Chapter 115
Chapter 115
Translation: godtl
Platinum-rank Debut Match (3)
A wasteland so desolate that not a trace of vitality could be found.
Upon that ashen earth.
Thud!
With a rough sound, clouds of gray soil kicked up into the air.
"Damn it all!"
A bronze-skinned man pounded the ground in frustration.
Wearing a turban characteristic of Arab culture, his handsome beard contrasted sharply with the scowl on his face.
"Of all the monsters to run into!"
He sprinted across the ashen wasteland, legs pumping relentlessly.
One.
Boom.
"Gaaah!"
"Kuh-huk!"
A heavy impact reverberated, followed by the familiar screams of his comrades.
The man's companions had fallen.
'Haman and Ibrahim already?!'
Knowing full well how skilled his comrades were, he poured even more strength into his legs—but that was all he could do.
Boom.
"Tch!"
Another tremor shook the earth, and the oppressive weight bearing down on his shoulders forced him to halt his escape.
Straining against the force pressing against his entire body, the man—
"Damn it...!"
—barely managed to turn his head.
"Tsk, you guys sure know how to run."
There, a strikingly handsome man with sharp features was approaching.
"Quick on the uptake, aren't you? Well, I guess that's expected if you made it this far."
With an annoyed sigh, the man—Si-mun—roughly ran a hand through his disheveled hair before clenching his fist.
Hum.
A dark energy coalesced around his clenched fist.
Having witnessed its destructive power multiple times already—
"Shit!"
The face beneath the turban turned deathly pale.
But he, too, was a prodigy hailed as one of the best in his country.
"Get lost!"
In an instant, he drew the shamshir at his waist and slashed.
A clean draw cut.
Given that curved blades were inherently suited for quick draws,
the flawless arc of his slash was already imbued with a bluish Sword Energy.
Swoosh!
It surged toward Si-mun's throat in an instant.
But.
Fwip.
As if he had been waiting for it,
Si-mun raised his clenched fist to his own throat.
Clang!
A dull metallic clang resounded as the condensed dark energy clashed with the bluish arc.
Effortlessly blocking the Sword Energy-infused slash, Si-mun shattered it and,
with utter indifference, threw a punch.
It was no different from a basic straight punch thrown by a novice martial artist.
Clang!
Yet, when it collided with the shamshir wrapped in Sword Energy, the sensation was entirely different.
How to describe it?
Like a seasoned warrior catching a child's full-force punch with one hand.
Screech!
The Sword Energy coating the shamshir let out a shriek as it met his fist.
Just as the turbaned man prepared to unleash another slash—
Si-mun took another step forward.
Boom.
"Guhk!"
With just that single step,
a heavy tremor shook the earth, and the turbaned man let out a pained cry as his knees buckled beneath him.
Si-mun looked down at him with satisfaction.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Heavenly Demon's Sovereign Step.
This footwork technique, which he had experienced firsthand during his spar with Go Mal-suk, was something he had witnessed and trained in even in his past life.
And now—
'Good thing I refined the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to 3 Stars.'
The Heavenly Demon's Sovereign Step was proving to be an immensely satisfying result.
Originally, Si-mun had planned to rely on his crafted golem for the Platinum-rank Debut Match.
But after Si-yeon's refinement,
he had raised the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to 3 Stars as a precaution.
'Cost me 10,000 Achievement Points, though. Well, it was within expected range.'
The first Star had cost 5,000 points.
The second Star was obtained as a reward for connecting Go Mal-suk to the Heavenly Demon.
So he had a rough estimate that reaching 3 Stars would cost 10,000 points or more.
'Because of that, the homunculus got delayed a bit.'
To raise the completion rate of the Obsidian Tablet from 40% to 60%, a total of 60,000 points would be needed.
Thanks to the recent enlightenment regarding human body synthesis, he had managed to raise it to 45%.
Still, the exorbitant cost of 50,000 Achievement Points remained a daunting hurdle.
Even so, spending 10,000 Achievement Points was a significant loss.
'Well, 10,000 points can be recovered by clearing missions.'
If he just cleared the missions assigned by the Constellations alongside Si-yeon, he'd earn them back in no time.
"Ugh......"
Si-mun, his entire body trembling, clenched his fist toward the turbaned man who couldn't even lift his head.
Had the man sensed it?
"You monster... You're a freak!"
Struggling against the suppression of the Heavenly Demon's Dominion, he spat out the words through gritted teeth.
"Is that so?"
Si-mun chuckled faintly, Demonic Energy coiling around his fist.
"I've never really thought about it—there are so many freaks around me, after all."
And then—
Tyrant Emperor Break.
He brought his fist down.
"This should be enough to clear the surroundings."
Brushing off his hands, Si-mun surveyed the ashen landscape.
The Chaos Realm had always been desolate, but now—
From massive craters to gaping chasms that plunged into the abyss—
The aftermath of his unleashed power had rendered it even more devastated.
Viewers who witnessed the overwhelming spectacle in real-time erupted in awe and shock.
Presumably Arab viewers frantically hurled curses at Si-mun, invoking Allah and God.
Of course—
[Manager 'Constellation Black Goat' has banned dlrjsrmwj.]
[Manager 'Constellation Black Goat' has banned emflqdlqslek.]
[Manager 'Constellation Black Goat' has banned rhkahfdlqss...]
A reliable gatekeeper swiftly purged any chat that crossed the line.
The chat erupted in cheers for Black Goat's intervention.
And rightfully so—from Platinum-rank onward, national interests often came into play, making the chat particularly volatile.
Naturally—
[Constellation Black Goat roars:"Oh? Yeah?! Call Allah! Go on, call him, I dare you!"]
'Huh?'
Completely unaware of the chat's chaos, Si-mun blinked.
'Why's Allah suddenly being brought up?'
Black Goat's fury seemed to have erupted out of nowhere.
But then again, Black Goat's unpredictable behavior was nothing new.
'Well, now that I think about it, this area did spawn a lot of Middle Eastern players.'
Hadn't every player he dealt with been from the Middle East?
Si-mun shrugged it off with a 'Well, whatever.'
Then, he turned around.
"Si-yeon."
"Hm?"
The moment he called out, a small head peeked out from behind a nearby ashen boulder.
"Daddy, all done?"
Her innocent eyes blinked up at him, and Si-mun couldn't help but smile, nodding.
"Yeah. Come here. We need to move to another area."
There's no one left to deal with here.
Swallowing the rest of his words, he scooped up Si-yeon as she came scampering over.
Holding her in his arms as she curiously glanced around, Si-mun inwardly sighed in relief.
'Good thing I went a little overboard with the force.'
What if Si-yeon had seen the corpses?
Hadn't he deliberately put extra power into his attacks to create those massive craters?
Or outright pulverized them beyond recognition?
'Though, to be honest, Si-yeon didn't seem all that shocked by corpses.'
Even when he had first dealt with Zayed and Suad, the Arab duo, she hadn't reacted much.
Si-yeon clearly showed no signs of being startled by bloody battles or corpses.
But what could he do?
"Daddy! Am I gonna go whoosh again?"
"Yeah."
He really didn't want to show such sights to this adorable child who was like his own.
"But this time, you'll have to go a bit farther. It's somewhere you can't reach just by jumping."
Si-mun nodded and raised his hand toward a nearby floating island.
He was about to transmute Hermes' shoes, which granted flight ability.
Then—
Kwaaaaaaa!
A dark energy current surged upward from the floating island Si-mun had been aiming for.
Si-mun instantly recognized what that energy was.
After all, it was something he was extremely familiar with.
"That's... Demonic Energy, isn't it?"
The moment Si-mun identified the Demonic Energy—
[A demon has appeared in the Chaos Realm.]
[Demons are a powerful race originating from the dimensional Demon Realm. Unless you are certain of victory, it is recommended to avoid them.]
A system message flashed before his eyes.
Si-mun's face twisted sharply.
It wasn't just because of the appearance of the powerful demon race.
Why are demons appearing already?
It was the timing that bothered him.
—Huh? Demons already?
—What, isn't this still the early stages?
—It's barely been 20 minutes since it started?
—Usually, it's an hour, right?
—Yeah. At the earliest, they appear around 50 minutes into the Arena.
The chat window was also flooding with questions.
On average, demons appeared about an hour after the Chaos Realm's Arena began.
But for them to show up after just 20 minutes? Naturally, it was baffling.
However, the confusion didn't last long.
"I see."
Si-mun, who had been staring into the void, gave a small nod.
"It's because of that guy, Faust."
Si-mun glanced at the Arena board.
1st — Faust: 13 kills.
2nd — Andrew Burns: 10 kills.
3rd — Kim Si-mun: 8 kills.
His eyes landed on the name "Faust" sitting in first place.
Thirteen kills... With that many, it makes sense he'd summon demons.
Faust, the black mage.
In his past life, he had been called the Demon King—naturally, he was a high-ranker with the skills to match.
A Magic Class player who wielded not only Demonic Energy, the essential stat for black mages, but also Death Energy, the core stat for necromancers.
But the current Faust was still just a promising contender participating in his Platinum Debut Match.
He wasn't yet the terrifying Demon King of his past life, but—
Tch. This is annoying.
Si-mun's expression darkened.
The reason was simple.
If this keeps up, the celestials won't stay idle either.
The Chaos Realm—
Wasn't this damn map's whole premise the battleground between celestials and demons?
Sure enough—
[The Celestial Realm has detected the movement of demons.]
[Celestials have appeared in the Chaos Realm.]
[Celestials are a powerful race originating from the dimensional Celestial Realm. Unless you are certain of victory, it is recommended to avoid them.]
System messages cascaded before Si-mun's eyes.
At the same time, far in the distance, the thick dark clouds split apart, and—
A brilliant platinum light poured down like a waterfall.
No doubt, within that radiant cascade, furious celestials were descending.
"Why the hell would you do this...?"
Faust, you were strong enough even without summoning demons.
So why pull this stupid stunt, you bastard!!
The words rose to his throat, but Si-mun swallowed them back.
Not because he was broadcasting.
Well, for him, this is probably the best scenario.
With the favor of the Diamond-tier demon race, he could breeze through the Arena.
Why bother running around when he could just coast?
And as a black mage—
He could easily earn the demons' favor just by slightly intervening in the upcoming battle against the celestials.
If he played his cards right, he might even forge connections with the Demon Realm's Constellations.
For Faust, this was undeniably the best choice.
"Si-yeon, looks like you'll have to hide over there again."
Si-mun set Si-yeon back down on the ground.
"Whyyy?"
Si-yeon tilted her head in confusion.
In response, Si-mun gently stroked her hair and spoke.
"We don't need to go anymore."
Just as he said—
Kikik!
Kyahaahaha!
The characteristically eerie laughter of demons was drawing steadily closer.
That's right.
The demons Faust had summoned were now spreading throughout the area.
'He must be trying to rack up as many kills as possible with the demons before the celestials arrive.'
Whether in his past life or now—
The bastard was cunning to a disgusting degree.
Well, that's probably why he earned the title of Demon King.
Si-mun hurriedly hid Si-yeon behind a rock—
Tap.
With a few more transmutations, he created a hideout reminiscent of a bomb shelter.
Then—
"Kyahaht! Found you!!"
"Move aside! That human is mine!"
He turned his gaze toward the demons that had already closed the distance.
'Judging by the form and appearance of their Demonic Energy... they must be low-rank demons.'
The fact that they couldn't properly harness the inherently domineering aura of Demonic Energy was one thing.
But their forms, closer to demonic beasts than humans, made it easy to guess their rank.
Of course,"low-rank" is just a label.
A single low-rank demon is considered equivalent to a Diamond-ranked player.
Well, granted, it's a player who just recently reached Diamond.
Still.
'Low-rank demons aren't a huge problem, but...'
Si-mun's gaze shifted to the demons behind the approaching low-ranks.
A few demons standing far off, arms crossed, looking down at him with arrogant eyes.
Given that their forms were closer to human than the approaching low-rank demons—
'They must be mid-rank.'
And if low-rank and mid-rank demons were pouring out like this—
'That means the demon Faust summoned is at least a high-rank...'
A high-rank demon.
A being that even Diamond-ranked players would need to form a party to face.
Or one that would require a top-tier Diamond player like the Night Hunter, Park Jin-uk, to step in.
"Tch. This is turning into a headache."
This was on a completely different level from the nagas he'd faced during his Gold Debut Match.
Back then, both nagas were barely at the level of low-rank demons.
But with mid-rank and high-rank demons appearing like this, even Si-mun would struggle to face them directly.
Right—
Directly facing them, that is.
'Ah, I was trying to save my Achievement Points...'
Scratching the back of his head irritably, Si-mun let out a small sigh and extended his hand.
"Kyahaht! Why are you holding out your hand? Planning to beg for mercy?"
"What do you think? I have no intention of sparing you just because you beg."
The demons now within arm's reach radiated undisguised bloodlust.
Naturally.
Demons were an inherently warlike race.
And the lower their rank, the more they acted on instinct rather than reason.
But—
Si-mun merely stared at the empty air with an expression full of annoyance.
To be precise—
[Insufficient Transmutation Power to meet the required threshold for transmutation.]
[Due to insufficient Philosopher's Stones for Equivalent Exchange, 10,000 Achievement Points are required.]
[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]
—at the system window floating before his eyes.
'Another 10,000 points...'
A sigh escaped him unbidden.
But since he had no choice but to perform the transmutation—
Tap.
Si-mun selected "Yes," then flicked his fingers.
"Huh? That's Demonic Energy?!"
"You—are you a black mage?!"
Black Demonic Energy began gathering above Si-mun's fingers.
"T-this is!"
"How can this be... How can a human wield such pure Demonic Energy?!"
Shock spread through the low-rank demons as their confusion turned to horror.
The reason was simple—
Swoooosh—!
The Demonic Energy grew increasingly violent.
Though not as massive as the whirlwind of Demonic Energy Faust had conjured earlier—
The torrent of Demonic Energy swirling above Si-mun's hand boasted a purity that even the demons found astonishing.
Then—
Fwoom.
Taking the shape of a key, it plunged into Si-mun's left eye—
And with a sound like a lock turning—
Click.
It rotated sideways.
[The trait Odin's Eye reacts to Primordial Demonic Energy.]
[Due to the influence of Primordial Demonic Energy, the Demon Eye trait has been registered to Odin's Eye.]
[The accumulated aftereffects enhance the completion rate of Odin's Eye by 10%.]
Messages appeared before Si-mun.
Then—
[The appearance of a Divine Artifact, thought to have been lost, stirs the Constellations of the Demon Realm.]
[Constellation Vassago urgently turns his gaze toward you.]
[Constellation Gamigin urgently turns his gaze toward you.]
[Constellation Marbas...]
Flood—
An endless cascade of messages.
Until—
[Seven Constellations of the Demon Realm push aside the others.]
Along with a single line—
[The Demon Realm's highest-ranked, Constellation Baal, gazes at you indifferently with a "...Hmm."]
The dozens of messages that had been pouring in abruptly cut off.