Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: True Demon Realm (2)
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Red lightning streaked from the dark clouds that had instantly blanketed the sky.
Rumble—CRACK—
Where the lightning struck, a giant of about three meters appeared, wearing a black fedora.
Two horns, like a mountain goat's, protruded from his head, and his entire body was packed with muscle.
“Welcome to the True Demon Realm. You brats… I…”
He had a slightly dismissive attitude, looking down on us, but suddenly his eyes widened immensely and he stopped talking.
“It's been a while, Abirag.”
“B…Bio?”
Were he and Bio acquainted?
Come to think of it, Bio knew this fellow would show up.
“B. R. A. T? Wasn’t that the nickname I gave you?”
“Ah… no, that was ages ago. More importantly, Bio, what are you doing here…?”
“This one here is my summoner.”
As Bio answered, placing a hand on my shoulder, the demon’s already wide eyes grew even wider, as if they would pop out.
“I… I see. He’s a very lucky human.”
“Human? Are you speaking informally to my summoner?”
“No… I apologize.”
Seeing him so flustered by Bio, I thought this floor might be surprisingly easy to clear.
I was worried because of the absurdly strong restriction, but as expected, whether in the modern world or in Elsia, connections are everything.
“If he is your summoner, Bio, I don't think he needs to go through any sort of trial…”
Oh, for once, things were going as expected.
“Do you have the authority to decide that?”
“To you, Bio, I may be just a snot-nosed kid, but a lot of time has passed. I am the Demon King’s number one confidant and the Commander-in-Chief of the True Demon Realm.”
So he wasn't the Demon King.
“There’s no need for that. This one needs real combat experience.”
“B…Bio?”
“What you learn must be put to use. Didn’t you say something similar to me once?”
…He must be talking about when I got my class a long time ago and said we should put it to use. He has a good memory.
“As expected, you raise your summoner to be strong. Just like you, Bio.”
…Just when I thought things were finally going my way…
“Hey there, young friend. Don’t resent Bio. It’s all for your own good, to make you stronger.”
“Of course. Of course. I’m sure it is.”
Abirag frowned at my half-hearted reply.
Still, perhaps wary of Bio, he didn't say anything more.
“Your personality has mellowed out quite a bit, Bio.”
“Like you said, a lot of time has passed. Still, his character is decent. Except for his wandering eye.”
Wandering eye?
“I see.”
He glanced at my companions and Ha-young beside me and grinned. It was absurd.
“Hyeon-ung might be charming, but he doesn’t have a wandering eye.”
“What’s he supposed to do about being so attractive?”
“Bio, are you perhaps jealous of Hyeon-ung?”
Before I could even speak, my companions rushed to object, firing back at Bio.
My companions are the best.
“Ahem, jealous? Of course not. Ah, by the way, that friend there is just a companion and won’t be taking the trial.”
As Bio pointed to Ha-young, Abirag made a troubled expression.
“But it seems that lady and your summoner are currently connected?”
Connected?
It must be because we're in a party. Bio looked at me.
“Ha-young, I’m leaving the party.”
“What? But then your trait…”
If I leave the party, I can’t use the Defying Heaven trait, but that’s better than putting Ha-young in danger.
“It’s fine.”
It was a little disappointing, but I know that stats aren’t everything.
Besides, I’d already decided to act as if I didn’t have it.
I reassured Ha-young that it was fine and left the party.
“Is this good enough?”
“Confirmation complete. Then, the trial will be undertaken by Bio’s summoner alone.”
As he spoke, Abirag took a step toward me.
“Wh-what is it?”
“Nothing to be afraid of. To be able to summon Bio, your luck must be quite good. Trust in your luck.”
Luck?
Abirag clapped his hands once, and a very familiar structure appeared with a red light.
“Have you seen something like this before?”
I nodded.
It looked exactly like the spinning wheel I use with the gacha tickets I get daily as an SVIP benefit.
Of course, the pictures on the wheel were completely different.
Terrifying-looking monsters? Demons?
In any case, it was packed with strange drawings.
“The Demon King’s trial is very simple. This mission wheel has various tasks the Demon King needs done. You just have to choose one, complete it, and get it verified.”
“And I choose by spinning that wheel?”
“That’s right.”
So that's why he said luck was important.
“There are only pictures. What are the contents?”
“You’ll find out the details after you choose. Some are easy, some are hard, and the probabilities are all the same.”
It was a bit unfair to have to choose without knowing the details.
If that’s how it is, I have no choice but to use a trick of my own.
“Can I form a party again just for the selection?”
“It doesn't really matter.”
Nice.
The moment I partied up with Ha-young again, I felt power surging through my body.
With Bio and all my companions summoned, and the Defying Heaven trait active, my luck was better than ever.
“How do I choose…?”
“Just throw this. For the record, you only get one chance, and you can’t take it back.”
As he spoke, he handed me a small dart.
When I took the dart, the wheel began to spin at an incredible speed.
At this speed, it wouldn't have mattered even if they had told me the details.
I hesitated for a moment, but since it was all just pictures and I didn’t know the content anyway, I trusted my luck and threw the dart.
The dart flew in an arc and stuck into the edge of the wheel, which gradually slowed down.
Before long, it came to a complete stop.
Oh, my dart had landed next to the most decent-looking picture, not one of the other terrifying ones.
“Your luck really is good. Now, break the connection first.”
I immediately left the party. Seeing his reaction, it seemed I had made a pretty good choice.
I was about to ask what I needed to do, but a notification window appeared right then.
[You have selected the 66th Floor True Demon Realm Main Quest.
Subjugate the confined former Demon King, Arpeus, and deliver his head.
Quest Reward: 67th Floor Pass, Random Stats +10, Demon King’s Gift]
Arpeus?
The Demon King’s Gift had been added to the initial rewards.
“You’ve heard the description, but to add a bit more, it’s a simple mission. We have intelligence that the former Demon King, Arpeus, who is also the current Demon King’s older brother, is covetously eyeing the throne again. You just have to eliminate him and bring back his head.”
I understood the explanation immediately, but this didn't seem like good luck at all.
A former Demon King would be no pushover.
I was a little worried, but Abirag said it wouldn't be too difficult, as Arpeus was still suffering from major injuries sustained during the battle for the throne with the current Demon King.
“If it’s not difficult, why doesn’t the Demon King handle it himself?”
If there was any brotherly love between them, he wouldn't have usurped the throne in the first place.
“The Demon King is busy. Ah, but if you wish it, Bio, I could try to arrange a meeting….”
“No need. We’ll meet him at the end of the trial anyway.”
“Indeed. Understood. It’s not much of a substitute, and I’m not really supposed to provide such conveniences, but I’ll send you nearby.”
Oh, not bad service.
“Where is Arpeus?”
“He is confined in a temple in the Kaliphant Desert, in the western part of the True Demon Realm. I wish you good fortune.”
After politely answering Bio’s question, Abirag clapped his massive palms together once more, and our vision shifted.
It was a vast desert, but the sand was as red as blood.
“This is strange.”
It was my first time seeing a red desert, so I found it fascinating too, but it seemed this ‘service’ wasn't really a service at all.
Because within the will-force I had naturally spread out, I could feel hundreds of sources of killing intent directed at us.
“Everyone, prepare for battle! Ha-young and Alpen, get to the center!”
Almost simultaneously with my shout, the sand around us erupted.
They were scorpions, nearly the size of Abirag.
They weren't exceptionally large, but their numbers easily reached the hundreds.
“What a windfall! Humans!”
“I don’t want the man! I like tender wome— Urk!”
BOOM—
Milli’s explosive arrow struck the scorpion’s head and detonated, but surprisingly, it left no wound.
“That tickles.”
“How is it so tough?”
“I just fired that as a light probe.”
Milli, her pride slightly wounded, frowned and nocked three arrows at once.
Their violet shells seemed much tougher than they looked.
Swish—
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
When I tried using will-force, it sliced them in two without any resistance.
Their vitality seemed as high as their defense; even after being cut in half, they kept moving, which was rather unsightly, so I used my will-force again to finish them off.
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
“It seems they can’t block will-force. You can all use it, right?”
Bio definitely said earlier that my companions’ abilities were restricted to match my level.
And Hanna did say she could take me down in three minutes.
Before I could even finish, Hanna surged forward.
Wow, I could only watch in awe.
Her claim of taking me down in three minutes didn't seem to be an empty boast.
An extreme speed that even my eyes couldn't follow.
Hanna’s form looked like a single line, no, a single point.
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
…
…
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
“Hanna’s having all the fun. Shall I get a little serious, too?”
The moment Timi finished speaking, the scorpions on the opposite side from Hanna began to melt one by one.
“T-Timi? What did you do?”
“It’s nothing much. I just imbued my White Flame with a little will-force.”
You can imbue magic with will-force?
What’s more, the scorpions didn't seem to notice a thing.
They just stood there, melting like ice cream… Wait a minute…
“Timi, is this perhaps…”
“As expected, Hyeon-ung, you’re quick on the uptake. It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
The reason the scorpions were melting without reacting at all was that Timi’s magic contained no form or color, nor any aggressive emotion or killing intent.
The Formless Sword that Bio was trying to teach me…
No, since it’s magic, it should be called Formless Magic.
“Did you know how to do that already?”
“No. I heard you were learning it from Bio, so I tried it myself. It wasn’t easy, but I managed.”
Bio told me it would take at least ten years to learn it without real combat experience…
Milli, too, fired another arrow. This time there was no explosion, but nothing remained in the arrow’s path.
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion.]
…
[You have defeated the Desert Demon, Death Scorpion Leader.]
In less than two minutes, the scorpions that had filled the area were gone without a trace.
My companions are even stronger than I thought.
Rina didn't do much, but without the 90% restriction, she would have been just as active as the others.
Of course, the restriction might have loosened because I awakened the Living Sword, but I still felt a little betrayed.
“When did you all get so strong?”
“Ah, well, you trained so hard this time, Hyeon-ung, so the restriction was lifted quite a bit…”
“Th-… That’s right. It’s all thanks to your hard work, Hyeon-ung.”
Their stuttering made it obvious they were hiding something.
“Rina, is that true?”
“Actually, Bio told us to hold back, saying that if we were too active, it wouldn’t help your growth, Mister.”
So it was because of Bio.
“You have a strange look on your face. It was for your own good.”
“R-Right. I-It’s nothing.”
Haha, well, it’s good that my companions are strong since I have less to worry about, but to think I made such a fuss, worrying about them and talking about reverse summoning…
It’s embarrassing.
Especially when I sparred with Hanna and told her in a teaching tone that she could learn will-force quickly, too.
I bet my companions sensed the monsters approaching before I did this time, too.
Acting as nonchalant as possible, I asked Bio for directions.
“Well. I don’t think it’s time to think about moving just yet.”
Almost simultaneously with Bio’s reply, the entire desert began to shake violently.