Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 112: This Damned Astaroth (4)

Astaroth looked at Yoo-Bi, who had completed the puzzle, and Balrog, who had found this secret dungeon. She had a look that suggested she was aware of everything that had gone on.

Yoo-Bi hurriedly avoided Astaroth’s gaze. As for Balrog, he confidently stared back at Astaroth before giving a slight bow to show his respect. The lord he served was Baal, but Astaroth was also a high-ranking demon among the Seventy-Two Demons of Solomon.

Of course, this did not mean that a demon was going to pay respect to any other demon of a higher rank than themselves.

Baal and Astaroth did not invade or fight with each other despite not having any peace agreements between them. It was not that they liked each other or something, but both of their armies were very powerful. In a battle, the winner could only get a pyrrhic victory at most.

[Hoho, come over here.]

When Astaroth motioned for the completed puzzle to come to her, the puzzle board floated in midair and flew toward her. She silently looked at the completed puzzle board that now depicted an image of a goddess.

[Ah… How wonderful is this? I mean, I’m still wonderful, but I look so wonderful here… I look like I might just get tainted and crumble if something touches me.]

‘Do you mean to say that the goddess in that picture is you, Astaroth-nim?’?Han-Yeol asked.

Astaroth glared at Han-Yeol with a severely offended look and retorted, [Hmm? You didn’t know? Can’t you tell?]

Han-Yeol’s instincts kicked in to tell him that he was in danger. Immediately, he turned into a 340 IQ cockroach and said, ‘I-I did not mean it that way, Astaroth-nim! I asked out of courtesy. I could immediately tell at a single glance that the picture looked quite familiar, and it was indeed you, Astaroth-nim! You are beautiful and wonderful whether in real life or in that picture!’?

.

[Hoho! I love the way you lie, so I’ll let you off this one time.]

‘T-Thank you very much!’

Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief inwardly. He realized that he could not let his guard down just because of Astaroth’s outward appearance. She was one of the high-ranking demons of the Seventy-Two Demons of Solomon, and letting down his guard around her could lead him to lose his soul in the blink of an eye.

Demons were extremely dangerous beings to deal with; summoners who dealt with demons were known to use their abilities with their lives on the line. A demon was definitely a summoned creature, but they were far from slaves or minions.

It was quite rare for a powerful summoner to lose their life to the demon they had summoned, but nobody knew just what could happen if the roles were reversed.

‘I have to be careful again and again when dealing with her,’?Han-Yeol reminded himself to be alert at all times.

[Alright, you did a good job. I want to grant you one wish as a reward. I can grant your wish immediately if it’s something simple.]

‘W-Wasn’t giving my Kajikar’s sigil?a?reward already?’?Han-Yeol asked as he remembered that this had been the terms of their deal.

[That is indeed the case, but consider it as your reward for completing?the?task much faster than I expected. A demon is quite impatient, you see? However, you managed to finish it even before my patience ran out, so you deserve to be rewarded for it,]?Astaroth said with a seductive wink.

Han-Yeol knew very well that Astaroth was not a good demon, so getting bewitched by her was a recipe for disaster. Keeping that in mind, he armed himself with his mana to resist the demon’s seduction, but he still could not prevent his heart from pounding against his chest.

He realized once again how powerful the demon was. He was still having a hard time resisting Astaroth’s charm even after channeling all of his mana.

Han-Yeol believed that it was going to start getting dangerous if things dragged on, so he decided to quickly make a wish and send Astaroth back to the demon world. He said, ‘T-Then… I want to become stronger than I am right now.’

[Oh, was Kajikar’s training not enough for you?]

Astaroth looked surprised at Han-Yeol’s request. It was quite rare for anything to surprise her as she had lived for thousands of years, but there was not a single creature trained by the drill sergeant that had failed to grow stronger as far as she knew.

Kajikar was an excellent drill sergeant who could boost the physical fighting abilities of an entire army through his training. In fact, he was so skilled that Astaroth was oftentimes tempted to bewitch and snatch him away from Baal.

However, a mere human dared to say that he was not satisfied with Kajikar’s training…? To Astaroth, this was truly a surprising and refreshing thing to hear.

‘Ah, that is not the case. The training I had under Kajikar helped me reach my second stage, but my goal is to continue growing stronger. I cannot help but feel that I am lagging in my growth these days, so I thought only you would be able to help me with this, Astaroth-nim. I initially wanted to solve this by myself, but here I am making this request as you have told me to make a wish.’

[Hohoho! I see… Humans are truly fun. You are the complete opposite of those demons that have a slow growth rate. You are quite interesting…]

Flutter!

Astaroth spread out her wings. This was a habitual gesture that she did whenever she was in a good mood, so it rarely occurred. This habit of hers was usually only shown when she was drenched in blood at the battlefield.

[I love creatures like you that give off a strong male scent. I’m certain that you will be quite tasty if you grow a bit more.]

Slurp…!

‘Hiiik!’?Han-Yeol wanted to shriek out in fear after becoming bewitched the moment Astaroth licked her lips seductively, but he managed to swallow it down.

He knew that he was going to end up a dry mummy if he fell for her charm, because she was definitely going to suck every ounce of energy he had from his body. It was quite well known that even the most powerful succubus would not be able to hold a candle in front of Astaroth, and that was testament to how dangerous a demon she was.

[Hoho! No need to be so scared, human. I don’t have any intentions of feasting on you—for now. Hehe??]?Astaroth winked and blew a heart toward Han-Yeol.

A weak-willed person was bound to have already gotten aroused enough to run toward Astaroth, and that was probably going to be the day that he would be found as a dried mummy.

‘That heart is making me nervous, Astaroth-nim…’

[Hoho~]

Han-Yeol could not help but feel nervous under Astaroth’s seductive gaze. He thought to himself, ‘It is a bit dangerous, but she is definitely much stronger than me. I can learn quite a lot from her.’

Well, of course, he had to put his life on the line as well.

[Alright, I just have to help you become stronger, right?]

‘Y-Yes, that is correct.’

Seuk…

Astaroth looked around her surroundings.

‘This is making me nervous…’?Han-Yeol thought.

[Now, shall we have some fun?]

Shwaaak!

Astaroth suddenly appeared right in front of Han-Yeol. She circled around him before placing her finger right above his head and dripping a single droplet of her blood on him.

Pat…!

‘Huh?’

[This is my blood. No seduction or charm will be able to overpower the scent of my blood, and not even the sweetest wine will taste better than my blood. Come here, my children. My blood awaits you.]

Han-Yeol could feel a strange and foreign mana surrounding him as soon as Astaroth finished her chant. He started to break out in cold sweat upon realizing the meaning behind her chant. He desperately pleaded, ‘A-Astaroth-nim! My companions are here!’?

[Hoho, that’s right. I wouldn’t normally care whether they die or not, but I shouldn’t spoil my food before it’s ready, right? I will protect those children, so just focus on your own survival. I will send them aboveground in the event that you fail, so don’t worry about them.]

“Argh…!”?Han-Yeol groaned at the sudden predicament he was in.

However, he was also relieved after the demon promised to protect Yoo-Bi and the Mulan crew members.

Kiek! Kieeeek! Kieeeeeek!

The shrieks from their surroundings started to draw closer.

[Alright then, do your best~]?Astaroth said as she flicked her finger.

“Kyahk!”

“W-What’s going on?!”

Hearing the party members' horrified shrieks, Han-Yeol shouted, “Everyone, calm down! There are monsters heading for us right now, but that demon is going to protect all of you!”

“W-What?!”

The party members calmed down slightly after hearing Han-Yeol’s declaration, but they continued looking at him with the same stunned expression on their faces.

“T-Then?!”

“Alright, see you later,” Han-Yeol said with a smile.

Shwak!

The Mulan crew members and Yoo-Bi were suddenly engulfed by a black dome before disappearing from Han-Yeol’s sight.

“Haa…”?Han-Yeol composed his breathing before his gaze turned sharp.

[Kwahahaha! This! This is what I wanted! I was feeling frustrated after the owner of this place died in a single hit, but it seems I will be able to fight to my heart’s content thanks to Astaroth-nim!]?Balrog exclaimed.

‘Are you having fun?’?Han-Yeol grumbled.

[Most certainly! Bwahaha!]?

Balrog seemingly did not care about Han-Yeol’s feelings as long as he got the chance to fight. On the other hand, the Void Devil continued to express the same emotion it always had.

[Futile… Everything is futile…]

Bam! Bam! Bam! Kwachik!

The large door that Han-Yeol and his party had entered from was busted down by a powerful force, and a swarm of Labyrinth Spiders started pouring into the boss room.

[Bring it on! Kwahaha!]

Bam! Bam! Bam! Kwachik!

Deciding that the best defense was offense right now, Balrog rushed toward the swarm of Labyrinth Spiders and viciously swung his flaming spears in all directions.

His power level had drastically dropped after coming to the human world, so he would have normally missed his targets with the wild swinging of his spear. But fortunately, the Labyrinth Spiders were so tightly clustered that it was impossible for any of his moves to miss a single target.

Han-Yeol summoned the melee-type Void Devil who had been tasked with guarding his father while Balrog bought him time. After all, this was the time for him to go all out.

Tak!

“Haaaaap!”?Han-Yeol charged at the swarm of Labyrinth Spiders along with the melee-type Void Devil. Shooting his mana all over the place, he thought, ‘I’ll just fight with my life on the line!’?

“Kieeeeek!”?The Labyrinth Spiders shrieked in response.

“This Damned Astaroth!” Han-Yeol did not forget to curse the perpetrator behind this entire situation.

[Hohoho! Work hard, my scrumptious little human!]?Astaroth said as her laughter echoed throughout the room.

Ding!

[Astaroth’s trial has begun.]

- Your growth will be increased by 100% due to the special circumstances you are in.

- All of your stats will grow faster.

- Your risk of facing danger has increased.

***

Thud…!

Breathing roughly, Han-Yeol went down on his knees while covered in blood.?“Haa… Haa… Haa…”?

He was almost hyperventilating to the point that it was getting dangerous.

Armed with his cheat skills, Han-Yeol replenished his mana with Walking. He also used his overpowered stats and mana to bathe his entire body in blood.

‘I don’t even have the strength to speak…’?

Clang!

He did not even have the strength remaining to hold his sword.

‘A swordsman is not supposed to let go of their sword…’?he thought as he tried to pick his sword back up.

However, he failed to muster his strength. In fact, even his vision was starting to get blurry. He felt that he was going to collapse the moment he let his guard down.

Shwak…

Just as he was about to collapse, someone suddenly walked toward him.

Sniff… Sniff…!

‘I smell something tasty…’ Han-Yeol’s nose squirmed at the familiar scent that made his stomach rumble.

With his eyes closed, he could not really see what food it was, but his instinct told him to eat it nevertheless.

‘A drink…?’?

Han-Yeol soon realized that it was not a food item but a very sweet drink. The more he drank, the more his body begged for it.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[You have drunk the blood of a powerful being!]

[You have drunk the blood of a powerful being!]

[You have drunk the blood of a powerful being!]

[The rank of ‘Blood Drain’ has explosively increased!]

Han-Yeol saw a chain of messages in front of his eyes after he barely opened them. It seemed that his Blood Drain skill had helped him recover his strength.

‘Huh?! There’s nobody here?!’?

However, he was shocked to find that there was nobody around him. He was certain that he had been leaning on someone and drinking something that was as sweet as nectar, but…he had been lying flat on the ground the entire time.

As he slowly got up, Han-Yeol checked his condition. ‘My body feels light.’

He had been certain that his mana was dangerously low and that he barely had enough to support his life from being snuffed out. He had also believed his body to be in a tattered ragged state. However, he could feel that his body was in a perfect condition and even his mana had recovered.

He closed his eyes and checked his body to find that he had recovered around twenty percent of his mana. It was not enough for him to engage in combat, but it was definitely more than enough for him to run away or defend himself.

However, there was a problem.

‘Where am I…?’?

Looking around at his surroundings, Han-Yeol discovered that he was not in the boss monster’s room where he had fought with his life on the line against the swarm of Labyrinth Spiders.

Pat… Pat…

He was now in a cave-like place with water dripping from the ceiling.

Fwaaa!

Han-Yeol conjured a flame to illuminate his surroundings. He looked around before noticing that there was a faint light coming from a certain direction. ‘Is it that way?’?

He scanned his surroundings once again just to be certain, but he found that the direction where the faint light came from was the only path available to him right now. He was naturally skeptical of this situation, but he decided to steel his resolve and carefully proceed. After all, he had no other choice as of now.

Thud… Thud… Thud… Thud…?

The sound of his footsteps echoed quite loudly as he was currently in a cave.

‘I hope there won’t be any monsters popping up…’?he thought as he hoped for the best.