Chapter 1162

〈 Chapter 1162 〉 1162. The Savior of the Academy

Seong Hali strode forward with unwavering confidence.

I walked beside her, sensing an odd difference in her presence.

“Has Seong Hali’s aura grown stronger…?”

I had just the right ability for moments like this.

“Name: Seong Hali


Strength: S Stamina: A Agility: A+ Durability: A- Mana: A


Trait: Spirit Devourer (S)


Skills: Divine Spear Fusion (A), Throwing Spear (A), Battle Sense (A), Purification (E+), Reverse Field (C-)


Affection: 64”

Just from devouring one spirit, some of her stats have increased since the last time I checked.

Especially her Strength stat – it skyrocketed straight to S-rank.

“…It wasn’t an ordinary spirit. She devoured a high-ranking Wind Spirit.”

High-ranking Spirit.

The same tier as Mocha and other top-tier spirits.

Once they reach high-ranking status, spirits can freely materialize in reality outside of the Spirit Realm, even gaining reverence akin to divine beings by claiming a region.

Seong Hali grew stronger by consuming such a high-ranking spirit.

If she were to devour all the spirits present here…

“There’s no telling how strong she’ll get. Her Spirit Devourer trait is basically a cheat code.”

Seong Hali suddenly changed direction while walking straight ahead. I tilted my head in confusion as I watched her.

“Hali, is that the right way? It’s a bit off from our strategic zone.”

“Huh? Oh, I unconsciously headed this way. But it feels right. My instincts say so.”

“Your instincts, huh.”

Since our ties with the Chinese Hero Association are severed, there’s no need to stick to the original strategy. I followed Seong Hali’s lead.

“Let’s go! Go! Go! Let’s move!”

Makina, cradled in Seong Hali’s arms, was more energetic than usual. Likely influenced by the spirit realm-like environment.

Gurrrr… Gurrrr…

The ground trembled violently. A neatly paved road shattered as a 2-meter-sized mole emerged.

An Earth High-Ranking Spirit.

The majestic spirit immediately quivered upon spotting Seong Hali, showing clear signs of fear.

“I-It cannot pass here…!”

Even its voice trembled with terror.

Seong Hali hesitated momentarily but approached the Earth Spirit with an expressionless face.

Before I could stop her, rocks shot up from the ground, aiming directly at her. Using her Reverse Field skill, she nimbly dodged the falling rocks by pushing off them.

When dodging became impossible, she either kicked away or shattered the rocks with her spear.

“…It’s not just brute strength. There’s incredible skill behind her movements.”

I already knew Seong Hali was strong. Technically speaking, her skills surpass even mine.

“She’s grown even stronger.”

Not just physically but also technically.

“Or perhaps her technical limits expanded as her physical abilities improved…”

Regardless, Seong Hali has become too powerful for even my current self to overlook.

She pierced through the rock storm and split the Earth Spirit’s core with her spear.

“It hurts…! So painful!! Aaaaaaaaah!”

The Rock Spirit screamed in agony before being devoured by Seong Hali.

Seong Hali grew stronger once again. However, her expression remained far from cheerful. Her eyes brimmed with sadness and worry.

“Name: Seong Hali


Strength: S Stamina: A Agility: S Durability: A- Mana: A


Trait: Spirit Devourer (S)


Skills: Divine Spear Fusion (A), Throwing Spear (A), Battle Sense (A), Purification (E+), Reverse Field (C-)


Affection: 64”

“Her Agility stat reached S-rank this time.”

I broke out in cold sweat.

Physical stats rarely improve beyond A-rank. To exceed that requires talent, elixirs, and relentless effort.

Shaking off her sadness – or rather, pushing it aside – Seong Hali continued forward.

Spirits appeared to block her path.

Lower and mid-ranking spirits fled in terror upon seeing Seong Hali.

“Mo, monster!”

“This spirit mass murderer!”

“R-run! You’ll be eaten if caught!”

Seong Hali didn’t chase after them. Her goal was to resolve this situation, not to kill spirits. We mustn’t lose sight of our objective.

High-ranking spirits reacted differently from their lower counterparts. Despite fearing Seong Hali, they stayed their ground, risking everything to stop her.

Previously solitary high-ranking spirits began appearing in pairs or trios to attack Seong Hali.

She defeated every high-ranking spirit, absorbing their power.

“Auntie looks too sad…”

Makina’s concern reflected Seong Hali’s less-than-ideal state.

“Name: Seong Hali


Strength: S- Stamina: S- Agility: S+ Durability: S Mana: S-


Trait: Spirit Devourer (S)


Skills: Divine Spear Fusion (A), Throwing Spear (A), Battle Sense (A), Purification (E+), Reverse Field (C-)


Affection: 64”

Somehow, all her physical stats reached S-rank.

I lacked the confidence to stop Seong Hali now.

“Seong Hali can’t control her Spirit Devourer (S) trait.”

From what I observed, Spirit Devourer (S) functioned passively. In gaming terms, it reduces damage taken from spirits and increases damage dealt to them. Additionally, when a spirit suffers fatal damage, its essence is automatically absorbed, enhancing her power.

It’s an absurdly overpowered ability. While I’d love to criticize it as unfair, I doubt I could handle it as well if it were mine.

“Middle-ranking and below would be highly inefficient targets. She needs to face high-ranking spirits or above… which wouldn’t be easy opponents anyway.”

I glanced backward. The battle between Seong Hali and high-ranking spirits devastated an area exceeding 1km in radius.

“The Hainan incident might be considered a dungeon event occurring outside its boundaries. This explains why Seong Hali became the world’s strongest hero in her early twenties.”

Seong Hali, who had been walking while holding Makina, suddenly stopped. She handed Makina to me.

“Brother, I’ll go alone from here.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s an immense presence ahead. I believe it’s an Ultimate-Ranking Spirit. You know how dangerous an Ultimate-Ranking Spirit can be when unleashing full power, right?”

Spirits cannot fully manifest their power in the human realm. Higher their rank, more restrictions they face. However, within the Spirit Realm, they can unleash their full potential.

And if an Ultimate-Ranking Spirit were to release its full power… eliminating an entire city would be effortless.

“If you get caught in the battle… you’ll be in danger.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll escape if things get too dangerous. I still have my spatial teleportation spell scrolls. Did you forget?”

Seong Hali looked at me with dissatisfaction.

I approached her, placing my hands on her shoulders and leaning close to kiss her lightly on the lips. Her face turned slightly red.

“Let’s go together. And after this is over… let’s go back and relax. We need to take revenge on China too.”

“Revenge? Is it really necessary? Too many people will die. Do we even have the right to seek vengeance?”

“Hali, if the Chinese Hero Association had handled things properly, none of this would’ve happened. We almost died because of them. Seeking revenge is our rightful entitlement. No, it’s something we must do regardless.”

“You really hate the Chinese Hero Association?”

I nodded.

“Why?”

“They tried to use us. And… you almost died.”

Seong Hali’s eyes widened, her mouth slightly agape.

“Right… Brother almost died too. Guess we should follow through with the revenge then.”

“Yeah. We’ll deal with that later. Let’s go together now.”

“Okay. If it gets dangerous, you must immediately use the spell scroll to escape. Got it?”

“You too.”

We moved forward together.

I could sense it.

The massive presence ahead.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead while Makina, clinging to my shoulder, tensed up.

Dark clouds, absent just moments ago, gathered in the sky.

Kuurrrr… Kwa-kwa-kwa! Kuarr!

The pitch-black clouds paradoxically shone brightly due to the continuous lightning strikes illuminating the ground.

A bolt of lightning struck Seong Hali. She swung her spear, astonishingly deflecting the lightning sideways into a tree. The tree instantly disintegrated into dust. This was no ordinary lightning.

Lightning also headed toward me. I activated my instant movement skill. Though Seong Hali attempted to protect me, I wanted to examine this lightning.

“With my Thunder attribute, even getting hit once shouldn’t be fatal. If I die… I can always resurrect.”

I extended my hand, allowing the lightning to strike. Electricity coursed through my body as I attempted to control it – only to fail due to its overwhelming intensity.


The body surged through me.

“You damn idiot!”

Makina jammed a syringe-like device into my thigh. The lightning that was trying to destroy my body drained out through the syringe.

“Cough.”

I coughed, a clump of lightning spitting out of my mouth and hitting the ground.

“Bro!!”

Seong Hali hurried over and checked on me. Makina tossed the syringe she had embedded in my thigh far away.

“I’m fine. You know I handle lightning, right? I thought my lightning resistance would make me okay… but it’s stronger than I thought. Maybe it’s because it’s alien to me…”

“Bro. Don’t you dare do something like this again. Next time, I really will kill you.”

I could feel Hali’s sincerity. Clenching my jaw, I nodded. Hali sighed and took a careful step forward, much more cautious than before.

‘Something feels familiar… but still hazy.’

Approaching the center, unexpected figures came into view.

Wang Zixin.

The Spirit Commander known as China’s S-Rank Hero stood with 12 men in front of a pit. They were all staring down into it.

‘Those 12. They’re not human.’

Not zombies or ghouls. Evil spirits summoned through spirit commanding. Having seen evil spirits before, I’m certain of it.

“So you’ve finally arrived.”

Wang Zixin said, looking at Seong Hali. A dark-skinned man beside him translated fluently into Korean.

“How did you get here first?”

Seong Hali asked Wang Zixin. The dark-skinned man translated her question back into Chinese for him.

“Thanks to you. All the upper-level spirits gathering around you allowed me to get here easily. Were the upper-level spirits tasty?”

“…”

Killing Intent radiated from Seong Hali. She gripped her spear and approached him.

“I don’t intend to be your enemy. Our mission is to restore stability to Hainan. I’ve taken care of the smaller threats… all you need to do is finish it.”

“Finish it?”

Snap!

Wang Zixin flicked his finger.

Chaaarrr…

From the pit rose a supreme-level spirit bound in purple chains. Its body was made entirely of electric currents, its form nearly human-shaped.

It had no eyes or mouth, yet it glared murderously at Wang Zixin.

“I’ll stake everything I have to kill you bastards!”

The spirit roared.

The purple chains trembled violently. Several bolts of lightning struck Wang Zixin from the storm clouds above. A transparent barrier protected him.

“We don’t have time. Kill it before its restraints are completely undone.”

“Like I’d do that?”

Seong Hali growled. Wang Zixin remained expressionless as he looked at her.

“If you don’t, we’ll all die.”

“…”

“If you don’t kill it, everyone dies. That includes the guy behind you and the millions of people on this island. Would you let millions die just to oppose me?”

She clenched her spear so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“…Let me ask one thing. What exactly did you do to the spirits? If you don’t tell me… I’ll choose to let everyone here die.”

Actually, even without an answer, Seong Hali would kill the spirit. To save millions, that’s why she came here.

“I thought I could control spirits like commanded spirits.”

“Spirit commanding and spirit magic are different. Commanded spirits and spirits themselves are different too… That’s already been proven.”

“I thought it was possible. Arrogance on my part. After several experiments, I realized commanding spirits through spirit commanding was impossible. So I changed my approach. Do you know what possession is?”

“Surely you didn’t try forcibly possessing humans with spirits?”

“Spirits are a kind of mental entity, a kind of soul. I figured possession should be possible. Using the human body as shackles to control the spirits was my goal… But the dungeon collapsed before proper research could begin. Part of Hainan Island became a spirit realm, falling into ruin.”

Spirit possession.

There were successful cases of it.

Spirit Summoning.

A secret art of the True Spirit Sect where they summon spirits into themselves.

If the dungeon collapse hadn’t happened and the research had continued… Wang Zixin might have succeeded.

“Even as you brag… do you realize how crazy your actions were?”

“Spirits aren’t human. There’s no moral responsibility.”

“You! If you hadn’t done those things, this situation wouldn’t have happened!”

“The cause of this situation is the dungeon collapse. It can only be called bad luck.”

“Dungeons can be cleared! Spirit dungeons especially don’t require killing spirits if conditions are met!”

“True, spirit dungeons are relatively safe. Which is why they were perfect for experimentation. If it hadn’t been for the dungeon collapse…”

For the first time, Wang Zixin showed emotion.

Regret.

He regretted not being able to continue his experiments.

“You, I’ll kill you.”

“Kill the spirit first. My Nine Spirits Death Lock is almost at its limit. If you don’t kill the spirit, millions will die.”

“…”

Seong Hali gritted her teeth. Approaching the spirit, she hesitated briefly before stabbing it with her trembling spear.

The supreme lightning spirit looked at Seong Hali silently.

Seong Hali’s Spirit Devourer (S) ability activates. The spirit’s essence gets sucked into her. For a moment, Seong Hali’s face went blank.

“Now!”

Wang Zixin spread his arms wide. The 12 men surrounded Seong Hali, chanting some unknown language – a magical incantation.

“I knew you’d do this.”

With Stormbreaker equipped, I charged at Wang Zixin. With Makina’s power, I could kill him before he could pull any tricks.

However, before I could reach him, Seong Hali’s spear moved.

In one strike, the 12 black-clad men surrounding Seong Hali were sliced down the middle. They fell to the ground, no blood or organs spilling out.

“How… I planted Spirit Poison in the spirit core! How is she unharmed??”

“Looks like you made a mistake. My trait consumes spirits, but it’s not actual consumption.”

“…Damn. The Spirit Poison wasn’t absorbed because it’s unrelated to spirits. So close to success… and now it’s ruined.”

Wang Zixin scratched his left arm with his fingernail. A drop of blood hit the floor. His mana began to fluctuate wildly as something started to appear. Then his head flew off and landed on the ground – Seong Hali had mercilessly beheaded him.

‘Her movements were completely invisible.’

Swallowing hard, I checked Seong Hali’s status.

`Name: Seong Hali


Strength: SS Stamina: S+ Agility: SS+ Durability: S Mana: SS


Trait: Spirit Devourer(S), Indra’s Thunder(SS)


Skills: Divine Spear Fusion(A), Spear Throwing(A), Combat Sense(A), Purification(E+), Force Field(C-)


Affection: 64`

Her physical abilities skyrocketed and she gained a new trait.

She sighed and approached me.

“Bro, we’re done here. Let’s go back to Korea. There’s no reason to stay here. I’m tired… I want to rest.”

The world that had become alien is returning to normal.

“Hali, did you meet the Spirit King?”

Makina’s voice came from the armor.

“Makina noticed too, huh? Yeah, I met the Spirit King.”

I checked her status window again. There’s no sign of the Spirit King’s Brand(SS).

“…What did you talk about with the Spirit King?”

“Well… Since it’s you, Bro, I’ll tell you. I made a contract with the Spirit King.”

“Contract? With the Spirit King himself? That’s amazing!”

“It’s not the kind of spirit contract you’re thinking of. In exchange for forgiving me for killing spirits and taking their power… I agreed to a contract to kill everyone involved in this matter. If I hadn’t accepted the Spirit King’s contract… I probably would have died.”

“Forced contract, huh? Well, considering the content, it’s not a big deal.”

“…”

Hali’s expression wasn’t bright at all.

‘…Guess I messed up. It’s no big deal to me, but it is to Hali. Considering the number of people involved… Given the size of the land and the massive population… there must be thousands involved at least.’

Thinking about the public Hali image.

She’s getting weaker over time due to the Spirit King’s Brand(SS). I think I understand why she got it.

Seong Hali suddenly started massaging her own body with one hand.

“Hali, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“Hmm? Ah, my body’s aching a bit. It’s probably… growing pains? This sudden increase in physical strength is giving me this feeling. I’ll be fine after resting when we get back.”

“Going to do it?”

“Do what?”

“Follow through on the contract with the Spirit King?”

“I have to. Didn’t Bro say he wanted revenge? Are you going to help me?”

“…Since it’s also my revenge, of course I’ll help. I’ll help massage too.”

Taking off the Stormbreaker, I approached Seong Hali and started massaging her with both hands.

“Ahh! Bro! The chest is fine but… uhnn…”

“You never know.”

“Really…”

Seong Hali wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in my chest. I massaged her large breasts with one hand and her even larger butt with the other.

“Bro, as long as I have you, everything’s fine.”

“Me too…”

“Huh?”

『The Demon Hunter(S) has detected the presence of a demon…』


“Yes.”』

『All stats temporarily increase.』

『Temporary boost to attack power against demons.』

『Demon Hunter (S) detects a demon.』

『Laplace, the Eighth Legion Commander.』

I stared up at the sky with a stern expression. A demon with a cat tail and purple skin floated in the heavens. Dressed in a suit, he tipped his hat like a gentleman.

“Nice to see you again, our sworn enemy.”

“Laplace…!”

I spat out his name with venom. Just as I was about to summon and grip Stormbreaker and Huayue Sword, Seong Hali in my arms moved. She leaped into the sky, swinging her spear towards Laplace.

Laplace narrowly dodged the spear. His right eye seemed damaged as it fell out.

“Tsk.”

Catching the falling eyeball, Laplace popped it back into its socket.

“You’re terrifying.”

Laplace glanced down at the ground. There lay a massive scar over 300 meters long from Seong Hali’s spear strike.

“So this is humanity’s strongest? Impressive indeed. But at your current state, this is probably your limit.”

Seong Hali’s body began to fall.

I rushed forward to catch her.

“Oh, big brother. My body… won’t move.”

Seong Hali trembled.

“What have you done to Hali?!”

“I’ve done nothing! I merely evaded her attack.”

Laplace grinned slyly. He waved his hand through the air. Hundreds of mid-to-low tier spirits that had fled at the sight of Seong Hali now gathered – over 800 of them!

The spirits merged together, forming a giant humanoid figure. Its body was pitch black. These weren’t ordinary spirits – they had instantly corrupted into malevolent spirits.

“Even for me, corrupting so many mid-to-low tier spirits at once is… quite exhausting.”

Twirling his wrist, Laplace flew into the sky.

“Unlike last time, you’re no match for me now… So I shall take my leave.”

As Laplace disappeared, the corrupted spirit giant took a step. Wobble. The giant swayed violently. However, it quickly regained its balance.

“We need to retreat too.”

Grasping Seong Hali’s hand, I tore a teleportation scroll. Seong Hali should be able to teleport to a predetermined coordinate, but… nothing happened.

‘Laplace…! You bastard meddled with something…!’

Gritting my teeth, I stood up. Combining Stormbreaker and Huayue Sword, I ordered Makina.

“Makina! Take Seong Hali and run! I’ll buy some time!”

“Got it! Don’t worry about Hali! I’ll get her to safety somehow!”

“…No. It’s fine.”

Seong Hali stood up. She grabbed her fallen spear and approached the spirit.

“It’s S-rank or higher. Big brother can’t handle this guy.”

“No, Hali. Didn’t you say you couldn’t move your body earlier?”

“I’m pushing myself to the limit here. If not me, Big Brother will die.”

“…Can’t argue with facts.”

The giant raised its fist, but it never came crashing down. Seong Hali’s spear had pierced through the corrupted spirit giant’s spirit core.

The giant’s essence flowed into Seong Hali.

The crisis ended anticlimactically.

Thud.

Seong Hali collapsed.

I rushed to her side. Seong Hali had fainted.

『Name: Seong Hali

Strength: SSS Stamina: SS Agility: SSS Durability: SS Mana: SS+

Trait: Spirit Devourer (S), Indra’s Thunder (SS)

Skill: Divine Spear Fusion (A), Throwing Spear (A), Battle Sense (A), Purification (E+), Force Field (C-)

Affection: 66』

“Her stats increased… She’s ridiculously strong now.”

I picked her up. We needed to escape to safety. Even without the teleportation scroll working, I still had Makina.

“Makina. Drill car.”

“Drill? Got it!”

We escaped via underground tunnels on the drill car. At the outskirts of Hainan Island, the teleportation scrolls functioned properly again.

…

Three days later. Seong Hali woke up refreshed.

“Aah! Feels great!”

“…Any pain anywhere?”

I asked while sitting beside her bed.

“Completely healthy. Hey big brother, why’s your face so serious? I’m fine, aren’t I? Why are there so many scrolls here?”

“Ten scrolls. Use them in emergencies. Though, I doubt anything dangerous will happen to you now.”

“…What’s with the atmosphere? You look like you’re leaving. And Makina, why do you have chicken droppings for tears?”

Makina sobbed, shedding tears like chicken droppings.

“Sob… Hali, stay healthy.”

“…Makina?”

I glanced out the window. The sky was collapsing. The dungeon was breaking apart. In other words, it was time for me and Makina to leave the dungeon.

‘This is a dungeon. Everything here is fake. Even Seong Hali in front of me… is fake.’

I tried to mentally prepare myself.

‘There are still two more chances to enter this dungeon. Though Laplace is annoying… This dungeon is perfect for uncovering past secrets.’

The reason I left her with ten teleportation scrolls is because there’s a possibility that when I re-enter the dungeon next time, it might connect from where we left off.

Honestly speaking,

I was worried about leaving her behind.

“…Big brother. No, didn’t we agree to stay together?”

Seong Hali clutched my shoulder, tears streaming down her face.

“Sorry. There’s nothing I can do. Neither me nor Makina belong to this world.”

“What does that mean?”

“…”

‘Here is a dungeon, and you are fake.’

I couldn’t say that. Seong Hali might believe me, but I didn’t want to disturb her mind.

Since I stayed silent, Seong Hali started crying.

“Big brother! Please! Don’t go! We agreed to stay together! We have to take revenge together!”

“Sorry… There’s nothing I can do.”

“H, how is that even a reason?!”

“…”

I pulled her close to kiss her, but Seong Hali turned her head away, refusing the kiss.

“Don’t try to evade with a kiss! Explain properly!”

“I’ll meet you again.”

“…Are you really leaving?”

“…”

“Ha! Stop joking around! Do you think I’ll let you go? I’m stronger than you now! Without my permission, you can’t go anywhere!”

Seong Hali tightly grasped my body. It was futile.

Both me and Makina realized the dungeon world was ending.

I grabbed her shoulders instead.

“Hear me out, Seong Hali!”

“Big brother?”

“You’re my girl! Once my girl, always my girl! Don’t think about cheating on me! I’ll check later!”

“Big brother! How could you not trust me?! Me going to someone else besides you… Wait! Now’s not the time to talk about this! Eek, big brother’s body is disappearing… Big brother?!”

『Exiting special dungeon, ???.』

…

Ryu Hana was in front of me. Makina immediately etherealized and flew away with a tearful face. Probably to meet the real Seong Hali.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just glad to see you’re safe. By the way, how did you exit the dungeon?”

“You disappeared shortly after getting captured by people, then the dungeon collapsed.”

“Ah. Was that it?”

It seems like Ryu Hana and I exited the dungeon at different times.

‘Did the dungeon mutate?’

Ryu Hana looked refreshed. The Vermilion Bird’s mark seemed to have vanished.

“Yu Jin. Want to spar?”

“No. I have things to do later. Let’s do it next time.”

Vermilion Bird Sword, Azure Dragon Spear, White Tiger Blade, Black Tortoise Armor.

I’ve already used the Vermilion Bird Sword and Azure Dragon Spear to pass trials, so I can’t enter those dungeons anymore.

The White Tiger Blade and Black Tortoise Armor were impossible to obtain at this point in time.

‘I’ll plan to re-enter that dungeon later… Right now, I miss Seong Hali.’

In a place where no one could see, I tore a scroll and appeared at Seong Hali’s house. Appearing in the room she used before entering the academy, I walked into the living room.

“Eh, Yu Jin?! When did you come?”

“Right now.”

“Appearing out of nowhere… Is something wrong?”

“No. I just missed mom.”

“Ah, I see. Here, have some chicken. I ate all the drumsticks, but there are wings left!”

“Nah, don’t like wings.”

“…Should I order more?”

『Name: Seong Hali

Strength: A(SS) Stamina: A(S+) Agility: A-(SS+) Durability: C+(S) Mana: B-(SS)

Trait: Spirit Devourer (S), Indra’s Thunder (SS)

Skill: Divine Spear Fusion (SS), Throwing Spear (S), Battle Sense (S), Purification (D+), Force Field (C+)

Affection: 100

Thoughts: Should I order pizza along with this chicken?

※Due to the Spirit King’s Restraint (SS), abilities have decreased.』

She was different from the Seong Hali in the dungeon.

I sighed, feeling conflicted emotions.

“Why? Don’t you feel like eating chicken? Should I order pizza… or maybe pig feet? Or are you implying you want to eat ‘mom’?”

“Mom. Call me ‘big brother’ today.”

“Yu Jin Oppa?”

I pounced on her. Mid-action, Makina appeared and tried to interfere, but she left after I gave her a spirit gem.

And the next day.

I ended the game and returned to reality.