Demon King Belial (1)
Taeyang stood before Andromalius, momentarily flustered.
It was because of his mana perception.
The wavelength was overwhelming compared to any living being he had encountered so far.
‘A Demon King is a Demon King, after all.’
Taeyang realized it anew.
At the same time, he straightened his back.
They were still just NPCs in a game. Bowing down just because they looked a little strong didn’t suit his personality.
Andromalius, who had been sitting with his arm resting on a wooden chair, asked,
“What is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Hmm.”
Andromalius narrowed his eyes, then changed the subject.
“You made good use of the treasure detection skill.”
“How did you know about that…?”
“I gave it to you. Why wouldn’t I know?”
“You gave it to me?”
When Taeyang frowned and questioned him, Andromalius let out a small laugh.
“You were passed out in front of the door. I had originally planned to explain the skill, but your attitude was so careless that I just tossed it over.”
Taeyang asked again.
“Why’d you give it to me?”
At his question, Ran’s eyes widened as she stood frozen beside him like a corpse.
Speaking so casually to a transcendent being like a Demon King—she couldn’t even imagine doing such a thing.
Andromalius pondered for a moment before closing his eyes as if it were too bothersome.
“You’ll be able to receive more in the future. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
……This guy.
It was obvious he had been about to explain but got lazy and brushed it off.
This stage was one Taeyang and Hyeonhye were fairly confident about.
Floors 7 or 8.
It was the point where rankers started sweeping up achievements.
Competent players would have finished farming various cards and artifacts ahead of others during this period.
Then they would use those to farm achievements, and use the achievements as leverage to climb even higher.
And for Taeyang, this sixth floor was exactly that turning point.
He had swept through the stage with Dal-nim’s information network and overwhelming competitive edge.
When Andromalius lightly waved his hand, a system window appeared before Taeyang’s eyes.
[2-3 Swordsman’s Castle: Escape the castle.]
[Achievements Acquired: Demonic Sword Theft, Confronting the Nightmare, Ruthless Survivor (3), Miraculous Survivor (5), Treasure Hunter, Selfish Gene, Seed of Discord, One Person’s Labor, Final Escape, Swordsman’s Castle Clear.]
[Gold: +16, Current Holdings: 51]
Hyeonhye smiled in satisfaction as she looked at the system window.
Ruthless Survivor (3) and Miraculous Survivor (5).
The numbers 3 and 5 in parentheses were the rampage counts.
They were achievements usually skipped because the risk was too high, but luck had been on their side.
Just the achievements derived from the Mad Swordsman alone were Demonic Sword Theft, Confronting the Nightmare, and two Survivor titles.
Four in total.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, Taeyang staggered.
“W-what’s wrong all of a sudden?”
Ran, standing beside him, asked in surprise.
Taeyang soon regained his composure and answered in a low voice.
“Ah, just got a little dizzy.”
Andromalius spoke while stroking his pet snake.
“That’s to be expected. Obtaining ten achievements means it won’t be easy to adapt to an expanded soul.”
“T-ten?”
It was a shocking number.
Even Taeyang himself felt dazed.
Taeyang repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist as if disappointed.
Since mana perception had opened at 15 achievements, he thought something might happen at 30 as well, but unfortunately, it seemed not.
“Is there anything at 50?”
Taeyang asked Ran,
“How many achievements did you get this time?”
“Five.”
“Oh.”
It wasn’t a bad result.
Honestly, getting more than five achievements after only climbing six floors was an incredibly difficult feat.
Hmm.
But compared to him, it looked a little pitiful.
“……Your eyes are annoying.”
Ran glared at Taeyang for no reason.
Andromalius rose from his seat.
“You can feel proud. At least from what I see…… there aren’t many players who could do what you did under the same conditions.”
A favorable remark, uncharacteristic of a Demon King.
Andromalius lightly waved his hand.
Rumble.
A large stone slab rose at his gesture.
“Check it.”
Taeyang’s eyes lit up as well.
It was the same thing he had seen when graduating from Dantalion’s floor.
The Demon King’s evaluation.
One achievement as standard, plus additional rewards.
“Of course. Look at everything I did on this floor.”
He had done at least as well as on Dantalion’s floor, if not better.
“No stage was skipped. None.”
“Ha, self-praise.”
It was true.
In the orb-finding stage, he had soloed the raid-class monster, the giant snake Aksharon.
In the Street of Murder stage, he had cleared the hidden stage, the Clock Tower, and obtained the artifact Greatest Machinery.
And in this Swordsman’s Castle stage, he had even smashed head-on through the boss that was meant to be avoided.
Taeyang and Ran approached the stone slab at the same time.
Letters were engraved on the slab, and it seemed the text appeared differently depending on who was looking.
Combat power already on a different level from other players on the same stage. Your skills shine more in boss raid-style trials than battle royales. Looking forward to your performance on higher floors. Try not to die on the way up.
[Achievement Acquired: Andromalius Certified S-Rank.]
[Additional Reward: 100 Gold.]
By the way, 100 gold.
All his card slots were full. Where should he spend it?
* * *
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Of what?”
“The Demon King.”
“Why would I be scared of the Demon King?”
At Taeyang’s counter-question, Ran found herself at a loss for words.
“D-don’t you feel it?”
“I do.”
“You can still talk like that even though you feel it?”
The tremendous density of mana swirling around Andromalius.
It had something about it that made people sick just by existing.
Ran seemed particularly sensitive to such things due to her nature.
“That’s more like a natural disaster than a living being.”
“What. If you can talk to them, they’re all just people.”
The two entered the shelter while having a simple conversation.
Between the sixth and seventh floors.
The shelter located at the entrance to Demon King Belial’s floor was quite special.
Especially the pub.
Belial’s Pub.
Just as the name suggested.
Belial, the Demon King who oversaw floors 7 through 9, personally ran a pub in the shelter.
Thanks to that, Belial had become one of the most familiar Demon Kings to players.
Well, the fact that she was one of the few Demon Kings with a beautiful female form probably helped her appeal to male players.
Jingle.
The pub had a dim, cozy purple atmosphere.
The overall interior was sophisticated, with cute feminine touches scattered throughout that left an impression.
Ah, one more peculiar point.
Belial’s pub had a space-overlap spell cast on it, so you couldn’t meet other players.
Therefore, if you wanted to drink together, you had to do so with Demon King Belial or with the fellow players who had entered with you.
In other words, it was impossible to recruit new companions.
At least not in the pub.
Considering how much alcohol contributed to getting close to new people, this was quite a meaningful restriction.
“Welcome.”
Belial’s gentle voice echoed through the pub.
At Belial’s appearance, the chat window scrolled down rapidly.
At the same time, Ran let out a small “Eek!” and lowered her voice.
She seemed intimidated again by Belial’s aura.
Belial was wearing a red velvet slip dress.
Taeyang unconsciously averted his eyes.
“Uh, um.”
It was the kind of figure that made you feel like you had to look away.
“Player Yoon Taeyang, nice to meet you. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Why does every Demon King I meet know who I am?”
Ran muttered in a horrified voice.
In truth, it was quite rare for a Demon King to remember a specific player’s name.
Taeyang didn’t feel it at all, though.
“You know me?”
“Of course. I’ve heard a lot about you. I even watched your play on the fifth floor myself.”
Belial smiled brightly as she answered.
Her long eyelashes folded gently inward.
“I’m looking forward to seeing you perform well on my floor as well.”
“Ah, well. I just hope the rewards are solid.”
“Oh my. You don’t have to worry about that. Even if my floor is lacking in other areas, that one thing is guaranteed.”
The three stages overseen by Belial were famous for their generous rewards.
In other words, stages that made you want to play the game.
More precisely, the efficiency wouldn’t be as good.
“Well, I’ll just have to earn achievements diligently.”
Swish.
Belial held out a piece of paper.
“Would you like to take a look?”
It was a category listing all sorts of artifacts and high-grade cards.
“You too, young lady.”
Belial offered a category to Ran as well.
Dragon King’s Artery, Dragon Slayer, Plantain Fan.
Gingoa, Trauma Landing, Weather Control.
The category was filled with all kinds of items.
The common point was that they all looked good at a glance.
“Some of the more famous items are Imitations.”
Imitation. Counterfeit.
Items that probably didn’t even reach half the efficiency of the original.
Of course, even half the performance was enough to bow down and use in the lower floors.
Ran, who had been reading the category, soon shook her head.
“I don’t have the money to buy these kinds of things……”
Belial smiled brightly.
“You don’t need any.”
“Excuse me?”
“This category is the reward you’ll receive after overcoming the seventh floor’s trial. I’m just letting you choose in advance.”
“T-these items are the reward?”
Ran asked in a small voice.
Belial nodded.
Belial would give the player the item they chose as the reward for clearing the seventh floor.
Of course, as expected, the difficulty of the stage varied greatly depending on the performance and grade of the item the player chose.
“Have you decided?”
Taeyang shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Belial smiled with her eyes.
“You can take your time choosing.”
“No, I need to rest first.”
With those words, Taeyang stood up from his seat.
The fatigue accumulated from Andromalius’s floor was considerable.
He had been stabbed by the giant bird’s claws, and even been repeatedly cut by a sword at the end, so the mental fatigue seemed especially severe this time.
“Shall I prepare a room for you?”
“If possible, a bath too.”
“Ah, that’s only natural.”
At that moment, Belial asked with a mischievous smile.
“Just one room?”
“No!”
Ran answered in an unusually loud voice.
“Oh my, what should I do? There’s only one room left.”
At Belial’s words, Ran froze like a stone.
Soon, Belial burst into laughter.
“I’m joking. Your reaction is quite intense.”
“Oh my, excuse me. I was mistaken.”
“You should be more careful from now on. That’s actually quite rude.”
Taeyang received the keys with a deliberately calm expression.
When two rooms were naturally prepared, the chat scrolled down rapidly.
Good grief, these lunatics.
“See you tomorrow.”
At Hyeonhye and Ran’s words, Taeyang nodded.
“Yeah.”