You've Got to Be Kidding Me

You've got to be kidding me.

Using Flash ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to wipe out even his presence and spring an ambush—Balrog really wasn't going to be easy to tame. Yujun had never expected it to work in a single try. Even an ordinary beast took several attempts, and Balrog was no monster on the level of a mere beast. Forcing him into submission was going to take relentless effort.

"I misjudged."

"Thought an ambush would land, did you? That is not the face of someone reflecting on his mistakes."

"......"

"Guess it still isn't time."

Yujun used Flash. Balrog answered with Flash of his own, but Yujun's senses had already locked onto him. He wove Painful Strike into the attack.

Shhhk!

The sword passed in a glancing cut. Balrog clutched his chest against the monstrous pain, and in that opening Yujun swung as if he meant to carve the demon apart.

"Graaaaaah!"

This was hardly the first or second time he had taken Painful Strike, and yet Balrog showed no sign of bearing it any better. Pain, by nature, was not something one adapted to. It had to be dozens of times worse than burning alive, and the mere fact that he was still on his feet was, in truth, a formidable show of will.

Looking at that, I never want to go through it myself.

Even with an SS-rank Equanimity, the trait did nothing to dull pain.

Balrog was neutralized to the point where passing out would have been kinder. Yujun sealed him, incapable of the slightest resistance, into the sealing orb.

"Ugh......"

The apostle seemed quick to wake even from a faint. She was already trying to come around again. He moved at once.

Shunk.

"And the achievement reward?"

Was that it? Nothing but levels? It felt nothing like when he had killed Oben.

That one popped a Mythic achievement. I was sure killing Sharnian would at least give me an Impossible one......

His prediction had missed. No—missed was too kind. He had been completely off. For a moment he wondered whether he should have locked her in the Absolute Sealing Orb instead of killing her, but thinking it over again, there had been no reason to leave Sharnian alive.

According to Balrog, she was an Apostle of the Demon God. Spare her, and if the Demon God tried some scheme later, she could become a lingering threat. He chose to believe he had made the right call.

Yujun decided to sort through the achievement rewards he had gained from taking Oben down.

First, the Transcendent Stone.

Where do I use this?

There was another one he had left unused in his inventory last time, simply because he had not had a fitting item for it.

I was saving it for when I got a level 600 weapon.

Now that he had two, using one seemed reasonable.

I already used one on the level 600 cloak...... and among my level 600 Mythic gear, the only thing left is a single ring.

I'll keep one for a weapon I pick up later.

He slipped a ring from his finger and immediately pressed the Transcendent Stone to it.

The appearance shifted a little, but being a ring, it did not feel dramatically different. A richer luster and a more expensive air—that was all.

Looks aren't what matter.

With an item, good options were everything. He checked the options on the ring the Transcendent Stone had been used on.

Same options as the ring I made Transcendent last time.

An option that doubled the effect of every skill and trait. In truth, that was where the game ended. Didn't that single line amount to gaining another Genius trait? And it was not one ring. It was two.

At this rate, I could get absurdly stronger just by going around collecting Transcendent Stones.

If a ring alone did this, what would happen if he used one on a weapon of level 600 or higher? His heart was already racing. Of course, that was a story for after he actually obtained the weapon.

The items I need first are Transcendent Stones and Synchronization Marbles.

Neither, however, was something he could get his hands on right away.

You never know.

There was a chance No-Pay Casual Gamer's inventory even held a Transcendent Stone. It might be wishing for too much, but there was nothing wrong with hoping.

I'll just trust the luck stat.

It was the moment Yujun drew out the remaining item, the Divine Beast Growth Pill, that Harp—who had been fast asleep—snapped his eyes open with uncanny timing.

"Dad!"

"Uh, yeah?"

"I like that!"

"You don't mean this?"

Yujun held the pill out as he asked, and Harp's eyes sparkled as he nodded.

"......You didn't wake up because of this, did you?"

"I did!"

Honesty was part of Harp's charm, but this was a little too honest, wasn't it? Still, it was true that the pill had to go to him. The only divine beast Yujun had was Harp. The growth pill might as well have been a Harp-exclusive item.

Even so, he could not feed it to him on the name alone. There was no telling whether it would be poison to Harp as he was now.

Yujun brought up the Divine Beast Growth Pill's information in a hologram window.

"No bad effects. That's a relief."

"Dad, hurry! I want to eat that right now!"

Harp pressed him. With a soft smile, Yujun handed over the Divine Beast Growth Pill. Harp swallowed it and bobbed through the air in a floating little dance, and the sight was so cute that Yujun could not stop laughing.

A child who volunteers to take bitter medicine. I must be blessed.

Once the pill was down, Harp spun in circles for a while. Then, all at once, he stopped. The effect had begun to turn. His eyes slid shut, the strength drained out of his whole body, and the spiky white down that had been sticking out settled flat. Just like that, the little one fell asleep again.

"......It said he'd be brimming with energy."

The effect would probably take hold around the time he woke. Yujun did not need Harp right this moment, so it was no great loss. More than anything, he had something that needed resolving as soon as possible.

Time to head back.

Ji Gyutae, on the verge of leaving the Continent to put the final touch on an important plan, smacked his own forehead.

"Damn it."

Having watched the recorded footage, he could not help but be appalled. The apostle had been taken down so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easily that "helpless" was the only word for it, and even a Balrog grown stronger still had been no match for Shin Yujun. At the end, he had even looked as if he were submitting.

"Just how strong has he gotten?"

Only after seeing the footage could Ji Gyutae admit it.

I wouldn't even be a match.

Until then, he had believed that if he stepped in himself, he could settle it somehow. And at the time, Shin Yujun really had been at that level. But the boy's growth had only accelerated with each passing day. In the blink of an eye, he had become too strong to handle.

Ji Gyutae had no sense of what to do next.

"Two apostles stepped in and it still wasn't enough. What in the world......"

Of course, the Demon God possessed subordinates even more powerful than the apostles. They, however, were in no position to descend upon the Continent at will. It had to be finished at his own level—and that had become all but impossible.

"I should have dealt with him long ago."

It was far, far too late for regret. Even if it had ruined the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plan, he should have stepped forward himself and killed Shin Yujun. But he could not blame the man he had been then, either. Who would have imagined a first-year player could grow that strong in so short a time? He dared to guess that even the Demon God had not foreseen it. That was why this mess had come to pass.

"Haa......"

For now, no solution came to mind. If one existed, word of the boy would already have reached the beings further up the chain. All he could do was wait for them to resolve it on their own.

I should put Shin Yujun out of my mind for a while.

Thinking about him made his head throb. It would be easier to take the other branch heads' plans onto his own shoulders and see those through instead.

Back with the others, Yujun started by burning the corpses of the Demon God Worshippers.

"Yujun. Why do you always burn the Demon God Worshippers? Is there some meaning to it?"

"Nothing special. Leave the bodies behind, and later they might offer them as sacrifices—or use them somehow even if they don't. They could recycle them as undead."

It might have been a pointless worry, but there was no harm in being careful.

"As expected, your thoughts run deep, Master!"

Paranet fussed, rubbing his hands together.

"You want something?"

"I do not!"

"Then why are you like that?"

"In truth, I do!"

"......What."

"When Master's level rises, mine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rises with it, does it not?"

Having said that much, Paranet hesitated. He almost looked embarrassed. Yujun let out a short laugh.

"You want another upgrade, don't you?"

"Th-that is correct!"

"Not a difficult request."

"Truly?! Then......"

"Except I don't have any level 550 gear."

"......"

"If I'd had leftovers, I would have used them myself already."

"Then an upgrade is impossible now?"

"It'll be solved once I get a Synchronization Marble. So keep your eyes open. Find one, and your gear gets replaced too."

"Of course! Leave it to me! Heheheh."

"You did well, by the way. Against fifteen of them."

"When the Madam and I join forces, there is nothing to fear! Not even if the foe is those vile Demon God Worshippers!"

At Paranet's spirited declaration, Yujun tilted his head.

"Madam? Who's that?"

"Who else could it be? It is none other than Ma— mmph."

Manuela's small hand clamped over Paranet's mouth. She used both hands to keep him from getting another word out.

"Mmph...... Ha! Wh-why are you— mmph!"

"Yujun. Don't mind him. I didn't give him his medicine on time, so he's about to start spouting nonsense again. You know he says weird things."

Yujun narrowed his eyes at Manuela as she spoke through an awkward smile, and she flustered all the more.

"More importantly, didn't you say you had somewhere to be? Aren't we short on time?"

"Right. That's not what matters. Everyone, get ready."

"Okay!"

Having successfully changed the subject, Manuela let out a sigh of relief. Paranet pouted and muttered.

"I was only trying to help...... and she kicks away an opportunity that rolled right up to her."

Manuela's eyes flashed cold as she glared at him.

"Be quiet."

"Yes, ma'am."

Yujun pressed on without hesitation. Before long he stepped into one of the half-collapsed buildings that were all too common among these ruins. The structure and the scenery were familiar.

Nothing's changed from back then.

It was no different from the graphical backdrop in the game, which made it all the more likely the skill archive here remained intact. And when he confirmed that the hidden dungeon's entrance was still there on the second floor, the corner of Yujun's mouth lifted.