Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 55

Morning arrived in the blink of an eye.

We roughly finished breakfast with the food we had prepared in advance, and immediately started to arm ourselves.

"Hoohoo... It's finally hunting time, huh?"

Thompson muttered as if he was looking forward to it.

It was understandable since we hadn't had a proper hunt since we arrived here.

'...So far, we've been moving as if we were being chased by something. Okay, now it's time for real growth!'

I was also excited.

Because now I could finally focus on growth.

Above all, I was most looking forward to experiencing the effect of the experience artifact.

Of course, there were still a few problems left.

"...Uh, young man. I'm going with you too, right?"

First, the survivor lady.

'Hmm, no matter how many stationary magic spells I cast... it would still be a bit uncomfortable to leave her alone, right?'

Starting today, the real hunt would begin, so I was thinking of going quite far.

In other words, it would be impossible to leave one of the party members at the temporary shelter.

But we couldn't leave the lady here alone either, so there was only one way.

'I have no choice but to take her with us.'

It would be a bit distracting and less efficient to hunt while protecting the lady... but it couldn't be helped.

Because there was no other way.

The best option was to take turns protecting the lady, one person at a time, with some time difference.

And the other problem was...

'I still don't know what they're trying to do. There must be more survivors somewhere.'

Searching for survivors and shelters along with hunting.

And if there were any demons that could communicate, we would have to interrogate them as well.

If that passerby guy hadn't died like that, it wouldn't have been this bad... What a shame.

"...Looking at it like this, it's not much different from the day before yesterday."

Still, it was more comfortable because everyone was on the same side.

Oh, and there was no need to hide my skills either.

Thinking it was fortunate, I unfolded the map.

Flap-

Unlike the rough map that the passerby had shown us before, this map was much more elaborate and detailed.

I had found it by searching the first floor when I suddenly thought of it while eating, and it was probably drawn by the passerby himself while searching for the location of the dungeon.

"Shall we go here first?"

I pointed to one of the circles drawn on the map.

There were a total of three circles drawn on the map, and it seemed like these circles marked the locations of the dungeons.

The reason I thought so was because one of them was the place we went to yesterday.

'I hope it's not a dangerous place.'

Of course, whether or not to enter the newly found dungeon was something I had to think about again after arriving there.

"Ah, it's here."

"Do you know where it is?"

Kayla, who was carefully examining the place I pointed to, nodded.

"Hmm... roughly. I'll know for sure when I actually go there."

Thanks to her, a native of Sector 7, we didn't have to worry about getting lost.

"Okay! Mr First Place! Let's get going!"

It was a good start.

***

While we were hunting non-stop for hours.

Thompson, who was hiding behind the outer wall of an abandoned building and watching a group of demons passing by in the distance, said,

"Oh, that!"

He took out a piece of paper from a rolled-up pile of documents with great excitement.

"This is it. Right?"

It was one of the demon subjugation requests we received from the Artis Request Office, but...

"Two horns on both sides of the head... pointy ears, a large shell... Seems right, mister?"

The group of demons passing by right now looked exactly like the ones described in the request form.

"Hehehe, so that's the Demon Turtle? I wonder how that thing fights?"

"Just be careful not to get bitten. It has tremendous jaw strength."

"Oh, Mr. Dwarf. Thank you! As expected, you know everything, huh?"

While the two of them were whispering, I looked ahead more closely.

'Judging by the size of the horns... it's about an intermediate-level demon. One, two, three, four... seven of them?'

Due to the characteristic of Demon Turtles not having a large population, they didn't move around in groups like this.

Usually two or three at most?

However, the exception was when there was a place nearby that they had to protect.

In such places, a large number of individuals gathered together like this.

Simply put, this meant that somewhere near here was their habitat.

'If I'm lucky, I might be able to complete this request in one go.'

The total number of individuals requested in the request form was 30.

If I could find the habitat, it seemed like I could subjugate them without much difficulty.

The problem was that a little patience was needed.

How much time had passed?

"...Mr First Place. How long do we have to wait? Can't we just attack them now?"

Thompson grumbled with a frown next to me.

"Be patient, even if it's frustrating. If we catch them now, we'll be more frustrated later."

"...Hoo. They're really damn slow."

Thompson patted his chest, saying he felt something was stuck.

Well, since it was a demon modeled after a turtle, it was definitely slow.

Sluggishly thump. Sluggishly thump...

It seemed to take at least 10 seconds to take one step.

Watching them like that made me feel frustrated and impatient.

'...It doesn't suit the Korean sensibility. I have to exterminate them.'

After chasing them for a while with that thought.

"The- There it is!"

Finally, their habitat was revealed.

"I'll go first!"

Thompson, who had been complaining the most about frustration, was the first to jump into the air.

Fwoosh-

The propulsion was like a cannonball flying.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Thompson, instantly clad in rock magic, descended vertically from the exact location.

"Ham-burger!"

Crash-

A fight between a turtle shell and a boulder.

The winner was the rock.

"Kueeeeek!"

"Hehehe, good. You're all dead!"

Around that time, the other members who had been waiting finally joined the hunt.

"Hup!"

Whoosh!

"..."

Whoosh, slash-! Whoosh, slash-!

Clank!

Every time Kayla shot a fireball, a delicious smell spread, and every time Barundel swung his axe, purple blood splattered.

"Ugh..."

I was dying to join in right away, but unfortunately, I couldn't.

It was my turn to be on duty.

"...Ma'am, are you hurt anywhere?"

"Mm... It's all thanks to you, young man. Thank you."

Damn it, I was trying to feel some sense of reward, but maybe it was because I knew the experience loss was significant?

I didn't feel any better at all.

'I feel like I'll level up if I just catch one...'

Then suddenly, a good idea came to mind.

'...Wait a minute, it's okay as long as I don't stray too far from the lady, right?'

It was to attack them from a distance.

In other words, poking!

"Hup!"

Whoosh!

Kueeeeek!

One of the Demon Turtles screamed as it was instantly lifted and thrown by the spear strike.

However, only its shell was pierced, and it didn't die in one shot.

It seemed like the impact was dispersed by the hard shell.

But it was okay.

Because I could just throw it again.

"Die!"

Kue...!

When I hit it with the second spear of light, it finally vomited blood and flipped over.

At the same time.

Whoosh!

A feeling of fullness, unfamiliar no matter how many times I experienced it, came over me, and my body felt lighter.

'...Is this already level 7?'

If I included the level up in Aldeon, it was probably correct.

I could definitely feel that I was growing quickly thanks to the experience artifact and hunting intermediate-level demons.

At this rate, it seemed like I would be able to easily achieve my goal of reaching level 10 within this expedition.

...Well, of course, it was still infinitely low compared to my main character.

'Still, it's stronger than the Zombie Swordsman when compared at the same stage.'

I comforted myself with that thought and threw another spear.

Kueeeeek-!

This time, it seemed like a critical hit landed, as it collapsed at once.

'As expected, mages are the best. To have this kind of power from afar already...'

Why on earth did I choose a swordsman as my first main character that I deliberately created?

What was so romantic about that?

"Romance can freeze to death... Efficiency is the best!"

Swish-Thud!

Swish-Thud!

After catching about two more,

The party returned with a relieved expression, having devastated the Demon Turtle's lair and collected their horns.

Thompson, in particular, was in high spirits, perhaps because of the demons' slow movements.

"Hoo... I didn't know hunting was this much fun. Mr. Dwarf, how could you have known this all by yourself?"

And.

It was from then that Barundel's complexion darkened dramatically.

"...Did you just say fun?"

Barundel said in a very sharp voice.

Thompson tilted his head as if asking why and said,

"Why, Mr. Dwarf? Is it because of what happened yesterday? Are you still angry?"

"That's not it!"

"...!!"

Everyone's eyes widened at the sudden rise in Barundel's voice.

But he steadfastly shouted, even with veins bulging on his forehead,

"Do you think this is some kind of game? These are demons, demons! No matter how ridiculous they look! No matter how weak they seem! Demons are a race that should never be underestimated! Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"...Mr. Dwarf."

The atmosphere was 180 degrees different from the friendly one just a moment ago.

"Well, I can't help it if you don't understand. I have no intention of forcing you to understand either. This is something you'll never know unless you experience it."

The chilly air weighed heavily on my shoulders.

"I'll give you one last piece of advice. If you continue to be careless like that, the next one to die won't be these guys, but you, weakling... I guarantee it!"

"...What?"

At this point, I felt something was strange.

'...Why is he acting like this?'

An overly sensitive reaction, unlike the usual Barundel.

So I thought about why...

'Ah.'

Fortunately, I had an idea.

Because I had heard this kind of story from Barundel before.

- I used to have a spouse. Only pictures remain now.

And he clearly said that he quit being a hunter because of a certain event.

Once I remembered that, my thoughts naturally flowed in this direction.

If that event was related to demons.

If Barundel lost his family because of demons...

'...Is that what happened?'

It was understandable why he was so angry.

Surely, Thompson's lighthearted attitude must have been extremely offensive to Barundel.

Of course, I was able to deduce this because I knew the situation roughly.

Before it escalated into a bigger fight, I needed to step in and stop them.

"Wait-"

It was then that I decided to intervene.

"Fuck... Mr. Dwarf. Are you done talking?"

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Thompson suddenly cursed and covered his whole body with rock magic.

"Say that again. Who's going to die? Who's weak?"

From that point on.

"Who else! I'm talking about you!"

Step.

"Do you want me to prove it to you?"

With even Barundel raising his axe, the fight began to grow out of control.

It was a volatile situation where things could change in an instant... but.

Something was strange.

Was this something to fight about to this extent?

'...Why is that guy acting like this again?'

Barundel losing his family in an accident was one thing, but why was Thompson acting like this?

This was completely different from Thompson's usual image of being carefree and easygoing.

Originally, he would have said something like, 'Haha! I apologize if I offended you, Mr. Dwarf!' and moved on...

"You're really pushing it..."

Far from being carefree, he now looked as if he was about to throw a punch.

"I'm done with hunting and everything! You guys figure it out yourselves! I'm leaving!"

Finally, unable to contain his anger, Thompson turned his back and walked forward, fuming.

As if he was going to leave the party altogether.

"Wait-"

I had no choice but to try and stop him.

"Where are you going?"

Kayla stepped forward and grabbed Thompson before I could.

With a very cold expression.

"If we decided to do this, we have to see it through to the end. Where are you going, leaving us behind, fuck. Are you kidding me, mister?"

The indescribable anger in her eyes looked almost like madness.

'Why? Why...?'

And only then.

I realized that something was wrong.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]