Chapter 263
Chapter 263
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 263
Chapter Title: Reward (4)
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No sooner had Gunter finished speaking than everyone nodded vigorously, as if sharing the same thought.
“Definitely, that part was a bit...”
“Yeah! The end was too much!”
“I’m hungry!”
“Um... even for Senior Yuri... that might be a stretch, don’t you think?”
It was hard for them to believe.
They knew Yuri’s skills, so they could accept the events up to the 8th floor as somewhat exaggerated tales.
Heroic stories always got embellished a little.
But the claim that he’d landed a single blow on Vice Captain Coco—a certified 9th dan? That was truly unbelievable.
Yuri bristled at their reactions.
“Hey, come on! It really happened!”
In response, Gunter crossed his arms and asked.
“Do you even know how many certified 9th dans there are in the world?”
“No idea. How many?”
“Compared to grandmasters, there are more of them, but worldwide, there are fewer than 100 certified 9th dans. And Yoram’s vice captain would be among the top ranks.”
“...”
“In other words, landing a blow on that vice captain means... your sword reached one of the world’s top 100 powerhouses.”
That was why the others couldn’t easily believe Yuri.
Excluding grandmasters who transcended human limits, certified 9th dans were practically the pinnacle of human strength.
Yuri listened quietly to Gunter’s explanation, then lightly stroked his chin.
Soon, a serious tone emerged from him.
“I... was way more awesome than I thought?”
Yuri was grinning from ear to ear.
Theresia watched him, her gaze darkening.
‘For real...?’
Bad-tempered.
Sly.
A master con artist.
A skilled deceiver.
But Yuri only acted that way when his own gains were at stake.
He didn’t lie about things that offered no benefit.
No, he had no need to.
Which meant the story he’d just told was likely all true.
If so...
‘How the hell did you survive that?’
If it was as he said, Hell Difficulty wasn’t meant to be cleared.
Surviving it was a miracle in itself.
And one more thing.
‘If he really landed even a single successful attack on a vice captain-level fighter...’
If that was true, it meant Yuri’s skills had grown even more.
Far beyond the Yuri she’d known not long ago.
Theresia’s expression turned faintly bitter.
‘How far ahead are you planning to pull...?’
She knew the gap between them, yet she hadn’t given up chasing him.
No, she couldn’t.
Theresia had no intention of ever giving up.
She’d chased even the faint traces he left behind.
But now, even that was starting to feel impossible.
And she wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
Gunter’s gaze on Yuri held the same complicated mix of emotions.
He’d thought the exact same thing as Theresia.
As Theresia and Gunter looked at Yuri with similar expressions.
Someone was quietly standing up and sneaking around.
“Yuri, what’s this?”
With a face full of curiosity, Arin reached toward the large sack in the corner of the dining hall.
The moment he heard Arin’s question, Yuri’s beaming smile froze into a cold glare.
And then.
Pew-shuk-!
Chopsticks shot from his hand, flying past Arin’s fingers and embedding into the wall.
Pirrr-.
The force was so great that half the chopsticks were buried in the wall, trembling.
“Eek!”
Arin, pale as a ghost, clutched her nearly skewered hand and shrieked.
“Y-You scared me! What the hell?!”
“Daring to touch my treasure with your filthy hands... you wanna die?”
“This guy...”
Arin shot Yuri a side-eye, gauging his reaction.
Then she gave Boppi and Gunter a meaningful look.
The two instantly caught her signal.
‘Now!’
‘I’m hungry!’
Boppi and Gunter sprang up and lunged at Yuri.
It looked like they were trying to grab him.
At the same time, Arin reached for the sack again.
Perhaps from all the teamwork they’d honed in the Hundred Days Tower.
Their movements were flawless, like they’d rehearsed.
And their skills had clearly improved—they were incredibly fast.
Watching this, Muchi assumed Yuri would get caught by Boppi and Gunter, and Arin would snag the sack.
But that was a hasty judgment.
Thwack-.
A sharp impact sound.
“Argh!”
Followed by a short scream.
“Hungry...?”
“...?!”
Gunter and Boppi blinked in confusion, grasping at empty air.
“Huh?!”
Muchi frantically searched for Yuri, who was now standing in front of Arin—clutching her forehead and slumped over—with the large sack slung over his shoulder.
“Pfft, you rookies.”
Theresia could only stare blankly as Yuri looked down with a smug sneer.
‘When... how?’
She couldn’t fathom when or how he’d moved.
Gunter and Boppi were just as stunned.
While they stood there dumbfounded, Yuri waved his hand dismissively.
“I’m out!”
He vanished from the dining hall with light, jaunty steps.
Theresia stared blankly at the doorway where Yuri had disappeared for a while, then suddenly chuckled.
“He’s back.”
The lord of the Demon King’s Castle had returned from his brief absence.
Stronger than ever.
* * *
Yuri entered his quarters.
He locked the door tight and thoroughly searched every nook and cranny.
Even though it was his own place, he crept around, inspecting everywhere meticulously.
‘That old geezer’s snuck in here more than once or twice.’
He hadn’t shown up since last time, but when had Johan ever announced his visits?
What he was about to do was crucially important, so checking for any hidden Johan was only natural.
After confirming multiple times that no one was there, he stood in the center of the room and upended the sack.
Out poured black boxes.
Clatter- clatter.
A pile of black boxes stacked high.
The 20cm wooden cubes—thirty in total—were lightweight.
One face of each box bore a white number of unknown meaning.
These were the reward boxes from Hell Difficulty.
Looking down at them, Yuri smacked his lips regretfully.
‘Tch, what a shame.’
With his Domain and demon arts, he could’ve at least roughly distinguished the contents—whether they contained mana or not.
‘Then I could’ve picked out just the spirit medicines and elixirs.’
But as if anticipating his trick.
[Pick thirty numbers from 1 to 100.]
Before leaving the tower.
When Yuri demanded his rewards, the Hundred Days Tower administrator didn’t even show him the boxes—just told him to pick numbers.
Then, much later, brought boxes with those thirty numbers from somewhere else.
These were the ones he’d received.
‘No choice now... gotta trust my luck.’
If skill failed, luck was next.
Or maybe luck was a skill in itself?
Time to see how good his blind picks were.
‘Alright!’
Yuri grabbed the nearest box first.
But his face soon hardened.
‘Light?’
The wooden box felt almost weightless.
A slight shake produced only a faint sound.
‘Paper?’
Tilting his head, Yuri opened it.
Sealed tightly, but it tore open easily in his hands.
Rip-.
As expected, inside was a single sheet of paper.
Thick, luxurious paper.
Bearing a number and an official seal.
A smile crept across Yuri’s lips.
“20 million points?”
This was huge!
Just one box, and 20 million points!
Excited, Yuri recalled Coco’s words.
[The Fruit of Heaven. It’s the ultimate reward, reserved only for those who pierce through Hell and reach the skies.]
The quality of rewards varied by quest difficulty.
Coco had called Hell Difficulty rewards the Fruit of Heaven.
Meaning, the harder it was, the sweeter the payoff.
And from the very first box, Yuri confirmed Coco wasn’t wrong.
His hands moved faster.
Opening three more in succession yielded three more sheets.
One for 10 million points.
One for 30 million.
And...
“What’s this?”
An 8-night, 9-day vacation pass.
“Damn, they even threw in crap like this.”
Priceless to others, but useless scrap to Yuri.
Scowling, he tossed the pass aside and grabbed the next box.
Clack-.
Something rolled inside.
That alone told him it wasn’t paper.
His expression tensed as he swiftly opened it and pulled out the contents.
‘This is...?’
Two items: a small vial of liquid and a note.
Yuri unfolded the note.
[Special Mana Enhancement Elixir]
His face lit up instantly.
“Yes! This is it!”
What could be sweeter?
Elixirs that cost hundreds of millions to buy—Yuri excitedly tore open the rest.
A short while later.
Having opened every box, Yuri wore a deeply satisfied smile.
“I... I’m rich.”
The points from all the boxes.
The lowest was 10 million, up to 50 million.
Nothing under 10 million.
Totaling 520 million.
Yuri was certain.
‘No more point shortages from now on.’
With this, topping the monthly rankings would be a breeze.
Of course, surpassing Johan’s final graduation score of 999,999,999 would require more, but catching up wasn’t far off.
“Heh heh heh.”
Yuri fanned himself with the point certificates.
“Hmm! So this is the smell of wealth?”
Sniffing contentedly, his expression soured at the three sheets he’d set aside.
“Tch, they always slip in useless junk.”
Three 8-night, 9-day vacation passes.
Irritated by the growing pile of trash, his face brightened again at the other items nearby.
‘Well, 3 duds out of 30... not bad.’
No, this was actually great.
Yuri glanced over his real prizes.
2 Special Elixirs.
3 Supreme Elixirs.
A chunk of White Steel larger than his fist.
A mysterious garment called Crystal Armor.
1 Mana Crystal.
A thumbnail-sized stone fragment named White Night.
Finally, a red pill called Elion.
Not many for 30 boxes, but each was extraordinary.
And that wasn’t all Yuri had gained.
Srrk-.
Yuri rolled up his pant legs.
Revealing blue shin guards strapped to both legs.
Thin, solid metal guards covered in bizarre yellow patterns, wrapped tightly like bracelets.
Yuri channeled mana into them.
Then.
Clunk-.
The guards loosened like living things and slid down his calves.
But the sound of them hitting the floor was eerie.
Boom-!
Like a rock dropping.
Free of the guards, Yuri made a face and stuck out his tongue.
“Sheesh, gift or shackles? Hard to tell.”
The shin guards had an outrageous weight.
It was the “gift” Coco had promised if he entertained her.
When she’d removed them from her legs and handed them over as a present, Yuri had nearly dislocated his arm catching them absentmindedly.
Coco had cackled.
[Can’t even handle 50kg? What kind of man are you?]
50kg.
Per guard, of course.
100kg total for both.
Yuri had been shocked that Coco moved so swiftly with these on her legs.
And miffed at the seemingly useless heavyweights.
Coco had given him a displeased look.
Reading her eyes—‘Maybe I should take them back?’—Yuri quickly shut up and pocketed them.
If a powerhouse like her regretted giving them away, they had to be valuable.
Amused by his quick shift, Coco smirked.
[Quick on the uptake, as always.]
Then she added a few more words.
[It’s called Wind Legs. To use it properly, you need the Wind Path Decree... It’s somewhere in Yoram, so find it well.]
Regret flickered faintly in Coco’s eyes once more.