Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Holy Staff Liberation
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‘As expected, it’s here too.’
Just like any other game, [Devil Fantasy] had a level system.
The max level was 100, and for mages, each level-up boosted the basic stats—[Vitality], [Agility], [Senses], [Mana]—by 1 each.
Of course, a mere +1 didn’t make for any dramatic changes.
But what I was after wasn’t the stat boosts in the first place.
It was the special effect that triggered on level-up. That’s what I’d been aiming for.
And the effect was undeniable.
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
The gnawing hunger that had me on edge, the mental and physical exhaustion that could drive a man mad, the fractured right leg—every limitation tormenting me was healed by the level-up’s special effect, leaving my body feeling light as if it could float away.
And with this, I had more than enough to turn the tables.
Among the surviving mages, I spotted the one who’d taken down his assigned demon and was now blocking the others. I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Roan! Support the Demon Hydra side! I’ll handle the rest!”
“……What did you say?”
I realized I’d spoken to him casually, forgetting he was a noble, but I didn’t have time to correct that now.
“If you want to kill them all, then move!”
“……Hah.”
Roan let out a disbelieving scoff.
But he grasped the situation and started heading toward the Demon Hydra as I’d ordered.
“You’ll pay for that insolence later!”
“…….”
It would’ve been perfect without the afterthought.
Ignoring Roan’s words, I scanned the surroundings.
‘……Fourteen of them.’
There’d been thirty-two mages at the start of the test, meaning sixteen demons total.
Fourteen still alive meant no other team except mine and Roan’s had taken down their demon.
It was only natural.
Roan was a four-circle mage, and I had a mythic trait, soul imprint, and intel on the Demon Basilisk.
‘Thompson’s skills were better than I expected, too.’
Anyway, the rest were mediocre mages with no standout talent or real combat experience. Of course they couldn’t take down a demon.
“Gahhh! Go! I said don’t follow me!”
Right now, they were just panicking and running.
Not a shred of courage to fight back.
So the only ones we could count on were three, including me.
‘……Me, Thompson, and Roan. We have to handle it with three.’
I’d thought we’d just need to take down one, but things had snowballed. Still, it wasn’t all bad.
I’d have to face demons eventually to meet ‘that condition’ anyway.
I just decided to think of it as the timeline getting moved up a bit.
Kikikikik-!
“Yeah, good to see you too.”
I stepped in front of a [Demon Goblin] wielding a shortsword—on the opposite side from Roan and Thompson.
In other games, goblins were tutorial trash mobs…… but with “demon” slapped on, did that make the difference?
In [Devil Fantasy], they still packed some punch.
Well, only early-game, and compared to the [Demon Basilisk], they were pathetically weak.
Among the ones here, the Demon Basilisk was the strongest.
The rest were all beneath it.
“Shall I go first?”
The awakening effect from the earlier fight hadn’t worn off yet.
So I didn’t bother closing in. Instead, I summoned attribute orbs from afar.
Whoooosh!
Kiik!
The goblin finally charged.
But it was already too late.
“You think you can take your time against a mage, you trash mob?”
Boom! Bang!
Before its quick-thrust shortsword could reach me, the attribute orbs struck first.
Not enough for an instant kill, but a solid hit nonetheless.
I could definitely feel the power was stronger than during the Basilisk fight.
……Kyaek!
Unprepared for the speed, the goblin took the orb to the face, tumbling backward ass-first.
The impact sent the shortsword flying from its grip.
Whoosh-.
I didn’t miss the moment, firing one orb—not at the goblin, but the sword.
Bang! Clang, clatter……
The earth-attribute orb smashed the shortsword mid-air, sending it skittering far away.
Terror flooded the goblin’s face as it saw.
It realized its situation.
I stared straight at it and said.
“Now you’re unarmed.”
……Kiik!
Tadadat!
Smart for a goblin.
Instead of charging me, it ran for the dropped shortsword.
But it was pointless.
The moment it lost its weapon, the fight was over.
By the time it reached the shortsword.
Pabababang!
Dozens of attribute orbs I’d been busily preparing surged toward it.
Kie……
It couldn’t even scream properly before turning to gray ash and scattering.
And once more, that mysterious energy was absorbed into me.
Swoooosh-.
This must be experience, huh.
Of course, killing this one didn’t bump me to level 3.
[Devil Fantasy]’s EXP requirements grew exponentially with each level.
But that was fine.
“Next.”
There was still plenty of EXP lying around, wasn’t there?
***
Meanwhile, Thompson was protecting the surviving mages on Yoo Han’s orders.
Grraaah-.
A tense situation where one slip could put him in danger too.
Yet, like he was entranced, his gaze kept drifting elsewhere.
What had captured his attention was the black-haired man calmly dispatching demons.
Bang! Boom! Bang bang!
‘……What am I even seeing right now?’
As a man who’d outshone countless mages to claim first place multiple times in evaluations, he knew the guy could fight well.
But to this extent?
His combat was nothing short of miraculous.
Unbelievable genius in magic, boldness to dive into close quarters, backed by lightning-fast movements.
“Roan! Once you take down the Hydra, help Thompson over there!”
“Is he actually insane……?”
And top-tier leadership to boot.
‘Just moments ago, it was a hopeless situation…….’
But with this one guy joining, the tide was turning bit by bit.
Thompson couldn’t help but acknowledge him.
Grraaah-!
Thwack-!
He swung his rock-encased right arm to deflect the ghoul’s claws, calmly replaying recent events.
Separate from the man’s magic prowess, there was something he couldn’t wrap his head around.
‘He was definitely injured.’
He hadn’t seen before the man closed his eyes to focus mana.
But he’d clearly seen the Basilisk’s scale smash into the man’s leg.
He’d even heard the crisp crack of bone.
So the injury was indisputable.
Yet.
Crackle!
Kweeeek!
The man was freely spamming lightning orbs everywhere, moving without restraint.
As if he’d never been hurt at all.
The change started when the man’s body flashed green.
‘……He called it a level-up.’
Honestly, he had no clue what that word meant.
Some healing spell he didn’t know?
Then.
Thompson’s face filled with shock as he watched the man.
Woooong!
‘……Again!’
The moment the man felled his fifth demon, his body flashed once more.
The man took the phenomenon in stride.
No—he smirked, like he’d been waiting for it.
‘……What the hell is that?’
Thompson instinctively knew it wasn’t some healing spell.
He observed the man more closely and soon spotted something odd.
‘His magic…… feels stronger too……?’
Looking carefully, he could sense it.
After the flash, the man’s spells hit harder.
‘Definitely not healing magic.’
That’s when it hit him—a story he’d heard before.
From his closest friend, Eric.
-Hey, Thompson. You know what? There are people in this world whose souls grow.
Eric had added that those people always became great figures later.
One became a swordsman who built his own world.
Another an archer who split the sea with a single arrow.
Another a grand mage who traversed space-time.
Thompson had dismissed it as nonsense.
Soul growth? Impossible.
But.
‘Number one…… could you be……?’
Gulp.
Thompson swallowed dryly.
His convictions had shifted.
The man before him might be one whose soul grows.
Grraaaah!
Crack-!
Seizing a gap, Thompson smashed the ghoul down with a boulder-hard fist and exhaled.
“Whew…….”
His heart was pounding wildly.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump……!
From the thought that this demon-slaying genius mage might become a great man—or hero—one day.
Meeting such people had been Thompson’s lifelong dream since boyhood.
And now, a man with that potential stood before him.
Thompson thought.
This was his chance to fulfill that dream.
No—beyond that, a chance to stand beside such a man.
By the side of a great man.
“This is ridiculously thrilling……!”
“You’re Thompson…….”
Boom!
Oblivious to Roan’s arrival, Thompson bulked his muscles and leaped high into the air.
His target: the next survivor.
No time for spectating—Thompson had to show more of his stuff.
Only then would that budding hero consider taking him as a comrade.
***
Roooar!
The trap variant I’d set on the last demon, the lizardman, triggered.
Gurgle……
Roasted to perfection.
Thud.
It flopped over, tongue out, dissolving into gray ash.
EXP flooded into me simultaneously.
Still far from level 4, but no regrets.
“Whew.”
Including the Basilisk, up to this lizardman.
If my count was right……
‘Ten.’
Ten demons registered in the codex.
I’d met ‘that condition.’
I closed my eyes and imagined.
In a game, a message like this would pop up.
[Artifact liberation condition met.]
[Details: Register 10 entries in the codex while equipped with the ‘Holy Staff.’]
[Liberation complete. Heroic artifact ‘Holy Staff’ regains its true form.]
I hadn’t expected it this soon.
In a way, Aldeon had helped me.
They’d released demons of all types, letting me hit the condition.
Grind, grind.
A grotesque sound rang out. I opened my eyes, cheering inwardly.
‘It’s done!’
My gaze dropped to the weapon—once just my forearm’s length—now growing.
At the same time.
Grind, grind!
It twisted unnaturally, shifting to the form I knew.
Antique patterns engraved the handle; the worm-eaten holes filled themselves.
The finished product was no longer a rotten twig.
Beyond a wand—a full-fledged staff.
Heroic artifact, [Holy Staff].
It had tons of perks, but screw those.
The key effect was this.
‘Raises all equipped player’s magic skills by one stage.’
I was now effectively a four-circle mage.
Of course, this wasn’t the time to bask in the liberation.
“Sniff, Allen…….”
“My leg…… my leg……!”
“How could this happen…… Aldeon’s gone mad. They must be…….”
A third of the thirty-two mages were gone.
Only twelve survivors left—including the injured.
Step, step……
No one had expected such casualties.
They’d assumed the elders overseeing would intervene if things got too dangerous.
Aldeon must’ve known that too.
So—.
Step.
“We took them all out.”
“…….”
The old man who’d stood by, watching everything unfold.
Aldeon’s Tower Lord, Dershion Pigma.
I was dying to know what this bastard had to say.