113. Is There a Way to Take the Meat to Go?
"Human. I"m only telling you this. The way to return back from the demonic realm…."
"Yes, of course."
"Keru. It is possible if you"re the demon king."
"That"s obvious. I"m asking you how I can return back though? Do I need to obtain Authority somehow? Isn"t there a way?"
"Kel. Human, it is possible if you become the demon king. The demon king. If you have more magical energy than any other monster, you will obtain powers that will make you omniscient and omnipotent."
"Oho….. So I just need to have the most magical power in the demonic realm, right? I like the sound of that."
"Keru. However, why are you asking me this? When you go to the demonic realm, you won"t be able to return, human. You will be sacrificed to sir Berdan."
"Just because. Humans around my age are curious about many things."
"Seems pointless."
"This is enough for now. Are you going out later?"
"Keru. I was going to originally, but I love steaks too much, human."
"Right? Going outside is a pain and there"s not much to see. Let"s just stay at home."
"Keruru. All right. Speak with the woman who cooks the steak for me. I want to eat more steak."
"All right. For now, let"s sleep. I"m tired."
"Keru?"
During the 6 hours I tried to sleep, Karin didn"t cease for even a moment jumping up and down on the mattress.
I felt anger towards the furniture salesman who guaranteed me that the mattress would not shake even if an elephant was running around.
I brought him steaks every hour, but it was no use.
He did not calm down in the slightest, and even followed me to Jong Ho"s room when I tried to escape in order to catch some shuteye.
After the 6 h.e.l.lish hours pa.s.sed, I opened my eyes.
"Karin. Aren"t you going back to the demonic realm yet?"
"Keru? There is still two more days left."
I probably have already obtained most of the information I needed.
Thinking about the times when I lost so much sleep over nightmares, the 3 day period felt far too long.
I continued to question Karin while avoiding going too far to the point that it would cause him to become suspicious.
I asked about the weaknesses of the monsters, the Authority that Berdan and the demon king possessed, and such topics, but he shrewdly kept himself from giving straight answers.
Even though it was clear to me that he was a dumb goblin, he probably thinks for himself to a certain degree.
Also, I had to acknowledge his loyalty to Berdan.
Maybe it was a specific trait of the monsters.
After all, it was the same case for the thousands of monsters that gave their lives without question to Zekill"s command.
I waited and waited until the 3 days he decided to stay pa.s.sed.
Just like how he tore the fabric of s.p.a.ce open when he appeared, he did it again to make a gateway back to the demonic realm.
"Keru. I feel sad that we have to part ways, human. I think I"ll miss you."
"Huh? I think you"ll miss the steak, not me though?"
"Kel kel kel. You"re sharp despite being a lowly human. You didn"t forget, right? There are 77 days left. When you come to give yourself up as a sacrifice…. bring me steak."
"You think I"ll bring steak to my own funeral? You really must love steak."
"Keruru. Human! Since you"re my subordinate, I will put in a good word with sir Berdan. Perhaps I could convince him to take enough humans to replace the need for your magical energy."
"My my, how gracious of you. Hurry up and go."
"Keruru. All right."
Karin carried a sack several times greater than the size of his body that was filled with beef and entered the tear in s.p.a.ce.
The tear mended itself and he disappeared from view.
"Ah……. So tired."
The saying “To cut one"s flesh to obtain the enemies" bones” fit so perfectly in this situation.
It meant that one would cut away at their own flesh to give to the enemy in order to break apart their bones. 1
Of course, the meat I gave was not my own, but beef. However, what I obtained was definitely the bones of the demonic races.
After all, I had obtained a lot of information about the demonic realm that was once a mystery.
I would be better prepared thanks to the information, and instead of being on the defensive, I would be able to bring forth a fierce offensive.
Even though I was heading for the demonic realm, I could no longer gain additional stats using the Butcher"s Sword.
It could only take stats from those that had stats to begin with, which mean that the only valid targets were other Awakened.
That was why there wasn"t that many ways I could grow stronger right away.
I could only gain a small 5 points of stat increase per level up.
Another method would be to obtain a cheat like skill.
Perhaps I could obtain artifacts far more amazing than the ones I already have.
However, it was near impossible to obtain better artifacts.
It would have to come from either the Unknown Dungeon, hidden bosses, or from a mimic.
Other than these 3 methods, it would be be difficult to obtain gear superior to the current setup I was running.
The chances of encountering these events were low.
Not only that, but there was no guarantee that the drops from these events would be better than the ones I have currently.
"The requirement to enter the Unknown Dungeon is too difficult to even consider. Perhaps a hidden boss….?"
I needed to run dungeons at least level 35 or higher in order to grow stronger quickly.
However, humanity did not have information regarding such high level dungeons, especially information regarding which dungeon has hidden bosses.
Of course, this lack of knowledge extended to the stats of the artifacts that would drop from the hidden bosses.
I was currently stuck running the level 34 dungeon in Paju that Ho Jin informed me of.
Since I"ve cleared the dungeon countless of times, I knew that a hidden boss existed there.
It was where I obtained Balrock"s Treasure Storage ring that Jong Ho was currently using.
I faced the hidden boss multiple times after that, but artifacts worth greater than that did not drop.
It probably meant I had obtained all that I could from this dungeon.
Even if I focused on leveling during the remaining time, I couldn"t expect much of a growth in strength.
However, it would still be better than staying at home.
I contacted Ho Jin.
-click
"Yes, Mr. Min-Cheol!"
"Hey mister. How are you?"
"Ho ho. Each day is quite busy."
"Is the commander with you?"
"No. I was a.s.signed to separate mission, so….. What"s the matter?"
"There"s something I need to tell the two of you, as well as something I need help with."
"Is that so. How should….. Should the commander and I go to your home?"
"No, that"s okay. I"ll go to the a.s.sociation building. Would an hour from now be okay?"
"Of course! Absolutely. Please contact me 10 minutes before arriving and I"ll send someone to see you in."
"Yes. I"ll get ready and meet you there."
"Yes, ho ho. I"m quite excited that you"ll be coming to the a.s.sociation building in person."
"Haha. It"s true that I"ve only contacted you guys for purchasing skill books in the past."
"That"s true, ho ho. I"ll be waiting for your call."
"Yes."
The sun was about to set.
Ho Jin, one of the top representatives of the the current government and a member of the a.s.sociation, and the commander were still here.
Despite how late it was, it seemed that they wouldn"t be leaving work anytime soon due to preparing against the oncoming invasion by the demonic realm.
Jong Ho would probably be back by dawn.
Sharing information that I obtained from Karin with Jong Ho was important, but it probably wasn"t important enough to interrupting his hunting.
There was plenty of time to spare.
I prepared to leave the house.
Almost as if CCTVs were installed all over place to let the butler know of my day to day life, the butler walked out on cue.
His timing was astonishing.
"Young master, are you departing?"
"Yes butler."
"Where will you be going? Will you be going for hike again?"
"Ah…. I have a some business to attend to at the Awakened a.s.sociation."
"That"s quite the distance."
"Yes. I don"t think I"ll be that late though."
"Then I"ll chauffeur Hw.a.n.g to prepare a ride."
"Hm…. Yes, could you do that for me?"
"Of course. That"s part of our work."
"Then I"ll be counting on you."
"Yes sir."
****
"Young master. We"ll be at the a.s.sociation after this intersection."
"Ah, yes."
I contacted Ho Jin again.
It was to let him know that I will be soon arriving at the a.s.sociation.
The sun head already set and darkness followed.
"Thank you for your hard work, chauffeur."
"Young master. If you have anywhere you need to go, please contact me."
"I feel as though I"m bothering you though…."
"You"re saying the same thing as the madam. This is my work. I"m even beginning to wonder if I"ll be out of a job at this rate, hahaha."
"Yes, I"ll contact you from now on when I need to go somewhere. See you."
As I left the vehicle, the window rolled down.
Chauffeur Hw.a.n.g stuck his head out as much as he could before speaking.
"Young master, please contact me 30 minutes before you"re ready to leave. I"ll leave right away to bring you home."
"No, no! It"ll be late. You don"t need to go out of your way to do so."
"Hey. It"s because I"m worried."
"Ok….. I"ll let you know in advance then."
"Then I"ll be seeing you soon."
Honestly, with the amount of growth I"ve achieved, I could run faster than most vehicles that traveled the highways.
After all, I could run without being limited by traffic signals.
Of course, it would leave ditches in the road and it would be a huge issue if I collided with anyone.
My thoughts lasted only a short while as it was interrupted.
I saw many men in black suits rapidly run out from the a.s.sociation building.
Looking around, I saw a man who was standing in front of the entrance to the a.s.sociation building approach me.
He appeared to have come to escort a guest at the command of the temporary president of the a.s.sociation, but seemed to hesitate after seeing how young I seemed.
To the men who were hesitating, I spoke first.
"I am here to see the commander and department head Kim Ho Jin."
"Ah! Yes, I"ve heard many things about you."
"Yes."
"We shall escort you in. They"re waiting for you."
With 3 men on each side of me, they moved in a formation.
If someone saw this scene, it would look like I was being escorted in, but I wondered if I should be the one protecting them due to the difference in strength.
Whatever. I followed them to the a.s.sociation building.
It reminded me of the time when I escorted in by the n.o.blesse guild"s secretaries in training that served Park Hyun.
Not only that, but it it also reminded me of how I was forced along with the midget"s two underlings before, making the whole ordeal feel more awkward.
I entered the a.s.sociation building.
Pa.s.sing the civilian center on the first floor, we headed for the elevator.
Skill books could be purchased on the first underground floor.
Since I had visited there many times over, nothing felt new up until here.
"This way please……"
"Yes."
The elevator rose to the top floor at high speeds.
Since the commander was doing the work of the president of the a.s.sociation, it would make sense for his office to be on the top floor.
"We"re here."
"Thank you."
"It was an honor to meet you in person!"
"Huh? O-ok…."
"Honor?" They haven"t seen me fight before though. What did the commander say about me, exactly? Oh well, whatever."
I had already taken care of the faction that was against me.
To be clear, the enemy I faced now was no longer humans, but instead monsters.
I immediately entered the room they guided me to.
"Oho! You"ve arrived!"
"Hohoho. You"ve arrived?"
"It"s been awhile, commander. And how have you been, mister?"
"I"ve been well. But commander! You greet him with great enthusiasm unlike myself, hoho."
"Hey! How can you compare my age with your youth! Isn"t that right, lad Min-Cheol?"
"Hoho. I"m rather jealous of how energetic you are."
"Yes, I am thankful for your warm greeting."
"Of course, it"s to be expected. For what reason have you come all this way to visit us at the a.s.sociation?"
"That"s….."
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Taking losses in order to inflict greater injury on the opponent.