A chilling ground where no signs of life could be found. Above the greyish land.
Thud!
With a rough sound, bits of greyish earth splattered.
“Damn it!”
A man with rugged greyish skin pounding the ground. Sporting the distinct Arab turban, his handsome beard didn’t quite match his scowling expression.
“How did we end up running into such a monster!”
Kicking up the greyish ground, he sprinted forward, mocking the land.
Thunk.
“Kwaaah!”
“Cough!”
Following a heavy thud, familiar screams of his comrades echoed.
‘Hamann and Ibrahim are already down!’
Knowing his comrades’ skills well, he strained his legs harder, but to no avail.
Bang.
“Kk!”
With another vibration, the pressure on his shoulders made fleeing impossible. Resisting the force pressing down on his whole body.
“Damn it…!”
He barely turned his head.
“Right, just try to run away.”
Approaching was a man with distinct features.
“You catch on fast. Well, if you’re here to participate, it’s only natural, right?”
With an annoyed tone. Taking a deep breath, the man, Shimun, tousled his hair roughly and clenched his fist.
Whoom.
Dark energy condensed in his clenched fist. Having experienced its power many times before.
“Hiik!”
Under his turban, the man’s face turned pale blue. He too was a promising rising star in his own country.
“Get lost!”
In an instant, he drew his scimitar from his waist and followed through with a strike. As scimitars had an advantageous structure for swordsmanship. His evenly arced strike was now enveloped in a bluish-black hue.
Shhwaaah!
Swiftly, he surged towards Shimun’s neck. However.
Swish.
As if waiting for that moment. Shimun pulled his clenched fist towards his neck.
Juukk!
Between the condensed demonic ki and bluish-black arc, a muffled cry resounded. Blocking the sword with the bluish-black arc, Shimun shattered the arc with his fist. Nonchalantly, he threw a punch. Similar to a beginner fighter’s straight punch.
Bang!
As the scimitar clashed with his fist, it felt different. How could it be described?
Like a seasoned warrior receiving a punch filled with a child’s full strength?
Kkiguk.
The clash between the fist and the scimitar rang out. Just as the man with the turban was about to unleash consecutive strikes. Shimun took another step forward.
Bang.
“Cough!”
Just by taking one step forward. With a heavy vibration, the man with the turban kneeled, coughing and groaning. The martial artist looked down at the man with a satisfied expression in his eyes.
Heavenly Demon Divine Arts (天魔神功).
Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Step (天魔君臨步).
This technique, which he had experienced even during his duel with Go Malsuk in the past, had been a part of his life since previous incarnations. It had been practiced and honed multiple times. And now.
“I made the right choice to cultivate Heavenly Demon Divine Arts up to 3rd level.”
Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Step was showing incredibly satisfying results. Originally, Shimun had planned to makes his platinum-rank debut with his Production Golem.
However, after Shiyeon had been crafted, Shimun decided to raise Heavenly Demon Divine Arts to 3rd level just as a precaution.
“I earned a cool 10,000 achievement points as a reward. Well, I had a rough estimate.”
The first level alone was worth 5,000 points, and the second level was a reward for connecting Go Malsuk with Heavenly Demon. Therefore, it was roughly estimated that reaching the 3rd level would cost 10,000 points or more.
“That’s why Homunculus is a bit out of reach.”
To raise the completion of the Obsidian Tablet from 40% to 60%, a total of 60,000 points was needed. Although he had raised it to 45% recently due to his break through on human alchemy, he was still facing a brutal cost of 50,000 points.
Despite the fact that losing 10,000 achievement points was quite a heavy blow, “It’s just 10,000 points. It’ll be resolved once I complete the missions with Shiyeon.”
“Uh….”
Shimun raised heis fist towards the man who couldn’t even lift his head while trembling all over his body.
“Have you noticed that?”
“You monster… You’re a monster!”
“Is that so?”
Shimun smirked and channeled his demonic ki into his fist.
“I’ve never thought of myself as a monster because there are so many monsters around me.”
He struck with his oppressive power.
*****
“I guess everything in the vicinity has been organized by now.”
Shimun, with his hands clenched tight, looked around at the bleak landscape. It was originally a desolate Chaos Realm, but it had become even more barren due to the aftermath of his overwhelming power.
-Oh my god…
-He’s insane! He’s gone mad!
-Oh shit! What did I just witness?
-Did you see that? He wiped out a team of six by himself!
-This guy’s fistwork is amazing!
-Most of them look Middle Eastern. Won’t he be banned from the Middle East at this rate?
The viewers watching this overwhelming spectacle in real-time were full of admiration and astonishment.
-“Kim Shimun, you will face the judgment of Allah!”
-“Aren’t you afraid of God? All Asians are violent.”
-“He’s a demon for eating pork!”
The viewers, who seemed to be of Arabic descent, rained curses upon Shiyeon while invoking Allah and other deities.
Of course, the vigilant moderators swiftly removed any chat messages that crossed the line.
-“Oh shit! No mercy at all!”
-“Picking out and banning accurately amidst the flood of chat messages?”
-“Black Goat, you are the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) of this room!”
-“Wait. Isn’t he the real GOAT?”
Amidst the cheering chat messages for the Black Goat, it was all due to the fact that from the platinum rank onwards, things became closely tied to the interests of various countries.
The chat room often becomes volatile in such cases.
Of course.
『Manager ‘Black Goat’ has banned user dlrjsrmwj.』
『Manager ‘Black Goat’ has banned user emflqdlqslek.』
『Manager ‘Black Goat’ has banned user rhkahfdlqss….』
The vigilant moderators swiftly cut off any inappropriate comments in the chat.
-“Oh shit! No mercy!”
-“Black Goat, call on Allah! Call him now!”
-“Huh?”
Completely unaware of the situation in the chat room filled with such energy, Shimun…”Why suddenly Allah?”
The wrath of the Black Goat seemed to have gone into overdrive. The unpredictable behavior of the Black Goat was not a rare occurrence.
-“Well, it seems that players affiliated with the Middle East are spawning around this area.”
Weren’t all the players that Shimun dealt with from the Middle East? Shimun shrugged, thinking so.
Then he turned around.
“Shiyeon.”
“Hmm?”
As soon as Shimun called, a child peeped out from behind a nearby ash-colored rock.
“Appa, is it over?”
Seeing Shiyeon ask innocently with big eyes, Shimun smiled and nodded in response.
“Yes. Come here. We need to move to another place now.”
Because there are no more players to deal with here. Swallowing the rest of his words, Shimun picked up Shiyeon who was running towards him. Embracing Shiyeon in his arms, Shimun inwardly sighed in relief while watching him look around curiously.
“Indeed, it was a good decision to use a bit more force.”
Would Shiyeon be scared to see a corpse?
Shimun didn’t create such large craters intentionally even when launching attacks. Or maybe he just pulverized them.
“But Shiyeon didn’t seem surprised by the corpses.”
Even when dealing with Zayed and Suad, two Middle Easterns, she didn’t show any surprise at the sight of blood or corpses.
What can he do?
“Appa! More blood! Can I play this time?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t want to show such things to this cute child who was like his own.
“But this time, I’ll fly far away. We can’t use the jump rune there.”
Shimun raised his hand towards a nearby floating island. He was trying to activate the flying ability granted by Hermes’ shoes.
Then, a booming sound.
As Shimun aimed for the floating island, a sudden magical current rose above it. Shimun immediately recognized what the current was. To him, it was very familiar.
“It’s… a mage, right?”
As soon as Shimun identified the mage.
『A demon from the Chaos Realm is appearing.』
『Demons are powerful creatures belonging to the Dimensional Abyss. It is recommended to avoid them unless victory is certain.』
The system message appeared before him. In an instant, Shimun’s face twisted in shock. It wasn’t just because of the arrival of the powerful demon.
“Why are demons appearing already?”
It was precisely because of the timing of their appearance.
-“Huh? Demons are coming out already?”
-“What? Isn’t it still the early stage?”
-“It’s only been about 20 minutes since it started, right?”
-“Usually, it takes an hour, right?”
The chat box also raised questions one after another. On average, demons appear about an hour after the start of the arena in the Chaos Realm. So, their appearance after only 20 minutes naturally raised doubts.
However, the questions did not last long.
“I see.”
Shimun nodded slightly while looking into the air.
“It’s because of this person, Faust.”
Looking at the arena board.
1st place – Faust with 13 kills.
2nd place – Andrew Burns with 10 kills.
3rd place – Kim Shimun with 8 kills.
The name Faust, who was in first place, caught his attention.
“13 kills… If he killed that many, it’s not surprising that he summoned demons.”
As a dark mage, Faust, who was once called the demon king in his previous life, was naturally a high-ranked player with immense skills. Mage, the essential stat of a Dark Mage.
He was a ‘mage class’ player who possessed both the essential stats of a mage, as well as demonic energy stat. One of the promising rookies participating in the Platinum debut showcase. While he was certainly not the dreadful Demon King from his past life.
“Tsk, this is getting annoying.”
Shimun’s expression was not pleased at all. The reason was simple.
“If we do this, even the Angels won’t stay quiet.”
Chaos Realm.
Wasn’t the story this darn map had about the battlefield between Angels and Demons?
Sure enough.
“The Angels are detecting the movement of the Demons.”
“The Angels are appearing in the Chaos Realm.”
“The Angels are a powerful race belonging to the Heavenly Realm. We recommend avoiding confrontation unless victory is certain.”
The system window popped up before Shimun. At the same time, far away, a beam of light pierced through the dark clouds. A bright platinum light poured down like a waterfall. Presumably, within that waterfall of light, the Angels were appearing.
“Why the heck are we doing this…?”
Why bother summoning the Demons when Faust, you are already strong enough. But why cause such foolishness, you bastard?!
Although the words almost burst out of his throat, Shimun kept them in. It wasn’t because the broadcast was still on.
“Well, for him, this might be the best scenario after all.”
Receiving the favor of the Diamond-tier race, the Demons, he could comfortably proceed with the arena. Why bother running around on his own feet?
Furthermore, he was a dark mage.
By contributing a little in the upcoming battle against the Angels, he could gain the favor of the Demons. He could even establish connections with the leaders of the Demon Realm.
It was undoubtedly the best choice for Faust.
“Shiyeon, it seems like I have to hide you there again.”
Shimun gently placed Shiyeon back on the ground.
“Why?”
Shiyeon tilted her head curiously. Shimun stroked Shiyeon’s head gently and said, “Because we no longer need to go there.”
And that was true.
Kiki!
Hahaha!
The eerie laughter unique to the Demons was getting closer and closer. Yes.
The Demons Faust had summoned were spreading out.
“Probably they want to destroy as many Demons as possible before the Constellation arrive.”
Whether in his past life or now, he was a vile and despicable person. That was probably how he earned the title of Demon Lord.
Shimun quickly hid Shiyeon behind a rock.
With a few more incantations, he created a hiding place that mimicked a defense barrier.
And then.
“Haha! Found you!!”
“Get out of the way! That human is mine!”
Shimun watched the Demons who had approached closely.
“Judging by their demonic form and appearance… They must be lower-tier Demons.”
Their inability to conceal the aggressive energy typical of magic and their form closer to that of a beast than a human easily gave away their rank.
Of course, lower-tier, but even one of these lower beings was treated on par with a Diamond-tier player. Well, they must have recently reached the Diamond tier.
Therefore.
“Lower-tier Demons shouldn’t be a big problem….”
Shimun’s gaze shifted to the higher-ranking Demons that looked down on him with arrogance, with its arms crossed.
Some of them appeared closer to human form than the approaching lower-tier Demons.
“Probably intermediate demons.”
And the fact that both lower and intermediate demons were pouring out like this.
“Faust summoned an demon, at minimum it should be a high-ranked demon….”
High-ranking demons. Even diamond players needed to form a party to confront them. Otherwise, players of a high caliber like Night Hunter Park Jinwook needed to step up even among the diamond ranks.
“Sigh. This is going to be a headache.”
It was a completely different dimension from the nagas they had encountered at the previous Gold debut match. At that time, both nagas were at a level equivalent to lower demons, but facing intermediate and high-ranked demons made it difficult to directly engage them, no matter how skilled Shimun was. Indeed, the keyword was “directly.”
‘Ugh, I need to save my achievement points.’
Sighing softly, Kim Shimun scratched his head and reluctantly reached out his hand.
“Keehaha! Why are you reaching out your hand? Are you trying to beg?”
“What can I do? I have no intention of sparing you.”
The demons who had approached menacingly exuded a sinister aura. Which was natural. Demons were inherently aggressive beings, and the lower their rank, the more they revealed their instincts rather than reason. However, Kim Shimun simply looked up at the empty air with an irritated expression. Or more accurately, a system window appeared before him.
『Your Alchemy Energy is insufficient to proceed with the alchemization. To establish the necessary equivalent exchange with the Philosopher’s Stone, 10,000 achievement points are required.』
『Will you accept? (Yes/No)』
‘Another ten thousand points.’ Kim Shimun let out a sigh involuntarily. However, he couldn’t avoid performing the affinity ritual in this situation. With a snap, Kim Shimun selected ‘Yes’ and flicked his finger.
“Huh? Isn’t that demonic energy?”
“Hey, is he a dark mage?”
Magic began to gather around Kim Shimun’s finger.
“What, is this!”
“How can a human possess such pure magic!”
Gradually, amazement spread among the lower demons who were harboring doubts. The reason was simple.
Swish!
The magic became increasingly intense. Although smaller than the swirling magic created by Faust, the flow of magic rising above Kim Shimun’s hand boasted a purity that even shocked the demons. Soon after, with a swoosh, the key-shaped object transformed and plunged into Kim Shimun’s left eye, as if unlocking a sealed door, before turning sideways.
“『The Odin’s Eye’s trait responds to the primordial magic.』”
“『Under the influence of the primordial magic, the Odin’s Eye’s ability ‘Demonic Eye’ is registered.』”
“『Due to the accumulation of ongoing effects, the Odin’s Eye’s completion rate has improved by 10%.』”
A message appeared before Kim Shimun. Followed by more messages.
“『The emergence of the long-thought-to-be-extinct Divine Substance has caused a stir among the leaders of the Demonic Realm.』”
“『Constellation Vasago is urgently observing you.』”
“『Constellation Gamigin is urgently observing you.』”
“『Constellation Marvas is…』” Clatter. An endless stream of messages. One.
“『The Seven Constellations of the Demonic Realm are concerned about the other Constellations.』” Along with a single message.
“『The first-rank Constellation in the Demonic Realm, Constellation Baal nonchalantly gazes at you.』”
The dozens of messages that were endlessly flowing suddenly stopped abruptly.