Chapter 61

 

“…The Chronicles of the Demon King of the other world?”

 

Seo Woojin swallowed dryly.

 

The title seemed ominous from the start.

 

It felt as if it were pointing directly at Seo Woojin.

 

‘What is this exactly?’

 

He wondered if other Heroes had something similar, but he had never heard such words before.

 

No, it was said that even the black space did not appear when leveling up.

 

It must be true, considering the words of Lee Ji-ah and Kim Dahye.

 

Only Seo Woojin.

 

It was a phenomenon that only happened to him.

 

Whether it was because of the ‘Demon King’ profession or the ‘Unmeasurable’ grade, he didn’t know.

 

“If you look at that book, it seems like it’s because of the ‘Demon King’ job.”

 

The Chronicles of the Demon King of the Other World.

 

Seo Woojin reached out towards the golden characters written neatly in Korean.

 

However…

 

“Why is it like this?”

 

His hand couldn’t touch the book.

 

It was as if it passed through it like a hologram.

 

He tried waving his hand several times, but it was the same.

 

While Seo Woojin was feeling inexplicably frustrated, he heard a voice.

 

[Still haven’t ■■■■■■ yet?]

 

A deep and heavy voice.

 

It didn’t sound clear, almost like it was filled with noise, but it was undoubtedly a human voice.

 

“Who is it!”

 

Startled, Seo Woojin tried to reach for his sword, but it was in vain.

 

A bright light burst out, making it impossible to open his eyes.

 

And when he opened his eyes, it was reality.

 

“You are…?”

 

The first thing he saw was Seong Yura.

 

The battle just now must have been so difficult that the pure white priestly uniform she was wearing was in disarray.

 

‘Damn.’

 

It was a face he didn’t particularly want to see.

 

But more annoying than that was the fact that something about the events in the black space bothered him.

 

‘It feels like it was abruptly cut off.’

 

It was too uncomfortable.

 

He was curious about the identity of the black space, even more curious about the identity of the book.

 

‘And the voice.’

 

It was filled with incomprehensible things.

 

However, Seo Woojin couldn’t prolong his contemplation.

 

“Why are you coming out from there?” 

 

The sharp tone of Seong Yura woke him up.

 

After taking a glance at her still innocent-looking face, Seo Woojin turned his head and looked at Kim Da-hye.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Finally, he met one of his team members.

 

Using the hole the flesh had pierced was the right answer.

 

“I’m okay.” 

 

Kim Dahye nodded.

 

*Squeak*

 

A smile escaped me as I saw the same thing as usual.

 

“Oh, you used that?” 

 

Seo Woojin, who was checking to see if there were any injuries, was pleased.

 

The pink magic wand of Allah, with the warhead separated and only the launch tube remaining, caught his eye.

 

‘No wonder the monster seemed to be burned.’

 

The body of the cow head that Seo Woo Jin cut off was a mess.

 

He thought it might have been a flamethrower, but it was an RPG-7.

 

Since it was he who provided the idea to Kim Da-hye, Seo Woojin looked proud.

 

“Did you see the others by any chance?”

 

It wasn’t a hopeful question.

 

Unexpectedly, Kim Dahye nodded.

 

“That woman.”

 

“Ah….” 

 

The question was wrong. He should have asked about the team members.

 

With a somber expression, Seo Woojin looked at Seong Yura and asked again.

 

“What about the other team members?”

 

“I haven’t seen them.”

 

As expected, Kim Da-hae was also separated from the group.

 

“Hey!”

 

At that moment, Seong Yura called Seo Woojin.

 

“If someone talks to you, you should answer, right?”

 

“What… Ah.”

 

Only then did he realize.

 

A while ago, Seong Yura had talked to him.

 

He didn’t feel the need to respond specifically, and since Kim Da-hye was much more important than her, he ignored her… It seemed like her pride was hurt because of that.

 

“What were you doing there?”

 

“Is there a reason I should tell you?”

 

Seo Woojin replied with a bitter laugh. 

 

Even if she asked politely, he was wondering if he should teach her or not, but if she came out that way, there was no need to give her an answer.

 

Seong Yura, perhaps not expecting Seo Woojin’s reaction, showed a bewildered expression.

 

But only for a moment.

 

The expression on her face distorted as she realized that she had been ignored.

 

“Just a D-level like you…”

 

“Can you move?”

 

Sensing the atmosphere about to become hysterical, Seo Woojin interrupted her and took care of Kim Da-hye.

 

“If it’s okay, let’s go somewhere else. It’s a bit noisy here.’

 

Blatant disregard.

 

Knowing well that it’s not worth getting involved for no good reason, Seo Woojin decided to ignore Seong Yura and move to another place.

 

‘We’ll go over there.’

 

He pointed to the wall he had just broken through.

 

“It might look a bit suspicious, but it’s not as strange as you think.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Even though the hole was filled with darkness, Kim Da-hye seemed unfazed.

 

“Alright. Then let’s go in there and see if we can find other team members.”

 

Seo Woojin led Kim Da-hye and moved out of the hole.

 

“Hey, hey…!”

 

Seong Yura, who was left alone, gritted her teeth.

 

No one had ever ignored her like this before.

 

Not on Earth, not in this world.

 

Even the renowned Baek Siwoo never treated her disrespectfully.

 

But this D-level nobody dared to do this to her?

 

She felt a humiliation so intense that her body trembled.

 

If it were her usual self, she would have turned away from Seo Woojin without hesitation.

 

But now, she couldn’t do that.

 

More than ten days had passed.

 

During that time, she walked alone through the long corridor.

 

In front of Kim Dahye, she acted as if everything was normal, but it was an experience she didn’t want to go through again.

 

No matter how much she disliked the person, she couldn’t let them go like that.

 

Because she didn’t want to be alone anymore.

 

* * *

 

“Stay together!”

 

When Ludian shouted, Lee Ji-ah, Kang Byeong-gyu, and Yu Hong-seol stuck close behind him.

 

“Hell Frame!”

 

Simultaneously, Jin Tae-seong’s magic was activated, and a massive flame swept through the corridor.

 

“Huff- gasp!”

 

“I’ll take care of it right away!”

 

Ludian shouted again.

 

Swords and fists exploded, crushing the monsters in front of them.

 

The creatures hit by Jin Tae-seong’s magic couldn’t recover their senses and turned into piles of flesh.

 

Approximately 30 monsters were dealt with this way.

 

It was not a small number, but it wasn’t a threat to them, including the three Heroes and Ludian.

 

No, it shouldn’t have been a threat.

 

However, exhaustion was evident on their faces.

 

“You’re, you’re too strong.”

 

So much so that even Lee Ji-ah stopped chatting.

 

It was easy at first.

 

Even Kang Byeong-gyu, who wasn’t a combat class, could knock down a monster with a single slash.

 

However, as time passed, the monsters became exponentially stronger.

 

They hadn’t reached a critical point of danger yet, but no one knew when they would face their limits.

 

“How many days has it been?”

 

Yu Hong-seol asked in a tired voice.

 

“It’s been five days.”

 

Kang Byeong-gyu checked his watch and replied.

 

“…It’s already been five days.”

 

When they first entered the ruins, they were left alone, and it was quite bewildering.

 

Fortunately, they gradually met others and formed a group again, but there were still people who hadn’t shown up.

 

“I wonder how Woojin and Dae-hye are doing.”

 

Kang Byeong-gyu mumbled with a worried expression.

 

“Uncle, Woojin seems tough, so he should be fine, but Dae-hye…”

 

Lee Ji-ah expressed concern for Kim Dae-hye.

 

She knew better than anyone that her friend was not in a normal state.

 

That’s why she stayed close to her, wanting to take better care of her.

 

Now that they were scattered like this, it couldn’t help but be a cause for concern.

 

“Other knights are in the same situation.”

 

Fortunately, they ran into Ludian.

 

However, apart from him, they hadn’t seen any other knights.

 

Ludian’s grim expression was also understandable.

 

It was a situation where the fate of the subordinates he had carefully trained was unknown.

 

“We’ll move again after a short rest.”

 

Ludian, who noticed the subdued atmosphere, forcefully spoke up.

 

Lee Ji-ah nodded in agreement, although she honestly wanted a bit more rest.

 

If they continued to stay still, morale would likely plummet even further.

 

Already exhausted physically, a sinking mood would only make things more difficult ahead.

 

When Lee Ji-ah and Ludian stepped forward, others also began to prepare to move.

 

Then, Kang Byeong-gyu, who saw the battlefield, suddenly spoke.

 

“It’s really fortunate that we gained a lot of experience points.”

 

“That’s right. If it weren’t for leveling up, we might have…”

 

Yu Hong-seol nodded in agreement.

 

It was common sense, but even Heroes had limits in stamina and mana.

 

Until they entered the ruins, didn’t everyone get exhausted from battles with monsters waves?

 

It was the same here.

 

Moreover, there was no water or food to replenish, making it even more exhausting.

 

Yet, they managed to endure for five days without any harm, thanks to the experience points gained from the monsters that exceeded imagination.

 

They leveled up occasionally when reaching the limit, allowing their bodies to recover to the optimal condition.

 

Otherwise, they might have already been devoured by the monsters.

 

Of course, mental fatigue continued to accumulate.

 

“Before it becomes even more difficult to endure, we need to quickly find others and figure out how to escape from here.”

 

It may not be possible, but…

 

“Ah, it’s time.”

 

When Kang Byeong-gyu, who had been checking the time, spoke, people hurriedly gathered around.

 

And in an instant, the surroundings changed.

 

“This time, it’s a forest path.”

 

Although the ceiling and sides were blocked, at least the appearance looked like a path made through the forest.

 

“Still, it’s fortunate that it’s not an internal path like last time, right?”

 

Back then, it was so disgusting that they couldn’t move properly.

 

“Since we’ve come across a comfortable path after a long time, let’s take this opportunity to move as far as possible.”

 

After saying that, Kang Byeong-gyu began to walk ahead.

 

Although his combat power was low, he was perfect for exploring ruins.

 

They were walking along a path that had a faint scent of grass for a while, when Kang Byeong-gyu suddenly stopped walking.

 

“Stop.”

 

The companions following immediately prepared for battle.

 

“Is it a monster?”

 

Lee Ji-ah asked. 

 

“That… I’m not sure.”

 

Kang Byung-gyu shook his head.

 

Certainly, something had been caught by the ‘Exploration’ skill.

 

However, the location was strange.

 

It wasn’t a straight corridor in front, but to the side.

 

“To the right, three, 10 meters.”

 

With concise information, Ludian drew his sword.

 

“Beyond the wall?”

 

It was a phenomenon they had never experienced before.

 

The unknown soon becomes fear.

 

The group tensed up, eagerly awaiting the approaching unidentified presence.

 

“6 meters, 5 meters… It’s coming soon.”

 

Aura spewed out from Ludian and Yu Hong-seol’s swords, and Lee Ji-ah filled her fists with magic power.

 

With their preparations complete, the bushes shook beside them.

 

“What… is it?”

 

Ludian, who was about to leap forward and swing his sword, abruptly stopped and widened his eyes.

 

“Mister!”

 

Surprisingly, it was Seo Woojin who appeared.