146. One Who Died with a Full Belly Looks Better as a Ghost Than Those Who Died While Starving
The monster that answered Belkoseu"s call was a Kelvecore.
Kicking up a thick layer of dust, it came close before letting out a Fear.
This was a monster that had the heads of a lion, dog, and dragon.
In the past, there was a time where my life was in danger due to the vicious poison from its tail.
I was also a victim of its intense fire breath attack from the dragon head.
On top of that, it had wings, boasting high mobility.
One Earth, all types of attacks worked on the Kelvecore.
It was a hidden boss of a level 12 dungeon after all.
However this was the demonic realm.
Seeing as to how Belkoseu was acting, the monster must be stronger than a Lich King.
However, it was still just a monster to me.
Giving the smug Belkoseu a glance, I immediately poured down magic on the Kelvecore.
Meteor Call filled the demonic realm"s sky, falling down towards it.
The 6 Meteors summoned by both my hands. .h.i.t dead center without the slightest error.
Who could receive such an attack and still stand.
Looking at the intense flames, I casted Eye of Insight.
However.
"Shield?"
"Kuhut. I did say that it"s not an easy opponent."
"Amusing. Something like a Kelvecore knows how to use a shield."
"Do I have to help you out?"
"Today"s hunt is by the humans. Why don"t you take a seat back there and watch?"
"Kuhahat! Right…. I shall observe."
After the flames cleared, his form appeared clearly once more.
Almost as if a shield used by an Awakened had cracked due to receiving damage, I saw a barrier barely holding together protecting its form.
To think that it blocked a 30% magical energy increased Transcended Meteor Call, and 6 of them to boot.
And with the Archangel"s Fall, the damage should have increased against monsters.
I couldn"t hide my shock.
However, since I saw that it damaged his barrier, I knew that magical attacks worked on this monster.
This would only increase the duration of the battle, because no matter how many times it used its shields, it would not make much of a difference in deciding the victor of this battle.
"The attack patterns are still the same. There"s no adaptation, none at all."
Out of the 3 heads, the dragon one used a powerful breath attack.
Instead of calling it flames, the attack it spewed out was closer to magma.
The breath attack that landed on the Mana Shield kept on burning, trying to chew its way through the shield.
However, that didn"t last long, as the Mana Shield absorbed the breath attack as if it was brushing aside dust.
The poison sting attack from its tail followed suit.
However, it was far from enough to take down my Mana Shield.
Receiving all of its attacks without concern, I continued to pour down my skills.
Its shields became transparent, seeming ready to disappear at any moment.
-CRACK!
With that, the shield that was covering the Kelvecore shattered.
Since it might cast its shield again, I increased the intensity of my attacks.
Within the downpour of attacks, there wasn"t any patterns or strategies to be found.
I was spamming down spells without much thought after all.
"KWEHHH!"
"KWUHRUU. KUHUNG!"
The first to go from the fierce attacks were the wings.
The wings that were barely stuck to its body were ripped and torn apart, falling to the floor.
Being pinned down to the floor from the attacks, it was letting out its unique Fear.
"How cute."
It was then.
I could hear Karin"s voice mixed with urgency.
"Keruk! Min-Cheol! I can sense their magical energy."
"Human. You need to hurry. Jamon is coming."
"Why now….. It"ll be done soon. Karin, get ready to run."
"Kel! Got it."
"Wait, no. Hyung-nim."
"Yeah."
"Take Karin with you and run. Your Warp isn"t off cooldown yet. We don"t know what"ll happen if we face them here."
"Min-Cheol, you should give up on the Kelvecore and retreat together. We can take it down another time."
"The Demon King is coming. Do you think he"ll leave the Kelvecore alone? There"s no next time."
"Don"t be greedy. Just listen to hyung this time."
"It"ll be quick. I can"t give up on it."
"Whew…. Who can stop you. Rin, let"s go!"
"Kerut! Min-Cheol, give it up! Let"s leave together!"
"Go ahead first. I"ll catch up soon. Hey, Belkoseu."
"Hm?"
"You"ll need to welcome them. Buy some time for me."
"Will do."
"KUWUHH!"
Reflecting my urgency, my attacks increased in intensity.
Jong Ho and Karin had retreated. And Belkoseu had went out to block the Demon King and Ladin.
The reason why I could take this risk was because I could use Warp.
With Jong Ho, since he did not have high strength stats, he couldn"t move quickly.
That"s why whenever the demon king"s magical energy was detected, he had to use Warp.
However, it was a different story for me.
Since I had over 3 million strength, I could escape the area fast enough even after Karin or Belkoseu detected the magical energy of the Demon King.
Of course, Belkoseu stalling them definitely helped.
Just in case, I casted Warp connecting to a location nearby Berdan"s castle ahead of time.
"Please die! Die!"
"d.a.m.n it. What kind of a monster is this!"
"KUUNG!"
Due to the insane amounts of attacks I was landing on it, its form began to crumble.
It did not have almost any flesh left on its body, leaving giant bones like that of a dinosaur at a museum.
I was incredibly annoyed at how it still held onto life.
It didn"t last much longer though.
Finally, it collapsed onto the ground.
A ma.s.sive amount of loot floated above the bones of the Kelvecore.
Most of it were bloodstones and jewels, but there were a few artifacts and a skill book here and there.
There was a reason why I couldn"t help but have high expectations for this monster"s loot drops.
And it delivered, dropping loot good enough to entice me.
"Skill beyond ranking skill book? Good."
A skill book beyond ranking came into my sights.
Unlike the skill books so far, it was skill book that didn"t reveal its details even with the Eye of Insight.
And the requirements were completely different from before.
It happened when I moved hastily to obtain the skill book.
"s.h.i.t……"
"The hide and seek is over, human."
"Jamon? Ladin? Which one of the two is you?"
"I shall kill you in the most brutal and painful way possible. So much so that if there is a next life for you, you"ll remember. I shall sear it into your mind. Remember. I am Jamon! Demon King Jamon!"
"d.a.m.n it."
Unlucky for me, it was the Demon King.
However, even in this situation, my focus was on the skill book beyond ranking.
All I had to do was to grab it and throw myself into the Warp.
It would take at most 3 seconds to do so.
However, would this guy give me those 3 seconds for free?
Many thoughts raced across my mind.
The conclusion I made was of greed and danger.
"They say even a ghost looks better if they died with a fully belly, don"t they? Even if it kills me, I have to get that."
It would only take a moment.
I did not have the slightest of intentions to make this a long fight.
I cast all of my shields at once.
It was enough shielding to withstand all of the attacks of every single Awakened on Earth.
Even if he was a Demon King, it would be impossible to break through all of these shields.
I knew that thinking about it more would just intensify my fears.
I charged forward like lightning and picked up the skill book.
I had already succeeded halfway through.
Pushing with this momentum, it happened the moment I tried to run towards the Warp.
"d.a.m.n it!"
"I said that the hide and seek is over. Die!"
"Sorry, but I don"t like being it!"
In a split second, his attacks began to break apart my shields.
Due to his swift attacks that I could not follow with my eyes, the shields that were st.u.r.dy like castle walls popped like balloons.
However, thankfully, my Mana Shield was still holding steady, protecting me.
Due to his attacks being simple in nature, the Mana Shield held.
The Demon King was far stronger than what Jong Ho had said and what I had thought.
He was strong enough to make me doubt that I could take him down by growing stronger in due time.
Noticing that his attacks weren"t working on me, he instantly made s.p.a.ce between us and prepared a powerful attack.
Not wasting this chance, I hurled myself as hard as I could into the Warp.
"KUACK!"
"d.a.m.n it! Kuhhuk!"
It could have been really bad back there.
Thanks to entering the Warp as the attack landed on me, I was able to avoid being hit by all of it.
Despite that, my arm hung limply as if it had been hit by a tank sh.e.l.l.
Not only did the armor break, but bits of flesh was missing as well.
It was an injury severe enough to show bone.
Thankfully it was my arm that took the hit. If I had received such an attack on my chest or other vitals….
I couldn"t help but feel despair at the Demon King"s strength, but I regained my composure and began healing myself.
Despite it being a severe injury, it wasn"t severe enough to cast Status Denial.
Even stopping the cast of Mana Shield, I used all my available free hands on Mega Cure.
It would be normal for me to recover fully soon, especially with my stamina stat and the amount that Mega Cure healed.
I was applying three healing spells on top of my stamina stat that was enough to recover on its own, after all.
However, the damage I took from Jamon"s attack didn"t recover so easily, almost as if I had received a debuff that prevented me for healing myself.
"Still, this much is a cheap price to pay for learning what Jamon"s attack is like….."
It took a very long time before my arm recovered its form.
Only then did the pain subside, and I finally noticed the skill book being held by the hand that was once torn like rags.
The skill book was white as if it was covered in flour.
It was a skill book that I could not give up, even if it meant risking my life.
For skill books beyond ranking, even using the Eye of Insight doesn"t reveal all of its information.
Instead, it only shows the requirements needed to use it.
However, that was enough for me.
It was because the requirements was something that I"ve never seen or heard of before.
[No level requirement.]
[10,000 strength stat required.]
[10,000 mana stat required.]
[10,000 dexterity stat required.]
[10,000 stamina stat required.]
[All requirements met.]
[Will you obtain Eternal Rest?]
"Please be worth at least my life."