Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Level 50 Breakthrough
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Thud-
A massive monster corpse slumped to the ground.
Seo Woo-jin swung 'Rune Dea' to flick the blood off the blade.
"Tenth one."
That was the number of monsters Seo Woo-jin had hunted in the past week.
He had carefully selected them, hunting only those that would give the maximum experience points, so his level had skyrocketed in an instant.
"Level 13 up..."
Seo Woo-jin had leveled up explosively.
He had gained a whopping 13 levels from just ten monsters.
Thanks to that, his current level had reached 51.
He had finally broken through the level 50 mark that Baek Si-woo had mentioned.
"I never imagined it would be like this."
He recalled Baek Si-woo's words about a major change.
He had been curious about what it was, but just yesterday, Seo Woo-jin had confirmed its true nature.
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■Name: Seo Woo-jin
■Job Aptitude: Demon King [Immeasurable]
■Level: 50
■Skills: ??? [Passive], [Earth Subjugation], [Swiftness], [Abyss Chains], [Berserk], [Yama], [Sky Sword].
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The skills had been simplified.
No, more accurately, they had merged.
Skills with similar properties or good synergy had combined into one.
Of course, their effects and performance were far superior now.
"'???' is still a mystery, though."
As his level rose, the number of skills had endlessly increased.
Now that they were streamlined, it was more convenient for Seo Woo-jin to use them.
"Well, still, only a few are usable in front of others."
'Earth Subjugation', 'Swiftness', 'Sky Sword'.
Those were the only three.
The rest were still too alien, so he couldn't use them where there were watchful eyes.
"...It's gotten worse."
Now they weren't just alien—they were downright bizarre.
Even Seo Woo-jin, the user himself, had been terrified after trying 'Abyss Chains' and 'Yama'.
"The effects are great, but they're still unusable."
Others wouldn't overlook them as kindly as the Grand Duke might.
"Anyway, levels are starting to come slower now."
Before, he'd gain 2 or 3 levels per monster.
But not anymore.
Even just now, after hunting a powerful monster, his level hadn't budged.
"They weren't kidding when they said it gets harder."
He had hoped using the remaining eight 'summoning stones' would get him to level 100, but that was wishful thinking.
Level 70 might be the limit.
Of course, even that was impressive.
"If I level up a bit more, I could catch up to Baek Si-woo."
That guy's level had already reached 55 somehow.
Probably from the levels gained killing Rosie Ruby and additional support afterward.
The Empire's national power was indeed formidable.
They were supporting the Academy while providing Baek Si-woo with overwhelming resources.
In contrast, Sion...
"I haven't heard much from him since he got to the Academy."
The other heroes were still receiving steady support from their countries.
Not as much as Baek Si-woo, but they got weapons and mana crystals regularly.
Even C-rank Kim Da-hye received paints and sketchbooks every week.
Compared to that, Seo Woo-jin felt truly pathetic.
"But I have Airin."
He wouldn't trade her for all that support.
Finding a walking encyclopedia wasn't easy.
"Let's call it a day."
Scratching his head to shake off the needless self-pity, Seo Woo-jin activated 'Earth Subjugation'.
"......!"
There was no sound.
Just a black flame darker than 'Black Flame' and fiercer than Muspelheim's inferno, incinerating the monster's remains.
No—more like annihilating them.
It left not even a speck of ash, burning everything to nothingness.
Swallowing hard at the overwhelming power, Seo Woo-jin stepped out of the indoor training hall.
"Are you finished, sir?"
The hall manager approached with a smiling face.
"Ah, yes. All done."
"Mr. Seo Woo-jin, you're so diligent."
Many heroes used the indoor training hall.
But Seo Woo-jin was the only one who came every single day without fail.
The manager looked impressed.
"I'm just doing what I enjoy."
They had grown quite friendly, so Seo Woo-jin smiled back.
"Then you're heading back today?"
"Yes, I have an appointment."
"I see. Sorry to hold you up."
"It's fine. It's not that urgent."
Seo Woo-jin brushed it off, but the manager waved his hands.
"Please go ahead. I'll handle the cleanup."
"Thank you."
Seo Woo-jin bowed his head slightly and headed out.
"......Hmm."
The manager watched his retreating figure with a peculiar gaze.
Only after he was completely gone did he open the door to the indoor training room Seo Woo-jin had just used.
"No idea."
The inside was a total wreck.
He had no clue what he was doing, but the training hall always ended up like this after Seo Woo-jin.
The walls and floor, inscribed with defensive magic, were completely shattered.
"It's like a battle took place."
With whom? How?
He couldn't find answers to those questions.
"There has to be something."
Seo Woo-jin's level went up every time he finished training.
His mana quality noticeably improved each time, so it was impossible not to notice.
"Unless he's got monsters in there."
You couldn't level up training alone.
It required 'hunting' something.
The manager scanned the hall with sharp eyes before turning and leaving.
He sat at his desk and began writing something on a paper.
Soon, it was tied to a shadow bird's leg and sent off somewhere.
He was a member of Crusiel.
* * *
"Is everyone here?"
Seo Woo-jin was at a restaurant.
It seemed like a famous eatery even within the Academy.
It wasn't his taste, but Lee Ji-ah had insisted strongly, so they had no choice but to meet here.
"Yesss! Teacher!"
Lee Ji-ah replied playfully.
Eight heroes in total, including Seo Woo-jin.
All had grown over 10 levels using the 'summoning stones'.
Even the lowest, Kim Da-hye, had hit level 43.
Her C-rank limited her growth potential.
Meanwhile, Kang Soo-ji and Goo Dong-hwan were at level 48.
'Ji-ah's at 47.'
She was now strong enough to stand with the elites.
Seo Woo-jin looked at them proudly.
"So, what's the occasion? I was in the middle of leg day."
Goo Dong-hwan smacked his lips and asked.
"For the training next week."
"Huh? Next week?"
"Was there something then?"
They seemed to have completely forgotten the schedule, engrossed in leveling up.
Then Lee Ji-ah shot her hand up.
"Me! Me! I know! It's the group battle training!"
"Correct."
Lee Ji-ah jumped up and down.
"Oh yeah, that's right. There was that."
"Totally forgot."
Group battle training.
Similar to the team survival training in Heldein.
Except the enemies were other heroes, not monsters.
"I think it's to practice teamwork and leadership?"
"Essential for war."
It wasn't about one-on-one monster fights; coordinating against enemy forces was key.
"Teams of ten, right?"
"We've only got eight."
They were short two.
He wanted to train with just them, but numbers were fixed.
"So we need to recruit more."
"Any good candidates?"
Seo Woo-jin looked around, but they all shook their heads.
They had stuck together so long their only connections were each other.
Seo Woo-jin frowned with a groan.
"Team formation is part of the evaluation, so we need to find some quick..."
He couldn't just approach random people with recruitment offers.
It wasn't a street solicitation.
"Um..."
Then someone raised a hand.
"Huh, Tae-seong?"
Seo Woo-jin widened his eyes in surprise.
He never expected Jin Tae-seong to speak up.
As the king of shyness opened his mouth, all eyes turned to him.
His face flushed red.
He was probably regretting raising his hand.
"If you have someone in mind, feel free to share."
Seo Woo-jin said with a smile.
Jin Tae-seong took a short breath and continued.
"Th-the person in the room next to mine. I, uh, don't have friends or anything, but..."
He stammered from nerves.
"I see."
No friends.
Not exactly appealing.
High chance of personality issues.
But no time to be picky.
"Do you know their name?"
"Kim Ga-ram, I think."
"Kim Ga-ram..."
Seo Woo-jin repeated the name, searching his memory, but nothing came up.
"Got it. I'll meet them."
He'd check them out and decide if they fit the team.
"Anyone else?"
Silence from all, even the chatty Lee Ji-ah.
Seo Woo-jin sighed and clapped his hands.
"Then look around by tomorrow for good fits."
"Got it!"
"Sure thing."
They responded eagerly.
For a moment, Seo Woo-jin felt like a real teacher and smiled awkwardly.
"Alright, let's eat."
Since they were at a famous spot, they decided to enjoy a rare meal out.
But they barely touched their food before rushing off.
Addicted to 'summoning stone' training, even mealtime was precious.
"Group battle."
Left alone in front of the restaurant, Seo Woo-jin pondered the upcoming training.
'Our team's strength is objectively top-tier.'
They had sparred with him and leveled up massively via stones—no one could match them.
With skill, levels, and teamwork, they seemed unbeatable.
Except for one team.
"What will the elite friends do?"
Five of them.
The acknowledged strongest heroes.
Though dimmed a bit by Seo Woo-jin, no one doubted their power.
"Even head-on, I don't think we'd lose."
But their S-rank+ jobs worried him.
Without him, their highest was A-rank, plus B and C.
They were outclassed in aptitude.
"Need to think this through."
It was just training, but Seo Woo-jin hated losing.
Especially to those elite friends.
'...Something to check too.'
He'd let it slide before due to other matters, but now was the time to investigate properly.
That demonic energy he'd sensed from Baek Si-woo.
'I hope it was just my imagination.'