Chapter 354
Chapter 354
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 355
Chapter Title: The Last Night of the School Trip
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The final night of the school trip.
After returning to the hotel, we did some light personal training and soaked in the mana hot springs before heading back to our room.
It was now 1:10 a.m.
The fun day was over, and it was time to sleep.
Of course, I still had personal matters to attend to, including assassinating a Demon.
"Hoo. These past two days have been a blast."
Shin Young-jun muttered happily from the massage chair.
Lee Seo-jun, half-reclining on the bed, chuckled at his words.
"Yeah. Tomorrow we head back to school."
"But, Kim Sun-woo. What've you been staring at in that notebook this whole time?"
I stopped tapping on the smart student notebook screen at Shin Young-jun's question.
"...I'm chatting. Why?"
"Just curious. But who's this new one on the wall~?"
"No need to know."
I replied and turned back to the smart student notebook.
[Yoon Ha-young: Lol yeah. We're heading to bed soon too!]
[Choi Seo-yoon: How about a sea train for our next trip??]
Truth be told, I wasn't chatting with just one person.
Yoon Ha-young, Choi Seo-yoon...
And with smartphone sync, there were even more messages.
[Han Se-yeon: I'm home now. It's past 1 already. When are you turning in, Jin-woo?]
[Yang Tae-min: Got it. We'll do that then! Good night!]
I was lost in thought staring at the smart student notebook when Shin Young-jun spoke up.
"Ah~ I know who it is. Choi Seo-yoon, right? Am I right?"
"...Choi Seo-yoon's one of them."
"Choi Seo-yoon's one? What? You're talking to other girls besides Choi Seo-yoon?"
His eyes went wide as he asked.
Was it really that shocking that I was chatting with someone else?
"Stop prying."
"...Hmm. You know, Kim Sun-woo acts all innocent, but he's straight-up managing a harem."
Shin Young-jun narrowed his eyes.
I scoffed.
"Harem? Don't talk nonsense."
"No, seriously. You kinda are. Hey, Lee Seo-jun. You get it too, right?"
Shin Young-jun asked Lee Seo-jun, who glanced at me, rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm. Is he? Now that you mention it, maybe...?"
"See? I'm right."
['Harem King' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
What the hell is this?
I furrowed my brow, and Lee Seo-jun gave an awkward smile.
"But it's not intentional. Sun-woo's pretty pure when it comes to this stuff."
"Pure... Yeah, now that you say it, he kinda is?"
...What the hell are you two on about?
Ignoring them, I tapped away at the smart student notebook again.
A casual "Night" to Yoon Ha-young.
Then I paused over Choi Seo-yoon's message.
[How about a sea train for our next trip??]
This seemingly innocuous message hid a pretty important hook.
The sea train.
As the name implied, a train that ran across the ocean—it would be the backdrop for a major episode later on.
But even in the original story, that was pretty far off...
Around five years from now?
Of course, with future events accelerating, it probably wouldn't be that long.
Maybe next year. Or the year after. Who knows.
"Yawn... Kinda feels unsatisfying to end it like this. Hey, wanna pull an all-nighter?"
Shin Young-jun said.
True to his teenage spirit, he wanted to burn bright till the end.
But I had things to do after putting you two to sleep.
"What all-nighter? We've been playing all day."
"Come on. We could call up Lee Hyun-joo's crew. They don't seem asleep."
"No thanks. I'm beat. Gonna crash."
"...Tch. Lame."
Shin Young-jun pouted and sprang up from the massage chair.
"Fine, let's just sleep~ I'm tired too."
He flopped onto the bed. Lee Seo-jun chuckled at him and lay down too.
I replied "I'll think about it" to Choi Seo-yoon, then used the sync to message Han Se-yeon.
[Yeah, time for me to sleep too. Work's done.]
As I moved to lie down, a reply came.
[Okay. Oh! I got some good booze. Wanna drink together sometime?]
...Good booze?
If Han Se-yeon, with her refined taste, called it good, it had to be top-shelf.
Gulp.
I swallowed.
Booze... booze...
Come to think of it, it's been ages since I had a drink...
Tap tap. I typed a reply.
[Let's set a date.]
"...Hey. What's with Kim Sun-woo's smile creeping up?"
Shin Young-jun's surprised voice came from the next bed.
"Whoa. First time seeing that look on you in my life. Who's it from?"
Only the ticking clock and soft breathing filled the hotel room.
After lulling the chattering Shin Young-jun and Lee Seo-jun to sleep, I quietly slipped out of bed.
A quick glance—they were both deep asleep.
Now was the time to sneak out unnoticed.
Using [Silent Steps] to mask my presence, I slowly got out of bed.
"...Hoo."
I checked the time right away.
[1:56 a.m.]
In the original story, Yoo Cheol assassinated Lee Geon-yong around 3-4 a.m., so I still had time.
I double-checked they were asleep, then used [Intangible] to change my outfit.
Black jacket, hat, and mask.
Finally, for a sure kill, I bought and drank a 'Mana Concealment Potion'.
Then I approached the half-open window. The hallway had CCTV, so the window was my only way out.
I mentally reviewed my plan one last time.
This was room 802.
Yoo Cheol's was 1201.
Climb four floors via the window.
Fwoosh!
I leaped out and activated 'Air Walk'.
In an instant, I scaled the air to the leftmost window on the 12th floor.
Peering in, I could see inside. This was Yoo Cheol's room, 1201. I carefully opened the window and slipped in.
"...Hmm."
Floors 12 through 15 were the hotel's top-tier suites. The atmosphere was worlds apart from our lodging.
Far more luxurious, with multiple rooms.
Moving quietly with [Silent Steps] toward the door, I sensed something off.
"...Hm?"
No presence.
I flung the door open, but Yoo Cheol was nowhere.
"Where the hell did he go?"
I'd confirmed he entered the hotel.
Biting my lip, I urgently activated [Third Eye].
If Yoo Cheol wasn't in his room, high chance he went after Lee Geon-yong's 'Blood Crystal'.
Lee Geon-yong's room was 1206.
Sending [Third Eye] there revealed the scene.
A gruesome sight drenched in blood.
Lee Geon-yong's corpse and Yoo Cheol holding the Blood Crystal, talking on the phone.
-...Blood Crystal recovered.
As expected, Yoo Cheol was in Lee Geon-yong's room retrieving the Blood Crystal.
...A step too late?
No, not yet.
Lee Geon-yong's death was unfortunate, but it aligned with the original flow.
As long as I recovered the Blood Crystal, it wasn't too late.
I hurried out the window toward 1206.
Scaling the wall, I entered Lee Geon-yong's room, 1206.
Different room in the same suite, so Yoo Cheol didn't notice me slip in and was still on the phone.
-...No, sir. Yes. Ah, yes. I'll clean up thoroughly.
Holding my breath, I raised mana in my palm.
Whoooong...
It formed a sphere, then took on light attributes.
Easy so far.
I'd used light magic plenty.
The tricky part came next.
Synergize light with Anti-Demon power.
My 'Anti-Demon' was low-grade, weak alone.
Combining with light was tough, but I'd succeeded in practice, so it should work now.
"...Hoo."
Deep breath, then activate 'Anti-Demon'.
Whoooong!
The light sphere trembled violently. Then Anti-Demon mana, emitting an eerie glow, merged into it.
Complete.
Perfect synergy of Anti-Demon and light.
This would let me take him out silently in one shot.
I stepped out. His back was to me.
[Silent Steps] hid me perfectly; he hadn't noticed.
[Activating 'Victory Herald' effect.]
[Target: 'Yoo Cheol'.]
[On victory against target, gain random additional stats or traits.]
He turned. Our eyes met, and his face hardened.
"...You. Who the hell are you?"
Bang!
The magic from my hand shot like a bullet.
Still unstable from inexperience, but close range—no miss.
It pierced his chest silently.
"Arrrgh!"
The impact slammed him into the wall. The high-security hotel wall held firm.
"Urk!"
The Demon groaned in agony, eyes turning black.
Berserk mode starting. But it halted—Anti-Demon suppressed his demonic energy.
Regeneration too.
A true Demon slayer power.
-...Yoo Cheol? What's going on? Yoo Cheol?
A voice from his dropped smartphone.
"Cough...! Th-this power..."
Yoo Cheol muttered, black blood spilling. Anti-Demon mana burned his wound, spreading.
Staring at me, he whispered shakily.
"Ant-Anti-Demon power..."
With that, Yoo Cheol died.
[A-Rank villain 'Yoo Cheol' successfully eliminated.]
[Major future change detected.]
[Karma increases by 1.]
[Victory against target.]
['Victory Herald' boosts 'Anti-Demon' proficiency by 10%.]
['Kill Demon with Anti-Demon Power' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
[First Demon kill bonus: 'Anti-Demon' proficiency +5%.]
I dismissed the windows and picked up the red crystal from the floor.
[Blood Crystal (Relic)]
Description: Inject mana into the crystal to supply blood.
The info confirmed it was genuine.
Finally recovered. This gave me a huge edge in future Demon episodes.
The Demons' resurgence, led by the Blood Crystal, would be delayed.
-...Anti-Demon power just now? How...
A trembling voice from the smartphone.
I looked at it. Likely a Ten Demons exec.
Are you the Child of Prophecy?
Probably asking me. No need to answer, so I stayed silent.
-...Never thought you'd interfere here too. How'd you uncover our plans? How the...
Muttering to himself, he continued.
-...Heh. Interesting. Looks like we'll meet again. See you next time, Child of Prophecy.
He hung up after those cryptic words.
Deep breath. I surveyed the room. Blood-soaked space, two brutal corpses.
Yoo Cheol the Demon was one thing, but Lee Geon-yong's body next to it made me feel guilty, like I did it.
"...This should be fine as is."
Pity for Lee Geon-yong's cold corpse, but hotel staff would find it come morning.
Mission accomplished. As I turned to leave—
A chilling presence prickled from somewhere. Then soon—
Thud!
Footsteps landing by the window, followed by a voice.
"Eutcha!"
I turned toward it. My body froze stiff.
Two figures, a man and woman, stood by the window.
Faces masked, but I knew them instantly.
Ja-un.
Baek Eun-seong and Bert.
They blinked, equally surprised.
Especially Baek Eun-seong—having seen me in this getup before, her eyes trembled wide.
"...Th-that. The Rune Clan guy from before?"
She glanced at the bloody scene and the Blood Crystal in my hand, letting out a disbelieving laugh.
"Hah... Never saw this coming."
She glared, cracking her knuckles.
"Gotcha. Hey. You're Kim Sun-woo, right? Come here. I'll unmask you."
Calming my racing heart, I slipped one hand behind my back.
I'd half-expected this.
They could've targeted the Blood Crystal by force, not auction.
And if we crossed paths on-site, I'd planned my move.
Run.
I fired the pre-compressed sphere from behind at them.
Mana concealed, they hadn't noticed it.
Baek Eun-seong took it full-on, staggering back.
"Urk!"
I bolted out the door with all I had.
Soon, a voice yelled from behind.
"Damn it! Get him!"
