Chapter 173: The Book Of The Demon

“What about today’s plans?”

“The festival schedule and the meeting schedule overlap, so there’s only training.”

“Sounds good.”

Hong Yu-hwa headed to the magic training ground with a magic book. The mana felt there was abundant. When the returnee, Jin Seo-hyun, created this training ground, it was due to the relic he left behind. Because of the mana particle accelerator, the mana here was the same as that of the training ground of the Red Tower or famous mountains where mana gathers.

Meditate to increase the core’s mana. An action started since childhood, never missed even once.

Then indulge in the magic book. Compare the spells written in old secret books and the magic books of the Red Tower with the magic book inherited directly from her grandfather, and transform them into spells that suit herself.

A suffocating routine. If it weren’t for the festival, there might have been meetings with political figures, guild members, or people from other magic towers.

Hong Yu-hwa’s daily life was scheduled down to the minute.

Hong Yu-hwa didn’t find it suffocating. It was something she had done since childhood.

And she had a goal.

‘I want to win.’

She looked at a picture of Lee Seo-ha floating on the ceiling.

She wanted to win. Along with the desire to help him if he was in trouble. If he encountered an overwhelmingly strong enemy, she would be willing to rush to Lee Seo-ha’s aid if he called for help.

But it’s a dream.

Lee Seo-ha was too strong. Uncanny. The bell of selection rang. Hong Yu-hwa instinctively thought that the person who rang the bell was Lee Seo-ha.

‘Was he the Savior?’

Alias, Savior.

A truly absurd title. Because of that alias, the world’s people were already in chaos. Since he did not reveal his name, no one knew who received that alias.

A small smile played on Hong Yu-hwa’s lips.

Although she gained nothing from the magic book, thinking about Lee Seo-ha gave her a bit of strength. Besides, it’s not something that would happen overnight. She had to progress step by step. Moreover, it was a book obtained from the Demon Tower, wasn’t it?

Impatience was poison.

‘It should be that way.’

A sense of urgency was rising deep within her heart.

As Hong Yu-hwa calmed her mind and stepped outside.

The magic book there was emitting a sinister force.

I was currently focusing.

I was intensely focused as when fighting Himmler.

Ssss.

The Heaven Defying Body imbued the needle. It looked sharp like an awl. And around it were broken needles scattered.

-Ugh, it’s terrible.

-The master is truly an efficiency freak.

‘Everyone be quiet.’

I quieted Eternal Heaven and Black Heaven, who were making noise.

A newly acquired talent, “Black Heavenly Dragon Blood (S+)”.

With this, parts of my body could undergo dragon transformation. I could cover parts of my body with scales, and the strength of these scales was enough to block considerable sword strikes with bare flesh.

Dragons were sacred but arrogant beings, and their numbers were so few that they were rarely seen. The places they inhabited were mostly random, and there’s a high probability they were in a deep sleep.

‘And they are ridiculously strong.’

There’s no guarantee I could win.

But the rewards they gave were certain. Just a handful of dragon blood could fetch at least tens of billions in the market, attracting countless people as it was an extremely rare material.

I was conducting this operation to see if I could obtain it by extracting my blood.

I was also tempted by the scales, but the parts from which scales are harvested do not regenerate well.

The scales sprouted under the needle imbued with the Heaven Defying Body. This was not my will, but a reflexive reaction of my body.

In other words, surprise attacks were meaningless to me.

‘This is extremely good for an S+ rank.’

Such traits usually had the advantage of being upgradeable beyond their rank.

To the Ex rank, which was categorized as immeasurable.

‘Ex ranks are all good.’

The ranks of Myeolhae and Myeolcheon were said to be Ex rank.

Considering that among the current transcendents, only the Sword Saint had an Ex rank, you could roughly guess its power.

Crunch.

The tip of the needle was crushed. I clicked my tongue. I could crudely destroy the scales with the Heaven Defying Body, but then regeneration would be difficult. So I intended to use the needle to draw only blood.

‘Should I give up on this?’

If someone capable of piercing my scales appeared, I would have to focus on extracting blood from the pierced area.

-This is the first time I’m glad I lost my physical body.

-That’s right. If you, Eternal Heaven, had the body of a gumiho, Master would use every part of you from the hide to even a single hair.

Eternal Heaven and Black Heaven trembled as they spoke.

No matter how much of an efficiency freak I was, I wouldn’t go that far.

‘…Would I?’

I couldn’t be sure myself, but anyway.

‘Shall I return to the Demon Tower soon?’

I assessed my strength.

I had become stronger. I judged that I was at least twice as strong as when I defeated Himmler. And I hadn’t even used my points yet.

‘It’s about time to use them.’

I finished checking 「Black Heavenly Dragon Blood (S+)」, 「Surt’s Strength (S)」, and 「Extreme Flame Demon Sword (A)」.

「Surt’s Strength (S)」was literally the strength borrowed from a giant of the Surt tribe. It was the simplest but matched well with me since I’m more adept at handling swift swords.

「Extreme Flame Demon Sword (A)」 was quite satisfying too.

Though A rank, it matched well with me.

I opened the multidimensional shop and checked my points.

[17,001,547P]

An absurd amount of points.

I gained ten million points by earning the alias, Savior, another two million in small increments, and five million from defeating Himmler.

Even with many points, I had to set a direction.

[Talent, Great Master’s Qualities (S)-3,000,000P]

[Skill, Martial Arts Circle (S)-4,500,000P]

[Skill, Illusory Flame Divine Steps (S)-3,000,000P]

I spent a whopping ten million points in one go. Even so, I still had 6.5 million points left.

Talent, Great Master’s Qualities (S) was literally the qualities of a great master. A person who created martial arts and established a sect was called a master. This would strengthen my lacking martial arts.

Skill, Martial Arts Circle (S) was a perceptive martial art. It created a circle within my range and turned it into a domain within my capabilities. This would greatly enhance 「Sword Demon (S+)」 and my martial arts proficiency.

Skill, Illusory Flame Divine Steps (S) was a stepping technique.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It was beneficial for those who have mastered the divine arts of Yang (陽), focusing on speed and illusion.

Golden light enveloped my body, and I felt something imbue within me.

A circle formed around me, allowing me to sense everything within it. Simultaneously, various inspirations floated into my mind. The regrettable parts of 「Black Flame Divine Martial Arts (S)」 surfaced in my mind.

[The proficiency of the skill 「Black Flame Divine Martial Arts (S)」 has increased.]

‘Great Master’s Qualities (S) was a hit.’

As soon as I acquired it, I could feel it. I slowly looked back at what I had.

If I slowly integrate these into 「Black Flame Divine Martial Arts (S)」, it will become a great strength for me in the future.

‘First, let’s go to Seo Ye-bin.’

I thought as I headed to the principal’s office.

It’s growing well, but there was one problem.

That was the skill, 「Yin-Yang Divine Art (S)」.

To use this power, which permanently increased abilities by achieving the unity of yin and yang, a woman with the power of extreme ice was needed. The problem was that it’s a girl like Seolhwa Ryeon.

‘Should I do it?’

It’s not that I had no feelings for Seolhwa Ryeon. She’s my age, beautiful, and overflowing with talent. Sometimes, there was respect in her eyes when she looked at me. But the problem was our superficial relationship.

Meeting me, who was the last survivor of her clan (not), and actually being an elder (not) of the family and having a relationship with Seolhwa Ryeon? It would be easy to get criticized.

Of course, I had confidence that if I tried to knock her down once, somehow…

‘I decided not to think like this.’

I shook my head.

Seolhwa Ryeon was a pure child. I didn’t want to corrupt her.

Thinking such thoughts, I found myself in front of the principal’s office.

Creak.

The door opened by itself. Inside, the Emperor looked at me. A golden title. She wore a black cape over her shoulders. She sparkled like her long golden alias.

“Come in.”

The Emperor said in a soft voice. I walked inside.

“You seem to have a purpose.”

“Yes, it’s about the school.”

“You’re even thinking of dropping out… Well, this school doesn’t suit you. There’s almost nothing to learn here.”

Despite not explaining, she knew all the circumstances.

“I’ll leave the workshop to you.”

“Thank you.”

“And congratulations. Others say the alias is grand or excessive, but don’t mind it. The alias ‘Savior’ is very cool.”

“…”

Being congratulated didn’t feel like being congratulated.

It felt like being praised for writing a good diary when I was a child. I forced myself to nod.

“By the way.”

Her gaze turned to my face.

“Your hair has grown a lot. It looks good.”

She smiled as she looked at my hair.

On the way to the guild.

I met Hong Yu-hwa.

“Hi.”

“Long time no see.”

As always, Hong Yu-hwa spoke haughtily, but the corners of her mouth slightly lifted. She seemed to be in a good mood.

“Are you skipping school classes now?”

“Yeah. I think there’s nothing more to learn.”

“Really?”

For a moment, Hong Yu-hwa bit her lip.

She had a strong competitive spirit.

‘What is it?’

I looked at Hong Yu-hwa. At the edge of my senses, I felt the remnants of some power.

It’s the power I felt from Pyo Gong at the Demon Tower.

“Yu-hwa, did you get something from the Demon Tower?”

“Hmm? Recently, I got a magic book.”

“Can I see it?”

“What? You’re interested too?”

Hong Yu-hwa rarely smiled and nodded.

“I’ll show you, especially.”

Hong Yu-hwa said, smirking.

I entered Hong Yu-hwa’s room.

And I witnessed it. Photos of me were plastered all over the room.

“…”

“…”

Hong Yu-hwa didn’t seem to realize that she had so many photos of me in her room.

Embarrassed, I turned my eyes to the bed. At least, it was empty.

‘What’s this?’

The bed wasn’t normal either. Under the blanket pushed to one side, the sheet in the middle of the bed was wet.

I wondered if she had spilled some water.

“…”

Looking at Hong Yu-hwa, her face was bright red.

‘I see…’

I could guess what Hong Yu-hwa had done. I quietly put my hand on her shoulder and advised.

“Yu-hwa, don’t worry. It’s normal for a vigorous 20-year-old to have such…”

“Get out immediately!!”

So I was kicked out of Hong Yu-hwa’s room.