107. The Strongest in the Eastern Demon Realm

If I had to pick the best skill I'd acquired after Floor 9, it'd be Mana Control. Ah, but Mana Reinforcement, one of the Warrior's three divine skills, didn't count since I'd mastered it on my own before it became a skill. And the ridiculously overpowered Steel Heart was classified as a trait, so that was an exception too.

Anyway, Mana Control is the skill considered equivalent to the Warrior's three divine skills for the Mage class. At its core, it's the ultimate high-level skill that combines all the essential Mage abilities like Mana Resonance, Mana Detection, and Mana Operation into one. Ever since acquiring it, I've been able to manipulate the mana flowing through me completely at will. Not just my own mana, but even the mana drifting in the atmosphere—I can sense it and move it however I want.

I'm still a Warrior class, but now I possess mana manipulation and detection abilities that surpass most Mages. And from my perspective, the environment of this Demon Realm and the demon race itself were utterly insane. The atmosphere overflowing with an absurd amount of mana, and the demon race—a lunatic species that absorbs and grows with it from birth. Calling this the Demon Realm is putting it mildly; it's more like a factory mass-producing living magical weapons. And the pinnacle of that factory's output: the three "unkillable" demons guarding each checkpoint.

"There's no way a guy like that could be that weak?"

As I walked toward the next checkpoint, that thought kept nagging at me. The red demon I'd just killed off seemed way too weak. Its actual combat prowess hadn't even come close to what I'd gauged from its mana. Either it had underestimated me to the very end and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never used its full power, or I'd completely misjudged the opponent. One of the two. Personally, I hoped it was the former. The latter would mean a whole slew of problems—not just that there was no real challenge on Floor 14 worth clashing with, but also that I was misreading their strength.

So please, let this next gatekeeper show me something on a whole different level. At my current growth rate, clearing up to Floor 100 would be a breeze, but my goal lay beyond that.

"Halt."

I'd arrived at the second checkpoint. This time, a blue-skinned demon blocked my path. Unlike the red one before, it had no wings, and the horn protruding from its forehead was different—sharp and gleaming like a gem. If the previous guy's horn was the classic "devil horn," this one felt more like a unicorn horn. It was also smaller in stature and build, with less muscle mass, giving off an intellectual vibe.

But the sheer volume of mana it held was enormous. A Mage type, no doubt.

"To pass this checkpoint, you must answer three riddles."

Oh right, this one's method of clearing was puzzle-solving. A brainpower type. Of course, with all the info already public on the open community, there was no need to rack my brain.

"Fine. The answer is this."

I boldly drew my sword right in front of the blue demon. For the record, it hadn't even posed the riddles yet.

"I don't care what riddle you're gonna throw at me. A sword always knows the answer."

Ferocious mana swirled around me once more.

A massive orb of mana formed above the blue demon's head. It wriggled on its own before spitting out fireballs, ice spears, and lightning bolts. It seemed to be an attack spell that condensed pure mana into a lump, then altered its attributes on the fly.

-Boom!

-KABOOM!

-Crack!

The blazing fireballs slammed into me, detonating with massive force. The ice spears shot toward me with overwhelming power. Lightning poured down like rain, relentlessly striking my body and turning the surroundings into a field of black ash in an instant.

But even with all that magic, the demon couldn't stop me—a guy charging in with just a single sword—for even a moment.

"What the hell is this, a joke?"

Tanking every attack barehanded, I closed the distance in one go and cleaved into its shoulder.

-Slash!

I jammed my sword into its left shoulder, twisting it up to the ribcage before yanking it outward, ripping open its entire upper left side. A fatal wound that would've killed anything but a demon outright. Only then did it finally draw its horn. Six horns— one fewer than the red demon before. This one was also a rank above the boss.

"Kukuku... To force even Latol of the Blue to draw his horns. There was no one in the Eastern Demon Realm on your level..."

The red one had claimed to be the strongest in the West, and this guy apparently held the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠title in the East. Why top-tier demons like these were playing gatekeeper was a mystery, but maybe it was just their culture.

"You know the last guy who said something similar got one-shot?"

"What...? You mean Galthal of the previous checkpoint?"

"Yeah, the red prick. So don't get cocky—come at me for real if you don't wanna die."

At my words, the blue demon scowled and began leaking vast amounts of mana. Impressive as hell. Of course—guys with this much mana couldn't possibly be that weak. It'd show its true power this time, right?

-Whirr!

Another mana orb formed above the demon's head. The momentum and mana it contained were leagues beyond the first. That seemed to be its main fighting style. The orb morphed again, unleashing a barrage of multicolored spells.

-Boom!

-KABOOM!

-KWABOOM!

A torrent of dazzling magic rained down on me, completely leveling the already wrecked surroundings. Impressive spells, no doubt—powerful, precise, with no weak points. The variety of attributes made it tough to counter without comprehensive resistances like mine. No wonder challengers couldn't brute-force past with combat. It was genuinely that strong.

But I couldn't hide my disappointment. Sure, it exceeded Floor 14 standards, but was this all?

"What the hell? This half-assed crap."

Compared to the mana it had, it couldn't possibly top out here.

A moment later, the blue demon lay at my feet, its body hacked to pieces and mangled. This time, to see its full hand, I'd deliberately avoided killing blows, smashing it bit by bit. I'd even let attacks graze me to rack up injuries, hoping to witness its maximum output in a near-death state.

But to the end, it only mustered pathetic combat power relative to its mana and croaked.

"Am I the problem here?"

Was I misjudging their strength? Had I overhyped them based on mana volume alone? Maybe they were born with such overwhelming mana that they never developed efficient ways to use it. No individual rewards since they weren't boss mobs—just trash. This was getting ridiculous.

"Or maybe there's some hidden lore."

I opened the open community and started meticulously searching for info on the Demon Realm and demons. I'd already dug deep back on Floor 13 for hidden elements, but maybe I'd missed something.

Most results were stuff I'd read before, with no real explanation for the demons' weird weakness. Hardly anyone from later generations had tried brute-forcing them anyway.

Oh yeah, when they introduced themselves, they'd dropped unfamiliar terms: Western Demon Realm, Eastern Demon Realm, 23rd Demon King, Crimson, Blue, that sort of thing.

"Maybe there's something there."

I started fresh searches centered on those keywords. I also posted a bounty thread.

Comments rolled in fast, as usual. Mostly stuff like "how tf did u do it u madlad."

My posts always kicked off with a flood of shocked reactions. Give it time, and useful info would trickle in.

While searching with the new keywords from my bounty, I finally hit on a promising lead.