After Ten Millennia in Hell

Kang-Woo coughed lightly. He shook his head at the sudden thought that had crossed his mind. Although it had been for a short while, it had been a disgusting thought, even for him.

'There's no way I'm that kind of trash.'

He was fighting against the Demon Cult for world peace. He had done nothing to be ashamed of; there was no way he'd even think of something like that.

"That aside…"

He naturally sank back into thought.

Even though he had discovered the condition for breaking his level cap, he couldn't be satisfied.

'I have to kill a Protector.'

He knew what to do, but he couldn't just hunt down the members of Guardians and kill them just because of that.

'That would be the stupidest choice I could make.'

First, the Protectors were allies who protected Earth from otherworldly invaders, such as demons.

In the case of Alec, he'd killed him because his ideals could have negatively influenced Kim Si-Hun, but there was no guarantee that the other Protectors were like him.

'To be honest, if it weren't for Si-Hun, I would've left him alone.'

The flood of otherworldly beings could put the world into a state of crisis.

Becoming stronger while killing the Protectors of this world would not be wise.

'I can't kill my teammates who help to defend kimchi stew.'

Growing strong enough to be able to fend off any otherworldly being by killing the Protectors was also an option, but still, it wasn't a good idea.

'In the end, I'd be alone.'

There was a limit to how many things he could do by himself. It didn't matter how strong he became; he couldn't face a worldwide crisis alone.

Saving only Korea would also be stupid of him.

The modern world was connected. There was a reason why Korean stocks would plummet if US interest rates rose—Korea was not a self-sustainable country. If the rest of the world was ruined, Korea would ultimately end up following suit.

'I can't let that happen.'

Even if he wasn't patriotic, he didn't want to see the country of his birth destroyed. No, leaving everything else aside, Korea had kimchi stew.

Korea mustn't be destroyed.

'I'll protect it no matter what.'

He became motivated and clenched his fists.

"And most importantly…"

There was no way the system would be able to block his growth.

There wasn't only one way to get stronger.

"First off…"

Kang-Woo lightly jumped and flew up using the Authority of the Sky. After leaving the hotel rooftop, Kang-Woo reached a nearby hill.

"Let's check it out."

His eyes were full of expectation. It had been unexpected, but his level cap had been lifted, and his level had gone up.

He was finally free from the Sixth Awakening and had achieved the Seventh Awakening. That being the case, there was something he had to check first.

'I wonder what I got for my Seventh Awakening Trait?'

He opened his status window as if he were ripping open a gift.

[Seventh Awakening Trait: Reaper of Souls (Rank: SS)]

[Effect: This is a Trait linked to 'Authority of Predation.' The Player can fully absorb the souls of demons and raise the 'quality' of their soul. The stronger the demon whose soul you absorb, the larger the effect.]

"This is…"

Kang-Woo's eyes shone. First, it was an SS-rank Trait. It was the same rank as the Trait that had allowed him to create the Key of the Demonic Sea.

'Although I'm not sure what raising the quality of my soul means.'

He wasn't yet sure what raising the quality of his soul would do. It probably wouldn't have a negative effect, but he didn't exactly know what positive effect it would have.

He thought about it but soon decided to stop.

He wouldn't know what it did until he tested it out.

'Linked to the Authority of Predation, huh?'

He had an idea of what it meant.

The Authority of Predation devoured everything from the target, their life, demonic energy, and even their Authority. Their soul was no exception.

'Although the way to eat a soul is a bit gruesome.'

The Authority of Predation completely ripped the soul apart.

In the first place, the Authority did not absorb the soul but tore it apart. The devoured soul disappeared forever. Fully absorbing the target's soul was a new addition to the Authority of Predation.

"Also…"

There was something more important about the Reaper of Souls Trait.

Kang-Woo looked at his status window again.

'Demonic Soul.'

It was the second step to becoming a Demon God. He didn't know what its two conditions were, but he was sure that the Reaper of Souls Trait was related to the conditions for the Demonic Soul.

'Come to think of it, my Sixth Awakening Trait was related to the Ultimate Demonic Body.'

The first time he'd seen the Demonic Art of Creation, he wasn't sure what relation it had with the Ultimate Demonic Body. However, he had found out after creating the Key of the Demonic Sea.

'The Awakening Traits and the steps to becoming a Demon God are related.'

He wasn't 100% sure, but it was a hypothesis worth considering.

"Anyway, I'll have to hunt demons to figure this Trait out."

There was no need to hurry. As long as the Demon Cult existed, a demon was bound to appear. They would most definitely cross over from Hell in whatever shape or form.

'And as for those that do cross over…'

He would devour them as he'd done for the last ten millennia.

"I'll have to make Cha Yeon-Joo work harder."

His current main source of information was the Red Rose Guild. Since it had ended up this way, it would be better to receive news of demon sightings as quickly as possible and take action first.

"Now that I've checked the Trait…"

Kang-Woo sat down. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

'Ten Thousand Demon Core.'

He could feel that its seal had become weaker after achieving his Seventh Awakening. He could see a bigger sea of demonic energy.

'I'll refine the demonic energy in the Ten Thousand Demon Core into a stat.'

The demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core existed separately from his Demonic Energy stat, but he couldn't use it in its current state.

'It's too low-quality.'

The demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core was like a sea; it was boundless and endless.

He couldn't use demonic energy from the deeper part of the sea because the seal hadn't been fully lifted. The demonic energy that had flowed out as the seal weakened was only from the sea's surface.

'I would've just used it without complaints in the past, but…'

Now that he had mastered the demonic crystal, which could compress demonic energy to high concentrations, he no longer needed to put up with it.

"Huuup."

He took a deep breath, then used the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique he'd learned from Si-Hun.

The demonic energy that came out of the Ten Thousand Demon Core melted into his blood. He didn't bother focusing it into his dantian since his whole body had become like a dantian after achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body.

'But if I keep doing this…'

He felt that the Ten Thousand Demon Core residing in his heart would spread to the rest of his body.

'No, rather than spreading…'

His whole body would become the Ten Thousand Demon Core itself.

"…"

His heart started to beat faster. If his body turned into the Ten Thousand Demon Core, he felt that he would be able to use the demonic energy from the deepest part of the sea, the abyss.

His desire soared. He wanted to grasp the limit of the Ten Thousand Demon Core. He felt that if he forced the demonic energy from the Ten Thousand Demon Core to run free, he would be able to drag out more demonic energy.

'But not yet.'

He cut off that desire. An incredible thirst and severe pain spread through his body.

The thirst was like an iron hook scratching his throat.

'Endure it.'

He cut off the desire once more. It was different from when he'd crafted the Key of the Demonic Sea. His instincts were saying that it was dangerous.

"Fuuu."

He took a deep breath.

A demon's body naturally craved to fulfill desires. Enduring it was comparable to not drinking water in the middle of a desert. Even so, Kang-Woo endured it and ignored the severe pain and the thirst drying up his soul.

'I'm used to it.'

He was used to enduring his desires. He'd done so for the last ten millennia, and he simply had to endure one more time.

Riiing!

[Converting the demonic energy from the Ten Thousand Demon Core into a stat.]

[Demonic Energy (Unique Stat) has risen by 8.]

Kang-Woo's eyes widened after reading the message window.

'It rose by eight?'

It was a ridiculous boost. He could feel that the demonic energy within his blood had risen explosively.

It went to show how massive the amount of demonic energy that had been freed after his Seventh Awakening was.

"Okay, now…"

Kang-Woo checked his status window. He saw that his Demonic Energy stat had reached 120.

"What?"

His Demonic Energy stat had been 113. Since it had risen by eight, it should've become 121.

"So why is it only at 120?"

He tilted his head in confusion. Message windows popped up as if to answer his question.

[A stat has reached 120. Explosively raising the 'quality' and 'effect' of the stat.]

[The stat has failed to be raised due to the low-quality stat boost of equipment Legendary-grade and below.]

"What's this?"

He more or less understood what it was saying.

He had become so powerful as his main stat rose that the equipment effect that raised a stat by an absolute value had been blocked. In other words, the Black Pearl Coat's stat boost effect wouldn't have any meaning beyond a Demonic Energy stat of 120.

"Kraken's Rage."

He quickly used the buff.

[The stat has failed to be raised due to the low-quality stat boost of the equipment.]

As expected, the effect was not applied.

"…"

His expression was distorted.

With that, the Black Pearl Coat had become a trash Legendary that didn't raise his stats.

"Tsk. But my demonic energy has gone up a lot, so I guess I should be satisfied with that."

The huge amount of demonic energy within his body made him understand why the absolute value boost didn't apply to him anymore.

He wasn't at the level of Balrog or Lilith yet, but he could easily defeat an average demon of the Ninth Hell.

'But why is such important information not widely known?'

To think that the stat boost effect of a piece of Legendary-grade equipment would no longer be applied after the stat reached 120…

He hadn't heard of anything like that happening before.

"…"

It didn't take long for him to come to a realization.

"I see how it is."

Kang-Woo burst into laughter.

The reason for it not being known was simple.

'There’s nobody else.'

Nobody had reached 120 in a stat yet, which was why it wasn't widely known.

"I guess I'll go home."

Kang-Woo stood up.

The effect of his Seventh Awakening had been above his expectations, and the explosive amount of demonic energy stacked inside his body made him feel thrilled.

'It's been about half a year.'

It had already been half a year since he'd returned to Earth. That was the time it took Kang-Woo to reach a height no other player had been able to reach within the past five years.

"It took longer than I thought."

Tsk.