Demon King

“Woo…” I let out a breath as I tried to wrap my head around all of that. The quantity had significantly decreased, but I could tell the power had increased just as much. I was able to move even faster and produce an even higher quality of mana. The way it persisted after had increased too. Moving my body now felt like how I would move mana, and the activation time needed for me to use my mana had significantly reduced.

The mana flowing through me was amplified and generated by my heart. The pitch-black organ felt right at home in my new form, now able to operate at full power that it was no longer constrained by a fragile body. I supposed it was natural that a Jinma’s body had a dark heart as I was unable to find the skill for it. Even though I was back at level 1, I figured that creatures from the sub-system would have a hard time touching me. Not that it made sense for me to go after them either, however. Predating them wouldn’t grant me the strength it would have before, now that the gap had widened too much.

I would now have to build myself up as a new character in this higher system. My level, my skills. Not that I should take my new level as just a simple one, however. Still, I felt like I had lost some part of myself in gaining this tremendous new power. Like I had become less human.

“This feeling…” Well, I supposed I had a lot of things I needed to consider aside from that. My new skills and status, these gems, my past… but before I figured all of that out, I needed a meal. I looked down at this giant’s body, this dinner that would provide me with the benefit of a superior being. This body was so ridiculously massive I had barely made a dent in it earlier while eating. But now, I could enjoy the fruits of my labors, this Predation in the best condition possible.

“Now then.” Black smoke rose from my body. It looks like my ability of Predation hadn’t fundamentally changed, so I had no difficulty controlling it.

“Thank you for the meal.” The flesh of this giant reminded me of instant food. It was simultaneously sweet, salty, and spicy. It felt like one of those foods packed with calories, enough to make you gain a pound with just one bite. At the same time, as the smoke tore into the flesh, I was using my mouth to bite into it as well. I was overwhelmed by a need to devour that wasn’t as simple as hunger, fully engulfed in eating this body. Maybe it was because I was eating for the first time in this new form.

[New Magic has increased by 7.]

[Soul Magic has increased by 5.]

These two notification windows appeared before my eyes as I finished consuming the body that had been big enough to fill this cavern, weak light emitting from me. There had been no skill acquisition, and the stat increases were seemingly small. However, given how small the stats were to start, I knew that this was a significant increase despite the low numbers.

“Still, it feels like I’m starting over from scratch.” I said to myself with a bitter smile. The thoughts that I had been putting off came back to my mind. Pelcadia’s Jewels were absorbed into me, and without them, I wouldn’t have become a Belkena. An elite amongst demons, a form I acquired through the jewels. Had they been preparing me for this evolution from the start, or would this be the outcome for anyone who had broken through the Black Palace?

‘Maybe they just give the qualification to evolve.’ They were only a part of the many trials I had taken to reach this point, after all. The gems probably just served as a medium to amplify the power of those who gathered them. I doubted that this dungeon was the only place in this vast world that had these artifacts, either. Just as I had started here as a goblin and became a Belkena, I had to consider the possibility that the conquerors of other dungeons would be reborn as I had. There were also those who were originally high-ranking entities to consider as well, who had been building their ranks as a superior entity long before I became one. With that in my mind, it really felt like I had just begun to take the first step.

‘Those memories…’ I couldn’t deny that I was the person who was talking with Rain and L, although I hadn’t been able to recover all of those memories. Was everything I knew wrong? Was I originally from Hater, not Earth? The voice had said the boy had been found when he was five or six, and yet the Great Fusion took place when I was twenty years old. Had I moved from Hater to Earth when I was a child? It wasn’t as shocking to me as I thought it might have been. I already had plenty of questions about where I had come from during my time as a monster. Even if I weren’t a human to start with, all I could think of it was, ‘Oh, is that so?’

It might not have been possible for me to get over it if I had learned of it when I was a goblin, but now I could just gloss over it. Things that weren’t human, or even creatures of Earth. Having a family that wasn’t connected to me by blood. None of it could compare to what I had gone through so far. But I still had questions. What about the farmer Fate, who I had thought of as my partner? And why did I lose my life on the day of the Great Fusion? Why had I gone to Earth in the first place? There had to be a reason, but I had no clue what it was. And, more important than those problems…

‘L… how did we first meet?’ Did she recognize me from the start? Was that why she acted the way she did? I was worried about bringing it up since my memories hadn’t fully returned yet.

“I’ll have to wait a bit longer.” I felt terrible saying it, trembling as I thought of L. I forced the thought of her out of my mind, bringing my attention back to the cavern around me and the golden box that appeared within.

[Goddess’ Touch (800/800)]

I found an artifact with no information inside it. It was apparently neither a goddess nor a hand. It was a mineral-like object that looked like a crystal, with a sharp tip on both its top and bottom. I could feel its desire to suck in my blood as it floated out of my hand and started spinning around me.

“Huh.” It appeared that the crystal recognized me as its user, although I still had no information on it aside from its name and durability. ‘How can I even activate it?’ I decided not to worry about it for now. My sense had reached the highest level and increased even further past that with my evolution, allowing me to see through the essence of things, yet I couldn’t tell what it did. No doubt, I would be spending most of the gold I acquired to figure out its purpose.

A dark shadow formed in the middle of the wall where the boss was, mana forming in a vortex. It looked like a passage, probably leading outside. I hadn’t left this dungeon due to the standards I had set for myself, but now it was different. I accomplished what I had set out to do here. Staying here any longer would accomplish nothing. Now, I could go out. Finally, leave this desolate, monster-filled basement out to the world above, full of foolish humans and the society I missed so much.

To find a family that I had left behind for my own safety, and to atone for that. To find a nice fluffy bed that I could sleep in all day. Jjajangmyeon. To eat all the jjajangmyeon I could. I laughed at the thought of eating real food, unable to stop myself from laughing at my own messed up priorities. That was fine, though. My mind hadn’t let go of the tension from the very beginning, but now I was feeling a bit of comfort. I was about to take a great step forward, and I was happy with myself for reaching this far. I could easily admit that now. I thought about what I should do first after I went to get Lee Chan-yu and Mireina.

Only

[Lee Chan-yu, it’s over.]

I sent a message to Lee Chan-yu, but only jumbled noise returned. I wasn’t sure what sort of situation he was in, but I felt confident that he would conquer the 6th floor safely. I decided to hold off on talking with him for now and instead resolved to grab Mireina first. I opened the door to the store.

The door didn’t appear.

“…” I immediately fell into a panic when the door wouldn’t open, worried thoughts consuming me as to why this was happening, what I could do now.

‘No, stay calm.’ Did I have any other options? It was too late to give up now. I tried to summon the door to the garden, but it also didn’t appear.

“The tower then.” I tried to go to Jinma’s Tower next, and a massive black iron gate materialized in front of me. ‘Never thought I’d be happy to see this place.’ I quickly found out, however, that the door was locked. I pulled the key I had acquired from my inventory and tried it, finding the key turned easily. The door opened unbidden as soon as it was unlocked. It was so natural for me to do it that I hardly noticed that I had just opened the door of Jinma’s Tower as if I were accustomed to it. As if I had done it a thousand times before.

I looked at the key I had pulled out without thinking, the Key to the Castle. Peering beyond the gates, I could see a world thick with mana beyond them. In it, a gigantic castle with a moat and beautiful decorations awaited me.

It was the toy castle that L and I had made, now the size of a real castle.