Chapter 98

00098 Can you follow me? =========================================================================

Using the force of gravity, he swung down with all his might from the top of his head.

Crack. Crack. Thud.

Although he poured magic power into it, the body of the Giga, as hard as a rock, split cleanly in half without a single snag. Watching the Giga, whose upper body was bisected, slowly collapse, I stepped down to the floor.

Thud!

The sound of his fall was as grand as his size. There was no sense of relief from defeating a tough monster. After all, I knew from the first clash that this thing was not my match. Still, I felt grateful for the party following my slightly different orders this time.

"Bro. You’ve worked hard."

Hyun, who had somehow attached himself to my back, had a few dented spots on the gloves he had carefully fitted. Since his arms were almost tied up by me and the mages, he must have been hit a few times by the Giga’s tail or body.

An Hyun, with a rare, sparkling expression, opened his mouth.

"Bro, you’re really amazing."

"Nothing. The mages did well."

"Still, I never dreamed you could finish that thing in one hit."

"It wasn’t just one hit…."

I spoke ambiguously. Hyun’s expression was becoming increasingly burdensome, so I hurried my steps. I heard Yoo-jung’s voice from behind, asking if I wanted to go together, but I ignored it and walked on.

The faces of the party members were even more remarkable. Was it so surprising that I had finished the monster with one strike? Anyway, they had all worked hard, so I opened my mouth with a gentle voice.

"Great magic coordination. Thanks to all of you, I had a good opportunity."

"Ah… Yes… User Kim Su-hyun is also amazing. Haha."

Shin Sang-yong, with a flustered face, answered, but he couldn’t hide his embarrassed inner thoughts. Not only from his expression but also from the fact that he had changed the way he addressed me from ‘leader’ to something else, I could tell.

An Sol let out a sigh of relief. When I turned my head to check the expressions of the others, I couldn’t find anything particularly strange. Having spent some time with me, they simply thought I was “amazing” and didn’t have any doubts about me.

However, Shin Sang-yong and Jung Ha-yeon were different. Through this battle, I had shown them a part of myself, and even though it was just a part, it was enough to reveal a power that surpassed a 0-year user. In other words, I had indicated that I was different from ordinary users of the same year.

After exchanging glances with Shin Sang-yong and Jung Ha-yeon for a moment, I opened my mouth with a calm face.

"You used too much magic. Are you okay?"

"I’m… fine. But…."

"But." Jung Ha-yeon paused, her face showing numerous conflicting emotions. A heavy silence fell, and her pale lips opened again.

"…Still, didn’t you have an easier time because of us?"

Jung Ha-yeon quickly composed her expression and answered in her usual clear voice. Listening to her answer, I forced myself to suppress a smile. Indeed. Clearly, she was a woman who could distinguish situations, unlike Kim Han-byeol. She was probably planning to wait and see for now.

Surpassed by her unexpected reaction, I couldn’t help but show a slight smile.

"Yes, it was very good."

"Hehe. I look forward to the next battle."

The party members listened to the conversation between Jung Ha-yeon and me in silence. Shin Sang-yong seemed to want to say something, but with Jung Ha-yeon not giving him a chance, he just scratched his head.

I decided to take a short break. And at that moment, I made up my mind. I would consider both of them as solid recruitment targets for the clan, like Go Yeon-ju. Based on the conversation and atmosphere, there was a high possibility they would accept, but there was also a chance they might refuse.

If they refused… would I kill them?

No. There was no need to kill them. They would be troublesome if they became enemies, but unlike Go Yeon-ju, who appeared as an enemy in the first round, I needed to think more about it.

During the party’s rest, I kept tapping the floor with my fingers.

*

To cut to the conclusion, my worries were just unfounded.

After leaving the Giga’s room, we opened the two remaining doors in the initial space. One room contained a fake cockatrice, and the other had enhanced undead.

If we had to distinguish the difficulty, it would be Giga, cockatrice, and then the undead. However, with our equipment and experience improved from yesterday, we could handle them much more easily. Of course, my more proactive approach played a significant role, but the party members’ experience also couldn’t be ignored.

"Ah, it seems my prediction was wrong. I apologize."

Shin Sang-yong apologized to me with a dejected voice.

Currently, we had crossed the corridor connecting the two halves of the space and moved to the next area. The number of doors here was also three, just like the previous space. In the previous space, there was one door next to the corridor, but in this space, there was no door where the corridor was.

I shook my head and spoke in a calm voice.

"It’s fine. We didn’t live in that era, and it’s unrealistic to infer everything from a single record. Besides, Giga was a bit of an anomaly, but the rest is going as expected."

"Haha…."

Shin Sang-yong gave an awkward smile at my warm encouragement. The most important thing for us to confirm on this second floor was the level of the monsters. Offering 100 humans as sacrifices could summon a complete lower-level demon. The level of the second-floor monsters was inconsistent, but it was definitely higher than the first floor.

"Um. Master."

"What is it?"

"Based on what the leader said, if 100 monsters of a similar level to Giga were offered as sacrifices, what level of demon could be summoned?"

"Hmm. But that’s impossible."

"Still."

At Shin Sang-yong’s question, Vivian had a thoughtful look. But she soon shook her head and answered cautiously.

"Giga, if described as Su-hyun said, could be seen as a combination of a giant and a basilisk. In that case, it might be possible to summon a top-tier demon."

"Top-tier?"

I asked sharply, and Vivian immediately waved her hands.

"N-no. Just… I already said it’s impossible."

I snorted and turned my head. Does she think top-tier is a dog’s name?

For the convenience of users, demons are divided into lower, middle, upper, and top-tier, but the demon world is a strict hierarchical society. A top-tier demon would at least be a duke or higher. Among our party, only I could gauge the possibility of victory against such a demon. Vivian could fight, but it would be hard to guarantee a definite victory. She would probably lose with over 80% probability.

And even if one appeared….

"Now, it’s time to explore this space."

I stood up, brushing off the dirt. I could sense a slight undercurrent of unease in the party’s atmosphere. Hearing my words, Jung Ha-yeon, who had been calmly closing her eyes and composing herself, opened her eyes and looked up at me.

Perhaps because she had pushed herself a bit, her already pale skin had turned even paler. The original Jung Ha-yeon would have controlled and distributed her abilities appropriately, but after the Giga’s room, she had been pushing herself to her limits in every battle.

I could roughly guess the reason, so I didn’t say anything. After all, these issues would be resolved after the exploration ended.

After a moment, the party members, who had composed themselves, stood up. I led them, choosing one of the doors at random, and started walking. As I walked, I roughly scanned the area. There were reactions from the rooms to the west and north, but nothing from the room to the east.

Since the door I chose as the first target was to the west, we would move clockwise.

As we walked, a heavy silence fell over the party. Everyone’s faces showed signs of fatigue. However, they were also unconsciously tense, knowing that the battle with the demon was drawing closer with each room cleared.

Additionally, the lack of items or exploration rewards from the second floor was fueling this atmosphere. Without a turning point that could provide new energy, the body would become increasingly heavy with each battle. Of course, the items obtained from the first floor had already surpassed a big hit, but human desire knows no bounds.

Finally, we stopped in front of a massive iron door.

Just before opening the door, I looked around at the party, whose mood had become heavy. They all had dry faces, their gazes focused on me. I sighed briefly and then grabbed the doorknob. As I applied force, the unpleasant sound of creaking metal echoed. I pushed harder and opened the door wide.

"Rrrrr…."

As the door opened, a cold chill sharply targeted me.

"Protect!"

At that moment, a translucent sphere formed around me, and with a thud, the sword energy dissipated. It was An Sol’s protection spell. I didn’t know when she had prepared it, but I didn’t praise her for it.

Whether she deserved praise for doing it was debatable, but it was a priest’s duty. This action was no more and no less than what was expected.

"There’s a monster. Everyone, be careful."

After speaking, I raised my sword, ready for another attack. However, after the initial assault, no other attacks came. In the end, we had no choice but to enter.

Taking another step inside, a sword energy, as if waiting for the opportunity, surged towards me again. Since I was prepared, I swung my sword and easily cut through the energy, advancing further to secure a safe area for the party.

After the party members quickly entered, I finally had a chance to observe the monster in front of us. This room was slightly darker than the others, but it wasn’t so dark that we couldn’t see with the naked eye. The creature that revealed itself in front of us was….

"Spirit Knight."

At my words, Shin Sang-yong and Jung Ha-yeon immediately frowned.

"Huh. This research facility seems to be a gathering place for magic-resistant monsters."

Even the usually composed Jung Ha-yeon seemed to be getting annoyed, as she let out a complaint.

Two horns, bent in the middle, protruded from the helmet, with a blue flame burning inside. The armor was heavily rusted, and black blood was splattered in various places. It was hard to recognize it as human. The parts not covered by the gloves revealed a skull inside the helmet.

The Spirit Knight was difficult to handle because it not only had physical attack power but also could use magic. Moreover, it had a high resistance to magic due to its mastery of magic. This is why Jung Ha-yeon was complaining.

Since it was a knight in life, it could perform melee combat, use magic, and had magic resistance. Of course, it wasn’t a boss-level monster, being a step below a Death Knight. However, it was a well-rounded opponent, so it couldn’t be considered an easy target.

However, the above description applies to the genuine article.

"…Su-hyun. Is the Spirit Knight also a result of the research facility?"

"Since they can summon demons, it’s not particularly strange."

At my clear answer, Vivian frowned. After a moment, I turned my head.

"Playing with human souls… it’s something I can’t tolerate as an alchemist."

I let her words pass and took another step forward. The Spirit Knight, judging that it couldn’t harm us with simple sword energy attacks, was gradually closing the distance.

"Rrrrr…."

"An Hyun, Keeper, Yoo-jung, stay behind me. Sol, prepare a binding spell… Mages, please support with auxiliary magic. And…."

I paused for a moment before continuing. The only party members not given orders were the mages.

"Don’t overexert yourselves."

After speaking, I charged towards the Spirit Knight.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

Hello, I’m Ro Yujin.

Hmm. I decided to release two chapters today.

Thinking about it, even if I can’t post them by midnight tomorrow, I can still release two chapters later that day. I’m not sure if I can post them right at midnight, but I’ll do my best. :)

Also… it seems some readers are getting a bit tired of the battle scenes following the Ruined Research Facility. Reading the messages you sent, it makes me sad. Haha. I’ll try to wrap up the second floor in the next or the following chapter, and I’ll do my best to quickly wrap up the third floor. Thank you. (__)

『 Reader Comments 』

1. MT Bear: Huh. Is that so? I just really like bears. Bearbearbear. :) Congratulations on being number one. If you could introduce a bear to me… huh?

2. Human Life: Oh. You made a good choice. I sincerely hope your surgery goes well and you recover quickly. Haha. If the hospital is nearby, I could even visit. And the work you mentioned is one of my favorite works too. :)

The criticism from Babo Poet can’t be refuted. While baseless criticism and insults can be explained and understood, the criticism from Babo Poet is well-mannered and can be seen as a valid point from another perspective. As I always say at the end of my afterword, criticism is always welcome. It’s just a matter of subjective differences.

Still, reading Human Life’s long comment gave me a lot of strength. Thank you. I sincerely hope your surgery goes well today. Fighting!

3. Guimuja: Oh! It’s you, Bugilma! Welcome! (Haha)

4. GradeRown: It might be even worse… no, it will be worse. Sad. I’m currently struggling a lot. Haha. Sniff… (?!)

5. hohokoya1: Seeing this comment made me think, “Ah, I’ll just release two chapters today, even if I can’t post them by midnight tomorrow.” Haha. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

6. Ragnar-Blaze: Oh! This is fate! So, let’s set a date and get married… huh?!

7. zjekfksqlc: Yes. Given the angels’ settings, it’s difficult to use powers against them. However, with the inclusion of the fire, the power has also been revived. Haha.

8. Eviang: Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak?!

9. Refil: Thank you. I’m also looking forward to that day. I’m excited to see if I can do it. Haha.

10. Demon Emperor: Thank you for the coupon. (__) It seems you are currently living abroad. I’ll do my best to keep posting until you return. :)

Your recommendations and comments are the driving force behind my daily updates. (This is a fact.)

I always read all the comments repeatedly.

Please don’t be too disappointed if you’re not mentioned in the after