Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Enchanted Boots and the Subduing Demon Hall
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As I changed the subject, I could feel Han Se-yeon's mood sour just a little.
That somehow made her look cute.
“Ah, right. What about the items?”
“I was going to give them to you after dinner, but do you want them now?”
“Yeah, hand them over now.”
Han Se-yeon handed me a black case and a paper bag.
I took them and checked the contents.
Inside the black case were twenty amplified mana elixirs.
The elixirs had the same effects as the ones I’d used before.
“Nice.”
“Check the shoes too.”
I nodded and opened the paper bag.
Inside was a sturdy-looking pair of black combat boots.
For such thick boots, the design was pretty stylish.
[6B Functional Multipurpose Combat Boots (B)]
Classification: Shoes
Description: Combat boots from 6B Company
[Persistent Effects]
►Custom Fit
Changes to fit the user’s body.
►Comfortable Wear
Reduces stamina loss from walking and running by 20%.
Durability: S
“Oh.”
As expected from items prepared by Han Se-yeon, the performance was outstanding.
I could feel her philosophy: *Gifts should never disappoint the recipient.*
‘Two options, huh.’
Not just the ‘Custom Fit’ option, but also the ‘Comfortable Wear’ stamina buff.
Items with dual options like this jumped in price several times over.
These had to be worth at least ten million won.
“How much did all this cost? I’ll pay you right now.”
“No. It’s fine. They’re gifts.”
A cool response, like this was pocket change.
“I feel bad taking them so often.”
“If you feel bad, how about working under me?”
I smiled and replied.
“That’d be tough. I’ve got a lot on my plate.”
Han Se-yeon pouted at my firm answer.
“What’s keeping you so busy?”
I smiled and answered.
“It’s a secret.”
After the pleasant meal.
I parted ways with Han Se-yeon and headed to a nearby park bench.
I chose a bench over the dorm to enchant the new shoes I’d just gotten.
Truth be told, with people around, it’d be better to do the enchantment somewhere quiet like the dorm.
But I wanted to test Air Walk as soon as possible, so I decided to use it now.
I poured mana into the enchantment stone from my subspace.
A bright light burst from the enchantment stone, and I applied it to the combat boots.
A strong flash erupted, and the enchantment succeeded.
[6B Functional Multipurpose Combat Boots (A)]
Classification: Shoes
Description: Combat boots from 6B Company
[Persistent Effects]
►Custom Fit
Changes to fit the user’s body.
►Comfortable Wear
Reduces stamina loss from walking and running by 20%.
[Active Effect]
►Air Walk
Infuse mana into the boots to walk in the air for 5 seconds.
*Cooldown: 2 minutes
Durability: S
“Ooh.”
Now the item had a whopping three options.
Its grade had risen from B to A.
People usually called these triple-option items, and their price skyrocketed again.
They looked amazing.
I slipped on the boots right away.
Thanks to ‘Custom Fit’ and ‘Comfortable Wear,’ even these stiff combat boots felt comfy.
Time to test them out.
I infused mana into the boots.
I lifted one foot into the air, and it felt like I was stepping on something solid.
“Oh. Ooh.”
Then I stepped with the other foot.
I was now floating in midair.
An amazing sensation I’d never felt before.
But I quickly lost balance and fell to the ground.
It wasn’t because the 5-second duration ended.
“...Guess I need some practice.”
Using it for real was trickier than expected.
It wasn’t as simple as just stepping into the air.
You had to infuse mana into the boots the moment you stepped, maintain it, and...
Anyway, it was hard to explain—just a bunch of tricky complexities.
“Hmm.”
But it was kinda fun.
I wanted to try again, but the 2-minute cooldown felt endless.
That’s when I sensed eyes on me from somewhere.
I turned and saw a boy who looked about six years old staring at me with sparkling eyes.
He then ran to a woman who seemed to be his mother.
“Mom! That guy was flying in the sky!”
An utterly dark space where nothing was visible.
This space, created by a special barrier, was a very special place accessible only to invited demons.
Today, the world’s top demons had gathered here for a meeting of the Ten Demon Council.
“...Is everyone here?”
A voice echoed from the darkness.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all gathered like this. Especially you, Ha-ryeong—I didn’t expect you to show.”
Ha-ryeong was infamous among demons for hating these gatherings.
The demons didn’t know the exact reason, but they guessed it was lingering loyalty to the previous king he’d served.
“‘The King’ personally summoned us. I had to come.”
Laughter echoed from somewhere at Ha-ryeong’s response.
“Finally decided to pledge loyalty to the King, huh?”
“It’s about time. Can’t keep serving a dead man forever.”
“Speaking of, that raid on the wizard academy was ridiculous. Who even planned that mess?”
One of the demons vented in frustration.
“If you don’t know, shut up. The plan was perfect. It’s just that the barrier holding the wizards broke way sooner than expected. Bad luck.”
“You trying to dodge responsibility by calling it bad luck?”
“That’s...”
“But isn’t finding the Child of Prophecy taking too long? Why not reuse the Oracle’s Altar relic?”
“Do you even know how many sacrifices it takes to use the Oracle’s Altar?”
That’s when it happened.
“Enough.”
A voice rang out from the darkness.
All the demons fell silent at once.
The voice belonged to ‘the King.’
“The raid’s failure is certainly regrettable.”
“...The plan was flawless. The Great Demon Barrier breaking that fast doesn’t make sense. It’s beyond calculation.”
The King nodded at the demon’s words.
“I understand. The Great Demon Barrier dissolving that quickly is indeed outside our calculations.”
Midterm period, when outsiders could enter.
Round up the wizards who’d interfere with the terror attack, seal them in a barrier, and identify the Child of Prophecy—that plan was perfect on paper.
The only issue was the barrier breaking far sooner than anticipated.
“So, we still haven’t figured out why the barrier dissolved so fast?”
“I have one hypothesis about that.”
“What is it?”
“Perhaps the ‘Demon-Slaying Power’ was involved in breaking the barrier.”
Every demon in the Ten Demon Council reacted with shock.
“Demon-Slaying Power?”
“Can Demon-Slaying Power affect barriers too?”
“Quiet.”
The King spoke.
“Continue. Seong-jin.”
“The barrier we set up wasn’t ordinary. It was a special one made with demon mana and ancient techniques. The world thinks S-Rank wizard Jeong Yun-seul broke it, but even she couldn’t dissolve the Great Demon Barrier that fast. Something else must have interfered—some other power.”
A demon in the darkness nodded in agreement.
“And Demon-Slaying Power is the force that slays demons. In my opinion, it could break a barrier infused with demon power.”
“...That does sound plausible. No, if not that, there’s no explaining what happened.”
Without a special power like Demon-Slaying Power intervening, the Great Demon Barrier breaking that fast was nearly impossible.
“Then the fastest way is to find out who the 18-year-old human inside the barrier was.”
“Exactly.”
“Good. Seong-jin, investigate the 18-year-old humans who were in the barrier immediately.”
A relaxing Sunday morning when everyone else was resting.
I’d been waiting since early morning at the bus stop in front of school for someone.
The morning chill hadn’t fully faded, so the air was refreshingly cool.
“Seon-woo!”
Then Yoon Ha-young called my name from afar as she approached.
I stood up and greeted her.
“Hey.”
“Yeah, hey. Wait long?”
“Nah, I just got here.”
“But why go all the way to a dungeon just to train?”
Yoon Ha-young asked, looking baffled.
“You can’t practice your hidden power anywhere else.”
“My hidden power?”
“Yeah.”
“Pfft, what’s that? Haha.”
Yoon Ha-young laughed lightly, thinking I was joking.
No point explaining—it’d make sense once we got to the dungeon and she realized her ability herself.
Time passed, and a bus arrived.
Yoon Ha-young and I boarded.
“But where’s the dungeon?”
“Bukhansan Mountain.”
“Bukhansan? How’d you find it?”
“Hmm... Good luck, I guess.”
I answered as I sat in an empty seat.
Yoon Ha-young, unsatisfied, said,
“Come on, how do you ‘luck into’ finding a dungeon?”
“Really. I got lucky.”
This wasn’t a lie.
I’d truly stumbled upon the Bukhansan dungeon by pure chance.
Obviously, since I’d found it back when I was a C-Rank wizard before regressing.
“...Okay?”
She gave me a suspicious look but nodded, having nothing more to say.
Time flew by, and we arrived at the Bukhansan area in Goyang City.
As soon as we got off the bus, Yoon Ha-young marveled.
“Wow. How’d you find a dungeon in this huge place?”
Bukhansan had hiking trails for civilians, but to find the dungeon, we had to take a different path.
Of course, those paths risked field monster encounters, so entry was generally forbidden.
But I wasn’t some helpless civilian who’d freak out at monsters, nor was I one to strictly follow rules.
“Follow me.”
“Huh? Can we go this way?”
“Yeah. No problem.”
Yoon Ha-young stared at me in disbelief.
As I hopped over the barriers, she followed belatedly.
We climbed the mountain like that.
The path wasn’t a made trail, so it was pretty rough, but both Yoon Ha-young and I could use basic body reinforcement, making it manageable.
“Hmm, where was it...”
“Ugh... My legs hurt. You sure you know?”
“Yeah. But it’s been a while, so my memory’s fuzzy.”
Yoon Ha-young narrowed her eyes.
“How long ago did you find it?”
“Like two years? Oh, over there, I think.”
A small crevice visible across the cliff face.
That’s where I’d found the dungeon before. Memories started flooding back.
“Wait here a sec.”
I focused mana in my legs, dashed forward, and used Air Walk to cross the cliff.
I’d practiced all last night, so I landed perfectly.
“Phew.”
“Wow! What was that just now?!”
Yoon Ha-young’s shocked voice came from behind.
Even I thought my move looked pretty cool.
Like aerial footwork from a wuxia novel.
But I shrugged like it was no big deal.
Time passed, and Yoon Ha-young and I entered the dungeon.
This was the dungeon for practicing Yoon Ha-young’s Demon-Slaying Power: the ‘Subduing Demon Hall 5th Entrance.’
[Entered ‘Subduing Demon Hall 5th Entrance.’]
As the name Subduing Demon Hall suggested, this dungeon was full of demon-type monsters.
Of course, Demon-Slaying Power worked on demon monsters, not just demons.
It’d be great to conquer the Subduing Demon Hall with Yoon Ha-young’s power, but at our current level, it was a bit much.
So for now, we’d use this dungeon only to practice her Demon-Slaying Power.
Of course, I planned to chip away at it bit by bit and push to the boss room when opportunities arose—but only after we’d grown more.
“It’s dark.”
Yoon Ha-young said, looking around the cave.
Like most dungeons, it was pitch black without a single light, visibility zero.
“Stay alert. Unlike artificial dungeons, these monsters are the real deal.”
“Got it.”
I didn’t know this dungeon’s danger level well.
It never appeared in the original story.
So instead of diving deep and risking it, I planned to lure and kill monsters one by one.
-Grrr...
After about ten minutes of walking, monster growls echoed from afar.
Thanks to the Evolution and Adaptation trait, I could see the hidden monster in the dark.
It had a goblin-like form,
but with a horn on its forehead and bat-like wings on its back.
A grotesque appearance that made my eyes narrow instinctively.
It was a C-Rank monster called the Green Cave Demon, known for its cruelty.
“Wait there.”
“Huh? You don’t need help?”
“Nah.”
I drew the paralysis dagger from my waist and gripped it in reverse.
With my free hand, I casually cast a spell to lure it—a basic attack.
Whoosh. Boom!
The mana orb left my hand and struck the cave demon’s shoulder.