Skeletons Invade the Demon Realm
The day after the tournament ended.
Mu-hyuk logged into the game and headed straight for the Weibra Empire.
He was waiting in line at the mercenary guild with Sung Min-woo to pick up a commission when an NPC who looked like a noble approached, flanked by attendants.
"Your championship prize."
"Ah."
Mu-hyuk took the small box from him.
"And this..."
The noble handed over a nameplate as well.
"It's from Count Amur."
"A nameplate?"
"Yes, it should prove useful."
Mu-hyuk immediately checked it out.
◈ In the Hemil Empire, purchase all items at 20% reduced prices and sell all items at 20% increased prices.
◈ Grants access to the capital city.
◈ Allows acceptance of special commissions at the empire's mercenary guild.
Mu-hyuk's eyes lit up.
He didn't care about the rest.
Just one thing.
Special commissions?
Mu-hyuk looked up at the noble and gave a slight bow.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They exchanged greetings, and the noble departed.
Mu-hyuk stowed the nameplate in his inventory and opened the box.
A single ring lay inside.
"This it?"
"Yeah."
"Kinda weird-looking ring, huh?"
It looked like it was shaped after a demon.
"It's got style, though."
"Not bad, I guess? Shiny enough. But is this really that great an item?"
"Yeah."
"What're the options?"
"Defense +15 to start."
"Ooh!"
"Magic defense +20."
"Nice!"
"MP +200."
"Ugh, yeah!"
"MP recovery +80."
"Whoa!"
Sung Min-woo's reactions were hilarious.
Mu-hyuk stifled a chuckle.
Now for the real kicker.
"All stats +10."
"Huh...?"
"All stats +10."
"N-no way. For real?"
"Yeah."
"On just a ring?"
"And summon stats +5%."
Sung Min-woo staggered.
"You're kidding."
"One more."
"Another option?"
"Yeah."
"W-wait. Hoo, haa."
"What're you doing?"
"Gotta breathe deep. Okay, ready. Hit me. I won't freak out no matter what."
Mu-hyuk glanced at the 13th Ring of Balak in his hand.
The final option.
This was why he'd chosen it.
"Summon Demon Realm Transfer."
"Hm?"
Sung Min-woo tilted his head.
"What's that weird option mean?"
"See for yourself."
Sung Min-woo touched the ring.
The options popped up.
He skipped the ones Mu-hyuk had mentioned and tapped the special one at the bottom: Summon Demon Realm Transfer. A new hologram appeared.
Allows sending summons to the Demon Realm. There, they act autonomously, and a portion of the experience gained can be converted into stats.
Confusion flickered in Sung Min-woo's eyes.
"Demon Realm?"
Then the rest sank in, and he realized this ring was no ordinary item.
Sending summons to the Demon Realm and converting their experience to stats? The longer you played, the more broken this would get.
Anyone who knew the game even a little would see it.
"......"
Sung Min-woo was speechless.
"What do you think?"
"This is busted!"
"Told you I wanted it as the prize."
"Whoa."
Mu-hyuk reviewed the description again, leaving the stunned Sung Min-woo behind.
There was a catch, of course. "Convert experience to stats" sounded great on its own.
But dig deeper, and you'd tilt your head.
What ratio?
No mention of the most crucial part.
And worse: weak summons couldn't farm experience there.
Demon Realm bugs were level 100 minimum.
"Summon."
Mu-hyuk eyed his summons.
"Summon Demon Realm Transfer."
A massive map appeared.
Please select the summons to transfer.
Mu-hyuk selected all of them, naturally.
Please select the transfer region.
Demon Realm creatures were tough. Picking the right zone was critical. Bad luck into a powerful demon's turf, and they couldn't hunt a single mob.
No experience, no stats.
He focused, sharpening fuzzy memories to pick the spot with weaker lifeforms.
He'd hunted there before, so roughly...
High odds, anyway.
Mu-hyuk tapped a spot on the map.
Demon Realm F11 Region.
Once selected, the location cannot be changed.
Proceed with transfer?
[Yes/No]
He hesitated briefly.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Transferring the summons."
"Ah."
Mu-hyuk snapped to and nodded.
Fine, it was a gamble anyway.
He reached out and selected Yes.
Summons transferred to Demon Realm F11 Region.
A flash, and the skeletons vanished.
*
The skeletons, now in the Demon Realm.
Transferred to the Demon Realm.
A portion of lost reason returns.
Strength returned to their eye sockets.
Unlike their usual dead stares, only obeying orders, they were awakening.
Burtan grasped the situation first.
He stepped forward, taking in the vast plain.
-Minds clear?
Burtan turned, clacking his jaw at the others.
Kirrik? Kikik.
Clack, clatter.
Hydra and the Armor Skeletons stirred next, mimicking him.
-Clear.
-Feels off.
They began communicating.
Burtan eyed the plain again.
Clack, clatter.
-Master sent us here.
-Know.
-We need to grow strong here.
-How?
No one had an answer.
Weeeing.
A fist-sized bug flew in from afar.
Close now, but no one cared about one bug.
Big mistake. The damage was no joke.
-Urk!
-Guh!
Green dust from the bug melted most Bone Swords, save the Armored ones.
Even Armor Skeletons took hits but endured thanks to tough bones, retreating fast.
-What the?
-Fall back first.
The Armor Skeletons pulled away.
The bug pursued.
Burtan advanced, jaws wide.
Ki wave unleashed.
Armor Mage fired spells, Armor Archer loosed bone arrows.
Boom. Kaboom!
The bug didn't flinch.
Armor Knights and Cavalry closed in, swinging weapons.
Low HP—it died quick.
-Handled.
But just the start.
Ten more bugs swarmed from afar.
Meanwhile.
Mu-hyuk, having sent his summons, chatted with Sung Min-woo about the nameplate.
"This lets you grab hidden quests, right?"
"No, special commissions."
"Same diff."
"Anyway, thoughts?"
"Not bad. Nah, straight-up amazing. Sucks we miss Weibra contributions, but Duke Amur handing this over means he can open his warehouse as compensation, yeah?"
"Exactly."
"Then sweep special commissions? Better rewards, stack 'em up, cash in with the duke. Best play."
Mu-hyuk agreed.
Stick to one empire for contributions usually, but with Hemil's nameplate, switching paid off.
"Plus, he's a duke, right?"
Higher than Count Kairon.
"Head there?"
"Deal."
Decision made, they warped to Hemil Empire.
At the central plaza, they hit the left-side mercenary guild.
Plenty of users in line—not short of Weibra's.
"Our turn."
"Yeah."
Mu-hyuk checked his Demon Realm summons while waiting.
All Summons: Alive
All alive still.
Hm?
Status shifted.
Bone Swords: All Reverse Summoned
Bone Bows: All Reverse Summoned
Mages: All Reverse Summoned
Already hit monsters.
Damn.
Reverse summon in Demon Realm meant 24 hours cooldown. Regretfully, he monitored the survivors.
Summon Experience Gained
They'd killed something.
Good!
Mu-hyuk clenched his fist.
Right zone for hunting, luckily.
Check it.
Current Summon Experience: 500
Convert to stats?
[Yes/No]
He picked Yes.
Experience insufficient.
Cannot convert to stats.
Mu-hyuk nodded.
As expected.
No disappointment—he'd figured as much. Time would fix it.
Dreaming of the future, a soft smile on his face, Mu-hyuk snapped to at footsteps.
"Excuse me."
Someone approached.
A mercenary guild NPC.
"Are you the owner of this nameplate?"
Sung Min-woo shook his head at the question.
"Nah, that's my buddy here."
"Ah, apologies."
Mu-hyuk took the nameplate he'd handed Sung Min-woo and eyed the NPC.
"What's up?"
"Saw you had the plate but still in line, so..."
Mu-hyuk tilted his head.
"Holders skip the line."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. Here for commissions?"
"Yep."
"Follow me, then."
Sung Min-woo grinned at Mu-hyuk.
"Dude, OP. No waiting?"
"Guess so."
Mu-hyuk hadn't known that part.
"Sweet anyway."
Time saved.
Following the NPC inside, they entered a side room and sat in prepared chairs.
"One moment."
Even tea, then documents.
"Take your time. All special commissions."
"Thanks."
VIP treatment.
"Pick one each we like."
"Cool."
They reviewed carefully.
Hunting quests dominated, but others too.
One stood out: player capture quests with fat rewards.