Chapter 149

Crunch-!

I stomped on an approaching centipede Monster, crushing it. At the same time, I extended my palm.

[Attraction]

A Demon far in the distance was pulled straight toward me.

“Uh, uh, uuuuugh!”

Slice!

I cut the bastard’s neck with Durandal, which had become a Demon Sword.

Immediately after, I ducked my head.

An arrow flew through the spot where I had just been. Without a moment to breathe, I bent my back backward. A sword passed by in slow motion. The bastard who must have thought it was the perfect move stared in disbelief.

‘Huh. He was right here just a second ago…’

I didn’t give him time to think. Feeling my vision spin 180 degrees, I lifted my foot.

Thwack-!

As soon as I felt the impact of kicking his jaw, I regained my balance. The bastard who had tried to kill me was slowly falling backward.

With Durandal in my hand, stab!

No need to watch him fall.

Time to strike the next enemy…

“Well, now.”

There were no enemies left around me.

Only then did my field of vision widen. The Demons wearing Verno’s crest, who believed I was their comrade, were staring at me.

Not a single one of them could speak.

An officer who belatedly came to his senses spoke up abruptly.

“Are you the one who single-handedly defeated five mid-rank Demons on the Arjan Great Plains?”

“……”

“They said a tremendous new recruit had appeared. The rumors were true.”

“……”

“Your strength and skill in handling Demonic Energy are that of a Lower Demon, but your combat sense is off the charts. Hey. Are you interested in serving under me?”

I had no time to answer him.

I had to check the Experience Points that were belatedly being calculated.

-You have acquired Experience Points!

-Acquired Experience Points: 899,992exp!

890,000.

And there was one more.

-Awakener, Henry Povil, has completed an S-Rank Monster Raid. You will share the Experience Points.

-Shared Experience Points: 100,208exp!

Even the Experience Points being shared from the Mainland.

If I add them up.

-Level Up!

-Current Level: 829

KABOOM!

That’s it.

My body trembled. No, it was made to tremble.

I always feel it, but it’s always new.

The pleasure of a Level Up as you reach higher Ranks. Nothing could compare.

“Hey. I asked you what you think.”

I ignored the bastard and returned to the barracks.

The camp, filled with tents, was overflowing with the sound of grinding steel, dying screams, and the wounded.

“You’re back.”

As I entered the tent, a little over twenty Demons stood up in unison.

Ignoring the stiff-faced bastards, I went to the farthest corner.

And checked the remaining time.

[Protect Polymorph.

Time until effect ends: 02 : 00 : 01]

It had been 19 days since I came here.

The Polymorph’s effect now had only two hours left.

Gor? Verno?

I hadn’t even met either of them. The System must be frustrated.

“I think I’ll have to get out of the Demon Realm within two hours.”

So I proposed a deal.

“Could you give me some service time? A generous amount, if possible.”

From the System’s perspective, it must be wondering what the hell I was doing.

After all, it gave me a whole 500 hours, and all I was doing was cutting down Lower Demons.

Right. But seeing all those useless Demons changed my mind.

I couldn’t even begin to calculate how much Experience Points I’d get if I killed them all.

Since I’m here anyway, I might as well squeeze it for all it’s worth.

There was a reason I was having such an arrogant thought.

Was it from when I started to perceive the System as something akin to a Sentient Being?

It absolutely hates taking a loss.

In stock market terms, it’s like being unable to cut losses on a stock showing a negative rate of return.

It needs to get back what it invested in Choi Gi-woong, so could it really be so cold as to end the Quest here?

I’m sure of it.

At this point, the System can’t abandon me. My presence has become too significant for that.

The System’s reply came before long.

-The System will maintain the effect of Protect Polymorph.

-Protect Polymorph.

Time until effect ends: 499 : 59 : 59

That’s right.

-Shared Experience Points will be increased to 32%.

It can grant a petty complaint like this anytime.

Compared to the Experience Points I could sweep up, calling it petty is an understatement.

I stood up. I spoke to one of the Demons who stood up with me.

“Guide me to the most intense battlefield.”

I wonder if this is what it would feel like if you gathered all the Hunting Grounds into one place.

The days were drenched in blood. Even as the battles continued, even as the battlefields changed, I always stood out.

I cut down the most enemies and stomped Monsters to a pulp.

I revealed my power as naturally as possible.

-Level Up!

Level: 831

Buff-adjusted Level: 900

The Experience Points flow in.

-Level Up!

Level: 835

To say they flow in is not enough. It’s more like a tidal wave crashing down.

Over here, I gain Experience Points from wiping out Monsters. On the Mainland, I gain Experience Points shared through the Awakeners.

I couldn’t count how many I killed. But I couldn’t get drunk on this alone.

I revealed my power, step by step.

Ten days after starting as a Lower Demon, I became a mid-rank Demon, and after a month, I became an Upper Demon.

I was growing stronger at a speed unprecedented even in the Demon Realm.

The truth was, I was just slowly releasing my sealed power.

“That damn Peter bastard. They say he ended up siding with Gor.”

“We gave them 300 barrels of Essence. That’s enough to make 500 Upper Demons.”

“So what? You think you can say that in front of Lord Verno?”

My position had changed before I knew it.

From a small, musty tent to a place with a fine bed.

I had been acknowledged as an Upper Demon.

“That’s him. The guy who was just a new recruit and rose all the way to Upper.”

As I walked by, one of the Upper Demons gestured at me with his chin.

“A growth rate you can’t believe even after seeing it. I’m curious where the hell he rolled in from. Is he from a noble family?”

“Watch your mouth. Your head will fly.”

“Let him try. Whatever.”

The bastard strode toward me.

“Hey…”

Without even making eye contact, I slashed my hand. Just like that, the bastard’s head rolled onto the ground with a thud.

It was accompanied by a message that my Experience Points had increased.

A silence fell, as if a video had been cut.

On the battlefield, something like this didn’t even count as out of the ordinary.

The atmosphere soon returned to normal.

However, the topic of conversation remained the same.

“A while ago, Bentan asked him for a sparring match, and he just lopped his head off.”

“Crazy bastard. He’s a madman, crazy for blood. The Demonic Energy must have seeped into his very marrow.”

It wouldn’t be a loss to beat any Demon to death, but to be honest, I was acting a bit more aggressively than my usual self.

Just to stand out a little more.

And this was the result.

“They say Lord Verno is coming in person.”

“Just to see that guy?”

“It’s not ‘just.’ He’s already an Upper Demon.”

“They only count him as an Upper because we’re short on numbers at the front. In peacetime, he’d barely make mid-rank.”

“Then why don’t you go ask him for a match?”

I turned my gaze to the Demon who was clicking his tongue and looking at me.

The bastard who had just said I’d barely make mid-rank immediately turned his head away the moment our eyes met.

At the end of his averted gaze, the head of the Demon I had killed was dangling.

“…No need to waste strength in a time of war.”

“Everyone, fall in line! Lord Verno has arrived!”

At someone’s voice, the Demons froze. Swiftly, every Demon on the front line gathered.

Soon, he revealed himself.

One of my targets. It was Verno. The bastard, who appeared decked out in flashy Items, started by handing out Items from the get-go.

“You have all worked hard. The supplies we were short on are here, so feel free to pick what you want.”

Amid the deafening cheers, he looked around. It was obvious who he was looking for.

Before long, his gaze stopped in one place.

The bastard strode toward me.

I could easily kill him now. At this moment, while he’s off guard, knowing nothing.

No. I can’t. I must endure for the bigger picture.

It was only after I barely suppressed the urge to draw Durandal.

The bastard who had come closer patted my shoulder.

“So it’s you.”

“……”

“Your eyes are as sharp as the rumors say. Where are you from?”

“…I don’t know.”

“You must be from a noble family. I’m not saying this because of your growth rate. I’m talking about the aura that only the strong can emit.”

The bastard smiles a good-natured smile.

“What do you want.”

I spoke bluntly on purpose. It seemed he preferred this side of me.

My prediction was correct.

The bastard grinned and asked.

“What is your name? I heard that no one has heard your name.”

“Gresham.”

When I gave him the name I had just made up, he seemed to like it even more.

“A proud Warrior deserves to be treated as such. Gresham. Come under me.”

“I am already under you.”

“I mean you should join my direct command.”

A scoff was appropriate here.

“I refuse.”

“…And why is that?”

“I like to fight. If I go under you, I feel like I’ll have to watch the battlefield like a little girl.”

It was super effective.

Verno’s expression brightened beyond measure.

“I’m certain. You must be from a noble family.”

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t remember my childhood.”

“You insolent…”

“Enough.”

Verno, shushing the subordinate next to him, suddenly unfurled his Demonic Energy.

From now on, only the two of us could hear this conversation.

“Did you say you wanted a place to fight?”

“That’s right.”

“Follow me. I will introduce you to a battlefield worthy of that.”

“No. You don’t know what I mean.”

“?”

“Even if I fight a hundred more of these boring wars of attrition, it won’t quench my thirst.”

“In that boring war of attrition, how many Demons and Monsters have you killed?”

“30,000? Maybe over 40,000. But that’s meaningless.”

“Why?”

“Because as long as we don’t capture Gor, the war will go on forever.”

“……”

“How long has the front been in a stalemate? Did you declare war on Gor just to play this boring game of chess?”

“…Interesting. Keep talking.”

“If I were you, I’d go to capture Gor. By infiltrating the deepest part of his castle.”

“……”

“So unless you’re going to capture Gor, don’t tell me to follow you. I’ll accept the sentiment behind the Essence, but that’s all.”

“……”

His expression showed that his pride was deeply wounded. Poking him further here wouldn’t be effective.

Instead, I turned my back on him. Verno stood there, stiff as a statue.

As I did, I subtly released my Demonic Energy. A Demonic Energy of at least Level 700, which I had not revealed until now.

At the same time, I counted silently.

One, two, three.

“Wait.”

Just as I thought.

I looked at him again.

His complicated expression was on full display.

His face was filled with thirst.

The thirst to capture Gor. And thus, the desire to Level Up.

He was wondering if it would be possible if he threw in Gresham, this nobody who had rolled in from who knows where.

The answer came quickly.

“Why did you call me and then say nothing.”

“Let’s do it.”

“Do what.”

“I will do as you wish. We’ll go capture Gor ourselves.”

“Changed your mind?”

“With you, it seems possible.”

“Hmph. Whatever’s fine with me.”

“Oh, right. I’ll set aside the Essence for you myself.”

I put on the expression of a true Warrior who doesn’t rely on things like Essence.

Whatever that’s supposed to look like.

“Don’t refuse.”

“…Fine.”

I had no intention of refusing in the first place.