I Never Run Out of Mana

136. The Most Important Demonic Realm Tour Guide Karin (2)

With Karin and Jong Ho at my sides, I travelled the demonic realm.

Since the time when Jong Ho was done in by the demon king and Ladin, they haven’t shown any interest towards us.

To them, we were just a few humans who wandered into the demonic realm.

On top of that, they were fooled into thinking that they could not obtain magical energies from us even after defeating us.

It was a great situation that granted us free travel throughout the demonic realm.

However, this free pass to hunt wouldn’t last for long.

I knew that the magic energies of the demonic realm was limited.

It was like being a frog that was trapped in a well.

There was a limit on how much one can grow, and the food chain merely cycled the flow of power around.

From their point of view, humans were stealing that limited valuable magic energy bit by bit.

On top of that, they thought they could not recover said magical energies back.

The drop rate wasn’t as good as I thought.

The drop rate on Earth was already low, but it was far more severe in the demonic realm.

If Earth was on easy mode, then the demonic realm was on hell difficulty.

The only thing I could do to increase the drop rate was to slaughter a senseless amount of monsters.

Experience points were trickling in, and in Jong Ho’s case, his stats were increasing due to his armor.

I spoke to Karin, who diligently pointed the way while being carried by me.

“At this rate of hunting, won’t I have more magical energies than the demon king?”

“Keruru. You’re speaking nonsense.”

“……..”

“Are you planning to catch up to the demonic king’s magical energy by taking down these small fires? Kelhelhel!”

“Don’t you know the saying of many drops make an ocean?”

“Kuhu….. It could be possible.”

“What. Why are you going back and forth like that.”

“If you hunt like this for a hundred years, maybe. Keheheh!”

“Are you saying that the magical energies of these creatures are that low?”

“That’s right. They are the lowest trash of the demonic realm.”

“So that’s why the demon king ignored you and left…….”

“Keruk? That was hurtful! I wish you would avoid saying things like that!”

“Ahem. Then stop mocking my words and answer me politely.”

“Okay, keruu.”

“Now! Where is the next location?”

“Over there! I sense quite a lot of magical energies.”

“Okay.”

Our method of hunting was pretty simple, but each of us had a role to play.

Karin acted like a navigational device that was attached to me.

He read the magical energies ahead and guided us towards the monsters.

Jong Ho had the role of dishing out attacks.

It was true that I would clear the monsters much faster by pouring out magical attacks, but this wasn’t an actual dungeon.

If we were hunting in a dungeon on Earth, then we would each obtain experience points no matter who landed the killing blow.

It didn’t matter the distance or the number of party members when it came to that, as everyone got the same amount.

However, this place was different. Only the one who landed the killing blow would obtain all the experience points for themselves.

Jong Ho and my level was far past 400, nearly reaching 500.

Of course, there were many on Earth with greater levels, but our rate of growth would leave anyone speechless.

And due to that increase in level, so had the experience points require to level.

After obtaining a single level through great difficulty, the only reward for that was a measly 5 points of stats.

However, it was different for Jong Ho.

He was able to obtain a point for taking down a hundred.

Seeing as to how he was taken down from a single hit by the demon king and Ladin, it helped me put into perspective just how strong their offensive capabilities were.

That was why Jong Ho needed to grow much stronger.

Previously, I had thought that our current strength was enough to allow us to travel through the demonic realm without issue.

I was severely mistaken and had paid the price for it.

All of the countless monsters in the demonic realm was Jong Ho’s prey.

Using Karin as a navigation tool, we were able to keep out of sight of the demon king and Ladin, allowing limitless growth.

So what about me? My role was….

“Hey Min-Cheol, a jewel dropped there!”

“Yes…. Going……”

“Make sure to not miss it!”

“Yes….. I’m going.”

I was just the luggage bearer.

The Devil Avatars and King Suwoo were protecting the Gate.

This meant that I could not command them to pick up the artifacts.

Even in the demonic realm, a serious lack of a workforce was a problem.

Here, I finally understood the saying that an army advances backwards, since despite being the one with the highest combat and defensive capabilities, I was the one filling the role of a porter.

“Hey, why don’t you come down for times like this and help me pick this stuff up?”

“Keruk? It takes a lot of concentration to read the flow of magical energies!”

“Whew…….”

“If I let down my guard for even a moment, we will only realize that the demon king is near only after it’s too late! Is that okay with you? Sadly, I cannot help you. Kelkelkerurururu.”

“You’re laughing?”

“No? I didn’t laugh? I always go keruru? Min-Cheol! There is another jewel that dropped over there!”

“Okay….. I’m going. I’m going to pick it up.”

It was humiliating, but it couldn’t be helped.

Consoling myself by reminding myself that I was the youngest of the three gathered here, I went forward to continue collecting jewels.

Collecting them one by one, there was now enough gathered to fill half the duffle bag.

However, this wasn’t enough.

That was because the success rate of using a jewel to strengthen equipments was low, and there was a chance that the equipment would be destroyed upon failure.

We needed a room full of jewels and equipment to attempt enchanting on.

Not only that, but the equipment needed to be equal or stronger than the equipment we currently had.

I asked Jong Ho, who was pouring down magic attacks on the monsters.

“Hyung-nim, is the Warp cooldown over?”

“Ah, I totally lost track. Looks like it’s been at least 30 minutes?”

“Then could I ask of you to make the trip for me?”

“Okay, I should. I needed to pay more attention. Sorry for that.”

“No worries. Let’s meet in the middle like before.”

“Right. Karin, what direction do I need to come from the Gate to get here?”

Jong Ho spoke while showing his wrist watch to Karin.

Since they did not understand the concept of time, it was likely that they’ve never seen a watch.

Since giving directions using only the cardinal directions was too vague, we decided upon this method instead.

After all, Warp was a skill that only allowed travel one way.

To meet up again, we had to reduce the amount of deviations.

With his sharp fingernails, Karin combed the few strands of hair left on his head, then pointed at the one of the numbers on the watch.

“Keru. You need to go here!”

“Since you’ve done this a couple times already, you wouldn’t make any mistakes, right?”

“Of course! I am a very smart goblin. This is the right way.”

“That’s correct, hyung-nim. Seeing how he made fun of me before, he’s totally a smart goblin. A goblin idi- I mean, genius.”

“Pfft. Alright. I just need to go in the direction of 7 o’clock? Min-Cheol, if we’re not able to meet, you remember that we’ll be meeting in front of the Gate in 12 hours, right?”

“Yes, of course. Ah, Karin.”

“Keru.”

“It’s time to show your capabilities. Please assist us this time as well.”

“Understood! Min-Cheol, you can count on me!”

Karin hopped down from me and laid down flat on the ground.

He possessed another ability that was beyond our expectations.

A practical ability far more useful than his storage capacity for food, and it was very useful to us.

The ability was that he was able to read specific magical energy signatures.

However, this wasn’t an ability he could continuously use.

He could use this ability roughly every 6 hours or so.

It was similar to cooldowns for the Awakened.

“Keruuuk!”

“How is it? Do you sense the magical energies of the demon king or Ladin nearby?”

“Kel. Nope. They’re located in a place far away from the Gate. However, they’re not very far from here. It’s not Jong Ho who should be cautious, but us two instead.”

“Is that so…..”

“For now, I’ll go take care of the monsters near the Gate.”

“Yes, hyung-nim should get going. We’ll meet in the center. Don’t forget that you’ll be heading in the direction of 7 o’clock.”

“Yep. Be careful. They are nearby, after all. And Karin, don’t forget to keep your guard up, alright? I’ll trust you, Karin.”

“Do not worry, Jong Ho. And do not die again. We’ll see you in a bit. And take this!”

Karin took out some water and a can of tuna from his pocket, then tossed it to Jong Ho.

It was a lot more than our normal rationed meal, since there was a chance that we are unable to meet up.

We might have forgotten it, but Karin had remembered for us and took care of it.

Jong Ho gave a satisfied smile and spoke to him.

“Pfft. Alright. Kind of odd that a monster is worrying for me when I’m leaving to kill other monsters. Well, it’s not all bad, I guess!”

“That’s why you shouldn’t die. I do not want to be left alone.”

“Karin is pretty much family at this point. Right, Karin?”

“Yes.”

The Warp’s cooldown was a whole whopping 12 hours.

This cooldown did not decrease even by leveling up the skill.

Even with the passive skill that Jong Ho obtained, which reduced the cooldowns of skills, didn’t work on Warp’s cooldowns.

It was important to grow stronger, but it was also imperative that we kept the area around the Gate safeguarded.

That was why Jong Ho and I were taking turns going there every 6 hours.

If Jong Ho went there at 6, I would go there at 12. When Jong Ho’s cooldown for Warp was over, he’d go there at 18, and I would be there 6 hours later, at 24.

Each time we did so, I felt grateful for Karin.

If we didn’t have him on our side, we would have to be a lot more cautious in encountering the demon king, and therefore wouldn’t be able to efficiently defend the area around the Gate.

It also meant that we wouldn’t be able to hunt efficiently as well.

The benefits that Karin brought didn’t end there.

Remember how he had bounced up and down my bed throughout the entire night?

That’s right. He was a monster that did not sleep.

He can feel exhaustion, but since all he does is talk while hanging onto me, there would be no reason for him to be exhausted.

This meant that he could read the flow of magical energies 24 hours a day without rest.

Even when Jong Ho and I were asleep, he continued to carry out his duties.

Looking at Karin, who stood back up after having lain down on the ground, I couldn’t help but speak up.

“What would we do without you?”

“Keru? What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“Don’t worry about it. Looks like this servant who picks up jewels went insane for a little bit.”

“Kel kel kel. Human, you’re strange from time to time. Now! Jong Ho is gone. Then…..”

“What’s the beef between you two? Even though you two take care of each other as needed. Are you two a married couple or something? Alright, let’s have some steak.”

“Keruu!”

I wasn’t sure where he had gotten a bib, but he put it around his neck and sat in front of the fire that I started.

However.

“Kuruk! Kuruuk! Kuhuh!”

“What? Did you learn to make those new noises?”

“Keheh?”

“Kururuk! Kuung!”

“Hm?”

“Keruk! Min-Cheol, I’m sorry. I let down my guard for a moment!”

“What is it? Is it the demon king?”

“No….. Kehu…. W…. We have to run!”

“What’s the matter?”

“L…. Lich King! It’s a Lich King!”

“Ah. Is that all. I already have a history with him. Where is he?”

“T… There……”

“Huh? Who is next to him though…..”

“KEHEHEH!”