Chapter 106
106. The Strongest of the Western Demon Realm
The moment I drew my sword and revealed my hostility, ferocious mana prickled against my skin.
Just as elves are born with exceptional archery skills and an affinity for mana, demons are born with immense mana.
It wasn't simply that the total amount of mana they possessed was large. Having lived with mana within them for so long, their control over it was also extraordinary.
When the high mana density of the Demon Realm combined with these traits of the demons, even the mana they emitted alone produced incredible physical force.
-Crack.
When the sharp mana pressed against my body, my lips split on their own as though I had been exposed to the bitter cold of midwinter.
This was only possible because I was me. An ordinary human would already have been torn to pieces.
“You don't seem like an ordinary human.”
Watching me casually shrug off the pressure of his mana, the red demon let the words slip.
As I said, these gatekeepers aren't here to be defeated through combat. That's why the gatekeepers themselves tend to avoid fighting.
I'm going to hit you. Really hit you. I'll hit you when I count to three? Three, two, one, one and a half, one and a quarter, one and an eighth—something like that?
To pick a fight with an opponent like that, naturally, I had to strike first.
“I may not be ordinary.”
Retorting to him, I hurled the shield strapped to my left hand.
The first attack was just to test the waters. The red demon lightly knocked the shield away. But to knock it away, his hand had to move.
Since he had knocked away the shield I threw at his face, his hand naturally remained near his face.
That left his chest wide open and meant his vision was obstructed.
It was the perfect angle to aim for his heart.
-Thunk!
The sword I thrust after rapidly closing the distance was blocked by the demon's palm.
It was just as I had heard on the community forums. All demons had skin as tough as steel, giving them exceptional defense.
There were differences in defense between individuals, but this guy was practically the boss of this fourteenth-floor Demon Realm.
Naturally, his defense was extremely high—high enough to stop my sword this easily.
Since the attack that had slipped through an opening was blocked, it was now his turn.
The red demon immediately released his mana and swung the claws that had transformed into blades. I raised my left arm to block.
Ah, the shield that had been on my left arm was gone. I had just thrown it.
Of course, that wasn't because I had thrown away my shield and forgotten about it like before. I simply didn't really need a shield in the first place.
-Kak!
The demon's swinging claws grazed my bare forearm, sending sparks flying as though they had scraped against a chunk of metal.
The buff effect of [Iron Wall], strengthened when the Earth Spirit's Blessing reached level 15.
On top of that, there was my durability stat, which had risen far higher than before, and finally, the ‘Steel Soul’ I had obtained on the ninth floor.
“What?”
The red demon looked utterly shocked that my bare human body possessed greater durability than a demon's.
Why was he so surprised? I had just told him with my own mouth—and he had said it with his.
I told you I wasn't ordinary, didn't I?
The demon struck in the stomach by my follow-up kick flew backward and collapsed.
**
My current base defense was almost twice what it had been on the ninth floor, even without taking my armor into account.
By base defense, I meant the defense value displayed on my status window.
Naturally, my actual defense was even higher when I used [Iron Wall], and it rose further when I activated the [All-Out] buff.
On top of that, the passive [Comprehensive Elemental Resistance] halved the power of all magic and elemental attacks, regardless of their type.
Even if an attack pierced that defense and lowered my HP, it would soon recover thanks to the [Super Regeneration] skill gained when [Battle Healing] evolved twice.
And when my HP fell, the [Indomitable] buff activated, amplifying my stats—including durability—and making me even tougher.
On top of that, using Mana Reinforcement amplified my stats and defense once more, making me even sturdier.
My actual defense was now several times higher than it had been on the ninth floor. And then there was ‘Steel Soul.’
[Unique : Steel Soul]
A symbol of the strong will that never breaks, no matter the adversity or hardship.
This trait engraved upon your soul will never disappear under any circumstances.
Reduces all types of damage by 60%.
It was an unidentified ability occupying a newly created trait slot that had never existed on my old status window.
Its effect was insane, reducing all final damage by 60%—a case where the phrase “simple is best” fit perfectly.
The final option of [Earth Spirit's Blessing] reduced physical damage by only 5%, while this simply reduced everything by 60%.
I had never heard of even those with the highest Epic-grade classes possessing such an insane passive.
What more was there to say when the countless rewards I had received for defeating a World Boss paled before this single unique trait?
A demon boasting overwhelming physical prowess, and among them, a gatekeeper mob designed specifically not to be defeated.
Even attacks from a creature with so many powerful traits and settings piled onto it couldn't leave a single scratch on my body.
“K-kheugh.”
The red demon, sent flying by my kick, coughed and spat bluish blood onto the ground.
It seemed the single blow had ruptured all his internal organs. I didn't know what a demon's organs were like, but it had to hurt like hell.
“Hey, quit whining and bring out your horns. You have more of them, don't you?”
I beckoned to the red demon. Grinding his teeth furiously, he forced himself to his feet.
The most representative physical characteristic of demons was their horns.
I had heard that wings, claws, inverted-colored eyes, and tails were features that some demons had and others didn't.
But horns existed on every demon. The number simply differed from one individual to another.
The number of horns was the very measure of a demon's strength, like the colored bands the lizardmen on the third floor painted across their shoulders.
“Y-you bastard… Don't regret this! You made me bring out my horns!”
-Crack, pop.
Additional horns sprouted from the red demon's forehead. It was the power-up method possessed by high-ranking demons.
The lower-ranking demons, ordinary NPCs in this Demon Realm, had one or two horns.
Demons of intermediate rank or higher could bring out a third horn to power up, and bosses could possess even more than that.
The demon who was some sort of count or baron, the boss of the fourteenth-floor labyrinth, had five horns attached to his final form.
“I, Galtram of the Red—by the name of the twenty-third Demon King of the Western Demon Realm, I shall tear you to pieces and burn you in the fires of sulfur!”
And the number of horns sprouting from the forehead of Gal-whats-his-name, who had suddenly revealed the unheard-of backstory of being a former Demon King, was—
“Oh, seven?”
Seven—two more than the boss. Even by the simplest reckoning, he was a supreme demon at least two ranks higher.
**
Garlic or whatever, with his seven horns revealed, let out an evil laugh. “Kukuku.”
He wasn't just laughing to set the mood. The surrounding mana resonated with his laughter, making the earth tremble.
Just like the fierce mana he had revealed at first, this alone would crush ordinary humans flat like cans under a vertical stomp.
No, not just ordinary humans—even a challenger on the fourteenth floor of the Tower of Trials would be unable to move. That was the level of power he possessed.
“I clearly told you not to regret it, yet are you already regretting it, human?”
Perhaps he thought I was just as helpless because I was staring blankly at him. The demon approached me with an imposing air.
I wasn't unable to move. I was simply standing still.
I didn't know what effect this was supposed to have—but did he know what level my resistance to restraint, paralysis, petrification, and stun was?
“Do you know what it means to serve as the master of a gate? It means being a demon with the power to rule that region.”
Gal-whats-his-name began rambling about what it had been like when he was a Demon King, about the caliber of the Western Demon Realm, and so on.
The words Demon Realm and Demon King made it sound grand, but if you listened closely, he was simply bragging about how he had made a name for himself in his younger days.
Replace the words and it was basically, I was the top boss of Gangseo District, and then that enforcer of mine… Back when I was active, I was on another level… Good grief.
“Damn, you talk a lot. Are you fighting with your tongue?”
After listening to him babble for far too long, I said a word to him, and a vein bulged on his forehead.
I could have let him keep talking and stabbed him by surprise, but ending the fight immediately like that wouldn't make for good practice.
Since he was designed not to be defeated, he might not even give me a reward. The least he could do was serve as a punching bag.
I couldn't keep looking down on him and holding back my strength like this.
“Arrogant human… You are working hard to provoke my anger. Do you think you can win by aiming for an opening and stabbing me?”
“Yeah.”
“That looks like a fine sword. Unlike before, power is overflowing from it—but it won't work.”
This guy seemed to be nothing but a talker. He kept rambling about things no one had even asked him about.
He claimed that his body, with its horns released, had become overwhelmingly stronger, so neither the kick from earlier nor the power of that fine sword would work.
If I left him alone, he might never even start fighting because he was too busy talking. Tsk, I guess I'd have to move things along.
-Tap.
I closed the distance between us in a single burst and swung the sword in my hand—the, ah, “fine sword.”
The red demon babbled about how it wouldn't work and whatnot, wrapped mana around his hand, and held it out to block.
But it wasn't blocked. My sword sliced straight through his hand and forearm before burying itself diagonally in his torso.
“K-kh!”
He seemed to think this was some incredible fine sword, but the sword itself had no special function at all.
[+2 Steel Straight Sword]
Far from being anything special, it was simply a store-bought steel straight sword with a failed enhancement.
What he had mistaken for the power of a fine sword was nothing more than mana I had wrapped around the blade.
A red effect burst as the demon suffered a critical wound, and he slumped down onto his knees.
“If you'd kept your mouth shut, your life would have been a little longer. You brought this on yourself, didn't you?”
I grabbed him by the head and drove my knee into the center of his brow with all my strength.
-Kraack!
A red critical effect burst, instantly crushing the bones of his face and breaking all seven of his horns.
Could he really have died just like that? Why hadn't he used his full strength until the very end?
“Oh, no way.”
Had this bastard not been holding back his strength? Was that really all he had?
No way. He had seven horns, and this was all he could do? Even with that much mana?
“Ah, fuck, I don't know.”
I guess I'd have to meet the gatekeeper of the next gate and experiment.