Chapter 417
Chapter 417
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 418
Chapter Title: The Activated Compass
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“Is this real?”
Shin Young-jun approached Lee Seo-jun and examined the Compass of Connections.
At the same time, the compass needle whirled around and pointed toward Shin Young-jun.
Shin Young-jun saw it and casually shifted his body to the side.
The compass needle followed him.
“……It’s real. How did you even get this?”
“‘Thief’s Cloak,’ a magic artifact that lets you evade tracking. I snuck it out of Grandpa’s room. Used that to slip past the Association’s surveillance.”
Everyone relaxed at his words.
Yoon Ha-young stared thoughtfully at the compass and spoke.
“The compass working properly means Sun-woo is doing well, right?”
The Compass of Connections reacted to the registered person’s mana.
The fact that it was functioning was proof that Kim Sun-woo was alive somewhere.
“Yeah, that’s right. And we saw it on the news. The Black Magical Beast incident in Seoul.”
The black magical beast that first appeared in Seoul.
And the mysterious wizard who resolved that incident……
Back then, media outlets and wizard communities had debated endlessly whether that wizard was Kim Sun-woo.
But those who had spent a long time with Kim Sun-woo could be certain.
That the wizard was Kim Sun-woo.
“Sun-woo. Still the same as ever.”
Yoon Ha-young murmured, recalling that day.
Kim Sun-woo had long been quietly handling hidden dangers in everyday life.
Even under the Association’s pursuit, he remained unchanged.
Then Choi Seo-yoon spoke up as if something had occurred to her.
“Sunbae-nim, but did you only bring one compass?”
There had been six Compasses of Connections buried in the ground.
Five should still remain.
Lee Seo-jun nodded.
“Just in case, I only grabbed one for now.”
“Good call. Bringing them all would just raise the risk of getting caught by the Association.”
Yoo Ah-ra said that, then opened her mouth again.
“So. Now that we have the compass. What’s the plan when we find Kim Sun-woo?”
Lee Seo-jun answered Yoo Ah-ra’s question.
“I told you. I want to hear what happened. And how things ended up like this.”
“And after that?”
Silence fell for a moment.
“You just gonna hear him out, say ‘take care,’ wave goodbye, and leave? Or…… clear up the misunderstanding with the Association and convince him to come back to normal life?”
“What if Kim Sun-woo is satisfied with his current life? What then?”
It was certainly worth considering.
He might be human, caught in the misunderstanding that he was a demon, just as they believed.
But the undeniable fact was that Kim Sun-woo had become the ‘King of Demons,’ and humans and demons were like water and oil—utterly incompatible.
Even if they reunited, returning to their original relationship was nearly impossible in reality.
This wasn’t a simple misunderstanding; it was an ethical issue forged by human history.
“……Ah-ra’s got a point. We need to think about what happens after we meet.”
Yoon Ha-young nodded in agreement with Yoo Ah-ra.
Then Choi Seo-yoon, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.
“……I think.”
She trailed off for a moment, then spoke as if she’d sorted her thoughts.
“I’ll hear out sunbae-nim, and if he’s satisfied with his current life, I’ll respect that. But if there was a misunderstanding, or if he needs help, I’ll do my absolute best to support him.”
Choi Seo-yoon’s words were resolute, something she’d thought about long ago.
Everyone fell silent after hearing her.
Yoo Ah-ra gave a small smile and nodded.
“You’re right. I was overcomplicating it.”
Yoo Ah-ra nodded and turned to Lee Seo-jun.
“When are you going to find Kim Sun-woo? The Association’s surveillance is tight right now. Hard to move freely.”
“We bide our time.”
Everyone’s gazes turned to Lee Seo-jun at his answer.
“What time?”
Instead of answering, Lee Seo-jun showed the compass in his hand to everyone again.
The needle suddenly spun wildly and pointed east—toward no one in particular.
“Forgot Kim Sun-woo’s pattern?”
Lee Seo-jun continued.
“Just like always, a day of great chaos will come to the world. When that happens, Kim Sun-woo will move first. We just wait for the gap in that chaos.”
The date for the King’s Succession Ceremony—the greatest event in demon society—had been set.
Two weeks from now, on Saturday.
According to Ha-ryeong, it was the night of the full moon, a day symbolizing divine blessing for demons.
Thanks to that, the hideout was bustling with preparations for the ceremony.
Ha-ryeong and Seon-hwa, who used to visit me often, and even Wi-ye, who followed me around like a secretary, were all too busy to show their faces.
“.Hmmm.”
On the other hand, I was extremely idle now.
I was already leisurely, but with no one seeking me out, it was even more so.
Training to pass the time? My stamina wasn’t infinite, so that had limits too.
In the end, all I could do was wander the hideout’s treasure vault
or read ancient demon tomes.
“Ngah!”
Oh. And occasionally, when I truly had nothing to do, I’d play with Gretel.
“Gretel’s got it good. Looks like every day is fun.”
Recently, using my authority as king, I assigned five dedicated demons just for Gretel’s playtime.
Ha-ryeong used to handle it, but she seemed too busy lately, and I felt bad, so I switched to others.
Call it abuse of power.
Suddenly labeled humanity’s enemy and the Association’s target—it was unfair, so I had to milk perks like this.
“Wngah!”
I smiled back at Gretel, who grinned at me, then lay down on the bed.
“……Maybe I’ll do some trait shopping.”
Recent events had piled up a ton of points…… no, a massive amount.
Enough to buy pretty much any SS-rank trait.
At this point, it was time to stop saving.
I activated the Outsider’s Benefit.
[Owned Points: 401,000]
“……That’s a lot.”
Even after buying various proficiency potions and comprehension potions to quickly master ancient magic, I’d amassed over 400,000 points.
No urgent situations right now, and there might be sudden discount events(?), so I’d been holding off, but maybe it was time to start spending.
I entered the point shop immediately.
[Entering Point Shop.]
As expected.
No special discounts today either.
“Only one customer—me—and you’re still playing hardball.”
Muttering that, I scanned the visible traits and skills.
As always, the harsher the restrictions on traits and skills, the greater the power they granted the user.
Like the Blessing of the Moon, usable only once a month, but capable of reversing any situation when activated.
The enemies I’d face ahead, like ‘Cruas’ with his overwhelming power, meant half-hearted strengthening wouldn’t cut it.
While browsing traits, I selected one that caught my eye.
[Dragon Slayer (SS)]
Category: Trait
►Dragon Killer
Deals 500% additional damage to dragons. Damage received from dragons reduced by 50%.
Price: 400,000
“……Whoa.”
A natural predator trait like ‘Demon Slayer’—its effect alone was insane.
Considering my Blessing of the Moon boosted all stats by 4.4 times, this 5x damage multiplier made it even more terrifying.
“……The issue is it only works on dragons.”
Honestly, even with Dragon Slayer and Blessing of the Moon, I couldn’t imagine beating Cruas.
If it boosted all stats 5x, maybe, but pure damage increase lacked safety.
No point in massive damage if you can’t survive the enemy’s attacks.
If you can’t dodge his strikes, you die—damage reduction doesn’t even factor in.
Plus, I’d rarely face dragons.
Might as well grind Counterstrike like crazy instead.
“……For now, keep.”
Either way, it’d be undeniably useful against Cruas, so I couldn’t dismiss it just for its flaws.
Maybe there’s something better—let’s look around more.
As I scrolled through the shop, a button caught my eye.
“What’s this?”
[NEW!!]
[Special shop unlocked upon acquiring qualifications.]
……Special shop unlocked?
It was hidden in the corner of the point shop, so I’d never noticed.
When did this appear?
Full of questions, I entered the special shop.
[Entering Special Shop, ‘Underground Dark Market.’]
[Starter Pack for Demonic Energy Users: 20% Off!]
[Contents: Super Regeneration (D), Demonic Energy Emission (D), Dark Chains (B), Darkening (A)]
[Price: 60,000 Points -> 48,000 Points]
“......What the.”
My head started throbbing at the sudden development.
A quick scan showed it sold abilities exclusive to ‘demons’ that weren’t in the regular shop.
The unexpected turn drew a dry laugh from me.
[Warning!]
[All abilities sold in the Underground Dark Market can only be used by ‘demons.’]
“Only usable during Berserk Transformation, huh.”
The only time I could wield demonic energy was during Berserk.
And even then, I could maintain reason for just about 10 seconds.
No matter the trait, usable time limited to 10 seconds meant poor efficiency.
“Still, let’s browse.”
Curious what they sold.
I’d heard demons had rare traits like humans’ minority bloodlines—ones no one else could use.
►[Skill] Darkening (B)
►[Skill] Darkening (A)
►[Skill] Abyss Darkening (S)
►[Skill] Demonic Realm Boundary (S)
►[Trait] Demonic Trait Manifestation (S)
►[Trait] Mana Conversion (S)
►[Trait] Transcendent Will (S)
►[Skill] Black Mist (S)
►[Item] Ancient Demonic Energy Meditation Set Vols. 1-4 (B)
Lots of varieties.
Kept scrolling, but no end in sight.
“......Good grief.”
I’d wondered before.
Why no demon-related abilities in the regular shop.
They were all here?
I scrolled and selected one that stood out.
[Trait: Demonic Trait Manifestation (S)]
Category: Trait
Description: Allows manifestation of all owned traits as demonic energy.
Price: 150,000 Points
“....Oh.”
—
In simple terms, it let me use human skills or traits via demonic energy.
Like activating ‘Counterstrike’ in Berserk state, or Mana Downpour, Rune Binding, Heart of Great Nature.
And probably even Blessing of the Moon.
“This is tempting. No, really tempting.”
Honestly, insanely so.
Even with only 10 seconds of reason in Berserk, unleashing demonic rain in that powered-up state.
Just imagining it made my heart race.
“150,000 points……
For a trait converter, that’s too pricey.
Hmm.
After agonizing alone for a while, I closed the window.
Investing 150,000 in that trait right now was too much.
Better to buy an SS-rank trait instead.
“……Any traits to stabilize Berserk?”
While browsing, I selected one that caught my eye.
[Transcendent Will (S)]
Category: Trait
Description: Auto-activates on Berserk use. Grants will that surpasses limits.
►Transcendence
Increases reason maintenance time during Berserk by 500%.
Price: 100,000 Points
“Found it.”