Seo Woojin is strong.
To the point where he can face formidable heroes without using his hidden abilities.
B-rank or A-rank, it doesn't matter.
The strength of Seo Woojin, who learned the sword one-on-one from Van Slaine, couldn't be expressed in grades or levels.
'Impressive.'
However, even Seo Woojin couldn't help but admire Baek Siwoo.
An SSS rank hero with a level above 50.
Not only did he ride the bus, but he also made an effort to become stronger.
Baek Siwoo's sword, as bright and fast as his name "Thunderbolt", struck down Rosie Ruby.
Kurrung-!
Dust rose with the thunderous sound vibrating through the corridor.
And…
Kki, Kki-ee.
The demon's scorched head fell to the ground as if struck by lightning.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
Light erupted from Seo Woojin's body.
At the same time, a black room unfolded.
"Insane…."
Actually, Seo Woojin didn't do much.
He didn't deal any significant blow, and it was Baek Siwoo who took Rosie Ruby's life.
All he did was to slightly damage Rosie Ruby's epidermis and stall for time.
However, he did level up twice.
"This guy was a real monster."
If he had managed to hunt Rosie Ruby alone, it wasn't easy to guess how many levels he would have gained.
It was much higher than Burtal's experience points.
"I wonder how many levels Baek Siwoo has gained."
Level 5? Level 6?
'No, he probably didn't level up that much. Even with his high level, it might not have increased surprisingly.'
He was well aware that as the level increased, the required experience points increased exponentially.
Even taking that into consideration, it was clear that he hadn't increased by more than 2 levels.
This was possible because Baek Siwoo would probably have achieved it even if he had been hunting alone.
In fact, he was a leader among the elite friends.
Seo Woojin chuckled and looked around.
[Chronicles of the Demon King of Another World].
In the middle of the black room, a large book was still in its place.
He stretched out his hand.
But as expected, it was impossible to touch.
Seo Woojin frowned and checked the cover of the book again.
Could there be a hint to touch the book? He hoped so.
In addition to the title, the cover was engraved with numerous patterns.
Although he couldn't understand their meaning, Seo Woojin somehow thought that they might be magical runes.
"Just in case."
He started to memorize the patterns.
Because they were too complex and extensive, it was impossible to remember everything.
"At times like this, choice and focus are necessary."
Seo Woojin concentrated on one of the simpler patterns.
Although he lacked magical knowledge, there were others in the team who did.
Wasn't Jin Tae-seong one of them, an 'Elemental Magician'?
Perhaps those with magician professions could interpret them.
Seo Woojin planned to ask them about the interpretation of the patterns as soon as he became familiar with them.
As they began to be engraved in his mind, the time in the black room came to an end.
Paah!
A bright light brought Seo Woojin back to reality.
"Hmm…"
Although it felt like he had been in the black room for a long time, the time in the real world hadn't passed by much this time either.
Rosie Ruby's head was still rolling around.
"Wow!"
Lee Ji-ah exclaimed.
"It's amazing, amazing! How did you just cut that monster's neck all at once? What did you do?"
Had she already forgotten the hardships they had gone through fighting Rosie Ruby?
Lee Ji-ah poured out a waterfall of questions at Baek Siwoo with an excited expression on her face.
With a grin, Seo Woojin looked at the other team members.
He thought they would be tired after the fight to the death, but surprisingly, their expressions were too good.
No, they looked lively.
Seeing this, Seo Woojin's expression turned surprised.
'Everyone has leveled up!'
With so many people leveling up all at once…
Suddenly, Seo Woojin realized what a formidable monster Rosie Ruby was.
"Huh?"
Seo Woojin, who was laughing, suddenly widened his eyes.
Someone he shouldn't see in this place had caught his eye.
"Irene?"
Why would she be here?
"Mr. Woojin."
Irene looked at Seo Woojin with her usual calm expression.
However, her trembling eyes couldn't be hidden.
"I'm glad you're safe."
With these words, Seo Woojin realized that Irene had come here looking for him.
Honestly, he felt a little touched.
"How did you get here?"
He asked, hiding his embarrassment.
"I and others found traces of the Demon King where you and others disappeared."
Irene briefly explained what had happened outside.
As she spoke, everyone started to concentrate.
Even Seong Yura, who had been arguing, closed her mouth and listened.
"Kademain…"
Ludian muttered.
The heroes had no special feelings about it, but he, as a native of this world, felt differently.
Upon hearing the Demon King's name, fear was the first thing that came to mind.
"So did the search parties scatter in all directions?"
"If I'm not the only one who fell, they probably did."
Irene nodded at Ludian's question.
'This is bad.'
The person they needed to find here was not just one or two.
Even if you excluded the knights who had already become corpses, they had to find at least three among their elite friends.
But now, even more people had joined…
How many of them would survive?
No, was there even a way to leave this place safely?
And then, at that moment.
"Huh? Mister! Look at this!"
Lee Ji-ah spotted something and called Seo Woojin.
"Huh? What is it?"
He couldn't help but turn his head at her playful attitude that broke the serious atmosphere.
Then he saw what Lee Ji-ah was pointing at.
'A gem?'
Amidst the swirling ashes of the deceased Rosie Ruby, a fist-sized gem caught his eye.
Seo Woojin instinctively grabbed it without realizing it.
If it was a loot, Baek Siwoo would probably have the largest share, but Seo Woojin didn't care.
The moment he saw the gem, a strong impulse arose, urging him to take it.
"Be careful!"
Ludian shouted a warning.
Even though Rosie Ruby was dead, there was no guarantee that the gem that came out of her was safe as it belonged to the Demon King's kin.
However, Seo Woojin grabbed the gem without hesitation.
At the same time…
The room began to collapse.
* * *
The magician unfolded a magic barrier.
It was to analyze the identity of this place that looked like a ruin.
'A spatial-temporal anomaly?'
It took some time, but he was able to confirm the magical patterns in these ruins.
Surprisingly, it was a magic that distorted concepts and caused chaos.
"Amazing."
It was magic beyond anything he had ever dreamed of.
At least, it was certain that someone who hadn't reached the rank of Archmage wouldn't be able to imitate it.
'Is this really the relic of the Demon King?'
The mage wondered.
And then he felt discouraged.
He realized that he couldn't leave this room with his magical abilities.
Rioc, who wielded a sword to protect him, grinned.
"Is something wrong?"
When the mage's expression suddenly darkened, there was no choice but to think that something bad might happen.
Then the mage nodded.
He didn't bother to hide it.
"… May I know what's going on?"
That's the only way to deal with the situation.
"We can't get out of here."
Rioc kept his mouth shut at these words.
The bad situation he had in mind was only about the possibility of a powerful monster being inside.
He hadn't even imagined that the mage would say that they couldn't leave.
"What do you mean?"
"There is only one way to leave this place: defeat the demon king's guardian."
It wasn't completely impossible.
"Then why not?"
"It is impossible."
The problem was that they couldn't possibly defeat the guardian.
If an advanced search party of knights gathered.
And if he called for reinforcements, it might be possible.
But this was a place where the phenomena of time and space intertwined.
Gathering dozens of knights in one place?
That was as difficult as defeating the guardian.
"Even if we gather them, only a handful will survive."
By analyzing the magical patterns, mage was able to determine who the guardian of this ruin was.
It was none other than Rosie Ruby, notorious even in the Demonic Realm.
Why she was here was unknown, but if it was really her, she was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
The Demon King's guardian was indeed a monster.
So it wasn't unreasonable for the mage to feel discouraged.
"But we can't just sit here."
"You're stating the obvious."
The mage nodded.
It was undoubtedly a nearly impossible task.
But as Rioc said, they couldn't just sit still and wait to die.
With the mage's pride at stake, he had to find another way.
"For now, let's move."
The direction of the leading mage's steps wasn't a long corridor, but a wall.
Through analysis, he had found out that the true path of the ruin wasn't in the corridor, but beyond it.
The mage raised his hand and pressed it against the wall.
Then he drew magic power.
No, he tried to summon it.
Kugugugugung-
Suddenly, an enormous vibration shook the corridor.
"What?"
The mage's expression changed to one of astonishment.
It wasn't just a powerful vibration.
It was an enormous magical force.
It roared like a typhoon.
Instinctively, he raised his magic power to protect his body.
"Krrrk!"
However, he couldn't withstand the surging magical power, and pain rushed in.
"What in the world…!"
The magnitude of this magical storm was something he had never experienced before.
But despite the distortion in the mage's expression, he didn't look worse.
No, he seemed much brighter than before.
"No way?"
There was only one reason why such a phenomenon would occur in the ruins.
Collapse.
The ruins were collapsing, and the magical power that supported them was dissipating.
The sudden occurrence of such an event…
'The Guardian has died.'
Rosie Ruby died?
Even in the Empire, numerous punitive forces were sent to kill her.
Among those punitive forces were top-notch knights.
However, they had never been able to defeat him.
One of the reasons for the failure of the previous Hellden expedition was none other than Rosie Ruby.
But now that she was dead?
It was something completely unbelievable.
"…Still, there's no way not to believe it."
The space in front of his eyes shattered.
Like glass, cracks appeared and crumbled.
"Uwaaa!"
With Rioc's scream from behind him, the ruins disappeared.
And what appeared in front of his eyes was the forest where the gate had been created.