Why Are You Looking at Me Like That?

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I... I simply can't believe it. The man I saw could never have been level 198. You two feel the same, don't you?"

Jortain put the question to the lizardman twins.

"I've never seen him myself, but... Palchio wouldn't have dragged him along for nothing. That one's as full of prejudice as any orc."

"Which means he's strong enough to break that prejudice."

"That's what surprised me."

"Ah..."

Unsure how he was supposed to answer, Yujun managed only an awkward smile. Cain, by contrast, had been wearing a look of quiet satisfaction for some time.

"Your level has climbed quite a bit since then."

"Did Stelln tell you my level too?"

"Yes. Not the exact figure, but I know roughly where you stood."

"He really does talk about everything."

"There are no secrets between my son and me. Aren't we close? Father-and-son bonds like ours are rare these days."

"..."

So the man had a loose tongue after all. Yujun made a mental note to watch his words in front of Stelln.

The shock of his level seemed to have stunned the others, and the silence dragged on. The road ahead of the expedition was a long one—mostly because they were walking, not running. Yujun broke it.

"Are the demonkin gathered in one place?"

"They are. Holed up together, scheming something. Almost certainly wicked and filthy."

"You really don't care for the demonkin."

"Can you blame me? Those things are Wickfilths. Pure Wickfilths."

"Wickfilths?"

"Wicked and filthy bastards. A nickname I coined for the lot of them."

"Ah..."

Abbreviations, it seemed, were not a fashion unique to Korea.

"So, Jortain—have you met many of these Wickfilths?"

"The demonkin I've killed number more than ten, I'd say."

"Oh. That's impressive."

He wasn't merely flattering the man. Demonkin were a race one rarely even encountered, and hearing that this small-framed Jortain had brought down more than ten of them made Yujun start to think there was more to him than met the eye.

"Ahem. That's why I was chosen for this expedition, isn't it? Well... I didn't bring them all down alone."

The last of it never reached Yujun. Jortain had muttered it far too quietly.

"Did you volunteer?"

"Of course. Volunteering doesn't mean just anyone is chosen, mind you. Only hand-picked elites may join this expedition. My friends are terribly envious that I made it in."

"They are? Isn't this dangerous? Why would they envy you?"

"Ah, you wouldn't know. Clear the demonkin successfully, and your rank jumps several grades. Not only that—you receive, as a reward, precious items the Inter-Species Coalition has been stockpiling."

"So in the end, it's rank and items."

"Precisely. And wiping out demonkin brings honor along with it, does it not?"

"...Hm. I suppose so."

He had no room to talk. He had joined this expedition to raise his own level.

And pick up some jewels on the side.

Jortain was talkative. From then on he filled the time with one trivial story after another, all of them aimed at Yujun.

"Halt!"

Palchio, at the head of the column, raised his voice.

"The demonkin's territory is not far. From here on, keep your noise to an absolute minimum. No chatter. Silence will do."

At his word, the noisy march went dead quiet.

Does this even help?

Every step the troll took sent a tremor through the ground. If anything was going to notice them, it would notice them soon enough.

Well. They must have their reasons.

The expedition, which had been advancing at a careful walk, suddenly broke into a run. Palchio had given the signal, and Yujun ran with the rest of his party.

Through the Keen Senses (A) trait, the presence of the demonkin began to press in on him. That meant the enemy had noticed the expedition as well.

Then a great ball of fire dropped out of the sky.

BOOOOM! CRASH! FWOOOSH!

The fireball broke against the shields the expedition threw up, but the flames leapt to a nearby tree and raced outward. Yujun hurriedly summoned Paranet.

"Master!"

"It's been a while."

"A battle, is it?"

"You think I called you out to play?"

"...Could you not summon me to play now and then as well? I get lonely, you kn—"

"No. And I've never played in the first place."

"Then perhaps you ought to."

"You little—"

"I-I'll just go and fight, then!"

"Where do you think you're going? You stay with me."

"And who is our opponent this time?"

"Demonkin."

"...Demonkin? Then everyone here is an ally?"

"Yeah. Just kill the demonkin."

"Splendid. Mere demonkin could never stand as my opponents."

With a Mythic ring on his finger, Paranet no longer feared them.

Did I give him something too good?

No one but Paranet could use the item anyway, so it wasn't a waste. It still stung a little.

Perhaps it was the Mythic-grade item. Paranet looked even larger than before—and it wasn't Yujun's imagination. As he stood now, the summon was bigger than most orc chieftains.

So every time his stats rise, or his rank does, his body grows.

They ran without pause until the demonkin came into view, already formed for battle. Even seeing that the expedition outnumbered them, their faces were thick with ease.

"Kehehe... Walking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into your own graves. How stupid."

"More offerings for the sacrifice. What a happy occasion."

Gathered together, their presence was immense. They resembled humans only in shape; an aura no one could approach rolled off them, and some of the expedition were already cowed simply by the sight of so many demonkin arrayed before them.

"I've never seen demonkin gathered on a scale like this."

"Neither have I..."

"This is dangerous, isn't it?"

Those voices were the minority. The expedition had assembled to exterminate the demonkin in the first place. They knew the danger from hard experience, and mere numbers were not enough to shake that resolve. More than anything, many among them carried a bitter grudge against the demonkin.

BOOOOM!

The battle began before Palchio could even give the order to charge.

It opened as a clash of magic. Dozens—hundreds—of spells bloomed in the empty air and met in the space between the demonkin and the expedition.

KR-KR-KRAKOOM! KA-BOOM!

Explosions tore loose without end.

"I'll move on my own."

"What? What are you saying?"

Jortain's eyes went wide.

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"No. That's dangerous. More importantly, we're one party. Lose even a single member and our strength drops hard."

"I'll leave my summon with you."

"...Your summon? You mean that undead you called earlier?"

"Yes."

"A skeleton summon can't handle demonkin."

"Hard to believe, I know, but he's stronger than most of them."

"...As you say, belief doesn't come easily, but..."

"Paranet is a growth-type summon. He isn't like an ordinary one."

"We've no time, and your mind is clearly made up, so do as you will. But if this goes wrong, the responsibility is yours."

"Of course. Wait a little. I'll rejoin you soon."

With his party's leave, Yujun went after the demonkin who had drifted apart from the rest. He found a target quickly.

"A human? This looks like the Inter-Species Coalition... How is there a human here?"

The demonkin who had spotted him tilted his head.

"You seem to know a fair bit about the Coalition."

"It's land we're about to rule."

"..."

Yujun said nothing. Sword in hand, he charged.

A sneer clung to the demonkin's face as a dark, overwhelming power burst from his body and lanced toward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yujun, who was already nearly on top of him. Fired from point-blank range, the blast met nothing but air. Yujun twisted and let it pass.

"...What!"

By the time the demonkin registered his shock, it was already too late.

Shhk!

Yujun's blade sheared through his neck.

"A fine start."

Yujun allowed himself a single smile and moved again. Demonkin, each one a fountain of experience, lay scattered across the field like weeds. Stopping even for a moment would be an absurd loss.

One more level, and I can swap out my armor and accessories.

The equipment he had already set aside. Wear that, and his combat power would multiply several times over.

"B-block it!"

"That energy—dodge it, no matter what! Don't even try to block!"

"Why won't these things die?!"

The fight was turning against the expedition.

Their strength deserved the word elite. The demonkin were a sharper elite still. Everyone knew each of them was formidable alone. No one had expected this. In a chaotic melee, the demonkin only grew stronger.

"Kehehe... They came looking down on us. Sweep the lot of them away!"

"Creatures who don't know their place! Today you'll pay for it properly!"

"Khahaha!"

Smoke from the burning trees had turned the battlefield into a place where even breathing was a struggle. In that confusion, Yujun slipped quietly out of the fight.

"Haa..."

Finding no demonkin on his heels, he let out a breath of relief. The moment he started killing them, they had come running without end, as if they had caught his scent. He had reached level 200 and still hadn't been able to equip his items, so he had broken away before even more of them could latch onto him.

I didn't think the expedition would be pushed this hard.

It wasn't the expedition's skill. The enemy was simply that overwhelming—nothing like the briefing he had been given. Because of it he had been cut off more than once, and had nearly taken a serious wound.

Frenzy Armor isn't enough to weather their attacks.

The options on the Frenzy Armor were absurd, but it was still gear meant to be worn at level 150.

He opened his inventory, drew out the armor and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠accessories he had prepared, and equipped all of them.

Two Rings of Raging Flame.

Demonkin regenerated fiercely, and they were weak to fire, so he had prepared fire-attribute accessories. Even against something other than demonkin, fire was simply that powerful.

He equipped two Bracelets of the Fatal Strike—rare pieces, made to push attack power to its limit. And he was not finished. There was more.

A Mythic necklace with a level requirement of 350. To wear it, Yujun had even used a Rainbow Sticker.

The boost to all stats was welcome, but the option that mattered was the other one: when a killing blow landed, he would be restored to a perfect state.

This isn't a game. It's reality.

With only one life, nothing he owned mattered more. That was why he had spent the Rainbow Sticker.

I'll change weapons later.

There was an excellent weapon meant to be worn at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠level 400, and he wanted to save his remaining Rainbow Sticker for that.

The accessories are done.

All that remained was the armor.