Chapter 201

: A Secret Deal (2)
 
Ian, who made all of his equipment +5 fortification right before the five-minute mark, quickly logged out of the game.
This was because when he was enduring with the thought that he would keep going for several more hours, he couldn’t really feel his exhaustion flooding over, but as he started to have thoughts that he would be logging out soon, his eyelids had become maddeningly heavy.
‘At this point, I think I’ve received enough of a profit to the point I’m satisfied.’
The fact that he learned from fortifying was that once equipment reached a fortification of 5, it began to shine a white light.
And he also found out the fact that as soon as it reached a fortification of 5, it gained another option at random instantly.
Ian especially liked the transcendence option that was attached to his ‘Judgment of the Spirit King’ item.
• Transcendence option: In the case that the attack of an enemy is evaded, there is a 15% chance that 30% of your Offensive Power will be dealt as electric damage, and there is a 30% chance that your Vitality will be recovered by 10%.
‘It’s an option that fits perfectly with my playing style. Although it’s a conditionally activated option, for that option to be evasion…’
There was no separate stat called Evasiveness in Kailan.
Whether one had evaded the attack of the enemy was solely determined depending on high Agility and the controlling abilities of the user.
Because that was the case, to Ian, who played while dodging most attacks, it could be considered a truly perfect option.
‘If it’s a lighting attack that’s 30% of my Offensive Power, it won’t be that strong, but still, if it accumulates, it will take over quite a large amount of DPS, and the 10% Vitality recovery is seriously amazing.’
Especially if it was a scuffle where he would be receiving attacks from a ton of enemies, he would be able to dodge all of those attacks in a short time.
In other words, if he succeeded in fluking them, it meant that his Vitality, if it was almost hitting the bottom, could possibly be filled to the max in an instant.
However, despite having items that were in a total of ten different parts all fortified to +5, there was only about two or so that had options as good as the Judgment of the Spirit King.
‘I feel like the better the item, the higher the chance of obtaining a better transcendence option…’
Since his pants, boots and belt, which were Heroic-rank items, had just received combat stats or class stats.
Stats with a fixed value that was around 100-200, or even a % value that was just one digit.
‘But if you think about it, even that isn’t a small amount.’
Since in the case of Leadership, it was a truly amazing option.
Whiiing-.
Jinsung, who stepped out of his capsule for the first time in a whopping 53 hours, looked out the window as he shook his head.
This was because the sky was shining brightly towards dawn.

Whew, I believe I logged on at around midnight… Does this mean I’ve passed straight through two days and the morning sun has risen again?

Jinsung launched his body onto his bed without even enough brain power to wash up.
And he conked out just like that.
He knew from many experiences that it was wisest to rest as much as one can in situations like these.

Ring-.
• Welcome to the World of Kailan.
• Due to the fluctuation of the system, your login location has been changed.
• Your character has been moved from ‘Zone 120 of the Devildom’ to the ‘Forest of Love’.

Keu-ah, how refreshing.

Ian, who had slept for over 20 hours, immediately logged onto the game again.
And after looking around at his surroundings once, he grumbled.

Bleh, I liked the gloomy Devildom more; I’m telling you, this place is too pinky-pinky that it always makes me feel uncomfortable.

Either way, as he was pleased with the fact that he was moved to the Forest of Love instead of the central continent, Ian moved his feet in a good mood.
This was because, although he was deported from the Devildom, he had satisfied the quest requirements, so he needed to meet Iriel anyways.
However, just then, there was something that suddenly flashed through Ian’s mind.

Oh, right! If they’ve withdrawn all of my items, by any chance, would they have withdrawn the Lakoum Spirits as well? My gourd!

Ian hurriedly opened his inventory and checked the gourd.
And he was able to let out a sigh of relief.

Whew, still, it seems that since the gourd wasn’t an item that I had obtained in the Devildom, it wasn’t withdrawn.

The gourd was something that Iriel gave him, and as he had put all of the Spirits of the Lakoum into the gourd, fortunately, they weren’t withdrawn.
Ian headed towards Iriel again with light footsteps.

Ian, you’ve returned.

As soon as Iriel discovered Ian, she approached him with a welcoming expression.

Yes, Iriel. I’m very sorry that I’m late. It was because things got a little complicated within the Devildom…

Iriel slowly nodded her head as she answered with a kind expression.

That’s alright. Since it wasn’t an easy assignment. The Devildom is a truly dangerous place.

Ian, who had easily hunted the Lakoum that were in the starting point as if he was bagging rabbits due to the cheat stat called Resistance Magic, wore a bitter smile as he nodded his head.

There were a lot of monsters that were certainly stronger in the Devildom. Haha…

Iriel smiled brightly.

It’s truly a relief that you’ve returned safely. Because you didn’t return even though my gate closed, I really thought that something had happened to you.

Ian shrugged his shoulders as he replied.

Fortunately, I am unscathed.


Then, Ian, have you gathered all of the Spirits of the Lakoum?

At Iriel’s question, Ian pulled out the gourd from his inventory.
And he held out the gourd towards her as he grinned.

Here, I brought it.

At that moment, the system message that notified him that he had completed the quest rang out.
Ring-.
• You have successfully completed the ‘Beginnings of the Devils I (Hidden) (Connected)’ Quest.
• Clear rank: C
• Your Fame has increased by 50 thousand.
• You have obtained 100 thousand gold.
• Because the clear rank is below a B-rank, Iriel’s Affinity towards you has dropped by 3.
While looking at the system messages that popped up, Ian’s expression slightly wrinkled.
‘No, why is the clear rank only a C-rank? Is it because I returned so late?’
It wasn’t a quest that had a separate time limit, but the portal that Iriel maintained had just been maintained for a quarter of a day.
Because that was the case, it would be safe to consider the criteria time to be a quarter of a day, and so, it was obvious that the clear rank of Ian, who took almost three times the time to complete the quest, was this low.
‘Tsk, well, still… Since I’ve obtained more than I’ve lost. And since there shouldn’t even be a difference just because Iriel’s Affinity towards me has dropped by about 3, either.’
Meanwhile, Iriel, who received the gourd from Ian, continued her words with a pleased expression.

You’re amazing, Ian. You’ve gathered and brought back exactly 200 spirits.

Ian scratched the back of his head as he responded.

Don’t mention it…


Please give me the parchment now. I will proceed with the restoration process and return it to you.


Sure, one moment.

Ian nodded his head as he pulled out the parchment from his inventory, and he handed it over to Iriel.
And Iriel placed the parchment on top of the table before she started to chant out an incantation that couldn’t be understood.
• Ssdlknf Adknk Qdlksndgkvv assosk…
Whoong-.
As she did so, the parchment that was being held in her hands floated up into the air, and the gourd that was on top of the table began to vibrate little by little.

Ooh…

Ian watched that scene with interest, and shortly after, a red current began to flow out of the gourd.
And that current was sucked into the parchment faster and faster.
Pung-!
At the same time that a low explosion burst out into the air, a book with a red cover floated in the same spot that the parchment was floating in moments ago.
Iriel glanced at that as she spoke to Ian.

Ian, take it.

Ian slowly approached the book and at the same time, a system message popped up.
Ring-.
• You have obtained the ‘Ancient Illustrated Book of Magical Beasts’.
Ian’s gaze turned towards Iriel again, and Iriel, who met his eyes, began to give an explanation on the item.

I will briefly explain the Devildom to you.

Ian’s eyes shone brightly as he replied.

Understood.

Since information on the new content that hasn’t even been updated yet, that is, was more valuable than anything else at this current point.
Iriel’s words continued.

Firstly, I don’t know if you know this yet, Ian, but largely, devils and magical beasts exist in the Devildom.

While listening to her explanation, Ian thought to himself.
‘I thought that devils were humanoid monsters, but is that not even it?’

However, just because they are devils doesn’t mean that they are stronger than magical beasts, and in turn, it doesn’t mean that because they are magical beasts doesn’t mean that they are weaker than devils. As even amongst magical beasts, the top-ranking devils cannot carelessly face the magical beasts of a high-rank that are the same as evil dragons or Balrogs.

Her explanation was quite long, but to sum it up, it was like this.

Devils and magical beasts were different beings. You must not think that magical beasts were creatures that were a lower rank than devils.
Largely, the devils were divided into five ranks. The devil with the highest rank was designated as Royalty, and continued, they were classified as Noblesse, High-rank Devils, Common Devils, and Low-rank Devils.

However, the ranking of the devils was not decided at birth, and their notarized Devildom rankings were decided through an official duel.
The devils that had a fighting power that was within the top 100 were royalty, while the devils that had a fighting power that was within the top 1000 were Noblesse, and below that, the devils that had a fighting power that was within the top 30% were High-rank Devils.
By default, most devils were designated as Common Devils, but devils that had a fighting power that was in the bottom 20-30% were classified as Low-rank Devils.

Magical beasts also had a ranking system. Magical beasts were graded by their rankings identically to the monsters that were in the human world, and magical beasts that were a Legendary-rank or higher were able to have their own ego and could converse with humans as well.
Any species that had the ‘Pure Blood of the Devil’ in their hands could become ‘Half-Human, Half-Devil’, and once they become Half-Human, Half-Devil, they could control a new energy called ‘Devil Energy’, and could also communicate with magical beasts that were Heroic-rank or lower.

Also, through duelling of the devils, you could participate in the ranking battle of the devils.
Ian, who diligently listened to her explanation as he organized the information into his head, slowly chewed over it.
‘There’s a lot of interesting content. The part that I knew about was just the information on the Pure Blood of the Devil…’
At the information that was much more detailed and amazing than Ian expected, he wanted to at least jot it down somewhere.

I’m parched. Let me just grab a gulp of water…

Iriel, who spoke without rest, sipped on the water that was on top of table before she opened her mouth again.

So, you’ve probably already have an assumption, but the item called the ‘Ancient Illustrated Book of Magical Beasts’ that you have obtained now, Ian, is an item that has data on all kinds of magical beasts.


Oh-ho, I see.


It’s a piece that Cervian, an Elf Summoner that had become half-devil using the Pure Blood of the Devil in the past, left behind.

Ian’s eyes slightly rounded.
‘As expected… Summoners could also tame magical beasts.’
On top of the Low-rank magical beasts that appeared in the entrance of the Devildom having unlikeable appearances, Ian lacked Leadership, so he didn’t try taming them, but it was a fact that he had presumed to an extent.
For confirmation, Ian spoke to Iriel.

As expected, it was possible to tame magical beasts.

Iriel nodded her head.

That’s right. Just like the monsters in the human world, magical beasts can also be tamed.


Ooh…

However, just then, Iriel smiled as she added on.

However, a condition must be met.