Chapter 1190. The Demon King of Sunset’s Castle (10)

One step forward and another step forward. The wall looked impenetrable, but that wasn’t a problem. This dungeon was difficult, but the fact that he and I were connected, even for a brief moment, was enough.

One disappointing thing was the fact that our connection was really unstable.

‘Our connection was carelessly made.’

If I had to give an example, it was like we were using a demo version. This was clearly the downgraded version of what I could use with Kim Hyun-Sung. I was supposed to feel everything our lovely regressor was feeling, but I couldn’t feel anything from Woo Hyo-Yeol.

‘The difference is too big... This is basically a knockoff version.’

I couldn't feel the heat of the battlefield, I couldn't feel the air brushing past his skin, and I couldn't use all of my five senses.

All I could rely on was his vision.

I saw whatever he saw and vice versa, but even

that

was a downgraded version. To be exact, Kim Hyun-Sung could

see

everything I was seeing. In Kim Hyun-Sung’s words, his mind was being overwhelmed because he was seeing hundreds of points of view at once.

The fact that I had no telescope right now could be the problem, but the information he could process right now was extremely limited. Not only that...

‘We can’t even share our thoughts.’

If I were to compare our situation to a shonen manga, I'd say that our hearts weren’t completely in sync, so of course, the Regressor Instruction Manual couldn’t be used to the fullest. I couldn’t help but think that if I weren't the real version, I was probably the downgraded version, but it sounded more reasonable to say that it was all because my bond with Woo Hyo-Yeol wasn't

that

deep just yet.

‘With Kim Hyun-Sung, the manual was useful because we've spent several years together.’

I was seeing Woo Hyo-Yeol with the intention of using him temporarily and then throwing him away, so it wasn't strange that there was such a huge difference.

Of course, I couldn’t just keep complaining.

‘This is better than nothing.’

It was true that many things made me feel uncomfortable, but the fact that we still managed to connect was an achievement in itself. Also, Woo Hyo-Yeol’s performance was so impressive that there was no need for me to complain out loud.

‘At least it works.’

Even if he knew the effects of the items before him, it wasn’t easy to break through them. To do something like that, one had to be strong enough, bold enough, and decisive enough.

Woo Hyo-Yeol’s strength barely passed the benchmark. However, his biggest strength was his decisiveness. Every human being had even an ounce of hesitation in them, but he had none of that.

Despite the fact that hundreds of chains, which looked like they could easily tear somebody else apart, were falling before his eyes, his eyes were fixed on where I was staring.

‘Left.’

Right...

The chains grazed Woo Hyo-Yeol’s cheek, and despite seeing objects that could crush his head in an instant, he didn’t even blink. Actually, he widened his eyes. His focus had reached its peak, and it was proven by how his pupils had constricted into pinpoints.

It seemed like he hadn’t blinked even once since we started.

‘Go up.’

When he stepped on the chains and went up, giant fireballs appeared before him. I was convinced that he could parry them, and I saw him swinging his sword at them.

Boom! Kaboom!

Upon vanquishing the firebox, he encountered the massive tsunami from earlier.

‘It's called the Random Magic Box, but it looks like it only summons tsunamis.’

The problem was that many things were caught up in the tsunami, including the Infernal Magic Golem. The waves extinguished the flames, but the giant golem was swinging its fist haphazardly to swim.

It was the same for the gargoyle statues and the other beings summoned by the items. The way it consumed everything and created a hellish landscape was truly a spectacle. It felt like the time we entered Mirror Lake, but compared to back then...

‘This is easy.’

Woo Hyo-Yeol continued his journey. He dodged the Infernal Magic Golem's fist, got on its head, and looked for a place to land. Of course, that was my job, not his. After looking at everything he was seeing, I guided him and told him which place was weak, where he needed to step on, and what he needed to do.

“

Roooooooooar!

”

Kaboom!

A spider-type monster stretched out its leg as it was being swept away by the wave.

“Start.”

Moving while dodging the monster’s leg was the signal.

Woo Hyo-Yeol lowered his head and severed off the monster's leg. A giant spear flew toward him, but he dodged by leaning backward. It was only natural for him to dodge it because he was already aware of it. The spear was merely a distraction.

He was aware of the giant’s foot, Chanelia Hermes’s Battle Backpack, and the Infernal Magic Golem that stretched out its arm once more, but he didn’t stop moving.

He would either block them with his sword or get away from them. He would sometimes let them collide into each other, reducing the effectiveness of the items. He was also aware that he needed to keep moving, and in response to that, I guided him.

It looked like a pile of trash was being swept in by the tsunami, but there was a path.

‘How... does it look?’

I assumed that the path he needed to take was marked by a red arrow in his vision. His movements were just as decisive and precise. He didn’t make any unnecessary movements, and his every action and movement seemed like he was trying to carry out a side quest.

I was kind of surprised because I didn’t expect him to agree to let me lead him so easily, but...

‘He has no choice but to listen to me.’

I was letting him experience a brand new world, so of course, he wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste out of pride. He knew better than anyone that there was a fundamental difference between this and his relentless attacks.

Moving while being fully aware of the battlefield was something warriors like him could only dream of doing, so I became a bit more confident.

“You’re going to be kind of slow because of Ruten’s Grand Clock,” I warned him.

Ruten’s Grand Clock was an artifact that could adjust the time within the affected region.

When Woo Hyo-Yeol stepped forward, everything slowed down. A mysterious hexagonal dice rolled around, and a snake made of lightning slithered in the air. Besides those, the pile of trash and fragments floating everywhere was swimming slowly as if the region had zero gravity.

Everything around him flew toward him.

As if time was sped up, everything fell toward Woo Hyo-Yeol, but all of that was part of the calculation as well.

Woo Hyo-Yeol split open the snake made of lightning, and the mysterious dice moved really far away.

Boom

!

The dice devoured the nearby items and disappeared, so I adjusted the location again.

‘An opening.’

I saw a shortcut that was coincidentally made upon the collision of those items, not by me.

Woo Hyo-Yeol moved forward while swinging his sword.

Kaboooooooom!

“

Roooooooooar!

”

Booooooooooom!

Craaaack!

I had no idea what he was thinking right now, but he was definitely smiling.

“

Ha... haha

.” He let out a dumbfounded laugh, which was unlike him. Then, he climbed up the mountain of items. When he reached an empty clearing, I saw Hwang Jung-Yeon looking at him with a blank expression.

Swoosh!

Woo Hyo-Yeol swept past Hwang Jung-Yeon.

“

Ah!

” Hwang Jung-Yeon gasped, and red liquid burst out of her.

Immediately afterward, we saw a tidy room that had remained unaffected by the chaos just now.

The players who had been swept away by the tsunami, the useless fools who had been watching the battle from afar, and the players actively participating in battle were staring at the unrealistic sight.

There wasn’t enough time to figure out what was going on, but...

[The Collection Manager of the Demon King of Sunset’s Demon Castle has been silenced.]

“

Waaaaaaaaaaah!

”

The people cheered.

“Don’t think this is over... you lowly pests...”

'I thought you were silenced?’

The Collection Manager finally disappeared. I wasn’t sure if she was recalled or if she was moved to a different location, but... I was really satisfied with what she had done.

The clichéd villain line that she had uttered before disappearing wasn't that bad.

“

Aaaaah!

” Woo Hyo-Yeol cheered.

William looked down at his hands.

‘He looks sad.’

I was sure he was trying to figure out why he hesitated at the last moment, but what could he do? He had always been like that.

“We won...

ahh!

We won! We did it! Shit!!!”

“We did it in the end! This is what I’m talking about!

Hahahahaha!

”

‘You guys didn’t do anything. I did it. And you guys are too hyped up right now. People might think that we've taken down the Demon King of Sunset or something. Jung-Yeon was the only one we took down...’

If Hwang Jung-Yeon had intended to kill the players of Rohen, there wouldn’t have been a lot of survivors. Whatever the reason, I had to strengthen the stars of Rohen so that I could send them up the Demon’s Castle, so they had no choice but to do things for me.

‘Yeah... I can see why they’re cheering...’

Just like the Forsaken Saint incident, they hugged each other and cheered in joy.

Obviously, I screamed in delight as well.

I was heartbroken because a few items were destroyed during the battle, but there were still many items left for us to take.

The fact that I had obtained the Magnetic Field Position Shifter was already great, but there was also Ruten’s Grand Clock, which allowed me to freely adjust the time in a specific region.

The Ice Dust Clock allowed me to summon a chilling gust in a specific region as well.

Although one of them was destroyed, Clandas’ Gargoyle still showcased its magnificent power. It was worth taking a look at all the items in the 10s. There were items we could take back to our continent and use, and not only that, Hwang Jung-Yeon knew the effects of those items, so we already had someone who could manage them.

‘I’m so happy. I’m really, really happy.’

“...”

“That one looks good, and this one too.’

“Lee Ki-Young, you...” Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young...”

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young?”

Obviously, I couldn’t express my joy right now because—

“Shit! Priest! Mr. Lee Ki-Young! Are you okay?!”

“

Kyaaaah!

Mr. Lee Ki-Young!”

—I was planning on dying.

‘I’ll collapse stylishly.’

Maintaining grace even as I was collapsing was what defined Flower Ki-Young.

Thud.