Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Slaughterer's Hall
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Following the association's one-sided announcement, the meeting continued with discussions on the S-grade Demon designation and response strategies.
It was all due to infighting and greed between guilds, yet here they were designating the Golden Knight as a Demon out of nowhere. Shin Somi could hardly believe it.
‘Seeing this, I get where he's coming from.’
At the same time, she deeply understood Yoo Seongwon's mindset of hiding himself and living modestly because he despised the association and guilds.
Truth be told, she too had once admired guilds and Hunters as a child, full of hope and aspiration.
But now, after bumping up against society's ugly underbelly time and again, she was filled with disillusionment.
‘I’ve thought about quitting plenty of times too...’
She had awakened after being chosen by a constellation, so she couldn't just leave the guild on a whim. Her class was specialized for dungeon conquests, making her ill-suited for scavenger life. There were all sorts of reasons like that, but she could have quit anytime if she really wanted to.
However, the one thing keeping her from abandoning her guild master role and Hunter life was her daughter, Shin Ayoung.
The Golden Knight situation made it crystal clear: the association, government, and guilds were all itching to exploit any Awakener they could, forcing them into Hunter work.
The only ways to resist this system, built around the three major guilds, were to drop out of society as a scavenger or build your own power base.
‘Anyway, I need to let him know about this.’
“…Then, please keep in mind that the Demon designation will occur in one week.”
As the meeting wrapped up, Shin Somi decided to inform Yoo Seongwon right away and left her seat.
***
At the same time, in the D-grade dungeon ‘Slaughterer's Hall’.
Slaughterer's Hall.
It resembled a pristine white temple, but magic circles drawn in blood and rotting corpses littered the place. Inside, demons under the Slaughter King—Flesh Eater Demons—were heading out to hunt or devouring raw meat from their kills.
“It's coming!”
[Kieeeeek! Meat! Fresh meat!]
[Die!]
“Hup!”
Kwachik!
I faced off against the Flesh Eater Demons—saw-toothed blade-wielding devils slightly larger than humans—using Titan's Stake.
The one charging at the front tried to block my swing but ended up splattered like a rat crushed under a rock, its blood and guts erasing its form.
“Nice!”
It was a legendary weapon with no frills beyond its weight and durability, but that made it a perfect training tool, which suited me just fine.
Even when they tried blocking with their serrated blades, the stake shattered them outright. That's why I'd stuck with it exclusively for the past week, despite buying other weapons.
“Whew~ I really love this thing. The weight makes it feel like a proper workout.”
Ever since my stats shot up, it was hard to feel any strain on my body, but wielding this gave me that battlefield intensity I craved.
[Master... grrr... Krokbane... wants... one too...]
“You've finally found your match, Captain! Congratulations.”
[A knight who has found his own weapon. Now, with the oath, the contractor will become a true knight.]
My accompanying knights seemed to grasp that I wasn't relying on the weapon's power but growing stronger alongside it, and they gave their approval.
They even brought up the ‘oath’. Of course, I had no intention of doing it, but they insisted a true knight needed one.
‘An oath, huh. Probably what makes you a real knight... That explains why my status window has no class.’
My actual skills and abilities were already maxed out via the Path of the Great Knight trait, so did I even need the label?
Awakeners don't fight on class names alone—real combat prowess matters.
Still, they nagged me about the oath.
[Master... is not... yet... a true... knight.]
[Contractor, a knight isn't just someone on horseback with armor. Are bandits knights because they're well-armed? What sets us apart absolutely is upholding oaths and vows.]
[Contractor, seek what you desire and swear it. Stake your life, your fate, your love, your death upon it. From that moment, you will be a true knight.]
“And Captain, no matter what your oath may be, we will be your sword to the end.”
They were saying something cool yet cringey about finding a life goal, but they'd picked the wrong guy.
All that was left of me was a rotten adult who'd long discarded such ideals to live modestly and quietly.
‘Damn! Even this is getting annoying!’
[Kweeeeeek!]
Thud!
I shook the blood and bone fragments off Titan's Stake and kept butchering the Flesh Eater Demons.
Since it was a D-grade dungeon, the monsters were indeed bigger and tougher one by one.
Deeper in, variations started appearing beyond the basic foes.
[Master... hunter and mage... watch out.]
“Got it!”
[Meat! We'll get even more meat! Fire!]
[Slaughter King, grant us more meat today! Blood Arrow!]
Not just mage-type demon monsters, but archers too! They weren't fighting like wild beasts anymore—they formed ranks like in a cold-weapon era or fantasy war movie, assaulting us in formation.
But our side's overwhelming power made it no issue.
Krokbane and I smashed the front line, Gaulph and Seom-myeol flanked, Akaron held the rear, and we moved as one unit, bulldozing through like a tank.
“Oooo!”
“Krooooaaaar!”
We pulverized the charging monsters and reached the central hall of Slaughterer's Hall.
There, as if to prove boss monsters were another league, a massive four-meter-tall demon led about a hundred Flesh Eaters, waiting for us.
[D-grade Dungeon Slaughterer's Hall - Boss: Brutal Demon]
[The prey has come to us. Krahahaha...]
“Evil demons, today is your last day. Under knightly honor and this banner, justice shall prevail!”
[Nice speech!]
I'd been doing this spiel to every boss since entering dungeons... If I skipped it, penalties popped up for being cowardly or un-knightly.
Anyway, with my duty done, I gripped Titan's Stake two-handed, took a deep breath, and charged.
[Krahahaha!]
“Haaaaah!”
Kwaaaang!
I could one-shot it from range with something like Overlord Heavenly Sword Style - Earth Star Flash, but that wouldn't hone my skills.
Boss gimmicks and large-scale battles still had plenty to teach me.
[Kroooo! You worm! Acting like a meal dares!]
‘Pattern? Its body's turning red?’
[Master... be careful... but probably not needed.]
Yeah. It reddened, spooking me a bit, but it just boosted attack or strength—attacks felt heavier, that's all.
Oh, and the other knights, knowing I was training, stayed back clearing adds and offering advice instead of jumping in.
‘Quick on the uptake... good—urk!’
[Kraaaagh!]
“This ends it!”
Kwaaaang!
The wounded boss's head exploded against Titan's Stake, splattering me with blood and brains.
Its magic stone rolled out, and the quest clear window popped up.
[You have cleared D-grade Dungeon - Slaughterer's Hall. Collect your reward to open the exit.]
[Justice has been served. But face even stronger foes!]
[Reward: Rare ~ Heroic Equipment Random Box.]
“Random box this time? Really nailing the trends.”
Come to think of it, this damn golden armor started as a random drop too.
No use for it now, so into inventory to stockpile.
We scooped up the scattered magic stones and exited the dungeon for a break.
“Gulp gulp, whew~ Let's see... Net and news are quiet, so the Golden Knight hype must be cooling off.”
I checked my phone for Golden Knight search updates.
Over a week in, my sneaky(?) tracker evasion had killed most new articles, relegating it to conspiracy theory or urban legend territory.
“Aww yeah~ Peace at last. Just hold out till other stories bury it. Alright! Break's over! Next dungeon!”
With anxiety eased, I fired up the app for the next D-grade and hunted for a target.
‘Whew~ Feeling off again.’
Resting like this always stirred doubts: ‘All stats are SS-grade, right?’, ‘Isn't this enough?’, ‘How long you gonna keep this up?’
A Hunter with legendary armor, legendary weapon, all SS stats in no time.
No exaggeration to say few could challenge this level easily.
‘But that satisfaction is arrogance! The path's not over—push limits before stopping!’
Who knows what storms or threats lie ahead? I haven't hit growth caps yet, so no quitting or slacking.
Better to do everything possible than regret later. I shook off the arrogant thoughts, pocketed my phone, and headed for the dungeon.
Then my phone rang.