After Ten Millennia in Hell

When Kim Si-Hun regained consciousness and opened his eyes, he felt the hard sensation of the stone floor beneath him.

'What happened?' he wondered inwardly while looking around.

After parting ways with the rest of the party, Si-Hun had been walking to the bus station to go back home.

"Eh?"

However, that was all he could remember. He didn't remember anything that had happened after he left the Gate and headed for the bus station.

Si-Hun took out his smartphone from his pocket and checked the time.

"It's been an hour."

An hour had passed since the last time he'd checked the time.

"Guh!"

He tried to force himself to remember, but it gave him a headache. Si-Hun grabbed his forehead and stood up.

"Did I pass out?"

The unknown monster they'd met in the Gate… Si-Hun had taken a direct blow from it during the fight.

'That was dangerous.'

Thinking about that situation still gave him chills. That was how overwhelmingly powerful that monster had been.

'But I thought I was all better.'

Si-Hun thought he had fully recovered after being healed by Han Seol-Ah, but it seemed that the injury was more severe than he'd thought.

'But to think that I would even pass out…'

Si-Hun frowned while looking down at his body.

'I still have a long way to go.'

The soul of the Martial God Tian Taihuang had entered his body when he awakened as a Player two weeks ago. However, he only knew about the Martial God's existence through the status window and hadn't been able to interact with the Martial God's soul in any way.

'It's because I'm still too weak.'

Si-Hun bit his lip anxiously.

Despite having obtained the great power that came with the soul of a Martial God, Si-Hun was still considerably weaker than he could be because he hadn't been able to fully accept the power within the soul.

'I have to get stronger.'

Si-Hun's eyes shone determinedly as he clenched his fists.

He had to get stronger because there was something he had to do, and it could only be done when he had enough power.

'Kim Yeong-Hun.'

Si-Hun thought of the person that had put him into his current crisis. It was the vice guild master of the Mir Guild, one of the five great guilds of Korea.

'That human garbage.'

Si-Hun couldn't help boiling with rage when he thought of that person.

"Huu." Si-Hun took some deep breaths to quell the rage boiling within him.

'I must wait.'

He was still far too weak to face Kim Yeong-Hun.

"I wonder if it would be possible if I were as strong as Kang-Woo?"

With a bitter smile on his face, he remembered the Player that he had met today—Oh Kang-Woo. Si-Hun didn't know what level Kang-Woo was, but it was probably very high, considering that Kang-Woo had used just one blow to defeat the monster that Si-Hun had struggled to fight against.

'He was strong.'

Kang-Woo's level wasn't the only thing that seemed strong. Si-Hun thought that Kang-Woo likely had high-ranking Traits as well. Of course, Kang-Woo's Traits probably couldn't be compared to Si-Hun's SSS-rank Trait. However, Si-Hun still did not have full control over his Trait's power, so there was currently an overwhelming difference in power between him and Kang-Woo.

"And it didn't seem like he was just strong."

Si-Hun understood why Tae-Soo had spoken so highly of Kang-Woo, who led others with his peculiar charisma. Judging by how he had gone to a low-ranking Gate to help out low-level Players like Si-Hun and the others, Kang-Woo also seemed to have a good personality.

"He seems like a good person."

Si-Hun smiled at the thought of Kang-Woo. They'd just met, but Kang-Woo had left a very good impression on Si-Hun.

'I can trust Kang-Woo.'

While thinking that he would be able to build a good relationship with Kang-Woo, Si-Hun continued walking toward the bus station.

* * *

"Yeah, I'm a good person." Kang-Woo smiled.

He was watching Si-Hun while hiding in the alleyway.

"I did it."

He wasn't completely certain that the subordination process would be successful due to the variable, the Martial God's soul. Nonetheless, Kang-Woo ultimately managed to turn Si-Hun's soul into his subordinate.

'If I had discovered Si-Hun a little bit later, there would have been a high chance of failing.'

The Authority of Subordination allowed its user to exercise complete control over another person's soul, so it wasn't an easy Authority to use. A lot of demonic energy was required to turn someone into a Familiar, and there were also many restrictions.

Had he found out about Si-Hun even a week later, Kang-Woo would've probably failed to make him into a subordinate.

Riiing.

[You have managed to subordinate a soul. Registering 'Kim Si-Hun' as your Familiar.]

[Would you like to give your Familiar an order?]

"Not yet."

[The order has been deferred. You may give your Familiar an order anytime and anywhere.]

Kang-Woo grinned after reading the message window.

'Of course, it has to be possible anytime and anywhere.'

If it wasn't like that, it wouldn't have been worth it to turn Si-Hun into his Familiar.

"Now that I have my insurance… I just have to wait for him to grow."

Kang-Woo wasn't planning on forcibly giving Si-Hun an order at present—no, even in the future. He didn't want to forcibly make Si-Hun do anything unless it was absolutely necessary.

'I turned him into a Familiar only as insurance.'

Si-Hun hadn't treated Kang-Woo in a hostile manner, nor did he even think badly of him. Rather, Kang-Woo had left a very good impression on Si-Hun. It was clear from how Si-Hun had mumbled to himself that Kang-Woo was a good person.

'A dog that doesn't bite its owner doesn't need a collar.'

Nevertheless, in the worst-case scenario, Kang-Woo could still force Si-Hun to obey him.

"I'll be supporting you as best I can, so keep on growing, Si-Hun."

Kang-Woo's smile deepened as he watched Si-Hun walk further away.

If Si-Hun grew the way that Kang-Woo hoped, he would probably become as strong as Balrog. There was a chance that Kang-Woo would have to fight the demon cult members before he could fully unseal his Ten Thousand Demon Core, so Si-Hun was very important to him. Kang-Woo also liked that Si-Hun would be hunting with Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo, helping them level up, and protecting them from unforeseen events.

'Additionally, Si-Hun will probably grow even faster thanks to what happened today.'

A Familiar could use a portion of their master's power. This meant that Si-Hun had both the Martial God's soul and a portion of the demon king's power inside him. Si-Hun was going to grow even faster from now on.

"It sure is invaluable to have comrades that help each other out."

Kang-Woo nodded while smiling in satisfaction.

He didn't feel bad in the slightest for having forcibly turned Si-Hun into his Familiar. Kang-Woo had spent too much time in Hell to feel bad about something so insignificant.

'I'm going to make sure that only I can get my hands on this growing sprout.'

Kang-Woo smacked his lips and laughed softly.

He would use everything that could benefit him and eliminate anything that could harm him. That was the way of survival he had learned in Hell.

"I should head back."

Feeling satisfied, Kang-Woo turned around and headed home. He felt a bit sluggish because the Authority of Subordination consumed a lot of demonic energy.

'I wonder if Seol-Ah has eaten yet.'

Kang-Woo reached for his smartphone and considered buying something on the way home to celebrate having made Si-Hun his ally.

Vrrrr.

"Hm?"

Just as he grabbed his phone, he received a call. Kang-Woo checked the caller ID. The name that appeared on the screen was Jo Deok-Hyun, the master of the Andras Guild. Kang-woo had ordered him to find clues regarding the Demon Cult.

"What is it?"

[I-I've called to give you some information.]

"Information?"

[Yes. Th-That's right.]

"Is it related to the demon cult?"

[I-I can't say for sure.]

"Tell me."

Kang-Woo listened to Deok-Hyun's words with bright eyes.

[We've found traces of demonic energy.]

"Traces of demonic energy?"

[Yes, but… it doesn't seem to be man-made.]

"It's not man-made?"

[Yes. Rather than man-made… the traces seem to have been left by something like a monster.]

"…"

Kang-Woo stroked his chin.

Traces that had been left by a monster had bits of demonic energy… It wasn't hard for Kang-Woo to conclude what the monster was from that.

'A demonic beast.'

The monster was a demonic beast, also referred to as a Rift Fragment. It seemed that another demonic beast like the Hellhound and Demon Wolf had appeared.

"Where were the traces found?"

[The B-rank Gate in Uijeongbu.]

"A B-rank Gate, huh?"

The corners of Kang-Woo's mouth curved up.

'Then it's highly likely that a demonic beast stronger than a Hellhound has appeared.'

A C-rank Rift Fragment had appeared in a C-rank Gate, and a D-rank Rift Fragment had appeared in a D-rank Gate. Hence, there was a high chance that a stronger demonic beast had appeared in the B-rank Gate.

'If it's stronger than a Hellhound… it might be a demonic beast from the Second Hell.'

Kang-Woo licked his lips like a hunter who had just found its prey.

'I leveled up five times from killing a Hellhound.'

Killing the Rift Fragments had given him more experience points than killing a boss monster. He had gotten several times more experience points from killing the Hellhound than from killing the Troll Chief, a B-rank boss monster. So, killing a demonic beast from the Second Hell would probably get him way more experience points.

"This is…"

Kang-Woo opened his status window and checked his level.

After killing the Demon Wolf, he had leveled up once and was now Level 35. An average Player would probably take between one to two months to level up five times to get to Level 40, but that would not be the same for Kang-Woo.

"I guess I'll be getting my Fifth Awakening sooner than I thought."

A deep smile appeared on Kang-Woo's face as he thought of the massive amount of experience points that he would get from killing a demonic beast.