I want you to
quickly get rid of them and rejoin the group.”
“Understood, captain!”
······they had to travel with the knights, and they were messing up the
fundamental reason why he was traveling in this manner! Artpe turned to look at
his party members with a tragic expression on his face.
“Are you guys ok? Ah.”
It seems Artpe had been worried for no reason. Maetel and Sienna was
watching nature pass by through the window. They were smiling even as they
saw men screaming and dying within their view of mother nature. This fact
terrified him.
“Yes, Artpe! In truth, this is the first time I’ve ridden a carriage.”
“Yes, I am well aware of that fact.”
“The rattling makes it fun!”
His party had went through a lot of stuff during the past couple years. His party
members were now able to block out things they didn’t like. They were able
solely focus and enjoy things they liked to see! Artpe seriously thought about
where he went wrong with them, but he had no answers.
This was why he switched his attention towards something he could do right now.
“I waited for the day when I would be able to take it easy like this…. However, it
was achieved much different than how I had expected.”
“That is…..?”
Regina couldn’t escape the clutches of Artpe, and she couldn’t take up on his
offer of joining his party. At some point in time, Regina started maintaining her
silence. However, her eyes slightly widened when Artpe took out a purple
colored gemstone. Of course, he knew this object would catch her attention.
“This is the Demite’s Gemstone.”
“Demite······.”
Artpe smirked as he answered her. A peculiar light remained within Regina’s
eyes. Was she deeply moved, curious or disappointed? Artpe couldn’t tell.
“Demite. Aht.”
She unconsciously reach out her hand. She finally came to her senses, and she
tried to retract her hand. However, Artpe willingly pushed the gemstone towards
her.
“Do you want to examine it?”
“······is it ok if I do so?”
“Yes. You are a magician. Of course, you won’t be able to hold back.”
“······yes.”
Regina carefully extended her hand. She didn’t touch Artpe’s hand as she
received the gemstone. She gently brought up the gemstone in front of her eyes.
When she looked into the gemstone, one could see a galaxy of purple light
nestled in her golden eyes.
“So this is a Demite…...”
“Yes. It takes a long time to increase the purity of the Mana, and a minor miracle
is needed to imbue the gemstone with a sense of self and a Class. All magician
dream about possessing this lifelong partner.”
“Demite······.”
It seemed Artpe’s words weren’t registering with her. This was the first time
Regina had met another Demite that wasn’t her. She was extremely excited.
She was observing the gemstone so closely that her nose was almost in contact
with it.
“Demite······ Demite.”
Artpe let out a bitter laughter as he watched her. He didn’t even need the Read
All Creation ability. It was that obvious as to what her true identity was. As if she
could sense his thoughts, Regina suddenly raised her head to talk to him.
“I am a golem. I am a golem made out of Demite.”
“I sort of already knew.”
“I possess a Class, and I am able to grow. It is possible, because I am a
Demite.”
Regina stopped speaking. She kept opening and closing her mouth as if she still
had more to say. In the end, she just lowered her head.
“······I am a golem. I am a golem.”
“Don’t you have more you want to say?”
“A golem cannot escape the restrictions placed on it. Moreover, Demites are
merely tools. ······the two of us are the same.”
“So that is why it is useless to persuade you?”
“Affirmative.”
Regina fidgeted with the Demite’s Gemstone grasped within her hand. At one
point, she put strength into her hand. She raised the Demite’s Gemstone as if
she had firmly made up her mind. However, she weakly dropped her hand in
the next moment, and she handed the gemstone back to Artpe.
“······sense of self.”
“Hmm?”
It was unlike the voice that had always come out her mouth. A feeble voice
flowed out from her.
“Why was I given a sense of self?”
“You are asking me a philosophical question.”
“I am not allowed to make any decisions. I have to do what my owner wants. My
consciousness is there only for the use of my master. If that is true…..”
“If that is true?”
“The gods······ Did they make us for humans?”
“You are saying some interesting things.”
Artpe smirked. The gods made Demite for the humans? A being made out of
Demite had said such words. It was quite ironic.
“Most humans aren’t able to live their lives as they want. I don’t know if the gods
created the humans or the Demites. However, it seems you are under a
disillusion. If a human hadn’t created you in this fashion, you wouldn’t be
capable of having such thoughts.”
“I have no complaints about that fact. I merely had some doubts..”
Regina spoke further in a quiet voice.
“Countless things make up this world, yet if the humans desired it, they could
have everything within this world. There are the rewards from the Dungeons,
and the benefit they gain from Achievements. If a Demon King appears, a hero
comes to humanity’s defense. The world is too…… The world is centered
around humans.”
“······.”
“I’ve seen this world for the past 197 years. It is always the same. Nothing
changes. Humans have given me orders, and I followed those orders.
So……...”
“So?”
“So… I…”
However, she couldn’t speak. She determined that the words she wanted to
speak would go against the restrictions placed on her. Regina looked like Etna.
Etna hadn’t been able to speak freely thanks to the shackles placed on her by
the Demon King.
Regina changed the topic before Artpe could say anything.
“That is why I’m not younger than you. I am 198 years old in human years.”
“So you are back to that again? It’s fine?”
Yes, she was at her limits. Artpe snorted as he spoke.
“Lastly, I want to tell you about the critical delusion you are under.”
“Delusion?”
“The relationship between a magician and a Demite isn’t a dependent
relationship. When a Demite exists in its gemstone state, it is merely a rock
possessing a small amount of will. Magicians use this fact to refine and make a
contract with the Demite. Basically, it is a form of a contract ritual. That is why
you…....”
“However, I am a golem. I am their subordinate.”
“Hoong.”
Artpe held the Demite’s Gemstone in one hand, and he used the other hand to
raise his long sword, which was letting out a soft red energy.
“When this guys is completed, you’ll have a better idea of what I’m talking about.
You can look forward to it.”
“······.”
The long sword was infused with the power of fire from Etna. It was a bit too
large to hold with one hand, but he didn’t have a carving tool that was more
suited for this job. He had no choice.
Artpe was careful not to poke a hole on the roof of the carriage. He firmly held
onto the sword’s hilt, and he used the side of the blade to carefully scratched at
the outer surface of the gemstone.
“Oh. It’s working.”
A powerful flame formed at the edge of the blade. The Demite’s Gemstone was
unimaginably hard, yet the blade was able to carve out the parts he wanted by
slightly melting the gemstone. Of course, these slivers from the gemstone still
contained powerful Mana, so he saved the precious shavings.
“The Mana is…..”
Regina’s eyes slightly widened. The Demite was being refined by a miniscule
amount, yet she could see the ambient Mana being sucked into the gemstone.
“In its Demite’s Gemstone form, it only has the ability to amplify the injected
Mana. However, you aren’t like that, right? You are able to manipulate the
Mana.”
“Affirmative.”
“Yes, this guy will be able to do the same thing. …..of course, it won’t have a
clear sense of self like you.”
“······if its function remains the same, a sense of self is meaningless. …...it
might be better that way.”
Artpe didn’t answer her. Instead, he went to work with his sword. It was a
difficult and delicate work, so his working speed was slow. Still, he was able to
work on it within the carriage. In just several hours, the light being emitted by the
Demite’s Gemstone steadily thickened. The amount of Mana being drawn inside
the gemstone also increased.
“This gemstone has performed several exploits with me. Since it hadn’t been
fully awake, it wasn’t able to receive its proper share of EXP······.”
Despite this fact, the Demite’s Gemstone had gained 100 levels from its original
level. It was proof as to what kind of carnage Artpe’s party had to experience in
the past.
“How is it? Can you see the change?”
“Slowly…. It is awakening.”
Regina watched Artpe’s work. She observed the shape of the Demite’s
Gemstone change depending on the movement of his hands. She didn’t like the
fact that he was handling the Demite, yet she felt interested at the prospect of the
Demite’s awakening. Artpe thought she was a complicated being. Artpe
continued his work as he had such thoughts.
The refinement of a Demite didn’t happen in a day or two. Moreover, the
situation he found himself delayed his work further. The carriage continued to
run, but they had to take brief breaks. Moreover, they also had to stop for sleep.
Furthermore, other businesses continued to divert his attention away from his
work of refining the Demite.
For example, magicians were starting to search the region. They were here to
find Aedia’s ace card.. He had to kill these magicians in secret. Then there were
the idiotic knights. They bared their teeths every time he tried to switch his mind
off for a little bit. He had to personally teach several of them a lesson. Then
there was Maetel and Sienna. It wasn’t enough for him to interact with them
several dozen times a day. They clung to him, and he had to set aside time to
play with them.
Lastly, there was Regina. She knew running away was impossible, but she tried
to escape every several hours as if she was trying to fulfill an obligation. Now he
just shut down her attempts in advance. She complained, so he had to humor
her too.
“······you already have a woman, yet you wander around searching for a new
younger girl. A human’s greed is endless.”
“Ah. It isn’t like that.”
“Golems don’t have a sexual function. Unfortunately, I cannot give you what you
want.”
“That is why I told you I don’t need it!”
“······platonic relationship?”
“······.”
It seemed Regina had learned the only way she could make fun of Artpe. He
resented Sienna, who had taught this useless knowledge to Regina. However,
Sienna continued to have an innocent smile on her face, and she said phrases
like, ‘I’m glad oppa gets along with Regina!’ He should have foreseen this when
he saw the two of them converse extensively with each other!
“Shit. This is hard to do.”
“It’s pretty.”
“It is getting prettier.”
[Nyaaaaaa.]
“It is close to waking up.”
After a week, an outline was becoming visible on the Demite. The Demite
continued to absorb and emit the surrounding ambient Mana. This process
caused a brilliant light to be emitted. Those that weren’t interested in his work
started to pay attention.
The problem he was encountering was the fact that the Demite became harder
as he carved deeper. This was why the speed of his work continued to slow
down as time passed.
If possible, he wanted to finish it before they reached the headquarters of the
Diatin army. As always, they arrived at their destination when he had only a little
more to go to complete the
Demite.
“We are here, so you should get off…. Why are you looking at me with such
eyes?”
The blameless captain had opened the door to the carriage. Still, he received
rebuke from Artpe and the members of his party. It couldn’t be helped.
“Your timing is impeccable.”
“Soon. It will happen soon.”
If it was up to him, he would have stayed in place to finish the Demite. However,
it couldn't’ be helped. Artpe let out a sigh as he put away the Demite. Regina
looked on with longing as she tried to catch sight of the gemstone again. Sienna
gently pushed Regina to the side, and she gave a reply to the captain.
“Yes, let’s go.”
“I already sent a knight ahead, so he should soon…...”
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhhk!”
Before the captain’s words could end, a horrifying scream emanated from the
enormous barrack within the headquarters. Artpe smirked as he asked the
captain a question.
“Haven’t I heard that voice before?”
“······it’s the voice of my subordinate.”
The corners of the captain’s eyes became distorted. When he turned to look, he
saw several hundred knights pour out of the barracks. They were filled with the
intention to fight.
“Kill the traitors!”
“The leader of our enemies have infiltrated our headquarters! Kill every one of
them!”
“Magician······ What is going on?”
It was a wonder. Things were going exactly as he had expected. He faced the
angry face of the captain. Artpe shrugged his shoulders as he answered the
captain.
“So can you tell me who I’m supposed to make a deal with?”
Chapter 90 - Sleeping With the Enemy (3)

The captain had brought allies that would allow them to win the war. The
headquarters had responded by killing his subordinate, and they were being
attacked by several hundred knights. The captain gawked at the sudden turn of
events. However, Artpe wasn’t considerate of what the captain was going
through. He immediately grilled the captain.
“Who do I have to make a deal with?”
“What do you mean a deal? We don’t have time to idly talk about such stuff.
First, we have to resolve the misunderstanding……..”
How could a man be so foolish? Artpe didn’t hide his sneer.
“It would be great if we can resolve the misunderstanding. So…. What do you
want to say to those angry knights charging towards us? Your subordinate went
to report our current situation. Are you going to say something that is markedly
different from him?”
It was a mistake to call it a misunderstanding. This was why they couldn’t
resolve this so-called misunderstanding. If the other side wanted a different
answer, he would rather pose a different question.
It would be a problem that would be easy for them to read.
“······.”
“That is why I want you to answer my question. Who do I have to talk to amongst
them?”
The captain was having a hard time replying to Artpe’s words. In the end, he
was able to spit out a short phrase.
“He isn’t amongst them. He is in the barracks.”
“All right. You guys wait inside the carriage. Maetel, you should be ready for a
battle just in case.”
“Yes!”
He left Maetel in charge of the party, then Artpe took a step forward. In a flash,
he was in the midst of the charging knights.
“A powerful magician? Wartime mercenary? You brought someone here that is
spouting such nonsense! Are you out of your mind!”
“If he’s a magician, he is part of Aedia’s forces! This is obvious! How can you
fall for such an obvious lie….. Uht!”
His movement was so natural that the knights didn’t register Artpe within their
midsts for a brief moment. A brief moment was all Artpe needed to carry out
what he needed to do.
“I want you guys to stay here too.”

Artpe lightly swung a single strand of Mana String across the floor. All the
knights fell to the floor as both their legs were cut from under them. It didn’t
matter if the knights were charging towards or away from Artpe’s party. Several
hundred knights all fell to the floor.
“Koo-ha-ahhhhk!?”
“L...leg! My legs!”
“Stay put. If you struggle too much, you’ll cause your wounds to break open.
Naturally, it’ll make it harder for me to reattach your limbs.”
At Artpe’s words, they quieted down as if they had been spooked by a ghost. He
snorted as he headed towards the barrack. As if they knew Artpe had done
something, the entrance to the barracks had reopened. Additional troops
charged out of the barrack.
“Koo-ahhhhhhhk!”
They suffered the same fate as the ones that came out earlier.
“I just want a conversation.”
[Nyaa nyaa nyaa-ah.]
“No, it isn’t about my approach to the conversation. The problem is with their
manners.”
Several more knights ran out, but they stopped in place when they saw the other
knights rolling on the floor with their legs cut off. Their faces had turned pale. At
this point in time, Artpe had already neutralized 30% of the allied forces of Diatan
and Tiata.
“H...how can this be?”
“I’m guessing your representative isn’t in amongst you?”
No one answered Artpe’s question. They just nodded their heads, and they
opened the entrance to the barracks. The knights had already left in large
numbers, so the barracks were quite desolate. There was a table placed at the
end of the barracks, and there were several figures sitting at the head of table.
These figures remained seated.
“They dare let an intruder enter this place. It seems we’ll have to tighten
discipline amongst the knights!”
Suddenly, one of them stood up. When Artpe surveyed him through his Read All
Creation ability, he knew that the person was a level 230 knight. He was a
marquis of the Daiatan kingdom, and at the same time, he was the general of the
army. The one that was sitting at the head of the table was…..
[Angelo Zard]
[Human]
[King]
[Level : 243]
The young king of Daitan faced Artpe as he opened his mouth.
“It seems you know who I am.”
“Yes, you are the king. However, you are quite interesting.”
Artpe was frank as he nodded his head. However, in the next moment, he tilted
his head. Of course, the general had unsheathed his sword, and he was
charging towards Artpe. However. Artpe didn’t have a shred of interest in the
man.
“The head of Daiatan is supposed to have a belly full of fat instead of muscles.”
Moreover, his greed had been as large as his fat belly. This was why the hero’s
party from his previous life had suffered when they crossed over to this continent.
All the countries had tried to use the conflict between the Demon King and the
hero to their advantage.
“You are correct. However, there was a change not too long ago. No, I made
the change. A good opportunity had presented itself.”
A good opportunity?
Artpe tilted his head in puzzlement, but suddenly, a scene suddenly popped up
inside his head.
Frate’s auction and the incident with the Kraken felt as if it had happened not too
long ago. It hadn’t just been about Diaz. Many greedy people from many
nations had crossed the ocean to come to Diaz, and they had suffered a disaster.
This was a change from his past. When Diaz hosted the large scale Frate’s
Festival, all the fat nobles had gathered in Frate, and the Lunatic Wave had
completely sealed them in the city. Maybe, the other factions used this
opportunity to…...
“Get on your knees. How dare you speak like that to the absolute ruler of
Daiatan! Ahhhhhhhhhhht!?”
Artpe had been a bit surprised at the new information, and the general sensed an
opening. He closed the short distance.
However, he couldn’t even swing his sword against Artpe. He couldn’t lay a
finger on Artpe. As soon as Artpe entered the barracks, he had laid a trap with
his Mana Strings. The general was tied up by the Mana Strings.
“Do you mind if I kill him?”
[Nyaa nyaa?]
“······I’d prefer it if you refrained from killing him.”
The king answered him. It was admirable. The king was trying to maintain an
unperturbed expression, but he couldn’t hide the fact that one side of his smile
had curled down. It was to be expected. The king hadn’t stopped his general in
an attempt to get a gauge of Artpe’s powers. However, the general was
neutralized too easily. He couldn’t bring out even a little bit of Artpe’s true skill.
“All right. I’ll go easy on him. However, I’ll take money as recompense for his
insolence.”
“Koo-hahk!”
When Artpe flicked his finger, the Mana String around the general started to
unwound quickly. However, this had the effect of flinging the general towards the
direction he came from. He fell to the floor after hitting the wall of the barracks.
“Well, is anyone else going to stop me from speaking?”
“Let’s speak.”
The king had no other answer he was allowed to say. The king came to the
same conclusion as the captain, who had fought Artpe earlier. Since he couldn’t
control Artpe, he would try his best to stand on the same side as him. It seemed
the king wasn’t only high in level. He wasn’t a dunce, with no brains at all.
Artpe let out a bright smile as he spoke.
“My offer is simple. I’ll help you crush Aedia. As recompense, I want you guys to
fulfill my request.”
“The allied forces of Daitan and Tiata is already strong enough to vie for
supremacy against Aedia. So why should I hire you as a mercenary?”
“There is the risk and the opportunity cost. If you hire me, you won’t have to
sacrifice your soldiers, and it will consume much less time. I promise you that I’ll
have this wrapped up in a week. You’ve seen me use my abilities, so you know
what I’m saying isn’t impossible.”
“I want to say one week sounds impossible. However… I cannot fathom the
extent of your abilities, so I’ll have to trust in your words.”
The king agonized over his decision. For Artpe, it was enough that the king
hadn’t immediately rejected his words. Artpe was satisfied with his answer, so
he continued to speak.
“In return, you’ll have to agree to my small request. My request won’t be
burdensome if you aren’t being too greedy.”
“If so, I would have to hear what this request is first.”
Mmmm. He was acceptable. As a ruler of a nation, He was quite splendid If he
was like the ignorant kings from the old hero’s tales, he would have gotten angry
already. The kings from the old stories wouldn’t have wanted to get their hand
dirty, so they would have shouted at their soldiers to ‘Catch that damn fool!’ or
some phrase like that. However, the king wasn’t the problem right now. It was
someone else.
“We no longer have to hear more from him, sir Zard. He possesses an obscene
amount of magical energy. I’m sure he is with Aedia!”
“How can you say that, sir Eritard. If he was with Aedia, this war would have
ended by now. He wouldn’t go through all this trouble to talk with me. That is the
biggest proof that he isn’t with Aedia.”
“King of Daitan!”
“Stop it. Let’s hear him out first.”
A man had been sitting on the opposite side of the general. He spoke to the king
of Daitan as an equal, so his identity was easy to discern.
Artpe turned to look at him.
“Duke of Tiatia?”
“Ha. That’s right. I am Duke Eritard. I am from the Dukedom of Tiata.”
He hadn’t suspected it before when he entered the barracks, but both the rulers
of Daitan and Tiata was present inside. He was thankful, since he didn’t have to
travel to the Dukedom of Tiata. He asked his questions as he had such
thoughts.
“I said I’m going to win the war for you guys, so why are you trying to undercut
that deal? Are you really his ally?”
“You are powerful! What do you gain for allying with us!”
“What is it you want?”
“We want independence for our Dukedom!”
It was at that moment. Artpe followed up by shouting his own words after him!
“However, that is a feint! My true goal is the Forest of Eternity!”
“That’s right! Soon we will······ What!?”
The Duke nodded his head vigorously in agreement, but soon, his face stiffened.
In a flash, question marks and exclamation points popped up inside his head.
One didn’t need to see inside his head to know what he was thinking.
“······Forest of Eternity? What is the meaning of this?”
“Uh. It is nothing, sir Zard. I just became so agitated that I agreed with his
ridiculous words….”
“You spoke your real intention. So what’s going to happen within the Forest of
Eternity in the near future? ······are you going to use the magic spell you
prepared with Aedia over the years?”
“······!”
At Artpe’s continued interrogation, the Duke’s face turned white. If it was a
simple lie, there was no reason why a ruler of a nation would be flustered by
such words.
“H….how…. That······.”
However, Artpe’s words struck home. It was information no outsider should have
known, yet he was speaking it out loud. It would have been strange if he hadn’t
reacted at all. However, Artpe’s words continued to pour out.
“I know it all. Yes, you were probably the one that made the move on Daitan.
You told the king of Daitan that you were pursuing your independence. It’s a
likely story, so Daitain joined forces with you to attack Aedia….. However, your
true intentions has nothing to do with independence. You intentionally started a
war, so there would be a gap in the border defense. The Elves would take this
opportunity to attack the Dukedom. You want to to induce this scenario…….
You want to gain an excuse that you can use to ‘justify’ your actions.”
In his past life, a calamity had occurred within the Forest of Eternity. The Elves
wanted to regain complete freedom from the Dukedom of Tiata and Aedia. The
Elves would use the war as an opportunity to assemble their forces. However,
Aedia and the Dukedom of Tiata pounced on this opportunity as if they had
expected the Elves to act that way. They brought their plan to fruition. In short
order, they took complete control of the World Tree.
At the time, Aedia had received a lot of help from the hero, and the hero had
trusted Aedia completely. This was why the feeling of betrayal had been
enormous. In the end, she chose to fight with the Elves against Aedia.
This was the first incident where the hero had pointed her sword against a
human organization….. A single hero had brought down a kingdom with a rich
history. Every nation became afraid of the hero, and they refused to assist the
hero. It was the worst result for the hero.
After that incident, the hero’s fights became difficult. If the magician hadn’t joined
her party, the hero’s adventure would have come to an end.
However, events wouldn’t turn out like that this time around.
“······sir Eritard?”
“N...no…. It isn’t like that, sir Zard!”
Artpe had already a completely understanding of what happened in his past life.
Of course, there was a possibility that events would head towards the same path
as his previous life. However, his conversation and contract with Mycenae was
proof that things wouldn’t head towards that direction.
“You had no intentions of attacking Aedia in the first place. Didn’t Tiata draw you
into this?”
“······you are right on that account. I rose to seat of power by causing a rebellion.
I needed to divert the hate and resentment towards me to an outside source. Sir
Eritard’s offer was like a timely rain within a drought.”
“That is why you retracted your suspicion and hesitancy. You took up his offer.”
“Shut up!”
The Duke of Tiata realized Artpe had taken control of the narrative. He yelled out
as he stood up. He looked as if he wanted to rip Artpe’s lips in pieces, but
unfortunately, he was much weaker even when compared to the king of Daitan.
He was trash compared to them. The only thing he could do was make faces
and shout in frustration.
The king of Daitan watched the Duke of Tiata, who couldn’t keep himself in
control from the frustration he felt. On the other side, there was Artpe. He
possessed power, and he had an attitude that said, ‘the powerful do not need to
lie.’ Artpe’s words held more sway.
“I don’t know or care about the Forest of Eternity. I do know the Elves live there,
but that is the extent of my knowledge. So what you are saying is….. The goal
of the Dukedom of Tiata isn’t their independence. You think their true aim lies
within the Forest of Eternity.”
“You should think about why that man is so flustered. Why would he react so
negatively to a powerful being that would end the war quickly?”
A beginning of a smile on Artpe’s lips deepened. He extended one hand, and he
subdued the Duke of Tiata with his Mana Strings. The Duke became immobile.
“That bastard just wants to keep the ‘war’ going as long as possible. I’ve spell it
out the situation to this extent, so you probably have a good idea of what is going
on now.”
“······.”
As he traveled in the carriage, he had done more than just carve the Demite. He
killed Aedia’s magicians. He attempted to persuade Regina, and he played with
his party members. Moreover, he had gathered information on the road, town
and city. He assessed what was going on in the war.
In the end, he came to a single conclusion. The war had been going on for five
months, yet both sides were being passive. On top of that, the damage caused
by the war had been minimal.
“Oh, most sublime magician. Let me ask you this.”
The king of Daitan, Angelo Zard, asked him a question.
“Do you have the ability to lead my kingdom to victory without the help of Tiata?”
“Will you believe me no matter what my answer is?”
“That······.”
Artpe snorted as he spoke.
“Just follow me. I’ll let you see the truth with your own eyes.”
The king of Daitan was embarrassed to admit, but he was a bit intimidated by
Artpe’s forceful words. Still, he had a presence of mind to realize that he had to
answer the question presented to him by Artpe.
“······all right. Whatever you ask will less than the costs that will be incurred by
Aedia. I will put my trust in you. I will follow you.”
“Deal.”
Artpe grinned.
It was the moment when the outcome of the war was decided.
Chapter 91 - Sleeping With the Enemy (4)

“Foolish! How can you be so foolish!”

The Duke of Tiata stood up as he yelled out his words. He had witnessed
someone spurn the alliance with another nation in favor of an individual.
However, when he turned to look, the king of Daitan had an extremely peaceful
expression on his face.
“What is foolish about it? I’m trying to lead our side to victory in this drawn out
war. I tried my best to exclude all subjectivity when making this decision.”
“Do you really believe his words!?”
“Do I believe him? Even our alliance wasn’t based on absolute trust either. Isn’t
that right? I think you are mistaken about something important, sir Eritard.”
Strength entered into the clenched fists of the king of Daitan. He had remained
calm as Artpe entered the barracks. He maintained his calm even as Artpe sent
the general flying. However, there was a slight heat in his voice now.
“I only believe in one thing. I believe in absolute power. If I’m forced to choose
a side, of course, I’ll pick the magician. Isn’t it an obvious choice even from your
point of view?”
“He is Aedia’s······!”
“Yes. Since you brought up the subject of whether I believe his words or not, you
still haven’t come up with an excuse yet. What do you want from the Forest of
Eternity? We’ve already come this far, so I hope you won’t give some dumb
answer like you don’t know anything about it.”
The Duke of Tiata struck the table as he refuted the king’s words.
“I told you I have no connections to the Forest of Eternity! I won’t deny the fact
that there are hostilities between the Elves and our people. However, that’s a
separate issue! We really are trying to fight for our own independence…..!”
“If that is true, why were you trying discard this magician? You bullishly accused
him of being Aedia’s magician, and you kept nitpicking him for no reason! If
Aedia possessed a magician as strong as him, there is no way he would be
unknown to us!”
Actually, there was a magician that fit that exact description outside the barracks.
However, Artpe kept that to himself. It seemed the Duke of Tiata had the same
thought as him, but if he spoke those words out loud, he would be admitting his
allegiance to Aedia. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
“That is······ That is…...”
The Duke of Tiata was about to open his mouth, but he decided to keep it shut.
It would be great if he could pass this off with a likely excuse, but too much had
been revealed earlier. The gap in his story would only widen the more he spoke.
He was being bit from both sides by wolves, yet the only thing he could do was
to spit out blood.
This was why he went with his remaining option. He had to stress the fact that
the king of Daitan needed him. His expression turned cold as he spoke.
“Please think about it······! It would hard to hold the borders of Daitan if the
soldiers of Tiata doesn’t give support! Who cares if one has the most powerful
weapon if one doesn’t have a shield?”
“Ha. A shield…...”
It seemed the Duke of Tiata’s words had triggered a mine. The king of Daitan
had been trying to keep his cool until the end, but this enormous mine blew away
all his remaining patience!
“We can’t just maintain the status quo. We’ve already held out for far too long. In
the past five month, our progress have stalled. We are just going back and forth
in an endless loop of retreating and charging. Since the pathway to the ocean is
blocked by the Lunatic Wave, the plan was to bottle up Aedia from our side, and
the side of Tiata. We were supposed to weaken Aedia by raiding them through
the fall and winter. We were supposed to make them use up all their resources,
yet that hasn't happened. Aedia seems to have felt no ill effects. Instead, my
country is suffering! I have no choice, but to use special countermeasures!”
The attack on the port city of Belata was part of his special countermeasures.
Daitan had reached its limit. This was why they broke the international law by
sending their elite troops against Belata. It was a last ditch attempt to tilt the
balance of war in their favor.
Even if they were able to secure the upper hand in the war, it was as if all their
problems would have been solved. Daitan was already seen as the invader, and
now his country would have caused civilian deaths. Daitan’s future was dark
even if they had won the war.
Despite this fact, the king of Daitan had pursued this course of action. It was
proof that Daitain was truly in a bad spot.
Artpe asked him a question.
“Who came up with this plan in the first place? Who came up with this plan of
pressuring Aedia to make it a war of attrition?”
“Sir Eritard suggested the plan, and I went along with it. In the end, it turned out
like this.”
The king of Daitan shook as he freely expressed his anger and a sense of
powerlessness. When he heard those words, Artpe couldn’t help but smirk.
Was the king’s intelligence lacking compared to the strong power he possessed?
Or did he put trust in the honor between men to establish the alliance? It didn’t
matter what had occured. Either option had been endlessly foolish.
“Let’s think this through. The ocean is not passable right now. The north and the
western border was closed. No resources are able to enter into Aedia, so how
are they able to hold out so well? Did they use their awesome power of magic to
transport supplies?”
“You are talking about transporting supplies to feed an enormous army…... Is it
possible?”
“If they have hundred magicians like me, it is possible. However, if they were
capable of such a feat, they would have just wiped out the capital of Daitan.
Basically, there is no way they could have received supplies from an outside
source.”
It was one of the skills he had needed as one of the Four Heavenly Kings. It was
the skill to play one side against the other! Words flowed out of Artpe like water
as he made a persuasive argument. The king of Daitan’s eyes turned sharper as
he looked towards the Duke of Tiata. Since there was no possible way Aedia
could receive supply from an outside source, that only left the Dukedom of Tiata.
The Duke was supposed to be his ally!
“Bullshit! You and I came up with that plan in collaboration!”
The king of Daitan’s gaze was so intense that he felt a tingle all over his body.
The Duke of Tiata straightened himself as he yelled out. The king of Daitan
nodded his head.
“I did agree with your plan. However, five months have passed, and this is the
result of that plan. In your opinion, how do you think our enemies replenished
their supplies? Please persuade me once again like before.”
“Sir Zard······!”
This was the end. There was suspicion but no evidence. However, the mood
had decidedly shifted against him. He wouldn’t be able to overturn this.
The words spoken by the king of Daitan was the decisive factor. Logic wasn’t
important right now. It was power. It didn’t matter if the king believed the
Dukedom of Tiata wasn’t connected to Aedia. The king of Daitan had made a
choice, and he wouldn’t budge from it.
The Duke of Tiata grinded his teeth.
“Are you really going to look down on my Dukedom like this!? Are you confident
that you won’t regret this later on!”
“I’m already having regrets. I’ve risen to kingship through a rebellion. I was afraid
of the public unrest, so I rushed into a war with another nation. Now my nation is
at the brink of ruins, so I regret my decisions everyday.”
The king of Daitan wielded his words like a sword. At this point, his expression
turned cold like a snow storm, and the tone of his voice changed.
“I couldn’t let go of the only rope available to me, so I held onto a rotten rope. I
couldn’t get off this sinking ship, so I played out this abominable play several
times. I kept going through the three-act play to get to a resolution. I waited for
it. However, the ship sunk, and I was on a ghost ship. I don't care if the rope is
coated with shit. I’ll hold onto it if it is new. I haven’t lived this long by repeatedly
making foolish decisions. I will do as I’ve always done!”
“All right. I’ll show you that there is more to regret in this life! Even if you realize
too late that you made the wrong decision, you won’t be able to take it back!”
“You dare!”
The king of Daitan swung down a Mana infused towards the Duke of Tiata. It
was merely a symbolic gesture that was meant to sever the relationship between
the two nations!
“I’ll definitely repay you for what you’ve done today…. Uht!?”
“Eh-eet.”
Artpe was proud that his skill of playing one side against the other hadn’t rusted
away from his days as the Four Heavenly King. He extended his hand toward
the Duke of Tiata, who was taking a line out of the ‘Required Reading for Villains
on How to Exit in Style.’
A teleportation Artifact was being activated around the Duke of Tiata after the
Duke fulfilled a specific condition. Artpe extended several dozen Mana Strings
from his fingertips, and he wound it around the Duke. He prevented the Artifact
from being used, and he pulled with his hand.
“What!?”
“Huht!”
The Duke of Tiata became surprised, and the king of Daitan, who had swung his
word, also became surprised. He had swung his word in anger, but he never
expected a leader of a nation not to dodge the blow. Unexpectedly, the king’s
sword cut the Duke of Tiata in half!
“All right. That takes care of Tiata.”
“······.”
He had killed his former ally, so the king of Daitan had an unbelievably
uncomfortable expression on his face. He put his sword away as he turned
towards Artpe. Artpe was retrieving the Artifact from the corpse. He had a
delighted look on his face.
“This is an Artifact used for an emergency exit. It can only be used once. It’s my
lucky day.”
“You really are······ I am well aware of the fact that you possess overwhelming
abilities as a magician…. Hoo. So that is why….”
The king of Daitan pressed for an answer from Artpe, who was his ‘only’ ally left.
“I want to hear about your overall plan. I’m not deny the fact that you possess
enormous power, but how can you end a war just by yourself?”
“You really don’t know much about what magicians are capable of. You were
quite lucky in being able to cut down your former ally.”
“Unfortunately, our country doesn’t have any outstanding magicians. Also, I
hadn’t liked him in the first place.”
Basically, he was saying a good excuse had shown up, so he had taken the
initiative. Artpe was a bit dumbfounded by his answer. He replied back.
“Just keep in mind that I have a Great magic spell that can bring the capital of
Aedia to its knees. There is no need to cause a bloodbath by attacking the
periphery of Aedia. It’ll be annoying. If we are to conquer Aedia, we’ll have to
worry about the civilian population. It isn’t as if Daitan has an unlimited number
of troops. I don’t want a lot of blood to be shed.”
It was words that shouldn’t be coming out from the mouth of a former Four
Heavenly King. However, he had completely left behind his former self in his
present life!
This didn’t mean he would go running around pursuing peace as a hero.
However, the king of Daitan didn’t focus on his words. He was still busy trying to
gauge the power of Artpe’s magical energy and spells.
“A Great magic spell that can guarantee the downfall of the capital….. I have no
choice, but to trust in you. All right.”
It seemed he had finished his calculations. He raised his head to lock eyes with
Artpe. There was a twinkle in his eyes.
“Let us go to the capital at full speed. What about your party?”
“They are probably yowling by now. They’ll come looking for me soon. Let us
gather here once again after three hours. I want you to gather couple dozen of
your core troops.”
“Couple dozen sounds too little…..”
“It’ll be easy. I’ll bring down Aedia with my power. However, it is up to you and
your people to seize the capital. ”
The king of Daitan wondered if he had been wise in hiring Artpe. However, the
milk had already been spilled. He cleared the bitter taste in his mouth as he
asked a question.
“I still haven’t heard the most important component of this venture. What is your
request?”
“Ah. That’s right. I haven’t told you that yet.”
It had been so hectic that he had forgotten to relay that information. Artpe let out
a bitter laugh as he spoke.
“It is about the Forest of Eternity. I want you to leave that place alone.”
The king waited for a while, but Artpe no longer said anything. When he realized
that was the entirety of Artpe’s request, the king asked in a baffled manner.
“······is that really it?”
“It won’t be an easy request. People won’t stop just because you said so. That is
why this is a only a rough overview of my request. When the war ends, I want
you to safely absorb Aedia and Tiata into your kingdom. Then I want you to
make a new law. I want you to make it so that people won’t cause harm to the
Forest of Eternity.”
It was as Artpe had said. This wouldn’t be an easy request. Money and Artifacts
were a one time payments. On the other hand, this request had to be upheld as
long as the kingdom of Daitan existed. Still, Artpe’s help would allow Daitan to
conquer both Aedia and Tiata. There was no way the king would balk at this
price.
“······are you perhaps a descendant of the Elves?”
The king had been prepared to give away parts of Aedia or Tiata. He couldn’t
hide his dismay as he asked the question.
Artpe answered him.
“Nope. This is just a Quest for me.”
Chapter 92 - Sleeping With the Enemy (5)

When Artpe exited the barracks, the large number of legless knights weren’t
present. Instead, the captain stood waiting for him. He was the one that had
guided Artpe’s party to this place.
“W...what…. What happened?”
“Just go in. I think he might promote you.”
“That means…...!”
At Artpe’s reply, a healthy glow returned to the captain’s face. He belted out his
official rank and name before he entered the barracks. Artpe shrugged his
shoulders as he watched the captain’s back. When he approached the carriage,
his party members had remained in the same position as when he left the
carriage. They were on standby.
“Did everything go well, Artpe?”
“Of course. Ah. Also, Regina...”
“The distance between us cannot be lessened by calling out to me in a familiar
manner.”
“······.”
Artpe thought about hitting her, but he firmly pressed down on that desire. While
they traveled to this place, she had revealed her name to him. He had thought
she had opened a little bit of her heart to him. It seemed Artpe had been foolish
for having such thoughts.
“You can have this.”
Artpe didn’t go out of his way to dispute her words. He extended his hand
towards her. Regina was leery and suspicious. She reluctantly raised one hand
as if she had no choice in this matter, and she took the item given to her.
Her expression went through a rapid change.
“This is······ Why?”
It was the emergency escape Artifact he had stolen from the Duke of Tiata. Of
course, the destination picked by the Duke of Tiata was at the heart of the
Dukedom of Tiata.
Artpe’s proficiency in using the Mana Strings was increasing daily. He hadn’t
needed to destroy the Artifact. It had been possible for him to temporarily
neutralize the Artifact, and it allowed him to recover the Artifact intact.
For some reason, he was giving the Artifact to Regina, who was his captive!
Regina was so taken aback that she stopped moving after she received the
Artifact. Artpe thought she looked pretty funny. He continued to speak.
“I met the Duke, and I got it from him. It was a fortuitous turn of events, and I’m
giving this to you.”
“Duke······?”
She unconsciously blurted out her reply, and her expression stiffened. Artpe was
openly against Aedia. If the Duke was inside the barracks, Artpe had probably
met the Duke, and……...
“Is the Duke dead?”
“Yes.”
“Discouraged. I couldn’t stop it. The Duke is one of the people with authority
over me. My negligence led to my owner’s death.”
It was odd. There was an expression of despair on Regina’s face. She lowered
her head. The fact that she was obsessed with her orders did make her look like
a golem…... Well, it seemed she was still mistaken about a key fact. Artpe
smirked as he spoke.
“There is no one except the Duke that can give you orders within the Dukedom,
right?”
“Affirmative.”
“That means no one can order you in the short term if you use the Artifact to
travel to the Dukedom.”
“When I’m freed from my master, I have to immediately return to Aedia. I have
no freedom. It is a foolish belief.”
Regina looked truly taken aback by all of this. Artpe put on a kind smile as he
spoke to her.
“Your spells are all attack and control type magic. Even if you use your stupidly
large reservoir of Mana, it’ll take you a week to reach Aedia from Tiata. I’ll have
all of this wrapped up if you take over a week to get there.”
“······how do you know about my Skills?”
“I have an observation Skill.”
In truth, it was his Innate ability. Regina had become surprised when he hit the
nail on the head with his remarks. She nodded her head as she readily accepted
his explanation.
“Affirmative. I cannot return to Aedia in the allotted time. That is why you won’t
suffer any tactical loss by giving me this item…. However, you also gain nothing
from doing this. Why?”
Why was he allowing her to go to Tiata? If he wanted her to become his party
member, he should be trying to keep her next to him. Why did he bring her all
the way here just to let her go?
It was an obvious question to ask, and Artpe answered her.
“It’s because I have a favor to ask of you.”
“······understood. You are an idiot. You are incapable of making rational
decisions.”
Artpe ignored Regina’s insults as he continued to speak.
“I don’t care if you return to Aedia. You’ll be starting your journey from Tiata.
Even at your fastest speed, you won’t be able to affect the situation in Aedia.
Isn’t it so? Since you can’t change anything, I would like you to go to Aedia in a
roundabout way. I would like you to pass by the border of the Forest of Eternity.”
“A roundabout way…..?”
Regina had been about to ignore Artpe’s words. She was about to activate the
Artifact. She tilted her head. Artpe nodded his head as he spoke.
“There is something there that you have to see for yourself. You’ll change after
seeing it.”
His words finally made her realize that Artpe hadn’t given up trying to persuade
her. At that moment, a strange feeling bloomed within her heart. She denied it
by shaking her head from side to side.
“······golems do not change. We only change in level.”
“Do you really think that?”
“Golems follow their owners. Once a golem is separated from the owner, the
golem finds and returns to its owner.”
Regina spoke as if this was an established fact. However, she hesitated a little
bit after speaking those words. She nodded her head, and she made an
additional remark.
“I’ll take the roundabout way to prove this fact.”
“In the end, you are accepting my request.”
“Detestable.”
A small amount of her will was infused in her glare as she gripped the Artifact
given to her by Artpe. For some reason, she turned to look at Sienna before the
Artifact activated.
It was understandable. Artpe had been the one to imprison her. Maetel had
stuck close to Artpe, and she had been vigilant against Regina. The only one
she had the opportunity to form an attachment was Sienna. As expected, Sienna
didn't’ fall short of Regina’s expectations. Sienna had a bright smile on her face
as she waved her hand.
“See you soon, Regina.”
“······I won’t be coming back.”
Even as Regina spoke those words, there was a sliver of a smile when she heard
Sienna’s words. Maetel snorted when she saw this.
“That’s right. Don’t come back. Never come back.”
“You are going to catch their stupidity. You should escape before you are
infected.”
Regina kept saying silly things until the end. The emergency exit Artifact
activated in an instant, and Regina left. She was transported from the
headquarters of Daitan to Tiata in an instant.
“Hoo. This should wrap things up for the time being.”
Artpe let out a sigh as he looked at the empty seat. Maetel was also looking at
Regina’s empty seat. She suddenly called out his name.
“······Artpe.”
“Huh?”
“Artpe usually acts on logic rather than feeling, right?”
“That’s right?”
“From the beginning to end, why are you trying to appeal to her emotions?”
Artpe stopped for a brief moment, but soon, he smirked as he turned to look at
Maetel.
“In what way have I been appealing to her emotions?”
“Regina said she was a golem, yet you continue to treat her as a human with free
will.”
“That’s because she possesses free will?”
“······yes, I see.”
Maetel didn’t show much surprise at his answer. She nodded her head. It was
the same for Sienna. It seemed they had roughly known what was going on from
the start. Her questions to Artpe were merely confirming her suspicions.
“Oppa. Regina isn’t a golem, right?”
Sienna asked the question. Artpe mulled it over for a brief moment. He decided
it would be best to tell them the truth in advance if they were going to bring
Regina into their party.
He calmly gathered his thoughts, then he spoke.
“Yes. If she is a golem, the magical engineering field will have to change their
definition.”
It was true that the magicians had created a miracle.
The Demite could grow and use magic, but it possessed no vitality. However, it
possessed a firm will, and the magicians used this will as a background to give it
a body that can be used.
However, they were mistaken about one thing. It was the fact that they hadn’t
created a golem with the Demite. In the end, golems were tools that always
followed the orders of their masters.
Regina possessed independent consciousness, so how could she be a golem?
It was a bad joke. Currently, Regina was a Demite that had acquired a body.
She wasn’t someone more or someone less than that. In fact, she was closer to
being a human than a golem. No, it was more apt to say she was of a humanoid
race that was infinitely similar to a human.
“It probably took countless trials and errors. They probably spend unbelievable
amount of resources to create a body that can accept a Demite in its entirety. I
applaud them for succeeding. However, that was all they were able to do. They
couldn’t control her. They tried putting in control measures that would have
worked on a golem, but it didn’t work. That is why they used the magic of
suggestion.”
“Suggestion······.”
“Yes, it was the power of suggestion.”
Suggestion.
Regina had shown off this skill before. It was a type of magic that stimulated the
opponent’s mind. It made the subject naturally trust and follow the caster’s
words. Regina had nonchalantly hypnotized several thousand humans, yet she
was hypnotized herself too. It was an amusing situation.
“When her body and mind was immature, the magicians continuously placed
restrictions on her. They told her other golems acted in a certain way, so she
had to act in the same way as the golems. They planted the idea that she would
be in big trouble if she went against them. They told her she wasn’t capable of
doing certain things, and she must follow only them. Countless suggestions
were layered on top of each other, and these suggestions became absolute
restrictions in her mind.”
“She originally had free will, but the suggestions…...”
They hadn’t been with Regina for a long time, but it was clear to them that she
wasn’t living a free life. She had to swallow her words, because she couldn’t
speak certain words that were forbidden to her. She had sporadically tried to
escape, and he had also seen her repeatedly perform specific actions as if she
was doing it out of obligation.
The only reason why she had conversed with Artpe’s party was the fact that his
party was too powerful for her. Normally, she never conversed with strangers.
She conducted missions given to her by her ‘master.’ After returning from her
mission, she trained in magic, and she leveled up. She lived her life by repeating
this cycle.
How could she have time to converse with others?
Of course, this was why the way she spoke was weird.
“······they are really bad people.”
Maetel came to a decision as to what was right and what was wrong. She no
longer looked guarded when talking about Regina. Again, Sienna had a different
reaction from Maetel. She became angry.
“They are really bad. I want to punish all of them.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be punishing all of them.”
Artpe had expected such a response, so he replied in an apathetic manner. At
that moment, Maetel asked him a question in an argumentative manner. Of
course, he had expected this question too.
“Why didn’t you tell her this, Artpe? You had plenty of opportunities.”
“I had captured her as an enemy. Do you think the suggestion spell will break
just because I spoke to her? It might have caused the spell to gain a firmer
footing within her.”
“Then······.”
“That is why I sent her to Tiata.”
Originally, he had planned on wiping out the group of people that were called her
‘masters.’ Afterwards, he would have slowly unravelled the suggestions
ingrained within her. However, something unexpected had happened. He had
gained a ticket from the Duke. The Artifact would allow him to send Regina to
Tiata. His task became easier.
“She might be hurt more in the short term, but this method will allow her to heal
faster. ······also this will allow us to lessen the damage caused to others.”
“You want her to come to the Forest of Eternity, right? What’s there, Artpe?”
A bitter smile formed on Artpe’s lips.
“It’s something we have always seen. It doesn’t matter where one goes. The
outward appearance of human greed can be changed, but it just lurks beneath
the surface.”
At that point, Maetel and Sienna accepted his words, and they backed off. Artpe
let out a sigh of relief when he saw this. The two of them were focused on
Regina, so he was able to give an evasive answer.
However, Maetel’s observation was correct. For some reason, he had been
empathetic towards Regina.
The fact that she wasn’t a golem didn’t fully explain his behavior. When dealing
with Regina, he relied on an unconvincing possibility. He had been way too soft
on her. Of course, he acted this way even knowing that there was a possibility
she wouldn’t become a member of his party.
Regina had been shackled for the past 200 years just because she was born
through the hands of magicians. In his past life, he had been bound by the
Demon King. He felt an unbelievable amount of anger when he saw Regina,
who was bound without her knowledge. She had done nothing wrong. He
couldn’t let it be.
He had plenty coercive measure he could have used to completely bring down
the Demon King. It would have allowed him to live a comfortable life into his old
age. However, he hadn’t done pursued these course of actions.
Maybe, he had tried to come find Regina as soon as possible, because of this
following reason.
‘I’m the personification of irrationality. I’m acting selfish by only being
sympathetic towards beings that are in a similar plight as me. Who did this?
Who the hell revived a lowlife demon into a hero?’
Still, there was nothing he could do about what had occurred. This was his life
now. He let out a bitter laugh as he watched his party members firm their
resolves to invade Aedia. He stopped thinking about such thoughts as he took
out the Demite’s Gemstone. As if to say she understood his feeling, Roa let out
a short meow.
Artpe snorted.
“I still won’t give you this, you dork.”
[Nyaa.]
On that night, Artpe was successful in refining the Demite.
The party departed with the king of Daitan, and the select elite soldiers chosen
by him. They headed towards the capital of Aedia.
Chapter 93 - Forest of Eternity (1)

In truth, Artpe didn’t really like riding horses. In his past life, he had led a life that
was embarrassingly devoid of much physical activities. Moreover, he hadn’t
developed any amicable relationships with other creatures in his past life.
“Heeeeeeeng!”
“Stop lick me! Stop licking me!”
This was why his current predicament was all the more unfamiliar. Since they
had to travel at top speed with the knights, he had no choice but to accept the
war horses prepared for his party by Daitan. For some reason, the horses were
very complaisant in Artpe’s presence.
“They really are all over you, Artpe…... ….are they females?”
“I checked. The horses are male. Moreover, you of all people shouldn’t be
saying that.”
These were horses trained by the throne. They were trained to accept and follow
orders from all riders, yet they shouldn’t be this obedient. The horses were
almost gleeful in following Maetel and Artpe. It was only happening to them. At
some point, Artpe realized he had been instinctively using one of the hero’s
abilities.
‘······still, I hope they don’t discover that I am a hero because of this.’
In truth, he had become strong enough, so he didn’t need to hide the fact that he
was a hero. However, he was leery of openly carrying out the work of a hero
when one considered that the Demon King’s army was on the move.
‘Oh well. If I carry out the work of a hero, there will come a time when I’ll clash
directly against the Demon King’s army. It might not matter even if I reveal
myself. Everything is turning out differently from my past life. If I take that into
account, the Four Heavenly Kings should be mobilizing by now. Ah. Still, I
would like to delay going to the Demon world until I resolve everything on this
side. I doubt things will go as smoothly as I want…...’
“Magician. If you don’t know how to ride a horse, would you like to ride behind
me?”
Artpe had been going through his thoughts while he was being licked by his
horse. The king of Daitan tried to get ahold of Artpe. Artpe had been waiting for
the offer, so his face brightened as he was about to take up on the offer.
However, Maetel let out an unabashed laughter as she grabbed Artpe’s arm.
“You can ride behind me, Artpe.”
“You’ve also never ridden a horse.”
“I think I can ride it.”
It was true! She had never learned how to ride a horse. However, she handled
the horse as well as the knights after forcing Artpe to sit behind her. Sienna also
was doing well on a horse, and this caused Artpe to feel aggrieved.
“I’m sure I can ride a horse by myself.”
“Not a chance.”
However, his pride as a man crumbled under the hero’s personal desire. There
was no way Maetel was going to let Artpe go.
“I’m fine if we stay this way forever!”
“I’m sorry, but centaurs are not my cup of tea.”
Artpe gave a cold reply as he let out a sigh. Sienna was riding along right next to
them on her horse. On the other side, the king rode his horse. The knights
surrounded them like an honor guard.
“This is a great formation if we want to be killed by a bombardment from the
magicians.”
“In truth, we’ve used this method throughout the war. We thought we could
overrun our enemies by attacking in a bunched formation…….”
“Did you really think you could just mow down magicians through strength? It is
such a knuckleheaded approach. I can see why you’ve been tricked by the Duke
of Tiata for so long.”
“······you are my ally, but you really are impudent.”
Daitan was surprisingly inadequate in their ability to deal with magicians. It
seemed they had relied on Tiata to take care of the magicians. They had chosen
the worst possible option.
“We are traveling at such a slow speed. Are you sure we’ll be able to be within
Aedia in a week?”
“These are all war horses that are above level 80. You don’t have to worry too
much about it.”
“So there are no problems with the horses.”
That left the gears. Artpe thought over it for a brief moment. He nodded his
head as he spread both his hands. The magical energy sleeping within his body
boiled out of him, and it spread into the surrounding.
“Hoo-ooh······ Go.”
“Artpe?”
Maetel tilted her head when she sensed him activate his Mana. In the next
moment, Artpe’s magical energy surrounded the war horses, who were fiercely
galloping down the road. To be precise, his magical energy surrounded the
saddles and horseshoes. When the king and the knights realized that Artpe had
activated his Mana, they flinched as they turned their heads to look at Artpe.
“What magic did you just use?”
“It wasn’t magic. It’s a skill. You’ll find out soon.”
Artpe had activated a skill called Reinforcement. It wasn’t the permanent
Reinforcement he had used up until now. It was a Reinforcement that
temporarily boosted the performance of objects. Artpe’s Reinforcement skill
could do everything. It was a multifaceted skill!
The temporary Reinforcement used far less Mana compared to the permanent
Reinforcement, and unlike the permanent Reinforcement, the temporary
Reinforcement was great for casting simultaneously. It also left no traces behind
after expiring. It allowed one to use it indiscriminately and without much thought.
That was its advantage. It was perfect for this situation.
‘Let’s see….·.’
He reinforced the horseshoes. It caused the horse to be less tired, and it
affected the leg muscles. It allowed the horse to run faster and longer. Then he
Reinforced the saddle. It replenished the vitality of the person sitting on the
saddle.
The saddle and the horseshoe had a symbolic meaning and Record. He used
his power as a mage to make these items into what they were in the present
reality Artpe Reinforced the gears equipped by several dozen horses, and he
was successful in creating temporary Artifacts.
“The horses have become noticeably faster! How is this possible?”
“My god. I’m sitting on a horse running at full tilt, yet it is so comfortable! It is as
if I’m sitting on top of a bed!”
Soon, everyone spoke out in admiration. Artpe’s triumphant expression made
him look slightly douchey, but it was true that he had increased the party’s speed
by 20% with a wave of his hand. Moreover, he had alleviated the discomforts
caused by the travel. The king looked at Artpe with new eyes.
“Do all magicians possess such a variety of abilities?”
“No, I’m the only one.”
“Oh oh. You really are a douche.”
“You’ll regret those words soon.”
Artpe snorted as he spread both hands. When the king saw this sight, he yelled
out in surprise.
“Are you going to use it one more time!?”
“Nope.”
About half of Artpe’s Mana had exited his body, and it was tossing around his
body. It was an overwhelming amount of Mana considering it was an amount
possessed by a single individual. The Mana was refined for the use of the
Reinforcement skill, and it surrounded the party once again. Once. Twice.
“M...my god······!”
The king’s face crumbled from the shock he felt. A deep smile formed on Artpe’s
lips.
“I didn’t use it once. I used it twice.”
“You really are a douchey······!”
Even if Artpe possessed massive amount of Mana, he had simultaneously
Reinforced the saddles and horseshoes of couple dozen horses. He had done it
three times, so he had used 80% of his Mana. He panted as he leaned against
Maetel’s back. He asked her a question.
“What do you think.”
“I like the feel of you leaning against me from exhaustion, but I’d rather want you
to hug me in a loving way.”
“No, I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about the speed, you dork.”
“Mmm. I think we are moving about three times faster.”
Even if it was only a temporary Reinforcement, he had casted it three times in a
row. A flow of Mana that had caused rapid changes had swept through, and
there was no way such a change would be temporary.
The saddles and horseshoes on the war horses shone with a red metallic sheen.
Their gears had turned into a low rank Artifact. Even when the duration time of
the Reinforcement came to an end, the effect on a single Reinforcement would
be left behind permanently.
“A magician is capable of calmly doing things that are unimaginable to us.”
“It really is a bloodcurdling amount of power. It makes me want to idolize him.”
“There was a time when I wanted to become a magician in my youth…...”
The king and his knights sang Artpe’s praises as they cut through the winds. The
men of the north went nuts over being able to travel at such high speeds! On the
other hand, Maetel looked miffed as she rode her horse in rhythm.
“······one week is too short.”
“Be quiet, dummy.”
Thanks to Artpe’s unexepected support, the party was able to charge towards the
capital of Aedia at a ridiculous pace. It was befitting to call them a strike force.
The performance and endurance of the horses and men were improved to the
extreme. It wasn’t a joke to say that they were moving three times as fast as
their initial speed.
On the other hand, how could they avoid notice when a party of men on their
horses were speeding through a region embroiled in war?
Aedia boasted a magical communication system that reached the entirety of its
nation. They boasted an information network that was considered to be the best
amongst all nations. This was why an elite force of magicians escorted by
soldiers were mobilized to stop Artpe’s party.
“Stop!”
“It seems you’ve finally lost your mind from the stress caused by the war. You’ve
crawled into the heart of Aedia. Haven’t you realized the might of Aedia after
being abused for the past five months!”
Of course, they were on the road, so the royal magicians wouldn’t be here.
However, they did send a first wave of magicians. They were capable of space
magic and deterrent magic. While the first group stalled their enemies, another
group of magicians would use their attack magic on them. That was supposed to
be the plan…....
“Magician, they are….”
“I know.”
The magicians that appeared in the distance made the ground smooth, and they
raised earthen walls to stop the charge of Artpe’s party. When Artpe confirmed
with his Read All Creation that the magicians were nearby, Artpe lightly swung
his hand, and all the spells were made useless.
“Koo-hahk!?”
“T...the Mana…..! W...we have to report this to the throne…. Kah-hahk!”
In a flash, the magician were overpowered, and they realized a much powerful
magician was present on Daitan’s side. They tried their best to relay this
information to the throne, but the attempt was thwarted. In an instant, Artpe was
victorious.
His skill level was high, so he was able to cause physical and magical effects at
great distance. He could extend his Mana Strings for couple kilometers. Of
course, he wouldn’t wait for his enemies to use their Artifacts or magic!
“K...koohk. He is using perception magic! I have no idea what magic spell he is
using!”
“Idiots! Attack the magician!”
“We aren’t in range! Moreover, something is breaking up the Mana itself…..
Kahk!”
Only a very few high level people had the capacity to see the several hundred
strands of Mana Strings in the air. At Artpe’s will, the Mana Strings cut, smash
and erased anything that opposed Artpe. Maetel had a knowing smile on her
face as she mumbled to herself.
“In the end, you are using Mana Strings?”
“Are you complaining?”
After acquiring the Mana String, the spell had pretty much become Artpe’s middle
name. In the past year, Artpe purposefully chose to use the Mana String spell
when other spells would have been sufficient.
The reason being the Mana String was versatile. However, it also had to do with
the event that had occurred in his fight against the Ancient Kraken. A Unique
skill had strengthened the spell, yet no tangible effect had been seen. Basically,
it had fired a blank, yet Artpe didn’t think this was the case.
‘Still, I haven’t seen much change from it.’
The Unique spell was made in such a way that he couldn’t thoroughly observe it
through his Read All Creation ability. It had an element of chaos that couldn’t be
specified.
In the past year, his spell had gone from level 60 to being at the cusp of level 70,
yet he couldn’t say that he was able to perfectly handle this spell.
“A...amazing. He killed so many magicians in an instant…...!”
“Oh oh oh. Our magician is invincible! Invincible!”
“Magician! Magician!”
Aedia’s magician had always fucked over Daitan, yet these magicians had died
so easily by Artpe’s hands. The knights of Daitain were hot blooded. They sang
Artpe’s praise in joy. It seemed they had completely forgotten about what they
had suffered under Artpe’s hands not too long ago.
“You are amazing, magician! At this pace, it’ll be possible to take over the palace
within four days!”
“We are moving noisily through this region. Aren’t you worried that the enemy
will harden their defense when they hear about us?”
“In my opinion, you are purposefully revealing our presence..”
“······yes, you aren’t wrong.”
As expected of someone that was occupying the kingship of a country, he had a
good sense. Artpe grinned when he heard the king’s words. Artpe
acknowledged it.
“I’m trying to taunt them as much as possible. I want to make them so angry that
they’ll bring in all kinds weapons into the capital. On the other hand, we can’t
give them too much time, or they’ll come up with a different plan.”
“What….. What do you plan on doing in the capital?”
He had wanted someone to ask that very quest. The king’s timing was
impeccable.
Artpe grinned as he replied.
“It’ll be this world’s dirtiest and fanciest festival.”
Exactly a day and a half passed.
Artpe’s party able to see the capital of Aedia with their eyes.
Chapter 94 - Forest of Eternity (2)

“Hoo. I see it.”

“······we really can see it. I still can’t believe it.”
They had destroyed everything that was in their way. At times, they took a short
break, and they had to heal their horses. However, they were able to reach the
capital of Aedia in just two days.
If a trained war horse ran its fastest speed on minimal break, the estimated
arrival time had been one week. The current result was like a smack on the nose
to the king of Daitan.
“We should slow down soon, your majesty! I can see the enemy force!”
“Wow. I’ve never seen so many magicians gathered in one place!”
Aedia had sent multiple small elite units towards Artpe’s party one after another,
but they determined a small force couldn’t stop the progress of Artpe’s party.
They even attempted to use a spell that would have incinerated a small territory.
However, the spell was stopped before it could be activated. It was decided the
powers within the capital had to be mobilized.
Aedia had sent out magicians to ascertain the extent of power possessed by
Artpe’s party, but they had lost contact with all the magicians. This was why the
only thing known about Artpe’s party was its size.
It was also the reason why they had declared this the worst crisis since the
founding of Aedia as a nation.
They gathered everyone that was capable of using magic to face their enemy!
The quantity of magicians that could be thrown at their enemies was something
only the magic kingdom of Aedia could do.
The only problem that remained was the fact that they were having a hard time
evacuating the civilians. It was to be expected. At the guidance of Artpe,
Daitan’s troops had arrived in just two days. It hadn’t been too long since Aedia
had realized the seriousness of the problem they faced. Two days was too short
of a time to finish their preparations.
“The defense facilities installed all over Aedia are too good that they’ve never
experienced their capital being ransacked by enemy forces. Of course, they have
a procedure to deal with an attack on the captial. They possess evacuation
sites.”
Artpe gave a running commentary to his party as they watched the capital, which
had turned upside down from the impending attack from an enemy force. The
magicians were all gathered, and the civilians within the city were running about
in confusion. It was a funny sight.
“Artpe, do we have to kill the civilians?”
Maetel bit her lips as she spoke. Artpe grinned as he shook his head from side
to side.
“I decided to go straight towards the capital, because I wanted to minimize
civilian casualties. So why would I order you to do something like that?”
“But Artpe…. I can feel an enormous amount of Mana from the capital. If we
clash against them, how can we not cause harm to the civilians…...?”
“What do you mean by clash against them?”
“Huh?”
Artpe’s reply was unexpected, so Maetel titled her head. The fact that he wasn’t
going to attack civilians weren’t the important part. He was stating that he would
bring everything to a halt before he would have to fight the enemy force! When
the king of Daitan heard their conversation, he questioned Artpe in disbelief.
“Is there a way to subdue our enemies without clashing against them?”
“Well, they are getting ready to fight to the death, so why should we get bloodied
by charging straight into them······? I won’t be affected, but a lot of your knights
will be killed.”
“However, you baited them into making those preparations…...?”
The king of Daitan had an expression on his face that said he was ready to shed
a bowl or two of blood for victory. Artpe smirked when he saw this.
“I told you that this would be the world’s dirtiest and fanciest festival. It won’t be
much of a festival if someone dies..”
“A war where countless people die en masse is a festival. If not, what else could
it be?”
“Nope. You guys don't have to do anything. I’ll show you myself.”
This was what was wrong with muscle-brained knights. Artpe clicked his tongue
as he used a spell. His body floated into the air.
“I’ll be going first. You guys should follow me at a slower pace. You can be at
ease. I’ll take care of the magicians along the way.”
There were spells that all magicians learned at an early stage. For some reason,
Artpe had been very unlucky, and he hadn’t been unable to learn some of these
spells until he had passed level 250. One of these spell was the Float spell.
In truth, a magician of Artpe’s level should have learned the Flight spell by now.
No, it was more befitting for him to use teleportation spells at his level.
However, movement type spells refused to drop for him. This was why he was
thankful for the fact that he was able to learn the Float spell.
In the end, he could only put his trust in Mycenae now. However, he hadn’t met
her in awhile, because he had been playing underwater. When he solved the
Forest of Eternity quest for her, he would use it as leverage to acquire spell
books from her. He planned on being forceful in his request.
“Thankfully, I have the Float spell. As expected, looting is worth doing.”
“Didn’t you just steal the items from the magicians you captured as prisoners?
You were just lucky that the spell books were in their possession…...
Several amongst the magicians had possessed spell books. It was common for
magicians to come across spell books they had already learned.
It was logical to sell or give the spell book to someone else. However, most
magicians hid the spell books or they carried it around in their possession.
Some did research on the spell books or they kept it as a memento. It was,
because there was a chance their competitors might get stronger if these spell
books became available to them..
Magicians were innately ostentatious, and they were small-minded.
Anyways, that’s how it was.
“Well, it’s time for me to move out.”
“Artpe, you shouldn’t do dangerous things.”
“I’m not. I’m not doing anything dangerous.”
He planned on using a mere Float spell to fly to the capital, yet Artpe was
confident. If one could see the Mana Strings roiling around him, one would be
inclined to believe his confidence.
“Oppa, do we have to do anything specific?”
“You just have to make sure to protect our employer so he doesn’t die. At a
certain point in time, all the magicians inside the capital will be facing a massive
amount of chaos. It is easy to become distracted in such a situation, so you have
to be vigilant.”
“Yes…...”
“Since this spell will guarantee to bring the capital to its knees, I’m sure it will
cause a big commotion. However….. There are so many people gathered in the
capital. Are you sure you can bring them to their knees without any lives being
lost?”
The king of Daitan still looked to be half in doubt. However, Artpe had told him
all the information he needed to know. It wasn’t up to him to convince the king.
He didn’t give a reply as he shot into the air. He was moving at such a fast
speed that no one would have suspected that he was using a Float spell! It was
a miracle created by pouring in an enormous amount of Mana into the spell!
“It’s him! That magician is revolting against Aedia!”
Since Artpe was flying high in the air, he was highly visible. Several magicians
yelled out towards him.
Artpe had never joined Aedia, yet they were saying he was revolting against
them? They were full of hot air. Did they think all magicians in the world
originated from Aedia? He sneered at the arrogant and narrow-minded
magicians as he increased his speed.
“You dare to bare your teeth on your benefactors. You stupid…. Punish him!”
“Show them the power of Aedia!”
Countless spells surged into the sky of the capital. The most common spells
seen was the Magic Missle, Fireball and Ice Spear. Then there were the more
uncommon AOE magic coming towards Artpe.
Each Mana had its own color and texture, so the banquet of spells surging into
the air looked like a firework show. However, each spell contained enough
power to easily kill a person. If one underestimated the power of these spells, it
was a mistake one would never make again in this life.
‘They know that all the magicians they sent towards me had been wiped out, yet
they are attacking me in such a simplistic manner….. I guess it is in the nature of
magicians to act this way.’
Artpe was high in the sky, and spells were flooding towards him. The sight made
him remember an incident from his past life. It wasn’t something that he had
experience, but it was something he had witnessed.
‘At the time, Regina had been with them. When she found out of the truth, she
became enraged and she sided with the hero. However, Aedia foolishly
continued to believe until the end that they would be able to control her. They
had been extremely foolish…..’
As the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings, Artpe was tasked to keep
surveillance over the hero’s party. When he saw the sight of a girl regain her
freedom, he clenched his fists as he cheered for her. He cheered for her even
though he wasn’t in a position to do so. After the Absolute Control had been
used against him, he had been tormented for a long time. When he looked back
on it, it was a fond memory….. No, it wasn’t a good memory at all.
“Let us engrave the laws of the magic kingdom onto his soul!”
“It isn’t enough. I want everyone to pour out more spells!”
It seemed they were dissatisfied with the sight of Artpe floating in the air in a free
and easy manner. Artpe hadn’t asked for it, but the magicians sent additional
spells towards him. They were recklessly consuming their Mana. It seemed
some had consumed potions ahead of the battle, and there were those that were
currently consuming potions. It was a sight to behold.
“You all haven’t noticed that just pouring out your spells towards me is
ineffective. You lost the moment you failed to realized this fact.”
No, they might have lost from the moment they thought they could imprison
Regina indefinitely. This had been true in the past life. They were brought down
completely, because they had been deluding themselves.
“Eh-eet.”
Artpe lightly swung his hand. The several hundred Mana Strings split into couple
thousand Mana Strings. Each strand of Mana String nullified a spell, and Artpe
was able to charge forward without losing momentum.
He didn’t feel nervous at all, since he could easily block the attacks. The spells
were only a minor annoyance to him. Any magic spell that could be used by the
magicians of Aedia didn’t amount to much.
‘There’s only three magicians that are over level 200. I’m sure many of the
higher level magicians are dispatched to Tiata and the Forest of Eternity. They
are lacking in terms of the number of powerful magicians they possess. ’
This was why the magic kingdom, which had been touted to be the strongest on
this continent, was in such a predicament. This was also the reason why the
hero was the only hope for humanity. Aedia didn’t possess much power, yet they
became full of themselves. It was so pathetic that it made him want to shed a
tear.
“Still, I shouldn’t repeat what happened in the past.”
In the middle of the sky, Artpe kept erasing the countless spells that were being
thrown at him. As he did so, he slowly closed his eyes, and he started gathering
all his Mana that wasn’t being used by the Mana Strings.
“You are an organ that excretes the foul desire.”
Artpe started chanting the only Great Magic he could use.
“You have accepted the filth of humans. You are a mystery of nature locked up
away in misery.”
He had already set his target. As he blocked all the magic spells, he reached the
center of the capital where there was a raised structure.
“Reval your fermented anger. Put the humans in their place.”
Magic circle?
It was surprising. Artpe hadn’t made any prior preparations, yet the magic circle
was present. The magic circle encompassed the entirety of this regions. If one
wanted to find such magic circles, one could probably find it in all the cities within
Aedia.
This was obvious, but Artpe hadn’t installed it here. They had done it
themselves.
“I will allow it, so go find your freedom. Rampage to your heart’s content.”
A purple magic item started to rise out from his bosom. It was the Demite, which
he had finished refining, It possessed a will of its own, and the Demite acted to
support Artpe in the chanting of his spell. It endlessly amplified the magical
energy.
“He’s casting a spell! He’s using a Great Magic through a magic circle!”
“You idiot! We would have known if he created a magic circle here.!”
“Destroy it! We have to destroy the magic circle now!”
“B...but this magic circle is….. Oh my god.”
Yes, they wouldn’t be able to destroy it.
This magic circle was a symbol that represented the prosperity of the magic
kingdom of Aedia.
A magic circle wasn’t made purely out of Mana. Other material was needed to
make what was considered to be greatest technique of this century.
A complete magic circle could created and maintain a spell.
The magic circle was a reminder to humanity and even the Demon race that
magic was boundless in its use!
“That is why I want you to cover them equally.”
In the end, Artpe hadn’t been interrupted while he completed his magic spell.
However, there wasn’t a smile of relief on his face. He had a resigned
expression on his face.
“Flow backward.”
All of Artpe’s Mana was sucked into the Demite. In an instant, it spread across
the raised structures in the region. It spread ‘below’ to permeate into the buried
magic circle.
Arpte’s expression seemed to question whether he should be doing this or not.
He finished his spell.
“God Flush.”
······the sewer system that was installed across the entirety of the capital
exploded all at once.
Chapter 95 - Forest of Eternity (3)

“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhh!”
“Kyahhhhhk!”
“Eek! So dirty! Ooh-ahhhhhhhhh!”
A miserable scream came out of every human that lived within the capital. As if it
was trying to time itself with their screams, the sewer line started exploding all
over the place. All kinds of filth surged forward along the artificial Flush magic
circle, and the sewer lines.
“What the hell is this! What’s going on!”
“H...how…….!”
Of course, the magician couldn’t avoid being baptized by the filth. In fact, it
seemed the bigger explosions occurred near the magicians. The filth was caked
on them like makeup. The magicians would have been able to block the filth with
their barrier spells if there had been a moderate amount of fecal matter falling
towards them. However, the entire sewer system had exploded, so the barrier
spell was ineffective in blocking the downpour!
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
“How dare you do this! Unforgivable! I won’t forgive you!”
It didn’t matter if one was a magician over level 200 or a civilian that had
remained at level one. They were equally coated in filth. Even worse was the
fact that the God Flush was still progressing in real time. The water mixed with
urine and fecal matter formed a vortex as it destroyed buildings, and it flung the
filth all over the streets.
It was filthy.
It was really filthy.
“You guys shouldn’t have made a magic circle here. Since you’ve made one,
you should have secured it better.”
Of course, he was able to see the formation of the magic circle, so he was able
to control it in an instant. Aside from Artpe, no one was capable of making such
a grand spectacle. However, that wasn’t his problem.
“All right, then….. [Hmm hmm!]”
Artpe didn’t cause any casualties. He just caused damage to the heart of the
people, and he selectively destroyed the buildings within the capital. As the God
Flush continued its rampage, Artpe activated another spell.
[Can you all hear my words? I’m a magician hired by Daitan. I was hired as a
mercenary.]
“T...that bastard!”
“I’ll kill him!”
It was a spell that amplified his voice in all directions. It was the Loudspeaker
spell. Moreover, it was a high rank Loudspeaker spell. His voice was able reach
the entire capital!
Somehow, Mycenae was able to procure high ranking miscellaneous spells, yet
she was slow in acquiring battle magic. Artpe let out a sigh inside as he
continued to speak.
[The spell I just used is called God Flush. I was able to use the Flush magic
circle you have installed below your city. It allowed me to use my spell over a
vast distance. Thank you.]
Aedia was proud of its sewer system. When they heard Artpe’s words, it made
the magicians uniformly explode from frustration. As a former Four Heavenly
King, he knew the exact timing and words needed to provoke the maximum
amount of anger in his enemies. His proficiency in this skill was extraordinary!
[I’m not sure if you know this, but there are two ways to activate a Flush spell.
The first way is to flush everything down. The second way is to wrench the flow
of water to create a counter current. I’m using the second method right now.]
Artpe leisurely drank a Mana Potion, and he gave an explanation on the spell he
was using. This act inflicted additional mental damage to the magicians.
The magicians weren’t in a position to worry about the knights that were about to
invade the capital. Each magician had come running to disrupt the flow of Mana
being used by Artpe. They were also using barrier spells and purification spells
in an attempt to counter what he was doing. However, magic was a fight
determined by skill! Artpe used to be the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly
Kings, but he was reborn as a hero. There was no one in Aedia that was able to
stop Artpe’s magical activities!
[It is useless. Unless you are able to dig out the entirety of your sewer system,
you won’t be able to stop this. You should just accept it. You can shower
yourself with poop.]
“God Flush! You dare to put the title of a god in front of a Flush spell? I’ve never
heard of this! I bet he’s a black magician!”
In the end, they started to denounce him as being a black magician. If they were
a bit further along in their magical studies, they should have known that God
Flush was an extension of Flush. If one followed their logic, the magicians that
created the sewer system using the Flush spell were also black magicians. It
was ridiculous.
“Dirty······ So dirty!”
“Damn it! How can a magician that reached such a lofty level use such a dirty
tactic!”
The streets were dirty, but the situation was more dire within buildings that
possessed plumbing. This was why everyone had exited their residence, and
everyone’s gaze was planted on Artpe.
[I love peace. That is why I limited the spell to the sewer system. However, it
isn’t as if Aedia only has the sewer system. Isn’t that right?]
The sewers were used by humans to send down dirty water. On the other hand,
the water supply system purified the water, and it provided the humans with
clean water.
Aedia had been fastidious in separating the sewer lines and the water supply
lines. They were successful in creating the most hygienic nation in this world.
Of course, it was impossible not to damage the water supply system even if
Artpe’s control over his spell was impeccable. However, the architects of the
sewer system had been thorough in confining the sewer lines. This was why the
damage to the water supply line was limited.
[Let me put it this way······.]
When Artpe raised his hand, the vortex of filth that had formed in the center of
the capital started to threaten the people. Artpe’s voice reached the entirety of
the capital, so everyone was listening to his words. Unfortunately, they could
guess where this was heading even without listening to his following words.
[If I want to do it, I can do it in an instant….. I can blow up your water supply
system too.]
“Devil! He’s the devil!”
“You are human, so how can you do something so cruel!”
The people were horror-struck. If the water supply system broke open, the filth
dirtying their body would be washed away. It would feel great in the short term.
On the other hand, there would be no separation between the sewage system
and the water supply system. They would become the world’s dirtiest city of
death…..
No, they would be reborn as a manure pail.
“T...the war isn't the problem right now….. Everything is ruined!”
“This city holds the history of Aedia. How can you ruin it like this…..!”
“Speak! Let’s resolve this through words!”
The magicians belatedly realized that they couldn’t stop Artpe from using his
magic. This was why some magicians used their own Loudspeaker spell to
plead with Artpe. However, if everything could be solved with words, there would
be no war in this world.
[We only have one request.]
Artpe declared in a stern voice.
[We want a full surrender. Also, I’ve already killed the Duke of Tiata. I’m sure
you are waiting for Tiata to stab us in the back. You shouldn’t hold your breath.]
“T...Tiata…..!? Tiata should be allies with Daitan…...”
“Did he get caught…..huht!”
Most of Aedia’s magicians tilted their head in confusion. However, a very small
number of them were taken aback by the news. Artpe surmised these were the
select few that knew about the secret contract between Aedia and Tiata. Artpe
engraved faces into his memory.
[From the moment your king declares his surrender, the spell will be stopped. I’ll
give you exactly five minutes.]
Of course, he didn’t plan on being idle in the five minutes. Artpe continuously
drank Mana Potions, and he kept pouring his Mana into the Demite. It further
caused the filthy water to flow backwards.
He didn’t mess with anything underground. If he saw a building that looked
pretty big, he dyed it with filth! For the most part, he had avoided the residential
areas, but the stores and magic towers were all broken and dirty now.
The spell was simultaneously occurring all over the the vast city. It was proof
that Artpe’s ability to control his magic was immense! Of course, the outcry from
the people grew louder as the destruction continued.
“S...surrender! We surrender!”
“Please spare my store! My wares will become useless! Please!”
“You guys are the ones that attacked us when we were just living our lives. Now
you come to our capital to inflict violence on us…... I’ll put a curse on Daitan!”
“Shit. They didn’t even give us the opportunity to conduct a proper battle!”
“However….. We lost. We can’t win against him!”
“Koo-hoohk. We’ll have to become a vassal state!”
These were blatherings from those that didn’t have any authority, so their words
fell on deaf ears. Artpe just kept his gaze fixed on the palace with a smirk on his
face. He waited for a response.
Finally, the response he had been waiting for had arrived.
“······not there.”
“He isn’t there….. The king isn’t in the palace!”
“How can that be! He was there only couple hours ago…….!”
“······he ran away.”
“The king abandoned his country! He ran away!”
The king had vacated the capital. The king had run away after the gathered
magicians had failed in its defense of the capital. The fact that he had run away
hadn’t been unexpected.
Of course, Artpe had predicted this would happen. If the king was a run of the
mill magician, it would have been a different story. However, the king had
reached the top of the magic kingdom, so of course, he would be able to
recognize the amount of power within Artpe.
The king probably became astonished when Artpe used the God Flash, and at
that point, the king would have surmised that the Duke of Tiata was already
dead. He decided to enact his plan.
‘The Duke of Tiata had an emergency escape Artifact, and the item originated
from Aedia. Of course, the king of Aedia would have the means to escape from
this place. He probably used an Artifact or a Gate.’
The king probably would have fought if his opponent was decent. However,
Artpe was well beyond being decent. This was why the king made his
calculations, and he decided to run away.
Where did he go?
There was only one place he could go. He probably ran away to Tiata. This also
meant that there was a much higher chance that he’ll run across Regina.
At that point, even Artpe couldn’t guarantee how things would turn out.
‘The road will be split into two directions. ······it’ll either be the less annoying
direction or the more annoying direction.’
Of course, he couldn’t choose how events will turn out, because he wanted it to
go a certain way. Still, he hoped that events would head towards the less
annoying route if possible. He didn’t wish this for himself. It was for Regina.
[It seems the king ran away….. So who has the next highest rank?]
Of course, they weren’t present either. It was as if the high ranking members of
the kingdom had made a pact. They had already run away to Tiata with the king.
Everyone that possessed authority over Regina was probably in this group.
“We surrender!”
“We don’t have the power to go against you······ Shit!”
“What can we do when even the king has run away? From the founding of
Aedia, we served the one that possessed the strongest magical energy. We
accept you as our king!”
[King? Fuck that. You guys just yielded to those that had power. Your new king
will be the king of Daitan.]
“You······ You are an asshole to the end!”
Even if Artpe was on Daitan’s side, he was only a mercenary. It would be absurd
to put him on throne. Artpe snorted as he cancelled his spell. Then he made the
declaration once again.
[All right. I want you to seal your Mana, and I want you to get on your knees.
The knights should disarm themselves, and the good citizens of Aedia will get
into the most humiliating posture. You will all declare your intent to surrender.
The new king of Aedia is coming here right now.]
When the magicians, knights and soldiers were completely neutralized, Artpe
shot a flare into the air. The capital of Aedia had been conquered, but the king of
Daitan hadn’t wanted to enter the city for a while. In the end, he clicked his
tongue, and he led his group into the capital.
“The magician was flawless in bringing down the capital! After we take over the
palace, let us declare our victory! ······follow me!”
“Please be careful of the road, your majesty.”
“Ooh-eek. It’s shit!”
“I don’t like it here······.”
How could a victory be so bitter and dirty like this! The king of Daitan ordered his
knights to bind every magician. The magicians were strung along behind them,
and they couldn’t hide their rotten expression. They had never experienced a
victory that was this hard to accept. It was their first.
“Aedia was brought to its knee like this…..”
“I can’t believe it. The magic that brought prosperity to our magic kingdom
betrayed us…...”
From this moment on, a new history would be written! After being reincarnated,
Artpe properly overturned the scheduled history of his past.
“I’m sorry your first debut had to be here.”
He retrieved the active Demite floating in the air, and he whispered his words to
the Demite. As if it was reacting to Artpe’s words, the Demite vibrated as it
flashed its purple light twice.
It seemed the Demite wanted to give him a message, yet he had no idea what it
was trying to say. It would have been great if Regina was here to translate for
him.
[······nyaa?]
At that moment, Roa woke up from within his pocket, and there was a thrill in her
voice.
“Huh? What’s wrong? You were sleeping so well up until now.”
Artpe had been about to ask Roa if she could converse with the Demite. Before
he could do that, she jumped into the air as her eyes flashed.
[Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa-ahhhhhhhh!]
“There’s a thick scent of black magic here? What the hell are you saying all of a
sudden….. Black magic?”
Roa turned into a thick fog as she went straight towards the palace. Artpe’s
expression hardened as he followed after her.
The true nature of what had happened in his past life was coming into focus.
Chapter 96 - Forest of Eternity (4)

Originally, he had planned on meeting up with Daitan’s forces. He would have

strutted around at the head of the Daitan’s army, and he would have used his
magic to make their procession look awe-inspiring. However, things had turned
out like this, so he didn’t have the free time to clean up all the poop.
“Wait a moment, Roa! Is it perhap the Demonification curse again?”
[Nyaaaaa-ahhhhh!]
Roa was already worked up, so Artpe’s words weren’t reaching her. He clicked
his tongue as he quickly descended after Roa. When he did, he felt the trace of a
curse. He could feel it deep within the palace. Fortunately, it wasn’t a
Demonification curse. It was simply an Emotion Amplification type curse.
‘······it’s an Emotion Amplification type curse?’
It was fortunate that this incident had no ties to the Demon race. However, a
thought suddenly crossed his mind. Maybe, he might face something more
unpleasant.
[Nyaa! Nyaa-ah-ah!]
Roa had arrived at the palace ahead of Artpe. She sped through the palace,
which was covered with filth. She quickly headed towards the hidden location.
It wasn’t just the filth. The sewer lines had exploded, but the various magical
traps and locks remained intact! However, Roa was in her magical fog form, so
she was capable of passing through even a solid wall. She easily passed
through all obstacles. Artpe followed after her as he cleared the overturned
palace.
“It is really hidden quite well.”
The trace of the curse was hidden in a deep location. No one would have
noticed it except for Artpe and Roa. Artpe possessed the Read All Creation
ability, and Roa was the Greed Beast, who ruled over all negative energy.
It was understandable as to why it was hidden. Not all magicians within the
palace agreed with the king, and the deciding factor probably came down to the
king’s desire to hide it from Regina.
“We’re here.”
[Nyaa! Nyaa nyaa nyaa!]
It was a room within the palace where the king and a select few servants visited.
Within this space, there was a secret storage room built within it. One needed to
input several codes to be able to enter into the secret storage room. Roa was
able to bypass everything except the last fail safe device. It deflected everything
except for a certain type of Mana. Her progress had been stopped.
[Nyaa-ahhhhhh.]
“You only cling to me in this kinds of situation.”
[Nyaa nyaa-ah.]
Artpe discovered Roa struggling against an old door. She couldn’t bypass it.
When she discovered Artpe, she returned to her cat form. She jumped into his
arms, and she started badgering him. He looked down at her as he let out a
hollow laughter.
“I also have to enter it, so…… All right. I’ll do it.”
When Artpe opened his hand, several Mana Strings started to feel around the
door. He had already used his Read All Creation ability to acquire the complete
structure of the trap.
There was an impregnable lock that could only be opened by injecting the Mana
of its owner. However, Arpte was able to disrupt and modify Mana. He had
slowly learned how to do it by going through the hero’s Dungeon created by his
sunbae. He was able to tamper with the security spell. He was able to
temporarily change the owner of the magic!
“Well, if this doesn’t work, I’ll just inject a massive amount of Mana. The lock
won’t be able to endure it. I’ll overwhelm it in an instant. You should pay
attention to this method for your own use.”
[Nyaa nyaa nyaa-ah.]
The door opened. Artpe took hold of Roa, who was about to rush forward
immediately.
If the space outside the room smelled like filth, the inside of the room smelled
metallic from the blood.
“This is…....”
Artpe’s expression became distorted. He was unable to speak for awhile. He
could only bite his lips as he surveyed the room.
In his previous life, the Demon King’s army hadn’t interfered with the war
between Aedia and the Elves. The two sides were on a path to mutual
destruction, so the Demon King’s army didn’t go through the trouble of changing
the course of events.
This was why Arpte only had a basic knowledge of what had happened here
even though he had been in charge of gathering information for the Demon
King’s army. He had only known about the result. He had no idea which person
did what, and he had no idea how things had progressed here.
That’s why······.
[Nyaa-ah.]
“I guess so.”
Tiata and Aedia had been trying to devour the Forest of Eternity. The evidence
of what they had done to achieve this goal was left intact in this room. There
were research books, reagents for curses and Artifacts. …...then there was the
evidence of experimentation on living beings.
“They really are rotten to the core. They are trying hard in making me not have a
guilty conscience. It is almost admirable.”
Artpe took out a large sheet from his Dimensional Pouch, and he placed it over
the corpses of Elves that were left neglected in the corner of the room. Then he
gently soothed Roa, who was trying to immediately eat the curse.
“No one is going to steal it from you, so please be patient. ······things have
turned more unpleasant, but at the same time, it became easier.”
This room was a magical room that exposed the true nature of Aedia’s king. The
king had to make an abrupt exit, so he hadn’t been able to get rid of all the
evidences. Any magician that caught sight of this room would realize what
Aedia’s braintrust had been doing up until now.
If the magicians had a normal upbringing and a minimal amount of conscience,
Artpe would be able to easily bring them to his side. He just had to show them
this room.
“I guess I’ll have to clean this up first.”
First, Artpe put a barrier type spell over the secret room. After preserving the
state of the room, he used a large-scale Cleaning spell. In a flash, a portion of
the castle became clean. He got a kick out of it.
“At the very least, I should clean up the palace before my party arrives.”
[Nyaa nyaa-ah.]
“You are going to help too, you dork.”
[Nyaa!]
After two hours, all the magicians and the seasoned knights of Aedia were
bound. They were brought to the palace by the king of Daitan. The only place
that was clean was the route taken by them, so all the civilians had taken refuge
on the road. It was a very humorous sight.
“Artpe!”
“Oppa!”
“All right. Let’s get you washed. Cleaning.”
“Ooh-gyahk.”
They had been away from Artpe for a short time, yet they tried to pounce on him
as they wiggled their non-existing tails. Before Maetel and Sienna could reach
him, he rinsed them down with the Cleaning spell. Afterwards, they were allowed
to hug him. The king of Daitan had a tragic expression on his face as he glared
at Artpe.
“Magician. You really didn’t lie to us. You used a Great Magic spell to neutralize
our enemies, and you brought the capital to its knees. However, you also hid a
very important fact from us. The smell of shit is permeating from my entire body!
Also, do you expect me to repair the sewer lines? How long do you think it will
take me to clean all of this?! At this point, the capital is paralyzed! Paralyzed!
How are we going to put everything back in order!”
“Stop being so sensitive.”
Artpe had randomly fired his magic to clean the palace. In turn, his Cleaning
spell had leveled up steeply. He once again activated his Cleaning spell to wash
the body of the king, and everyone else present. Then the Cleaning spell started
to expand. In a flash, the Cleaning spell covered several thousand to tens of
thousands of people. It was merely a Cleaning spell, but it was awe-inspiring.
“As expected, you are an incredible magician. You were able to get rid of all the
stain and stench…... I won’t have to take a bath.”
“He is an Archmage, so why are all his spells…..”
“Still, we have to accept it. He is….. He is better than the ‘former’ king, who ran
scared from the magic he displayed. He is more suitable to be the ruler of
Aedia.”
One of the magicians spoke up. Surprisingly, all the magicians nodded their
heads. It made one realize in an instant that the word, ‘magic’, held a strong grip
over the minds of the people of Aedia. The king of Daitan had been watching all
of this, and he also picked up on the mood.
In truth, Artpe had participated in the war as Daitan’s wartime mercenary, but his
achievements had been to overwhelming!
It was an understatement to say that it was overwhelming. The only thing Daitan
had to do was arrest the soldiers, who had voluntarily given up their weapons.
That was all they had to do to reach the palace. They had gone through less
effort than a beggar finding a dusty bread on the ground.
“You······ Are you perhap thinking about putting yourself on the throne?”
‘If you planned on doing that, why didn’t you come here by yourself?’
The king of Daitan glared at Artpe with an aggrieved expression on his face.
Artpe let out a short sigh as he shook his head from side to side.
“I don’t care if the title contains Demon in front of the king or if it is a regular king.
It is all annoying. You can have it all.”
“I really respect the fact that you can make such an assertion so decisively,
but…...”
“All right. Since everyone is gathered here, I’ll make the declaration.”
Artpe was receiving gazes that contained fright, trepidation, annoyance and awe.
He made a firm declaration to the magicians and knights.
“I don’t care if you serve the king of Daitan as lord or not. However, you
shouldn’t take too long to decide. I’ll become annoyed, and you’ll become
annoyed. Do you understand?”
“You…. What is your purpose in coming here?”
He was a level 217 magician, and he held the title of marquis. The middle-aged
man asked Artpe a question.
“You possess great power, so why are you insisting on being a tool of Daitan?
The power you possess aren’t beholden to anyone, so why did you inject
yourself into a fight between nations? I might be overstepping my bounds, but if I
had your level of power, I would wage a war that would unite this continent.”
“That is a very good question.”
A broad smile appeared on Artpe’s face as he spoke. He turned around as he
pointed down the clean corridor of the palace.
“I was about to show you guys that reason.”
Tens of thousands of people entered the palace at the same time. An
overwhelming number of people bound by rope were being convoided in. It was
a truly ironic sight.
“My god. The castle is completely restored.”
“Is it a Restoration spell!? You used such a rare spell over such a large space?
Truly ridiculous!”
“No, it is just a very high level Cleaning spell.”
The high level and matured Cleaning spell did more than just cleanse the
dirtiness. It could make its target as clean as possible. On top of that, it had the
ability to move items, and it could do restoration work!
It had taken Artpe 20 minutes to accomplish this task, and the palace was
restored to a pristine condition. It was hard to believe that the palace had
suffered under the countercurrent of the God Flush. Even if Artpe became
jobless after defeating the Demon King, he could make his living as a cleaner!
That’s how great his cleaning ability was!
“Why is there the stench of blood in this clean palace?”
“······is this what you wanted to show us? Did our king commit suicide instead of
running away?”
“It would have been cute if he had killed himself.”
Artpe guided the group deep into the palace. The magicians realized that each
hallway they passed was teeming with incredible magical traps. They let out
murmurs of appreciation when they realized that Artpe had disarmed them all.
“We are well aware of the fact that the palace’s defensive magic was passed
down through the generations, and they are all high level spells. I never
expected those defensive magics to be easily neutralized like this.”
“Even if the Demon king invaded us, we assumed he would never be able to
breach the palace……”
“A...are you perhaps the Demon King!?”
They really were spouting bunch of nonsense. Artpe let out a sigh as he directed
their gazes. From within the room, he could hear Roa’s faint cry. She wanted
him to come quickly.
“Oh my god. This is where the king resides…..”
“Is this the energy of a curse!?”
The magicians that were sensitive to Mana and those that were quick on the
uptake started to pick up on traces of the curse. The magicians could sense it
from a long distance away, but it was impossible for the knights. Tens of
thousands of people could come into the palace, but it was a tight fit. This was
why Artpe started creating a new space.
“The palace is falling!”
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhhhk!”
He would do it by force!
“You brute!”
“This is something everyone should see.”
Artpe broke apart the palace, and he grinded the falling fragments. He used
several hundred Mana Strings to demolish and clean up the building. It wasn’t
hard at all!
“What is waiting for us…...”
“...I think I have some idea. It doesn't feel good. This feeling…..”
They knew that their king wasn’t a squeaky clean figure. Despite this knowledge,
the faces of tje magicians started to harden. A very small number of magicas
had participated in this endeavor with the king. They were going through great
pains in trying to keep a low profile.
Unfortunately for them, Artpe’s Read All Creation ability could see the skills each
of them possessed. On top of that, he could use the faint trace of Mana left
behind in the king’s residence to determine guilt or innocence. Of course, Arpte
was ready to bring them all of them down with just a glance.
Finally….
“We are here.”
[Nyaa?]
Roa was tired of waiting, so she grumbled as she jumped into Artpe’s arms.
Artpe had opened up the nearby walls, so he was able to show them the secret
space kept by the king. The magicians closest to Artpe were at a loss for words
when they saw what was inside the room.
“My god······.”
“Why are you reacting that way? I think I know what is going on, so let’s…..
Huht.”
The unrest started to spread. Everyone in the front froze in place when they saw
within the room. The people in the back pulled back the people frozen in the
front, and a new group of people pushed to the front. They also froze in place.
This process kept repeating itself until everyone saw what was within the room.
“Do you now see what Aedia and Tiata is doing within the Forest of Eternity?”
For a while, no one replied to Artpe’s words. The people directly involved had a
serious expression on their faces, but the bystanders felt like idiots. The unrest
spread throughout the people gathered there.
“Magician.”
The king of Daitan queried Artpe with a calm voice.
“I have a hunch as to where the king of Aedia had run away. Will you help me
subdue him?”
His eyes were on the storage room dyed with blood. There were corpses of
Elves within the room that were sullied by all kinds of curses and lust. There
were ingredients that were used to make the curses, and a bookcase full of black
magic tomes that dealt with Control type magic. ….there was also the half
destroyed Warp Gate present.
Artpe spoke.
“Wait. I’m planning on gathering more participants.”
In truth, he didn’t want participants. He wanted an audience. However, Artpe
declined to speak this out loud.
It would make the listening audiences feel bad.
Chapter 97 - Forest of Eternity (5)

“The king of Aedia…. Black magic……....”

“This can't be happening. This can’t be…...”
“Oh my god. This is…. It is Control magic. It is a black magic that forcefully
suppresses the will of others!”
The magicians were frozen for a short amount of time. Then the magicians
started to rotate into the room. Each magician wanted to see if their king had
truly done this. Moreover, they started investigating to see if anyone else was
connected to this endeavor.
“How can this be? I swore allegiance to a man using such an evil magic…….!”
“We should preserve this site. We have been ignorant of what had been going
on here, and that frustrates me….. We cannot make any more mistakes. It will
be recorded into our history!”
It was the same with the knights affiliated with Aedia.
They were from the magic kingdom, but in the end, they were knights. They had
their own beliefs and code of honor. They also tried to find out why the former
king had dabbled in black magic. They worked in conjunction with the magicians
to find out why the king had performed such atrocities to the Elves.
They had felt helpless when they had to yield to a single magician. However, in
the next moment, they had observed something that shouldn’t be present in their
kingdom. They felt their drive and motivation come back.
“We’ve finished analyzing the curse on the corpses of the Elves. This is…. This
is a curse that stimulates undesired feelings. Yes, I’m sure there was a recent
report that said the conflict between Tiata and a different race was escalating
near the Forest of Eternity. C...could it be…..!”
“Did the king perhaps….. How foolish!”
“I found stored missives that were exchanged between the king and the Duke of
Tiata. There are also records of experiments where they used magic to coerce
the Elves….. Ah ah! Ah ah ah! What a horrific thing to do! They were brazen
enough to practice the damned black magic in the heart of the magic kingdom of
Aedia!”
That’s right.
The king of Aedia had been researching for a way to dominate beings with
intellect.
This probably all started when Regina was made.
When the magicians realized that they couldn’t completely control Regina, the
king of that era worked with the magicians to come up with a method that was
better than the power of suggestion. They started researching a spell that would
give them complete control over Regina. In the end, they came to a conclusion
that magic couldn’t coerce the mind of a person….
This waas why they started to dabble in black magic.
Not all black magic were the same. It didn’t matter what type of magic it was.
Depending on how any magic was used, it could create a horrific result. On the
other hand, black magic needed a price in exchange for its use. It required
sacrifice of other beings. This was why it was called black magic, and it was
widely recognized as something only the Demon race used.
It was the reason why black magic was strictly forbidden since the founding of
the magic kingdom of Aedia. They acted as the custodian of black magic. It
was also the reason why the kingdom had a large amount of information that
dealt with black magic.
At first, they started researching for a way to coerce Regina with magic. As
expected, their research started to slowly spread into other interests.
Once they succumbed to the temptation, there was no restraint holding them
back.
This was why Aedia had worked with Tiata. They researched for a way to control
the Elves.
‘Since the Elves weren’t human, they convinced themselves that it would be all
right. However, would that be enough for them? No way.’
The research into magic that dominated the Elves were merely a ridiculous
justification. How could the spell they were researching actually differentiate
between other races?
They had created a red line that said everything would be fine if they didn’t use it
against humans. In truth, the experiment didn’t discriminate between Elves,
humans or Demites. It would be an absolute Control magic. In some ways, it
was more evil than the Innate ability of the Demon King.
In the case of the Demon King, he either controlled everyone, or he destroyed
anyone that he couldn’t control. He was a monster, yet he hadn’t shown interest
in the Control magic being researched by the humans.
The reason was quite simple. The Demon King already possessed an Innate
ability called the Absolute Control. He also came to the conclusion that it was
impossible to dominate another being with the power of magic. It had to be an
Innate Ability.
This was the actual truth. In his past life, Aedia’s spell resulted in truly
horrendous side effects. This was why the Elves went out on an all out war
against the humans. By the end of the war, the Elves were nearly wiped out.
The Forest went up in flames, and no new Elves appeared afterwards. Several
nation became ruined in this war, and that was when the Demon King’s army
began fighting the hero’s party in earnest.
The hero had been in a lot of pain, and she had cried…..
For the first time, Artpe realized what emotions the hero had been feeling at the
time.
…...no, the events of his past life wasn’t important now.
Artpe was standing in this spot, because he didn’t want a repeat of that event.
“This magic is a failure. You guys can tell, right?”
“Our magic isn’t trained to the extreme like yours. We were barely able to find
out that the dead Elves were killed by the side effects of the curse.”
“The curse that stimulates emotions is merely a means to an end. It is easier to
use the Control magic when the subject’s structure of thought is simplified.”
“This was why they acquired a sample of Elves to test the curse….. Oh my god.
This is a calamity!”
It seemed the magicians were finished making their judgements. Artpe clapped
his hands once. It stopped the knights and magicians in their tracks. They had
been immersed in examining the site. It was time for him to explain the
situation.,
“I was given a request by an Elf to investigate this matter. I went through a lot of
hardship to find this out….. It wasn’t just the king. I also found out that most of
Aedia’s leadership class were involved in this. That is why I decided to work with
the king of Daitan. I decided to cleanse Aedia. That was my plan, and that is
why we are all here.”
Of course, many objected to the way he wanted to cleanse Aedia. Thankfully,
everyone’s attention was focused elsewhere.
“Most of our leaders were involved? Wait a moment…...”
There were people here that were considered to be the leaders amongst the
magicians, knights and nobles. Everyone’s gazes head towards them. Artpe
grinned.
“At my skill level, I’m able to investigate Mana and Records that are left behind. I
just need some time to….. There we go.”
“Koo-ahhhhk!”
“I...it wasn’t me! No······ Kahk!”
When he threw the bait, the idiots bit immediately! Artpe used the Mana Strings
he had already laid out beforehand. Some tried to run away in the opposite
direction, and some attacked Artpe. There were those that were able somehow
able to reactivate the damaged Warp Gate. They tried to jump through it. He
killed them all.
His attack was close to the speed of lightning. Everyone knew Artpe was
meeting out justice, yet they were frozen in place.
“My god. It is impossible to resist against him.”
“I wonder if he really is the Demon King.”
“I’ve never seen or heard of this spell before. It is a thin thread of Mana, and it
contains incredible amounts of power……..”
“My magic isn’t what is important right now.”
Artpe dusted his hands off as he burned the corpses of the traitors. Then he
raised a hand. A Demite was floating above his hand, and it was letting out fire.
Surprisingly, he was using the basic fire spell. However, he was using an
overwhelming amount of Mana, and he was Dual Casting. He was able to
generate a disproportionately large amount of power using the fire spell.
“Well, I killed all of the ones that came forward on their own….. It’s time for me
to kill the hidden ones.”
“There are still more left-kahk!”
A noble was being shameless by acting as if he wasn’t part of the leadership
group. His head was the first to burn. He was just the start. Fire erupted from
between the tens of thousand elite troops.
The flashy and domineery festival of fire lasted less than 3 minutes. Currently,
the number of people killed had reached 150.
“Evidence! We need evidence! You might have killed innocent people!?”
“I can tell at a glance. The people I just killed right now had traces of black magic
on them. Those that escaped my notice can live quietly in hiding, or it might be
easier on you if you just take your own lives.”
God Flush was a Great magic, but it had materialized through the magic circle.
This meant that Artpe possessed an incredible amount of magical energy, and
he was able to read and use the magic circle.
However, Artpe had just shown an appallingly amount of control and finesse over
his Mana. He was able to create enormous amount of power using a minimal
amount of Mana. It was the way in which one was able to use magic efficiently.
Normally, magicians devoted themselves to a specialized field. This wasn't the
case with Artpe. Even if one considered his high level, he made no sense.
“This…. I understand.”
At that moment, one of the magician let out a sigh as he yelled out.
“You have a variety of abilities that seems to have have no boundaries. You are
young, yet you have overwhelming magical energy and level. You are close
enough to them that you receive a Quest from the Elves….. Are you this
generation’s hero?”
Every human stopped breathing. However, the silence didn’t last long.
“······what?”
“This tyrant is a hero?”
“That makes no sense. I’ve heard heroes were born within the Diaz Kingdom,
but that was only couple years ago…. No, this all fits.”
Artpe was 15 years old, but he had matured much faster. However,he wasn’t
able to eliminate all childlike features. This was the same for Maetel, who stuck
close to Artpe.
They had traveled through many regions, yet it was odd that no one had
recognized the identity of Artpe and Maetel.
“I’ve heard there are two heroes this time around. It means one of the two ladies
is also a hero. Both of you are so strong that I have no idea which one of you is
the hero…..”
“He’s a hero. That is why he had such a strong reaction to the black magic!”
“The actions of this hero is a little bit too dirty…...]”
The opinions between the magicians started to diverge. Artpe quietly asked his
question.
“Will you believe me if I said I’m not the hero?”
“We believe that you are the hero.”
Artpe smacked his lips. These damn magicians were prejudiced and obstinate,
but they were quick on the uptake when it came to this.
Maybe, this was also why they were much quicker in identifying Artpe as a hero.
A hero held a special status amongst humans. Even if a hero had superior
powers, the humans didn’t become jealous or envious of the hero. They just
accepted a hero’s power as a given.
It also meant that the magicians hadn’t wanted to admit that they were weak, so
they decided to designated him as a hero…..
Still, it was better than being called the Demon King. Artpe resigned himself as
he acknowledged their words.
“Yes, it is a hero’s quest. Does everything make sense now?”
“It does. However, I never expected Aedia to become an obstacle that blocks the
progress of a hero…… It is a truly bitter pill to swallow.”
The faces of the magicians either held dejection or resignation. Artpe also had a
similar expression on his face.
“I’ll continue on the basis that everyone has accepted my claim. The king had
already assessed my power, and he had run away. The evidence is all here. He
was short on time, so he couldn’t destroy his research materials. He wasn’t able
to completely destroy his Warp Gate. I’ll sum up the situation for you. The
biggest culprit in bringing down Aedia was the king, and I have the means to go
fuck him up.”
Aedia was ruined by Artpe. He was solely responsible for it, but he was able to
use the tragedy that had occurred in this room. He was successful in shifting all
the blame to the king of Aedia! The knights were burning up from the sense of
betrayal and their sense of justice. The magicians felt the same way.
However...
“Isn’t the Gate partially destroyed?”
“Have you never done an Artifact Restoration Quest? Don’t you know that the
requirement needed to restore a partially destroyed item is completely different
from a completely destroyed item?”
Artpe took out a portion of the Kraken’s corpse from the Dimensional Pouch. He
threw it towards the Warp Gate, and he Reinforced the Warp Gate. It really was
that simple. In a flash, the Warp Gate regained its functionality, and it started to
activate.
“Wait a moment. The specimen you just used……..”
“I’m going to do it two more times.”
Whenever he used his Reinforcement skill, he took out by-products from high
level monster he had killed. They were all over level 200. He indiscriminately
used them as minor ingredients! Thanks to the ingredients, Artpe was able to
finish three Reinforcements. The Warp Gate was sturdier and larger than before.

Basically, the repair of the Warp Gate was no longer a problem. It would take a
little bit of time, but if he wanted to, he could send everyone gathered here
across the Warp Gate!
“.....what the hell did he just do right now?”
“My head hurts. Are you sure he used magic?”
“Well, let’s do this.”
Artpe’s smile deepened. His smile was truly dark.
“I’m putting together a punitive party for the former king of Aedia.”
Of course, no one enthusiastically said ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when they were put on the
spot.
Artpe led the tens of thousands of people into the Gate.
Chapter 98 - Even if We Look Different from Each Other (1)

Artpe’s party passed through the Gate to arrive in Tiata. When they arrived, the
sound of an explosion in the distance assaulted their ears. In an instant, Artpe
assessed where the spell had originated. He grinned when he found the source
of the Mana.
“It’s Regina. She’s doing her part well.”
“Regina is attacking the Elves!?”
As always, Maetel misunderstood his words in the oddest way. He flicked his
fingers on her forehead. Then he turned to look at the Gate. A stream of
humans were exiting the Gate, and he waited for them to get in line. The king of
Daitan asked Artpe a question.
“What are we going to do now, magician?”
“First, we’ll have to take care of the humans that are rushing towards us.”
Artpe pointed his finger, and the king could see a large number of soldiers and
knights rushing towards them!
When the king of Aedia and his party escaped through the Gate, they were able
to move in stealth since their party was small. However, Artpe’s party wasn’t
trying to be stealthy. They were moving people on a large scale. Of course,
Tiata would notice!
“Maetel.”
“.....Artpe, why does your expression look as if you are trying to say, ‘I choose
you!’?”
Artpe’s education had born fruit. Maetel’s competence had improved a lot. Artpe
felt pleased. He nodded his head as he yelled out his words.
“I choose you! I want you to break them as gently as possible!”
“You are too much!”
“In fact, I want you to face Tiata, while we go visit the Forest of Eternity. Ah. If
possible, don’t kill them.”
“You sound indifferent! You are too much!”
The gist of the current situation was to shed as much blood of their ‘enemies’. In
the end, a very few number of humans had manipulated Daitan, Aedia, Tiata and
the Forest of Eternity. The rest of the humans were blameless in this matter.
Artpe wanted to get through this as smooth as possible. Such line of thinking
had brought about the God Flush being used, so it was ironic that he was having
such thoughts. He decided to ignore it.
If the trouble within the Forest of Eternity spread, there was a possibility Tiata
would become involved. What if an absolute power drew away the gaze of
Tiata…. He would be able to stop Tiata’s involvement at the root. Moreover, if
the Elves escape the Forest of Eternity, Maetel would be able to subdue them
without doing too much damage!
“You arguments are falling a bit short······.”
“No, it isn’t like that.”
Artpe immediately gave his denial, but in truth, Maetel was correct. He was
trying to leave her behind, because unsavory things were happening within the
Forest of Eternity. He wanted to solve it without getting her involved.
This was a situation that he couldn’t end cleanly. It wasn’t something he could
end without injuring someone. However, it wouldn’t be like his past life. Artpe
had already taken several measures, so there wouldn’t be a tragedy like
before….. Still, Artpe didn’t want Maetel to get involved in what was going on
within the Forest of Eternity.
“Please, Maetel. This is my wish.”
Artpe firmly took both hands of Maetel. He moved in close to look into her eyes
as he made his request. She knew Artpe was trying to evade answering her
question, yet she inevitably became fooled by him!
“Yes. Leave it to me!”
This was why he liked uncomplicated woman like her. Maetel unsheathed her
bastard sword as she charged forward. Artpe had an expression of a bad boy as
he turned around. The king of Daitan was dumbfounded as he replied.
“She is a powerful warrior, and I also heard that she is a hero. However…. Will
it be possible for her to stop the entire dukedom by herself?”
“Yes.”
“Hoo-ryahhhhhhhhh!”
Right on cue, Maetel used her Bash skill to roughly impact on the ground. She
destroyed the entire corridor where several thousand soldiers and knights were
running across. They were all buried in one go. The king shut his mouth when
he saw this. In certain aspects, the sight of Maetel was scarier than Artpe’s
magic.
“I told her to minimize the casualties. It seems she is going to pull back only
when they are on the verge of death.”
“Her power has already transcended the realm of humans…...”
“Later on, the Demon King’s army will experience her power ad nauseum. It’ll be
in your best interest to focus on the growing your elite troops.”
“Now that you mention it, you are a hero! I just realized that there is a possibility
that the Demon King will make his appearance!”
The king was able to say such rude things as if it was nothing. Artpe glared at
him then he turned around.
“Let’s head out.”
There were tens of thousands of knights, magicians and other audiences
following him. Artpe blew a hole in the wall enclosing the palace. He led
everyone out through the hole.
“How come destruction follows everywhere you pass through!”
“The Mana is overheating! Let’s hurry!”
The Forest of Eternity was pretty far away, but the distance was easily overcome
by the humans in Artpe’s party. They had the ability to do so. It was as Artpe
had boasted. Maetel was able to block the advance of Tiata by herself. Artpe
and his party quickly exited Tiata, and they arrived at the border of the Forest of
Eternity.
At that point, the other’s in the party had noticed it. They realized that there was
a ominous energy permeating the forest. There sensed Mana being opposed by
a curse and black magic. Everyone in the party grinded their teeths when they
felt it.
“This is the energy we felt within the king’s secret room.”
“We might be too late!”
Not everyone came here with the thought of protecting the Elves. They just
couldn’t allow someone to break their biggest taboo of using black magic against
a race capable of rational thought.
They were fully aware that such magic could be turned against humanity too.
“If you think this is too late, then we are couple months late. Don’t worry about
it.”
Artpe increased the speed of his Float spell as he put his party at ease. It didn’t
matter if they were early or late. This was something that was supposed to
happen, and it wasn’t something that could be blocked easily.
However, there was one important point. Artpe held a trump card that could
nullify everything that was done here.
[Nyaa, nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa, nyaa nyaa-aht nyaa-ahahhh!]
“All right. I get it, so calm down. …..we have to wait a little bit. If we heal the
wound before it gets infected, their sense of caution won’t develop.”
Roa was being unruly. She wanted to immediately eat all the energy permeating
the forest. Artpe calmly soothed her as he spoke to her. There was another
reason why he had kept Maetel away from here. He was afraid Maetel would
discover his black heart.
“Isn’t that called image management, oppa? You really treat her with a lot of love
and care.”
“You are already aware of it, so it can’t be helped.”
If he wanted to end this situation cleanly, he should have sent Roa with Regina to
Tiata. However, Artpe hadn’t done that. If he solved everything at the get go,
others wouldn’t be able to gain anything from this situation.
The people of Aedia and Regina had to see this for themselves. They had to
come their own realization. They had to see the true nature of what they had
done, and they had to find their own path forward.
“If we do this, we’ll have an easier time later on.”
“This is already a tiresome situation for you, oppa. Even if you push others
forward, there will come a time when oppa will have to solve everything.”
“Be quiet, you dork.”
“Ooh-eeeeee.”
Both of Artpe’s hands were mushed against Sienna’s cheeks, yet she was
enjoying it. Somehow, he was able to have a little fun in this situation, but he
started to hear whispers.
‘He has two women…..’
‘He’s a hero, yet he’s fooling around with two girls…..’
He stopped what he was doing.
“I feel a magical energy coming closer to us.”
“Is it perhaps the Mana of the Elves?”
It was the correct answer. The disturbance that was occurring at the middle of
the Forest of Eternity had agitated the Elves. They were on the move. Currently,
their bodies were being dominated by the Emotion Amplification curse. Of
course, they would go crazy when they found tens of thousands of humans within
their forest.
“We found them! They are humans!”
“Kyahh. They showed up before I could say anything.”
The voices of the Elves rang in the ears of Artpe’s party. The voices indicated
that a battle would be imminent, and several dozen arrows appeared from
between the trees. Of course, all of them were blocked by the Holy Barrier
activated by Artpe.
Since his identity as a hero was exposed, there was no reason for him to hide his
other skills. He didn’t hesitate as he used a spell that wasn’t associated with the
Magician Class.
“Kook. There are several hundred Elves within the forest….. Unfortunately, we
can’t just surrender to them. Everyone get ready for battle….!”
“You don’t have to!”
He interrupted the king's speech as he chanted out another spell. It was none
other than a Fire spell..
“W...wait a moment…....”
“Human, let’s talk!”
“Go!”
In a flash, the Fire spell had become as big as a full moon. In a flash, it left
Artpe’s hand, and it detonated in a far away portion of the forest!
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhk!”
“The forest….the forest is burning!”
“How much Mana does he have? It is just a simple Fire spell, yet he created
such a terrible disaster! We won’t forgive you, human!”
It didn’t matter if the Elves wanted to kill Artpe or not. In a flash, several dozen
trees started to burn, and the fire started to spread to other regions! The humans
were taken aback. The Elves were so horrified that they had stopped attacking.
At that moment, Artpe yelled out in a gallant voice.
“Do you want to fight us or do you want to extinguish that fire! If you choose to
extinguish the fire, we won’t attack you!”
“Koohk! Wicked humans!”
“You are craven!”
Artpe had gone for the low blow by holding the forest hostage! They were
witnessing a hero threaten the Elves, and it was effective!
“Koo-ooohk….. You wait and see, human!”
“We won’t forget this!”
“Ooh-ahhhk. The fire is spreading! Hurry up everyone!”
The most important thing to the Elves were the forest. It was where they lived.
Their fighting spirits were amplified, and they were filled with the will to kill
humans. However, the forest was burning in front of them. There was no way
they would let the forest burn in front of them even if it meant letting the humans
go!
“Wow. Look at them ebb away like a low tide. It seems they are well aware of
the importance of the forest. As expected, the Elves received a fantastic
upbringing.”
“······where did you learn all these cheap tactics?”
The king of Daitan had been getting ready to fight the Elves. He sheathed his
sword, and he asked the question with a despondent voice. Artpe didn’t answer
him. He just grinned as he stepped forward.
Afterwards, groups of Elves kept appearing at irregular intervals to stop the party
of humans. However, Artpe create a new fire ball each time, and he set fire to a
portion of the forest.
The Elves were horrified, and they ran off to put out the fire. Artpe’s party was
able to travel through the forest at high speeds. Those that were following Artpe
had been prepared to get into a fight, and they looked liked idiots right now.
“Humans!”
“Eh-eet.”
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhk!”
Artpe loaded a fireball on each hand, and he ran through the forest as he set it
on fire. It was a truly brutal sight. He had already damaged 30% of the Forest of
Eternity, but no human or Elf had been killed in the process. In some ways, it
was truly a peaceful method.
“I don’t know why I’m having such bitter thoughts······.”
“You guys think the process is important. You guys are under a delusion,
because of this wrong mindset. From now on, you should try to fix that
mindset….. Ah.”
Artpe had been calculating the most effective way of chasing off the Elves that
appeared from anywhere and at anytime. However, his feet suddenly came to a
stop. The humans, who had been busy chasing after him, naturally came to a
stop as if by magic. The two fireballs burning atop his palms disappeared as if
they were a mirage
“We are here. This is the World Tree.”
“World Tree?”
When the king of Daitan gave his reply, the trees that were blocking their view
was obliterated by a brilliant explosion magic. Artpe created winds using his
magic, and he pushed aside the debris as he walked forward. The rest of his
party found out what Artpe had been talking about.
“You bitch······! Do you plan on going against your master!”
“You aren’t my master.”
Several adult humans were fighting against a small girl. It was a cowardly sight.
Artpe’s party caught sight of the fierce magical battle, and…..
“My god······.”
“How can a tree grow so big? Even if it endured the passage of untold years,
how can this be!”
“Ah ah ah. This is……..”
The girl had her back against a truly giant…...
From the surface of the ground, it was over 300 meters in height. A tree of
ridiculous size was standing tall.
Chapter 99 - Even if We Look Different from Each Other (2)

The World Tree was a sacred tree that was called the mother of all Elves. While
the World Tree remained alive, the existence of Elves couldn’t be ended.
Moreover, their power remained undiminished unless the World Tree wilts away.
The World Tree accompanied the race of Elves from their birth to its demise.
Basically, it was a god-like existence to the Elves.
That being was in front of the party.
“This is the first time I’ve seen it intact.”
“Intact…..?”
“I’m just saying this is the first time I’ve seen it.”
When he saw the several hundred meter high World Tree, his heart relaxed a
little bit. This was why he had let out an exclamation that contained information
connected to his past life. Sienna picked up on it as she asked him a question.
He quickly came up with an excuse. Of course, Sienna was also in awe of the
World Tree, so she just took his excuse at face value.
Artpe wasn’t the only one that felt impressed by the World Tree. Various humans
were letting out words of admiration.
“I can see why the Elves are so hellbent in protecting it. I can feel incredible
amounts of Mana throughout the World Tree….. I wonder how many great
Artifacts one would be able to make with the World Tree as an ingredient.”
“That is the problem with the mindset of humans. This is why Elves are hostile
against humans, you asshole.”
“Koohk!”
Artpe didn’t hesitate as he smacked the back of the king’s head. The king
wanted to come back by accusing Artpe of destroying more than 10% of the
trees within the Forest of Eternity. However, he was weak. He had no choice
but to take the beating. He was upset by it, and he vowed to raise his level more
in the future.
“Koohk! Other humans!? Moreover, that bastard…..!”
“.........excessively fast.”
Artpe’s party had reached the World Tree. Of course, Regina, Aedia’s king and
his group had realized this fact. However, they were too busy attacking each
other to divert their attention towards Artpe’s party.
The king of Aedia was over level 240, and he was an Archmage. The high
ranking nobles with him were of similar level. If not, they were only a bit short of
the king’s level and skill. They were all attacking Regina, yet the contest was
even. It was a testament to Regina’s skill.
“As expected of a group that had represented Aedia, their intentions are evil, but
their strength is undeniable…...”
“Who’s the girl that is going neck and neck with them? The magical energy within
her body is much deeper than the others!?”
“Huht. Reginna….. Regina rebelled against the king!?”
The knights of Daitan didn’t know about the existence of Regina. A good portion
of the magicians didn’t know about her either. Those that knew about her were
surprised by what they saw.
Regina had never acted against Aedia, yet she was attacking the king and those
that held authority over her!
“Oh. She’s a golem that mutinied.”
“······this isn’t a mutiny.”
She had picked up on Artpe’s not so flattering words. Regina was busy fighting,
yet she pouted as she responded to Artpe.
“There are no restrictions. Humans are all swindlers.”
What was the order that had made her go against the king? The trace of the
battle indicated that the battle had started deep within the forest, and it had
reached the World Tree. At the very least, it seemed she had found out about
the curse and the black magic prepared by Aedia within the forest.
It seemed she knew what the king planned on doing the Elves. Her aversion to
the plan was the impetus for her to successfully push back against her orders.
‘She’s able to endure the collar choking around her neck, yet she couldn’t stand
others being victimized. In the end, that spurred her into action…... Well, she
was like that in the past life too. Still, she was way too late in realizing this fact in
the past.’
In his previous life, the black magic had successfully been implemented, and it
had closed in around the necks of Elves. Only then did she finally think about
going against her masters. By the time she stood with the hero, too many had
died to repair the situation. From that point on, Regina tried to rectify her actions
by trying to fix reality. She sacrificed much in the process.
However, Artpe had encountered her at an earlier date in this life, and he was
able to use various methods to marinate and season her. He had motivated her
to stop everything before things could get out of hand.
Of course, even if she hadn’t stopped them, he would have solved the problem
somehow. Anyways, the best option to solve this situation remained viable. At
this point, he patted himself on the back. He thought his ability to predict what
would happen was a step superior to the Demon King.
On the other hand, the king of Aedia still believed that the situation could be
reversed. He desperately tried to stall her thought process. He tried to shackle
her again through the power of suggestion!
“A much bigger backlash will come to you soon! You are like this, because your
thought circuitry is malfunctioning!”
“The restriction works in real time. I’m fine. I’m very angry right now!”
“Koohk······!? Block-aht!”
Of course, it would no longer work against her. When Regina spread both her
hands, her magic resolved into a wind spell called the Dragon’s Claw. The wind
clawed at the king and his party. It was a strike that was filled with her rage and
magical energy.
“Shit!”
“Koo-ahhhhhhhk!”
In a battle between magicians, great magics that required long incantations
weren’t ideal. If one had the magical energy, it was better to use a spell that
materialized immediately. It was more effective to use one-off attack magic! The
magicians, who were suffering under the attack, tried to activate their barrier
magic. However, two of them were too slow in reacting. Their bodies were torn
into pieces.
[Nyaa-ah. Nyaa-ahhhhhhh. Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa-ahhhhh!]
“Wait. Endure it for a little bit longer.”
“Oppa has a really bad personality. I like that about you!”
“I’m not sure who’s beat you are dancing to. ······You should start getting ready,
Sienna.”
“If its Purification, I’m confident in my abilities. Leave it to me..”
A magic battle of the century was occurring in front of the World Tree, and the
battle agitated the ambient Mana within the forest. Currently, the Elves were
completely taken over by the curse, so their base instinct was overriding their
rationality. Even now Artpe could feel the Elves converging on the World Tree.
Thankfully, the Elves hadn’t ventured out of the forest. If they did, it would have
made Maetel’s task more annoying.
“What do you want us to do, magician? If you occupy the girl with the horrific
amount of magical energy, we can take care of the remnants of Aedia.”
“I’m sorry for dragging all of you guys here. In truth, I don’t need you guys for
anything. You guys can just sit back and eat some buttered corn on the cob.”
“B...buttered corn on the cob?”
“Don’t you know that it is a specialty of Diaz? This is why I don’t work with
country bumpkins.”
They were mere audiences that will record the dirty history of Aedia. They were
here, so they would start looking in the mirror. The main characters for this stage
was Regina, Artpe, Roa and the World Tree.
“Humans are here!”
“How dare you sully the holy World Tree….. Humans!”
“The World Tree gave us an order to kill all of them!”
“Dark Elves? No, those that do not follow the World Tree’s orders is supposed to
become Dark Elves!”
It didn’t take long for all the Elves to descend on the World Tree. The number of
Elves kept increasing, and there were tens of thousands of them . Their levels
were low, but they were in their forest. They were receiving the World Tree’s
Blessing. This was why their abilities doubled in power, and there were tens of
thousand of them! Of course, the humans became nervous.
“M...magician. Is the buttered corn on the cob some kind of a secret code word?
At this rate, things are going to get really dangerous Aren’t you doing this,
because you want to protect the Forest of Eternity!?”
“Don't be so nervous. They aren’t in a situation where they’ll be able to attack us.
Do you really think those Elves look normal?”
“What?”
At Artpe’s words, the king of Daitan obediently turned to look at the Elves, and he
froze in place.
“······Dark Elves? No, they are falling at this very moment!”
The Elves were showing up from all sides. Almost half of the Elves possessed
brown skin.
According to Elven tradition, the Dark Elves were fallen Elves. They became
Dark Elves if they broke a rule set by the World Tree. If all of them believed
this….. It meant that most of the Elves were currently going against the World
Tree’s will.
“No! My skin!”
“Please stop, elder! Your skin is turning brown!”
“W...why did the World Tree do this to me!”
The Elves had come to punish the humans, who had intruded into their territory.
However, they were sent into a state utter confusion.
How could this be?
They had responded to the World Tree’s will, and they were fighting to protect
the forest from the humans! So why were the Elves degenerating into becoming
Dark Elves?!
“Oppa······ I’m curious about something.”
The humans were confused, and the Elves were confused.
In the midst of everything Sienna carefully asked Arpte a question.
“Did oppa intend for this to happen?”
When he heard her words, the corner of his mouth lifted. He smirked.
As expected, Sienna was smart unlike someone he knew. Instead of answering
her question, he lightly threw a question towards Sienna.
“Sienna, do you know how the Dark Elves are born?”
“They are Elves being punished by the World Tree for breaking its rules……. I
guess that’s not true since oppa is asking me that question.”
“Yes.”
Artpe explained it to her in a kind voice.
“Dark Elves are a form of an occupation. The World Tree chooses Elves with a
certain disposition as a defensive response. The World Tree gives these Elves a
Blessing.”
“Blessing······?”
Sienna asked him a question, because his words didn’t match up with the current
situation. Artpe snickered as he gave a further explanation.
“Dark Elves were slow at developing manufacture type skills compared to the
regular Elves. Instead, they had a special characteristic. They developed faster
in terms of battle magic and skill.. Elves are the custodians of the forest. Dark
Elves are the guards of the forest.”
“But the Elves are…...”
“That’s right. When they saw Dark Elves developing more inclination towards
battle, they assumed that the Dark Elves had broken a rule. This was why they
were ostracized and chased out of the forest. However, a large number of Dark
Elves couldn’t forget about the forest, so most hang around at the outskirts of the
forest. They fulfill their roles as guards.”
This was the reason why Mycenae was chased out of the forest. Despite this
fact, she tried to protect the forest even as she worked as a merchant. She was
able to sense a danger coming towards the forest. Amongst the guards,
Mycenae was probably the most active in her efforts to protect the forest. She
was also able to get great results.
“Just look at the current situation. The World Tree is in great danger right now.
There are several magicians present that are capable of burning down the World
Tree. Moreover, there are tens of thousands of knights gathered here. It is is a
situation where the World Tree is frightened.”
“Is that why it is giving out so many Blessings······?”
“Correct.”
The World Tree was trying to increase the number of guards that would protect it.
Then there were the Elves, who were tormented, because they couldn’t
understand the significant meaning behind the World Tree’s actions. It was a
truly foolish yet funny sight. Of course, in his previous life, it had been a horrible
spectacle.
“So why did you insist on creating this scenario, oppa? ······ah, I see.”
Sienna watched as more than 50% of the Elves were turned into Dark Elves.
She was puzzled, so she started asking Artpe a question. However, she came
up with the answer by herself. She nodded her head.
Until now, the Elves had always been victimized by humans. They didn’t have
the power to protect the forest. Elves were either kidnapped or cursed by the
humans. Even if one summarized the history of the humiliation suffered at the
hands of the humans, it would be enough to fill three 500 page books.
Despite this fact, the Elves didn’t think about accepting and nurturing the Dark
Elves, who were superior in terms of martial prowess. Instead, they were busy
kicking the Dark Elves out of the forest once they were born. Of course, this was
why the power of the forces within the Forest of Eternity never grew.
In the end, Aedia and Tiata moved in against the Forest of Eternity, because they
were weak. What would have happened if they hadn’t kicked out the high level
Dark Elves like Mycenae. If those Dark Elves were put into a squad, would the
curse be able to take hold inside the forest? Would the humans easily be able to
kidnap Elves for their curse experiments?
“Of course, the perpetrators for creating this situation were the humans.
However, the Elves contributed to exacerbate this situation. If they continue to
remain in this state, it doesn't matter if I police the humans. There will come a
day when they’ll experience something similar or worse.”
“I understand now. You want to be fair in punishing both the humans and the
Elves.”
“Correct..”
That’s right. He hadn’t let the situation devolve this far only as a cautionary tale
to the humans. He also wanted to feed some bitter medicine to the Elves. He
was forcefully changing their way of thinking!
“Evil! Bad!”
“You don’t like it?”
“You are too cool!”
Artpe couldn’t help but worry about Sienna. As time passed, Sienna’s Maetel-
ification was getting worse. For now, he decided to treat it as something good.
“Ah. This can’t be! The Dark Elves are······!”
While the king of Aedia was fighting Regina, he realized that his plan had gone
awry. He let out a shout.
Why?
According to common human social preference, they preferred white skin over
brown colored skin. It was a scream that reflected and revealed the truly
disgusting desire of humans.
“Your majesty, the situation is getting out of hand! Let’s blow up the World Tree!
We have to use that spell!”
“Let’s do it immediately….. Eeeeek, Regina!”
“Agreed. My name is Regina. That is the only thing I received from Aedia.”
Regina raised her head. There was a thick black Mana emanating from the king.
It was lumpy, and it felt very unpleasant. The thought of his Mana affecting the
Elves made it much more unpleasant. She was very annoyed, because she
could easily imagine what was going through the king’s head.
“Follow me, Regina! This is for the prosperity of Aedia!”
“Aedia is no more. It has fallen..”
She gave a cold reply as she spread both her her hands. The king knew he
couldn’t win against her, so he gave up on destroying the World Tree. He
immediately activated his black magic spell.
[Nyaa-ahhhhhh. Nyaa nyaa nyaa-ahhhhh.]
Roa had reached the end of her patience. She let out an impatient cry as she
begged Artpe. Her tail was thumping against his arm. Se was imploring him to
put her down. He smirked when he saw this.
“Yes, you’ve waited for a long time. It’s fine now, Roa.”
He let go of her leash.
“Eat it all!”
[Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa-ahhhhhhhh!]
Mana was emanating from the king’s body, and at that moment, Sienna eyes
opened into a fierce gaze.
Aedia and Tiata had casted dark clouds over the Forest of Eternity. The final
main character that would pull back dark clouds let out a fierce cry as she shot
into the air.
Chapter 100 - Even if We Look Different from Each Other (3)

[Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa!]
“Wow. Roa is incredibly excited.”
In a flash, the black fog covered the entire region. Roa started sucking in all the
negative Mana from the region. This was the most she had eaten, since she was
born. The Forest of Eternity was like a buffet to her.
The fruit always tasted sweeter when one refrained from eating it for a long time.
She ate all the cursed energy that had sprouted using the Elves as nourishment.
She also ate the black magic gathered by the humans. It was the tastiest meal
she had eaten up until now.
She had a thought. Maybe, all the curse in this world was gathered to be hers.
Roa let out a roar of delight.
[Mee-yahhhhhhhhhhhng!]
“Koohk. How can this be!?”
Roa’s gluttonous activity immediately affected the king of Aedia and his high
ranking nobles.
They had been unscrupulously learning black magic as black magicians. They
had been about to use their black magic, but the Greed Beast had abruptly
sucked away all the energy in the region. They weren’t able to control their Mana
properly.
“The Mana is…...”
“No, the magic circle is shattered! This shouldn’t be possible!”
[Nyahhhhhhhht!]
If their levels were overwhelmingly higher than Roa’s level, it might have been a
different story. However, Roa had travelled with Artpe, since she was born. As a
Greed Beast, she had travelled the Royal Road. In terms of level, she was close
in level with the black magicians!
“Huht. This is…. Koo-hahk!?”
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhh!”
Of course, they became flustered when their spells weren’t manifesting properly.
Regina used this opportunity to send out a single strike that caused the heads of
the nobles to explode. Everyone except for the king had their head cleanly blown
off.
If the king of Aedia hadn’t quickly brought up his defensive magic, he would have
suffered the same fate as them. When he realized this fact, his teeth clenched
from fright. He looked towards Regina. However, he didn’t have time to wonder
why his black magic hadn’t activated. He couldn’t investigate where the Mana
was being sucked away.
“R...Regina! You bitch! How dare you!”
“Lucky. I’m not worried. Let’s focus on the business on hand.”
She had a vague sense that everything would work out if Artpe was present.
However, she hadn’t expected him to show up with a magical beast possessing
a cheat-like ability.
Anyways, she no longer had to focus on protecting the World Tree. Moreover,
the black magic wouldn’t be interfering with her either. Since she was freed from
such restrictions, Regina could use the full extent of her power, which was about
twice as strong as before.
“I am your master! I am your master! How dare a golem go against its master!”
“I am a Demite. I am my own master. I will exercise my free will.”
She wasn’t a golem. She could do whatever she wanted to do.
“I’m tired of leashes. Even the one around my neck…..”
As she squeezed out every ounce of Mana within her, she looked at her
surrounding. She saw the tormented Elves. The curse had permeated in their
bones, and they had lost their sense of self. For some reason, her eyes landed
on Artpe next.
‘······denial. That man has always been free. He might have a bit too much
freedom.’
When she had traveled with him, she had felt a sense of kinship for a short
amount of time. However, she was deluding herself. Artpe liked younger
women, and he had acted passionately in an attempt to seduce her. She had
been taken in only a little bit.
That was it. Regina took her eyes off of Artpe as she continued to speak.
“······I’m tired of seeing leashes on others too.”
“When I said the Elves will obey the humans, that’s not what I meant! That’s
right. I meant I was going to borrow the power of Elves, so we can defend
against our outside enemies!”
“Humans are foolish. They keep repeating the same mistakes.”
Regina raised both her arms. Her spell was already finished, and she was just
waiting for the right moment to unleash it. Regina used the strongest spell in her
arsenal. It was an ice type short range ultimate spell. It was the Ice Dragon’s
Rage.
“However, I am a Demite.”
“Regina, wait a moment…. Koohk!? Kah-hahk!”
The first stage of the spell released a cold air that nullified and restricted the
enemy’s Mana and physical movement.
The second stage was an ice storm that condensed into a very small region
before being shot. It froze and destroyed one’s enemy.
“I will not make the same mistakes.”
However, there was no reply. The Ice Dragon’s Rage had squarely hit the king
of Aedia. There was no trace of him left in this world. He was dead.
“······hoo.”
She had killed someone that she had considered to be her master. Regina
floated in midair for a brief moment as she took an inventory of herself. She
waited to see if anything bad would happen to her. However, nothing happened
as time passed.
“Freedom. It really is freedom.”
If she was going to face the consequences for breaking restrictions placed on her
as a golem, she would have felt the backlash when she went against the order of
waking up the Elves. She would have suffered right when she manifested her
explosion spell against the nobles.
She was going through a confirmation process.
“I’ve always been free.. ······my ignorance led me to hardship. This feels much
better than being given a leadership role.”
After she reaffirmed her freedom again, she descended from the air. There was
nothing around her neck, but she rubbed at her neck with a satisfied expression
on her face.
Was it a coincidence?
A sickeningly good looking and merciful magician was waiting for her.
“It’s been awhile. What did you say when we parted ways? A golem follows its
master’s order? I think you said something similar...kuh-huhk.”
“Mean.”
Regina was aware of the fact that she was inferior to Artpe in terms of physical
capabilities. That was why she had casted a Strengthening spell on her fist as
she punched Artpe in the stomach.
“Aren’t you going too far with someone who helped you regain your
freedom….kuh-huhk.”
“Mean.”
It was as if she was punching him every time he spoke, so Artpe closed his
mouth. Despite this fact, Regina’s assault wasn’t at an end.
“You knew all of this from the start. My situation….you had a complete
assessment, yet you were silent. Mean. Mean. Mean.”
“You wouldn’t have believed me even if I told you the truth! Help me, Sienna!”
“Aht. The Elves are suffering from the curse over there! I’ll be right back, oppa!”
“Are you betraying me!?”
Regina was barely able to let go of her vexation after she punched Artpe’s
stomach several more times. She pouted as she took two steps backward.
Then she lowered her head.
“Thank you.”
“Your way of thanking me is excessive. If you thank me twice, you’ll break
couple of my bones.”
“My anger towards you have recharged.”
“No, don’t do it. I’m at fault.”
Regina canceled the spell she was about to use.
She carefully posed a question to Artpe.
“Are the Elves safe?”
“Mmmm. Maybe.”
After speaking those words, Artpe raised his head to survey his surrounding.
The ex-king and the ruling class of Aedia had died by explosion. There was no
trace of them left now. The humans in his party just blinked their eyes as they
looked on. They couldn’t help but feel despondent. The Elves were gathered
below the World Tree as Roa forcefully sucked out all the black magic from them.
The process was painful, but it seemed the Elves were more tormented by the
fact that they had fallen into being Dark Elves. Roa let out a roar as if to state
that she was going to absorb all the negative energy in the region
[Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]
“At the very least, they won’t be stained by the curse or the black magic. Since
most of the energy is being forcefully drawn out of them, their Mana Circuitry will
suffer some damage. Still, they’ll recuperate from it.”
“Even your way of saving them is evil. You are like a candidate for the next
Demon King. However, we were fortunate.”
“I don’t like brats like you, who pick things up too fast.”
Artpe gave a reply in jest as he smirked. She already knew that he had induced
the change of the Elves into Dark Elves. He had no excuse he could give.
Once the Elves became Dark Elves, they couldn’t recover their original skin
color. At least half of their population had become Dark Elves. They had only
two choices left as a race. They could either accept them or banish them. Of
course, half of the Elves would be able to live a better life no matter what
decision they came to. That part of Artpe’s plan was already a great success.
“Anyways, I have to attempt to speak to them, so I’ll have to call Mycenae
here…. Ooh-ahhhh. She going to scold me. I’m getting depressed just thinking
about it.”
“······shocked. You have another woman.”
“She’s my personal merchant.”
He immediately cut off Regina’s words. He refuted her words. He grinded his
teeth as he turned around.
The humans, who had accompanied Artpe to this forest, continue to look on with
a dumbfounded expression on their faces. Things were developing in a weird
direction.
“Well, we wiped out the remnant of Aedia’s ruling power. You guys can go back
now.”
“But…..”
“Are you feeling crappy, because you did nothing?”
“Y...yes. I believe so.”
It was as if Artpe had picked out the exact thought that was going through his
mind. The king of Daitan frowned as he acknowledged Artpe’s words.
Tens of thousands of knights and magicians had been gathered for this heroic
venture. They were going to root out the evil men, who had used black magic!
However, these evil men had been killed by some unknown girl. A scary
magical beast was taking care of the curse and black magic, which had been
tormenting the Elves.
Something was most definitely wrong here. They wanted a main role, yet they
weren’t even allowed to take on a minor role. They felt a sense of loss when
they realized that they were mere extras in this story.
“Well, you can take several souvenirs like the Artifact used by the king of Aedia.
Since you are heading back, you should also conquere Tiata. Ah. I’ll be
retrieving Maetel, so the conquest will have to be done through your own power.
Are the magicians of Aedia going to cooperate with Daitan?”
“W….we’ll cooperate…. However, this feeling…....”
“What is this unbearable feeling of shame······?”
“It’s because….. It’s because you guys aren’t heroes.”
No matter how strong one’s individuality was, one became a bridesmaid when a
hero made his appearance. They were there, so the hero could stand out from
the crowd.
Pretty women fell for the hero, and men admired the hero. Old men would
marvel at the hero’s wisdom, and the lords felt an unbearable urge to hand
control of their lands to the hero!
“I see. I guess it can’t be helped…..”
“Tiata has lost its ruler. If you consolidate and show off the power of Aedia and
Daitan, you will be able to resolve this with minimal violence.”
“That’s…. I think so too…....”
The king of Daitan gave up on discussing the subject. He retreated. It was ironic
that he would have to conquer Tiata with the knights and magicians gathered
here. However, his business at the forest had come to an end, so he had no
grounds for butting into Artpe’s affairs.
“Well….. I’m withdrawing the troops, and we’ll head straight towards Tiata.”
“Koo-hmm. I don’t think our actions will be judged kindly if we head towards
Tiata like this…..”
“I don’t think that’s true. In the end, Tiata also participated in this disaster. The
ruling class of Aedia and Tiata had committed high crimes. If we are going to
search for a new path forward, I believe the king of Daitan is our only option.”
“Moreover, the hero is with Daitan.”
That’s how it was.
Arpte hadn’t realized it yet, but Artpe’s occupation as the hero played a big part
in swaying the opinions of people! This was why they were able to accept this
unreasonable situation and retreat.
Of course, Artpe didn’t care about the reasoning behind them accepting his
orders. He was focused on whether Roa was eating well, and he checked to see
if Sienna had enough Mana to treat all the Elves. He raised the communication
item, and Maetel immediately answered his call.
[Artpe!]
“The situation has been resolved. I want you to come to the Forest of Eternity
right now.”
[Yes!]
First, he ordered Maetel to stop acting as a gatekeeper. He told her to come to
the forest, then he tried to contact his personal merchant Mycenae. It had truly
been a while, since he had contacted her. It didn’t take too long for her to reply
after the transmission had went out..
“Hey, ajumma…..”
[You really contacted in an expedient manner! Where are you right now? Were
you able to enter Aedia without much problem? Even if you don’t need to buy
anything from me, you should have contacted me to let me know you are ok.
You didn’t contact me for so long, and I was really worried……..]
It seems a lot of her feeling piled up, so she unloaded on Artpe with sharp words.
She spoke in rapid succession. In an attempt to calm her down, Artpe put
emphasis on his next message.
“I finished the Eternal Forest Quest.”
[It would look unseemly if I contacted you first…. What? What did you say?
May you repeat that again?]
“The Quest has ended, so I want you to give me my reward.”
Mycenae became silent.
Her lifelong wish was granted just like that.