Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Translator: Penny
Chapter 14: The Commoner and the Demon [1]
Episode 14: Commoner and Demon [1]
"Alright, you know to come back here next week, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. Get home safe."
Eve Meitner waved goodbye, her hand circling in the air.
"Whew... My limbs really aren't moving the way I want them to."
Still, thanks to this, I've had some pretty valuable experiences.
I thought I'd be somewhat familiar with combat from playing full-dive machine games, but I was completely wrong. That really surprised me.
In games, attacks follow predictable patterns, making it easy to dodge them with proper timing. But unfortunately, this world I've possessed seems to operate by entirely different rules.
I never expected her to use that guaranteed-hit move twice in a row.
One of Eve Meitner's signature attacks, Electro Field, emits a powerful electromagnetic pulse that stuns targets in a wide area for a brief 1-2 seconds. It's essentially a guaranteed-hit skill.
This skill doesn't unleash thunder or lightning; it emits a faint electromagnetic pulse. If you deploy a Barrier to block it, you'll barely fail to defend against the subsequent Lightning Magic attack.
Still, I thought if I could just get close, I'd have a chance. I never expected him to fire two electromagnetic pulses in a row.
The "one-sided beatdown" training session had taught me one thing: this world wasn't a game.
Even when I moved to retrieve Hidden Pieces slumbering near Seoul, I found only empty traces, as if someone had already taken them. Only the Hidden Pieces meant for the protagonist later remained untouched.
Please enter your destination.
"Home."
Estimated travel time: 30 minutes. Would you prefer manual or automatic driving mode...?
"Please set it to automatic mode."
After instructing the car to switch to autonomous driving, I sank into the plush leather seat, my body still weary from being scorched by Lightning Magic.
This car costs over 600 million won, so it's no surprise it comes with all the bells and whistles.
I can never forgive Yun Seong-ho, but I have to at least be grateful for inheriting this car, his collection of luxury vehicles, the Underground Laboratory, and the Yuseong Group.
Mr. Deok-bae must be scrambling right now.
I told him not to contact me unless it was absolutely urgent and to use his own judgment. The Yuseong Group's stock price continues to climb, and no messages have come through. It seems the subtle suggestions I implanted in Mr. Deok-bae's mind beforehand, imparting the knowledge of a professional manager, have paid off.
Thanks to Ms. Eve relaying my message to the domestic guilds, we didn't even need to resort to a public opinion war. How wonderful.
If everything goes smoothly, the protagonist will enroll in Raon Academy, grow steadily, and then... sever the Final Boss's head. How perfect would that be?
Defeating the Final Boss might give me a clue to returning home.
Main Quest
Help the protagonist defeat Demon King Mephisto and save the world.
Reward: Private Audience with God, 1 Wish Voucher
This was the only quest I'd received since being transmigrated into this world, and I strongly suspected it would be my last.
If I cleared this quest, would the 'God' I met truly be the one who sent me here?
If I just sit still, I'll never escape this world.
As I thought this, I leaned back in the car heading home and closed my eyes. But just as I was about to drift off...
"A powerful Gate reaction has been detected nearby. Recalculating route..."
"After this, there's only a mountain road left. A Gate appearing in the mountains? It'll be impossible to pass until the Heroes arrive..."
Boom!
With that notification, the car suddenly began to shake violently...
"Wait, hold on?!"
As if being pulled into a massive black hole, I gripped the safety bar, feeling the weightlessness against my skin, and could only watch helplessly as the car was slowly sucked into the enormous Gate.
When I regained consciousness, all I could see was...
"...Where am I?"
Inside a pitch-black cave, countless monsters lay crushed and collapsed.
"Ugh, what's that awful stench?!"
Looking around, the only thing I could tell was that I had no idea where I was.
"I thought my phone might work since it had some signal deeper in the dungeon... Guess making calls was too much to ask for after all..."
My phone had long since gone dead.
The only sliver of hope I clung to was the massive size of the gate I'd glimpsed while being sucked in. I had to believe someone who saw it would report it to the Heroes. That's what kept me going here.
Thud, thud...!
Inside the now-defunct car, after killing Yun Seong-ho, I grabbed the pistol I'd prepared in the lab, thinking I might need it.
Click!
"I didn't expect to do a demonstration in a place like this."
Thwack!
As I pulled the trigger, the harpoon attached to the gun barrel shot out at high speed.
Crash!
After confirming that the harpoon had embedded itself firmly in the cave wall, I began to stretch my body, moving my feet repeatedly to loosen up.
Now, let's try moving.
Whirr!
Activating the button near the trigger, the rope connected to the harpoon began to reel in rapidly, lifting me into the air with a floating sensation.
To explain the dungeon's structure... there's the safest entrance, the Monster Area teeming with mobs, the Hidden Room containing hidden monsters or items, and finally, the Boss Room where the Boss Monster resides.
The place I needed to find was the entrance where people who had passed through the Gates normally were transported. When I was sucked in earlier, the Gate had suddenly materialized, so... at least this wasn't the entrance.
The entrance wouldn't be this small anyway. It's supposed to be wide open.
As I moved through the massive cave, feeling like Spider-Man in his red spandex suit soaring through the air, the level of monsters emerging from within the Gate was unsettling.
I thought the monsters lying defeated where I was transported were high-level...
The fallen monsters had been Upper B-Rank. I had assumed they had fought each other to the death in a territorial dispute, but now...
There are a lot of A-Rank Monsters. At least there aren't any flying ones, which is a relief.
If there had been flying monsters, we wouldn't have been able to move so easily. We would have been caught and turned into monster food within seconds.
Giant Crocodile, High Goblin... this definitely seems like a Cave Dungeon.
Normally, Cave Dungeons should have Giant Bats—low-tier C-Rank Monsters—dominating the skies. But seeing fragments that looked like bat wings scattered around confirmed that they had been present.
Psychokinesis is working well.
If I hadn't used Psychokinesis to create a semi-transparent barrier, distorting our visibility, we would have been intercepted by the ground-based monsters with a high probability.
How much time had passed? Finally, I found what appeared to be a massive entrance.
And I could sense someone entering the Gate.
Good, I need to call for backup—
Just as I was about to quickly request support from the person who had crossed the Gate...
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
...!!!
Crash!
Just before reaching the entrance, I abruptly changed direction and concealed myself behind a nearby boulder.
Why is that thing suddenly appearing?
A being that should absolutely not be manifesting in South Korea at this time.
Its skin was so black it looked like a corpse, and its blood-red eyes were eerily similar to human blood, radiating an ominous aura.
And then, the overwhelming Demonic Energy and murderous intent unique to Demons.
"Haa... I came here to relax, expecting nothing... I never thought I'd find this. The Fourth Seat guy would love this."
Why is Shena appearing at this point?!
The seven Demons who serve the Final Boss.
Among them, Shena ranks lowest in combat power but possesses mental manipulation abilities similar to Yun Se-a's, earning her the Fourth Seat among the Demons.
Shena, the Demon of Envy.
Why is a powerful Boss Monster who should appear after the Yun Se-a subjugation battle showing up here?
What's going on? Could the anomaly that killed Yun Seong-ho have already occurred?!
Could Yun Seong-ho have been involved with the Demons in some way?
According to the original story, the Demon arc should have started immediately after Yun Seong-ho's death, so I assumed that's what was happening... But could it be that the Korean research facility mentioned in the Demon arc... was actually Yun Seong-ho's laboratory?!
"The Demonic Energy emanating from within... it definitely seems to be the Demon King's 'thing'... But why do I also smell something else?"
If it's the Demon King's 'thing'... does that mean the fragments of the seal? I heard they were in Korea, but... to find them inside a Gate that suddenly appeared like this?!
Click
Footsteps grew closer.
"Hmm, am I imagining things? Well, I did starve on the way here... and these 'Constraints' are really messing with my mood."
Constraints?
So, she's not at full strength...
If I strike now, can I capture her?
Capturing Shena now could prevent the massacre that will occur later.
Unlike other Demons, Shena's mental domination leaves nearly impossible-to-erase aftereffects once applied. Crucially, among the Seven Demons, Shena's discipline is the most lax. Capturing her here would significantly delay Mephisto's resurrection.
And since we both specialize in mental domination...
There's a chance I could obtain other materials from Shena's remains to enhance my Demonic Eye of Suggestion.
Just as I was about to move, I heard a rustling sound...
Rustle
...?!
"Found you, you little thief."
A voice, chillingly beautiful, echoed from behind me.
"Damn it...!"
Thwack!
"...!!"
I tried to resist, but the blade that pierced my abdomen in an instant forced me to drop my only means of defense—my pistol.
Shit, this scenario wasn't in the game...!
If I recklessly used the Demonic Eye of Suggestion and got caught by Shena... I'd be forcibly transported to her lair without any chance of resistance, destined to become either a test subject or meet my end.
"Come now, your blood looks delicious. Let's go together?"
As if there wasn't even time for complex thoughts, I met Shena's gaze. In an instant, I felt my body lift into the air, and then I lost consciousness.