3 – 1 – Living with the Demon King – 2

Gi-jun learned a new fact about the Demon King.

It was that the Demon King was terribly bad at cooking.

“Did the concept of cooking not exist in the world where you lived, senior?”

“Shut up and eat.”

However, Gi-jun did not eat it.

Since the expression of eating was something that could only be applied to food.

Unlike the Demon King, he could not digest charcoal.

It was so burnt to a crisp that his unbreakable internal clock even accepted it as a debuff and rejected it.

“I will make a new one.”

“Hm? Come to think of it, you had a cooking skill, didn’t you?”

At his suggestion, the Demon King brightened up and spat out the charcoal in her mouth.

Gi-jun took a polished, shiny shield out of his inventory and placed it over the campfire.

The purple fire summoned directly by the Demon King was so intense that it heated the shield in an instant.

“Hero, I don’t eat iron, you know?”

“Just watch quietly.”

He pulled out a piece of whitish pork fat and wiped the shield clean with it.

Over the shield, which was glistening as the fat melted in the heat, he placed well-aged Orc pork belly.

It was not just any Orc, but the belly meat of a Level 85 High Orc Legion Commander.

Since edible monster meat was basically tastier the higher the level, anyone grilling meat from a High Orc Legion Commander would force even the most successful Hero to cast “just one bite.”

“High Orcs are a rare-grade race. Normal Orcs are uncommon, and High Orcs are rare. A Legion Commander is a unique-grade class. It was probably in a weakened state since it was the tutorial, but even so, it must have been tough for you all.”

“No wonder it held out so well even when hundreds of us rushed it… But what is a class anyway?”

At the words flying in from the side while he was grilling the meat with all his heart, Gi-jun snapped his head up again.

The Demon King nodded, going, “Ah, right!” and continued.

“Since the tutorial is a process of experiencing various things, there were no classes. Right.”

“Isn’t Hero a class?”

“That’s not a class, just a common title. The class restrictions for Earth’s Heroes will also be lifted once the tutorial ends.”

“And naturally, classes have grades as well?”

“Of course. Hey, the meat is going to burn.”

“Am I you?”

Even while listening to the Demon King, he never missed the optimal moment to flip the meat.

Lifting the wooden chopsticks made by a friend who possessed an uncommon-grade woodworking skill, he flipped the meat at the perfect moment!

Sizzle—along with the pleasant sound, an amazing aroma of meat wafted up.

The Demon King swallowed her saliva at the appetizing smell, yet she tried hard to act cool.

“Even if you call it a cooking skill, it’s nothing special. You’re just grilling meat, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, the thing you failed at earlier, senior.”

“A Hero… talking back?!”

Since he had suffered a lot with the issue of eating for the first few years after being dragged to the other world—no, the tutorial—Gi-jun had no compromise when it came to cooking and meals.

It was the same even if the opponent was the Demon King, who could crush him to death with a finger.

When Gi-jun, who grilled the meat while sprinkling a special spice blend made by mixing several ingredients, sliced a piece for her to eat, the face of the Demon King—who was determined to kill him if it tasted bad—melted away the moment she put the meat in her mouth.

“You can… talk back…”

He had been thinking this for a while, but was this person actually incredibly kind?

Although he could not forgive her for trying to poison him by feeding him charcoal, seeing the Demon King look so happy while eating the meat he grilled softened his heart.

Gi-jun sliced all the meat on the grill… shield into bite-sized pieces and offered her more.

“There’s plenty, so eat up.”

“I’ll eat well!”

The Demon King really ate the meat well.

It felt like he was looking at his party members who would rush in with shining eyes whenever he cooked, which made Gi-jun feel a bit strange too.

What was he even thinking; it was not like they were actually dead, and they would be able to meet again in another world once the second round of the tutorial ended anyway.

Chuckling to himself, he decided to eat some meat too before the Demon King devoured all of it.

How long had they been eating like that?

The Demon King, who was devouring the High Orc pork belly until both of her cheeks bulged, suddenly grew curious and asked while looking at Gi-jun, who was silently eating his meat.

“By the way, it’s not like you can’t make a grill, so why are you grilling meat on a shield?”

“There’s a deep reason for that.”

“Tell me.”

“I thought that if I cooked with a shield, maybe I would get a bonus for Shield Mastery.”

“Are you an idiot?”

It was at that very moment, when the dumbfounded Demon King tapped the grill with her chopsticks.

—You have executed Shield Mastery and successfully defended against an enemy of a significantly higher level. [Shield Mastery] has transcended its limits and grown to uncommon grade. [Shield Mastery (Uncommon)] has reached Level 1!

—A being of an unimaginably high status sincerely admires your cooking. The level of the [Cooking] skill has increased by 5, reaching Level 82!

—You have executed Shield Mastery and successfully defended against an enemy of a significantly higher level. [Shield Mastery] has transcended its limits and grown to uncommon grade. [Shield Mastery (Uncommon)] has reached Level 1!

—A being of an unimaginably high status sincerely admires your cooking. The level of the [Cooking] skill has increased by 5, reaching Level 82!

Cooking aside, Shield Mastery, which had just reached its maximum level at Level 99 a moment ago, had suddenly grown to the uncommon grade!

Without a word, Gi-jun opened his skill window and showed the grade of Shield Mastery to the Demon King.

She shook her head as if she could not accept it, but reality did not change.

“Let’s keep cooking on the shield from now on.”

“No way, I’m not eating it anymore.”

However, seeing how the Demon King swept up all the remaining meat on the shield even while saying that, it was doubtful whether she would keep her word.

Wiping down the shield that had finally been emptied of meat with a cloth, Gi-jun muttered casually.

“Thank you.”

“I can’t accept it. I just ate the meat placed on the shield…!”

“Not that, but for helping me.”

“Ah.”

If the Demon King had not actively tried to save him, the fairy would likely have swept this matter under the rug by killing him.

No, that moth bastard would definitely have done so.

It was also thanks to the Demon King that this place was not shut down completely and a small part of it remained.

The fact that she had stayed here with him out of a sense of responsibility, and that she was meddling to help him grow since he could not regress, were all things he was grateful for.

“Thank you also for suggesting the second round of the tutorial. If those guys had crossed over to another world just like that, they wouldn’t have lasted long. Thank you so much for providing my friends with a good opportunity.”

“You… I’m the one who killed those friends, you know?”

“You didn’t kill them. You sent them to the second round.”

“Do you believe it?”

“I want to believe it.”

And unless she was capable of even manipulating system messages, regression would not be a lie.

Although it was an answer with Gi-jun’s own calculations behind it, the Demon King seemed quite touched.

“Are you okay even though you couldn’t go?”

“You said you would help me.”

Grinning as he spoke, Gi-jun put the shield back into his inventory and said.

“So, I will be in your care from now on, senior.”

“…Fine.”

Grinning back at him, the Demon King patted her chest proudly and declared gallantly.

“Trust me and follow my lead. I’ll make sure you grow strong.”

An hour after that, Gi-jun stood facing the Demon King, holding a shield in each hand.

Gi-jun thought it was an extremely unsightly appearance.

“Is this right? Can I really trust you?”

“It’s a waste to throw away Shield Mastery now that it has grown to uncommon grade.”

“Is that why you made me hold a shield in each hand?”

“Didn’t some guy named Copernicus say that a shield is also a blunt weapon?”

“Silence! Do not turn the great astronomer Copernicus into some weird guy!”

The Demon King believed that while other skills were important, the grade of weapon skills was the most important.

Therefore, the first things to raise were Dual Blunt Weapon Mastery and Shield Mastery.

To train both simultaneously, she made him hold a shield in each hand and execute movements that integrated offense and defense!

“Doesn’t it sound plausible? Left or right, you can block freely with either side, and you can strike however you want. What do you think?”

“If I speak honestly about what I think, I feel like I’ll get beaten up by you.”

“You have to get beaten up plenty anyway while sparring with me in real combat.”

“I regret calling you senior earlier… Keugh!”

In the sparring match that began like that, Gi-jun was helplessly beaten by the Demon King.

The Demon King was shudderingly strong.

The Demon King who only used magic had been terrifyingly strong, but even with bare-handed combat techniques that completely excluded magic, she overwhelmed Gi-jun, allowing him to realize anew just how strong she was.

“Ah, my power was also restricted during the tutorial. Not anymore, though.”

“Thanks for the kind explanation, ack! Thank you, keugh!”

“Block! Block properly! Right now you are just holding out solely on your innate senses. If you want to keep learning Shield Mastery, learn how to block, deflect, and parry properly!”

“Ack! Aaack!”

Two hours.

They had sparred for a mere two hours, yet Gi-jun’s Shield Mastery grew to Level 5.

The level of his Dual Blunt Weapon Mastery also rose by 1, reaching Level 73.

He had been hit so much that even his rare skills, the tanker trio set, grew by 1 level each.

Gi-jun realized anew that skill growth in actual combat depended not on how much one fought, but on whom one fought and how.

This was an immense privilege that even regressors could never enjoy.

The price of that realization was the bruises covering his entire body.

“You’re really a genius when using a shield as a weapon. You concentrate your mana well, too.”

The Demon King still did not seem to like Gi-jun’s Shield Mastery.

Feeling wronged, Gi-jun argued back.

“My teammates all praised me, saying I was good at blocking with the shield, you know?”

“They probably said that because they were worried you’d throw away your shield and pick up a weapon.”

“You mean…”

However, because it weighed on his mind, he could not argue any further.

“But that’s fine. For starters, your combat sense is outstanding, and you correct yourself immediately when pointed out. That alone is a big deal.”

“I won’t fall for your compliments.”

“So, if we keep hammering it into your body like this, it will somehow grow to rare grade.”

Huh, it seemed that was not a compliment.

“If we had enough time, even unique grade would be possible, but the second round will end much faster than the first round anyway. It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”

Smacking her lips in genuine regret, the Demon King took her stance again.

“Let’s make sure to raise Dual Blunt Weapon Mastery to unique grade at least. That way, you will never fall behind the regressors, absolutely.”

“I’m so grateful for you caring that much that I feel like I’m going to cry.”

Throughout the day.

He had fought the Demon King alongside his comrades, barely survived, and then got thrashed like a punching bag by the Demon King for another two hours.

Yet, facing the Demon King who clenched her fists saying she had to train him harder, Gi-jun took his stance as well instead of grumbling.

Nietzsche said.

That which does not kill me makes me stronger.

The Demon King was surely pushing him because she knew that as well.

“Alright, Nietzsche. Let’s do this.”

“What about Copernicus?”

“As long as those two are with me, I will never lose.”

“Ah, they are together.”

Holding Copernicus in his head and Nietzsche in his heart, Gi-jun raised his shields again.

Reading his will, the Demon King smiled in approval and rushed at him again.

After being thrashed to dust for another three hours, Gi-jun achieved Level 8 in Shield Mastery (Uc) and Level 75 in Dual Blunt Weapon Mastery (Uc).

…His rare skills all grew by an additional 2 levels.

“By the way, where are you sleeping?”

After training ended.

Gi-jun, whose appearance was like a wrung-out rag, stopped pitching his tent in the clearing and asked the Demon King.

When the Demon King, who was admiring his fairly luxurious tent, clapped her hands at his words, a luxurious castle suddenly surged up from the empty ground.

“What is that?”

“The Demon King’s Castle.”

“So something like that was hidden underground…”

The Heroes, including him, had failed to find anything even resembling the Demon King’s Castle until the very end.

Presumably, the Demon King had purposely stepped out of the castle to send the Heroes to the second round quickly.

“I’d like to invite you in too, but I can’t. If you enter here, you’ll take continuous damage and die.”

“So that means we were originally supposed to fight and defeat you while taking environmental debuffs?”

“Right?”

The realization that all the Heroes were unqualified had never hit home so clearly.

Smiling bitterly at Gi-jun who could only laugh in disbelief, the Demon King waved and turned away.

“Sleep well then, Hero. Let’s get down to business in earnest starting tomorrow.”

“Sleep well too, Demon King.”

It was the moment a certain distance opened between him and the Demon King.

—The battle has completely ended.

—You have obtained the qualification for the new class, ‘Shield Warrior’. This class is of uncommon grade. Would you like to change classes?

—You have obtained the qualification for the new class, ‘Blunt Weapon Warrior’. This class is of uncommon grade. Would you like to change classes?

—The battle has completely ended.

—You have obtained the qualification for the new class, ‘Shield Warrior’. This class is of uncommon grade. Would you like to change classes?

—You have obtained the qualification for the new class, ‘Blunt Weapon Warrior’. This class is of uncommon grade. Would you like to change classes?

“Hey, wait a minute! Senior, stop!”

“Uh, huh?! What is it, what is it!”

The class restrictions of the Heroes were to be lifted when the tutorial ended.

Just as the Demon King’s power restrictions had been lifted and she had become even more of a monster.

Gi-jun’s class restrictions had also already been lifted.