Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Evolved Power
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Seo Woo-jin tapped the training ground floor with his foot for no good reason.
‘Won’t it break again?’
He was a little worried.
The training ground might get wrecked like last time, earning him unnecessary glares.
“Well, as long as I don’t use any skills.”
He had no intention of using skills today.
All the new ones he’d acquired were far too “Demon King”-esque to deploy with so many watchful eyes around the academy.
“First, let’s warm up.”
The reason he’d come to the training ground so early in the morning was to test out his transformed body.
It was a change that suited the word “evolution” far better than “growth.”
To adapt to it, he needed to move around properly at least once.
‘Speed first.’
Seo Woo-jin lightly kicked off the ground.
And then—
Boom!
“Urk!”
In an instant, it was as if he’d teleported—his figure vanished, only to reappear crashed into the far corner.
“Crazy…”
He hadn’t used any mana.
He’d simply thought to take a light jog.
Yet the result far exceeded Seo Woo-jin’s expectations.
“What the hell is this?”
It was too fast.
As if he’d activated “Acceleration” and sprinted at full throttle.
‘No, even faster than that.’
It might’ve just caught him off guard in surprise, but that was how it felt to him.
Wearing a dazed expression, he rose to his feet.
The distance he’d covered in that split second was at least fifty meters.
He swallowed hard.
This was with a casual movement.
What if he channeled mana and activated the “Acceleration” skill on top of it?
He couldn’t even imagine the resulting speed.
‘Adapting might take some time.’
Still, he wasn’t too concerned.
He’d drilled body control techniques into himself until he was sick of them, thanks to Ban Slaine.
“A week or so?”
Mastering it perfectly would take a bit longer, but he figured a week would suffice for basic adaptation.
A smile crept onto Seo Woo-jin’s lips.
Speed was a weapon, after all.
There was no such thing as too much of it.
With that thought, Seo Woo-jin decided to test his strength next.
“Where were those gravity dumbbells?”
The training ground was equipped with all sorts of gear for training.
The gravity dumbbells were one such item.
Iron lumps enchanted with “Gravity” magic, designed for heroes who’d transcended human limits.
They looked about ten kilograms, but functioned as artifacts capable of ramping up to tonnage weights.
Seo Woo-jin picked one up.
Then he gradually increased its weight.
100 kg, 200 kg, 500 kg…
And then five tons.
He cranked it all the way to the dumbbell’s maximum capacity.
Seo Woo-jin chuckled inwardly.
‘Not heavy.’
It almost made him suspect the gravity dumbbell was broken.
He felt a slight weight, but it amounted to no more than a few dozen kilograms.
First speed, now strength.
Both had risen to levels beyond imagination.
‘With this…’
He wouldn’t have to worry about getting pushed around anymore.
Lately, monstrous foes kept popping up everywhere, and he’d nearly died more times than he could count.
Gerald, Burtel, Rosie Ruby…
They were all monsters who’d put his life in peril.
But now, he didn’t need to fear them.
Well, except for Gerald.
‘That guy’s a monster among monsters.’
Still, if he kept growing like this, someday he’d crush Gerald and the rest without mercy.
Anticipating that day, Seo Woo-jin pressed on with his tests.
Stamina that showed no signs of fatigue, no matter how intensely he moved.
Dynamic vision sharp enough to track bullet-speed objects frame by frame.
Bodily durability that emerged unscratched even from full-force sword strikes.
The more tests he ran, the more he couldn’t hold back his admiration.
‘I’ve completely shed my humanity.’
It was a physique more suited to being called a robot or cyborg.
He could probably tear apart any average monster with raw strength, no mana required.
That wrapped up the physical ability tests.
Pushing further wouldn’t reveal anything new.
But he wasn’t done testing yet.
“…The most important part’s still left.”
Mana.
His body’s evolution was astonishing, but it paled in comparison to his mana.
An ocean’s worth of mana raced through mana circuits as wide open as a highway.
Flowing naturally without conscious effort, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Feeling the mana’s dignified current, Seo Woo-jin took a short, deep breath.
It was so refined it bordered on terrifying.
If he unleashed all this power?
‘Who knows, but it’d probably cause a massive disaster.’
The uproar would dwarf even what happened when he’d used “Uranos’s Sword” before.
He was tempted to probe the limits of this power, but Seo Woo-jin held back for now.
‘Just ten percent.’
He dialed down his mana output.
Even that much made power overflow.
Sensing the fullness filling his body, he drew his sword.
The sturdy black sword forged from Jenroit black iron revealed itself.
Seo Woo-jin channeled mana into the blade.
Humm—
The sword let out a resonant cry.
Unable to withstand the overwhelming mana, it began trembling faintly.
A bit more time like this, and it might shatter.
‘Is this the limit?’
Clicking his tongue, Seo Woo-jin tried to pull back the mana.
He couldn’t afford to lose a sword he’d used so well up till now.
But then—
“Huh?”
The stagnant mana suddenly gushed out in a rush.
Caught off guard by the abrupt change, Seo Woo-jin panicked.
Had the sword already shattered?
But what met his eyes wasn’t shattered blade fragments—it was a crystalline blue mana glow.
“…Aura?”
It was undoubtedly aura.
The real deal, not some skill conjured version—the kind knights wielded.
Countless people trained for decades without even glimpsing its trail.
Seo Woo-jin hadn’t thought he could wield true aura either.
His own mastery was far too shallow for that.
And yet, he’d produced it.
In just over a year since first gripping a sword.
Staring at the destructive brilliance he’d created, Seo Woo-jin let out an incredulous laugh.
“This works?”
“This way.”
Seo Woo-jin spotted Aileen calling him and slowly made his way over.
“How was morning training?”
Aileen eyed him with concern as she asked.
He’d inexplicably passed out and woken up, so her worry was understandable.
But Seo Woo-jin just flashed a grin.
“It was fine.”
No, “fine” didn’t begin to cover it.
Seeing his bright expression, Aileen nodded.
“Still, don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Got it. Let’s train together starting tomorrow.”
He’d come alone today just to test things out, but there was no need anymore.
He planned to resume group training with the others like before.
“What’s today’s class?”
The heroes’ disappearances had left things chaotic, but classes continued.
Now that Seo Woo-jin was back at the academy, he had to attend.
It was a bit of a hassle, honestly, but participating was better for leveling up.
The academy always suggested optimal methods, after all.
“I heard it’s personal sparring.”
“Sparring?”
Seo Woo-jin looked unimpressed.
At his current level, duels with the other heroes wouldn’t help much.
‘Unless it’s Baek Si-woo or his elite friends.’
The rest wouldn’t cut it.
Honestly, few could even withstand a single strike from him now that their levels were similar.
“They’re grouping based on rank and level, apparently…”
Aileen trailed off, shaking her head.
She figured it wouldn’t benefit Seo Woo-jin much either.
“Might as well check out who’s who.”
It was obvious, but Seo Woo-jin didn’t know every hero’s face.
Not even the well-connected Lee Ji-ah knew them all.
This was a good chance to scout any promising ones.
‘If there are any.’
Harboring skeptical thoughts, he headed for the training hall.
“Oh, this the place?”
His eyes widened upon entering the massive building.
“Bigger than a World Cup stadium.”
No spectator seats, but the sheer scale dwarfed a soccer field.
Several rectangular arenas had been set up inside for duels.
“More legit than I thought.”
He’d expected casual one-on-one scraps in some open training yard…
This felt like a world martial arts tournament.
“Wow!”
“It’s huge!”
The heroes arrived fashionably late.
They too marveled at the unexpectedly colossal facility.
“We fighting in here?”
“This’ll be fun!”
Unlike before, they brimmed with confidence.
It was thanks to the week-long survival training in the Demon Realm.
Having faced real combat—not just bus rides—they’d gotten a rough gauge of their own power.
No wonder they felt so cocksure.
“Uncle!”
Lee Ji-ah and Kim Da-hye showed up too.
They quickly glued themselves to Seo Woo-jin’s side and started chattering.
“So, I’ve got another uncle friend I got close with?”
“Uncle?”
It was the first time she’d called anyone but him “uncle.”
She usually went with “oppa” for everyone else.
Seo Woo-jin looked curious.
“Who’s that?”
“We’re meeting here in a bit. Oh, there he is! Over here, uncle!”
Lee Ji-ah waved frantically toward the entrance.
‘Hmm…’
Big guy.
Around 190 cm tall, with muscles that screamed testosterone.
Rivaled even Park Jin-han, the “Diamond Warrior” among the elites, in physique.
‘Probably a similar job.’
Maybe something like “Powerlifter” or “Gym Rat.”
“There you are, haha!”
He approached with a hearty laugh that matched his build.
“Uncle! This is Woo-jin uncle. He’s the closest to me.”
Lee Ji-ah introduced Seo Woo-jin.
“Nice to meet you. Seo Woo-jin.”
“I know. Heard you went through something big— you okay?”
“Yeah. As you can see.”
Solid personality.
“I’m Goo Dong-hwan. Twenty-five years old! Hobby’s iron-pumping, as you can tell.”
His muscles seemed to flex even as he spoke.
“Nice build.”
Goo Dong-hwan beamed at the compliment.
He was thrilled someone appreciated his physique.
“Let’s crush some leg day together next time!”
Seo Woo-jin chuckled and nodded at Goo Dong-hwan’s booming “haha.”
“Dong-hwan uncle’s A-rank.”
Lee Ji-ah seized her opening and blurted it out.
‘Oh?’
He’d pegged him for C- or B-rank, but this was surprisingly high.
“Just got lucky.”
Goo Dong-hwan glanced at him subtly, clearly aware of Seo Woo-jin’s own rank.
That alone marked him as decent.
He knew how to read the room.
Seo Woo-jin smiled reassuringly and asked Goo Dong-hwan,
“Mind if I ask your job?”
“Whoops, forgot to mention.”
Goo Dong-hwan glanced around before leaning in to whisper,
“‘Magical Girl.’”
……Huh?