Chapter 370: Mine (1)

"B-but there’s starting to be a bit too many, don’t you think?" Yoo Ha-Rin asked in a slightly intimidated voice while looking around.

It truly felt as if every single demon nearby had gathered, drawn to the rare—or perhaps first-ever—appearance of humans in the Demon Realm. Their number exceeded two hundred, yet oddly not a single one looked identical.

"Honestly... I’m not so sure about this."

"Now you're saying that?!" Yoo Ha-Rin panicked.

Kai let out a quiet laugh. "Just kidding. I meant that I don't think I can lose."

As if to prove that those weren’t empty words, he changed his gear to the Holy Pauldron Nike. The reason was simple.

[Set: Path of the Apostle]

Effect applies when all three Apostle’s relics are equipped.

+100 to all stats.

+30% in effects of all skills consuming Holy Power.

-30% Holy Power consumption for all skills.

It increased all stats and reduced Holy Power consumption while massively boosting their effects. On top of that, each relic had a total bonus damage of 50% against demons or undead.

And I have the Discoverer of the Demon Realm title as well.

All stats in the Demon Realm increased by 50%. Was that the end? Not even close.

Plus, holy power-based classes deal 50% more damage to demons, undead, or Church of Muldine followers.

Kai’s stats had already reached monstrous levels, but his strength in the Human Realm was not even half of what he could show here.

“Well then, shall we begin?”

Kai took a step forward. For someone packed with monstrous stats, his movement was light.

“

Krrrr!

”

The first to charge at him was a house-sized beast with a single eye. The other demons just watched as it charged.

Is this one the strongest among them?

Kai smiled and said, “Radiant Sword.”

The energy of the sun that was absent from the Demon Realm coated the sword. The blade slashed at the charging demon like a charging rhinoceros.

“Horizontal Slash.”

It was literally a slash from left to right. With that single strike, all eight legs of the one-eyed monster were severed.

“

Kieeeek?!

”

The being it thought was prey revealed an overwhelming power.

Losing balance, the demon collapsed. Its huge body stopped right in front of Yoo Ha-Rin.

“Finish it off, please.”

“

Yeah

...

Oh

, okay!”

Yoo Ha-Rin hurriedly drew her sword and stabbed the monster’s single eye to finish it.

“

Kyahhhhhh!

”

The death cry let out by the one-eyed monster before it died became a sort of signal. The demons who had rushed in all at once stopped moving. Some of them suddenly turned and left the area without hesitation as if they had lost all interest.

Kai, who had revealed who the predator of this place was with a single blow, looked around. Not a single demon dared to meet his gaze head-on.

So that wasn’t the strongest after all.

It had merely been a kind of decoy.

After Kai’s strength was revealed with the death of the one-eyed monster, the ones with brains all left the area. The only ones that remained were the dull ones who could do nothing.

This is what the Demon Realm is.

It was a world ruled entirely by the law of the jungle. A place where demons would charge in madly at the slightest opening, but also where no one dared to make a move once absolute power was shown.

The average level of the ones left is around 660.

There was no way they were the elites. The ones who left must have been the real ones.

“Well, we’ll probably run into them while hunting.”

Kai walked leisurely like someone out for a stroll.

“

K-krrrk?

”

None of the demons moved. Or more accurately, none could move.

“An eightfold gravity field should be enough.”

Kai’s blue glowing eyes scanned the new sources of XP points.

***

Yoo Ha-Rin stirred a ladle and asked in an excited voice, “

Wow

, is it really okay to gain this much XP?”

At that Kai replied, “Well, that’s the developers’ problem.”

They had hunted twenty-three demons and gained three levels each. That was partly because the enemies had high levels, but mostly due to the Discoverer of the Demon Realm buff which gave them triple XP.

Yoo Ha-Rin stirred the soup bubbling with purple bubbles and smiled brightly. “You must be hungry, right? Just wait a bit. I’ll make you something.”

“Wait... is that even edible?”

What was boiling inside the pot was the meat of the demon they had just hunted that looked like a cow.

“It’ll be fine. It’s beef, after all.”

It had twelve eyes and six horns, so it clearly wasn’t any ordinary cow.

“And my cooking skill is intermediate level 4. I'm really confident.”

However, Kai wasn’t confident in eating that. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud and instead forced an awkward smile. How could he refuse when she offered to cook after a hard hunt? Besides, he had the Poison Master skill, so eating it wouldn’t kill him.

“

Mmm!

This is good,” Yoo Ha-Rin tasted the soup from the ladle and beamed.

She soon pulled out a bowl from her inventory, filled it with soup, and held it out with a spoon.

“Try it.”

“Do you always carry tableware with you...?”

"Once I go out hunting I can't return to town for at least ten days since I often play solo. So in the end I have no choice but to be self-sufficient."

Kai reflected on his past where he always prepared food with money.

Now that I think about it, Ha-Rin is quite a capable person in many ways.

He could tell through when they raided the Sanctuary of Corruption together that she had been learning all kinds of skills one after another. Sewing, cooking, smelting, repairing, herbalism, and alchemy. She had learned all these things that others would never try to learn more than one at a time.

As his thoughts reached that point, Kai chuckled as he accepted the bowl. “For some reason, I feel like you would be able to build a house if I gave you a hammer and nails.”

“Well, not in real life, but in-game I can. My construction skill is Beginner level 9.”

“Wait, why did you learn construction?”

"Since I go camping a lot, I thought having a simple shelter would be safer than just sleeping in a sleeping bag..."

Kai thought that answer was exactly something she would say and took a big spoonful of the purple soup.

“

Hm...?!

” He looked surprised as he tasted it, then quickly shoveled in three more spoonfuls.

“H-how does it taste?” Yoo Ha-Rin asked nervously as if she were a contestant on MasterChef Korea.

Kai gave his honest thoughts. “It tastes great. Actually, it tastes like ox bone soup.”

“Right? I told you it's good.”

“Honestly, the color was so purple it looked poisonous, but it tastes amazing.”

All it needed was some rice and kimchi.

As Kai held back that wish, Yoo Ha-Rin opened her inventory and asked, “Do you need rice and kimchi? I have some...”

“Definitely,” Kai nodded eagerly.

Yoo Ha-Rin smiled brightly and took out a bowl of rice and delicious-looking kimchi. “There's even a Korean side dish shop in the capital now. I buy from there sometimes.”

“This is the best.”

Purple ox bone soup, white rice, and crunchy kimchi on top. Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin enjoyed a splendid meal.

***

“The east and north are showing strange signs.”

“Fools, always brawling like that. They lack even the basic dignity required of archdemons,” a handsome man swirling wine in his glass responded to the goblin demon's report. “Well, they'll probably bluff again and then pretend nothing happened.”

“But... Things seem different this time. Both archdukes have moved their lieutenants to the front.”

At those words, the eyes of the handsome man with porcelain-like skin shined. “

Oh?

Are they actually planning to go to war?”

"Judging by the current situation, that possibility seems quite high."

“How unexpected of those cowards... Then what was the reaction from the west?"

“The same as us. They seem to want to observe for now since they're not directly involved.”

“

Hmm,

and that woman in the center?”

At the question, the goblin demon swallowed and said with a trembling voice, “Sh-she hasn’t moved at all. She remains secluded in the central fortress as always."

“

Tsk

. That moody old maid... I can never understand her.”

Even kings were talked behind their backs in their absence.

The handsome man recalled the archdemon at the center with an annoyed look on his face. “Enough. Strengthen surveillance on the north, east, and west for now.”

“Understood.”

“The harvest season is also near. How are the mines?”

“Most mines will meet the quota. However...” The goblin demon glanced at the handsome man nervously and hesitantly continued, "The Liberation Army has shown up again in some of the mines..."

“What?” The man’s beautiful expression scrunched up. “Those lunatics, what era do they think we’re in...”

“M-my apologies. We’ll eliminate them as quickly as possible.”

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. It's entirely those fools' fault. Don't you agree?"

The goblin demon trembled like a leaf as he met the gently curved crescent eyes as he knew the man’s smile did not come from joy.

“I-I should have managed things better...”

“

Hahaha

. At least you’re aware of that.”

The handsome man smiled gently as he encouraged the goblin demon, “It’s okay to make mistakes. Make them. Living includes mistakes, and that gives life a bit of that demonic flair, doesn’t it?”

"Y-yes..."

"However." The handsome man was still smiling, but the eyes seen through his smiling eyes were cold like frost. "If someone knows they made a mistake and also knows what they should do about it, yet fails to come up with a solution—that would be incompetence, wouldn’t it?"

"O-of course."

"Right, right. I may not say it, but I always trust you."

The handsome man encouraged his subordinate with a smiling face, but the goblin demon did not believe him. No, he couldn’t believe him because the red liquid in the wine glass was the blood of a superior who had been beheaded just two days ago.

"A-and there is one more thing to report."

"

Hm?

What is it?"

"Humans... have appeared."

At that, the handsome man showed a surprised expression for the first time. "Humans? Are they the humans I think they are?"

"Yes. They are said to be those who dwell in the middle realm."

"That's... surprising. How could humans come to the Demon Realm?"

"The details are unclear, but they are said to be quite skilled. One man and one woman."

“They’re probably just impressive by the standards of the low-level ones at most.”

"What would you like to do? I will bring them in at once if you just give the order."

"

Hmm

, no no. Leave them for now."

The handsome man emptied the wine glass in one gulp and licked his lips. Then, a look of utter amusement spread across his face.

"I just thought of something fun."