81-82

Chapter 81: Jinma 1

Demon King

Jinma – 1

In this world, settling who received the experience, the items, and the gold was exceedingly simple if two people weren't in the same party or guild. It was whoever had gotten in the last hit, who had taken the enemy's life. I had missed out on the opportunity to gain the experience from the elf as a monster had torn her head off, but it wasn't too late for Predation. I had already consumed the elf's body; all I had to do now was devour this beast who had eaten the head before it could be digested.

[Gyooooh!]

"You guys don't like them either." I muttered to myself as I hit the floor. I jumped up into the air and moved to the monster with Ubiquitous, floating in the empty air. As Ubiquitous had reached the advanced level, I could now stay in the air for a bit with it, increasing my mobility. If I took out the Wings of Jinma like this, maybe I could even fly if I really needed to as a last resort.

My opponent's level was higher than even 230, overwhelmingly strong compared to the other monsters I had encountered so far. The monsters around it were rushing towards it to fuse. If I let it grow any stronger than this, it would be hard for me to fight it. I rushed forward, flames wreathing around my body. The wing-like Demon's Claws protruding my shoulders flapped behind me.

[He looks like us.]

[How funny, look at how angry he looks.]

Their whispers annoyed me. These monsters who had corrupted their souls, driven by their irrational hatred and anger to bring down all others down to their level, would dare compare themselves to me? 'Well, not that it matters. Their attacks do not affect me, anyway.' I split my Demon's Claws into several branches, stretching them out to the monster in front of me, cold and fire clashing.

[Kiiii!]

This giant monster's power was stronger than mine, but I immediately devoured the part of his soul that I had torn off during our clash. Given that and the number of monsters flocking to us, I had no need for food. I embedded some of my Demon's Claws into my greatsword to strengthen it as the monster's arm reached me. I jumped to its chest, stabbing my flaming greatsword into its torso.

[This doesn't feel right…]

Thorns made from my soul sprouted out from the edge of my greatsword, penetrating the monster's defenses and blooming inside it. Blood began pouring out of the monster, soaking me in gore.

"Wow." My sword and clothing absorbed most of it, but the blood on my bare skin was not. I could taste it running down my face, laughing as I enjoyed the taste of it. 'This may be my last day on the Rookie's Battlefield, but I'm having a blast.'

[Kiaaah!]

The monster seemed to have noticed that if this continued, it wouldn't last long. It snapped at me with its open mouth, just as it had bitten through the elf's neck before. I didn't try to avoid it, projecting Demon's Claws all over my body; they stuck out of my skin like thorns, making me look like some sort of weird hedgehog. With my greatsword in hand, emitting an enchanting light, I intended to put all the power I had acquired here to good use. I charged straight at the ceiling of the mouth of this monster who had mistaken me for prey.

[Higher Demon's Claw became Lv10 and evolved into Highest Demon's Claw. The strength of this skill has become abnormally high, and owners of a weak soul will panic when confronting you. The ability to shape the soul has increased.]

I stayed my sword when there were no more monsters around. The wind, which had been blowing strong up until now, had stopped entirely. The battlefield was completely peaceful, with no trace of battle remaining after I had consumed everything. Looking out at the fields around me, it almost felt as if the battle had all been an illusion. But it wasn't; traces of it still lingered in my soul and my inventory.

"Hmm." I examined the red muffler, the only thing that elf had possessed that I had acquired. The reason why I had wanted to keep it was simple; it was the one thing that elf had that I couldn't appraise.

[Pure-Blood's Loyalty (812/820 – Defense 480]

That was all I could tell about the muffler. Even though it appeared to be made of simple cloth, the increase it gave to defense was absurd, and the name felt suspicious. I had no intention of wearing it myself, but maybe Rain would like to see it.

"Well, let's go grab sleeping beauty." I removed the steel lid I had placed upon the pitfall and looked down. I had made the trap myself, but it was a lot deeper than I had thought. I could see Mireina, somewhat faintly, down in the distance, looking up at me.

"Caesia!" She shouted. She was still alive; thankfully, this had been enough to keep her safe from the monsters and the Madness Noise.

"I can't get out!" She cried out. I jumped down with a sigh, using Ubiquitous half-way down to land next to her. It was a bit narrow down here, but Mireina immediately burst into tears and hugged me as soon as I landed.

"Caesia, you're alive! I thought you were dead."

"Well, if I died, you would've been stuck down here, I suppose."

"No, I was worried about you!" It was a bit annoying to hear that; it was always hard for me to deal with people who worried about me. I tried my best to soothe Mireina before I used Ubiquitous to take us out. We still had a big problem to deal with, unfortunately—namely, the Knights of Elekatra. Sooner or later, they would learn of that elf's death and send more personnel out to investigate. That would be dangerous for Mireina, even if she hadn't been directly involved in the battle. If they found out she had a connection with someone who had been interfering with their plans… it wouldn't end well for her.

"We should talk about what'll happen from now on."

"You mean about those scary people?"

They didn't recognize you as one of their kind. If you aren't careful of them, you'll die." I sighed, deciding I should tell her what I had been thinking about since I had arrived.

"I might not be returning here again."

"Not returning…?" Mireina's pupils dilated, her eyes shaking a bit. I was expected that she might be a bit shocked, but this was actually a bit surprising. She reached out and grabbed one of my hands, pulling her face close to mine.

"Are you saying we'll never meet again?"

"Well, it's possible. But before that, we have to get out of here and avoid their detection."

"Why…?" I couldn't tell her about my evolution. When I clammed up, she became sulky and bowed her head down.

"Yes, I suppose that's how it is. If it's Caesia, I suppose that it's possible."

"I have no intention of convincing you that I won't be able to return."

"No, I believe it." The words came out quickly.

"After all, you weren't a Rookie in the first place, so you'll just stop being a Rookie again, right?"

"…" I almost drew my sword right then and there, but the time I had spent with her stopped me. I knew she held no hostility toward me.

"How…?"

"Well, it's easy if you just look at you. You feel different from the rest of us." There was too much I didn't know for me to guess what had given it away. Maybe it was because I had acted with my heart, hadn't been suspicious enough, that she had noticed. A bitter laugh came out of me.

"Today, I became sure of it since that person from the Knights of Elakatra was here for you. I thought that they had to know about someone as strong as Caesia."

"I see…" It occurred to me that Mireina had taken a beating today, too, while I had thought that I had it under control. No… maybe I had been thinking of Mireina as my ally this entire time and been relaxing because I felt like I could rely on her.

"So now, you're going away." She gave herself a small nod, a blank expression upon her face. She gave my hand that she had still been holding a squeeze, looking at me and forcing encouragement into her voice.

"Then I'll leave here somehow too. Let's meet again outside."

"What?"

"If you're not allowed to enter this place, then I have no choice but to leave to meet you, right?" I was a bit taken aback but decided to keep my reaction to myself. If I told her I thought that was absurd, there was no telling how she might react.

"So, you're not allowed to meet with other girls until I get out there!" Any concern I had was quickly overwhelmed by her.

"A hundred years… hm… no, can you wait about two-hundred years or so?"

"No, I won't wait." It wasn't a joke on my part about the time it would take, not so long for an elf but more than a lifetime for a human. I felt like I should cut this off at the root and refuse her.

"Why?!"

"You're just saying that you won't be able to leave."

"No, I mean it! This is a once in a lifetime thing for us, after all!"

"You said yourself I'm not a Rookie."

"So?" Faced with Mireina, who was tilting her head as if she were genuinely curious about my line of thinking, I realized I still had some hidden prejudice against the elves. Could I really tell her that feelings for her had arisen in me? No, unless I meant it, nothing I said would provoke a positive reaction. Besides, it would be extremely difficult for her to break free from the Rookie's Battlefield. I pushed away my thoughts, knowing I had to choose my words carefully.

"I have to go now. Run away if things get too dangerous, you hear me?"

"Hey, wait a second! Answer me before you go!"

I returned to the dungeon quickly, unable to waste any more time. I had to conquer this dungeon through and see the end of it with my own two eyes.

"Where is this?"

…No, I had a job to do before that.

Chapter 82: Jinma 2

Demon King

Jinma – 2

The situation I was in now was simple. Mireina had grabbed onto my sleeve while I had been opening the door back to the dungeon. I ignored it and stepped through. She didn't let go of me and was instead dragged through into the dungeon with me. Of course, this was entirely new to me. I had assumed there was no way Mireina could go through with me, especially since she couldn't even see the door when I opened it. Even if she had been able to go through it, I didn't intend to bring her into the dungeon with me. Had this really always been possible, or had something changed that I wasn't aware of?

'Well, I suppose asking why isn't helpful right now.' It was clear that neither of us knew the cause of the current situation, and it was a waste of time to think about it. It would be more productive to consider what we would do from this point on.

"Wait, Caesia? What happened?"

"Wait one moment." I activated my detection skill to the maximum, feeling a bit embarrassed as Mireina just continued to peer up at me. Usually, monsters didn't appear near the boss room, but I hadn't been here for quite some time between the tower, the garden, then finally, the Rookie's Battlefield. I could sense three enemies nearby now.

"Stay right here. I'll be back after clearing out the monsters."

"Is this a battlefield too?!"

"More or less." It just had a different name- dungeon.

"How did I…. you really are incredible, Caesia!" I moved forward, intending to leave Mireina alone for a bit while I took care of the monsters. She tried to chase after me briefly, stopping as if she could sense that danger awaited me ahead. I started with the cavity to my right, using Ubiquitous to close the distance to it. It felt like it had been a while since I was on this level of the dungeon; it took me a second to figure out where exactly I was.

The monster that awaited me within was the Bloody Arachne, patiently waiting for an unassuming prey to wander in. Its lower body was the shape of a giant red spider, its legs trimming the webs it used to attack, and the upper body of a woman rising up from the stomach. Its eyes were gently closed, and it reminded me of a warrior caring for their weapons. Amongst the higher-level monsters, this one was an upper-class monster that could assimilate its body into its surroundings, concealing itself and entrapping all that ventured too close. Its sensing and assimilating skills were at least at an advanced level, and its attack skills were even strongest. Because the 7th floor had been full of strong monsters like this, it had been hard for me to use my abilities here, although that had changed.

'I have to be careful.' The battle with the monsters in the Rookie's Battlefield required little skill, but if I wasn't on the top of my game here, my head would likely be separated from the rest of my body. I had to reach this enemy without being noticed and finish it off in a single blow. I hid in the shadows, crossing the gaps between them with Ubiquitous as I readied my sword with Demon's Claw. I exploded forward with my attack as soon as I had drawn close enough.

"Kyak?!" Arachne, who hadn't been able to detect me until my attack had already hit, opened their eyes at the moment my greatsword cleaved their head. A moment of surprise crossed through their eyes, inches away from my own, before my sword cleaved their upper body in half.

[You have gained 5,192,384 experience.]

[You have received 57 gold and 19 silver.]

[You have obtained the Red Blood Spider Web Key.]

"The what?" I stopped devouring the spider's body and lifted up its head to confirm what I had thought. This Arachne had blood-red eyes like the others I had killed so far; however, this one had white lines like a spider web going through its irises.

'The experience is almost double a normal one.' I wondered if maybe this had been a rare species, not just a high-level one. It might've been truly dangerous if I hadn't been able to kill it in one blow. I cleaned up the body and double-checked my surroundings, but it appeared to be a coincidence that this rare species appeared. It dropped a special item too: the key. Although I had no explanation as to what it was, it felt like the key exuded a unique aura. 'Maybe one day I can figure out what it's for.' I decided to stow it away in my inventory and keep moving; I still had two monsters left.

It didn't take me long at all, maybe a few minutes at most, to finish up with the remaining two monsters and return to Mireina. She seemed worried about me, wiping tears from her eyes and grabbing my hand as soon as I came back. Her hand was still wet with tears, irritating me a bit.

"That could've been dangerous! You weren't just fighting out on the battlefield, but here as well?"

"You can't become strong unless you're willing to take risks. Anyway, the area around here is safe now to take a second before we go."

"Where are we going?"

"Don't complain, you're the one who followed me. I'm going to consult with someone who'll know what to do with you." She let out a choked sob, scared to be left alone again. I decided to ignore her and open another door, this time, to the store. I didn't know how she had been able to travel with me to the dungeon, but she definitely couldn't enter the store. I had already tried it before with Lee Chan-yu. I removed her hand from me and stepped through into the store.

"You're here, Fate?"

"Yeah." As always, Rain was wiping the same glass with a dry towel at the counter. I could see his eyes dart past me, the room becoming a bit chilly as he did, and looked behind me.

"Caesia, you're too cruel… you were going to leave me there…" Mireina, whom I had rejected and was obviously feeling scorned, squatted on the floor in the store.

"…An elf?" I heard Rain mutter quietly, a sense of fear filling the air as I tried to stop him.

"Get out quickly!" By the time I said the words, Mireina's complexion had turned pale, and she collapsed onto the floor. She didn't die, however. Rain had merely stolen her energy.

"No… it has elven blood but is a hybrid. I cannot overlook that fact." Hybrid? The face of the Knight of Elakatra I met flashed through my mind. She had said we weren't elves, Mireina included, and now Rain wasn't killing her where she stood even though he loathed elves more than anything. Perhaps there was a difference between what I saw as an elf and what Rain did?

"This is… odd…" He finally seemed to realize that I was still there, the glass dropping out of his hand and hitting the ground. His complexion paled as he bowed to me.

"I apologize, Fate, I did something foolish. I should be more cautious; I apologize for the inconvenience. I momentarily lost my temper…"

"Well, it's alright. Mireina just passed out."

"I cannot atone enough for my actions…" I had no option but to laugh it off as I watched the flustered Rain. In truth, I was sort of happy to see this new side of him. Though if Mireina knew that, she'd be pretty upset with me.

"I can't allow this to remain, allow me to fix this." Rain snapped his fingers, a thin mat appearing below Mireina's body to support her. I could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, confirming that she was just asleep. I kept quiet as I watched Rain retrieve the broken pieces of the glass he dropped, waiting until he was done to speak.

"I have something to ask you about."

"Is it how you and this hybrid were able to enter the store together?"

"Well, there's that, but I also had a more important issue." I mentioned to him how I had been able to bring her back from the battlefield; his eyes widened in surprise as he listened.

"Hm… you must have gained some new ability while on the Rookie's Battlefield."

"…Ah." Thinking about it, I wondered if it was the red scarf. I pulled it out and handed it over to him to examine. He held it in one hand, closing his eyes. Soft, purple mana welled up out of his fingertips as he examined the item with his own magic. It felt similar to the mana of Jinma, and it fascinated me that it had its own distinct characteristics. Rain nodded a couple of times before opening his eyes once more.

"The appraisal will be 15,000 gold, sir."

"Please take it." In an instant, the money was pulled out from my inventory. Rain's magical energy enveloped the muffler and caused it to float in the air, safe and sound. I had been worried that I might need to destroy it, but Rain didn't seem concerned about it.

"The 15,000 gold that I have received will cover the cost of appraising and repairing this muffler, the Pure Blood's Loyalty. It makes me a bit uneasy to work with something elven crafted, but I will do my best."

"So, what does it do?"

"Simply put, it allows you to use abilities outside of your current range." The words were indeed straightforward, but not the meaning behind them.

"To clarify, it's an artifact that allows you to push beyond your current ability. Say you had an advanced detection ability of level 9, it would allow you to use the highest level of the detection ability at level 1. Or say an intermediate magic at level 9 used at an advanced level of 1. It will push you just a bit beyond your limits."

"What a ridiculous artifact. That's what that elf had been wearing, and they weren't even a particularly high-ranking knight either. Are these Knights of Elakatra that strong, that they can hand these out to their members?"

"The price for using such an artifact is a life, after all." I looked back at Mireina, who was still slumbering peacefully. Rain merely shook his head with a bitter smile as I considered how I could pay that price.

"Not quite that. Someone with low vitality would be consumed by this artifact, or simply fail to use it. However, you could use it even when it wasn't equipped because the consumption of life cannot affect you. Still, I can't forgive the elves who would design such artifacts as these."

"It can't affect me?"

"Your vitality is infinitely evolving through the consumption of others' lives, replacing your own with theirs. In that regard, you cannot be surpassed, no matter how long another's life is." If Rain's words were true, they were starting to paint a picture of what sort of people these knights were. Even that woman, who had thought herself to be superior. 'Wait…'

"It's an artifact that lets me use abilities beyond my limits, right?"

"Yes."

"What kind of ability do I have that allows me to break through the Rookie's Battlefield and take Mireina out of it?"

"Hahaha." He just laughed, not answering my question. I hadn't called up my status in a while, not wanting to check it before I evolved, but now I couldn't help.

[Kang Si-Ha (Fate)]

[Crimson Elf Chaos Claw Lv199]

[Strength – 1,834, Stamina – 1,913, Magic – 1,985 Luck – ???]

[Skills – Ebon Heart, Predation Lv8, Supreme Martial Arts Lv5, Advanced Lunatic Trickster Lv8, Supreme Regeneration Lv5, Intermediate Devil's Fang Lv8, Supreme Demon's Claw Lv1, Supreme Detection Lv4, Supreme Surprise Lv5, Supreme Fairy Tale Lv3, Supreme Shadow Step Lv9, Intermediate Ubiquitous Lv9, Supreme Leadership Lv9, Best Grade Abnormal Resistance Lv3, Intermediate Iron Skin Lv3, Greater Black Light Lv8, Greater Fire Magic Lv2, Greater Healing Magic Lv4, Greater Ice Magic Lv5, Greater Madness Noise Lv1]

There could only be one option. Out of all of the level 9 skills I currently possessed, there was only one of them that could affect others instead of myself. Leadership.

"This is the path you will take in the future, Fate. I'm extremely excited to see how you will change, and the fate of this hybrid as well." Rain said with a bloody smile. I couldn't laugh it off this time. I had to keep moving forward.

"This will be the last trial. Are you prepared?"

"How much will it cost me?"

"Do you need help?"

"No, I don't think so." He should know by now that I wasn't the type to ask for help. I wondered when I would learn more about him.

"Please take care of her until I come back. The boss room will be too dangerous for her."

"…Again, you really are amazing." Rain shook his head and heaved a sigh. I ended up leaving the store with an item that increased my stats.

Mireina was still asleep as I left, snoring away, completely unaware.