Chapter 19

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 19

Chapter Title: Rock Guardian

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Truth be told, up until the moment he'd just created Ddol Ddoli, Ian hadn't harbored any real doubts about it.

Even when Ddol Ddoli had been smashing trolls, ogres, and whatever else without discrimination.

If it was a golem—the dream artificial lifeform that every alchemist yearned to create—wasn't it only natural for it to be strong?

And on top of that, he'd engraved magic circles all over it with his unmatched magical prowess, so Ian hadn't entertained a shred of suspicion.

But now, he couldn't help but question Ddol Ddoli.

'What the hell is this thing?'

What was it, really.

How could it beat a demon like it was tenderizing dried squid?

And the real kicker was Ddol Ddoli's expression.

A face so innocently beaming, like it was begging for praise.

It didn't seem to have the slightest awareness of what it had just done.

"Good job, Ddol Ddoli. That really was a bad guy."

Ddol Ddoli got all excited at the praise and started stomping the ground with booming thuds.

The rag—no, the demon—in its hand flapped around like wet laundry. A truly memorable sight.

'Are Stone Golems supposed to be this strong by default?'

No, definitely not.

If Stone Golems were this powerful, why would every genius in the world chase after becoming a mage instead of an alchemist?

'Did I accidentally create a monster?'

Even Ian had to admit that was somewhat true.

If the owner of that stone fist that pulverized a troll in one second wasn't a monster, what was?

But even so, he hadn't designed it to be transcendent enough to pummel demons.

So what was it, then?

It wasn't originally that strong as a Stone Golem, nor had he intended such monstrous performance from the start. How was this possible?

No matter how he thought about it, there was only one answer.

'How many levels has this thing gained?!'

How many monsters had it killed to get like this?

Ian called up Ddol Ddoli's information for the first time in ages.

Almost nothing had changed.

Except for the new Demonic Energy Detection skill.

That meant the real changes were in the detailed stats...

'Wait, hold on.'

Ian rubbed his eyes.

Had he seen that wrong?

The species name definitely hadn't been Stone Golem...

[Species: Rock Guardian]

"Rock Guardian?"

What the hell was that?

'Why not Stone Golem?'

Had it evolved or something?

When?

'How did it evolve without me knowing... Oh. Right, I turned off notifications.'

Even in his past life, Ian always kept his phone on silent.

He didn't want to deal with constant monster kill alerts popping up in this life either, so he'd disabled them...

Apparently, it had evolved in the meantime.

Impressive, Ddol Ddoli!

How many monsters had it slaughtered to evolve like that!

"Ddoli. Mind putting that down?"

Ddol Ddoli set down the rag—no, the demon—in front of Ian.

"Groooan..."

The demon writhed violently, groaning.

It must have been gripped so tightly it couldn't move. Now that it was free, it was squirming like mad.

"Y-You... I'll get revenge... no matter wha..."

But the demon started crawling desperately, muttering under its breath.

It still had the strength to move, huh.

"Ddoli. Make sure it can't move."

Ddol Ddoli looked around, picked up a massive boulder, and dropped it right on the demon's body. The pinned demon let out a scream.

"Gaaaahhh!"

"Ugh, shut up already. Can't just slap a Silence spell on you."

Silence would quiet it down, but then he couldn't question it either.

Since it wouldn't be able to speak.

"Y-You dare! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Do you even know who I am, to commit such insolence?!"

"Who else? A demon."

"Grr, you insolent—!"

Tch, acting all high and mighty like an imperial noble.

"If I had my full power, I'd crush vermin like you in an instant!"

The demon trembled in rage. Ian smirked and asked,

"Oh yeah? So you're not at full strength right now?"

"That's right!"

"What percent are you at?"

"Wh-What?"

"How much of your original power do you have left?"

"Hmph. Don't be shocked. I'm at a mere 20% of my true power!"

"Oh ho. That's pretty strong."

Ian said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that, but he thought otherwise.

'Only 20%... Definitely a low-tier demon.'

Even giving it the benefit of the doubt, it was at best a lesser demon.

Of course, even lesser demons were a handful for humans.

"If the Crimson Blood Ritual had been completed properly, this never would've happened, right?"

Ian taunted. The demon flinched in surprise.

"Human... How do you know about that?"

"I've played the game."

"What? What does tha—"

"Whatever. Where'd you hide your core?"

"My core?"

"Yeah. Where's your true body? The one holding the source of your life."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. True body?"

A puzzled look crossed the demon's face. It seemed genuinely clueless. But Ian didn't buy it.

"Don't wanna talk? Fine. I was willing to let you live, but oh well."

Ian snapped his fingers. Time to try a skill he'd never used before.

Light swirled, forming a tiny figure. It was Lara.

"Huh? Where's... Oh, Sir Ian! You summoned me!"

"Yeah. I need your abilities."

"Anywhere Sir Ian needs me, I'll go!"

Lara puffed out her chest proudly. She adapted to the sudden surroundings instantly, as if she instinctively knew she could be summoned.

"Ugh, what a foul stench. This is demonic energy! Where's this nasty stuff comi—Gasp! A demon!"

"Right. You know what it is."

"Such an evil demon! Bad demon!"

Lara shuddered, her face flushing red as she pointed accusingly. Ian found her reaction odd.

'Why the over-the-top response?'

Demons were shocking, sure, but this was next level.

It was like she was staring down her mortal enemy.

'Must be because she's a spirit soul.'

Holy spirits and demons were natural opposites.

"Sir Ian! This demon is from the Devil Tribe! They can extract and hide their life source, and you have to destroy that source to kill them!"

"I know."

"Whoa, you already knew? As expected of Sir Ian!"

Ian suddenly wondered.

'How does she know about the Devil Tribe?'

He knew from playing the game, but Lara? She shouldn't know about devils or tribes.

Demons weren't even that well-known in the human world.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

So how?

'Did the elves tell her? Or did she know originally?'

He'd ask later.

"Lara. You know Holy Magic, right?"

"Yes! I do!"

"Perfect. Blast this thing with a good dose of Holy Magic."

"Got it!"

Lara grinned and spun in the air. Sparkling particles fell from her tiny body, gathering into a radiant glow.

"Gaaaahhh!"

The demon thrashed like a rabid dog.

"It hurts! It hurts too much!"

The light beam shot off like an arrow.

"Found it! It's that way!"

Ian's jaw dropped. He'd just planned to threaten it with holy magic as a counterforce, but it pinpointed the location instantly...

'Our Lara's amazing.'

He wanted to ruffle her hair like crazy, but held back. There were eyes watching, after all.

"Alright. Let's go. Ddol Ddoli, carry that bad guy and follow. Lena, you too."

"Y-Yes? Yes, sir!"

Ian took the lead. The area was dark with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demonic energy, but the Light of Pursuit served as a guide, making it easy to follow.

After about five minutes, they arrived.

It was a cave. A pitch-black one.

Inside lay countless corpses in black robes.

The floor was soaked in so much blood it made your nose wrinkle.

'Crimson Blood Ritual, as expected.'

Crimson Blood Ritual. One of many rites to summon demons.

This was the site where it had been performed.

'The ritual activated, and the demon was summoned for real.'

But since it only had 20% power, Ddol Ddoli must have barged in mid-ritual.

Thanks to its Demonic Energy Detection, it wrecked the place.

'But seriously, why summon such trash even among demons.'

There were so many strong, cool demons out there. Why this nameless scrub?

'They were in a hurry, I guess.'

Not important anyway.

What mattered was the demon's core hidden at the cave's end.

"W-Wait, human. How about we talk?"

"Talk? Let's just stay quiet and part without bad blood."

"No, a deal would be better. I'll make you a great offer. Ri-Right, money! Humans love money. How about cash?"

"Nah, I'm good. Got plenty."

"Power! What about power?!"

"Don't need it. Got a great job."

"Th-Then, yes! I'll give you all the women in the world!"

"Tempting..."

"See! So listen to my offer. Instead of going further..."

"Nah, changed my mind."

"Why?!"

"You don't have that kind of pull."

A low-tier demon like this? No way. It was bottom-rung even in the demon world.

"Just die quietly. You'll die eventually anyway—think of it as a little early."

"Gaaaah!"

Chatting idly as they advanced, they soon reached the end. There it was.

In the dead-end, atop a raised altar: a gem.

Deep red with black smoke swirling inside—a vile thing that looked ominous just to behold.

Ian snatched it up. A squishy sensation filled his hand.

"Ugh, what the hell's this texture."

And sticky too. It pulsed like a heartbeat. Revolting to the touch.

"Gaaaah! Let go! Drop th—"

Splat!

He crushed it. The Demon Life Stone shattered, splattering crimson blood everywhere. The demonic energy inside dispersed like smoke.

'Whoa, EXP.'

Three levels at once? Impressive.

Ian reflexively dumped all bonus stats into Magic Power, snapped his fingers, and cast a spell.

Emergency casting without incantation deployed a translucent barrier around them.

Double mana cost for emergency cast, but it was reliable.

'This'll contain the life force leak.'

Now, extraction time.

Spare soul stones he'd made on the side were essential, of course.

'It's working!'

Ian trembled. Extracting a demon's soul for real!