Chapter 199

: Ian’s Devildom Travel Journal (3)
 
Ian’s entry into the Devildom, so to speak, was a sort of ‘accident’.
In order for the Devildom Entry Quest to occur, one needed to clear quests that were related to at least two of the heroes of the continent.
On top of that, in order for the quests to be invoked, one needed to meet the outrageous requirement of having a Class Proficiency that was ‘Master Level 2’, and they also needed to have maximum Affinity with an ancient NPC that could open a dimensional door from the human world.
The manager had never even imagined that there would be a user that already met all of these requirements.
Luckily for Ian, as soon as the northern continent opened up, he cleared the quest related to Oakley, and thanks to Kanjihoonie, he was even able to freeload the last of Immortal’s quest.
Thanks to Gripper, he was acquainted with Iriel for a long time now, and his Class Proficiency was now to the point it was reaching Master Level 3 now.
All of these gears fell into place like a lie, and this situation where it was hard for them to laugh was created.
LB Corp. was completely turned upside down because of Ian.
They already had the large-scale update approaching closer as a matter of fact, but it was a situation where they had hundreds of more things to do than normal.
On top of that, as Ian hadn’t logged off even though it was coming close to two full days since he’s been on and was wreaking havoc, forget a throbbing head, the manager’s head was about to explode.

For now, it’s most important that we have none of the employees speak about this fact so that it doesn’t slip out externally.


that’s right. There’s no greater shame than this.


Ha, how could the monitoring team not know about this until the dimensional door actually opened up?


It’s not just the monitoring team’s fault. Since this situation was something that none of us was able to predict.


No, but still…

The conference’s discussion was focused on finding out how they could solve this problem as gently as possible.
A middle-aged man, who sat at the highest seat of the round table where about fifteen or so people were sitting, stroked his beard as he opened his mouth.

In my opinion, that is, I think it would be good to make a deal with user Ian.


Is that so?


That’s right. I think it would be best to send a message to user Ian through a GM account right now and propose a deal.


Ahem, don’t we just need to collect all of the items and goods that he obtained after entering Devildom? It’s already been stated that his EXP won’t go up anyways…

The man shook his head as he replied.

This is not a problem that will be solved that easily. Since either way, this situation was our mistake, and this occurred while user Ian was gaming perfectly normally.


So, are you saying that we should acknowledge the profit that user Ian obtained up to an extent, but instead ask him to log out right now?

The man nodded his head.

That’s right. I don’t know how long user Ian won’t log out and continue to endure this, but even if he lasts about one more day, it is really critical to us.


Why’s that?


Since if user Ian doesn’t come out of there, we cannot proceed and finish the large-scale update as scheduled.


Oh…


Pfft, still, he’s been playing for almost two full days already, so wouldn’t he log out soon even if we leave him alone now?

At those words, one female, who was just listening quietly to the conference from one of the corners, opened her mouth with a voice that was mixed in with a sigh.

I’ve checked the data on user Ian’s gaming record, but there was even a record where he had played continuously for, I think it was 73 hours, before.


…


In many ways, he is an… amazing player.


Ha.

Had about 30 more minutes passed by like that?
The members that sat in the conference room slowly began to stand up.
And the gazes all gathered towards one man.

Then, I will log onto the game this way and try to secretly contact user Ian.

As the man packed up the notepad where he jotted down the contents of the conference and stood up, the middle-aged man that was sitting in the highest seat nodded his head as he spoke.

I will hand over all power over this incident to you, so talk well with the user named Ian and come to a conclusion.


Yes, understood, Department Head.


Meanwhile, Ian, who had no idea about the situation of LB Corp., was met with a difficulty(?) in his own way.
This was because, unrelated to the intentions of Yankoun, he was unable to take him in as a Familiar nor as a retainer.
• You cannot take in Chief Gatekeeper of the Devildom ‘Yankoun’ as your retainer.
• In order to take in a devil as a retainer, you need the title the ‘Ruler of the Devildom’.

Keu-heum…

• You cannot capture the Chief Gatekeeper of the Devildom ‘Yankoun’.
• It is impossible to capture humanoid monsters.
Ian’s expression distorted.
‘Damn it, I never even thought of such a case.’
Ian had appointed over twenty retainers now at this point.
Amongst them, there were wanderer NPCs of the central continent, as well as NPCs that he appointed from the Human Resource Centre of the Pyro Domain.
Of course, he also had interesting cases where he had obtained them while in the middle of a quest like Kaizar or Paulean, but the one with the greatest ratio was directly appointing them.
And by appointing all of those retainers, Ian was able to realize something.
‘As expected, there’s no other medication that’s as definite as spanking regardless of the age and country.’
As Ian’s Fame was so high, he was able to appoint most outstanding individuals without difficulty.
However, when he needed to appoint any exceptional retainers that exceeded Paulean’s rank, he always pressed them down with his strength.
By beating them, and beating them, and beating them up again, they became his retainer in no time.
Because of that, he applied that same method to even Yankoun, and as expected, it was successful.
‘Damn it, if it only wasn’t for this damned condition, I would have had a retainer that’s stronger than Kaizar.’
Ian was incredibly disappointed, but there was nothing he could do.
‘After this place is formally opened later, I’ll find him again and take him in as my retainer once I obtain the Ruler of the Devildom or whatever the title was.’
Ian licked his lips as he spoke to Yankoun.

Tsk… I can’t take you in as my retainer at the moment.

At that, Yankoun wore an incredulous expression.
• What’s the problem? By any chance, do you think I’m lacking too much for you to take in as a retainer?
While looking at Yankoun, whose face turned bright red with one breath, Ian waved his hands.

Ah, no. That would never be the case. I think it’s probably because I’m not a devil.

At Ian’s explanation, Yankoun’s wrinkled expression straightened out as he slowly nodded his head.
• Keu-heum… I see.

Later, after I’ve obtained the qualification to take you in as a retainer, I’ll come find you again.

Yankoun nodded his head.
• Understood, Ian. I will wait until then.
And as soon as he was done speaking, a giant gate appeared behind Yankoun.
• If you go in through that, you will be able to see the true Devildom now.
Ian grinned as he replied.

Thanks, Yankoun.

• And since it’s come to such a situation anyways, do you think you’ll be able to do me a favour?
At Yankoun’s unexpected proposal, Ian’s two eyes slightly rounded.
‘What the hell, I came into a testing zone, but I can still receive quests?’
However, different from his surprise, from Ian’s perspective, there was no reason to turn down the quest.

Sure. I’ll help you.

• Thank you.
Along with Yankoun’s response, a system notification on the matter he was talking about rang out as a quest window popped up in front of Ian’s eyes.
Ring-.
• The Request of the Chief Gatekeeper of the Devildom Yankoun (ch. 198)
Yankoun, one of the Twelve Chosen Generals as well as the Chief Gatekeeper that guards the gateway that leads to the Devildom.
For a long time now, Yankoun has felt troubled.
In the Devildom territory that he was in charge of, abnormal ‘Contaminated Magical Beasts’ had begun to appear.
Yankoun consistently hunted them, but their numbers did not decrease, but rather increased more and more.
At first, he thought that it was nothing important, but as the multiplication speed of the magical beasts grew faster as time passed by, it began to turn into a grave danger.
Yankoun has been deeply moved by your force.
He believes that if it is you, you will be able to solve his concern.
Quest Difficulty Level: SS
Quest Requirement: A user that has been acknowledged by the Chief Gatekeeper Yankoun.
Time Limit: None.
Reward: Intermediate-grade Magic Stone x20, Pure Blood of the Devil.
If rejected, your Affinity with the ‘Devildom Chief Gatekeeper Yankoun’ will decrease drastically.
Ian, who thoroughly read down the quest content, tilted his head.
This was because there wasn’t anything that he didn’t understand from the content of the quest, but he didn’t have even the slightest idea on what the item called the ‘Pure Blood of the Devil’ could be.
‘In the time that I’m thinking about it, it would probably be faster to ask.’
Ian’s gaze turned towards Yankoun.

Yankoun, what is the Pure Blood of the Devil?

At Ian’s question, Yankoun replied immediately.
• Just as the name suggests, it is a devil’s clean blood.

What good would it be for me to obtain such a thing?

• If a human drinks the Pure Blood of the Devil, they can become half-human, half-devil.

…!

For a moment, Ian’s mind began to race.
‘Half-human, half-devil? By any chance, is this not something that’s related to the duel classes of the Devildom that appeared in the trailer videos?’
This was just a guess, but he had a good feeling about this to the point he was almost sure of it.
’20 Intermediate-grade Magic Stones itself is amazing enough, but that Pure Blood of the Devil is a necessity.’
The Intermediate-grade Magic Stone was a fortification material that he assumed could only be obtained by hunting a higher-rank magical beasts.
It was a rare and precious material that Ian yet had a chance to obtain.
On top of that, as he had even obtained the condition that he assumed was related to dual classes, he felt like he was on cloud nine.
Ian grinned as he spoke to Yankoun.

Alright, Yankoun. I will try to solve it.

At that Yankoun’s face glowed.
• Oh, thank you so much, Ian!
And in front of Ian’s eyes, a new system message popped up.
• Your Affinity with the ‘Chief Gatekeeper of the Devildom Yankoun’ has maxed out.
• You have obtained the ‘Premium Seal of the Devil’ from the ‘Chief Gatekeeper of the Devildom Yankoun’.
• You have obtained the ‘Devildom’s Zone 100~Zone 120 Map’ item from the ‘Chief Gatekeeper of the Devildom Yankoun’.
While looking at the red globe that had appeared in his hands before he even realized it, Ian wore a confused expression.

Yankoun, what is this now?

Yankoun replied wearing an arrogant expression.
• It represents that you have been acknowledged by a higher-rank devil. As long as you have this seal, both intermediate-rank and low-rank devils will not be able to touch you.

Ooh!

• Because this is not an item that I can just give to you however I wish, I will temporarily lend it to you until you kill all of the contaminated magical beasts.
Ian, who still hadn’t properly realized the weight of this yet but was certain that he had obtained an item that would be useful in the Devildom, was in an even better mood.

Alright. I will try to uphold your request for sure.

• The mutated magical beasts exist in all of the zones, but they inhabit Zone 115 and Zone 107 the most. It should be enough if you investigate those areas centrally.

Understood.

Ian, who finished his conversation with Yankoun, walked with big strides as he moved towards the gate.
‘Alright, my eyelids feel really heavy, but I’m going to endure it until I complete this quest no matter what!’
Ian clenched his fist tightly as he solidified his determination.
However, the moment he passed through the gate, a system message that felt different popped up in front of his eyes.
• GM Chulwoo: Ian, are you available to talk for a moment right now?