The First Lesson
Clack!
Yoon Sang-hyuk and the others, who had been drinking for quite a while, lifted their heads.
What stood before them were the heads of a lion and a wolf. Only the heads belonged to a lion and a wolf; below the neck, they had two arms and two legs like the other demons around them. They were the kind of beastkin who had grown in rank and become demons. By the standards of the Middle Realm, they were demons much like beastfolk.
"Do you need something from us?"
When Ibrahmut asked with a fierce scowl, the lion head and the wolf head both flinched and stepped back.
"S-Sorry."
Ibrahmut, who had been thoroughly put through his paces by Yoon Sang-hyuk for a long time now, immediately backed down.
"So why are you standing there?"
The lion-headed one answered Yoon Sang-hyuk's question.
"My name is Creatin."
"I don't think I asked for your name. I asked why you're standing there. You're making such a big deal out of yourselves that I can't even drink in peace. If you've got something to say, say it. If not, do you mind moving along? I'm shy, so if someone's staring at me, I just can't drink properly."
"We heard you're heading to the Abyss of the Void."
"So?"
"Wouldn't you need a guide?"
Yoon Sang-hyuk studied the two of them for a moment before speaking.
"I heard you can just head north from here and reach the Abyss of the Void. So I figured we wouldn't really need a guide."
"Well...."
"Anything else? Then go on."
"Would you need porters?"
This time it was the wolf-headed one who spoke up. Yoon Sang-hyuk glanced around and asked, "What exactly do you think we're carrying?"
"...."
They clearly wanted to say something, but Yoon Sang-hyuk's presence pressed down on them so heavily that they couldn't get the words out. Seeing them like that, Yoon Sang-hyuk let out a small laugh. He had a fair idea why they were acting this way.
They had probably heard the rumors about the three dark elves who had recently become Demon Lords.
After guiding a human all the way to the Gray Wasteland and back, all three brothers had become Demon Lords. And even after that, they still treated the human they traveled with as though he were their master.
Everyone around them knew the Zephyr brothers had been nowhere near Demon Lord level before they served as guides, so the rumor had naturally swollen into something huge.
- A human who appeared in the Demon Realm made dark elves stronger.
"Lion head. You said your name was Creatin, right? Wolf head. What's your name?"
"Arnin."
"Arnin? Good. Creatin and Arnin. I get what you're thinking by standing there like that. I'll give you that. Those guys who became Demon Lords. Except for the second brother, Jerome, they did get stronger after meeting us. But that doesn't mean everyone who travels with us can become like them. No, the odds are far greater that they won't."
Creatin took one step forward.
"I won't make excuses. It's true that I hoped for that. In the Demon Realm, who wouldn't want to grow stronger while trying to survive? If you don't need porters, then please let us do whatever odd jobs you have. We can cook and prepare camp without any trouble."
"Man, you're making this difficult."
Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at Ibrahmut.
"What do you think?"
"I don't think it would be bad to have them join us."
"Why? Because you don't want to handle meal prep and camp setup yourself?"
"Hey, hyung-nim. Why do you have to say it like that? Do you really think it's because I don't want to do that?"
"Yeah. That's what it sounds like."
Ibrahmut looked offended for a moment, then quickly changed his expression.
"I'm saying that after seeing this much enthusiasm, it wouldn't be bad to let them come along."
This time Yoon Sang-hyuk looked to Valender von Graus.
"If you want my opinion, I don't mind either way."
This was not a journey marked by rank or station. It was one where everyone in the party needed to have a say.
"If I had to say anything, then like Ibrahmut said, I think the same. Their passion is hot."
"Okay. I get it."
Yoon Sang-hyuk turned to Creatin and Arnin.
"I'll say this up front: just because you follow us doesn't mean I'll teach you anything in particular. If that's what you're expecting, don't bother coming along in the first place."
"Yes, sir! Understood!"
At the two of them answering in unison, Yoon Sang-hyuk let out a small laugh and asked, "You can drink a bit, right?"
"Pardon?"
"If you're going to follow us, you'd better be good at drinking."
Yoon Sang-hyuk glanced at the table. More than a dozen empty bottles from the strongest liquor sold in the tavern were lined up on it. Creatin and Arnin, realizing what he meant, shouted together once more.
"We'd drink it if we could get it!"
"Good. Pass."
When Yoon Sang-hyuk nodded toward an empty chair, one of them quickly pulled it over and joined them.
Then the demons scattered throughout the tavern began to rise to their feet. Every one of them wore a grim expression. Just as they were about to take their first steps, Yoon Sang-hyuk spoke in a cool voice.
"Is the rumor true? Can you really get stronger if you travel with them? What if that human refuses us?"
As soon as he began speaking, the demons who had been about to move froze in place.
"What if I speak to him first and end up getting humiliated? No. Better to wait. Someone else will talk to him eventually. I'll watch the situation then and try my luck."
Yoon Sang-hyuk filled Creatin and Arnin's cups to the brim.
"I don't need spineless trash who don't even have the nerve to speak first, so don't bother me and just sit back down where you are and keep drinking."
* * *
A huge carriage rolled out of Citrine's estate.
It was the very carriage Yoon Sang-hyuk and his party rode in. Just as they had during their expedition to the Gray Wasteland, four massive beastly creatures resembling horses were pulling it. Arnin sat on the driver's seat, while Creatin was inside the carriage with Yoon Sang-hyuk and the others.
Creatin stared blankly at Yoon Sang-hyuk and Ibrahmut.
Snap!
"Aaaagh! Hyung-nim! I think my skull cracked!"
"You're faking it too much. The first Balrog, the Lord of Flames, and all that sounds impressive, but you're just a clumsy fool."
"Hyung-nim's forehead flick can annihilate a Demon Lord in one shot.... I'm impressive for enduring this many hits."
"Is that so? Now that's nice to hear. Then let's keep going."
"H-Haha. Hyung-nim?"
The moment they left Demon Lord Citrine's estate, Yoon Sang-hyuk and Ibrahmut started doing something incomprehensible. They held their hands out and faced each other in a game using hand signs. At first, Creatin watched with full concentration, thinking they were about to do something extraordinary.
But....
The result of those meaningless hand motions was nothing more than....
Snap!
"Gah! That one really cracked. Didn't you hear it just now?"
"Then stop. I've hit you enough already, so it doesn't matter to me."
"Ugh, no. We can't stop. I need to land one too."
They were flicking each other in the forehead with their fingers.
As he kept watching, Creatin finally understood the meaning behind the hand signs. If you curled your fingers into a fist, you beat an extended thumb and index finger. But if you opened your hand fully, you lost. It was simple, yet the winner was decided clearly.
What was even more shocking was that despite more than a few dozen rounds against Ibrahmut, Yoon Sang-hyuk had never lost once.
Smack!
"Aaaagh!"
"H-Hyung-niiiim...."
Smack!
The hand game and Ibrahmut's screams went on in repetition.
"What? You want to try too?"
Yoon Sang-hyuk asked Creatin, who was looking at him. Creatin jolted and shook his head violently.
"Absolutely not."
For the first Balrog, Ibrahmut, to scream like that and forget all dignity meant there was no question what would happen if he took one of those hits. He would simply disappear.
"I'll go easy. Come on."
"No, I'm fine."
"Man, you're no fun. This is so entertaining."
Creatin gave an awkward smile. It did look entertaining. The problem was that only one person seemed to be having any fun.
* * *
The carriage came to a stop.
Creatin hurried down and began setting up camp. He had said he'd do whatever was asked of him, and he had meant it; working with Arnin, he finished the camp preparations at impressive speed.
He lit the fire and began cooking with the ingredients Yoon Sang-hyuk had given him. Ibrahmut sat on a nearby rock, irritatingly hounding them along. If these two hadn't joined them, Ibrahmut would have been the one doing all of this now.
It wasn't long before the meal was ready.
"Your skills are pretty good."
Honestly, Yoon Sang-hyuk hadn't expected much. But the cooking was better than he had imagined. Of course, compared with the food they had eaten on the expedition to the Gray Wasteland, it still fell short. Back then, Zeronia had cooked, and after the Ariane clan joined them, they had taken over the cooking. All of them had been excellent cooks.
"Thank you."
Creatin and Arnin both smiled brightly. It was only cooking, but being acknowledged by Yoon Sang-hyuk left them almost giddy.
"Ibrahmut."
"Yes, hyung-nim."
"They're doing a lot of the work for you, so shouldn't you repay them somehow?"
"Repay them? Ah!"
As if he understood immediately, Ibrahmut nodded and then addressed Creatin and Arnin in an uncharacteristically solemn tone.
"After we eat, I'll make time before bed and teach you a thing or two."
"Th-thank you."
"We're really grateful."
Both of them sprang to their feet and bowed deeply to Yoon Sang-hyuk.
"It's nothing that big...."
Yoon Sang-hyuk took two black jewels from his subspace and tossed them to Ibrahmut.
"Oh-ho. Again?"
He had wiped out the Demon Lords while clearing the Demon King's Castle, the final quest on Earth. Those were two of the essences of the Demon Lords he had obtained as loot then. He had once given one of the ones he possessed to Zephyr.
"Come to think of it, hyung-nim, you're really too much. Why don't you ever give me one?"
"Want one? Would it help if I gave you one?"
"Well, not really, but.... it's the feeling, isn't it?"
Ibrahmut had long since exceeded the level where simply absorbing dark energy would make him stronger. If he decided to become a Demon Lord right this instant, he was a powerhouse who would at minimum land within the top twenty ranks.
"Teach them well."
As he spoke, something seemed to occur to him, and he looked toward Valender von Graus.
"Valend. Want to teach one too? You said it before, didn't you? When you teach someone, there are things you gain from it."
"Hmm. It's not so much for the sake of gaining something, but.... I would like to try teaching. Who uses a sword?"
Arnin raised his hand.
"I'll teach that one."
"Very well. Then I'll teach this one."
Yoon Sang-hyuk smiled brightly.
"Just teaching would be boring, so let's make it interesting and have a little wager."
At the word wager, Ibrahmut's eyes gleamed.
"We teach them for the same length of time. Then we duel. The one who loses...."
He smiled widely at Ibrahmut.
"Gets slapped on the forehead a hundred times."