Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Way the Rank 1 Hero Protects the World
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Of course, having lived in Korea for nineteen years, I was aware of shamans to some extent.
It’s just that I never really encountered them in everyday life. Doesn’t everyone feel that way? At most, I’d stumble across some entertaining stories online every now and then.
So I’d always thought they existed, but had nothing to do with me. I never dreamed I’d end up facing one after the System appeared.
And I certainly never imagined they’d dress like this on purpose.
Sure, when I read the raid report, I’d gotten vibes like “she must be young” and “what a wild one,” but still.
Yang Tae-won took a sip of his freshly ordered iced Americano and spoke listlessly.
“The official class name is Shaman.”
Apparently, Yang Tae-won had been a shaman even before the System showed up. He’d received his divine descent around age ten.
“In fact, I even foresaw the System’s appearance. No one believed me, though. That was the problem.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah. Well, I didn’t know the specifics myself, but the god I serve gave me a hint.”
My gaze naturally drifted to the Azure Dragon, its eyes closed at the moment.
Auspicious, multicolored energy swirled around the slumbering dragon. In a world where monsters popped up in dungeons, this was its own brand of surreal.
“I figured it’d be something like a global natural disaster at worst.”
“That’s scary enough in its own right.”
“Well, around New Year’s fortune-telling season, others probably sensed it too, right? Like, ‘Something’s off—why are so many people drawing death omens this year?’”
He said the creepiest things so casually.
Listening to him sparked a question.
“From the way you put it, it sounds like there are quite a few people active as Shaman class, besides you?”
“Of course. There are tons of folks doing New Year’s fortunes. You think they’re all frauds?”
I’d honestly thought they were, but I kept that to myself. What I was curious about was something else.
“Then why’d they leave it to you—a minor—to lead dungeon raids, instead of the others?”
Before meeting Yang Tae-won, I’d used my access to poke around the government database a bit.
It was just skimming the list of registered classes, but even so, I’d confirmed there were humans who’d awakened as shamans, priests, and the like, besides Yang Tae-won.
A fair number of them, too.
That’s what made me wonder.
Why push a mere minor like Yang Tae-won to the front lines?
“Oh, that’s simple. The other shamans couldn’t handle it like I could.”
Yang Tae-won pointed to the Azure Dragon coiled around him and flashed a faint smile.
“I’m the only one in Korea serving a god this massive. No way something this powerful would be rolling around like street pebbles… Ow, that hurts!”
The Azure Dragon, eyes still closed, had clearly been listening—it swatted Yang Tae-won’s back with its tail tip, smacking sound and all. They looked awfully close.
“Anyway, there weren’t other options. The moment some entered the Demon Realm, their connection to their god snapped completely. Plenty never came back at all.”
Heavy words.
On the surface, Korea’s dungeon situation looked stabilized now, but there must’ve been plenty of trial and error early on.
I don’t know what my face looked like, but Yang Tae-won let out a hearty laugh.
“No need to look like that. We’ve survived without major incidents so far. Even in the Demon Realm, as long as you endure the demonic energy, taking down B-rank monsters is a breeze.”
“…Yeah, that dungeon.”
Positivity’s great and all, but it was time to douse his attitude with cold water.
I cleared my throat to draw attention.
“I raided it just two days ago myself.”
Yang Tae-won’s face lit up at my words.
“Whoa, really? Is it ’cause you’re a Hero that you can handle the demonic energy? Awesome! Then we can alternate—you, me, and Unnie. Honestly, solo-raiding it every time was getting burdensome…”
I waved him off, cutting his rambling short.
You’ve gotta let people finish.
“…But I kinda caused an incident, so from now on, the Demon Realm dungeon’s basically unradiable.”
His excited chatter cut off. His expression froze solid.
“…Huh? What do you mean?”
To the slack-jawed Yang Tae-won, I decided to explain the situation as concisely as possible.
“You’ve never run into a boss monster in the Demon Realm so far, right?”
“Y-yeah. Honestly, I didn’t even know boss monsters existed. The clear condition’s just killing B-rank monsters, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. But during my raid, I encountered a boss monster.”
Of course, Belial wasn’t classified as a monster by the System, so calling it a boss was technically inaccurate. But explaining that would drag things out, so I kept it simple as “boss monster.”
“Whoa, no way.”
I thought he’d stay stunned, but Yang Tae-won clapped both hands over his mouth—totally out of character. Excitement and anticipation gleamed in his eyes.
“That dungeon’s the Demon Realm, right? So the boss is…?”
“Yeah. The Demon King.”
“Yesss!”
You’d think he was watching a sports match. Yang Tae-won threw his arms up like a victory cheer. His eyes sparkled.
“A Demon King? That’s real? Not like some game!”
“…You’d think it’s best left in games after seeing it for real.”
Something toxic like Belial? I never wanted to cross paths again. Just exchanging words felt like it shaved years off my life.
Catching my expression, Yang Tae-won gasped.
“Ah, sorry. It’s just… Hero versus Demon King is such a classic matchup. Gets the blood pumping, you know?”
Classic fan, huh.
Still, I’d half-expected disbelief in the Demon King’s existence, so I was grateful he bought it.
“Hmm, but what’s the problem? Clear conditions haven’t changed. Ignore the boss, clear it, and saturation’s managed, right?”
But beyond belief, Yang Tae-won still didn’t grasp how things had escalated.
Not that his question was entirely off-base.
In most dungeons, boss monsters don’t leave their domains. That’s why you can clear without invading their turf.
This time was different, though.
“Nah, it’s basically a new clear condition now. From the next entry, Belial—the Demon King—will be waiting right near the entry point.”
Hunters entering that dungeon so far hadn’t worried about Belial. The Demon Realm field was vast, and humans were too insignificant for it to notice.
Indeed, prior raiders had spent ages just hunting B-rank-plus monsters.
But now I’d thoroughly stirred the pot.
Belial was obsessively persistent and knew how the human world with the System operated. It knew about dungeon saturation, too.
So it’d definitely be lying in wait at my entry point next time.
Only then did Yang Tae-won get it—his face drained pale.
“S-so from now on, entering that dungeon means fighting the Demon King—er, boss monster—guaranteed?”
“Yeah.”
And it wasn’t even a real boss—just an opponent no normal hunter could handle. Worst case.
‘…I figured it’d come to this.’
Bitterness welled up.
I hadn’t told Yang Tae-won, but if I hadn’t entered the Demon Realm, this wouldn’t have happened.
I’d known from the start how it’d play out.
I’d done it anyway because I had to.
“Oh man, what now? If saturation blows, Demon Realm creatures spill out, right? Have you told the government?”
Now fully grasping it, Yang Tae-won’s words tumbled out in a rush.
Having dealt with Demon Realm critters, his reaction was understandable.
“Nope, haven’t told the government.”
“Huh? Why not? We should block civilian access immediately.”
Fair point. I knew that. I didn’t plan to keep it secret forever.
“I can handle it.”
Just that it’d be a post-resolution report.
Reporting an incident without cleanup versus after? Worlds apart.
No need to get tangled up with the government more than necessary.
“If it’s fixable, no point stirring panic by telling them, right?”
Luckily—or not—since I’d cleared it two days ago, saturation had breathing room.
I planned to resolve my mess in that window.
Yang Tae-won blinked in surprise at my words.
“Huh? It’s fixable? Wait—does that mean what Lord Azure Dragon said earlier…?”
Yang Tae-won stammered. As he spoke, one of the Azure Dragon’s eyes slyly cracked open.
A chuckle slipped out.
“Yeah.”
I nodded.
“I’m gonna erase the dungeon linking to the Demon Realm.”
I’d caused the mess, but I had a fix.
It wouldn’t work on normal dungeons, but for Demon Realm links, there was one way.
“Holy Power—or in your case, spiritual power? Whatever. It opposes demonic energy. That’s why you endure the Demon Realm’s corruption unscathed.”
“Yeah, that’s right. My power fundamentally destroys evil.”
Beliefs and domains might differ slightly, but from Yang Tae-won’s raid report, the results matched any priest I knew.
And I’d seen how a priest seals the Demon Realm.
“Yeah. With blood sacrifice from a qualified one, plus your evil-slaying power, ‘sealing’ is possible.”
Ariadne had succeeded sealing a Demon Realm-linked dungeon that way.
“Conveniently, I’m a qualified Hero, and you’ve got the power. Perfect match.”
An exploit that works only on evil-leaking dungeons, and only with an evil-slaying ‘priest’ and a willing sacrificial ‘Hero.’
Plus, Korea happened to have a Holy Power user and a Hero willing to bleed a bit—not die.
Hey, System still lists me as Hero class, so use it while it lasts.
Yang Tae-won scratched his chin, looking troubled.
“Even if you say it like it’s a blood drive…”
“Not dying, so it’s a bargain.”
I grinned and mimed slitting my throat.
“Blood regenerates as long as you’re alive, right?”
“Unnie, you’ll actually die like that.”
Kid’s got a cool head.
Mulling my words, Yang Tae-won soon opened his mouth with resolve.
“Honestly, I’d already wondered if a similar sealing method for evil spirits would work.”
I brightened at that.
Truth be told, I’d only assisted Ariadne in Tartarus; she’d led the sealing. I didn’t know the exact Holy Power mechanics.
If Yang Tae-won was clueless too, I’d have worried—but he’d nailed it.
“You’ve even tried it?”
“Of course. You think I enjoy diving into that hellhole monthly? But it never worked. The Demon Realm’s too massive; my spiritual power falls short… Hmm.”
Yang Tae-won muttered to himself, lost in thought.
“Normal ritual blades couldn’t sever it… So we need something to erase spiritual liquid. And the Hero has to wield it… What could it be?”
“…Your god doesn’t give hints?”
“Nope, not that helpful. But since it said it’s possible, I’ll figure it out… Ah.”
Yang Tae-won shot to his feet.
“Aaah!”
A wail like he’d been stabbed. Counter staff all turned our way.
Flushed and ignoring the stares, Yang Tae-won bellowed.
“It’s Excalibur!”
“…Huh?”
Excalibur?
Isn’t that British legend? Why pop up here?
People were staring hard. I couldn’t watch this twenty-year-old brewing black history, so I pressed down on Yang Tae-won’s shoulder.
“Hang on, sit first and talk.”
“That’s it, that’s gotta be it!”
But he ignored me, grabbing my hand and shaking it wildly. My arm hurt.
“That’s why they need a Hero. Only Hero class can pull it!”
So why Excalibur outta nowhere? As I went to ask again—
- One of the Heavenly Seals: the Bronze Sword.
Whoosh—a massive eye thrust right in my face. The energy coiling the Azure Dragon clamped me like shackles.
The now-wide-eyed Azure Dragon loomed close, mouth curved in a grin.
Its voice boomed straight into my mind.
- Need the Demon-Breaking Sword.
Yang Tae-won looked just as stunned, eyes wide.
“…Yang Tae-won.”
I called quietly.
“Y-yes?”
“Tell me more about this Excalibur.”
No clue what it was, but fine.
Wherever this Excalibur was stuck, I’d yank it out—even if I had to uproot a mountain.