Chapter 194
Chapter 194
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Request (1)
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A few days later, Demian and his family were able to leave the city and return to Spring Castle.
“Finally, we’re back!”
“There’s no place like home.”
“You’re right.”
The moment they arrived, the entire family let out sighs of relief.
It had been great seeing the famous Starlight Jellyfish up close, but they’d gotten caught up in some bizarre incident.
“We almost had a real disaster on our hands…”
“Why did something like that have to happen right when we were there…?”
So much had gone wrong.
There was that massive explosion outside the city out of nowhere, then a fire giant showed up.
Just when the chaos seemed to die down, the Holy Order appeared and started investigating people under the pretext of rooting out heretics.
But what shocked the family the most was the truth behind the commotion outside the city.
“A grand black mage, a Master Class, and even a demon fighting it out…”
They’d come this close to the whole family—and everyone in the city—getting swept up in it and dying.
“But it all ended without any real harm done.”
“Indeed. No one got hurt, and we’re all safe.”
“And the festival was fun.”
The family exchanged smiles as they looked at one another.
Demian had stepped back a bit to watch them.
He didn’t say it out loud, but he felt the exact same way.
It was truly a relief that everyone had come through unscathed.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Demian spotted Victor pulling a sullen face.
“Hey, man, what’s with the long face? You’re not unhappy to be home, are you?”
“As if. I was just thinking about what the Holy Order put me through.”
Demian let out a short sigh at Victor’s words. It made sense that Victor would still be pissed about it.
It had happened the day after the uproar.
Soldiers from the Holy Order had been patrolling the city, searching for someone.
- Anyone know this masked man?
- Has anyone heard the name Victor?
The soldiers started asking around, showing sketches of a masked man and inquiring about the name Victor.
- Huh? Did you say Victor?
The problem was that Victor had reacted to what the soldiers said.
- That’s my name.
- …Your name’s Victor?
- Yes, it is.
The soldiers glanced at each other and whispered.
- Looks like some country bumpkin. No way this guy’s our Victor.
- Just a coincidence with the name. Victor’s pretty common, right?
- Damn it, where the hell did that firewood-chopping Victor disappear to?
- Huh? How did you know my nickname is Firewood-Chopping Victor?
All the soldiers turned to stare at Victor.
- Your nickname’s Firewood-Chopping Victor?
- Yes.
- Seize him.
- Wh-what? Why are you doing this all of a sudden?!
- Suspicious bastard. Take him to the inquisitor right now.
Victor’s face went pale at the mention of the inquisitor.
- W-wait a second! Y-Young master! S-save me!
Fortunately, Demian stepped in and cleared things up, so Victor was released quickly.
- G-greetings to Sir Demian!
- We didn’t realize this man was Sir Demian’s servant… We’ve committed a grave offense!
The soldiers freaked out the moment they heard Demian’s name.
Demian said it was fine and tried to leave, but things in the world rarely went that smoothly.
- Please wait just a moment!
- The Holy Knights want to give their regards to Sir Demian!
- We’ll fetch the Holy Knights right away!
No sooner had the soldier run off than the Holy Knights came rushing over in a group. Perpetuo was among them.
- Sir Demian! Thank you so much for your help!
- Thanks to you, we were able to track down Hedoniac’s location!
Demian had to endure their thanks and praise for over half a day before he could finally get away.
“To mistake a good soul like me for some vile villain…”
Victor muttered bitterly. Demian felt a twinge of guilt deep down.
“Well, you got out of it safe and sound, so it’s all good.”
“If you hadn’t been there, young master, something horrible would’ve happened to me.”
It was true, so Demian found himself nodding without thinking.
“I’ll never forget the name Firewood-Chopping Victor for the rest of my days!”
“Y-yeah.”
Victor quietly nursed his grudge. Demian patted his shoulder a few times.
* * *
Demian left his family to rest and headed outside.
Unlike them, he couldn’t afford to relax. He still had work to do.
Demian made his way to the forest near Spring Castle. He sat down there and sorted through his thoughts.
‘The thing I was worried about actually happened.’
In terms of results, the recent battle had been a success.
Not only had they exterminated Hedoniac, but they’d taken down a demon too.
But Demian wasn’t satisfied with how it had all gone down.
‘A demon… That was unexpected.’
Ever since his regression, there had been one thing Demian constantly worried about.
Losing his family to some unforeseen event.
The reason for his anxiety stemmed from his past life.
In his previous life, he’d run into Dorgo in an unexpected place, been turned into a Death Knight, killed his entire family, and brought the world to ruin.
That was why Demian always tried to prepare for everything. His family could still get caught in some unexpected crisis, just like in his past life.
‘I really need to reach Master Class as soon as possible.’
Everything had happened because Demian wasn’t strong enough yet.
The more incidents like this, the thirstier he got. He was obsessed with the need to grow stronger and more thorough than he already was.
On top of that, he couldn’t keep relying on black magic. It put too much strain on his body, and the risk of getting found out by others was a constant hassle.
‘The problem is, at this rate, it’ll take months.’
The human body was brutally honest.
It took time and effort to temper it. Unlike mana, there were no easy shortcuts like spirit elixirs.
Demian was already faster and tougher than most thanks to the Bulseongji Radiance Pill.
Even so, his calculations showed it would take more than a few months.
‘If I push the Bulseongji Radiance Pill to its limits… No, that’s too risky a gamble.’
Back when he was Middle Class, Demian had consumed elixirs and fought a High Class.
In the midst of battle, he’d absorbed the elixir’s energy with the Bulseongji Radiance Pill and ascended to High Class.
In theory, he could do the same to reach Master Class.
But reaching Master Class required legendary elixirs.
Eating something like that mid-battle? It’d be suicide.
No point dwelling on it. Demian stopped agonizing and began his training.
* * *
From then on, Demian threw himself into training every day.
Static training was less effective with the Bulseongji Radiance Pill.
So the method he chose was summoning undead and sparring with them.
“Alright, everyone, weapons up. If you so much as touch me, you win.”
Naturally, the skeletons couldn’t lay a finger on him and got smashed to pieces.
“What’re you waiting for? Restore yourselves.”
Demian kept reconstructing the skeletons every time they broke.
As a result, they got pulverized several times a day.
A few skeletons suggested other training methods, but it was no use.
“I get to train, and you guys rack up experience. Win-win, right?”
The skeletons had it better than Domenico and Miya, at least.
“Man, it’s nice that you two don’t die.”
With that, Demian battered them mercilessly with a wooden sword.
Limbs flying off was nothing. Heads vanished too.
Since they were already dead, it didn’t hurt. The problem was doing this more than ten times a day.
Finally, Domenico couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up to Demian.
- M-my liege… C-could you let us rest a bit?
“Rest? Undead whining about luxuries. Shut it and grab your sword.”
It fell on deaf ears, of course.
Demian had his reasons. Their potential was extraordinary.
He was keeping them around specifically to draw out as much of it as possible.
“Kyah! Kyaaang! Kyang!”
One day, Miya protested fiercely. Why was she the only one getting pummeled when Chunky got to sit it out?
“That one grows stronger just sitting there.”
Chunky was just a playful pup normally, but in the future, it would become the Beast of Ruin.
In fact, among Demian’s current undead, Chunky was already the strongest. In the recent battle, it had dominated a mid-tier spirit.
What Chunky needed wasn’t experience or training. It would grow stronger on its own with time.
“Got it? Let’s go again.”
“Kyaang…”
While Demian was immersed in training like this one day,
a guest arrived at the Haksen Count manor.
“Sir Demian, it’s been a while.”
Liam Bluegreen.
One of the only three High Class in the Apple Kingdom had come to visit Demian.
“What brings you here, Lord Bluegreen?”
Demian greeted him with a surprised look.
Demian was far superior in skill, but Liam Bluegreen was a marquis of the Apple Kingdom.
Moreover, he was the only High Class in the kingdom who remained loyal to the royal family.
From the Haksen Count family’s perspective, he was no guest to be taken lightly.
And so Demian observed proper etiquette.
“I came with a request.”
“What might that be?”
“Well…”
Liam Bluegreen hesitated for a long moment before speaking to Demian.
“Any thoughts of heading to the Empire?”