Chapter 4 – Demon Hunter (1)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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I was half in doubt.

‘Do demons appear in this way in reality as well?’

……Somehow, there is no improvement even after 10 years passed?

Because the current development was similar to the Demon Hunter’s quest.

But the moment the message popped up, I became certain.

A demon took over Nam Cheol-min’s body.

At that moment, the information from the community came to mind.

-The Demon race is the real problem.

-Their raw level is high too, but what’s even trickier are the status effects, fuck.

-Mages or Priest classes can at least endure because their Mental Power is high, but warriors like us really just become punching bags without buffs or potions.

Certainly, real-life demons were tricky monsters.

About 10 years ago.

There was no guarantee that they would be identical to the demons I encountered in my quests.

But I knew.

That I could not fall into such trivial estimations in front of a demon.

『Contradictorily, Granfel Claudi Arpheus Romeo’s pride soars the highest when standing before a demon.』

Yes, what kind of guy the demon possessing Nam Cheol-min is.

What level it is.

I don’t even know what status effects it causes.

Click

But my vision was clearer than ever before.

There was not the slightest hesitation in my steadfastly extending steps.

At this moment of encountering the demon, I spoke with a cold voice.

“As expected, you truly are a demon.”

At my declaration, the people present were swept up in shock.

Choi Jeong-hun stuttered.

He looked back and forth between me and Nam Cheol-min, then took steps backward.

“Wh-what are you talking about? A-a demon?”

“Demon race……!! I knew there was a sinister feeling as expected.”

“Wait, if it’s the Demon race, aren’t they something we absolutely cannot deal with……?!”

In the midst of that shock, Nam Cheol-min.

No, the demon burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha! You noticed quickly, you retards!!”

The demon seemed to be enjoying this situation.

Of course.

Because humans’ negative emotions become the demon’s strength.

“You humans, you see. You are sooo~ hypocritical.”

However, I had no intention of listening to that blabbering.

“Your dignity is lacking.”

A silver dagger was already held in my hand.

“I do not even know if dignity exists in an inferior race like demons in the first place, though.”

Of course, a clear hierarchy existed even among demons.

That is exactly what you get tired of hearing while carrying out job change quests in Akshan.

Lesser, Mid-level, Greater.

Above them are the ‘Demons of True Name’, and if you go far higher above, there are the ‘Demon Kings’ who proclaim themselves kings of demons…….

However, as I said.

『No temptation, deception, or ordeal from any demon could leave even a scratch on Granfel’s noble pride.』

Granfel.

In other words, to me, they were all just the same demon.

So there was no hesitation in my actions.

[The skill, ‘Natural Enemy’, is activated.]

───────

Natural Enemy: Combat power significantly increases when engaging in combat with the Demon race.

───────

Now that Natural Enemy has been activated.

My physical abilities were in a state of astronomical increase.

Swish!

Concisely and swiftly.

I thrust the dagger towards the nape of Nam Cheol-min’s neck.

Clang!

As expected of plate armor.

I did not know it would defend even the gap at the nape of the neck.

A voice overflowing with bewilderment could be heard.

“……Hahaha! Are you a crazy bastard? Aren’t you a worse bastard than me? We were acting friendly until just a moment ago, and you suddenly swing a sword? Fuck, what kind of bastard is this……?!”

But I did not permit it.

“Do not attempt to converse with me.”

“……Wh-what?!”

“I do not mingle words with my prey.”

Swish!

It was impossible to pierce plate armor with a silver dagger.

‘In that case, it would be right to aim for the joints.’

In front of a demon, I was moving according to my instincts.

I could feel that both my physical abilities and my brain rotation were on a completely different level from when I dealt with the Gnolls.

Stab!

I thrust the silver dagger into his inner elbow.

[The skill, ‘Exorcism Ritual’, is activated.]

‘I do not know how far the effect of the Exorcism Ritual will be strictly effective, but it doesn’t matter.’

The meaning of that message was simple.

It meant that I dealt an effective hit to the demon.

The demon was startled out of its wits and pushed back a few steps.

“Crazy!! This is silver!!! Fuck, what kind of bastard are you?”

Instead of answering, I swung my dagger once again.

The joint of the waist.

The joint of the knee.

And even the small gap at the nape of the neck.

Gush

Black blood poured from those wounds.

The demon spoke.

“Crazy bastard……. Do you not see the blood flowing?! At this rate, this bastard will really die. If you kill me, this guy dies too!! No, I will die together with this bastard no matter what means I have to use. Do you think I will die alone?!”

I chuckled inwardly out of welcome.

‘How can even its dialogue be identical to 10 years ago?’

Yeah, I am not falling for it.

While the skill [Exorcism Ritual] is active, the Demon Hunter’s attacks inflict damage only on demons.

No matter how long ago it was, I had not forgotten such basic common sense.

I didn’t.

But on my face.

Those inner thoughts were never reflected.

“The prey merely needs to be hunted, nothing more.”

Stab!

*

“Hyung, don’t push yourself too hard. Avoid dangerous Rifts as much as possible.”

“I know. You punk.”

“I’m not joking. The atmosphere these days is vicious, you know. That’s why I’m saying this……. Why don’t you just join our guild? There’s so much a Player can do without necessarily having to run through Rifts. You know, like an analyst.”

I just didn’t want to live pathetically.

“Even though you’re brothers, you two are quite different.”

“I’ll have to try harder if I don’t want to smear mud on my younger brother’s face, right?”

“Tae-min succeeded in a Boss Raid again, you say? Please pass on my congratulations to him.”

I just didn’t want to be a nuisance to my younger brother who was better than me.

Nam Cheol-min thought to himself while watching his body move on its own.

‘……Where did it start to go wrong?’

His memory was hazy from the moment he entered the Rift.

However, he clearly remembered the messages that popped up.

[A Lesser Demon, Imp observes you.]

[Your Mental Power is too low.]

[Status Effect: Possession occurs.]

‘……An Imp?’

A Level 200 Demon race monster, Imp.

Nam Cheol-min knew the dangers of the Demon race very well.

Because there were things he had seen and heard from his younger brother, Nam Tae-min.

Nam Cheol-min gritted his teeth.

‘You shouldn’t go in! It’s annihilation!’

But no voice came out.

‘……Right, another party. If we get help from another party!’

Words completely unrelated to his will popped out.

“But, well, there’s no need to worry. Perhaps because this is a transfer station, it is quite large. If we choose our route well, we should be able to hunt without overlapping with other parties.”

Literally, he was driving his party members to their deaths.

“Cheol-min hyung! No, hyung!!”

Continuing sudden, unexpected behavior.

Eventually, the party members including Choi Jeong-hun were surrounded by the pack of Gnolls.

‘It’s because of me. Because of me……!!’

Move.

Please move.

You have to help them.

However, Nam Cheol-min could not move even a single step.

He had no choice but to stand blankly and watch.

“No, fuck. Why are you doing this!! Hey, Nam Cheol-min!!”

It was all his fault.

It was his lack of ability.

Nam Cheol-min’s heart began to collapse from a sense of powerlessness.

‘……Tae-min, I guess I really should have done what you said.’

And that was exactly what the Imp wanted.

Nam Cheol-min let go of the string of consciousness he had barely been holding onto.

All he could hear were faint voices.

“Hey, Nam Cheol-min! Did you really think you became something just because I followed you around calling you hyung, hyung? Fuck, a bastard who’s nothing without his younger brother…….”

Right, everything Choi Jeong-hun said was correct.

He was a guy who amounted to nothing more than that.

“Hahaha. Kuhahahahaha.”

After that, all he heard was laughter.

The Imp’s laughter that seemed to ridicule his weak self.

But, that ridicule that seemed like it would never end, stopped.

“As expected, you truly are a demon.”

……He noticed the existence of a demon? How?

At those words, Nam Cheol-min grabbed the string of his consciousness once again.

Then, an unbelievable sight entered his vision.

‘……He’s overwhelming the Imp?’

It was a preposterous situation.

The reason why the Demon race was troublesome was not only because of their high levels.

It was because demons frequently caused status effects.

[Fear], [Despair], [Exhaustion]…….

In order to respond to those vicious status effects, a high Mental Power stat.

Or an overwhelming level gap that could even ignore that, was needed.

‘……But, who on earth is this man?’

Even while looking, he could not believe it.

This was not a fight.

Yes, it was just as the man said.

It was a one-sided ‘hunt’.

The Imp’s wailing sound rang in Nam Cheol-min’s ears.

Nam Cheol-min thought.

‘……If the Imp dies, I die too?’

If so, I will die.

Nam Cheol-min made up his mind.

Because of him, his party members fell into a deadly situation.

Even if his body was stolen by the Imp, it could not be an excuse.

Since he heard that demons targeted weak-willed humans.

Even that was his own fault.

‘Shouldn’t I at least earn my keep even in death?’

Don’t you agree, Jeong-hun? Tae-min?

Fortunately, the man seemed to have not the slightest hesitation.

‘It is a pity, but I have no way to repay my debt to you.’

It was the moment Nam Cheol-min thought so.

Stab!

At the same time the man’s dagger lodged in the nape of his neck.

He felt as though something was slipping out of his body.

Blink

……For some reason, his eyes opened.

“……?”

Soon, the ceiling of the subway came into view.

A flickering light bulb was shining.

So brightly that he had to squint his eyes because it was dazzling.

Amidst that, a voice could be heard.

“Did I not say so?”

That was an incomparably leisurely,

voice expressing dignity.

“You have nothing to worry about since I am here.”

*

[You have defeated a Lesser Demon, ‘Imp’.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]…….

My level increased.

When I counted the number of those messages, there was a total of 12.

I merely hunted a single Imp, but my level rose by a whopping 12 levels.

What is this. Is this real life.

I recalled the battle with the Imp.

It was to estimate the level of the Imp, which literally poured out experience points.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I could not comprehend it.

‘The Gnolls were actually trickier opponents compared to the Imp.’

The Gnolls’ levels were only in the 30s.

If so, the meaning is simple.

‘……I did say that high expectations bring great disappointment.’

Doesn’t this already far exceed my expectations?

It seemed the ‘Natural Enemy’ relationship between a Demon Hunter and the Demon race was much firmer than I anticipated.

‘Is it because it’s a Lesser Demon.’

To the point where it couldn’t be defied with an ambiguous gap.

The messages did not end there.

[The proficiency of the skill, ‘Silver Mastery’, increases.]

───────

Silver Mastery (24%): Grants extra attack power and special effects to silver weapons.

───────

Thanks to defeating an Imp with a silver dagger, the proficiency of the skill significantly increased.

The proficiency that was 19 percent became 24 percent in a single breath.

It is a pity, but the Imp did not drop any items.

However, I did not feel any regret.

Was it because I obtained a massive amount of experience points instead.

Or if not that, was it due to the setting of Granfel who does not cling to wealth and glory.

I couldn’t tell.

‘Rather than that.’

Anyway, keeping the words I spat out was more important.

“Did I not say so? You have nothing to worry about since I am here.”

……Because if I hadn’t kept it, I really would have died of embarrassment.

I clearly realized through experience.

That my actions overlaid with the dark history called Granfel could not be corrected.

Even at a moment of life-threatening crisis.

My stiffened neck proved him.

So that meant I had no choice but to adapt.

Fortunately, my adaptability seemed to be on the quite decent side.

“Sob sob. Thank you. Truly. This favor, I will definitely……!”

“Hyung, are you okay? Good gracious, what on earth is going on here…….”

“Phew. That is a relief. Really.”

“Wow. Awesome……!!”

The burdensome gazes pouring on me.

Those eyes that seemed to look up to me in reverence.

I was casually accepting them.

As if such a reaction was only natural.

I simply thought.

‘What manners.’

The saying that young people these days have no manners,

doesn’t just come out for nothing, I’m telling you.

*

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Title: Review of Line 4 Rift raid today!! ><

Author: Jeong-yeoni

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Content: Dealing with today's raid was almost a really big disaster ㅠㅠ Our party leader got possessed by an Imp ㅠㅠㅠ I really thought our party was going to be annihilated ㅠㅠ But there was an incredibly strong person among our party members, and they literally beat the Imp down, so we lived!! Our party leader was crying and wailing, apologizing and thanking them ㅠㅠㅠ

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Comments:

─The military-served high school girl concept freak Jeong-yeoni is here again lol Is concept-playing not enough now that you're even making up stories?

─Let's put some sincerity into making up stories, Jeong-yeon. No matter what, catching an Imp in a Gnoll party lacks probability way too much, doesn't it?

─At least give them a name, getting called just 'party member' lol

─Excuse me, this really isn't made up ㅡㅡ? And I wanted to ask for their name too… but really, you'd know if you saw them, they were someone you couldn't just casually talk to… How should I say it? They had this aura about them?! It felt like our eye levels were just on a completely different plane???

─??? What bullshit is that

Level 368.

Player Ranking 11th.

Nam Tae-min let out a hollow laugh while reading the post.

"So hyung. You want me to believe this? Seriously?"

In front of him stood his biological older brother, Nam Cheol-min.

"Yes. It is real, that."

Nam Cheol-min's face was extremely serious.

"Because I am that party leader who got possessed by an Imp."

"Wh-what did you say?"