"Hmm?"
Kim ShiHoon opened his eyes while feeling the hard sensation of the stone floor.
'What happened?'
He looked around.
After parting ways with the rest of the party, he walked to the bus station to return home.
"Just that...?"
That was all he could remember.
He didn't remember anything that had happened from the moment he’d begun walking toward the bus station.
Kim ShiHoon took out the phone from his pocket and checked the time.
"It's been an hour."
An hour had passed since he’d last checked the time.
"Ugh...!"
He felt a headache as he tried to force himself to remember.
Kim ShiHoon grabbed his forehead and stood up.
"Did I faint?"
The unknown monster they'd met in the gate…
While fighting against it, he received an attack from it.
'It was dangerous.'
Thinking about that situation still gave him chills.
—That was how strong and overwhelming that monster was.
'I thought I had fully recovered.'
He thought he had fully recovered after being healed by Han Seol-ah. But it seemed like he'd been hurt more than initially thought.
'But to think that I would faint...'
Kim ShiHoon frowned while looking at his body.
'I still have a long way to go.'
Two weeks ago, when he awakened as a player, the soul of the martial god Cheon TaeHwang had entered his body.
But he only knew about his existence through the status window—he hadn't been able to interact with him yet.
'It's because I'm still too weak.'
Kim ShiHoon bit his lip.
The reason why he was so weak despite having obtained a powerful strength like the soul of a martial god was that he hadn't been able to accept the power that was within that soul fully.
'I have to get stronger.'
His eyes shone while he clenched his fists.
There was a reason why he had to get stronger…
'Kim YeongHoon.'
ShiHoon thought of the person that put him into his situation.
—He was the vice leader of one of the top five guilds in Korea.
'That piece of thrash.'
He couldn't help but get angry after thinking of that person.
"Oof."
Kim ShiHoon tried to calm down.
'I must wait.'
He was still too weak to face him.
"Would it be possible if I were as strong as Mr. KangWoo...?"
With a bitter smile on his face, he remembered the player he had met that day.
Oh KangWoo…
He didn't know what level that person was, but considering that he had beaten up the monster he had struggled to fight against with just one hit, his level was probably really high.
'He's strong.'
It wasn't just the level, but it seemed like he had a high-ranking attribute.
Of course, it probably couldn't be compared to his SSS-ranking attribute, but since he couldn't fully control his strength, the difference between them was overwhelming.
"It also seemed like he wasn't just someone powerful."
He understood why TaeSoo had spoken so highly about him.
He was someone who could lead people thanks to a strange charisma.
Judging by how he’d gone to a low-ranking gate to help a low-level dongseng, he also seemed to have a good personality.
"He looks like a good person..."
Kim ShiHood smiled while thinking about KangWoo.
Although they'd just met, KangWoo had left a good impression on him.
'Mr. KangWoo seems like someone trustworthy.'
While thinking he would be able to build a good relationship with KangWoo, he once again walked toward the bus station.
* * *
"Yes, I'm a good person."
KangWoo smiled while looking at Kim ShiHoon from a distance.
"It was successful."
Because of the martial god variable, he wasn't 100% sure if it would be successful, but in the end, KangWoo managed to turn him into his subordinate.
'If I had discovered Kim ShiHoon a little bit later, the chances of failing would've been high.'
Because the Authority of Subordination allowed you to exercise complete control over another person's soul, it wasn't an Authority that was easy to use.
Turning someone into your familiar spirit not only required a lot of demonic energy, but there were also lots of restrictions.
Had he found out about Kim ShiHoon even a week later, he would've probably failed.
Ting-
[You've managed to subordinate a soul. Registering 'Kim ShiHoon' as your familiar spirit.]
[Do you want to give an order to your familiar spirit?]
"No orders."
[You've refused to give an order. You can give an order to your familiar spirit at any place and moment.]
KangWoo's smile deepened after reading the message on the status window.
'Of course, it has to be possible anytime and anywhere.'
If it weren't like that, it wouldn't have been worth it to have turned Kim ShiHoon into his familiar spirit.
"So... I got the insurance... Now I just have to wait and see how he will grow."
He wasn't planning on forcibly giving an order to Kim ShiHoon at the moment.
No, even in the future. He didn't want to forcibly make him move unless it was absolutely necessary.
'I turned him into a familiar spirit as insurance, after all.'
For the moment, Kim ShiHoon didn't think badly of him.
Not only that, but he had been able to build a good relationship as well.
Judging by how he mumbled that KangWoo was a good person, it was easy to see that he had a good opinion regarding him.
'I don't need to put a collar on a dog that doesn't bite its owner.'
He could force him to obey when the thing he was worried about happened.
"Hyeong will support you. So keep growing, ShiHoon."
KangWoo's smile deepened as he looked at ShiHoon walk away.
If Kim ShiHoon grew as he thought he would, he would probably become as strong as Balrog.
There was a chance he would have to fight the demon cult members before he could fully unseal the Ten Thousand Demon Core. Because of that, Kim ShiHoon was very important to him.
He also liked that he would go to the gates with Seol-ah and TaeSoo, help them level up, and protect them from unforeseen events.
'Also, Kim ShiHoon will probably grow even faster thanks to what happened today.'
A familiar spirit could use part of its owner's strength.
This meant that Kim ShiHoon had the strength of the martial god and part of the demon king's power inside of him.
He was definitely going to grow even faster from then on.
"As expected, it's important to have people around you with whom you have a mutually beneficial relationship."
KangWoo made a satisfied smile.
He didn't feel bad for forcibly turning Kim ShiHoon into his familiar spirit.
He had spent too much time in Hell to feel bad about something like that.
'I'm going to make sure that only I can get my hands on this growing sprout.'
KangWoo smacked his lips and laughed softly.
He was going to use everything that could be helpful.
* * *
Everything that could harm him, he was going to eliminate it.
That was the way of survival he had learned while in Hell.
"Should I go back?"
Satisfied, KangWoo turned around.
Because the Authority of Subordination consumed a lot of demonic energy, he felt slightly tired.
'I wonder if Seol-ah has eaten yet.'
After succeeding in making Kim ShiHoon his ally, he was wondering if he should buy something on the way home to celebrate it.
Ring-
"Huh?"
He received a call as he grabbed the phone.
KangWoo checked out who was calling him.
The name that appeared on screen was Jo DeokHyun.
He was the leader of the Andras Guild, whom he had asked to investigate the demon cult.
"What is it?"
[I… I've called because I have new information.]
"Information?'
[Yes. Th-that's right.]
"Is it related to the demon cult?"
[I… I'm not sure.]
"Give me more details."
KangWoo listened to Jo DeokHyun's words with his eyes shining.
[We've found traces of demonic energy.]
"Traces of demonic energy?"
[Yes. But... It doesn't seem to be man-made.]
"The traces don't seem to belong to a human?"
[Yes. More than a human... It's almost as if something closer to a monster had left it.]
"..."
KangWoo stroked his chin while listening to Jo DeokHyun's words.
A trace left by a monster had bits of demonic energy…
Based on that, it wasn't hard to conclude what it was.
'Is it a demonic monster?'
A demonic monster that was referred to as a Fissure Fragment.
It seemed like another demonic monster had appeared after the hellhound and demon wolf.
"Where did the trace appear?"
[It appeared in the B-rank gate located in Uijeongbu.]
"A B-rank gate."
A smile appeared on KangWoo's face.
'Then there's a chance that a monster stronger than a hellhound has appeared.'
In a C-rank gate, a C-ranked Fissure Fragment appeared, and in a D-rank gate, a D-ranked one, so there was a chance that a stronger demonic monster had appeared that time.
'If it's stronger than a hellhound... It's probably a demonic monster from the 2nd Hell.'
KangWoo licked his lips like a hunter who had just found its prey.
'After killing a hellhound, my level went up by five.'
He noticed that killing a Fissure Fragment gave you more experience than killing a boss monster.
The hellhound gave more experience than the troll chief, a B-rank boss monster. So a demonic monster from the 2nd Hell probably gave way more experience than that.
"This..."
KangWoo opened his status window and checked his level.
After killing the demon wolf, his level had increased to 35.
For an average player, it would probably take him between 1~2 months to reach 40 from his current level.
But that didn't apply to KangWoo.
"It seems like I'll be able to reach the fifth Awakening faster than I thought."
A deep smile appeared on KangWoo's face as he thought of the massive amount of experience killing a demonic monster gave.
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