Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Abyss
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It was dark.
Seo Woo-jin blinked and looked around.
The blue sky he'd seen just moments ago was gone without a trace, replaced by an endlessly deep and dark abyss stretching out in every direction.
"Where...?"
Ailin was gone. The soldiers were gone. Even the ice worm.
Not only their forms, but even their presences had vanished.
"Did I level up or something?"
This scene reminded him of the first time he'd killed a Snowl and leveled up.
But why? How?
He'd been on the brink of death, hadn't he?
He'd even wished for it himself.
And yet, suddenly, a level up?
He had no idea what had happened.
[You have leveled up.]
The familiar message floated before his eyes.
"Status window."
Seo Woo-jin reflexively called up his status window.
And he could only stare in shock.
"L-Level...?"
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■ Name: Seo Woo-jin
■ Job Aptitude: Demon King [Immeasurable]
■ Level: 5
■ Skills: Black Flame, ??? [Passive]
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He'd jumped a full three levels.
Just from slashing at that ice worm a few times.
It was an insane amount of experience compared to Snowl.
Seo Woo-jin let out a hollow chuckle as he stared at his status window for a moment, then noticed something else.
"...Black Flame?"
A newly acquired skill.
It had said skills unlocked at level 5—this must be it.
"The question marks still won't show."
It was the skill he'd had since his summoning.
Other than knowing it was a 'Passive' skill, he knew nothing about it, which had always bugged him...
"For now, let's set that aside."
Early on, he'd learned there was no point dwelling on unsolvable mysteries. Seo Woo-jin checked his new skill.
[Black Flame]: Burns everything (proportional to mana).
"Simple enough."
Like the bare-bones status window, the skill description was curt, barely a handful of words.
"Been in too many freezing places lately? Gave me a fire skill."
Of course, it was far from ordinary fire, but fire was fire.
"No clue what 'proportional to mana' means, though."
He wasn't even sure if he had mana to begin with.
Still, just in case, Seo Woo-jin decided to test the skill.
"Black Flame."
He held out his hand and uttered the skill name...
Whoosh—!
His hand erupted in black flames.
"W-Woah!"
Seo Woo-jin yelped and stumbled back.
Hadn't the description said it burns everything?
With that burning on his hand, how could he not panic?
But the black flames weren't hot at all. They were pleasantly warm.
Just like this abyssal space he stood in.
Seo Woo-jin gazed at his hand with wonder.
Come to think of it, a skill wouldn't harm its user.
"Probably burns everything except me."
That had to be it.
"Time to test it on—huh?"
He'd been about to look for something to burn when he blinked.
The Black Flame had vanished.
"Didn't cancel it..."
After pondering briefly, Seo Woo-jin nodded.
"Guess I ran out of mana."
The skill activating meant he had mana, and it fizzling so quickly meant he didn't have much.
He wanted to test it properly, which was a shame.
"So, what now?"
Seo Woo-jin looked around.
Just like when he'd first arrived, everything was pitch black.
"Last time, I'd have been sent back by now."
A space as cozy as his mother's embrace.
But nothing was visible, nothing knowable.
"It's nice and all, but I can't stay forever."
Honestly, part of him wanted to stay here forever instead of returning to reality.
But he couldn't.
Not anymore, anyway.
The faces of the dying soldiers, bleeding out, flashed vividly in his mind.
Staying here while abandoning them would be another sin.
"...I have to repay them."
The soldiers who'd carved a path to save him. Ailin, who'd desperately fled with him.
Thinking of them, he needed to get back fast.
"No more running from responsibility."
Ban Slane wouldn't reprimand him.
Even if he did, it'd be just a few words.
But even if everyone else forgave him, he couldn't forgive himself.
"And I'm worried about Ailin."
Unlike him, she'd face severe punishment for sure.
She was a knight, a commander, and his handler.
The sacrifice of the soldiers and his recklessness would bring heavy penalties.
He didn't have particularly warm feelings for her, but he didn't want to see her suffer because of him.
Plus, she'd saved his life multiple times.
"Need to get back soon..."
Unlike before, his time here was dragging on.
Seo Woo-jin stood still for a while, sighed, and started walking.
Since nothing sent him back, better to explore a bit than just stand around.
"Hm. No end in sight."
How long had he walked?
Seo Woo-jin flopped down in exhaustion.
No matter the direction, only inky darkness met his eyes.
"Hey, come on, send me back already."
He called out to the empty air.
He didn't really expect a response.
It was just a frustrated vent.
But astonishingly, a voice replied.
[Not yet, ■■, have, ■, ■■. A■■. All ■■, ex■, not.]
It was like a radio broadcast riddled with static.
"W-What the?"
Seo Woo-jin jumped to his feet in shock.
The realization that someone else was in this black space with him sent chills down his spine.
But before he could guess who it was, his body began to fade.
'Heading back!'
What was this space? Who owned the voice?
Each level up brought more questions, but for now, he was content to return to reality.
'Anyway, I'll level up again and come back...'
He could uncover it bit by bit.
Seo Woo-jin's body soon vanished completely from the abyss.
[Look forward to it.]
Leaving only the mysterious voice behind.
* * *
"Seo Woo-jin!"
The first thing he heard upon returning was Ailin's welcoming voice.
Had that bright light appeared again? His eyes stung. After blinking a few times, his vision cleared.
"...Ban Slane?"
He'd expected Ailin to be the first face he saw upon returning to reality.
After all, he'd leveled up in her arms.
But instead, he saw the handsome silver-haired youth first.
At the same moment, Seo Woo-jin realized how he'd leveled up.
'This guy saved me.'
The man who'd bisected the massive ice worm—one far bigger than the one he'd stabbed—in a single stroke.
He must have struck at the critical moment again.
Without a word, Seo Woo-jin bowed deeply to Ban Slane, who was staring silently.
"...I'm sorry."
There were many people he owed apologies to.
The dead soldiers.
The wounded soldiers.
Their families and friends.
And Ailin.
But Seo Woo-jin apologized to Ban Slane first.
Because sorrow filled the man's expression.
'Because of me.'
Too many had died.
People who didn't have to.
"...I accept it."
It was unlike his usual warm tone.
A voice heavy with endless grief.
Ban Slane grieved the soldiers' sacrifices too.
Yet he said nothing more to Seo Woo-jin.
"Are you alright?"
Ailin asked cautiously then.
"Yes, I'm fine."
Without her, he wouldn't have just failed to level up—he'd have died long ago.
He'd achieved his goal of leveling up, but felt no joy.
"...Fortunately, that light healed many of the wounded."
Ailin tried to ease his guilt.
It fell on deaf ears, of course.
"How many fell?"
Roughly nine hundred soldiers had charged the ice worm.
All except the wounded and their caretakers.
And of them...
"229."
His breath caught.
If two had died because of him, he'd have spent a lifetime in self-recrimination.
229?
His legs buckled, his body swaying.
Ailin grabbed his arm to steady him, but he thought passing out might be better.
"Most didn't even leave bodies behind. But we're recovering what we can."
Ban Slane continued, his voice trembling slightly.
Painful words to hear, but ones he couldn't avoid.
"I'll help."
Seo Woo-jin said.
"Very well."
Ban Slane nodded slowly at the hard-won words.
He felt the soldiers' piercing glares.
Their eyes held resentment, anger, and sorrow.
Seo Woo-jin faced them head-on without flinching as he began gathering the fallen soldiers' remains.
A single sword from a soldier crushed beyond recognition.
A helmet from one missing everything below the waist.
A single tooth from one reduced to scraps.
He meticulously collected the remains of all 229.
Silently begging their forgiveness inside.
And he vowed.
'Never again. Never!'
He wouldn't let this happen again.
He'd live in atonement forever, repaying his sins.
And he'd fight on for their share, no more running.
'I'm sorry.'
That day.
Seo Woo-jin changed.