Yujun Had Overlooked the Items He Wore
Yujun had overlooked the effects of the items he was wearing. He had cast Meteor with nothing more in mind than the power it used to show on his No-Pay Casual Gamer character—and what finished forming was not merely several times stronger. It was dozens of times stronger.
The Demon Realm's own bleak vista, the earth seared to ash, the sky burning red: it was a landscape that called hell to mind. The flames reached all the way to where Yujun and Do Jiyun stood.
"I genuinely have nothing to say."
Do Jiyun's awe was utterly sincere. Never once, in all her time, had she seen a mage produce magic of that magnitude.
So it wasn't a lie, or even an exaggeration, when he said he'd beaten several members of Coordination.
Meteor magic could not be used at all unless one's mana ran deep.
His Magic stat must be absurdly high. I knew the items were good, but still.
Overwhelming power. She herself was skilled enough with magic to be called the Fire Empress, and even so she felt it plainly: the man before her stood several stages above her, on an entirely different plane.
And that was when it happened.
Out of the scorched ground where the meteor had fallen, a single figure came on at frightening speed—a tall demon with black hair. Without a shred of hesitation, he thrust his sword at Yujun.
The approach was sudden, but Yujun was already prepared. A thick shield unfolded before his eyes, and the demon's blade hammered against it.
Skree—kak!
The sword glanced aside. A hairline crack scored the shield, and that was all. He had failed to break through in a single strike.
"Wh-what...?"
The demon faltered. Yujun drew his sword in a flash and swung it forward, and the tall demon scrambled to retreat.
Chwak!
The blade passed across the demon's chest. Lightly. It looked like the barest graze—and it was not. A fountain of blood burst from the demon's chest, and he collapsed in a heap.
Do Jiyun looked at Yujun.
"..."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"That was a demon of viscount rank."
"I see."
"Now you'll be in a full-scale pursuit with one of the Demon Realm's viscount houses. And it may not stop there. Every demon tied to that house could come after you."
"Doesn't that make it all the easier to catch a witch's eye?"
"You're not wrong, but... it's dangerous. Obviously."
In truth, dropping a meteor of that monstrous size would have drawn far more notice than killing a viscount-rank demon.
"It's not as if we're going to live here for the rest of our lives. And honestly, from a human's point of view, demons are enemies anyway."
So he had decided to raise as much hell as he pleased.
"Oh—I went up three levels."
From level 300 on, his level had barely moved at all. If a single spell could produce results like this, he was more than satisfied. Watching the thoroughly pleased look on his face, Do Jiyun let out a hollow laugh.
"You didn't gain any levels, Jiyun?"
"I'm level 501. Of course I didn't. Past 500, you can basically treat hunting efficiency as abysmal. If there's any way left to raise your level at all, it's something like clearing achievements."
"Then those Coordination bastards are around level 500 too?"
"Most of them aren't just around 500. They're higher. Ji Gyutae especially..."
"Ji Gyutae?"
"There's a rumor he's past level 600."
Yujun's eyes went wide.
"How is that even possible?"
"I know."
"It isn't just an empty rumor?"
"I can't quite call it empty. Ji Gyutae is a monster who defies common sense."
"And where is he?"
"That, I don't know."
"Hmm..."
If it was true that he had passed level 600, then Ji Gyutae really was formidable. Reaching that level in less than five years was no easy thing. Even in a game where lives were infinite, it had taken a long time to reach level 500.
Then again, I can't assume it was only five years. He might have come to the Tower of Infinity early, the way Sim Sanghoon did.
In any case, if he was past level 600, he was an enemy Yujun could not afford to take lightly. Not now.
"Paranet."
"Yes."
"Well? Figure anything out?"
"I believe we need only continue straight to the right from here."
"A hunch?"
"Yes."
"That's the way those demons were heading earlier. You're sure?"
"Yes."
Yujun nodded.
"Let's move."
"Is it really all right to move like this on nothing but your summon's word?"
"We don't have a decent lead, do we? And this is only my feeling, but I suspect the demons we killed were on their way to clear a dungeon. If that's the case, we'll find a dungeon by going this way, and the odds of meeting a witch go up as well."
"In short, we're taking a shot in the dark."
"Yes."
"All right."
Unlike those of the Continent, the dungeons of the Demon Realm were managed directly by witches. It did not have to be the Manuela he was looking for. Finding a witch at all came first.
Yujun and Do Jiyun moved at a swift pace, keeping their detection magic active even as they went. Perhaps it was the meteor's aftermath. Presences drew nearer, and he could feel demons moving in from several directions.
"I don't think they're coming specifically for us."
"I agree."
"Should we ignore them and keep going?"
"Yes. Straight ahead. If it comes to it, we use spatial movement magic."
Tadak, tadak.
Paranet followed Do Jiyun and Yujun without ever once falling behind. Thanks to Horidan's ring, the creature's physical stats sat at an astonishing level—on numbers alone, ahead even of Do Jiyun, who was past level 500.
An enormous mass of muscle. Hurden, a count of the Demon Realm, twitched one brow.
"Someone has trespassed on my domain."
The superior demon at his side bowed his head.
"I will see to it."
"Sleiman is dead. You will not suffice."
"..."
"Not a demon. The stench of a human clings thick. It seems he crossed from the Continent into the Demon Realm with some purpose in mind."
"What would you have me do?"
"Leave it alone."
"Pardon?"
The superior demon was visibly thrown. In the Demon Realm, invading another's domain was a matter of the utmost gravity—all the more so when the intruder had come from another dimension. He could not fathom the count's decision.
"His destination is unclear. What is certain is that he is no one who knows the Demon Realm well."
"Then we ought to dispose of him swiftly..."
"However."
Hurden looked the superior demon straight in the eye.
"He is strong."
"..."
"He is a being whose victory I cannot promise myself. Nothing good comes of stepping forward rashly."
"To that extent?"
"Yes. Kleiman, you must have felt it as well, to some degree."
"But are we demons not the natural enemy of mages?"
"A natural enemy is only a natural enemy up to a point. Once a man reaches a certain realm, affinity ceases to mean anything. The one who has just arrived in the Demon Realm sits at precisely that height."
"...A mage who has reached the extreme?"
"I am certain. That meteor alone was enough to see it."
"I did not see it."
"Which is why you are still what you are."
"..."
He had no answer to that. Set beside Count Hurden, he—a superior demon—fell far short, and to contradict a count openly would put his life at risk. The superior demon bowed his head low.
Demons were gathering all around them. Yujun picked up speed and slipped clear.
In truth, the demons were not chasing anyone. They had come to see the meteor for themselves, and it was hardly worth calling a pursuit.
"I don't see a dungeon. It feels as if we've been walking for quite a while."
Do Jiyun said.
"Has your detection magic caught anything, Yujun?"
"No. It's completely empty wasteland."
"The Demon Realm is usually like that. Still, once you reach a developed city, it changes completely."
"Does it?"
"You didn't know?"
"I've never been anywhere demons gather in numbers. I've only ever gone looking for dungeons in wastes like this."
"...Actually, if you want to reach a witch, you have to head near a city. I told you earlier, so you know."
"Are we getting closer to a city now?"
"I think so."
"You aren't certain?"
"It isn't as if I know every stretch of the Demon Realm. It's as vast as the Continent."
"There are still fewer demons, though?"
"Yes. As strong as they are, there aren't as many of them as humans and the other races. Anyway, the banners hung with skulls keep multiplying. You can take that as a good sign."
"Those work as a debuff, don't they?"
"Ah, the skull banners? Yes. The penalty is slight, but it applies over a wide area, and once several of them overlap, they become a real headache."
"And the only way to lift the debuff is still to break them?"
"You already knew. That's right. The problem is, the moment you touch one, the noble who rules this zone learns exactly where we are."
"That isn't much of a problem."
"Right. We can just ask—no, ask your summon—for spatial movement."
"There isn't a barrier that interferes with spatial movement magic, like in the Abyss?"
"A barrier of that sort is probably only laid over the castle where the noble stays."
"Good."
"In the first place, there's almost never any reason to guard against spatial movement magic. People who have that magic are vanishingly rare. And you know the Demon Realm bows to the strong, don't you? They're confident in their own power, so they tend to be even more careless."
"Then I won't hesitate."
Yujun swung his sword several times and shattered the skull banners to pieces. He did not stop there. Fire magic followed, and he erased them cleanly.
Fwoosh.
"That was fast."
"We move. Now."
From the moment the meteor had kicked up a commotion, the odds were already high that a noble had marked them. Debuff devices like these were better removed in advance.
They found several more banners after that, and Do Jiyun burned them away with fire magic.
"We're swaggering around out here, and still no demon comes to stop us."
"There are about three demons secretly following behind us."
"...What? Where?"
"A fair distance off. At that range, they'll be watching us through observation items."
"How did you know? My detection magic isn't catching a thing."
"I didn't catch them with detection magic either. It's an item."
"An item?"
Yujun only smiled.
Without Do Jiyun ever noticing, he had used several Legendary-grade consumables. Legendary items were that valuable, and still he did not spare them.
"Let's keep going."
Nearly half a day passed that way, the tedious search for a dungeon dragging on and on.
Maybe I should have brought Huiyeon.
When it came to finding dungeons, no one surpassed her. At least, no one he knew.
Even so, as if fortune had not wholly abandoned them, Yujun's party found a dungeon before much longer.
"Do you think this is the one?"
Do Jiyun sounded uneasy. Then Paranet spoke.
"This is the place."
"You've kept quiet all this time, and now you talk?"
"I sense the fragrance of that witch we met before. It rises from here."
"Her fragrance?"
"The fragrance is well enough—but I have an excellent feeling!"
"Ugh. That hunch of yours."
"And yet I have scarcely ever been wrong, have I?"
"That's true."
"My lord. Place your trust in me, and let us proceed."
"We were going in anyway. We need to meet a witch—any witch—and ask about Manuela."
Before entering the dungeon, Yujun took out an item.
◈ You may claim exclusive rights to a dungeon you are the first to discover.
◈ The effect lasts for one week.
"Huh? That..."
The moment she recognized the Dungeon Monopoly Right, Do Jiyun's eyes went wide.
"That's a Dungeon Monopoly Right, isn't it?"
"It is."
"Where did you get that? I've never once seen anyone who had one. No—those were only ever sold separately, and only on the website..."
"Were they?"
"Yes."
"I happened to come by it."
"..."
He had no intention of telling her. Yujun did not drag it out. He used the Dungeon Monopoly Right.