A dark space where nothing could be seen.
This was a very special place, created with a unique barrier, where only invited demons could enter.
Today, the world’s top-ranking demons had gathered here for a meeting of the Ten Demon Council.
“…Is everyone here?”
A voice echoed in the darkness.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all gathered like this. Especially you, Ha-ryeong—I didn’t expect you to show up.”
Ha-ryeong was well known among the demons for disliking these kinds of meetings.
The demons didn’t know the exact reason, but they speculated that it was because of his lingering loyalty to the previous king he had served.
“The King personally issued the summons. Of course, I had to come.”
At Ha-ryeong’s response, laughter came from somewhere in the darkness.
“Have you finally decided to pledge your loyalty to the King?”
“It’s about time, isn’t it? I can’t stay loyal to the dead forever.”
“By the way, that attack on the Mage Academy was absolutely ridiculous. Who came up with that plan?”
One of the demons voiced their dissatisfaction.
“If you don’t know, keep your mouth shut. The plan was flawless. The only problem was that the barrier trapping those mages was broken far sooner than expected. It was just bad luck.”
“So you’re blaming it all on bad luck to avoid responsibility?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“But is finding the Child of Prophecy really that difficult? Why not just use the Prophet’s Altar, the prophetic relic, again?”
“Do you have any idea how many sacrifices are required to use the Prophet’s Altar?”
It was then—
“Enough.”
A voice rang out in the darkness.
At once, all the demons fell silent.
The owner of the voice was none other than the King.
“It is indeed unfortunate that the recent attack ended in failure.”
“…The plan was flawless. The very fact that the Grand Demon Barrier was dismantled so quickly is absurd. That was beyond any reasonable calculation.”
Hearing this, the King nodded.
“I understand. It is true that the Grand Demon Barrier being broken so fast was an unforeseen factor.”
The timing of the attack had been carefully chosen—during the midterm exam period, when outsiders were allowed entry.
The plan was simple:
Trap the interfering mages in one place with a barrier and extract the Child of Prophecy.
On paper, it was a perfect plan.
But the unexpected failure of the barrier had ruined everything.
“So, have we figured out why the barrier was broken so quickly?”
“I have one hypothesis regarding that matter.”
“What is it?”
“I suspect that the Power of the Demon Slayer was involved in breaking the barrier.”
At those words, the entire Ten Demon Council reacted with shock.
“The Power of the Demon Slayer?”
“Could that power actually affect barriers as well?”
“Silence.”
The King spoke.
“Continue, Seong jin.”
“The barrier we set up at the time was not an ordinary one. It was a highly specialized barrier, created using the demonic energy of our kind and ancient techniques. The world believes that Jung Yoon-seul, an S-rank mage, was the one who broke the barrier, but even he should not have been able to dismantle it so quickly. There must have been another force at play.”
One of the demons in the darkness nodded in understanding.
“And the Power of the Demon Slayer is a force that exists to defeat demons. Destroying a barrier imbued with demonic energy should be within its capabilities. That is my personal conclusion.”
“…Hearing you say that, it does seem plausible. In fact, it’s the only explanation that makes sense.”
Without the interference of a power as special as the Demon Slayer’s, the rapid breakdown of the Grand Demon Barrier would have been next to impossible.
“In that case, we should identify the eighteen-year-old humans who were inside the barrier at the time.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Seong jin, begin investigating every eighteen-year-old who was inside the barrier.”
Sunday morning, a time when most people were resting.
Yet here I was, waiting at a bus stop in front of the academy.
The crisp morning air still carried the lingering chill of dawn.
“Sunwoo!”
I turned my head at the familiar voice calling my name.
Yoon Hayoung was approaching, waving at me. I stood up from my seat and greeted her.
“Hey.”
“Hey. Have you been waiting long?”
“No, I just got here.”
“So… what kind of training are we doing that we have to go all the way to a dungeon?”
Hayoung asked, clearly puzzled.
“Because you can’t train your hidden power anywhere else.”
“My hidden power?”
“Yeah.”
“Come on, what is this? Haha.”
Hayoung laughed, thinking I was joking.
Explaining it with words wouldn’t do any good.
Once we reached the dungeon and she experienced it herself, she’d understand.
Before long, a bus arrived.
Hayoung and I got on.
“By the way, where exactly is this dungeon?”
“Bukhansan.”
“Bukhansan? How did you even find a dungeon there?”
“Mm… I got lucky.”
I answered vaguely as I took a seat.
Clearly unsatisfied with my response, Hayoung frowned.
“Oh, come on. You’re telling me you just happened to find a dungeon?”
“It’s true. I really did just get lucky.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I really had stumbled upon the Bukhansan dungeon completely by chance.
Of course, that was in my previous life, when I had worked as a C-rank mage.
“…Really?”
She shot me a suspicious look but eventually nodded.
Time passed, and we arrived at the Bukhansan area in Goyang City.
The moment she stepped off the bus, Hayoung let out a sound of admiration.
“Wow. How the heck did you find a dungeon in such a huge place?”
Bukhansan had designated hiking trails for the public.
But to find the dungeon, we couldn’t take those routes—we had to go off-trail.
The problem was that unmarked paths carried the risk of field monsters, so civilians were strictly forbidden from entering.
Of course, that wasn’t an issue for me.
I wasn’t some average person who would panic at the sight of a monster, nor was I someone who strictly followed the rules.
“Follow me.”
“Huh? Can we even go this way?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
Hayoung looked at me with an doubtful expression.
As I swiftly navigated the terrain, she hesitated before hurriedly following behind.
And so, we began our ascent.
Since we weren’t using a proper trail, the climb was rough.
But both Hayoung and I had basic body enhancement skills, so hiking through difficult terrain wasn’t a problem.
“Hmm, where was it again?”
“Ugh… My legs hurt. You do know where we’re going, right?”
“Yeah. But I found this place a while ago, so my memory’s a little fuzzy.”
Hayoung narrowed her eyes.
“How long ago did you find it?”
“About two years ago? Oh—there it is.”
On the other side of the cliff, I spotted a small crevice.
In the past, I had discovered a dungeon in this area.
Memories of it gradually started to resurface.
“Wait here for a moment.”
I focused my mana on my lower body, sprinted forward, and then used Air Walk to cross the cliff.
Since I had practiced all night, I landed with perfect precision.
“Phew.”
“Wow! What was that just now?!”
Behind me, Yoon Hayoung’s astonished voice rang out.
Even to me, my movements just now seemed a bit cool.
It felt like the Air Step technique from martial arts novels.
But I shrugged as if it was nothing special.
Time passed, and Yoon Hayoung and I were able to enter the dungeon.
This was the dungeon where she would train her power to destroy demons—‘Demon Suppression Hall, Fifth Entrance.’
[You have entered ‘Demon Suppression Hall, Fifth Entrance.’]
As the name suggested, the monsters here were primarily of the demonic type.
Naturally, the power to destroy demons worked not only against mages but also against demonic monsters.
It would be great if we could fully clear the dungeon using Yoon Ha-young’s power, but at our current level, that was still beyond our reach.
For now, we would use this dungeon solely for training her power.
Of course, I did plan to gradually explore the dungeon and, when the opportunity arose, attempt to clear the boss chamber—but only after we had grown significantly stronger.
“It’s dark.”
Yoon Hayoung looked around inside the cave and spoke.
Like most dungeons, this one was pitch black, devoid of even the smallest source of light.
“Stay alert. Unlike artificial dungeons, the monsters here are real.”
“Got it.”
I didn’t know the exact danger level of this dungeon.
After all, it had never appeared in the original story.
Because of that, rather than recklessly diving in, I planned to lure out and defeat the monsters one by one.
—Grrrr…
About ten minutes had passed when I heard the growl of a monster in the distance.
Thanks to the effects of my Secrets of Evolution and Adaptation trait, I could see the creature hidden in the darkness.
It looked similar to a goblin, but with a horn on its forehead and bat-like wings on its back.
Its grotesque appearance made me instinctively frown.
It was a ‘Green Cave Fiend,’ a C-rank monster known for its cruelty.
“Stay back.”
“Huh? You don’t need my help?”
“No.”
I drew a paralysis dagger from my waist and gripped it in a reverse hold.
With my other hand, I conjured a simple spell to provoke the monster.
Whoosh. Boom!
The magic projectile left my hand and struck the Cave Fiend’s shoulder.
The monster let out a brief cry of pain before glaring at me and charging forward.
—Kiaaah!
Lowering my stance, I readied my dagger.
Just as the fiend thrust its sharp claws at me, I swiftly ducked and stabbed its shoulder.
—Kraaagh!
The Cave Fiend’s agonized scream echoed through the cave.
From behind, Yoon Hayoung called out again.
“Sunwoo! Are you sure you don’t need help?”
“I’m fine, just wait!”
Seizing the moment as the fiend writhed in pain, I launched another attack.
It tried to dodge at the last second, but it was too late to evade my mana-enhanced movements.
Thud!
—Kieeek!
The dagger plunged into the Cave Fiend, and blue blood dripped from its wound as it flapped its wings and retreated slightly.
“Phew.”
With a wound like that, the effects should kick in soon…
I stepped back slightly and observed the fiend.
It let out screams of pain but then, having adjusted somewhat, prepared to lunge at me again.
That’s when it happened.
—Krek?
The monster suddenly froze.
It struggled to move, shifting its face from side to side, but its body barely trembled.
“…It worked?”
I lowered my combat stance and straightened up.
Close-quarters combat wasn’t my specialty, so I had been a little anxious, but thankfully, I had achieved my goal.
[‘Status Ailment Attack Success’ achievement unlocked.]
[You have earned 2,000 points as a reward.]
The Cave Fiend was now completely paralyzed by the dagger’s effect.
It wouldn’t be able to move at all for at least ten minutes.
“Man, that was tough.”
I hooked the dagger onto my belt and slowly approached the fiend.
Seeing me walk toward the monster so casually, Yoon Hayoung’s voice was filled with concern.
“Huh? Sunwoo?”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”
I stood right in front of the Cave Fiend.
—Kieek? Kieeek!
It shrieked, but that was all it could do.
“Huh? Why isn’t it moving?”
Yoon Hayoung tilted her head in confusion.
I grabbed the monster by its horn and dragged it across the ground toward her.
—Kieek? Kieeek! KIEEEEK!!
With this, we had a perfect test subject for Yoon Hayoung’s training.
Now, she could practice her power to destroy demons to her heart’s content.
Yoon Hayoung stared at the immobilized Cave Fiend with trembling eyes.
“Well then, shall we begin training?”
—KIEEEEEK!! KIEEEEK!!
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