Chapter 116
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Andras and Plauros have been taken down.
The knights announced this glorious news to the whole world as soon as they returned to the Empire.
This time, two powerful demons showed up, but thanks to their quick response and support, they managed to defeat them without any significant damage.
Once again, humanity has proven its strength.
Of course, they conveniently omitted any mention of the Lemegaton support.
And when ordinary citizens… and otherworlders heard this news, their reactions were like:
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[What the heck is this; did that happen?]
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When exactly did they catch the demons? They weren’t demons that appeared within the Empire’s territory, nor was there some epic disaster! Just whispers about demons showing up in a distant area… and no further news at all.
But suddenly there were two demons, and they handled it all? From a player’s perspective, it was totally ridiculous.
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[These game developers are just throwing events without us, huh? LOL]
At least let us see the hunt!
We want to check out the demons too!!!
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[There was an event, but no, there wasn’t]
[The knights think otherworlders are too useless to bother with~]
[LOL, if you wanna participate, you better handle a solo kill]
Thanks to this, various complaints have been emerging in the community after a long time.
Thinking back, this game, Demon’s Saga, often released content exclusively for players.
It was as if the story was progressing without caring whether otherworlders were involved or not.
Although it’s recognized for its incredible freedom, it’s hard not to feel a little left out in such important events.
It’s been twenty months since Demon’s Saga opened, and many demons have popped up.
Yet, not a single demon has been taken down directly by an otherworlder.
While complaints were bubbling up, curious questions were emerging in the community as well.
Who exactly was that ‘support’?
The knights are certainly strong, but demons are even stronger.
And with two of them showing up, there must have been some seriously powerful backup involved.
Sadly, that information was missing from the announcement released by the knights.
But that’s not too concerning. The biggest advantage of otherworlders is their access to information.
Some friendly otherworlders casually asked a few knights, and soon they got their answer.
Yor, the manifestor living in the forest, had participated in this hunt.
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[Why the hell is he there??]
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[So random]
[That explains why he’s been so quiet lately]
[You were there? LOL]
The initial reaction from players was obviously confusion. Yor and the knights seemed like a strange mix.
When those looks focused on him out of nowhere… he was quietly doing chores.
“Ugh… look at all this dust.”
Upon returning home, my first task was cleaning. Having left the cave empty for more than a month, the amount of dust was insane.
There were piles of dirt blown in with the wind and leaves everywhere. But that wasn’t all.
“Ugh, these little brats! Do you think you can come here and mate in my house?!”
Thud thud thud!
While I was away, unwanted guests had made themselves at home. About ten mutated rabbits were throwing a party in my cave.
No matter how cozy and atmospheric this cave is, it shouldn’t be treated like a sex dungeon!
“Get out right now!”
Of course, I chased those creatures out of my house immediately.
I couldn’t allow my sacred home to be sullied like that.
It felt like I spent the next two days just cleaning the insides and outside of my home.
After that, I finally decided to venture deep down again.
While chatting with Odelia, ideas popped into my mind, and at the edge of that deep layer, there was someone waiting for me with bated breath.
“You’re late! You, who said you’d come by once in a while, made me wait like this?”
“Two months is kind of often, right? And isn’t it just a little break compared to dealing with a demon?”
Even though that demon was a peculiar one with just a head.
‘Find the altar, and I’ll give you a reward…’
When I heard that, the first thing that crossed my mind was obviously this demon.
While he seems insignificant now, he was still a demon threatening humanity.
“You rude little brat…! When I descend, I’ll punish you first!”
See, even now he’s threatening me!
I knew I was doing something wrong. I’m harboring a demon while being a manifestor where being caught means execution.
Fortunately, living as a criminal until now, I didn’t feel too guilty about it. But if caught, things would definitely take a turn for the worse.
“…Huh? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I’m just thinking. Should I really sell you off, or just let you be.”
“W-What?!”
For a moment, Barbatos’s green eyes flickered. She asked me with an anxious expression.
“Didn’t we finish that conversation last time?”
Of course, I was just saying that, I had no real intention of reporting her.
After all, I didn’t have that much money, but I wasn’t exactly hurting for it either. Besides, she has much information that I don’t know.
“Ah, never mind. Speaking of which, I ran into those annoying demons Andras and Plauros recently…”
“…What? You met those troublesome brats?”
“Oh, I see you’re familiar with them since you’re from the same demon realm?”
Indeed, their romantic antics seemed to carry on even in the demon realm.
I offered her a sausage bread I bought in the city and asked, “Round trip, huh? By the way, which faction are you part of? Are you serving Ammon and that king?”
“Ugh, ugh… wait…! Don’t shove it in my mouth! It’s hard to eat!”
After munching on the bread, she replied.
From what she said, it seems all of Ammon’s followers are only those attuned to fire.
It appeared she was careful with her information, but while conversing, she’d slip bits and pieces here and there.
After chatting with her a bit more, I made my way out of the deep layer.
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And so a week passed like that.
As usual, I hunted, took care of tasks, and relaxed a little; I returned to my daily routine.
I did feel a bit empty since my usual spear was gone… but it was nice to have a peaceful rest after a long time.
As I was going about my day, an item was delivered to me.
It was from the knights.
A piece of metal from Andras, some holy water, and a fair amount of gold.
They sent this as a bounty for the hunt.
It sure seemed like they wanted to stay on friendly terms, given the generous amount.
Well, the metal from Andras was a bit scarce, but…
‘What can I do?’
I accepted it. After all, it’s rare, and they couldn’t give away too much.
On the bright side, I should see it as good luck that they gave me even this much, given they didn’t owe me any favors.
So, holding onto Andras’s metal, I lightly assessed that item.
Ah, I didn’t do it myself.
Using the Player’s Eye with the power of the otherworlder next to me.
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[Andras’s Hell Iron]
A peculiar metal produced only in specific areas of the demon realm.
Its heat resistance is extremely high. It won’t melt even when thrown into any fire.
Especially, since it retains Andras’s abilities for a long time, if you infuse it with mana, it can create flames.
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Sadly, just because I held this item doesn’t mean I’d become a transcendent being like Niki. This demon isn’t tied to me.
But even excluding that, it’s a pretty good item. A metal that can spark flames at my command.
Considering my spear was broken, I decided to use this as the material for a new weapon.
If possible, I wanted it to last long, so I planned on having it custom-made.
That’s why I intended to head into the city today.
After all, I had to offload all the stock I accumulated, and I needed to find a blacksmith myself.
Of course, I could have delegated that to someone else.
But I didn’t plan on doing that.
‘I have an identification tag after all.’
Last time I used it in the remote territory, but this time I was going to use it in one of the Empire’s big cities. I couldn’t let such an exciting opportunity slip away.
“Are you sure it’s okay not to have an illusion like last time? I’m feeling a bit nervous with just a hood…”
“It’s fine. Besides, the guards will let you pass by now.”
This time, my companion was Im Haneul.
She had previously shown me around the city, and she was the only one free enough to do this now.
“………”
I glanced at her for a moment. Over the past few months, it seemed her level had risen quite a bit as her outfit had changed slightly.
She used to wear just a simple black robe and a witch’s hat, but now she was in a mage robe with slightly exposed shoulders and neck. Not as much as Yoo Chaerin, but a bit more revealing.
I momentarily found my gaze lingering at the V-neck area.
The gravity around there was particularly strong, making it impossible not to look.
“Cough.”
But after a moment of staring, I cleared my throat and drove back my lecherous self.
Then, I spoke as casually as I could, “Alright, let’s head out.”
And so we headed towards the city after a long time.
This time, we planned to walk boldly through the main gate.
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