I Never Run Out of Mana

Carrying Karin and the duffel bag with our food inside, I ran as fast as I could towards the location that Jong Ho and I had agreed to rendezvous at.

Not much time had passed since I left Belkoseu behind me that the sounds of a massive explosion rang out.

Noticing the intensity of the tremor and sound, it definitely wasn’t the result of fighting between any regular monsters.

Since the Demon King Jamon and Belkoseu had met one another, I assumed that Belkoseu was getting in the way of the Demon King tracking me.

Is this what it’s like to solve a problem with another? Using my enemy to fight against another enemy, like so.

This saying fits the situation perfectly.

I was using a monster to hold off another monster after all.

Belkoseu was confident in his strength and his body that was impervious to death.

That was why he believes that I won’t be able to defeat him.

His arrogance was working in my favor.

It was possible that he was right.

It was my conclusion that I could defeat him with skills used by humans.

However, right now, the answer to that question was not that important.

Despite being unkillable, it was obvious that Belkoseu was in a lower position than the Demon King.

That’s why he was afraid and made a temporary alliance, because the Demon King would kill me and take the magical energy I possessed.

Assisting my escape, he planned to meet with me later on.

All I have to do is to use his plan to my advantage.

“Karin? How is it? Are we getting away from their magical energy signatures?”

“Kehruu. Correct. I can faintly sense their magical energies now. I’m sure that we’ve gotten very far away from them.”

“Guess Belkoseu is stopping them in their tracks pretty well.”

“Kehheh. It seems so.”

Karin’s expression softened away from a fearful look, and his face returned back to his usual look.

As I continued my run, Karin spoke.

“Human. Min-Cheol!”

“Hm?”

“I believe that sticking with you and Jong Ho is the path to staying alive.”

“Of course. The demonic realm is far too dangerous for a Puppet Goblin to survive, no?”

“Kel. Kel. You’re right. However……”

“Hm?”

“Do we have to continue encountering near death situations like these?”

“Pfft. Why? Isn’t it fun and thrilling?”

“Keruk….  For me, who lived a peaceful life, these events are beyond my ability to adapt to. We’ve met the Demon King. Then we meet with Belkoseu and the Lich King…… At this rate, it feels like we’re going to meet a god!”

“Hey. No matter how dangerous it gets, we’ll protect you.”

“Keheheh…. I’m…. touched….”

“What will we eat if you’re gone? I can’t put that rotten monster meat anywhere near my mouth.”

“Kehruu…. You really do think of me as a food storage…..”

Immediately did Karin’s wrinkles increase severely.

It was a look of great sadness and depression.

It seemed that he thought of himself as a mere luggage carrier.

However, he was far more important than just a luggage carrier.

Without him, we would be in the dark in the demonic realm.

If we didn’t have Karin, we might have been done in by the Demon King and Ladin by now.

After all, the ability to read the flow of magical energy was a skill that we desperately needed.

And the most important thing.

Despite his appearance, he was actually very cute.

“You’re someone I can talk to, you serve as a guide, and you’re a goblin that can read the flow of magical energies….. On top of that, you keep store of our food supply. How can we hate you? At this point, we’re family. Don’t you think so?”

“Keruk. Keruruk. Right? Kelkelkel! Family…. Family…..”

“Don’t be sad. Just as you care for us, we care for you too.”

“Karin isn’t sad. I was never sad.”

“Look at how quickly his mood changed. I’m glad. Hold onto the duffel bag filled with the artifacts tightly so that they don’t make contact with me. I’m going to start running faster.”

“Kel! Do not worry! Family!”

“Pfft. Yeah. We just have to go this way, right?”

“That’s right. Family! Let’s go. Family!”

“Yep, family. Here we go!”

****

Jong Ho, who had parted ways with Min-Cheol , arrived near the Gate safely using Warp.

Despite only being gone for 6 hours, many monsters were gathered.

The Devil Avatars and King Suwoo that Min-Cheol had summoned were in quite the state.

Their embers of life were barely there, guarding as no more than symbols.

They were barely holding onto their lives.

If he arrived any later, the summoned creatures would perish and countless monsters would have entered through the Gate.

Jong Ho immediately casted skills into the charging horde.

“KUWEHEH!”

“KUAHAH!”

With Min-Cheol’s skill level and 20% increase in magical power, as well as the Archangel’s Fall effect, magic fell upon these creatures.

Almost as if using a strainer, all the monsters without magical resistances immediately perished.

It appeared as though a meteor had fallen on a planet, with half the horde being annihilated without a trace left.

The rest of the horde must have magical resistances.

The ones left were the ones that ignored magical attacks and were only vulnerable to physical attacks.

Jong Ho casted Piercing Sword.

Nearly a thousand weapons appeared behind him.

They would move to his will, piercing through the monsters before returning.

However, the weapons summoned were staves and wands.

Due to the skill adapted to the class of the caster, the weapons summoned weren’t meant to cut, but were magician class weapons consisting of staves and wands.

However, since this skill was backed by Min-Cheol’s strength stat, it would be more than enough to annihilate these creatures.

“Hm…..”

However, he was lacking in the physical attack skill department.

The Formless Sword Aura had to strike an enemy once before the effect of the target not being able to sense the second strike activating.

Staves and wands, due to their size and their intended purposes, weren’t suited to use physical attacks with.

That’s why Jong Ho was disappointed.

He wanted a way to get two birds with one stone.

Even if he had put his stats similar to how a regular warrior put their stats, it wouldn’t cause much of a difference to his current situation.

The only difference would be that the fate of those monsters before him and those that perished would have changed somewhat.

With that in mind, Jong Ho continued his attack.

At his will, staves and wands flew towards the horde.

The weapons weren’t sharp as swords, but they pierced their targets without issue.

The damage they dealt weren’t as strong as the magic that they could discharge, but for this situation, it was more than enough.

Like a knife to tofu, the monsters were being cut apart.

“KUUEK! KWUH……”

“Despite not looking like much, the damage they deal is still noteworthy.”

“KUWEK!”

It happened a little after he had taken care of the monsters nearby.

All he had to do was head for the location they had agreed to meet up at.

The summoned creatures would recover their health, and they would be able to hold their own against the waves of monsters.

By cycling every 6 hours, it was a perfect method to defend the Gate.

It was then.

Jong Ho instinctively lowered his body to the ground and looked around.

He could hear sounds of massive explosions getting closer.

He knew that he could not avoid the eyes of the Demon King and Ladin using Mass Stealth Jutsu, so he quickly hid in the part of the terrain that would give him cover.

At this speed, he knew that no matter how fast he tried to run, he would be caught up to soon.

He quietly stayed crouched.

“Damn it…. Who is coming this way….”

Since he was already done in by the Demon King and Ladin once, his uncertainty amplified.

Min-Cheol must be far away from here.

And on top of that, there wasn’t any reason for him to come here.

There was a chance that the Demon King was near Min-Cheol, but he had Karin who could sense the Demon King.

Holding his breath, he surveyed the scene.

A breath of relief washed over him.

“Ha……..”

Karin and Min-Cheol had arrived.

They looked like a beginner dad carrying his son and a bunch of childcare supplies on his back.

Jong Ho calmed himself before approaching Min-Cheol.

“Hey. Min-Cheol. Why did you suddenly come back here?”

“I guess you’re done cleaning up the place?”

“Uh….. Is the Demon King near or something?”

“Yes. Well, the Demon King and Ladin are nearby. Also there is the matter with Belkoseu.”

“Belkoseu? I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

“I’ll explain slowly. First, let’s go to Berdan’s castle. We have things to check up on inside.”

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

****

“Keheh…. Jong Ho family! It was very dangerous. Family!”

“Is that so? What happened out there that you’re acting like this? And what is this about family?”

“Kel. Family is family.”

“What is he saying…. Min-Cheol, please explain to me.”

“Family is family.”

“Hey damn it!”

“Pfft. We met a guy named Belkoseu. Apparently he is known as the Immortal Knight in the demonic realm.”

“Belkoseu……”

“Yes. Thankfully, we joined forces in a way that really wasn’t, so it won’t last long.”

“Joined forces? So you didn’t run away because of him is what you’re saying.”

“Yes. Belkoseu and the Lich King were together. And on top of that, the Demon King and Ladin were coming to our location.”

“The Lich King? The one that I’m thinking of?”

“Yes. Only that he shrunk in size, but he was the same as the one back on Earth.”

“So, what happened after?”

“I took down the Lich King and as you can see…..”

I pointed at the duffel bag that Karin was holding onto.

The duffel bag was far bigger than his body.

The entire bag was filled with artifacts and jewels.

After all, we had ignored the bloodstones and brought the real treasures.

“Oho…. All of that? Even Berdan didn’t drop anything, so to think that we’ve obtained this much.”

“Yes. It’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth.”

“Wow……. Well that’s that. What about this alliance?”

“From where we just left, Belkoseu and the Demon King must be going at it right now.”

“There is someone who can stand against him?”

“To be precise, he isn’t able to keep up in offensive capabilities, but I heard that he has a special Authority.”

“Kerut. That’s right. He cannot die. Family!”

“Cannot die……”

“Yes. It seemed that he wasn’t welcoming the idea of my magical energy being taken by the Demon King, so he helped me escape.”

“Oho. That’s quite fortunate.”

“Yes. And we’ll be visiting him soon.”

“Hm? Us? Are you talking about us?”

“That’s right.”

“So we’re going to go find this guy who cannot die…. Did I hear that correctly?”

“Yes. That’s also correct.”

“It’s happening again… Happening again.”

“People don’t change easily. For now, let’s check the loot. I’m not sure what’s in it, since Karin was the one who put them in. At least there are a ton of jewels that dropped.”

“I’m worried. Worried.”

“Karin, can you pour them out here?”

“Kelkel. Understood, family!”