Chapter 369: New World (4)

The Black Dragon guild was a massive guild with 22 million members. The guild house of Black Dragon, the largest in

MID Online

, was so massive that the word “house” felt out of place. Xao Lin had torn down the old guild house and bought two thousand pyeong of land to build a new Chinese-style palace. That was the Dragon Palace, the pride of Black Dragon. It was the very guild house that had been featured multiple times in media broadcasts.

“Looks like everyone’s here.”

The Dragon Palace that was usually loud and bustling, was drowned in silence and the conference room was filled with hundreds of executives. Xao Lin had summoned all the executives to hold a meeting.

Xao Lin sat on the jade throne engraved with a golden dragon in the grand hall covered with a red carpet and said, “Then let us begin.”

At his command, the bowing executives began reporting the information they had gathered one by one.

"Kai's disappearance is currently considered genuine without any lies or fabrication."

“We spent thousands of gold at the Information Guild and verified it several times. It’s confirmed.”

“We also contacted Pegasus Corp. They said there’s no way for a player to deliberately hide their name from the ranking board.”

Satisfied with the answers he wanted to hear, Xao Lin nodded with a pleased look.

“

Hmm

.” He looked to the executives who were watching him, and continued, “So what are your thoughts on invading Rashion?”

At the Dragon Lord’s question, the executives responded one after another.

“All signals point to a green light. However, the timing feels too coincidental.”

“That’s right. It hasn’t been long since we launched the northern reclamation war in Rashion and now this has happened.”

“So it’s a trap?”

“There’s a strong possibility it is.”

“I agree. But the fact that Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin’s names vanished from the rankings is undeniable. I suggest we wait a bit longer and only move once it’s certain they’re truly gone.”

“Additionally, the Revenge guild seems to be preparing something. They said they’d contact us once it’s done, so waiting might not be a bad idea.”

“Waiting again... It feels like you all say nothing but wait.”

Xao Lin tapped the armrest of the throne with his finger in a steady rhythm, resting his chin on one hand. As he thought in silence for a while, the executives glanced around nervously and lowered their gazes.

“

Hm

, I’ve decided,” Xao Lin straightened his back and said, drawing everyone’s attention. “Waiting has long been an essential virtue required of a victor. But I fear excessive patience will turn my men into cowards.”

“That won’t happen!”

“The house of the Black Dragon does not associate with fear.”

“We are ready to raise our weapons at any time if you give us the command.”

At the executives’ rebuttals, Xao Lin smiled faintly. “Then there should be no problem. Accelerate the leveling of guild members, and pour money into gathering gear and supplies. We’ll watch for a month. If nothing changes by then, we march.”

The executives looked surprised by the sudden declaration, but none voiced it simply bowed their heads.

"Yes, sir!"

***

“Today’s lesson will cover the logical reasons behind how the Solarian Church rose to become the continent’s greatest religion...” Albert, wearing reading glasses, began his lecture at the podium.

The hundreds of students watching him focused so intently not to miss a single word. Helik and Rashya were no different. The two girls obeyed Kai’s words to study diligently and paid close attention in every class, which placed them at the top of the academic ranks. No one could match their vast knowledge especially in theology.

“

Ah

.”

“Oh dear.”

Helik and Rashya were listening attentively to the lecture as always when they let out short sighs at the same time. At that, everyone turned toward them.

“Is something wrong?”

When Albert asked, the two shook their heads.

Smiling kindly at their cute response, Albert forgave the interruption. “Please focus.”

As he returned to his lecture with a brief remark, the two girls looked at each other.

Rashya, just now...

You felt it too?

The faint connection they each had to Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin had been severed. It was a kind of bond that existed between gods and their envoys, a thread made of divine power.

Their faces hardened at the same time. The disappearance of their envoys’ presence that could be sensed anytime anywhere, meant only one thing. They had entered the Demon Realm, a world entirely separate from the Celestial or Human Realm. Nothing else could explain it.

W-what do we do? Ha-Rin is too weak to act in the Demon Realm...

As Rashya fidgeted in worry, Helik reassured her.

Do not worry. Kai is not so weak that he would die just from being in the Demon Realm.

Of course, that would depend on who he encountered, but Helik didn’t say the rest.

Please return safely.

It was a silent prayer she couldn’t show in front of the trembling Rashya.

***

“

Hmm

.” Kai looked around the barren land and swallowed a groan.

All he could see was the same dark red ground and gray sky.

“The Demon Realm... Was Sting trying to summon some kind of demon?”

“Most likely. But I think something went wrong because of us.”

As a result, the two had been dragged into the Demon Realm.

This isn’t good.

Kai, who had heard about the dangers of the Demon Realm from Helik many times, furrowed his brows again.

“Can’t you use Shadow Shift?”

At Yoo Ha-Rin’s careful question, Kai gave a bitter smile. “Well, that is...”

Ding!

[You must wait 30 days to use the skill Shadow Shift.]

[The skill Descent cannot be used in this area.]

[The skill Divine Wrath cannot be used in this area.]

Several of Kai’s skills were restricted. He tried to escape using the Shadow Shift skill, but it now had a thirty day cooldown, and the most important skill Descent was completely unusable.

Hm. Maybe it’s because the souls of Cherantia, Shimizu, and Patrick can’t enter the Demon Realm.

Either way, this was troublesome.

Letting out a brief sigh, Kai began by handling what needed to be done first.

Check title.

[

Discoverer of the Demon Realm

]

Rank: Special

Description: A title given to the first person who discovered the Demon Realm.

Effect: +50% to all stats in the Demon Realm (This effect remains even when title is unequipped.)

“

Hm.

This is pretty good...”

He was lucky. For Kai, who had fallen into barren land and couldn’t use Descent, the title was a ray of light.

“

Wow

,” a gasp of admiration burst out from Yoo Ha-Rin beside him. “Kai, did you see the effect of the special title? All stats in the Demon Realm go up by 15%!”

“... Congratulations.” With nothing else to say, Kai awkwardly smiled and offered his congratulations. “More importantly, I’ll send out some messages since we won’t be able to leave the Demon Realm for at least thirty days.”

“Messages? To who?”

Kai smiled at Yoo Ha-Rin’s question. “To those who will protect my territory while I’m away.”

Since the message window to the Human Realm wasn’t working, Kai opened an internet window and sent an email to Minerva.

This should keep things at ease for now.

His territory should be secure with the Holy Blood Order, the Pray guild, and the Crimson Dawn guarding it like a fortress. Of course, how long that safety would last was unknown.

I need to find a way out of here as soon as possible.

Having made a plan, Kai checked his stat window.

[Kai]

Class: Solaris Cleric

Level: 535

Title: Envoy of God

HP: 243,700

Holy Power: 416,000

Strength: 3,312 Stamina: 2,437

Intelligence: 2,929 Agility: 1,767

Holiness: 4,160 Dignity: 1,579

Remaining Stat Points: 55

Benevolence: 709

Poison Resistance +30

Magic Resistance +101.5%

Nature Affinity +200

He had gained two levels after defeating Goliath in the Dark Zone, another two after fighting the Church of Muldine forces, plus another seven levels after entering the Demon Realm. Now at level 535, Kai contemplated how to distribute the remaining stat points.

It probably won’t help much to keep increasing Holy Power.

It was already his highest stat, and it was showing sufficient effect even now.

I’ll invest more in Intelligence since Gravity Field has been useful lately.

Kai invested 30 stat points into Intelligence and 25 into Stamina.

Intelligence: 3,049 Stamina: 2,537

As he looked at the inflated stats enhanced by the Witness titles, Kai finally turned to Yoo Ha-Rin.

“Ha-Rin? What are you doing?”

She blinked her big eyes prettily and stared into empty air. “Kai. Did you check the rankings?”

“The rankings? Why bring that up all of a sudden?”

“Just take a look for a second.”

Kai tilted his head at her request and opened the ranking window.

[Demon Realm Rankings]

1. Yoo Ha-Rin (0)

1. Kai (0)

“

Huh?

Why are the rankings...”

“It looks like the Demon Realm has its own ranking system. We’re tied for first right now.”

Kai nodded and replied, “The number in the parentheses next to the name must be...”

“Probably related to how many demons we’ve defeated here.”

“Most likely.”

Their thoughts matched.

“Thirty days before I can use Shadow Shift again. We won’t be able to avoid combat forever.”

“Doesn’t that make your heart race even more?”

Kai stared at her and asked, “About what?”

“We didn’t mean to, but in the end, we’re the only two out of over a billion players who can explore this region. The Demon Realm.”

“Now that you say it, that’s true,” Kai admired her optimistic way of thinking.

“And since it’s already a developed area, wouldn’t there be NPCs or quests?”

“Quests,

huh

...”

With just a slight shift in perspective, Kai felt like he understood what Yoo Ha-Rin was trying to say.

After hearing what she said, it really is kind of exciting.

After all, the two of them were gamers. They were people who felt joy from leaving footprints on unexplored maps, completing quests, and hunting new monsters. The only ones who could discover what kind of charm the Demon Realm held were her and himself.

“And the landlords don’t seem very interested in making us feel welcome,” Yoo Ha-Rin muttered as she looked at the monsters that began to appear one by one.

They were monsters they had never seen in the Human Realm, and all of them looked strong.

Kai also took a look at them as he stretched. “I once asked Helik how I compared to the demons.”

“What did she say?”

“She told me I was at the perfect level to die and not to even think about the Demon Realm.”

Yoo Ha-Rin gasped. She had no idea the beings of the Demon Realm were that powerful. “Then what should we do?”

At that, Kai smirked and reassured her, “Don’t worry too much—”

Wooooom.

Kai tightly gripped the Holy Sword he summoned and finished his sentence, “That was three months ago.”