The Precious Demon King - Chapter 12

WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 12: Power Trip

"I'm back!"

Kim Junyong's hardened mana core began to function again. He refined the chaos mana he had just drawn in and tried to store it.

Fwoosh.

However, only a small amount of chaos mana could be stored, and the rest dispersed.

"That's barely a speck."

Though his mana core was vast enough to hold an ocean, it could currently only store the equivalent of a rice bowl. It was absurd yet thrilling.

"This is a dual mana core, isn't it?"

He could clearly sense the order mana core. It was the same size as the chaos mana core.

Linked as if biting each other's tails, the two mana cores resembled a yin-yang symbol.

Their size and shape were identical, as if to maintain perfect balance.

"So the more the white mana grows, the more the suppressed black mana is unsealed..."

Without this method, a dual core wouldn't be possible. If the balance tipped even slightly, the dominant mana would devour the other.

"How clever...Bel's Scale."

< Embarrassed. >

It seemed pleased. Kim Junyong tried to open his status window for the first time.

< You have acquired an awakening skill. >

< Kim Junyong >

Class: Arbiter of the Scale

Mana: 8

Skill: Judgment

"Hey, what awakening skill did you get?"

"None."

"Huh? Let me take a look."

< Kim Remi >

Class: Swordsman

Mana: Null

Skill: Null

"What the hell is this?"

"..."

There was no way Remi would know.

"It looks like God Earth just slapped things together."

She was a demon. Although she hadn't received a blessing from Belhaim, God Earth controlled this virtual realm and must have granted her access.

"You're a hunter in name only."

Even the name "Kim Remi" was fake–a hastily made alias, not her true name.

"Hey, let's check my evil deed score...Oh!"

Kim Junyong's eyes lit up. Two tiny white orbs sat atop the Scale of Order.

"Two from one guy? Do the ones you kill count too?"

"Wouldn't they be counted?"

"Why?"

"Well, you were punished when I killed someone. Maybe this is the same."

"Oh!"

That sounded plausible. He could test it either way.

"Kieeek!"

The farther they walked, the more frequently skeletons appeared. With permission to kill granted, Remi's sword danced with delight.

Clink, clink.

Tiny white orbs scattered like grains.

"Wow, that was fast."

Even when Remi killed, his order points increased. She was more excited than Kim Junyong.

"From now on, if we do something bad on Earth, let's just enter a dungeon."

"You're pretty sharp these days, aren't you?"

Kim Junyong grinned.

Crash!

Skeleton swordsmen and mages sprang out as they climbed the hill. But they were no match for Remi.

"Nice one, Remi!"

While Remi hunted, Kim Junyong didn't idle. He tried out his first white magic skill.

"Judgment."

Shimmer.

A golden scale materialized before the skeleton and weighed its evil deed.

< Servant of Evil. Immediate execution! >

A black orb fell onto the dragon pan. The scale shattered.

Clatter.

The golden dragon unfolded its wings and opened its mouth, spewing fire.

Fwoosh.

"Kieeek!"

The skeleton disintegrated and the scale vanished.

"..."

Kim Junyong was left speechless by the skill's unexpected power.

"Why is it so strong?"

< Relics imbued with divine power are far more effective against "demons." >

In other words, bonus damage against demonic beings.

"Not bad."

Come to think of it, had the returnees really been using these skills this easily all along?

"I had to steal what I could by peeking over someone's shoulder..."

Using magic didn't require any theory, structural understanding, or studying. Just say the skill's name, and poof, it fired off.

This really was point-and-click magic.

"Hmm."

Even though he could now wield both white and black magic, it still left a sour taste.

Those returnees. They had it easy. No wonder they were so weak.

In any case, each time a skeleton died, residual mana rushed into Kim Junyong, growing the order mana core.

His mana increased to 16. However, his black mana increased by the same amount.

As the order mana core expanded, so did the chaos mana core.

It was truly double the growth.

"...Then shouldn't you be hunting too?"

"Eh, no need to bother with small fry."

Despite South Korea's reputation for its passionate work ethic and the belief that even dust could build a mountain, Kim Junyong remained relaxed.

There was no need to live as if something were always chasing him.

Refining mana drawn from emotion was inefficient, but it was an almost infinite source of energy.

When water was available everywhere, there was no need to obsess over hoarding bottled water at home.

He was already too powerful to waste his life obsessing over strength.

"Leave the boss to me."

"...As you command."

Following orders, Remi cleared the path. Countless monsters blocked the way, only to be cleaved in two by her sword.

Kim Junyong walked between the bones, observing and studying.

I can't believe my mana is increasing this easily.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized what an incredible gift Goddess Belhaim's blessing was. It allowed him to acquire magic without studying.

A skeleton that Remi had missed lunged at him, and he crushed its skull.

Thud!

His mana rose again. The only inconvenience was that, although the vessel grew, it remained empty. He had to fill it with mana to match the increased capacity.

Extracting mana from corpses no longer worked.

So that's how it works. Residual mana and energy from corpses are absorbed as experience.

That was what fueled the growth of the order mana core.

While he was deep in thought, Remi had nearly reached the top of the hill they were aiming for.

"Here's the boss."

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

Kim Junyong hurried over to find a death knight with severed limbs struggling on the ground.

[ ...You wretches in my graveyard... ]

Hum!

Kim Junyong crushed its head before it could finish its last words. An explosion followed, and he absorbed a massive amount of energy.

< Kim Junyong >

Class: Arbiter of the Scale

Mana: 109

Skill: Judgment

"Bosses really are the best."

Kim Junyong smiled slightly as he observed the changes around him. The barrier forming the dungeon's boundary was shrinking rapidly. In the center was a cave on the mountainside.

"That must be the boss room."

The cave looked like a tomb. The interior wasn't very spacious. Inside, there was just a wooden coffin and a few miscellaneous items. He picked up an old sword with the highest energy concentration and examined it.

"This must be the dungeon core."

"Shall I destroy it?"

"No, let's take it as a souvenir."

Rejecting Remi's suggestion to kill or destroy everything, he picked up the sword.

He unfolded a crumpled cloth bundle and gathered the jewelry, trinkets, and other odds and ends from the tomb.

"I should build my own dungeon soon."

However, without a foundation in basic subspace magic, he practically needed a porter.

After haphazardly tying the bundle, he handed it to Remi. She started grumbling.

"Why not summon another demon to carry stuff?"

"Who?"

"Malsun?"

"Ugh, I don't have nearly enough mana to summon Malsun right now."

The amount of mana consumed during the initial summoning varied for each demon.

To summon someone like Malsun, he would need to expand his mana core significantly or go somewhere brimming with emotional energy.

Unless he gathered tens of thousands of people and had them spill fear or despair, summoning Malsun was out of the question.

"Let's head back."

"Okay."

It was almost time to meet his sister. They both took out their phones and pressed "Exit Dungeon," which had replaced "Enter Dungeon."

Flash.

* * *

Cheon Yubeom was sweating nervously.

Executive Kang Hyunsik, the commander of this conquest mission, was notorious for his temper. Of all people, it had to be him from the Daesan Guild.

"Hey. Team Leader Cheon. You see that?"

Kang Hyunsik pointed at the Daesan Guild's convoy of support vehicles, which included catering trucks, coffee vans, and rest caravans for hunters.

"I see it."

"We brought thirty hunters for a three-shift operation. But they're just sitting around doing jack shit."

"I apologize."

"Hah, damn it. Do you think I'm asking for an apology?"

"There will be compensation from the Hunter Management Bureau."

"Fuck! Who asked for money?!"

Kang Hyunsik exploded in fury.

"..."

Cheon Yubeom had nothing to say. He simply waited for Kang Hyunsik to wear himself out and calm down.

"At least tell me who! Who the fuck dared sneak into a dungeon under Daesan's exclusive rights?! Huh?"

"I apologize."

"No, why!"

Kang Hyunsik was the eldest grandson of the chairman of the Daesan Group. He was a noble in the capitalist kingdom. He was a man from a noble conglomerate lineage, who had never failed to get what he desired throughout his life.

He jumped up and down in rage.

"No, fuck. Did the fucking president sneak in? An SR Ranker? Who the hell is it?!"

"I apologize."

"Apologize, apologize! Fucking say it again!"

Kang Hyunsik huffed.

"..."

Seeing Cheon Yubeom remain unmoved only made him angrier. Yelling didn't bring him any satisfaction either.

Fine. Money? Fuck, I want to see how much they pay up.

Kang Hyunsik glared at Cheon Yubeom like a snake stalking its prey.

"Hahh...Fine. Your name is Cheon...?"

"Cheon Yubeom."

"Right. Team Leader Cheon. If anyone can just waltz into these dungeons, then why sell expensive exclusivity rights?"

"I apologize."

"Shouldn't there be oversight? Huh? You sell those rights for a fortune, then sneak in hunters to poach resources?"

"That's not true."

"Hah, fuck."

That was when Lee Mina, who had remained silent until then, finally stepped forward.

"Excuse me."

Wasn't this going too far, no matter what?

"Executive Kang, we admit that this was our mistake. But don't you think you're going too far?"

"Stay out of it, Rank 5 nobody."

"W-What?!"

Lee Mina couldn't believe what she had heard.

"You don't belong in this conversation, bitch, so step aside. Do I have to repeat myself?"

"W-What did you just say?!"

Lee Mina was so shocked that she was speechless. She hadn't heard such crude insults since she joined the workforce.

"What? Are you going to compensate me? With what?"

Kang Hyunsik smirked and ogled her body. Lee Mina was dumbfounded, her face turning bright red.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"What?"

Kang Hyunsik suddenly approached Lee Mina. She was a Rank 5 hunter. But Kang Hyunsik felt no fear.

Daesan Guild. Daesan Group. They made him a beast.

He grabbed Lee Mina by the collar.

"What can a lowly civil servant like you do?"

"Argh!"

Lee Mina trembled all over. One punch would have turned him into a bloody pulp. But...she couldn't throw it.

"Idiot."

"..."

Seeing her shake made him feel a little better.

Then–

Rumble.

The black sphere, which had maintained its shape, began to ripple. Before the startled people could react, it shrank quickly, popped like a soap bubble, and vanished completely.

The dungeon had disappeared.

"W-What the fuck? What is this?!"

Hundreds of millions of won had evaporated right before their eyes. Kang Hyunsik grabbed Lee Mina's collar again. And then...

Slash!

His wrist was severed.

"Ahh?! Ahh?! Aaagh!"

Before he could register what had happened, the pain consumed him.

"E-Executive!"

The hunters from the Daesan Guild rushed over and quickly treated him. As divine energy soothed the pain, his mind caught up.

My wrist got cut off? How dare they?! Aaarrgh!

"Who the fuck did that?!"

The eldest grandson of the Daesan Group. Before him stood a man born to wield power–