Chapter 117: World Tree Revival Operation (3)

With a sharp flick of his wrist, Kim Ki-Rok let go of the rebounding dagger and immediately drew a sword from his subspace.

Lesser Demon Masent twisted his upper body and stepped back just in time to avoid the slash. He retreated further, raising his arms to shield his face.

With a loud crash, Kim Ki-Rok lunged forward, dagger still in reverse grip, and spun to deliver a powerful swing with his pink sword. The blow sent Masent skidding back, but he quickly launched into the air just as another dagger sliced through the space he had left behind.

Grinding his teeth, Masent began widening the distance between them and chanting a spell to regain control of the fight. However, his attempt was in vain as he was forced to draw his sword to block the fast-approaching arrows.

Masent barely parried the attack, rising higher into the sky. From above, he looked down at his opponent and muttered, "Who the hell is this guy?"

Not only was his opponent apt at handling a longsword, but he was also proficient at handling daggers and his archery was precise. He didn't give the impression of a specialized master, but of someone deeply proficient in all forms of combat. Fighting him felt less like a duel and more like facing multiple opponents at once.

Still, even this skilled adversary wouldn't be able to stop what was coming.

"Fire Javelin!" the demon roared, conjuring a spear of flames and hurling it down.

A flicker of anticipation sparked within him. Would his opponent dodge or block? Apparently, Kim Ki-Rok had chosen neither of the above.

"Aeple."

The summoned Elemental reached out with a smirk, halting the fire spear midair.

"Damn it!"

Masent forcibly detonated the spear, but the Elemental had seized control of his magic and was about to redirect it right back at him.

Staring in disbelief, Masent muttered, "He even knows Elemental mag—"

His words cut off as he surged mana into his artifact. A burst of light followed, and in the next instant, the demon vanished.

Kim Ki-Rok used the smoke from the explosion as cover, lunging in for a sneak attack. His sword shot forward, aiming directly for Masent, but it met only empty air.

"

Tsk.

Thought I could at least take an arm," Kim Ki-Rok muttered. "Shield."

He infused mana into his artifact to create a shield, and stood in midair and looked down. He could see Masent looking up at him from the ground, gnashing his teeth. Kim Ki-Rok created shields in succession, stepping on them like stairs to descend.

"You... what the hell are you?" Masent questioned.

"I'm Kim Ki-Rok, the Pink Hero. I don't have much talent, but I've trained enough to hold my own with most combat skills."

"Haa?"

"You saw it yourself, didn't you? Bet you thought, 'This guy's no expert.'"

Masent had indeed underestimated him for that very reason. Kim Ki-Rok didn't have the aura of someone who had reached the pinnacle of a specific discipline. Now, faced with his near-mastery of multiple weapons, the demon realized its mistake.

Kim Ki-Rok suddenly looked up at the distant sky. "At first, I couldn't help but wonder why..."

Masent narrowed his eyes, suspicion creeping in.

Was this a distraction? Another trick?

He began casting a spell, just in case.

"Why couldn't I reach mastery at

anything

no matter how hard I tried," Kim Ki-Rok continued. "There are others with no talent who became masters through sheer dedication. Why couldn't I?"

To the demon's surprise, Kim Ki-Rok was genuinely lamenting.

"Aren't you curious about that reason, Lesser Demon Masent?"

While storing magic in Memorize, Masent feigned interest, preparing a powerful spell to unleash as soon as the conversation ended. Still, he played along. "What was the reason?"

"The answer was simpler than I expected," Kim Ki-Rok said. "It's because I'm not afraid of death."

"What?"

"Humans have a limited lifespan. That's why those who dedicate their lives to reaching the top are usually desperate. People who take up the sword for revenge, for example, become stronger quickly. They have a clear goal in mind, and they know the strength of their enemies, and that desperation drives them toward growth."

"But that's not the case for you?"

"That's right."

"But you're a human yourself."

"But I'm not afraid of death," Kim Ki-Rok said plainly.

As long as he didn't take his own life or die of old age, Time Rabbit's Luggage would let him repeat his life, hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of times.

After his 10th Attempt, he stopped fearing death.

After his thirtieth, he stopped feeling fear altogether.

After his fiftieth, death had become nothing more than a tool, something to craft a better future.

"Well, it's a lot... no,

very

bothersome." Kim Ki-Rok sighed.

If he ever died during an Attempt he believed was going well, he would return to that same point, see it through to the end, and use his skill, Record, to capture every detail.

"I'm not desperate like others are. If I fail, I can just change course. And because I hold that belief, I'll never become a true master."

"You're saying you can't become an Aura Master, but you can reach the level of an Aura Knight?"

"That's right."

"You can't become an Archwizard, but you can be a Greater Wizard, one who's reached the 6th Circle?"

"Spot onnn."

"You can't become a Greater Elementalist, but you've made it to Intermediate Elementalist?"

"That's correct."

Masent gave a nod and raised one hand. "I see."

With a flick of his finger, a hidden magic circle he had prepared flared to life and gave off a low, ominous hum. It lit up with a black glow, then erupted in a massive explosion.

Even though the spell was something as basic as Explosion, it became far more powerful when cast by a Lesser Demon.

However, Masent still stood on guard. He had begun to understand a few things about Kim Ki-Rok. The human could wield multiple weapons with high proficiency. He had formed contracts with Elementals and could use elemental magic. His mana control was so refined he could activate three artifacts simultaneously.

Most importantly, he was cunning.

As if sensing something, Masent kicked off the ground and leaped into the air once more. Five daggers shot out from the black fog. Judging by the dark red liquid coating their blades, it was clear they were laced with venom.

Should I land now, or keep using Fly magic?

After a brief consideration, Masent chose to land, scanning the black fog conjured by his own spell.

Kim Ki-Rok emerged through it wrapped in his pink cloth, charging forward without hesitation.

"Our guild... no, I guess 'brigade' is the more accurate term in this world," he said. "This cloth, designed specifically to resist magic, is coated on the outside with a mana-absorbing potion and lined on the inside with a mana resistance-enhancing potion, both crafted by our Potion Brewer."

Boom!

This time, Masent didn't back away. He met the strike head-on and blocked it with all his strength, gritting his teeth as he caught sight of Kim Ki-Rok's wide grin. "So you call that magic-resistant cloth... because it resists magic?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Are you insane!?"

"Among the heroes, they call me the Crazy Bastard, which is just a roundabout way of saying I'm unhinged."

Masent hadn't expected such a blunt response. For a moment, he was at a loss for words. Snapping back to his senses, he flared with killing intent and activated the spell he had stored using Memorize magic.

Kim Ki-Rok rolled his shoulders and twisted his neck side to side, still grinning. "We got a bit sidetracked. It's already been eleven minutes."

The effects of Limit Break would last sixty minutes, but Mirror only thirty, meaning he had just under twenty minutes left to fight at full strength.

"Well, ten minutes should be more than enough."

Kim Ki-Rok channeled a surge of mana into his longsword and triggered a controlled explosion. Rather than pursuing Masent as he flew upward, he drew a dagger from his waistband and hurled it skyward.

A series of explosions rang out as the dagger collided with Masent's magic midair. Kim Ki-Rok used the chaos to rush forward, closing the distance again.

***

While the Lesser Demon struggled under Kim Ki-Rok's pressure, the Intermediate Demons who had moved to destroy the unexpectedly revived World Tree were also being pushed back without resistance.

"How on earth..." one of them mumbled, perplexed.

Was it because they were weakened because they were within the territory of the World Tree?

No. The mana of the Demon Realm had already spread across the continent. Setting foot within the World Tree's domain only reduced a demon's power slightly—five percent, maybe eight at most.

In fact, the two Intermediate Demons had only lost about ten percent of their strength. That alone shouldn't have been enough to stop them. Even weakened, they should have been more than capable of crushing a High Elf.

There was only one explanation.

"They've become stronger?"

The demon with the longsword nodded in agreement with his companion, who had an axe resting on his shoulder. "You're right. They've definitely gotten stronger."

The High Elves had changed. Their faces, bodies, and names were the same, but their power had grown.

"If they've become this strong all of a sudden... it's likely due to some kind of time-limited support magic or an artifact."

While continuing to assess the situation, the demon blocked the attack of High Elf Warrior Mair with his longsword. Their weapons clashed with a thunderous boom.

"A time limit?"

"Yes. At first, they struggled to control their strength. But now they're adjusting and starting to pressure us."

"They couldn't control it at first... I see. They must have received some kind of external boost to temporarily enhance their power."

They had identified the cause of the change. Now came the next question: what exactly had been used?

"Could it be an artifact?" one of the demons suggested.

"No. It's more likely they consumed or absorbed something. Compared to the past, their strength has increased by about fifty percent. If it were an artifact with that level of amplification, we would've sensed it."

"So you're saying they drank a potion or absorbed some other item." The longsword demon finished his companion's thought in a low, grim voice.

***

Hero Kim Ki-Rok had handed Serena a pink lunchbox and told her to eat it as soon as the revival ritual ended.

"He really is full of wonders," Serena murmured.

She had remembered his advice and opened the lunchbox the moment she heard the demons were coming.

Although she didn't have access to the Appraisal system like the Hunters, she had consumed a sample during the earlier meeting and confirmed the lunchbox's power firsthand. However, the full lunchbox had buffed her far more than the sample, leaving her unprepared for the sudden surge in strength.

Nearby, Hunter Lee Yeon-Hwa, Jang Baek-San, Ji Cheol-Hyun, and Baek Min-Hyuk all nodded in agreement with Serena. Without the power boost from his eight-course meal, they wouldn't have stood a chance against what they were about to face.

"Do you think he takes orders?" Baek Min-Hyuk asked suddenly, catching a few looks of disbelief. He quickly clarified, "I mean, when the permanent Gate gets created, it's bound to be somewhere inside the DG Guild, right?"

The other Guildmasters all had the same thought.

"Then, since we'll always have to stop by the DG Guild before entering the Gate, could we buy a lunchbox..."

The implication sank in instantly.

If they had access to Kim Ki-Rok's eight-course lunchbox—each meal packed with four stat-boosting effects—then Gate clearing, or even large-scale monster subjugation, would become dramatically easier. Plus, it actually tasted better than what a decent hotel would normally serve.

I'll have to ask him about it later.

Would the Association even have the budget for this? It's probably expensive...

Maybe we could get a discount if we buy in bulk.

Everyone was thinking along the same lines, but they had no time to dwell on it. The Intermediate Demon unleashed a wave of pressure that forced them all to refocus.

Well, that's something to think about later.

Later, after we survive.

First, we have to make it out of this alive.

The High Elf warrior and the Commander of the Paladin Order charged forward. Behind them, the Elementalist and the wizard raised their hands, preparing their magic. The Hunters, a little late but no less determined, rushed in to attack the two Intermediate Demons.