Even the veterans were in a state of panic after the massacre that led to the death of half of their unit. However, Number 34 was indifferent despite how recently he had been recruited.
“Just what are you?”
Deckard asked the question with honest curiosity in his eyes. Sungchul figured out his intentions.
‘Was I too hurried?’
It looked as though he earned himself some undue attention, so there was now a need to make up some explanation. A brilliant idea formed in that instant. Sungchul spoke in a low voice.
“I am a Former Returnee.”
Among those who returned to their original world, there are those who have chosen to come back to the Other World. These were people that had tasted bitter failure after being unable to re-adapt into the modern world.
Whatever the reason was, that brought them back here, they are widely regarded as being much more powerful than their status points would otherwise suggest, and a good majority of them actually are.
“A Former Returnee…”
Deckard couldn’t hide his surprise at the news.
“I was at the Demonic Battlefront before I returned. I fought at the Forest of the Lichen Fog of the Varan-Aran alliance.“
“It has been long since that forest got taken over by demons.”
“In any case, the battle just now was just one of countless that I’ve already experienced on a daily basis. It also looked like the demons were more keen on recapturing the guard post rather than our annihilation.”
In reality, the Balrog and Baal that led the demons never stepped forth nor did they release their elite troops. It was nothing more than expending their easily replenishable pawns to chase out the meagre humans. Although, it would have taken at least the Balrog himself to take out the frenzied Genghis Aaron.
“Mmm…”
Deckard didn’t appear to be completely convinced, but there was some logic to follow in what Sungchul was saying. Sungchul spoke further.
“The reason I want to find a way to get stronger quickly is to survive.”
“If you wanted to survive, this is the wrong place.”
Deckard spoke curtly.
“I am being chased by a nemesis. If I don’t quickly gain strength, I’ll lose my life.”
As Sungchul pressed on, Deckard let out a sigh as he formed a shining orb and handed it to Sungchul. It was an Orb of Knowledge. Those that placed their hands on it would gain the information within.
“Take it. These are all the quests that are appropriate for you.”
Sungchul touched the orb to acquire the information within. A quest soon appeared before him in shining letters.
[No Title]
Grave Cleaning – Clean out the swarm of imps that are disrupting the grave of Elven Warriors. / Reward – Magic Power 5, Mid-Grade Magic Power Essence.
Deckard pointed towards a rocky mountain off to the distance with his staff.
“The graves of Elven archers of the Aran tribe are in that direction. The quest itself should be easy to handle even for you, but the problem lies in getting there.”
“Is it demon territory?”
Deckard nodded at Sungchul’s question then turned his back to walk away.
“Get some shut-eye. Something might suddenly happen at any moment.”
Despite the warning, Sungchul headed off towards the rocky mountain by noon. Despite it being labelled as demon territory, all the opposition was mostly small parties of patrols. Sungchul lightly evaded their efforts and arrived at the grave of the Aran tribe, then proceeded to clean out the imps that built their nest there.
Once the imps were cleared away, the spirits lingering within the gravesite rewarded Sungchul 5 Magic power and a mid-grade mana essence. It wasn’t anything impressive, but Sungchul knew the advantage of stacking up these unimpressive rewards. He leisurely returned to base and proceeded to start another job past his sleeping comrades. It was alchemy.
Sungchul pulled out Eckheart’s portable alchemic cauldron behind the barracks and began gathering ingredients from his surroundings as indicated by Bertelgia. He then proceeded to synthesise everything. Genghis Aaron approached him as he finished his third Alchemic item.
The healthy man stretched out his arms with a lazy yawn as he walked over to Sungchul and spoke with a look of amusement on his face.
“Recruit? What is it that you are doing?”
“As you can see, I am in the middle of synthesising.”
“I can see that, but I’m asking why you’re doing it.”
Rockhead’s response was unusual. It looked as though it bothered him that Sungchul was synthesising alchemic items.
“I wanted to create some useful items for battle. I learned a lot from the previous battle.”
Rockhead didn’t press the issue any further after listening to such a model response, but instead, he put on a stern face and gave a piece of ‘advice’.
“If you want to survive, I suggest you keep up your physical strength. Anyways, it looks like we’ll have plenty to eat today? Seeing as we’ve cut down on the number of mouths to feed.”
Seeing him spit out such tactless remarks, it was obvious how he earned his nickname. However, Sungchul got the impression that Genghis Aaron wasn’t as simple as he appeared. He was especially cunning when making his report to headquarters. He seemed to have realised the age-old issue of the Demonic Battlefront that was the antiquated organisational structure and seemed to be actively using it to his benefits. It wasn’t something he could do if he were truly an idiot.
It soon became evening. Genghis had started up a raucous party. The portions of food and alcohol allocated for the dead were given out to soldiers. The mourning for the dead lasted a full 10 seconds.
Sungchul chewed on the tasteless but overly abundant food while sipping his drinks by himself. The night sky of the Demonic Battlefront had a reddish tint. It was because of the light emitted from the flames of hell that never went out.
“Status Window.”
He pulled up his status window that he hadn’t seen in awhile. The unadjusted screen of the full status window overwhelmed his vision.
<’The one who Demolishes’ Sungchul Kim’s Status Window>
[Blessing]
[Curse]
[Class]
Main Class – Primordial Warrior (Mythic)
Sub Class – Echo Mage (Legendary)
Sub Class – High Class Chef (Rare)
Sub Class – Alchemist (Rare)
[Stats]
Strength 999+ Dexterity 853
Vitality 801 Magic Power 193
Intuition 173 Magic Resist 621
Resolve 502 Charisma 18
Luck 18
[Soul Contract – 6 Slots]
[Weapon Proficiency]
[Achievements – 592 in Total]
588 more…
The status window was a type of epic; a memoir of the path an individual had taken during their life in the Other World. How many conflicts had he been involved in until now? Every single day he had experienced battles that would otherwise be called ‘a battle of a lifetime’ for anyone else. He received countless blessings, but also terrible curses. He was also hiding power that he could not yet reveal to the world.
‘I am a tool for my purpose.’
Sungchul’s eyes flashed a single time within the darkness. Deckard approached him in that instance. He plopped down onto the dirt beside Sungchul and spoke while staring off into the sky.
“Is Sarasa doing well?”
Sungchul nodded.
“That kid… how is she? Pretty?”
Sungchul was about to shake his head but nodded instead. Deckard, who hadn’t seen Sungchul’s hesitation, continued to look towards the sky while speaking with a voice wet with emotions.
“That kid… she was so much more beautiful before she took on that form. The entire school made a fuss whenever she was around, and her power was so strong that she broke that Soul Absorption Stone. That kid… she did something not even I could.”
Deckard looked happy as he spoke of his daughter, but he would undoubtedly grieve if he saw the current state of her changed face. Sungchul didn’t say anything.
“Anyways, you said you were a Former Returnee?”
Deckard changed topics. When Sungchul nodded, Deckard took a gulp of booze and spoke again.
“You’re in quite the rush. Seeing as you’ve come here of your own volition to harden yourself.”
“I could even go places rougher than this.”
“That’s quite the resolve.”
“Didn’t you also come here to grow stronger?”
Deckard nodded.
“That’s right. I came here seeking strength.”
“Because of the demon tribes?”
“That too, but there is also another reason.”
A meaningful smile formed on Deckard’s lips. He looked up into the rosy night sky and spoke again.
“According to a rumor, there is a dungeon around here created by an ancient magician. A dungeon filled with an unbelievable amount of magic power.”
“Who made this dungeon? The Seven Heroes perhaps?”
Deckard shook his head.
“This person existed before them. In the era of a calamity before the calamity resolved by the Seven Heroes. A forgotten age lost to time.”
“Quite interesting.”
The era of the Seven Heroes was even considered ancient, and barely any records remained. Their names were not being recorded properly, and only a handful of people remained with the correct knowledge of it. He was talking about something from a time before this. In other words, an individual from an unfathomably ancient and bygone era.
“I came to this place following its clues. It was one of the reasons I got sent to the Suicide Unit too. The Suicide Unit always operates on the front lines, but there is another benefit. It is a good place to cultivate your skills.”
“I agree.”
The demons were strong, and their numbers were endless. That meant that as long as you could survive, it was possible to drive yourself into life-or-death battles that tested your limits. The warrior class was meant to bloom within combat.
Sungchul had also cultivated his abilities on his own by slaughtering countless devils, and he continued to challenge himself with danger; trusting his stats as a foundation in order to steadily gain power that exceeded the limits of humanity. Deckard must have come to the same conclusion.
“Thanks to it I think I have reached a point where I can confidently say I am quite strong. It’s probably about time for me to challenge that place.”
“Where is that place?”
Deckard pointed to his feet in reply to Sungchul’s question with a smile on his face.
“It’s somewhere below here. It is a place called the Underground Kingdom from a forgotten era. Even I don’t know where the entrance is, but I have some threads I have yet to pull on.”
“The Underground Kingdom…”
It sounded familiar. At a distant past, there was a story of a group of people of the forgotten era that attempted to escape the calamity by digging underground and eventually forming their own kingdom. It felt like a story worthy of a good folklore or a bedtime story, but Deckard seemed to have discovered something.
“Now that winter is approaching, the demons will be attacking less frequently. Since you and I are both people constantly thirsting for strength, why not go together to check it out sometime?”
He was a good person. He was good natured, but also very considerate. Sungchul judged him as such, but good people don’t last long in the Other World. The demons ambushed the base within the cover of the night.
The demon’s attack was easily repelled mostly due to Aaron’s efforts, but he couldn’t prevent casualties from occurring.
“….”
Deckard had received a critical wound and had fallen unconscious. Even Sungchul was helpless.
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