by Road Warrior
Main Character hides his Strength
Book 2: Demon Realm
Roadwarrior
Oppatranslations
Oppatranslations, LLC.
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Seattle WA 98105, USA
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Translated from the Korean by Edward Ro and Minsoo Kang.
Edited by - Josiah Davis, Sahil Bansal, Euijin Kang, Kitkat, Nas Versix, Curry, CheeseTakery, Luke Thompson
First published by Oppatranslations, LLC 2020
© Roadwarrior 2016
English translation © Oppatranslations, LLC 2017
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
eBook
ISBN: ISBN- 978-0-9992957-2-4
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Frontlines of the Demon Realm
Chapter 2 – Suicide Unit
Chapter 3 – Underground Kingdom
Chapter 4 – Those who swallowed the Nahak
Chapter 5 – Tomb of the Avian King
Chapter 6 – The Last King
Chapter 7 – Echoes
Chapter 8 – The King’s Request
Chapter 9 – Crusaders of Salvation
Chapter 10 – Invasion of the Demon Realm
Chapter 11 – Tomb of the High Devils
Chapter 12 – Lords of the Tower
Chapter 13 – The Abandoned
Chapter 14 – Order of the Iron Blood Knights
Chapter 15 – Facing them alone
Chapter 16 – Followers of Calamity
Chapter 17 – Bid for Redemption
Chapter 18 – Debt of Punishment
Chapter 19 – Heading to the Demon Palace
Chapter 20 – Hesthnius Max
Afterword
Chapter 1 – Frontlines of the Demon Realm
The far northern territory of the continent, the Demon Realm, was a place where fire and ice coexisted. The demons were inherently evil creatures that worshipped strength and considered deception a virtue. They were normally preoccupied in their own lands with territorial disputes, but once an undisputed champion rose among them, they would gather en masse and launch an organized invasion into the continent.
Hesthnius Max was the first true king of the demonkind in over several centuries. Known to be a hero chosen by the demon god himself, he unified the demons under his rule with overwhelming might and malicious wit, becoming the first calamity itself as prophesized by the Scripture of Calamities. However, it was not as though humans and the other races of the Other World were watching idly as the demons stirred.
The Order of the Iron Blood Knights, a body of powerful military might that was based in the Storm battlefront, stood steadfast at the northernmost border of the continent that contained the entrance to the Demon Realm. Fortifications were made along these borders like a web of chains to prevent the invasion of the demons.
The areas where the demon world and the human world met were called the Battlefronts of the Demon Realm.
“...”
Sungchul now stood upon that very place. He had stepped into the land of death, where fire and ice danced side-by-side, after having slaughtered countless demons.
So, I ended up coming back to this place. Sungchul looked at the familiar sunset with cold eyes. The expanse of land was an eyesore filled with a desolate gloom that hung in the air. There was a thunderous roar to the north followed by a slight trembling of the earth. The stench of sulphur carried by the wind tickled his nose. Sungchul climbed the slope of a mountain and headed toward human territory.
“What are you going to do now?” Bertelgia tossed the question into the air from her place in his pocket.
Sungchul walked in strides as he answered, “After a break, I’ll go back to the Demon Realm to fight against the devils.”
There were a lot of options, but Sungchul wanted to personally test the magic he had obtained from Airfruit. He wanted to know how effective he was against the devils as a mage. His policy was to determine his limits and weaknesses to properly gauge his growth.
Sungchul climbed midway up a rocky mountain facing a frozen sea. From a distance, it had looked like just one of the many rocky mountains, but it had blackened traces and firewood hidden underneath an ashen cloth along with several pieces of iron scraps of indeterminable purpose, all indicating that someone had been here.
He began to grab some firewood along with the iron scraps lying around, as though it was his own home, to fashion himself a decent cooking pot. This place had been one of his campsites in the past. Sungchul, who was welcomed by neither humans nor demons, had created several hideouts along the various Demon Realm Battlefronts to rotate and find some rest. Of course, he created his favourite dishes here too.
He approached a massive boulder blocking a cave beyond the camp. It had no sign of intrusion. Only some small bugs called Demon Lice ran off in surprise. Sungchul took a deep breath and gripped the massive boulder with both hands. He didn’t need things like handles.
CRUMBLE!
Anywhere his fingers sunk became handles. Sungchul waited briefly with his fingers embedded directly into the boulder until he suddenly lifted it.
“... it’s not even that shocking anymore.” Bertelgia flapped in the vicinity while staring blankly at the scene.
THUD!
The boulder blocking the cave was moved slightly to the side. The blunt shock that had enough force to cause a slight tremor on the ground could be felt beneath Sungchul’s feet.
He brought out a piece of wood that had been burning underneath the pot and used it as a torch to enter the newly opened cave. The cave was filled with various pieces of pottery made of clay; fermentation pots made by Sungchul’s own hands.
Sungchul found a pot among several pots that had been left to the side with a large stone pressing down on top. He tossed the stone to the side and opened the container. Within the pot was a plant root about the size of a human child that had been pickled bright red. Sungchul’s mouth began to water.
“T-That is the Mandragora?!” Bertelgia, who had eventually followed him into the cave, saw the mysterious plant within the pot and shouted in surprise.
Sungchul nodded. “There is no better delicacy than Kimchi made of this little guy.”
He pulled off a leaf of the pickled Mandragora kimchi and savoured the flavour in his mouth.
[The Score of this Recipe is… 12 points!]
The score was rubbish, but the taste within Sungchul’s mouth was grander than any delicacy.
“Mm.” He closed his eyes and savoured the taste for a bit while Bertelgia hurried out of the cave muttering to herself, “My god… to make some weird food out of that precious thing…”
Sungchul cooked some soaked rice in the cooking pot. There was no need for any other side dish. He ate his bowl of
rice and the pickled Mandragora with the scenery of the Demon Realm before him.
After eating his fill, he sat on a flat piece of rock and closed his eyes. The sulphur-infused breeze that flowed through the Demon Realm lightly brushed his hair. He opened his eyes after a bit of rest, rose from his seat, and made his way deeper into the land of the demons.
***
The lower ranking demons blocked Sungchul’s path as he approached the corridor connected to the Demon realm. These were a lower species known as imps that looked like hairless monkeys, and all they had in their thick skulls were gluttony and evil.
“Kyiiii!”
The imps made a threatening gesture with their pitchfork by feigning a stabbing motion in the air.
“Uuu...I hate those things.” Bertelgia, who had returned to her normal size, flew off to some high perch where the imps could not reach her. Sungchul scowled at the approaching imps and extended his finger.
Glare
Out of his fingertip, a beam of light burst forth toward the body of one of the imps.
“Kyiiii!” The imp who had been hit thrashed about wildly before his body became charred. The imps who had been making empty threats suddenly rushed toward Sungchul together.
SWISH! SWISH!
The rusted pitchforks flew toward Sungchul’s body. He dodged the spears with little effort and repeatedly fired off Glare multiple times.
SIZZLE~ SIZZLE~
The imps who had been pierced by the light hobbled about before dying. After he had consecutively killed ten imps, the imps who had been full of spirit began to hesitate. Sungchul knew the reason why. It is finally making an appearance.
THUD!
The earth began to crack, and something came forth from below. With a height of about five meters till its revealed torso, it was a large demon with the odd appearance of a fish head and the body of a man.
“Kyaaaa!”
A Deep Sea Demon. They were one of the gatekeepers guarding the entrance to the Demon Realm. The only reason why Sungchul had bothered to kill the worthless imps was to call out this fellow.
This demon race from the depths below had the intelligence of a fish, but they were infamous for their powerful strength and dexterity along with their incredible vitality. If he could kill one of these monsters that even the mages of the Royal Court could not overcome, Sungchul judged that he would be able to do meaningful damage to Hesthnius Max.
“Kyaaaaaa!!”
The still half-buried Deep Sea Demon let out an earth shattering roar. The bellow of the beast scattered the remaining imps who ran amok and disappeared into the narrow caves, leaving Sungchul alone with the Deep Sea Demon.
Its empty fish eyes glared at Sungchul until it suddenly raised its arm into the air to strike him down.
SLAM!
As the fist covered in scales struck the ground, the earth shook with the impact as it shattered the surface, launching rubble in the air.
Bertelgia, who had suddenly attached herself to Sungchul’s back, spoke in a meek voice. “Hey, shouldn’t we escape?”
“...”
However, Sungchul wasn’t going to heed her advice; he took another step forward.
“Uuuh… it might not even be enough to have ten lives if you’re with this person.” Bertelgia resigned to being in the safest place, Sungchul’s pocket, and shrunk down to a compact size as though she was throwing up her hands.
How long will this work? thought Sungchul. He didn’t have great expectations. He realised that his Magic Power didn’t exceed 200, and the magic he was truly in command of was only of the third circle. The reason he was battling with this demon anyway was to witness his limits with his own two eyes. Sungchul then began to move.
The fish’s eyes continued to track his path. Sungchul dashed beside it and extended a finger toward the Sea Demon.
Glare
A beam of light akin to a spear stretched out from the tip of his finger and targeted the demon’s arm.
SIZZLE-
A dark smoke rose from the Sea Demon’s flesh, but that was it.
“Gyaaaa!!” the Deep Sea Demon let out a roar before swinging its arm in a frenzy to attack Sungchul.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
The ground shook, and the earth exploded like a fountain. But such an attack from the Deep Sea Demon was meaningless to Sungchul. He continued to evade lazily, as though he was on a picnic, and dodged all of its attacks while continuing to experiment with his only offensive magic on various body parts of the Deep Sea Demon: arms, legs, torso, face, then eyes.
SIZZLE-
The Deep Sea Demon’s eyes were seared with a beam of light, but as the fish’s eyelids blinked from the bottom-up, Sungchul’s attack was easily negated.
It is still too early.
He knew this, but the fact that he couldn’t even manage to scratch the creature was a depressing thought. He needed a stronger magic. He retreated for now.
The Deep Sea Demon roared in the distance and continued to pound the earth. Whether that was a roar of victory or a threatening gesture born of instinct, Sungchul didn’t know.
“Hey, Bertelgia.” Sungchul forcefully dragged Bertelgia from his pocket.
“Hear not! See not!” Bertelgia appeared as though she had clenched her eyes and shut her ears, although it was questionable whether a book could do such things.
“Pay attention.” When Sungchul shook her a few times, she regained her senses and looked at her surroundings.
“Huh? What about the fish-face?”
“Over there,” said Sungchul as he pointed toward the Deep Sea Demon howling in the distance.
Bertelgia slid down Sungchul’s hand as though she was melting in relief and let out a sigh. “I wish you'd stop with the dangerous games.”
“It’s not dangerous at all. More than that, I have something to ask you.”
“About what?”
“Is there any Alchemy quest that you’re aware of that can raise Magic Power by a large margin?”
“Alchemy quest?” Bertelgia, who had been drooping against his palm, suddenly perked up and exploded into her original size. She also fluttered before Sungchul with vigour and spoke in a different voice. “Are you saying that you’re prepared to walk the path of the Creationist?”
“Creationist or whatever is fine. I just need a quest that can bump up my Magic Power.”
It wasn’t the time for beggars to be choosers. Sungchul was prepared to do anything it took for him to accomplish his goal, even if it were the Alchemy-related quests that don't appear to have any direct connection to the objective.
Bertelgia floated in the air in thought, then spoke without much confidence. “Mmm… There aren’t many that you can do in your state.”
“Is that right?”
“You’re too inexperienced, even if you’ve created a 5th level Alchemic item. I’d recommend making every Alchemic item below the 4th level at least once.”
“How many are there in total that qualify?”
“82 items.”
It was a bleak number.
“Mm. I’ll take back my previous request.” Sungchul gave up on it without any hesitation, but the one who jumped up was Bertelgia.
“Hey! Wait a minute! You’ve made 12 items below 4th level so far. You just need to synthesise about 70 more!”
“That’s still too many.”
“It’s not that many! Not that many at all! It can be easily accomplished if you make a habit of practicing Alchemy in your daily life!”
“Mmm…” Sungchul didn’t look convinced, but he decided it might not be bad to follow Bertelgia’s advice.
If I synthesize successfully, my Magic Power and Intuition will naturally rise by a small amount. It might not be bad to try one or two on a daily basis as a change of pace.
Sungchul thought to use every method possible. However, anything relating to Alchemy was more of a secondary objective. He decided to seek out a certain man after his fight with the Deep Sea Demon: Sarasa
’s father. The man going by the alias Deckard. It wasn’t clear what level of mage he truly was, but what was clear was that he was not someone average, as he was the son of the mighty Altugius. It was said that he was looking for a method to stop the Calamity. He had to have been desperate to seek out ways to hone his own strength. That is… if he was anything like Sungchul was eight years ago.
I think Altugius said that he was active as a mercenary mage along the Storm Battlefront?
The Storm Battlefront. It was a shaky alliance created out of desperation that formed one of the three major factions of the northern continent. Unlike other factions, the Storm Battlefront was mainly comprised of dwarves who used their peerless dwarven architecture to create a powerful network of fortifications to block any possible demon invasion. They also have been known to have surpassed the withered Order of the Iron Blood Knights as the most powerful faction in the north.
The problem was that Sungchul had poor relations with the dwarves, because he had stolen Fal Garaz, an item revered as a divine artifact, from their temple.
At the very least, this isn’t somewhere I can use my real name, thought Sungchul.
Dwarves had a historic tradition of recording those that sinned against them in a book of grudges. The name that took the first line of this book of grudges was none other than Sungchul Kim.
***
“What kind of alias would suit me?” Even Sungchul had moments where he couldn’t help but worry. He began to think deeply about the alias he would use when he arrived on the frontline. It seemed like a childish concern, but it meant something to him. He believed that a name held power.
For instance, the name “Sungchul” was possibly the most widely-known name in this world. It had a weight of its own. But if he were to use other names, such as Ahram Park or Krill Regall? He would be considered nothing more than Generic Minion A.
