Chapter 190 - Hardeon (22)
I drew five daggers.
The daggers floated gracefully in the air.
The old man watched this sight with intrigued eyes.
"Amazing! I've never heard of such a gladiator in Hardeon."
"Even if you haven't heard of it, you're seeing it directly, aren't you?"
"Indeed. But you intend to launch those daggers at , don't you?"
"I didn't take them out to put on a circus show."
"Good. I'll concede the first move. Throw them as much as you like."
The old man showed a relaxed deanor, taking a few more steps towards .
He was indeed a Master.
His level was completely different from the mages I had t so far.
The imnse amount of mana was surprising, but his overflowing aura was even more impressive.
"Then I won't refuse."
WHIZZ!
A single dagger cut through the air and flew.
The old man stood in a dignified posture, not even blinking.
Imdiately, a translucent barrier ford around him.
A barrier whose imnse solidity could be felt even from a distance.
CRASH!
The tip of the sword struck the barrier, creating a thunderous roar.
As expected, my sword did not reach the old man.
The first dagger weakly slid down the barrier.
"Don't be disappointed. You still have four more daggers left, don't you?"
The old man raised a hand and wiggled a finger.
Signaling to continue the offensive.
WHIZZ!
And my second dagger flew.
The old man gave a wry smile.
He seed a little disappointed that the sa type of attack was launched as before.
But there was no way it would be the sa.
The amount of mana contained within the dagger itself was different.
CRASHHHHHH!!
The mana concentrated in the blade instantly transford into Sword Qi, violently striking the barrier the old man had created.
CRACK!
CRACKLE!
Cracks began to appear in the barrier, and the old man's expression also hardened.
The old man hastily began to repair the cracks.
"There are still three daggers left."
I crossed gazes with him, a slight smirk on my lips.
And already, the third dagger was flying.
Its destructive power would be even greater.
Because it contained twice the force of the second one.
CRASHHHHHHH!!!
A destructive roar.
Thus, the barrier shattered into pieces, slowly vanishing into thin air.
The old man's benevolent smile had turned into an awkward expression.
"You have only two more first moves left that you conceded."
"...Indeed."
The old man imdiately created a new barrier.
He still feigned a calm voice, but his true feelings must have been otherwise.
"If the barrier you make is similar to the last one, you'll be in trouble."
"..."
"Because for the final blow, I intend to launch both the fourth and fifth daggers simultaneously."
And, of course, with increasing power each ti.
I infused mana into two daggers simultaneously.
What cracked first wasn't the barrier, but the old man's expression.
He probably wanted to call a tiout urgently right now, but how could the Master do that without losing face?
WHIZZ!
Thus, the fourth dagger was launched first.
WHIZZ!
With a slight ti difference, the fifth dagger left my hand.
CRASHHHHHH!
As expected, the barrier was instantly shattered.
But the old man was no longer there.
He had swiftly escaped outside the barrier.
It looked a bit ungraceful, but it was a wiser choice than standing there haughtily and being sent to the next world in one blow.
Of course, there was one fact he overlooked.
There was no way the final fifth dagger would simply head into empty space.
WHIZZ!
The dagger, curving and changing its trajectory, flew through the flurry of ice the old man hastily conjured.
Instantly, the old man's eyes widened in shock.
'Astonishing.'
Most mages would have sustained a fatal injury from the previous attack.
But the dagger had only grazed his shoulder.
In that brief mont, the old man had created a small barrier to block the sword heading for his chest.
And I, too, had no choice but to adjust the sword's final trajectory.
SWISH!
Blood spurted, and the old man let out a slight groan.
"Do you regret it? Conceding the first move?"
"Of course not. I'm perfectly fine. And it was a good opportunity to understand your full strength."
A bluff that was completely unbelievable.
I could only let out a hollow laugh.
"It seems the Demon King didn't tell you anything."
"...What?"
"About how he was annihilated for being presumptuous."
Indeed, why would he have told him?
Even if he had only manifested with a fraction of his power, he had returned to the demon realm after such utter humiliation.
"I have one question. If you die here, what happens to the mages' rebellion?"
"Even if I were to die, which I won't, the revolution has already begun. It's beyond reversal or cessation, regardless of ."
"I see."
However, the mages' power would certainly be significantly diminished.
Such an exceptionally powerful individual would be almost nonexistent among Hardeon's gladiators.
In truth, I had never wanted to ddle in their war.
Hardeon's history was to be forged by the people of Hardeon, after all.
But if one side sought my life, that was an entirely different matter.
HUMMMMM!
I infused mana into the Holy Sword.
What influence and to what extent my single strike would have on Hardeon's history, I didn't know, but that was a problem they would have to solve themselves.
It was just a bit regrettable that I couldn't stay to witness it all.
***
This journey to Hardeon, which began out of pure curiosity.
Ultimately, it yielded more than just curiosity.
I learned that a being called the Demon King truly existed.
Furthermore, the Demon King's demonic hand had even reached Earth, so now there was sothing I had to do.
'Gwangun Sword Family.'
I need to carefully consider how to tackle them.
And I took out a map from my Inventory.
Sothing I had obtained as a reward for this quest.
This map guided directly to the Demon Realm.
The unknown world where the Demon King was presud to live.
Since a path to that place, which had only existed in legends, had opened to , my adventurous spirit couldn't help but stir.
'I should ask Rosie.'
If she knew about the Demon Realm, she would probably tell everything, grumbling all the while.
Of course, I wouldn't visit the Demon Realm right away.
The Demon King's power, which I had vaguely felt, was by no ans inferior even when compared to a dragon.
That ant even if I fully recovered my forr strength, I couldn't guarantee victory.
For now, building up my power was the priority.
And I took out another map.
The lair of the Red Dragon Devrias.
Of course, it was still an incomplete map that couldn't fully function.
But there had been quite a few changes.
The title portion of the map had beco a little clearer, and the map's form had beco a little more concrete.
It could be said that this was another reward brought by clearing this quest.
The final reward was one Zombie Rune.
I didn't know why this was a reward, but for now, I decided to keep it safely in my Inventory.
"Ah-yeon."
"Yes, Unit Leader."
"How are the two fools from the Gwangun Sword Family doing?"
"They're just blankly staring, as if life in confinent is too overwhelming."
"Go check on them occasionally. They might commit suicide at any ti."
"Yes. Understood."
I learned that due to the deal between K and the Demon King, Gwangun Sword Family warriors could travel between Earth and Hardeon without being restricted by quests.
Once I had dealt with the Gwangun Sword Family, I was considering sending the two of them back to Hardeon.
I couldn't keep those ticking ti bombs, harboring the seeds of zombies, imprisoned indefinitely.
For now, I need to et Rosie.
I have a lot more questions to ask this ti too.
***
SLURP!
The earthenware pot was completely emptied, even the broth greedily consud.
Then, patting her belly, she looked like she had perfectly adapted to Korean culture.
Truly, Rosie's palate was unpredictable.
At one ti, she lived solely on mint chocolate.
"When did you start getting into gukbap?"
"Not long ago. Speaking of which, Ji-han Unit Leader is really too much."
"What?"
"If I had known sothing like this existed, you should have told sooner! I ca out for a rare stroll in the human world, and I almost missed out on sothing huge."
"Are you talking about gukbap right now?"
"Yeah. Oh! Here cos another one!"
Another earthenware pot of gukbap and a bowl of rice were placed on the table.
While eating one bowl, she must have felt it wasn't enough, so she imdiately ordered another.
Rosie skillfully mixed in the spicy seasoning to the gukbap and then added half a bowl of rice, dropping it in.
"Have you broken up with mint chocolate then?"
"What are you talking about? Eating mint chocolate after gukbap as an after-al treat is the best."
Her spoon was already moving busily.
And then, a very satisfied expression.
Asking questions at a ti like this, when she was in a good mood, was the optimal timing.
"Rosie, do you know anything about the Demon King?"
"The Demon King? Why that?"
"I t him when I went to the Abyss."
It must have been quite surprising news, yet Rosie's spooning didn't stop.
SLURP.
The broth must be hot, having just co out.
"You'll burn the roof of your mouth."
"It's fine. Burning the roof of my mouth while eating is part of the experience, actually."
Rosie pushed another spoonful into her mouth and continued.
"The Demon King that Ji-han Unit Leader t wouldn't have been his true body. If it were, you wouldn't have been able to return to Earth."
She knew accurately, as expected.
"I concede that. But how strong is the Demon King?"
"Well, it varies from Demon King to Demon King."
"Does that an there's more than one Demon King?"
"Of course. Ji-han Unit Leader t a Demon King and still doesn't know that?"
Because he didn't tell .
Frankly, I hadn't considered that there could be more than one.
The legends of the Demon King I heard in Kalia referred to a singular entity.
"You asked how strong the Demon King is, right? Should I compare it to a lion and a tiger?"
"Yeah."
"It's like the relationship between a lion and a tiger."
Indeed, my estimation was not wrong.
But which one was the tiger?
"But Ji-han Unit Leader, are you planning to fight the Demon King?"
"Perhaps that day will co soday."
"How will you et the Demon King again?"
"I have a map to the Demon Realm."
I took out the map and showed it to Rosie.
It was the first ti her gaze, which had been fixed only on the gukbap, had shifted.
"But what on earth are you doing in the Abyss, Ji-han Unit Leader?"
"Why?"
"The Demon Realm, I an. As far as I know, it's a place that has never been opened before."
"I see."
"You say 'I see.' This isn't such a simple matter. What was the Abyss thinking giving this to Ji-han Unit Leader?"
"Shouldn't it be?"
"If a passage between the Demon Realm and other worlds opens, great chaos will follow. That's all I can tell you. I recomnd just burning that map."
With that, Rosie shook her head repeatedly.
She knew I wouldn't do that.
"Rosie, I even imagined going to the Demon Realm with you. It's a sha."
"Ji-han Unit Leader seems crazy."
Rosie was quite resolute.
By the way, besides the Demon Realm, there was one more thing I had to ask.
That was about zombies.
If the Demon Realm was a matter for the future, zombies were a problem that needed to be resolved right now.
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