Chapter 391: King of the Demon Realm (2)

“Even the inside looks like a dungeon.

Oh

, is this actually a dungeon?”

“

Kyururung

,” Mimic responded to Kai’s muttering.

Having changed into its favorite rabbit form, it comfortably settled on Kai’s head and lay down.

“Well then, shall we go meet this so-called Demon King?”

Kai stepped over Darros’ unconscious body and entered the Demon King’s Castle without hesitation. It was a bold move unthinkable for the cautious Kai of the past. In a dungeon, traps and monsters lurking in ambush could appear from anywhere at any time. Those were things that even someone like Kai could not afford to ignore. But that was all in the past. Now it was different.

Just then, a trap was triggered. It was caused by a raised stone on the floor that Kai had stepped on without realizing. As the trap activated, the walls and ceiling of the hallway flipped and launched dozens of spears. However, the trap didn’t so much as graze the edge of Kai’s clothes.

“That was close, wasn’t it?”

He used the Leap effect from the Clown’s Shoes to kick through the air and jump over them.

The one more startled than Kai was Mimic on his head. With widened eyes full of shock, Mimic eventually calmed down and gently hit Kai’s hair with its soft front paw. It didn’t hurt at all. It looked more like a cute protest for scaring it.

“

Hahaha

... I probably can’t be careful from now on either, but this way is faster.”

Just as he finished speaking, another trap was triggered. This time, the wall flipped and five demons appeared.

“How dare you enter the Demon King’s Castle so fearlessly.”

“Repent for your ignorance with death!”

“Absolute Zero.”

The demons froze solid the moment they appeared, just like the ice statues from the village where Serphine’s mansion once stood.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Whether it was traps or demons, there was nothing that could stop Kai as he strode forward. It took him only twenty-one minutes to break through the first floor of the five-story Demon King’s Castle.

***

“Th-this is bad!”

“Many bad things seem to be happening today.”

The Demon King Angol Moa replied to her subordinate’s report in a bored voice in the audience chamber, which had gone cold after the top-ranked demons left, boasting they would kill the intruder.

“What now?”

“Th-the royal guard has been completely defeated and fled!”

“

Huh?

” She blankly blinked and asked again, “You mean they were beaten? How many?”

“All of them. The intruder is already advancing through the second floor, and none of the castle’s traps are working!”

“

Oh?

” A look of amusement spread across her face. “That’s rather interesting. Have you found out who it is?”

“I’m sorry. We haven’t identified them yet.”

“Well, that’s fine. I’ll find out when we meet. Disable all the traps and open the way here.”

“Pardon? But that’s...”

“He even defeated the royal guard. There’s no way mere traps will stop him.”

That was true. Her royal guard consisted of only the finest top-ranked demons, handpicked from across the Demon Realm.

“U-understood.”

As the subordinate withdrew, Angol Moa was left alone in the audience chamber. The corners of her lips slowly curled upward.

***

“This is basically begging me to hurry up,” Kai smirked as he looked at the staircase that suddenly appeared.

There were already quite a few demons defeated at his hands. Perhaps the Demon King had grown tired of watching the disgraceful scene and directly provided the stairs.

“Well then, I guess it’s time to go meet the Demon King. Go back inside for now, alright?”

“

Bbit.

” Mimic hit Kai’s hair and shook its head.

Kai glanced upward as he felt like he had been hit with a cotton ball. “What? You don’t want to?”

“

Bbit

.”

Looking into Mimic’s pure eyes made Kai’s heart buzz.

“Still, no.” But Kai, who had a firm stance on training, shook his head. “I’ll call you once it’s all over, so wait inside.”

Just as Kai was about to unsummon Mimic, a message he hadn’t seen in a long time appeared.

Ding!

[The Treasure Hunter effect has activated. There is hidden treasure within 10 meters.]

“

Oh?

”

It was the effect of the special title Treasure Hunter. It revealed nearby treasures and also provided hints about hidden rooms.

If that’s the case...

Kai scanned the surroundings. There was only one place that had a door within the ten-meter range.

“Come to think of it, the demon guarding this door was pretty strong. Were they called top-ranked?”

Now that he thought about it, the demon had seemed to be trying to say something.

“Beyond this lies what the great king of the Demon Realm has kept... something like that.”

Could that have been a line introducing a treasure vault? Kai scratched his head, then opened the door and stepped inside. A long hallway appeared, and another door came into view as he walked all the way through.

Creeeak.

The moment he passed through that door, a message popped up.

Ding!

[You have entered the Demon King’s Treasure Vault.]

Just as I thought.

Kai’s eyes sparkled as he looked around.

Soft torches along the walls lit up the treasure vault clearly.

“

Wow...

”

An involuntary sound of awe escaped Kai’s mouth, and with good reason—the entire treasure vault was covered in gold coins.

“No wonder people in the past were crazy about gold.”

Every time the torchlight flickered, the radiant shine of the gold proved exactly why it had come to symbolize the sun.

This is all gold, huh?

Kai bent down and picked up a coin from the floor.

Gold was rare in the Demon Realm from what Kazura had told him.

This much gold in a place where it’s considered rare... The Demon King really hoarded it all.

A quick calculation suggested there were at least several million gold coins.

But there’s no way they would let a player take all this.

Sure enough, a warning message appeared as soon as Kai picked up a chunk of gold.

[This item cannot be taken without the owner's permission.]

[Please put it down. You may incur the Demon King’s wrath.]

“Figures.”

Kai clicked his tongue and flicked the coin aside as he had already expected that outcome. Of course, Pegasus, the company full of the world’s brightest minds, wouldn’t be foolish enough not to consider that dumping this much gold into the economy would collapse the market.

The only things players can take from this treasure vault are probably a small handful.

In fact, various treasures were scattered between the mountains of gold coins.

At that moment, Mimic jumped from Kai’s head. “

Bbik!

”

“Hey, it’s dangerous!”

There was no guarantee that the treasure vault wouldn’t have traps.

Kai hurried after Mimic. “What is that? Where did you find that?”

What Mimic had found was a small ring. Kai wouldn’t have found it alone since it had been buried among the gold coins.

“

Kyoong!

” Mimic held out its front paws and handed the ring over.

“You’re giving this to me?”

Mimic nodded in response.

“My Mimic, you’re so thoughtful.”

Kai gently patted its head, then picked up the ring and examined it.

The design is really elegant. Women would probably like this.

The silver-colored ring formed a smooth curve like a Möbius strip. On top of that, the heart-shaped gem embedded in it was a pure violet magic stone. Kai immediately checked its information.

[

Ring of Love - Eternity

]

Grade: Epic

Defense: 5

Magic Defense: 5

+10 to all stats.

Grants the wearer the Eternity effect.

*When HP drops below 30%, recovers 10% HP and generates a barrier that absorbs 5,000 damage.

Requirements: Level 450+

Not as good as I thought.

Especially for Kai, who could quickly restore health with Sunlight’s Warmth, it was practically useless. But it could be a different story for another player.

5,000 damage... Not amazing, but not bad either. It’s usable if you think about it that way.

The ring would easily sell for hundreds of millions if it was listed in the auction house, but the moment Kai saw the effect, he thought of Yoo Ha-Rin.

The Knight of Change is great, but she seems physically weak for a Paladin.

He had noticed this during their hunts together, where he often had to heal her.

“This would be better off going to Ha-Rin.”

Besides, she was currently fighting fiercely in the south in his place. A gift like this would more than repay her efforts.

Hope she likes it.

Fortunately, the ring was lootable. Kai stored it safely in his inventory, then looked around and picked up a few more pieces of gear. They were all items that would fetch tens of millions if sold on the auction house later.

Just then, Mimic brought over another ring. “

Bbit!

”

“What, another one?” Kai let out a soft laugh at the unexpected find and patted Mimic’s head. “You brought another one because I said I wasn’t going to use the last one?”

“

Kyoong

...” Mimic weakly nodded.

Kai did feel a bit sorry seeing that.

Well, using the Ring of Love would be better than not having it... but it would definitely be more useful for Ha-Rin.

A player could equip one ring per finger, which meant ten in total. Meanwhile, Kai was only wearing five rings. The Mermaid’s Emerald Ring, the Depraved Knight’s Ring, the Knight of Nightmare, Holy Ring Petra, and the Sea Dragon’s Tear.

I could wear five more if I wanted, but come to think of it, I’ve never really considered buying any.

Of course, most players didn’t walk around with all ten rings equipped. The reason for wearing rings was obvious, boosting stats. And rings that boosted stats were at minimum Rare or Magic grade. Because demand far outpaced supply, prices started at several hundred thousand won.

“I never really needed to wear rings.”

Kai’s stats were already top-tier. Honestly speaking, he had long passed the point where wearing a few Rare-grade rings from the market would raise his stats. That was why Kai had never bothered to consider buying rings.

Well, maybe I’ll wear this one since Mimic gave it to me.

Kai looked at the ring Mimic had brought. It looked far more unsophisticated than the one from earlier at a glance. A black ring without even a gemstone.

“Item appraisal.”

[

Ring of Spell Nullification

]

Grade: Unique

Defense: 10

Magic Defense: 10

+15 to all stats.

Grants Spell Nullification skill. (Cooldown: 1 hour)

*Spell Nullification: Upon activation, blocks any one skill without taking damage.

Requirements: Level 550+

“

Huh...?

”

Kai’s eyes widened. This was unexpected. He had assumed it would be Epic at best, but the ring was actually Unique grade. Additionally, the ring’s effect was something even extremely useful for Kai.

Block any skill without damage?

Of course, it had a one-hour cooldown. Logically speaking, battles that lasted over an hour usually only happened in wars.

But even so, once per hour is...

Kai’s eyes lit up. This was beyond a Unique-grade item. Its grade was labeled Unique, but its performance could be compared to Legendary-grade. Realizing that, Kai lifted Mimic high into the air.

“

Bbi?!

”

Mimic flailed as if asking to be put down, but Kai didn’t care and rubbed it against his cheek.

“Look at you, Mimic! You did great! I love it, I’ll use it well!”

“

Gyururung!

”

As if it had felt Kai's genuine joy, Mimic smiled back with eyes curved like a crescent moon.