Chapter 84

 

“Heok – gasp -!”

 

He was out of breath.

 

“Shit.”

 

A single trickle of red liquid ran down his cheek.

 

“It’s so strong.”

 

Seo Woojin stared at the monster before him.

 

A magical beast in the shape of a mountain goat standing on two legs.

 

Its height reached the ceiling of the practice room and its size was so massive that it made Gu Dong-hwan look like a child.

 

The threat wasn’t just in appearance.

 

Speed, strength, magic.

 

None of them were easy to underestimate.

 

But this level of power was what Seo Woojin had expected.

 

He had summoned it because he thought he could handle it, even if it would be difficult.

 

“But there was no mention of using ‘Blood Magic’.”

 

In Jayronnin’s Monster Encyclopedia, there was no explanation that the Gedeia before him could use ‘Magical Abilities’.

 

And it happened to be the same ‘Blood Magic’ that Burtal possessed.

 

Dozens of blood-stained threads of magic flowed through the air like tentacles.

 

“If I had known that, I would have prepared myself for it.”

 

It was at this moment when Jayronnin’s teachings shone brightly.

 

Seo Woojin felt keenly how the lack of information could be a great danger.

 

“Hoo-“

 

He regulated his breathing.

 

Dodging the creature’s attacks had made his lungs feel like they were about to burst, but he had to control it.

 

Fortunately, his evolved body quickly stabilised.

 

“What now?”

 

Gedeia did not attack, but examined Seo Woojin with a solemn look.

 

He realised that his opponent was far from weak.

 

But Seo Woojin couldn’t rush in recklessly either.

 

The creature possessed ‘Blood Magic’, which made it stronger with every wound.

 

“The best option is to kill it immediately.”

 

It was easier said than done.

 

This was already the fourth monster that has been summoned.

 

Over the last three times, Seo Woojin was able to increase his level by a whopping 9 levels.

 

He is now at level 32.

 

“A skill worth using….”

 

Seo Woojin did not use any skills that emitted the Demon King’s scent.

 

He couldn’t use them when other people were around.

 

So he only used the most used sword-related skills to improve his abilities.

 

“If it gets really dangerous, I will have no choice but to use it.”

 

Until then, he didn’t want to use them as much as possible.

 

‘Most of the newly acquired skills are mostly area of effect skills, so their effects aren’t that good.’

 

There is still enough mana

 

Although his body was a little tired, there was no major obstacle to his movement.

 

Seo Woojin aimed ‘Rune Dae’ at the monster and quickly scanned through the skills.

 

But in the end, what he could use had already been decided.

 

The skills that Seo Woojin had used before.

 

Power Strike, Rampage, Acceleration, Black Flame and Aura.

 

The problem was that even though he had used them before, he couldn’t defeat Gedeia.

 

“Tsk.”

 

Seo Woojin clicked his tongue.

 

“Is that the only way after all?”

 

There was something he hadn’t tried yet.

 

This was how he defeated Baek Siwoo in sparring.

 

It was a combination of skills.

 

‘Black Flame is essential.’

 

It could minimise the bleeding from the wounds.

 

Next is ‘Acceleration’.

 

He had to cut Gedeia with a speed it couldn’t react to.

 

‘And…’

 

‘Rampage.’

 

This time, instead of the ‘Power Strike’ he had used in the competition with Baek Siwoo, he chose ‘Rampage’.

 

The black flames enveloped Rune Dea.

 

Combined with aura, the black flame began to burn uncontrollably.

 

When he used ‘Acceleration’, he felt his body becoming infinitely lighter.

 

Lastly, ‘Rampage’ was used.

 

The mana began to boil.

 

The controlled mana jumped around like a wild horse with loose reins.

 

Thud-thud-thud!

 

Was it like a tsunami that had occurred?

 

A storm of wild mana enveloped his entire body.

 

The tough, resilient flesh couldn’t withstand the pressure and cried out.

 

‘It’s ok.’

 

Although it was painful, it was still worth enduring.

 

The explosively increased mana flowed down ‘Rune Dea’ like a river.

 

Sensing something unusual, Gedeia screamed and lunged forward.

 

Kegegegegek!

 

It was a roar so unpleasant that it was disgusting just to hear it.

 

Seo Woojin frowned and twisted his waist.

 

The muscles were instantly relaxed to the limit and ‘Rune Dea’ split the space.

 

A black line was drawn.

 

With a cracking sound, Gedeia’s body split vertically and horizontally.

 

And blood poured out.

 

‘Blood Magic’ was activated.

 

The blood flowing down like a waterfall turned into a massive spear aimed at Seo Woojin.

 

Grumbling!

 

It was then.

 

A bit later, a black aura rose from the wound.

 

And the blood of the ‘Blood Magic’, which couldn’t stand the heat, began to evaporate.

 

Kweeeee-

 

Gedeia’s scream was pitiful, as if it couldn’t believe it.

 

But Seo Woojin showed no mercy.

 

Skkk-!

 

Even the mountain goat’s head was cut off and rolled to the ground.

 

That was the end of it.

 

[You have leveled up.]

 

Hwaaaah-!

 

All minor wounds and exhausted stamina were fully recovered.

 

“Phew, somehow I managed to finish it.”

 

He climbed another 3 levels, reaching level 35.

 

Gedeia was such a powerful monster.

 

Maybe similar to Rosie Ruby.

 

‘No, it’s not that much, is it?’

 

Seo Woojin, who had briefly compared the two, nodded his head.

 

“Still, Rosie Ruby is strong.”

 

Although Gedeia was strong, there was a class difference that Rosie Ruby could not surpass.

 

However, that spider was a member of the Demon King’s family.

 

‘If I fight now, I’ll win….’

 

Even Baek Siwoo defeated it with a single sword.

 

So there was no reason for Seo Woojin not to defeat it.

 

Because since then, his level has increased by more than 10.

 

“But they recommended fleeing for those below level 50….”

 

Seo Woojin had to admit that he had started getting a bit greedy.

 

He had thought that since he was level 32, he could easily defeat a Gedeia monster, right?

 

But it was arrogance.

 

In the end, he did win, but to be honest, it was a bit of a challenge.

 

“That was close.”

 

Seo Woojin breathed a sigh of relief as he looked around.

 

A black room.

 

The ‘Chronicles of the Demon King of Another World’ was right in the middle.

 

Nothing had changed.

 

“Now then, shall we look at it again?”

 

This was already his fourth time visiting here.

 

Thanks to this, Seo Woojin was able to remember quite a few of the symbols on the cover of the Chronicles of the Demon King of Another World’.

 

It was much more complex and larger than anything he had memorised before.

 

‘I need to decipher this quickly.’

 

That way he could confirm the contents of the book.

 

He thought he should visit Barisk soon and ask for the interpretation of the symbols, and he took his eyes off the book.

 

At the same time, he left the black room and returned to reality.

 

“Hmm…”

 

It was a mess.

 

Gairodus, Forun, Agathor, Gedeia.

 

The bodies of these four monsters filled the training room.

 

The smell of blood, which he hadn’t smelled during the fight, vibrated.

 

“Should I clean this up?”

 

There were many servants in the academy.

 

They took care of all sorts of unpleasant things for the convenience of the heroes.

 

But he couldn’t leave the task of dealing with these corpses.

 

Seo Woojin was not completely without a conscience.

 

Since monster corpses were nothing more than useless waste, it was okay to just burn them.

 

“I guess I’ll have to endure some hardship.”

 

‘Black Flames’ bloomed..

 

“I hope it burns quickly.”

 

“Ugh, it’s hard.”

 

Seo Woojin groaned as he returned to his dorm room.

 

He had hunted four monsters today alone.

 

Each of them was powerful enough to be considered a catastrophic threat.

 

Although he recovered by leveling up, it was impossible not to be exhausted.

 

He wanted to just lie down in bed and close his eyes, but there was still work to be done.

 

“I need to wash up a bit.”

 

His body was covered in blood.

 

It was enough to shock the heroes he met on his way back to the dorm.

 

After a quick wash in the bathroom, Seo Woojin sat on the bed and took out ‘Rune Dea’.

 

Swiss

 

There were dried blood stains on the pure white blade.

 

He took a white cloth out of the drawer.

 

He put oil on it and cleaned the blade.

 

As the blood was wiped away, the pure white blade began to reveal its shape.

 

“It didn’t leave a scratch.”

 

Although the sound of the divine sword couldn’t be heard, it was undoubtedly a divine sword.

 

While enjoying the purity that seemed to purify even the mind, a sudden doubt arose.

 

“Did they say it was the sword used by a hero?”

 

If Seo Woojin remembered correctly, it was the sword of the hero who was killed by the Demon King’s retainer.

 

The image of Agna laughing and speaking came to his mind, making him feel uncomfortable for no reason.

 

“Heroes die too.”

 

If you think about it, it was natural.

 

So far, they had managed to block everything, but their opponent was a being with the power to destroy the world.

 

No matter how strong and fast the heroes grew, there would inevitably be casualties.

 

It was war, after all.

 

Many heroes had indeed lost their lives.

 

“And even in this war…”

 

There might be casualties.

 

No, there would definitely be casualties.

 

Even if the summoning of a hundred or so Heroes created a party atmosphere, it didn’t mean that no one would die.

 

Even if creatures like Rosie Ruby charged in, lower-ranked Heroes would inevitably fall.

 

Some of them might be able to withstand Galades’ attack, but it was uncertain.

 

Among them,  there may be some Heroes who may not be able to take Gerald’s murderous head-on.

 

What if they were facing unfamiliar ‘Magi’ for the first time?

 

What if they were surrounded by hundreds or thousands of monsters?

 

Even though they were heroes, there were many situations where they couldn’t avoid death.

 

Seo Woojin’s expression became more serious.

 

‘I don’t know about other people, but I hope people around me don’t get hurt.’

 

That’s why we trained together.

 

The Academy should have developed many methods to increase the growth and survival rate of heroes.

 

But it seemed insufficient.

 

The method of becoming as strong as possible in the shortest amount of time.

 

“Paying to win is the best way.”

 

Looking at the Heroes whose wallets became stronger on payday, there seemed to be no method as quick and easy as paying to win.

 

Seo Woojin grinned.

 

It’s not a game, it’s reality.

 

The formula of ‘pay to win’ couldn’t be established.

 

It would have been possible if there had been shops like in other fusion fantasy novels.

 

“But such things don’t exist in this world.”

 

It was unfortunate.

 

If there was a system, it would have been nice to have a shop window or something.

 

Seo Woojin smiled as he pondered the pointless thoughts on his own.

 

“Is it impossible?”

 

Seo Woojin rummaged in his pocket and took out a ‘Summoning Stone’.

 

Come to think of it, it was no different from growth enhancing items.

 

It wasn’t like he bought it with money, but the effect itself was the same.

 

“What if I could get more of these?”

 

Follow the Academy’s training curriculum and use items like Summoning Stones in your spare time.

 

Then the growth would be much faster than it is now.

 

Of course, gaining practical experience is also important.

 

‘Summoning Stone’.

 

Seo Woojin looked at it quietly and then flopped down on the bed.

 

“I should visit the Sky Tower soon.”

 

Are there more items like this, and if so, is there a way to get them?

 

He had to check.

 

“Encountering the mage and facing her is a bit daunting, but… “

 

If it was for the growth of himself and his colleagues, he could tolerate that much.

 

The sleep demon has arrived.

 

Seo Woojin smiled as his consciousness gradually blurred.

 

“It was a tough day.”

 

But it was a satisfying day.