Player who Returned 10,000 years Later

'Good.'

He heard a clear bell sound.

The tips of his mouth went up.

After doing the sixth Awakening, he felt that the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core had gotten even weaker.

An explosive amount of demonic energy was flowing inside his body.

'I think that I could win against Chae YeonJoo.'

He was only level 54 and had just done the sixth Awakening.

Chae YeonJoo had passed level 59, the level in which people say that your growth stagnates, and she had managed to reach the 9th Awakening.

Considering that the higher your level became, the more bonus stats you got, she wasn't someone a sixth Awakening player could face.

'But…'

KangWoo looked at Chae YeonJoo.

It wasn't like he had fought against her while using all of his strength before.

But after looking at her fighting against Kim JaeHyun and Oriax, he became sure of one thing:

He was already one step ahead of her.

'Although I'm still not overwhelmingly stronger than her.'

It was an amazing growth speed considering that it hadn't been long since he had returned to Earth.

'The problem is going to be from now on.'

KangWoo frowned while looking at his level.

He had to pass the first gateway, what players called 'ultimate effort,' level 59.

At that level, although you could gain experience by hunting monsters, your level didn't increase anymore.

'I heard that the way to overcome it varies from person to person.'

Some people suddenly got the knowledge and unlocked it, just like what happens in martial arts novels. Others unlocked it after defeating a very strong monster. Some people unlocked it when they were on the verge of death.

There were even some people who unlocked it suddenly, without doing anything.

'I heard that talented people unlock it faster...'

The higher the ranking of your Attribute, the easier it became to unlock it.

That was also why people called it the 'ultimate effort.'

'...Because you won't know what you have to do until you do it.'

Having a higher-ranking Attribute increased the chance of unlocking it being easier, but it wasn't a guarantee.

An example of that was Chae YeonJoo. Although she had unlocked an S-rank Attribute on her first Awakening, she'd been stuck in level 59 for quite a long time.

'Let's think about that later.'

KangWoo looked away.

He wanted to check the new Attribute he had unlocked immediately, but there was another thing he had to do first.

'Authority of Predation.'

KangWoo moved back one of his hands.

He made sure that no one could see it, and then used the Authority of Predation.

Black smoke left of his body and covered Oriax's body.

"Huh?"

"Th-that..."

Goo HyunMo and the other Hwarang Squad members exclaimed in surprise.

KangWoo had modified the Authority of Predation so it wouldn't make any noise.

Because he’d done that, it looked as if the body of a demon had turned into smoke and had started to disappear.

"Do the corpses of demons disappear after dying...?" Goo HyunMo asked while tilting his head.

Because there weren't many records about demons, there was no way to check that information out.

Ting-

[Your Demonic Energy stat has increased by 3.]

'Only 3?'

KangWoo frowned.

His stat had increased less than he had expected.

'Is it because my demonic energy stat is already too high?'

His current demonic stat was at 83.

It was a stat high enough to be comparable to the main stat of a player that had reached level 80 and completed the ninth Awakening.

Considering that the higher your stat became, the more difficult it got to increase it, maybe having it go up by three was something that rarely happened.

'It gets harder to increase it, but there's a huge difference in the effect.'

His demonic energy had just increased more than back then at the Andras Guild, where his stat had increased by 20 in just one go.

'There's nothing to regret.'

The important thing wasn't how many numbers it went up…

The important thing was that he had gotten access to more demonic energy, and the quality of it had also increased.

Although it had increased just by three, he could clearly feel the difference.

KangWoo smiled, satisfied.

He turned his head to Yoo TaeShik, who was restrained by Chae YeonJoo's chains.

"Ugh!"

"Ms. HwaYeon, is he the who wore the red mask?" Goo HyunMo asked while poking Yoo TaeShiks cheeks.

"No, he's his underling."

"Hng. So he hasn't appeared yet. I just wish we could get rid of crazy guys like this as fast as we can."

While feeling disappointed, Goo HyunMo hit Yoo TaeShik.

Although he might’ve looked like someone who was easygoing, he was still the leader of the Second Squad.

He understood how dangerous those people were.

"First, let's take him to the investigation room and interrogate him. Oh! Our branch office outside of Seoul is less strict on procedures, so we'll be able to interrogate him properly."

Goo HyunMo smiled. He looked at Yoo TaeShik and moved his fingers.

"Prepare yourself, you piece of trash. I'll show you the 72 interrogation techniques I perfected through the years...."

"Cough! Cough!"

"Eh? What's wrong with this guy? I didn't even start yet."

Yoo TaeShik suddenly started to vomit black blood.

KangWoo quickly approached him.

He felt demonic energy from Yoo TaeShik.

'This...'

KangWoo's eyes narrowed.

He had seen similar things happen before.

It was as if a seal that was locking a block of demonic energy had been unlocked.

And just like he thought…

Crack-! Crack!

"Wh-what's happening?!"

"Leader, you need to move back, now!"

Goo HyunMo and Baek HwaYeon moved away.

Crack-!

Yoo TaeShik's body increased in size, two horns appeared on his head, and a set of wings sprouted from his back.

—But it didn't look like he was turning into a 'demon.'

* * *

His skin melted down, and his face distorted.

The tattoos that usually covered his skin were nowhere to be seen.

His arms split into two and became four in total, and sharp teeth grew in his mouth.

In the end, he couldn’t control his lust, and he was just trash who couldn't even become a demon.

"Damn."

KangWoo frowned.

There was no way to turn him back.

'Once again, we won't be able to find out the masked villain's identity.'

KangWoo clicked his tongue.

Knowing the personality of the red mask-wearing man, Yoo TaeShik probably didn't know about his identity.

But seeing how they’d lost the chance to get other useful information annoyed him.

"GRAARRGGHH!"

Yoo TaeShik, who had turned into a demonic monster, screamed.

For players who could even face a demon that belonged to the 7th hell, beating up Yoo TaeShik, who had turned into a demonic monster, was easy.

"Damn! We won't be able to interrogate him!"

Crack-!

"GRAA! AAGGHH!"

Chae YeonJoo waved her hand aggressively, and chains covered Yoo TaeShik's body.

She angrily shouted and then threw Yoo TaeShik to the wall.

"Calm down, YeonJoo. It isn't like we don't have any clues."

"Oof..."

A sigh came out of Chae YeonJoo's mouth.

As if she was taking out her anger, she threw him numerous times against the floor.

She put her hand on top of her forehead in frustration.

"I know, we just have to investigate which guild among Hanul, Onnuri, or Sanare is collaborating with the Demon Cult."

"We'll have to make some preparations, too. After doing something like this, they won't be able to move easily."

"That's true."

Disappointed, she looked down at Yoo TaeShik's corpse.

She felt angry that she hadn't been able to wipe out the Demon Cult yet.

Baek HwaYeon left behind the frustrated Chae YeonJoo and said to KangWoo.

"Oh. KangWoo, the government is going to reward you for today."

"Hmm?"

KangWoo's eyes shone at Baek HwaYeon's words.

Baek HwaYeon laughed.

"Having found out about the Mir Guild, having helped to interrogate Kim JaeHyun, and helping us to get to Pohang as fast as possible. You did many things, so it would be an insult if there weren't any rewards to you."

KangWoo's role in the incident was huge.

If it weren't for him, they probably wouldn't have been able to find out about the demon summoning.

To KangWoo, that was good news.

"I hope it's not some kind of useless certificate."

If it was something like that, he was thinking of refusing it.

"Hahaha. I'm not that stupid. I'll give you the details in a bit. Tell me your number later on."

"If possible, I'd like to be rewarded silently without making a huge deal out of it."

"Hmm? Are you the type of person who hates the idea of becoming famous?"

"I don't like dragging useless attention to myself."

"Hmm. I can reward you unofficially, but rumors will inevitably spread out a bit."

Basically, some people would hear about him.

He was probably going to get more attention than before when he’d just been known as the rookie that the Red Rose Guild was supporting.

"I'll decide after hearing what the reward is."

There was no need to reply immediately.

He would accept if he concluded that the reward obtained was worth more than how bothersome receiving more attention was.

'There's no need to refuse a reward just because I don't want to get more attention.'

It was inevitable that more people would hear about him eventually.

He was too different from the rest, so people would eventually hear rumors about him.

"Haha, you can have high hopes about it."

Baek HwaYeon said it confidently.

KangWoo's eyes shone. Baek HwaYeon wasn't someone who would exaggerate. If she said something like that, it was that the reward would be truly incredible.

"YeonJoo, your guild will also receive a reward. Thanks for collaborating."

"Well... I have a good enough reason to do that," Chae YeonJoo said with a heavy voice.

"Let's return. I... Want to rest."

From what happened with Kim JaeHyun to the battle against a demon. It would’ve been weird if they weren't tired.

KangWoo looked at Chae YeonJoo, who had a bitter expression on her face.

'It doesn't seem to be simple tiredness.'

She was probably thinking about the guild member used as offerings by the Demon Cult.

'She's probably blaming herself.'

They weren't able to find out the identity of the red masked man, whom you could say was the cause of everything.

She was probably feeling disappointed and regretful.

While turning his body around toward the cave's exit, he spoke.

"You're doing a good job."

"What...?"

"I'm talking about revenge."

"..."

"I won't say that you've done enough, but you don't need to blame yourself. You don't need to feel anxious. There will be more chances in the future. Once such a chance comes up, we need to wipe them out."

"..."

"Don't worry. I'll help you."

"Hng. You arrogant bastard. Who are you to say you'll help me?"

Chae YeonJoo turned her face from KangWoo.

Although she'd said that, she looked more relaxed. You could see a slight smile on her face.

'It would be a problem if you made a mistake while being impatient.'

Being impatient makes you make mistakes.

Things would get bothersome if he lost her because of a silly mistake.

It wasn't just because he'd lose the support of the Red Rose Guild.

'After all, we've gotten a little bit closer.'

While thinking that, KangWoo opened his status window.

'Then, should I check out the new Attribute?'

He was excited.

Most players probably felt the same thing that KangWoo was feeling when they were about to check out the details of their new Attribute.

Like a kid opening his gift, he carefully checked his status window.

He was wondering what Attribute he’d gotten, and how much stronger he would become.

"What's this…?"

He frowned after checking out the details of his new Attribute.

[Sixth Awakening Attribute: ??? (Rank: ???)]

- The Attribute completely unlocks after you reach the 'Extreme Demonic Energy Body.'

'Question marks once more?'

First, it was the Authority of Predation; then the Extreme Demonic Energy Body, and now the sixth Awakening Attribute.

He was starting to get tired of it.

'I don't even know the conditions to unlock the Extreme Demonic Energy Body. Isn't it unfair to say it will unlock after I reach it?'

Shouldn't they tell him the conditions so he could actually put effort into fulfilling them?

He was starting to think that someone had created the Attributes like this on purpose just to bother him. No, he was hoping for that to be the case.

'So if I ever found the culprit, I can smash its head into a question mark.'

KangWoo frowned while looking at his status window, which was full of question marks.