Chapter 82

 

Level 10.

 

It is a level comparable to that of a senior knight.

 

However, his actual fighting power doesn’t match it.

 

Seo Woojin’s lack of practical combat experience was significant, similar to someone who had never been to the northern regions.

 

This was the reason why Jayronin was surprised.

 

Seo Woojin hadn’t even reached level 10, yet he was hunting Draconis?

 

It was a story that was hard to believe.

 

According to his common sense, he would have to be at least level 15 to face him.

 

“Is that true?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Seo Woojin nodded calmly.

 

He had hunted Draconis and leveled up to level 10.

 

“That’s hard to believe.”

 

Jayronin looked at Seo Woojin with disbelieving eyes.

 

It was as if he was trying to see through his thoughts.

 

But Seo Woojin was confident.

 

He didn’t say a word of falsehood.

 

Only then did Jayronin realize that Seo Woojin was telling the truth.

 

“You are Seo Woojin, right? I’ve heard that name a lot lately, so it seems plausible.”

 

A D-rank Hero defeating an SSS-rank Hero.

 

It was unbelievable, but it actually happened.

 

Of course, the existence of this irregular named Seo Woojin would spread among the nobles.

 

“Alright, let’s go back to the original content. Draconis have the characteristic of ruling over lower-level monsters.”

 

Jayronin, as if he had no more time to waste, continued the lesson.

 

“There’s a big difference between fighting with knowledge and fighting without knowledge.”

 

Simply put, even a high-ranking knight with the ability to defeat Draconis can die.

 

Of course, it may not matter now, given the overwhelming power, but…

 

“But that doesn’t diminish the value of the information. What you need to learn from me is that information.”

 

From monsters and demons to the secrets of the demonic realm.

 

Soon, Seo Woojin and the heroes would have to know everything about the enemies they would have to fight in the near future.

 

Only then could their survival rate increase even slightly.

 

“They say they are distributing something called a monster encyclopedia in Sion in the north. What I’m about to give you is something similar.”

 

At Jayronin’s gesture, the attendants began handing out thick booklets to the Heroes.

 

“Wow, are these all monsters?”

 

“There are so many.”

 

The Heroes flipped through the pages in amazement.

 

Although the number of monsters they had seen was not insignificant, it was a drop in the ocean compared to the varieties listed in this book.

 

“This is a record of 1,372 types of monsters. Their appearances, characteristics, and even weaknesses are all listed here.”

 

A small smile appeared on Jayronin’s lips.

 

“Now all you have to do is memorize it.”

 

“Are you crazy? How are we supposed to remember all that? There were… how many?”

 

“About 1,300 species? About that many.”

 

Just remembering the names with so many numbers was definitely not easy.

 

Not only did they have to memorize the names, they also had to memorize the contents. 

 

Lee Ji-ah’s expression looked like her head was about to explode.

 

“Aren’t you worried, Uncle? Why do you look so calm?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Seo Woojin, who was quickly scanning through the booklet, raised his head.

 

“Well, it won’t be easy… but it seems doable, right?”

 

He said with a grin.

 

“N-No way! How is that possible?”

 

Actually, Seo Woojin wasn’t as worried as he just said.

 

Of course, it wasn’t because he had a genius memory that made him never forget something once he saw it.

 

‘It was thanks to Irene.’

 

In the North, Irene was nicknamed the walking ‘Monster Encyclopedia’ by Seo Woojin.

 

It was possible because of her personalized training.

 

‘Not everything, but…’

 

Still, a considerable amount of the book’s content was what she had taught him.

 

Therefore, it was much easier for him to understand than for others.

 

Lee Ji-ah, unaware of this fact, continued to wonder.

 

“Woojin, are we going to spar at the training ground today as well?”

 

Gye Suji asked at that moment.

 

Right now, she seemed to have a much greater desire to spar with Seo woojin again than to read books like this.

 

“Oh, that’s…”

 

Seo Woojin looked embarrassed.

 

“What, are we not going to spar today?”

 

Gu Dong-hwan asked with wide eyes and the others also looked at him as if something was wrong.

 

“I have to take care of something today.”

 

Seo Woojin smiled awkwardly and excused himself.

 

“What is it? Even if you’re a little late like yesterday, we can just wait.”

 

Gye Suji, who was in fighting mode, asked urgently, but Seo Woojin had no intention of answering.

 

As for what he was going to do today, it was best to be as inconspicuous as possible.

 

“I’m sorry. Instead, let’s do it tomorrow.”

 

“There’s nothing we can do.”

 

When Seo Woojin apologized, everyone shrugged their shoulders.

 

From the beginning, Seo Woojin was helping them unilaterally, so it was absurd to force him to do so.

 

“Hahaha! It’s not the end of the world today! Let’s do it tomorrow, tomorrow!”

 

Gu Dong-hwan also laughed heartily and nodded his head.

 

“Well then, I’ll go first.”

 

Seo Woojin said goodbye and walked away from the crowd.

 

Lee Ji-ah tried to join him, but he firmly refused and left on his own.

 

‘Hmm…’

 

His hand went into his pocket.

 

He touched a hard stone.

 

“Summoning stone.”

 

It was a gift from Martes.

 

“She said you could summon the monster you want, right?”

 

A total of ten times.

 

To ordinary people, it might be a useless item.

 

Perhaps it could be used to terrorize a follower of the demon king, or at best to train knights?

 

But not for Heroes.

 

‘Because I can level up with it.’

 

Of course, he had heard that the academy would also train monsters for the future.

 

Practical experience is good, and theoretical training is also good…

 

After all, Heroes need to level up to become stronger.

 

But those monsters were just for the Heroes’ experience points.

 

They weren’t like the ones that could fulfill both real life experience and experience points, like Burtael or Rosie Ruby.

 

In this sense, the Summoning Stone could be considered an item that Seo Woojin needed to become stronger.

 

‘If I summoned someone like Burtael and went after him…’

 

He could fight him and raise 3 levels.

 

Even though he fought him together with Ludian.

 

At the same time, he could improve his sword and skills at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.

 

“The problem is who to summon.”

 

Seo Woojin looked at the other side of the hand holding the Summoning Stone.

 

There was a monster catalog distributed by Jayronnin.

 

A booklet that contained information on up to 1,372 types of monsters.

 

“Let’s choose a suitable one.”

 

A smile appeared on Seo Woojin’s lips.

 

Ten times in total.

 

That should raise quite a few levels.

 

***

 

“Rosie Ruby is dead.”

 

Could the existence of the underworld be like this?

 

A sinister voice that seemed to shake the soul just by hearing it echoed.

 

“The spider?”

 

Gerald’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

 

“It was supposed to guard the sanctuary?”

 

“There was an intruder.”

 

The lion answered Gerald’s question.

 

“Was it a hero?”

 

Until now, the sanctuary has not been revealed to anyone in the empire.

 

This was because the Demon King Kademain personally used his magi to hide it.

 

“No matter how much of a hero they are, there is no way they can destroy his magic.”

 

“But it’s already happened.”

 

It was meaningless to question whether it was possible or impossible.

 

Because it had already happened.

 

“Who killed the spider?”

 

“SSS rank ‘Sword God’.”

 

Gerald’s eyebrows twitched.

 

“I definitely should have killed him that day.”

 

A Hero who radiated brilliant ‘Aura’ came to his mind.

 

At that time, he was still immature, and he was a being that could be killed with a single gesture.

 

However, not much time had passed since then, and he had already hunted down Rosy Ruby.

 

“Heroes are truly irrational beings.”

 

“Unholy, unpleasant, and unreasonable.”

 

The lion spoke sarcastically.

 

“Now that the spider is dead, there may be some disruption in the great scheme of things.”

 

“…Besides, Burtael is also dead.”

 

Snap

 

The sound of something breaking came from Gerald’s hand.

 

“Did the monkey die as well? Was it also the deed of ‘Sword God’?”

 

“It’s someone else.”

 

When the lion shook his head, Gerald demanded an answer with an angry expression.

 

“Who is it? It seems the only way to relieve the anger is to pull out his head and drink his blood.”

 

But the lion did not give an answer to that question easily.

 

Gerald grew impatient.

 

“Is it something you couldn’t find out?”

 

“That’s not it. I was just hesitant because the reliability of the information was a little low.”

 

“Speak.”

 

“Highest Rank Knight, Ludian. And a D-class ‘Sword Soldier’. Burtael’s head was lost in the hands of these two.”

 

Gerald’s expression hardened.

 

“D-class?”

 

He didn’t know who this Ludian was.

 

No, he didn’t even care about such a person.

 

But a D-class Hero was different.

 

“Is that him?”

 

A rare seed that wasn’t affected by his magi at all.

 

Even though his skills were mediocre, it was a miracle that a D-class Hero like him could effortlessly accomplish what even SSS-class Heroes couldn’t.

 

It was beyond Gerald’s understanding, even after living for many years.

 

“I need to find out about him.”

 

Perhaps it was because of him that the hidden sanctuary was revealed.

 

He hadn’t been able to focus on it separately because of other things, but not anymore.

 

The Sanctuary had been desecrated, and Burtal and Rosie Ruby were dead.

 

He had to find out what really happened.

 

“We have already taken action.”

 

“‘Sword God’ and ‘Sword Soldier’. We need a plan for both.”

 

“I’ve already thought about it. So, Gerald, you must take on a separate task.”

 

“Speak.”

 

Gerald wasn’t one to use his head.

 

All he could boast about was his strength.

 

Planning was always the lion’s share.

 

“Go to the eastern realm.”

 

“By the east, you mean Mernotain?”

 

The largest city in the east.

 

The land of plenty, created by the gods themselves.

 

There were many references to Mernotain.

 

But none was more famous than this.

 

The land protected by the Grand Duke.

 

It meant the domain of Grand Duke Briana, one of the five guardians of the Empire.

 

No one had ever come close to touching Mernotain.

 

She was such a strong being and a person who cherished what was hers.

 

“There is something you must do.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Gerald seemed indifferent even at the mention of Mernotain’s name.

 

It was unclear if he was confident he would not be caught by the Grand Duke or if he did not care whether he was caught or not.

 

The lion spoke to the seemingly casual Gerald.

 

A fierce and cold voice came out.

 

“Briana. One of the wings that protects the realm must be broken.”

 

Gerald answered those words without a second of hesitation.

 

“I will do it.”