episode_0082

Unlike the first expedition, this one didn’t have any special speeches.

Because it was literally urgent.

Even though the puppet master’s regenerative power is low, it will eventually get better with time.

If we had met the guy before that, we would have had a better chance of winning.

A fully healed level 86 puppet?

This is an opponent too daunting for me to deal with right now.

That’s why we had many discussions on our way to the Demon World.

“How long will it take for that guy’s wound to heal?”

“Hmm··· Well. If you think about it from the perspective of a normal person··· I think it would take at least 7 months.”

His regenerative powers are probably at the level of an ordinary person.

There won’t be any fraudulent healers like Yulis there, so it should take that long.

So far, so good news.

“How long does it take to get to where that guy is?”

“Wait a minute. I’m calculating. Ugh… It’s in the deepest part of the Demon World. No matter how fast I go, it’ll probably take more than 5 months, right?”

This was bad news.

The distance between me and that guy is too far.

That wasn’t all. There were bound to be countless monsters along the way. Since he was injured, he would be desperate to prevent anyone from intruding.

That means we have to take the shortest route to get to him while also dealing with numerous monsters.

It was hard enough just going, but there was also a time attack.

“First of all, it will definitely take more than 5 months···.”

It seemed like it would be an incredibly tough journey.

There’s nothing I can do. I guess I’ll just have to think of it as going to a high-level hunting ground······.

Just like the Chunghoeseong period, it’s season 2 of the high-level level.

First of all, the monsters at the entrance of the Demon World were easy.

“Only goblins come out day and night.”

“That’s good, Adele. I’ll open the way in front, so please support me from behind.”

From the guy’s perspective, there is no reason to deploy strong monsters in the beginning, so most of them are just trash mobs.

Camilla and I will lead the way, while the rest of the party will support us from the rear.

Thanks to this, the initial advance was able to proceed at high speed with almost no stopping.

“The air in this damn demon world is always stuffy···.”

“The monsters aren’t that strong, but they’re annoying···.”

“From here on, let’s take a break. Resting is just as important as fighting.”

However, things start to get a bit more troublesome from the middle. This is because there are more monsters that inflict debuffs.

Warrior type monsters that fight honestly with high stats, and gimmick type monsters that have low stats but inflict various debuffs.

This combination can be a nuisance to your opponents even if they are low level.

Their combination was perfect for wearing down our stamina.

It was obvious what kind of guy had set up the board like this.

You can tell just by looking at it that the puppet master is doing something.

Anyway, from this point on, resting became quite important. If you recover your stamina quickly, you will be able to proceed with the next battle without difficulty.

Of course, I did what I could during my free time.

[Completion: 8.2%]

For example, the second solitary summoning technique.

Seriously, even though I was putting in horsepower every single day, the car was so slow.

As expected, it wasn’t the highest grade magic for nothing. The goal is to fill up the percentage as much as possible before reaching the puppet master.

So we continued our journey.

[Completion: 8.9%]

[Completion: 14.7%]

[Level up!]

[Completion: 17.8%]

There was some good news. First of all, I leveled up.

There is no need to pour only my magic into the solitary summoning technique. Just like King Chung, I can also offer sacrifices to increase the percentage. The sacrifices I chose were none other than the corpses of the monsters I had caught.

Just as Oleg made an offering, I too can use the corpse as an offering with [Power of Sacrifice].

It seems that the body I caught is recognized as my property.

The puppet master probably didn’t know that the monster he sent would be recycled like this.

The downside is that you can no longer earn extra income from monster corpses… but right now, solo summoning is more urgent.

[Completion: 32.2%]

Two months passed like that.

We still had a long way to go before we reached the puppet master, but so far it was going pretty smoothly.

Monsters are worth dealing with, and while they are annoying, at least they aren’t too much of a hassle.

As the journey got longer, I had more time to talk to my party members.

More precisely, the party members excluding Camilla and Adele.

Where can I have a conversation about my topic?

“Come to think of it··· Wouldn’t it be better for you to catch the puppet master Luke alone?”

“Huh? Wow, is this how you’re taking advantage of me?”

It seemed that Lily still hadn’t completely shaken off her fear of the puppet company.

“No, no! That’s not what I meant! If we were brainwashed, it would be difficult to deal with each other···.”

Of course, her worries were justified. Sure, going as a party would be a hassle, so going alone might seem like a better option.

In fact, the most difficult time dealing with the puppet master was when you went to subdue him as a unit of the army. If you did that, you could watch the spectacular sight of half of the soldiers fighting each other.

But the worst option was to go on a raid alone.

“Can I defeat them alone?”

“···Ah.”

First of all, the skill gap is too big.

That wasn’t the only problem. A one-on-one duel with the guy would have been difficult, even for McGuffin.

Anyway, the power works. What if I slowly lose control of my body because of that power?

If that’s the case, then what will the ending be? There’s no other ending than becoming that guy’s puppet.

Surely I’ve never tried that method. Of course I have. And it failed me like a dog.

So, at the very least, we needed someone who could de-brainwash us.

If not, then someone who can distract him while he’s being brainwashed. His superpower also requires concentration anyway.

Anyway, for that reason, it is impossible to subdue them alone. It is best to go with a small group of elites like we are doing now.

If that happens, even if they fight each other, they won’t be completely brainwashed.

“Yeah, I get it. You really know a thing or two.”

I showed her that I understood her to this extent.

“That kind of information is… no. It would be better not to ask about this kind of thing.”

However, perhaps because I explained it too much, she said something meaningful.

What on earth is that hazy expression… Even though I can now speak openly with her, I still can’t understand that expression that she occasionally shows me.

Anyway, the journey continued after that.

[Completion: 35.7%]

[Completion: 39.1%]

[The level of the ‘Master of Poison’ has increased!]

[Completion: 43.8%]

Another month has passed.

[Completion: 46.3%]

[Completion: 49.9%]

[The level of ‘multicasting’ has been raised!]

[The level of ‘Battle Focus’ has increased!]

[Completion: 53.6%]

Two months have passed.

“Hmm, indeed, the deeper you go, the stronger you gradually become.”

“But isn’t it worth dealing with? There aren’t any guys that are that difficult.”

To be honest, it’s been smooth sailing up to this point.

Honestly, except for the Four Heavenly Kings, there was hardly anyone who could stand up to us.

Even excluding me, the level of the party members was already in the late 70s.

Among them, there are some who are slowly reaching level 80. At this level, they are considered captains even in the Empire. There are five of them in total. Even in the Demon Realm, there are only a handful of people who can stop us.

Thanks to that, I was able to get through to the center relatively smoothly. The problem was from the rear entrance.

“···Is this why everything has been going smoothly so far?”

“······ It’ll take a while to get through.”

The monsters in the latter part had several problems.

First of all, there were just a lot of monsters.

It seemed as if the monsters in front of the Demon Realm had gathered here as well, as there were truly countless monsters scattered all around in the rear.

Among them, there were many extremely strong ones, such as the Minotaur.

So, it was inevitable that things would get a little awkward here and there.

A large number of monsters came rushing in as if they were offering a comprehensive gift. Monsters that inflicted debuffs, monsters that swarmed around in groups, and even just really strong elite monsters.

[Congratulations!]

[Level up!]

[Completion: 63.6%]

Still, the percentage of the Solitary Summoning spell was quickly filling up.

So let’s take it step by step. It might be a little late, but it’s better than making a mistake.

“Damn, we’re surrounded! We need to find a way out!”

“There’s an ogre coming from behind! A cyclops in front!”

“Let’s just go ahead! I’ll roast that one-eyed bastard!!”

[The level of ‘Magic Control’ has increased!]

[The level of ‘Mana Blade’ has increased!]

[Completion: 68.9%]

[The level of ‘Blood Flow Acceleration’ has increased!]

[Completion: 71.1%]

“The stack is full. I’ll pop it big.”

“If possible, use it on the big one.”

“Of course.”

[The level of ‘Painful Memories’ has increased!]

[The level of ‘Blood Absorption’ has increased!]

[Completion: 77.7%]

“In the end, I didn’t get there within 5 months···.”

“It’s okay. But we’re almost there.”

Fatigue builds up, but experience points increase in return.

We walked along the road slowly as if solving a problem. The five months we had planned had already passed, but we were growing steadily.

So it’s been 5 months and 27 days.

[Congratulations!]

[Level up!]

We were finally able to arrive at the puppet master’s residence.

Rather than the castle of the Four Heavenly Kings, what catches the eye is an old-fashioned mansion that a noble would live in. It is not very large, but it looks luxurious enough for the Four Heavenly Kings to live in.

“Finally···.”

“Arrived······.”

The party members looked at the mansion, each absorbed in their own emotions. While they were doing so, I took a moment to look at myself.

‘Status window.’

———-

Name: Luke

Lv: 83

[Skill]

Magic Control Lv7, Mana Blade Lv 8, Bright Ryu Swordsmanship Lv.6, Battle Focus Lv.6, Multicasting Lv6, Pain Resistance Lv8, Poison Resistance Lv 10, Blood Flow Acceleration Lv5, Pain Memory Lv6, Blood Power Replacement Lv5, Blood Absorption Lv5, Fireball Lv5, Unbreakable Lv2, Poison Master Lv2, Invincibility LvMAX, Pain Imprint Lv4, Blood Flow Control Lv4, Hardening Lv3, Electrocution Lv3, Mana Barrier Lv4······

———-

You can see in the status window that you have grown a lot during this expedition. In just over 6 months, you have leveled up by a whopping 3 levels.

Skills have also increased tremendously.

Even considering the fact that he had a lot of experience, it was a remarkable growth. That shows how much experience he gained from this expedition.

At this point, we’ve met the minimum requirement to face the puppet master.

Fortunately, no one suffered any noticeable injuries on the way here.

Everyone was a little tired, but it was enough to recover with enough rest.

Of course, there were some regrettable points.

[Completion: 88.9%]

‘I wanted to summon loneliness and go···.’

I guess it’s because it’s an ancient disaster.

Even though I’ve sacrificed all the monsters I’ve caught so far, I still haven’t filled up the percentage.

That’s a lot of resources going into it. The efficiency is terribly poor.

It was a little disappointing, but I couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.

By now, the guy’s wounds should have mostly healed. We had to start the subjugation before he fully recovered.

“Shall we go?”

After such a light rest.

We went into the mansion.

There was only one step left to complete this chapter.