14 – Partying with the Demon King – 4

The glass box was quickly filled with light, which did not diffuse outward due to the magic circles engraved all over the box, but reflected and expanded mercilessly inside.

Naturally, since one could not know from the outside what was happening inside the box, it was Schrödinger’s Gi-jun state, where the possibilities of Gi-jun and a squid coexisted—nobody knowing whether a Gi-jun whose race grade had grown with the passage of time would pop out, or a well-baked elvan-stone squid.

“It seems that Hero didn’t even know how to properly manipulate mana until now.”

The fairy’s voice drifted toward the Demon King, who was looking at the box with satisfaction.

The Demon King nodded and said.

“It’s not that he lacks the sense. He just lacked the knack. After all, there were only Earthlings around him, so who could have properly taught him?”

“But will he be able to succeed? The number of Sunlight Ores was also extremely high. Did you push him in on purpose to detach yourself from him? Like, if he can’t even pass this level, there’s no need to look after him anymore.”

“What are you talking about? I just told you, it’s not that he lacks the sense. And now he even has the knack.”

The Demon King snorted at the moth’s mischievous voice and retorted.

“The Hero is a genius much more than you think, beyond comparison to what he himself thinks. He was just depressed more than necessary because he was born by chance in a world where his talent was not recognized and was slightly suppressed. Potential doesn’t completely disappear.”

“Well, it’s not that he looked like he lacked potential. I’m saying this because the bug isn’t here right now, but he was highly respected by others.”

The moth nodded and emphasized that he was one of the few Heroes who received a lot of attention throughout the tutorial.

“He had a knack for soothing those around him, and he was gentle and kind, so everyone liked him. Moreover, he always spoke and acted fairly, so no one dared to look down on him… Perhaps if there had been just a few more Heroes like him, the tutorial might have ended with just the first round.”

“If you’re going to shower him with nothing but praise, why was your evaluation of him so harsh until now?”

“Because he had no backbone. He never tried to step forward. Such a person cannot stand at the center of the crowd to lead them, and in the end, they can neither survive till the end nor become strong.”

At the fairy’s harsh evaluation, the Demon King also smiled bitterly and nodded.

“The Hero is building that backbone right now. That’s what I meant when I said he was suppressed.”

“So, Hero, are you saying that… that man’s popularity was entirely the result of him acting while walking on eggshells around others?”

“Not all of it, but probably most of it? Indeed, now that there is no one left to walk on eggshells around, he is finally recovering his true nature. Well, though it is also partly because I stimulated him.”

“I guess he doesn’t walk on eggshells around you, Hero?”

“He walks on them a lot. He cooked for me from the very day we met.”

No matter how much he knew that the Demon King was on his side, could he grill meat for a person who had been killing his companions until just moments ago?

An ordinary person would reject it in the realm of emotion, not reason.

“So that was something he couldn’t have done unless he was incredibly quick-witted,” the Demon King said with a chuckle.

Looking at her, the fairy clicked her tongue, thinking, ‘I think it’s already too late for this person…’

“But now, I wish for his independence. That’s why he reluctantly pulled out his hidden self and began to face it.”

“Ah.”

“And once his true nature is revealed, there’s no need for me to intervene any further. It’s enough to just throw in a few pieces of firewood like this. …He will definitely become the strongest.”

“Hero…”

Just as the moth was about to say something, clicking her tongue at the Demon King’s imagination based on excessive affection and subjective fantasy, the light that had filled the box began to converge to a single point in the center.

The inside of the box was gradually coming into view.

Pleased to see Gi-jun quietly closing his eyes and breathing, the Demon King blinked her eyes once and looked back at the fairy.

“Did you see?”

“It’s annoying because you look like an overbearing parent bragging all over town about their son who got a perfect score on an elementary school Hanja test.”

“I don’t know what that means, but I feel like I’ve been insulted.”

While the disgruntled Demon King chased the moth away, Gi-jun, who was inside the box, slowly opened his eyes as he felt all the light pouring into him.

The light no longer dazzled his eyes.

He felt confident that he could handle it like a part of himself.

—Although you are still one step short, Contractor, you have definitely moved forward!

“Thank you, Lucy.”

As his understanding of light increased, he was also able to see Lucy more clearly than before.

He met the eyes of a girl with golden hair and golden eyes more brilliant than light, who could only be described as beautiful.

The girl smiled and asked.

—Can you feel that your mana has changed, Contractor?

“I heard that attribute mana is really rare…”

Using the knack he had learned from the Demon King, he tried to concentrate his mana on his palm.

Neither spiritual power nor Lucy’s light drawn up by it, but Gi-jun’s own pure mana.

It was dyed in a bright golden light like the warm sunlight of a spring day.

At the moment Gi-jun felt ecstasy upon confirming the mana of light, which was much purer than ordinary mana, several messages appeared before his eyes as if they had been waiting.

—You have transcended the limits of your race and become an Uncommon-grade [Deteriorated Light Human]! You succeeded in moving away from being a pure human and converting your mana into light, but its level is not yet enough to reach true light. Status Mana (Uc) changes to Light Mana (Uc)!

—You have reached level 1. All stats increase by 5, and Light Mana (Uc), Charm (Uc), and Spiritual Power (R) increase by an additional 5!

—The level of Light Spirit Arts skill has risen by 10, reaching level 69!

—The level of the Steelization skill has risen by 3, and the Rapid Regeneration skill has risen by 2.

—You have transcended the limits of your race and become an Uncommon-grade [Deteriorated Light Human]! You succeeded in moving away from being a pure human and converting your mana into light, but its level is not yet enough to reach true light. Status Mana (Uc) changes to Light Mana (Uc)!

—You have reached level 1. All stats increase by 5, and Light Mana (Uc), Charm (Uc), and Spiritual Power (R) increase by an additional 5!

—The level of Light Spirit Arts skill has risen by 10, reaching level 69!

—The level of the Steelization skill has risen by 3, and the Rapid Regeneration skill has risen by 2.

[Gi-jun]

[Title — Conqueror of the Hidden Dungeon (Legendary) and six others]

[Deteriorated Light Human (Uc) Lv1]

[Strength (Uc) — 26]

[Dexterity (Uc) — 44]

[Endurance (Uc) — 51]

[Light Mana (Uc) — 27]

[Charm (Uc) — 41]

[Spiritual Power (R) — 69]

[Gi-jun]

[Title — Conqueror of the Hidden Dungeon (Legendary) and six others]

[Deteriorated Light Human (Uc) Lv1]

[Strength (Uc) — 26]

[Dexterity (Uc) — 44]

[Endurance (Uc) — 51]

[Light Mana (Uc) — 27]

[Charm (Uc) — 41]

[Spiritual Power (R) — 69]

[Skills/Spells]

[Common]

[Butchery Lv98]

[Uncommon]

[Cooking Lv5, Shield Mastery Lv88, Dual Blunt Weapon Mastery Lv97, Boomerang Throw Lv90]

[Rare]

[All-Out Provocation Lv14, Light Spirit Arts Lv69]

[Unique]

[Rapid Regeneration Lv21, Steelization Lv14, Sleepless and Unresting Lv8]

[Legendary]

[Unfailing Body Clock Lv——]

[Skills/Spells]

[Common]

[Butchery Lv98]

[Uncommon]

[Cooking Lv5, Shield Mastery Lv88, Dual Blunt Weapon Mastery Lv97, Boomerang Throw Lv90]

[Rare]

[All-Out Provocation Lv14, Light Spirit Arts Lv69]

[Unique]

[Rapid Regeneration Lv21, Steelization Lv14, Sleepless and Unresting Lv8]

[Legendary]

[Unfailing Body Clock Lv——]

Gi-jun closed his eyes gently and thought.

What was with this race name?

He understood that it meant a ‘Light Human’ by combining light and person, but when people heard ‘Gwang-in’ for the first time, wouldn’t they think he was a system-certified madman?

Gi-jun, who had suffered because of his name all his life, resented this other world for placing the shackle of a race name onto him just as he had barely thrown off that trauma, but the grade-up was already finished and there was no way to undo it.

Besides, looking only at the effects of the race grade-up, there was absolutely no room for complaint.

Not only did all his stats rise significantly, but even his spirit arts skill grew by 10 levels!

He tried hard to forget his race name while thinking about smashing the lesser demons that had been harassing him for the past few days.

—Let’s go out now, Contractor.

“Okay.”

Lucy, whose size had visibly grown compared to before Gi-jun’s race grade rose, urged him to head out.

With her perched on his shoulder, he walked past the floor where the Sunlight Ores had completely crumbled and stepped out of the box; only the Demon King remained there.

“Congratulations, Hero. I can roughly guess, but I’ll ask anyway. What kind of race did you become?”

His brief escape ended at the speed of light.

“Deteriorated Light Human.”

“Pfft.”

The Demon King burst out laughing, unable to hold it in despite having expected it.

Gi-jun had a strong urge to ask for her race name, but since whatever she said would definitely be cooler than Deteriorated Light Human, he decided against it.

“Did you also obtain Light Mana by any chance?”

“Yeah. I heard that attribute mana is extremely rare…”

“It is indeed rare. Light Mana is rare even among those. But what you should know is that all attribute mana starts at least at the Rare grade. Light Mana originally… would probably be of the Unique grade.”

—That’s right. Right now, the contractor’s Light Mana is heavily deteriorated. But it’s still very pretty!

Gi-jun, who had already guessed as much, nodded without showing much regret.

“A clear path has been revealed. I just need to keep running along it.”

“Good, that confident look is what I wanted.”

The Demon King let out a satisfied chuckle and stored the entire box with the magnifying glass somewhere.

It seemed she was serious when she said she would use it again when challenging the Rare grade.

“Then, shall we eat and have a spar to celebrate the grade-up?”

“Sure. It would be better to accurately assess my physical condition before entering the ruins again.”

—Contractor, I want to eat noodles today!

“Lucy, you always want to eat noodles.”

“No—, today is meat. Today is the day we have to eat meat. It’s a party!”

“Demon King, you always want to eat meat too…”

But it was indeed a day to have a party.

Was it not the day he completed the race grade-up, whose very existence he had not even known about?

Gi-jun began the party cooking that the Demon King wanted, praying that his companions, who would be in their second round by now, and furthermore, the Heroes of Earth, would realize the grade-up of race and status and actively challenge it.

What could not be missed at a party—balloons? Firecrackers? Champagne? Cake?

All wrong. The thing that could not be missed at a party was meat.

A party without meat simply would not get one’s mood to the absolute HIGH.

“Alright, today I’m going all out on the Minotaur Charge Captain’s meat.”

“The beef shank? That was extremely delicious.”

“That is just a cut that is ‘delicious even when grilled.’ Today… we are going with the strongest candidate for grilling.”

At those words that raised her expectations to the fullest, the Demon King fixed her gaze on his hand.

What Gi-jun pulled out of his inventory was none other than the prime short ribs, of which he had only obtained a small amount even from the Minotaur Charge Captain.

Unlike the beef shank, which he had received almost for free, this was a precious cut that he had been fairly distributed by claiming his contribution in the raid!

Because it felt like such a waste to eat it, he had kept putting it off, intending to eat it at the celebratory party once they finally succeeded in raiding the Demon King… but…

Now, it did not matter anymore.

‘I don’t know if they’re eating properly since there was no one in the party who knew how to cook except for me.’

Gi-jun, who was briefly reminiscing about his party members, chuckled as he realized that the Demon King and Lucy were looking at the prime short ribs in his hand while gulping down their saliva.

The rib meat with its brilliant marbling was so worthy of the word ‘art’ that he felt he had to treat it with reverence.

First, while boiling the pasta noodles, he took out the pre-prepared cream sauce and stir-fried it, adding spices, including spicy chili peppers.

Under the gaze of the Demon King, who was filled with anticipation, he pulled out a spare shield that had been well-cleaned for cooking.

Smirking at the Demon King, who did not even tell him not to use a shield today, he oiled the shield placed over the fire, and then, the prime short ribs…

placed them.

—Sizzle—!

“It’s not like I haven’t eaten meat before… but this is strange.”

—It’s the heart. Because the contractor’s heart is in it, it looks delicious!

The Demon King and the spirit stared intently at the rib meat grilling on the shield while making such a comment as an excuse.

Meanwhile, he took out the well-boiled noodles and stir-fried them with the sauce.

He cut up plenty of the well-grilled rib meat, added it to the pasta, and plated it in a bowl.

The spicy rib cream pasta was complete.

“Let’s just grill the remaining ribs and eat them. I’ve also prepared salt and wasabi sauce to dip them in.”

The Demon King rolled the pasta around the meat and took a bite, then, after checking the meat grilling on the shield, she closed her eyes tightly and shouted.

“Today… I’ll count today’s spar as my defeat!”

Not only did his Cooking skill level rise, but the level of his Shield Mastery also rose even before the spar began.

Of course, in the spar that followed the meal, he was thoroughly beaten by the Demon King as always, but he still wore a triumphant smile, feeling a distinct difference in his hands compared to before.

He had gained the confidence that he could now hunt down those lesser demons within an hour.

* * *

“The meat tastes bad.”

Ye-min said with a straight face.

At those words, which he had already heard several times, Eun-shin smiled faintly and said.

“Please bear with it a little longer until we meet Gi-jun hyung, nuna.”

“But if I do that, it feels like I’m treating Gi-jun oppa as our party’s meal shuttle! If I ask him to grill meat as soon as we meet, what on earth would oppa think of me?”

“Then you practice cooking.”

Ji-hye, who was in charge of cooking today, lowered the book she was holding in one hand and said in a sharp voice.

The identity of that book was none other than the reward of the ruins the three of them had conquered, a magic tome that would allow one to obtain a Unique-grade Mana Circuit.

Said to form the most suitable Mana Circuit according to the reader’s talent and personality, in the first round it had unfortunately fallen into the hands of someone with no magical talent, ending up with an effect worse than even a Rare skill.

Since that person, who had acquired the magic book backed by the power of a large guild, died without even standing on the final battlefield, it was a relief for the achievement of all the Heroes’ goal that the magic book had fallen into Ji-hye’s hands.

“Stop complaining about the food for no reason and try taking charge of it yourself.”

“I am trying too. But the taste just isn’t there…”

Right before a useless argument could break out.

Eun-shin, the youngest of the party, stepped in at that point to calm the two down.

“Now, now, Ji-hye nuna. Ye-min nuna isn’t criticizing you either. She’s just saying that because she misses Gi-jun hyung. Ye-min nuna, Ji-hye nuna is concentrating on reading the magic book right now, so let’s talk a bit more quietly, okay?”

“Ugh… Fine.”

“…Sorry, it’s a difficult part, so I guess I was a bit sensitive too. Just wait until I finish reading and get the Mana Circuit. I miss Gi-jun oppa’s meals too.”

“So Gi-jun oppa is indeed our party’s meal shuttle…”

A meal shuttle… he really was.

It wasn’t just that.

Whenever the party needed something, he always prepared it on his own, anticipated and resolved what they found uncomfortable in advance, took charge of preliminary negotiations with other parties, and left everything in his hands even when finding lodging.

It hadn’t been like that from the start, but from a certain point, they naturally came to lean on him for everything.

It wasn’t that Ye-min wanted to place the burden solely on him.

However, he refused to listen to her, saying that it was more comfortable for him to take charge, and in the end, she also grew accustomed to it.

To put it differently, she had ended up settling for the comfort he provided.

Perhaps the only slight exception to that was Uncle Su, who was already much more of an adult than them at the time they were dragged into the other world.

Had it not been for even that uncle, Gi-jun would have collapsed from overwork.

“I’m really pathetic, aren’t I?”

“No. It’s just… hyung was very mature.”

Eun-shin comforted the depressed Ye-min.

He, too, was no different from a novice in the early and middle stages of the first round.

He only knew how to run wild, excited by his innate abilities.

If not for Ye-min’s reliable combat power, Ji-hye’s sharp yet kind advice, and Gi-jun’s consideration that always protected him, things would have gone wrong long ago.

“But we’ve grown now too. Let’s work hard so that Gi-jun hyung doesn’t have to shoulder everything alone.”

“You’re right, Eun-shin.”

Ye-min nodded firmly and took out an unused shield from her inventory.

“I’m going to practice cooking from now on too. When we meet oppa again, I’ll grill meat for him.”

“Hmm. That’s good, nuna. But to grill meat, I think you’d need an iron shield, not a wooden shield.”

“Ah.”

Just as Ye-min, whose desire to imitate Gi-jun had run ahead and led her to do something foolish, lamented her own stupidity,

Ji-hye snapped her head up beside her.

“Achieving a higher stat of mana to aim for the growth of the race grade? What on earth does this mean?”

“Ah.”

“Race grade… growth?”

Ye-min wore a clear expression of having slipped up, and Eun-shin tilted his head.

Naturally, Ji-hye’s gaze, having detected that subtle difference, was directed at Ye-min, and—

she began to belatedly tell the group about the status grades she knew.