Chapter 26

 

The Demon King.

 

Riding on the words of despair, wielding a sword of terror, blowing a trumpet of agony – the one who brings destruction, a being feared by all nations and races.

 

This world has already faced the invasion of the Demon King seven times.

 

Each time, relying on the strength of the Heroes, they barely managed to repel it, but the cost was horrendous.

 

Countless lives were lost, and the earth was ravaged.

 

As a result, the Demon King became a feared existence by all nations and races.

 

‘The problem is that it’s me….’

 

Seo Woojin looked around with a serious expression.

 

Apart from him, 99 Heroes were clamoring noisily, unraveling the stories of the past year.

 

However, except for Lee Ji-ah, who left after a brief conversation, no one approached Seo Woojin.

 

Thanks to that, he could focus on his thoughts in one corner.

 

‘For now, I can’t help being a ‘Demon King’.’

 

But does he have the intention to destroy this world as a ‘Demon King’?

 

No.

 

He neither has that intention nor wants to.

 

He is just a ‘Demon King’ in terms of his profession; Seo Woojin is a thoroughly sensible human.

 

‘So you’re saying there is a real Demon Lord?’

 

It would be more accurate to think that way.

 

The real Demon King and the profession ‘Demon King.’

 

They are clearly different beings, and the Demon King that the Heroes must stop is not Seo Woojin but the real Demon King.

 

‘Do you think they will understand that?’

 

Just by roughly overhearing their conversations, it’s clear.

 

The Heroes are intoxicated with their current power, filled with the eagerness to strike down the Demon King right away.

 

He once thought about revealing his profession and clearing up the misunderstanding.

 

But doing so might lead to his throat being cut.

 

No, it was certain that it would be cut.

 

Of course, he won’t be killed easily…

 

‘Handling them all by myself is impossible.’

 

It’s a law that one cannot fend off ten hands with just one.

 

No matter how strong Seo Woojin is, it was impossible for him to handle such a large number of Heroes alone.

 

“Why are you alone in the corner?”

 

At that moment, a familiar voice was heard.

 

“Irene.”

 

Irene, who had disappeared for a while, returned.

 

“In Sion, there was hardly any time to enjoy such banquets. Is it okay to take a break for just one day?”

 

As she mentioned, in the Massive Guardian fortress, there was no time for banquets.

 

Every day was training, training, and more training.

 

Here, unlike the military’s meager meals, there were delicious foods, and there were no knights who might attack at any moment.

 

In other words, it meant you could eat and have fun without worry.

 

“I don’t know many people here.”

 

But the truth was that it was an uncomfortable situation for Seo Woojin to mingle.

 

It was more comfortable for him to be stuck here, contemplating the future.

 

“Well, Mr. Woojin isn’t known for being sociable.”

 

Irene laughed lightly and stood beside Seo Woojin.

 

She, too, had changed a lot from before.

 

‘She was always expressionless. Now she even knows how to smile.’

 

It was thanks to Seo Woojin becoming more at ease.

 

“Where have you been?”

 

“I had some business to attend to.”

 

Irene avoided a direct answer.

 

She often showed this kind of behavior since arriving in the Empire.

 

‘Does she have some confidential matters?’

 

He was a little curious, but he didn’t ask.

 

“By the way, there are many strong individuals here.”

 

Irene changed the subject.

 

“Yeah, they are Heroes.”

 

Unlike Seo Woojin, Heroes who had become stronger through various support and buses.

 

If you only considered levels and abilities, they were incomparably stronger than Seo Woojin.

 

‘But that’s not everything.’

 

He was confident that he would not lose.

 

No, especially in one-on-one situations, he could probably defeat most of the people here.

 

“Especially those guys are even more formidable.”

 

The ones Irene pointed at were the five men and women she had seen on the first day of summoning.

 

They were still shining brilliantly.

 

“They’re all at least S-rank.”

 

S-rank “Flame Mage.”

 

S-rank “Adamantite Warrior.”

 

S-rank “Dragon Tamer.”

 

SS-rank “Saintess Candidate.”

 

And… SSS-rank “Sword God.”

 

It was heard that the levels of these five were nearly approaching 40.

 

‘At that level, they must be comparable to Van Slaine, right?’

 

It was a natural thing, but as the level increased, the growth rate slowed down.

 

It was because the required experience points increased exponentially.

 

Even Seo Woojin, with an ‘Unable To Measure’ rank, boasted a very rapid growth rate, but he wouldn’t have reached that level even if he had devoted himself to hunting for a year.

 

It had become a matter of curiosity about how much support they had received to grow so quickly.

 

“Is he the famous Imperial Hero?”

 

Irene asked, pointing at the ‘Sword God.’

 

“Yeah. Probably the best here, I guess?”

 

“He’s the first Hero to receive an SSS-rank.”

 

Most people were already convinced that the ‘Sword God’ would be the one to cut off the Demon King’s head.

 

‘I hope that Demon King is not me.’

 

Seo Woojin was scratching his neck without realizing it.

 

“Sir, sir!”

 

“Ugh.”

 

Lee Ji-ah’s noisy shout reached him.

 

After it got a little quiet, it came back again.

 

Moreover, with a bundle of thorns.

 

“This is Unni Hong Seol, This is Oppa Lee Jinho, and this is Da Hye! They’re my friends!”

 

Without waiting for instructions, she quickly listed the introductions and promptly directed Seo Woojin to greet them.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seo Woojin.”

 

With a somewhat awkward smile, he extended his greetings, and they, too, blinked and bowed their heads.

 

“I’m Lee Jinho. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

 

The man introduced by Lee Ji-ah as Lee Jinho was similar in age to Seo Woojin but possessed a quite handsome appearance.

 

‘But why am I an uncle, and is he an oppa?’

 

A strange sense of defeat crept in.

 

However, since he couldn’t express that feeling, Seo Woojin pretended to be unaffected.

 

“You’ve heard a lot…?”

 

“You were famous, weren’t you? They said you were D-rank.”

 

“Oh, yes. Well, that’s true.”

 

As expected.

 

But then, when it came to Seo Woojin, the discussion was limited to his rank.

 

Nothing else was remarkable enough to generate gossip.

 

“Excuse me, but what’s your current level?”

 

‘If you know it’s rude, don’t ask.’

 

Just by looking at Lee Jinho’s expression, it was clear.

 

He was treating himself as if he were beneath his feet, trying to boost his self-esteem.

 

After a moment of consideration, Seo Woojin answered willingly.

 

Since everyone would find out soon anyway, there was no need to hide it.

 

“I’m at level 10.”

 

“Ah….”

 

“Lower grades mean slower growth.” they said upon hearing Seo Woojin’s level.

 

“That’s right! Uncle was at level 10. Did he just play without hunting? Haha!”

 

Only Lee Ji-ah thought nothing of it and made fun of it openly.

 

‘Is she innocent, or just foolish?’

 

Still, the words uttered without malice didn’t make him feel bad. Instead, the whispers behind him were much more annoying.

 

“Level 10… That’s quite low. Oh, by the way, I’m Class B and level 25.”

 

The sight of Lee Jinho disparaging Seo Woo-jin and even secretly boasting about him almost made him laugh out loud.

 

“It must be good, since you’re level 25.”

 

Naturally, nothing polite came out of Seo Woojin’s mouth.

 

“Your words seem a bit harsh. Did I make a mistake?”

 

His tone was polite, but no one failed to notice the hidden intentions. Well, Lee Ji-ah might not know.

 

‘Because she’s a fool.’

 

Smirking at her chatting with Irene on the side, he looked at Lee Jinho.

 

“Do you have something to say to me?”

 

He had heard this kind of sarcasm and disregard countless times at Massive Guardian.

 

Compared to the soldiers there, Lee Jinho was mild.

 

So, instead of being hurt, it was more like a joke.

 

“I tried to be nice about this, but you lack manners.”

 

Lee Jinho took off his mask. The seemingly polite attitude disappeared, leaving only a street thug in front of him.

 

“I wanted to get along as a fellow Hero. Does the grade determine personality?”

 

‘If that’s the case, you would be around F-grade.’

 

The atmosphere turned chilly. The lively conversation ceased, and suddenly, all Heroes were looking this way.

 

“A level 10 from D-grade with high morale has the nerve to come here and blabber?”

 

Lee Jinho started speaking loudly as if to make everyone listen.

 

“While you were having fun, we were fighting monsters and leveling up, risking our lives. If your grade is low, at least put in some effort. What’s level 10? Level 10.”

 

A sarcastic laugh involuntarily escaped. 

 

Risking their lives? Who? You guys?

 

The guy who leveled up by cutting the throats of monsters thrown by knights in a near-death state.

 

What? Risking your life?

 

It was so ridiculous that it was almost laughable.

 

However, except for Irene, no one here knew what kind of environment Seo Woojin had come from.

 

Thanks to that, the gazes of the Heroes looking at him were not particularly kind.

 

Except for one.

 

“Wait! Wait, wait! What’s going on all of a sudden? Why is the atmosphere like this?”

 

Lee Ji-ah, who was immersed in chatting, had a bewildered expression at the suddenly changed situation.

 

“No, why are we fighting when we gathered to become friends? Who started this? Why is this happening?”

 

Lee Ji-ah tried to intervene between Seo Woojin and Lee Jinho.

 

But Lee Jinho, seizing the opportunity, seemed unwilling to let it end like this.

 

“Did I say something wrong? Miss Lee Ji-ah, are you not feeling unjust? We’re working hard to save the world, and some people just want to ride on our coattails without making any effort.”

 

With a remark like “People should have a conscience,” Seo Woojin decided he couldn’t take it anymore.

 

Even when he had nothing to lose, he had tried to provoke even Testerone.

 

Of course, it was something he did with confidence that he wouldn’t die, but it was the same now.

 

He was tired of holding back.

 

“If you’re not satisfied, come at me, idiot.”

 

He didn’t want to kill.

 

But he planned to make it so that he couldn’t eat properly for a few days.

 

Level 25 in B-class?

 

‘So what?’

 

Whether it’s B-rank or S-rank, it doesn’t matter.

 

He had enough strength to pull out all the teeth of the guy who kept babbling nonsense.

 

“Ha, you must be going crazy to die”

 

At Seo Woojin’s provocation, Lee Jinho let out a dry laugh.

 

Then he turned his head and took a step forward.

 

“Sure. Once you get hit hard, you’ll realize what you did wrong.”

 

It’s a useless bravado.

 

If this situation were really a fight for life, Seo Woojin would have already beheaded Lee Jinho ten times over.

 

“Wait…!”

 

Lee Ji-ah tried to stop the fight once again, but the situation was already out of control.

 

Others just sent curious glances and didn’t bother to intervene.

 

Lee Jinho approached Seo Woo-jin until they were face to face and pressed his forehead against him.

 

“Give it a try, taste the punch of a D-grade. Let’s see how strong you are.”

 

He was confident he could withstand Seo Woojin’s punch.

 

“Then give it a try.”

 

And naturally, Seo Woo-jin didn’t refuse.

 

Bang!

 

It was just one punch.

 

Lee Jinho, with a fist precisely embedded in his face, spat out his white teeth into the air and lost consciousness.

 

“Anyone else want to try?”

 

Seo Woo-jin looked around and asked.

 

Of course, no one dared to answer.