Chapter 147: The Former and the Latter

A skill beyond ranking that was called Eternal Rest.

The requirements to learn this skill that I found out using the Eye of Insight was insane.

The 4 stats that humans received after becoming Awakened were strength, mana, dexterity, and stamina.

The requirement was that one had to have 10,000 worth of points in each stat.

5 points of stats were given freely to spend per level.

This meant that in order to achieve the 40,000 total points required, you’d have to be at least level 8,000.

And on top of that, the points required were separate from the points you’d obtain from artifacts.

An example would be an armor that I wanted to wear that required 500 points worth of strength.

Let’s say I had 200 points of strength and 300 points worth of strength from gear.

Even though the stat window will say that I have 500 points of strength, I still wouldn’t be able to wear the armor.

It would be determined that I would still be lacking 300 points worth of strength to wear it.

The requirements could only be fulfilled through one’s own stat gains rather than through a combination of personal growth and gear.

Through the Butcher’s Sword, I had absorbed the stats of the Awakened of the radical faction.

Due to that, I was able to meet the requirements needed to obtain this skill.

Thankfully the stats obtained through the sword didn’t stay on the sword itself.

Unlike Jong Ho’s Blood Lust 1 armor, the stats I’ve obtained through the sword were directly absorbed by its user.

This meant that even if I threw away the Butcher’s Sword, the stats that I had gained from using it would remain with me.

Was there anyone who had the requirements for this skill other than I?

It made me wonder just was the motive behind the person who made such a skill requirement.

Without a moment of hesitation, I learned the skill.

historical

After that, I opened the status window and looked at what the skill description was.

-Eternal Rest-

*Class: ?

*Rank: ?

*Completely annihilates the selected target.

*Skill can be only used once.

*Consumes 99% of the user’s total health and mana.

*Can only be used when the caster’s health and mana are at 100%.

“Hm.. As expected, it’s a skill that I can use against Belkoseu, but....”

I was more than satisfied with the part of the description that said that the target would be completely annihilated.

However, the other parts of the description weren’t something I was exactly thrilled about.

Firstly, I thought about the part where it said that it was a one time use skill.

It wasn’t exactly a consumable artifact, and to think I can only use this skill once.

It was a unique skill that I’ve never encountered before.

If this description was true, then one of the five skills beyond ranking slot had been used up, but the skill wouldn’t remain after I used it.

It was quite the loss.

Next, I did not like the cost of 99% of my health and mana to use this skill.

Due to my infinite mana pool, the cost of mana wasn’t going to be an issue, but it was a different story with my health pool.

With the 99% health cost, I would be barely alive, considering that I would only have 1% of my health left.

This meant that after I used this skill, I could be done in by any monster.

This also meant that I had to have perfect awareness of my surroundings and only use this skill in a 1v1 with Belkoseu.

“If there are negatives, so will there be positives.”

The benefits to learning Eternal Rest were great as well.

The biggest benefit was that I had a way to take down Belkoseu.

A method to take down someone that I had originally thought was immortal had appeared before me.

It was true that I could not hide my anxiety and worry while I kept my alliance with him.

After all, I was helping a potentially more dangerous enemy to take down the Demon King and Ladin.

However, the positions had swapped and now I had gained the upper hand.

Naturally, Belkoseu now took the disadvantageous position that I had before.

The plan was to use him to benefit myself as much as I could, and then get rid of him afterwards, since he could have other plans rather than keeping his word with me.

There was no way that he knew I had obtained such a skill.

Well, for someone like him who has no information on the Awakened, it would be strange if he knew anything in the first place.

I couldn’t confirm the level of the skill or what the effect looked like in detail, but I felt reassured.

I didn’t bask for long in the first time I felt satisfied in the demonic realm.

I heard a sound from nearby.

“You’re here?”

I saw Jong Ho running towards me from afar.

In his arms was Karin, the stocky goblin.

Since Jong Ho did not have any recovery skills, he was panting quite heavily.

That was to be expected, since he had ran quite the distance without rest.

Like a marathon runner who had just passed the goal, Jong Ho laid down in front of me from exhaustion.

Casting Mega Cure on him, I spoke.

“You’ve done well, hyung-nim. The distance is quite far, right?”

“Kuhhuh.. I.... Kuhhuh.. Said.. Kuhhuh....”

“Huh?”

“We should’ve.. Kehhelel! Ran......”

“What are you saying? Catching your breath first and then say it again.”

“Haah.... Haah....”

“Keruruk. He said that we should’ve just ran.”

“Karin, you’re doing a lot of work for us. Now you’re even translating for us. Then tell him for me. Tell him that if I just listen to him, then I’m not really his dongsaeng.”

“Keruk. Keruk. I understand.”

“Wew.... No need! I can’t live in peace because of you.”

“But what shall I ever do.... I obtained something amazing enough to reduce your worries.”

“Did you even take down the Kelvecore? I don’t think it’s defensive capability is anything to joke about.”

“Of course. I took it down at quite the critical moment.”

“Then you took the Warp safely while Belkoseu held the two back?”

“That’s not what happened.”

“Whew.. I just calmed down now, but it feels like my blood pressure is rising up again. Stop joking around and tell me.”

“The moment that Kelvecore’s loot dropped, the Demon King appeared. Just like you told me before, he appeared without warning.”

“So?”

“I immediately focused on escaping, since I knew that I couldn’t take him down.”

“Unlike yourself, you made the right choice. So you made it out ok?”

“He didn’t just let me go so easily. I took a hit.”

“.. Did it hurt?”

“Couldn’t help but swear, you know? Everything except my Mana Shield went out in a single hit. From a simple attack, no less.”

“As expected, he’s quite the opponent.”

“I finally understood how you couldn’t even struggle against him before being done in.”

“Well, at least it doesn’t seem like your were severely injured. Enough of that. What did you obtain?”

“A skill book.”

“Oho.... Something like Archangel’s Fall?”

“Well, it’s a skill beyond ranking.”

“A skill beyond ranking dropped? I guess there was a reason behind why you would risk your life obtaining it.”

“Yes. It’s a skill that could take down Belkoseu at that.”

“What?”

Jong Ho was so surprised that he couldn’t help but cover his mouth shyly and back up.

It was a reaction that I’ve never seen before.

Jong Ho, who had been only blinking his eyes from the surprise, finally recovered enough to ask.

“How so? In what way can Belkoseu be killed?”

“Kerut. Min-Cheol, is that the truth?”

“And it doesn’t make much effort on my part, but instead through a simple method.”

“Keruu.. Belkoseu, who couldn’t be killed even by the Demon King....”

“What is it? How is it possible?”

“It’s due to a skill called Eternal Rest. The description says that it’s a skill that can completely annihilate a target completely.”

“That’s insane.... If what you’re saying is true, then we have removed a massive burden on our shoulders to worry about.”

“Humans make up lies. Skill books and the Eye of Insight do not lie.”

“Keruruk. Even monsters sometimes make up lies....”

“Have you tricked me so far?”

“Kehk? I have not! Karin does not break promises. I do not lie.”

“Pfft. Right. The only one I can trust in is you.”

“Min-Cheol. So this means that we found our solution?”

“Yes, that’s right. Now our growth doesn’t matter that much anymore.”

“Focusing only on making Belkoseu stronger, we use him as a tool to kill the Demon King and Ladin. Then....”

“Do you know a term called tosagupaeng?” 2

“We don’t know if he really intends to stop at ruling over the demonic realm, but our original goal was to destroy all monsters and getting rid of all portals on Earth....”

“Yes. We could never form an alliance with monsters from the start.”

“After the rabbit is caught, we eat the hunting dog.... If the Demon King and Ladin are defeated....”

“We kill Belkoseu.”

“Keruuu.... In the hundreds of years I have lived, I have seen many deceitful monsters engage in dirty politics, but they have not been as vile as what you humans engage in. I am fearful, human....”

“Don’t worry. You already know, right? You’re part of our family.”

“Keruu.. Of course! I trust you. I didn’t say that I doubt us being family.”

“Of course. And to celebrate that, let’s party. Bring out the meat, Karin.”

“Kerururu. I understand. I’ll be right back.”

“Then I’ll go clean up the area around the Gate.”

“Yes. Do your best for us.”

“Alright.”

****

In a hopeless situation we found ourselves in the demonic realm, this Eternal Rest skill was like a ray of light.

The foundations for our plan ahead was all set.

To celebrate that, we planned for a grand feast.

Karin used the Explosion skill I used to cook the steak he was going to eat for himself, and Jong Ho, who had come back after finishing his clean up work around the Gate, began to cook with a skill rivaling that of a chef.

Despite only having cans of tuna as ingredients, his cooking skill that wasn’t dulled by all the time that was spent in the demonic realm was amazing.

Since I couldn’t even boil water for ramen properly, I carried out the errands they tasked me with, assisting in the preparations for the meal.

It didn’t take long for a rather decent meal to be made, and just like family, we gathered around the food.

Almost as if rewarding ourselves for the day’s work, we hurriedly ate the meal while making small talk.

“Karin.”

“Kerut. Min-Cheol. It’s not good manners to talk while eating rice.”

“We’re not eating rice, we’re eating meat. So we can talk if needed.”

“Whew.. You’re teaching him weird things. Real amazing, little bro.”

“If not now, when will we have the time to have a conversation.”

“True.”

“Karin, how much food is left?”

“Kehuu.... Min-Cheol, are you asking me because you do not know just how much food you’ve shoved into my dimensional pocket? There’s enough for the two of you to eat for years on end. However....”

“Okay, that’s good. Is there a problem?”

“Kehel.. My steak.... Oh.... There’s only that much left....”

Karin pointed at the duffel bag with an expression that seemed to match someone who had seen the end of the world.

On the day that we traveled to the demonic realm, we had brought 6 duffel bags filled with that stuff.

The beef that filled those bags were nowhere to be seen, with only a half a bag’s worth still left.

However, it’s not like we could go back to Earth via the Gate.

“Keruu. Isn’t there a skill where you can make steak?”

“Uh.... Possibly. If we could just get back to Earth, we could eat as much as we wanted to.”

“Kehel....”

“Hm, Karin. Are there monsters with intelligence near us?”

“Kel. There are. There are even some amongst us Puppet Goblins, though not that many.”

“Is that so?”

“Do we need them?”

“I think we’ll be needing them soon.”

“Kel?”

“What are you up to!”

“A way for everyone to be happy?”

“Whew. I’m nervous. It’s making me anxious.”

“Then, until Belkoseu finds us again, let’s go find the monsters you were talking about.”

“Alright.”

“Okay. Let’s eat for now!”

“Kel!”