Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Kill, Lure, Kill Again...
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Demon-Slaying Genius Mage
Chapter 164
Kill, lure, kill again...
The same pattern repeated for a while.
How much time had passed like that?
“Time to head back.”
I finally felt like we’d grinded enough experience in the Black Forest.
My companions let out feeble cheers at my words.
“Aaah...”
“It’s finally over.”
“That was hell. This time too...”
Everyone sounded like they were on their last breath.
Dark circles hung heavy under their eyes.
It wasn’t all that surprising.
‘This time really was brutal.’
It had been tougher than the two weeks of hunting outside the border.
Our skills had improved since then, so we’d hunted nonstop.
And the duration had been even longer.
‘...Already a month?’
A whole month.
Meaning we’d repeated this madness for a full thirty days.
No wonder everyone was wiped out.
Honestly, even I could feel I’d pushed too hard this time.
‘I feel like I’m gonna die.’
My arms, legs, back, waist...
Every part of my body was screaming.
My face naturally twisted in pain, and Erebos, noticing from beside me, chimed in.
“Is that all it takes to make you grimace? Pathetic, Contractor.”
“You’re the last one who should say that. Whose fault is this?”
“What’s with that look! You’re saying it’s my fault you’re worn out?”
Damn right it was.
‘You yapped nonstop about not wasting darkness like that...’
If I’d hunted solo, it wouldn’t have been this bad.
I would’ve paced myself.
But Erebos kept butting in at every turn, driving our party harder.
Thanks to him, not just me, but everyone was half-dead.
The words “Yeah, it is” rose to my throat...
“Whatever. Figure it out yourself.”
But I gave up on saying it.
Arguing with him was a losing battle for me.
‘He’d just scream and deny it like always.’
I’d been through it enough times; no more putting up with it.
Anyway.
‘The gains were huge.’
At least the payoff matched the pain.
Nearly a month of nonstop hunting had boosted everyone’s combat proficiency noticeably, and above all...
‘The biggest haul is the experience.’
My level had shot up.
Now at level 42.
We’d racked up nearly twenty levels just here.
Nonstop grinding, the [Orb of Growth], and Thompson’s soul power artifact made it possible.
‘Keep this up, and levels won’t be an issue.’
With that thought, I took light steps forward.
“Let’s go. Now.”
One month in the Black Forest.
Now it was time to keep my promise with Erveheim.
***
Tap, tap, tap...
Erveheim tapped the round wooden table with a solemn expression.
Her clueless subordinates were still trying to talk her out of it.
“Elder, we can’t entrust such a critical role to those humans.”
“They’re only seventh circle! If they die, it’ll put us elves in a terrible spot!”
“It could lead to misunderstandings.”
“...”
Bam!
Fed up, Ervehim slammed the table.
“You idiots...!”
How could they be this dense?
They were her subordinates, but she wanted to smack their heads.
“Have you really learned nothing from seeing those guys?”
Her subordinates were fretting over the humans’ safety in the upcoming operation.
They feared conflict between humans and elves if the humans died.
It wasn’t an impossible scenario.
One was a seventh-circle mage, after all.
A rare, highly valued asset even on the human continent.
‘If a guy like that dies in Albheim... conflict’s inevitable.’
But that was only if it actually happened.
To Erveheim, her subordinates’ worries looked utterly foolish.
‘Get hurt? Die? Those guys?’
She’d clashed with them enough times to know.
Just how immense their power was.
Anyone who’d sensed even a fraction of it...
“Seriously, who’s worrying about whom here...!”
Would know the humans didn’t need pity.
“Fine... Whatever. The responsibility’s mine anyway. Just follow orders without the chatter.”
“...Yes, Elder.”
Erveheim found it regrettable.
No one but her could gauge their strength.
‘This is why I can’t step down as elder.’
As Erveheim worried about the elves’ future,
The meeting room door burst open, and four people entered.
The mages at the center of the discussion.
“Long time no see, Elder.”
Erveheim’s brow twitched as she watched the black-haired human mage bow politely.
“...Your aura’s even stronger now?”
It had been a month since they’d left to hunt.
And the guy she met again looked completely transformed.
If his eyes were covered, she wouldn’t have recognized him—his presence had changed that much.
‘Still room to grow? What a monster. Monsters, plural...’
The funny part? The others beside him were no different.
Each one’s aura had grown incomparably stronger.
In just one month.
‘What the hell have they been up to...’
As Erveheim pondered that, the black-haired mage spoke up with a smug grin.
“Haha, results match the effort.”
“Cocky bastard.”
“...No filter anymore, huh.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
Ervehim signaled them to sit without a retort.
“Yep.”
As Yoo Han and his group settled in, Ervehim cut straight to the chase.
“The reason I called you here is simple.”
Rustle!
With those words, she unfurled a large scroll on the table.
“...A map?”
It was a map of all of Albheim.
The oddity was the ‘X’ marks scattered here and there.
As everyone examined it, Ervehim continued.
“The marked spots are where demons appear in Albheim.”
[Black Forest], [Twilight Valley], [Moonlight Pond], [Sanctuary of Silence], and so on...
Yoo Han scanned them all and nodded.
‘Yep. Demon hunting grounds.’
Just as Ervehim said—Albheim’s hunting zones.
Unlucky spots the elves reluctantly tolerated.
‘But what’s the point?’
As he wondered that, Ervehim spoke.
“And we plan to exterminate the demons in those areas.”
“...What?”
“Albheim will become a land purified of all demons.”
Ervehim’s expression was utterly devout.
Like she’d never bend on this.
Yoo Han stared at her, dumbfounded.
She met his gaze steadily and said,
“Will you join us, human?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Of course not.”
“...”
No wonder it felt ominous...
Grumbling inwardly, Yoo Han nodded reluctantly.
He was brimming with dissatisfaction.
‘...I picked the wrong fight.’
***
Before the demon extermination operation kicked off, my group and I slipped away from Ervehim’s watchful eyes to huddle up.
“Number One, this okay?”
Thompson whispered like he’d been waiting.
His grim face showed he was worried about the op.
The others felt the same.
“Is it even possible? Catching every demon in Albheim.”
“...Never heard of anything like it.”
Kayla and Barundel sounded equally skeptical.
No surprise—even I was thrown off.
But thinking it through, it wasn’t all bad.
‘The experience will be insane.’
Like in Asteron District 7, large-scale battles always meant fat experience rewards.
In simple terms, explosive level-ups.
Nothing like what the four of us could grind solo.
Plus.
“No real danger, probably. The elves are committing their full forces too.”
Safety was a bonus compared to that.
With our grown strength and the elves’ numbers, it’d take something crazy to threaten us.
‘And we’ve got Erebos too.’
Even if shit hit the fan unexpectedly, he’d cover us.
Not a situation to see purely negative.
Hell, play it right, and it was an opportunity.
Sure, being drafted sucked...
“For now, we’ll go along with what they want... but think about what you’ll demand after it’s done.”
“Gonna ask for rewards?”
“Damn right. Way too cheap for Albheim entry fee.”
“Fair, but... you think that elf’ll cough up rewards easy?”
“Don’t worry.”
As I opened my mouth to elaborate, Thompson stepped forward with the answer.
“Making the impossible happen is our specialty! Right, Number One?”
I nodded at his question.
Exactly.
If they didn’t pay up, we’d make a scene till they did.
Ervehim would learn soon enough.
‘It’s not just me who picked wrong.’
She did too.
***
“What?”
Ervehim flinched at one elf’s report and demanded,
“Say that again. What?”
The elf she eyed was a scout on recon duty, but the report felt off.
For good reason.
“...No demons spotted in the Black Forest.”
The most dangerous zone—and not a single demon?
Good news for the elves, but no coincidence.
It didn’t take Ervehim long to connect the dots.
“Where’d those guys say they were hunting?”
“Huh? You mean those guys...”
“The human mages!”
“Oh...”
The scout elf recalled and spoke.
“The Black Forest. ...Wait, what?”
The scout finally got it, face shocked.
Ervehim’s hardened in contrast.
Meaning they’d wiped out the Black Forest demons.
In one month.
‘...Just the four of them.’
Had she underestimated them?
Were they far stronger than she thought?
Doubts swirled in Ervehim’s mind.
But only briefly.
She murmured calmly,
“...Interesting bunch.”
Didn’t matter either way.
They’d fight together regardless.
Her head filled with plans on how to best use them.