Demon (1)

"Merhen."

"Yes?"

"Do you sense anything strange coming from that orb over there?"

Merhen stared intently at the pitch-black orb. After a moment, she tilted her head.

"... I don't know. I can't read what's inside."

"What about you, Cedric?"

"Neither can I."

"I see."

Minwoo stared at the orb. Touching it would probably bring up its item information, but he had a reason for not doing so right away.

'Something could go wrong.'

Didn't that sort of thing happen in movies? Someone touched something left behind by an evil monster and got dragged into some bizarre mental realm.

This was a monster that handed out an experience duplication bug through a single orb like that. There was no guarantee something similar wouldn't happen.

"Hmm..."

"Minwoo. Do you want to examine it?"

"I think I'll have to touch it."

"If you're really worried, I could try sealing it."

"Sealing it?"

"Yes. I don't know how powerful its creator is, so I can't say how long I could keep it sealed..."

"That's enough."

He could still read the item description while it was sealed. All he wanted was its information. If anything looked suspicious, he could simply abandon it.

'No need to put it in my inventory, either.'

Normally, putting something in his inventory was unlikely to cause any trouble.

'But if it belongs to an Outer God, that might be different.'

What if it really was something an Outer God had created?

With bad luck, storing it in his inventory might allow his location to be tracked. Even if the inventory was governed by one of the System's laws, there was no knowing whether it could block a search by an Outer God–level being. Better to throw it away than take that risk.

'Of course...'

That only applied if an Outer God really had created it.

Either way, since he didn't know the standing of its creator, a little caution couldn't hurt.

"I'll seal it."

Merhen reached out. Mana flowed from her hand and began enveloping the pitch-black orb. The energy emerging from it entwined with hers like snakes.

Then Merhen's mana swallowed the orb completely.

"Minwoo."

"Yeah?"

"It's not very strong."

"That thing?"

"Yes. I don't think you need to worry."

Really?

He nodded and picked up the orb. Its item information appeared.

[Replica Orb (Temporarily Sealed)]

[Grade: Special]

[An orb that is an elaborate replica of something. Its charge is currently almost depleted. It is temporarily sealed by Merhen.]

[Effect 1. Can be charged through prayer.]

[Effect 2. The stored power can be used to perform baptism.]

[Effect 3. Those who receive baptism gain more experience.]

[Effect 4. Destroyed when its durability runs out.]

'... Replica Orb?'

Kim Minwoo tilted his head. Hadn't the bastard definitely said he'd received it through prayer?

'So he prayed, and they sent him a knockoff?'

That was a little strange. Wouldn't receiving a replica actually weaken his faith?

'Anyway, I more or less understand how it works...'

Charge it through prayer, then use it to bestow baptism. The process was simple.

Of course, simple or not, he had no intention of actually praying.

'Who knows what the hell would happen?'

Doing that for a little extra experience would be sheer insanity.

'At least I know why Merhen said that.'

It was only a replica. How powerful could the energy inside it possibly be? That was probably why she'd sealed it more easily than expected.

"How long do you think you can maintain this seal?"

"Forever, if I want to? It's easy."

"Then could you do that?"

"Sure."

Merhen reached out. The orb's temporarily sealed status changed to permanently sealed. Now it would stay sealed.

'Then I should be able to keep it for now.'

The orb didn't seem entirely useless.

Prayer? Couldn't someone else do that for him? Having some bastard who deserved to die do the praying would make for a rather beautiful arrangement.

'The problem is the baptism.'

He didn't know whether it was safe to receive it himself. This item needed further analysis.

He put it in his inventory.

He collected various other items as well. Han Baekgil's equipment was exceptionally good. The bastard's full loadout alone was worth more than all the other S-rank awakeners' equipment combined.

Then there were all the light-attribute items they'd brought along. Altogether, the value would easily exceed a trillion won.

'Too bad they're all class-exclusive...'

Assassins, swordsmen, mages, warriors, and so on. Most of the equipment was for mainstream classes. In other words, a necro couldn't equip it.

Such was the sorrow of playing an unpopular class.

'The accessories are a bust, too.'

For Kim Minwoo, the most valuable accessories he could loot from awakeners were all-class accessories—ones whose only requirement was level. Those were sweet finds that even a necro could equip.

But these bastards, living up to their status as high-ranking awakeners, had all been wearing class-exclusive accessories.

'That's normal, really.'

Between an all-class accessory and a class-exclusive accessory of equal grade, the class-exclusive one had better effects. Naturally. All-class accessories often came with bonuses the wearer didn't need.

Class-exclusive accessories, on the other hand? They came with precisely the bonuses that class needed.

Naturally, accessories exclusive to popular classes were far more expensive than all-class ones. Minwoo wanted accessories like that, too.

'The problem is, there aren't any for sale.'

So he'd simply filled his remaining slots with whatever decent accessories he could find.

"Cedric. Come here."

"You called?"

"Put this on."

He handed him a ring.

[Thorn's Ring]

[Grade: Unique]

[Requirements: Melee class, level 200 or higher]

[One of the rings worn by Thorn, king of the minotaurs.]

[Effect 1. Grants access to Stomp (A).]

[Effect 2. Strength, Agility +20]

Cedric silently looked back and forth between Minwoo's face and the ring.

"What are you waiting for? Take it."

"... Very well."

He accepted the ring and slipped it onto a bony finger.

'He just had to be a Dragon Knight.'

If necromancers were a rare species, Dragon Knights were practically endangered. For all the classes Gate Hunter had, Dragon Knight hadn't even existed as one.

The only items Cedric could use were ones like this, meant for melee classes in general. As a non-melee class, a necro couldn't equip them.

Just then, a voice came from beside him.

"Minwoo."

Merhen was staring at him.

"What about me?"

"Oh, hang on."

He rummaged through his inventory. As it happened, he had a ring he'd obtained from killing Yu Longgang.

[Ring of Blue Magic Power]

[Grade: Unique]

[Requirements: Mage, level 150 or higher]

[A ring set with a beautiful gem. It seems useful for a mage.]

[Effect 1. Casting speed reduced by 10%.]

[Effect 2. Magic Power +30]

'An Archmage counts as a mage, right?'

It certainly looked like an upgraded version of the class. Mage-exclusive rings like this were all he could offer Merhen.

'I need the caster-only stuff for myself.'

Necromancer was a separate class, not a type of mage. In broader terms, it belonged to the caster category.

"I do have a spare."

"Really?"

"Here."

He handed Merhen the ring.

He'd learned something while making equipment specifically for ghosts. Normally, ghost-type undead such as specters and banshees could only wear special equipment.

'But not her.'

Merhen was different. She could wear ordinary equipment without any trouble.

'Well, she does look human to begin with.'

Who would think Merhen was undead? By appearance alone, she was just an ordinary foreign girl.

The Banshee Queen. Her high standing apparently exempted her from those restrictions.

So he'd simply equipped her with gear meant for people. She should be able to wear the ring without any modifications, too. Merhen took it and slipped it onto her index finger.

"Thank you, Minwoo. I like it."

"Glad to hear it."

He needed to equip his summons with accessories whenever possible anyway, so he'd intended to hand out spares as he found them.

Just then:

[A demon has been selected to grant your reward!]

[The demon is arriving!]

An enormous demonic figure appeared before him.

[Andromalius, one of the demon lords, appears!]

'A demon lord?'

Kim Minwoo tilted his head. He'd run this gate a few times in the past. Back then, the most Demon Points he'd earned by activating the mechanic was around ninety.

'How much despair you inflict on your opponent.'

That was one of the key factors determining the score. The characters he'd played before hadn't been able to inspire that much despair in their enemies.

The reason was simple. They hadn't been overwhelmingly strong like Kim Minwoo was now.

Why had the intruders come in the first place? Because they'd thought he looked like manageable prey. He'd won back then, too, but it had taken far more effort.

This time, though...

'I did milk them for quite a few points.'

He'd beheaded everyone who came out in less than ten seconds. Han Baekgil had taken a little longer, but he'd died in utter despair just like the rest.

Of course he had. He'd sold his soul only to get slaughtered without accomplishing a thing.

'Ninety points got me a high-ranking demon, right?'

He'd received a Unique-grade weapon as his reward. He remembered simply selling it because it was for a different class.

But this time, a demon lord? He'd never seen one of these before.

'Will he give me something good?'

He stared at Andromalius—a man who appeared to have a snake coiled around one hand. The demon was staring right back.

[The effect of 'He Who Took Balkan's Eye' activates!]

[The 'demon' before you feels considerably intimidated!]

The Balkan title's effect seemed to work even on demon lords.

"Oh... Well, now. I was wondering why I'd been summoned so suddenly, but this certainly explains it."

Andromalius smiled and bowed in greeting.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Andromalius, ranked seventy-second among the lords of the demon realm."

'The demon realm, huh.'

It was one of the settings that appeared very rarely in gates. And besides...

'Isn't Balkan a demon from there, too?'

He looked intently at Andromalius.

"Do you know a balrog named Balkan?"

"Ah, that blockhead? Very well indeed. He was quite famous once."

Andromalius smiled and continued.

"Still, how intriguing. I'm truly curious how you accomplished such a feat in a dimension like this. Would you care to make a deal?"

"A deal?"

"I can grant you my powers."

"What powers?"

"Have you ever wanted to know who was responsible for something? Or wished to recover stolen property? If neither appeals to you, how about the power to locate hidden treasure?"

"What do you want?"

"I would like you to compete as my champion."

"... Your champion?"

"Hmm. Where should I begin? Very well. Let us start with the basics. The demon realm holds a ranking tournament, in which the seventy-two demon lords participate."

"You don't fight each other yourselves?"

"Haha. Countless demons would die if we did. Wouldn't that be too steep a price merely to determine our rankings?"

"So?"

"We decided to select representatives. The higher one rises, the more important the ability to deploy one's forces becomes. Unless one possesses overwhelmingly superior power, of course."

"So your representatives fight each other to determine the rankings?"

"Exactly! Of course, we don't select just one representative each, but that is the general idea."

'Hmm.'

Kim Minwoo considered it for a moment. Andromalius's powers did seem somewhat useful—especially the ability to locate hidden treasure.

But...

'Competing as his champion just to get that...'

Wasn't that a pretty lousy deal?

First problem: Was competing for someone ranked a mere seventy-second really a good idea?

Second problem: How much was he currently worth in the demon realm?

He didn't know. One wrong move, and he could end up selling himself for a pittance.

There was an old saying: whenever possible, don't trust a demon's words.

Demons weren't called demons for nothing. Despite his amiable smile, there was no telling how this Andromalius bastard might stab him in the back.