Yoon Hayoung’s claim that she had been diligently training in the monster field turned out to be true—her skills had improved dramatically in just a month.
Once again, I was reminded that no matter how much one trains, nothing beats real combat experience when it comes to magic.
In particular, her power of Demon Eradication had grown even stronger.
Now, most demon-type monsters could be taken down in a single hit…
No, even if it’s called the ultimate counter against demons, this was a bit much.
“Haaat!”
Boom!
“Kieeeek!”
“Hup!”
Boom!
“Kieeeek!”
“Hahaha!”
It was practically a feat of superhuman strength. Wherever Yoon Hayoung passed, demon-type monsters shrieked and fell one after another.
Seriously, what is this? How did she get this strong?
Thinking back to the Yoon Hayoung from just a month ago, her growth was incomparable.
At this point, from the perspective of demon monsters, wouldn’t she look more like the real demon?
“…You’ve really improved a lot.”
“See? I told you I got stronger!”
“No, way more than I expected.”
“Heh.”
“But how did you train your Demon Slayer power?”
“Well, that’s of course… huh?”
As she was finishing off a monster, Yoon Hayoung flinched, looking flustered. Her suspicious reaction made me feel something was off.
“Wait, you couldn’t have trained Demon Eradication in the monster field, right?”
This needed an explanation. Demon Eradication was a power effective against demons and dark mages, but demon-type monsters weren’t commonly found in the field.
At my words, Yoon Hayoung started sweating and forced an awkward smile.
“…Sometimes, my grandma transforms into a demon.”
“Oh, really?”
“Mhm. Especially when I don’t finish my meals. She turns into a grand demon.”
…She actually thought I bought that.
“Enough nonsense. Explain properly.”
“Ugh.”
“Hurry up.”
“…I came to this dungeon a few times. I just couldn’t sit still.”
I had a bad feeling about this. She actually came here alone?
“You really…”
“But I was super careful! You know our usual training method.”
She quickly fired off her words as if trying to get past the topic.
To be fair, our training method was quite safe. We always lured monsters from a distance and engaged in controlled one-on-one battles.
Still, that was only safe because someone was always watching her back. A dungeon was unpredictable.
Now that I thought about it, the original Yoon Hayoung also became obsessed with training once she realized how fun growth was.
Thanks to that, she improved explosively and shot straight to the top rankings.
But safety comes first.
“From now on, don’t do any dangerous training alone. Got it?”
“Mhm. I promise I won’t!”
I eyed her skeptically before nodding. Now that I’d said it clearly, she should understand.
With that, we continued moving forward.
I told Yoon Hayoung to rest for a while and started taking down monsters using light magic.
Honestly, my goal over the break had been to push my light attribute proficiency past 70%, but I had been too busy to focus on it.
Today, I was determined to make up for lost time.
…An hour passed like that.
“Doesn’t it feel like we’ve come pretty far in?”
“Yeah, deeper than I expected.”
Both Yoon Hayoung and I had abilities that countered demon-type monsters, so things had been easier than anticipated.
Since we had been clearing this dungeon bit by bit for months, we had made it quite far in.
At this rate, the boss room shouldn’t be too far.
“…Should we just clear the whole dungeon?”
I was seriously considering it now.
More than anything, Yoon Hayoung’s power had far exceeded my expectations.
Now, I could understand why the Demon King feared the power of Demon Slayer so much.
Seeing it with my own eyes, “counter” wasn’t a strong enough word—it was overwhelming.
If she continued at this rate for another two years, she would become unimaginably dangerous to demons.
Yoon Hayoung, confident, spoke up.
“Should be fine, right? Let’s just go all the way.”
She was even less afraid than I was. Sometimes that led to recklessness, but overall, her personality had more advantages than disadvantages.
After a moment’s thought, I nodded.
Clearing an unknown dungeon was risky, but this was a demon-type dungeon.
Even if the difficulty was a bit high, Yoon Hayoung and I should be able to handle it.
“Alright, let’s do it.”
We pressed on, clearing the dungeon at a rapid pace.
The deeper we went, the stronger the demon-type monsters became.
But even they couldn’t withstand Yoon Hayoung’s magic.
At this point, I was getting tired of watching her mow them down.
“There it is.”
A massive door appeared before us. This had to be the entrance to the boss room.
I wondered what kind of boss would appear. Given the dungeon’s difficulty, it was likely to be a powerful one.
“You ready?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Creak.
We pushed the door open.
[You have arrived at the ‘Cursed Pavilion – 5th Gate’ boss room.]
[A powerful demonic energy clouds your mind.]
“Urgh.”
The moment we entered, a mental attack hit us.
Ahead, a massive demon-type monster came into view.
Two large horns extended from its forehead, and it had dark, leathery wings.
It had to be over four meters tall.
—Krrrgh…!
“Why is it so huge?”
The creature locked eyes with us.
A crushing aura pressed down on me.
Instinctively, I knew.
This thing was dangerous.
Far more than I had anticipated.
[The ‘Guardian Demon’ has set its sights on you.]
So its name was Guardian Demon.
It suddenly threw a punch toward us.
I immediately reinforced my body, pushing Yoon Hayoung aside and dodging the attack.
—Kraaagh!
The Guardian Demon immediately followed up with another attack.
I gulped down a mana elixir and fired a light attribute orb at its arm.
Boom!
The attack seemed to work—the creature clutched its arm in pain.
But it only lasted a moment.
It turned its glare toward us and swung its fist again.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted as its punch hit the ground.
That was a one-hit kill if it landed.
“Haaaah!”
At that moment, Yoon Hayoung unleashed her magic.
A massive magical arrow, infused with Demon Eradication power, began forming above her hand.
She was pouring a tremendous amount of power into it, given the strength of the opponent.
That meant I had to buy her time.
I continuously fired light attribute orbs, keeping its attention on me.
Fortunately, the Guardian Demon didn’t seem particularly intelligent—it stopped focusing on Yoon Hayoung and targeted me.
—Kraaagh!
The monster’s crimson eyes glowed as it flapped its wings and ascended into the air. Despite its heavy-looking body, it flew with remarkable agility.
Before long, a black sphere materialized in its hand.
“What the… A monster can use magic too?”
Extending its hand, the creature fired the dark sphere at me.
I sprinted with all my strength, narrowly dodging the attack.
Kwaaaaaang—!
The ground crumbled, the ceiling shook, and chunks of rock tumbled down.
The sheer destructive force was absurd. Judging by power alone, it had to be at least A-rank. No, it might even be close to S-rank.
“Damn…!”
The creature conjured another set of black spheres—this time, three at once.
“…That’s insane.”
There was no way to dodge this. Even if I managed to avoid them, the resulting shockwaves would bring the dungeon ceiling down, burying me alive.
At that moment, I sensed an unfamiliar surge of magical energy.
The next instant, that energy shot straight toward the guardian demon’s head.
It was Yoon Hayoung’s Demon-Slaying Arrow.
—Krrr?!
The arrow struck dead center on the creature’s forehead.
The arrow’s light gradually intensified, then—
Kwaaaaang!
A massive explosion erupted, sending violent shockwaves and dust into the air.
Squinting through the debris, I checked the monster’s condition.
The guardian demon’s head was completely gone.
Its body, having lost all strength, slowly toppled forward before crashing heavily to the ground.
[Achievement Unlocked: Assisted in Defeating an A-Rank Demon Monster! ]
[Reward: 3,000 points earned.]
[Achievement Unlocked: Slayer of Dark Beings! ]
[Reward: 3,000 points earned.]
[Successfully eliminated an A-rank demon-type monster using the Light Attribute.]
[Light Attribute Control Mastery has significantly increased!]
[Due to the Blessing of Nature, additional mastery has been gained.]
[Light Attribute Control Skill has ranked up!]
A barrage of message windows popped up in front of me.
Staring at them in a daze, my eyes eventually fixated on the last notification.
…My Light Attribute Control Skill ranked up?
━━
[Light Attribute Control] [Rank: 1 (0%)]
[Passive Effects]
▶ Attribute Mastery
- Using light-attribute magic increases proficiency.
- As rank increases, the power of light-attribute magic grows stronger.
━━
After finishing the boss raid, Hayoung and I sat down to rest.
I was checking the status of my newly upgraded Light Attribute Control Skill.
It had advanced to Rank 1.
That meant… I could now wield the light attribute without relying on the ‘Legacy of the Formless Spirit.’
To test it out, I removed my ring and attempted to manifest the light attribute.
Immediately, a light sphere formed in my hand.
‘This is huge.’
Not only had I gained the light attribute, but I had also unlocked a trait that would allow its power to grow further with increased proficiency.
The only downside was that it consumed more mana compared to using non-attribute magic.
But that issue would resolve itself over time.
Now the question was—which attribute should I acquire next?
I needed to think carefully.
I was personally drawn to either electricity or ice.
Electricity was highly effective in 1v1 combat, while ice had strong utility-based applications.
“Hmmm…”
As I pondered, Hayoung spoke up beside me.
“I never expected we’d clear the dungeon all the way to the end today.”
“Same here.”
That made two of us.
I never imagined Hayoung’s Demon Eradication Power would grow this much in just a month.
“But that last boss monster was kinda dangerous, huh?”
“Yeah. If we’d attempted this one or two months ago, we would’ve definitely failed.”
Once again, I was reminded of how important it was to be cautious when dealing with dungeons whose difficulty wasn’t clearly stated in the original story.
“But your decision to fully manifest the Demon Eradication Power at the end was a great call. You’re improving at an insane pace.”
“Hehe.”
“You did well.”
“Nah, you worked harder. You kept its attention off me.”
Hayoung flashed a bright smile.
I chuckled and turned my gaze toward the treasure room.
“Well, shall we check our rewards?”
“Yeah!”
With that, we made our way into the treasure chamber.
Inside, a giant treasure chest sat waiting.
I approached it and slowly lifted the lid.
Inside were a small box and a bracelet made of red-hued stone.
━━
[Sealed Box of Demonic Power (???)]
Type: Chest
Description: Sealed shut.
━━
━━
[Demon-Repelling Bracelet (B-Rank)]
Type: Bracelet
Description: A bracelet crafted from Demon-Repelling Stone.
[Passive Effects]
▶ Aura of Demon Repulsion
- Becomes less noticeable to demons and demonkind.
- Inflicts 10% extra damage against demons and demonkind.
Durability: B-Rank
━━
As expected from a demon-themed dungeon, the rewards were heavily demon-related.
A sealed box and a bracelet.
The box was locked by a powerful seal—it would take time to undo it.
“The loot is a box and a bracelet? What do they do?”
Hayoung, who couldn’t view item descriptions, tilted her head in curiosity.
“The box is sealed, so I won’t know what’s inside until I unlock it. The bracelet, though, is made from Demon-Repelling Stone.”
“Demon-Repelling Stone?”
Hayoung tilted her head again.
“This bracelet should go to you.”
The Demon-Repelling Bracelet.
It had a unique passive effect—it made the wearer less noticeable to demons and demonkind.
Since Hayoung possessed Demon Eradication Power, she would naturally become a target for demons.
Right now, this was the best possible reward she could get.
This bracelet would greatly increase her survival rate.
“…Are you sure? But you discovered this dungeon.”
“It’s fine. You need it more than I do. This bracelet reduces the likelihood of drawing attention from demons.”
Hearing my explanation, Hayoung’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Really? It has that kind of effect? That’s so cool!”
She gazed at the bracelet with amazement.
Her level of trust in me was unreal.
Even Han Se-yeon wasn’t this gullible.
“In exchange, I’ll keep this box. Who knows what’s inside, but I’ll figure it out later.”
“Of course! That box should totally be yours.”
Smiling, I nodded.
“Alright, give me your arm.”
Obediently, Hayoung extended her wrist.
I gently fastened the Demon-Repelling Bracelet around it.
The red gemstone flickered faintly—proof that its effect had activated.
Hayoung admired it for a moment before flashing me a radiant smile.
“This bracelet looks so pretty!”
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