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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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In [Hero of Another World], gates, dimensional portals, and summoning circles were optimal farming spots for experienced players.
When you recruited a new hero, the fastest way to level them up was to form a party with a strong hero, occupy a suitable gate, and hunt the enemies pouring out of it all day long.
It was like auto-hunting.
But it wasn’t enough for me.
Waiting for enemies in front of the dimensional portal, I thought and thought about how to gain even more, an even more extreme advantage.
Clearly, in the game, I was human, so the gate was just an object.
But now, I’m also a demon, right?
And not just any demon, but the successor of Andras… an archdemon.
So…
Just taking what’s given is over.
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.
.
.
-Thud, thud, thud!
The patchwork monstrosity burst apart with a disheartening ease.
And fragments rained down like a shower.
-Kukukuhehehehe!!!
A chilling laugh escaped Bune’s lips.
He was a genius of necromancy.
A great necromancer.
Even though the patchwork horror hadn’t received Andras’s touch, it was still a work Bune had put effort into creating.
His original expectation was, that the patchwork would grow by devouring the corpses of the Claris novices, and if that McClone came to clean up the mess, he would kill him in front of everyone and make him his thrall.
But things went wrong.
He thought they were just newbies, but they managed to defeat the patchwork with some semblance of strategy.
-Slurp.
Bune licked his lips again.
It was even better this way.
Corrupting those with the potential to become heroes by making them his thralls was exciting in a different way.
In the end, thinking he needed to vent his anger, Bune used [Ability – Dimensional Shift].
.
.
.
Soon, Bune materialized in the Lintz Forest.
Dimensional Shift consumed a tremendous amount of mana, but for Bune, with his high magical aptitude, it was a readily usable ability.
-Sniff… Ha.
After a long time, the disgusting… smell of humans pierced Bune’s lungs.
-It’s like dogs. Kihihik!
Annoyed by just this, Bune tapped the ground once with his staff.
-Thump.
-Kwaaaaaaaaah!!!!!
With just that one motion, everything in the surrounding area began to explode.
Bune’s magical pressure.
-!!!!!
-Kyaaa!
The three who had just been toying with the patchwork horror were instantly knocked down.
-…Kihihit!
Bune was in a dilemma.
Aside from making them his thralls, he had to think about how to kill each one of them as painfully as possible.
He considered making them into living wax figures and slowly killing them, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the time for such meticulousness.
Just then, Edwin rose,
-?
and staggered towards Bune.
-Kuhit!
Seeing the stumbling figure, Bune grinned widely.
-Wooong…!
A black, spherical magic bullet formed at Bune’s fingertip.
-Shishik!!!
It struck Edwin directly.
“!”
-Kwang!
Edwin managed to dodge most of them, but was immediately thrown to the ground by one exploding magic bullet.
But he didn’t give up.
He got up again and attacked.
-Kuhit! If you want to die that badly…!
What Bune hated the most was the messy melodrama of humans.
Therefore, he used an instant death skill on the one who annoyed him.
Showing the difference in their levels.
Suddenly, black magic power surged through Bune’s body,
[Bune’s Ability – Instant Death Curse]
The ominous energy swirled around and enveloped Edwin’s body.
Just that.
“?”
Then, a malice that seemed to condense all the darkness in the world began to eat away at Edwin’s brain.
“Ku… kuhuhk kuhk!!”
“Edwin…!”
“…”
“…!”
‘……’
Yerial, who barely managed to regain her senses, felt it.
The patchwork was really child’s play, and this archdemon was unbeatable.
But she couldn’t be afraid.
‘The more this happens… I need to… keep… my head clear.’
Even if she died, she needed to buy time to save at least one person.
Contrary to Yerial’s wish, Bune’s next target was the ashen-haired boy.
-A human archer. Kikik!
What is this pathetic creature doing, when its nothing? Is this the dignity of Claris, which aims to exterminate evil?
Bune casually tossed the boy, who seemed to be already unconscious, next to Edwin.
-Thud.
And with a look of disgust, he commanded Yerial.
-Wench? Obey me. Then I’ll let you finish off those two worms yourself. Hihihit!
-Fwoosh!
Instead of answering, a flame ignited in Yerial’s hand,
which stimulated Bune’s nerves even more.
-Crack!
“Kuuh….!!!”
“Le… Lev!”
Bune reflexively broke one of Lev’s arms.
Lev bit his lip and endured the pain.
This sight made Yerial’s heart waver.
“Wai… wai…!”
If she didn’t listen to him here… Lev might die after Edwin.
Then Lev grabbed Yerial’s wrist.
“…!”
His surprisingly calm eyes shook from side to side.
As if telling her not to.
“…”
The flame in Yerial’s hand flickered and then died down.
She knew the truth.
The demons were probably after her.
So it would be best not to provoke them.
-Mongrel. You’re last… Why, you ask? Kihihit! Because I need to make you my thrall and have you violated by my army for eternity…! Kuhuhut!
After saying that, Bune began to inscribe demonic runes on Yerial, who was no longer resisting.
“Huuut…!”
Simply killing her and taking her soul wouldn’t work.
Inside this woman’s body was the curse of a fallen angel, and to preserve and awaken it required a very delicate process.
-Scratch… scratch…
With each stroke, all of Yerial’s magic power disappeared, and the inherent curse of the fallen angel was forcibly awakened.
Unlike with Tobiel, it wasn’t being forced, so it would probably take about two hours for her to become a demon.
-Kihihit!
Bune was already envisioning the dark future where this soon-to-be-corrupted girl would open a brothel in Pandemonium.
“……”
However, Bune was annoyed by Yerial’s lack of reaction, just enduring the pain, so he picked up Lev instead.
-Why aren’t you reacting? Kihihit!
Only now did Yerial react.
-Hihit! You look absolutely disgusting, kuhit!
And Bune began to throw Lev around in front of Yerial.
Yerial’s face turned pale.
“Just… kill me! That’s what you want!”
The human body isn’t that durable.
Especially since Lev was barely conscious now.
Bune looked at Lev’s blood-soaked body with a grim expression and said,
-Right… But this worm is kind of annoying… Kihihit! I’ll make you a special demon.
“…!”
-Ah… Will your body burst before you become a demon? That’s not my problem, kihihit!
With those words, Bune began to inject black magic power into Lev.
-Wooooong…
-Wooong…
-Hooh…
Surprisingly, a lot was going in.
A human archer with this much capacity… Was this guy also a demon candidate?
Of course, that was it. The guy absorbed Bune’s black magic power like a sponge, and soon the demonization circuit was engraved deep inside his body.
In about 20 minutes, this guy would become a demon and wreak havoc on the academy.
-Kuhit!
It was then.
-Shaaaaaaa!!!
White flames, holy fire, erupted around Bune’s neck.
-What, kuhit! Already?
The academy’s guardians, and the war heroes alongside McClone, whom Bune hated, had arrived.
And, a late report came in from his subordinate demon in charge of strategy.
-Almighty Lord Bune. My apologies. The gate to the underworld… has been closed.
We thought you had closed it yourself…
-??
Bune was momentarily confused.
-You idiots…
But only another archdemon could close the gate to the underworld.
Moreover, the gate to the underworld was installed in the academy.
There was an archdemon in the academy…?
-This is a pain… Kihihit!
He wanted to play more…
But he needed to go back and check the status of the gate to the underworld…
In his excitement, he had used too many curses on these mongrels.
Moreover, in this place with a holy barrier, the power of demons was greatly weakened.
Therefore, Bune only had enough mana left to return to Pandemonium.
-Tsk… Kihihit!
Reluctantly, Bune decided to postpone things.
-I’ll be going ahead, see you soon, kihihit? Though you’ll be my slave, kihihit!
The one with light green hair would die instantly.
He had placed curses on the wench and the ashen-haired worm,
so they would soon be corrupted.
Then, those foolish war heroes would have no choice but to kill the corrupted ones with their own hands.
And the souls of those two would be retrieved by Pandemonium.
What a beautiful puppet show.
-Tap tap tap…!
As the guardians surrounded Bune at Professor McClone’s command,
-Kihihit!
Bune used his ability and leisurely disappeared.
.
.
.
“Damn, did he escape…!”
The former war hero, McClone.
And the guardians.
Scarlett and Dustin, who had come after receiving Lev’s urgent call.
What they faced was… horrific.
Flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
“Wai, wait a minute! He’s… he’s alive…!”
The priest from the Temple of Restoration confirmed that Edwin wasn’t dead, but he was barely clinging to life.
Yerial looked fine on the outside, but…
“Dus, Dustin! Can you do something about this…?”
“At this rate…”
Dustin swallowed the rest of his words at Scarlett’s question.
It was an archdemon’s curse.
She would probably soon lose her body, and her soul would be taken by Pandemonium.
The curse she was under was of the highest grade.
Even with the best curse-breaking specialist in the empire, it would take a lot of time.
Dustin asked Scarlett in a serious voice.
“…Where’s Lev?”
“…Huh?”
He had disappeared at some point.
-…
In this situation where everyone was confused,
only Yerial was recalling his last whisper.
He had done nothing for her, yet…
-Don’t forget today’s promise.
-!
The usual pleasant tone calmed Yerial.
“…I don’t understand… Lev.”
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-Drip. Drip.
Where the musty water droplets fall.
The Clarice sewers.
-Stumble, stumble
With each step, the sound of bones, the drops of blood fall out of sync.
“Kikikikik… He really didn’t let me land a single hit…”
Did a black dragon possess his left arm?
Did he go crazy after meeting a boss that was too strong without any conscience?
His team was destroyed, but he kept laughing.
System Notification He was beaten to within an inch of his life,
but the reward he quickly chose after defeating the patchwork horror, Combat Recovery, was forcing his body to move.
-Screeeech!
‘Damn noisy.’
And at the same time, the incessant cries, suggestions, coaxing, and whispers of demons in his ears.
Bune had nicely cast [Targeted Demonization (Active)] on him.
Thanks for that.
Thanks to that, he had filled up his corruption gauge far beyond the limit.
And the reason I can barely hold onto my sanity right now is.
The Potion of Free Will, which he had drunk in advance before the Bune fight.
This had made him a 2-minute time bomb.
In the game, it had the option to prevent status ailments during its duration, so the cooldown was a whopping 30 days.
It seemed a bit excessive, but that was the closed beta standard.
Later it was changed to 7 days.
‘Enough with the digression…’
The ultra-hell mode was spicier than he thought, but… it was all according to plan.
I suppressed all this and dragged my body to the ‘Gate of the Underworld’.
It’s not a saying I particularly like, but there’s a saying in Korea.
“You might have come in on your own, but you won’t be leaving on your own.”
When I placed my hand on this demonic-looking gate, the cold, rough texture of limestone greeted me.
This gate was definitely connected to Pandemonium,
specifically, to Bune’s home base.
And in [Hero of Another World], dimensional portals opened by others cannot be used unless you are in the same party.
That means, the dimensional portal opened by me, the gamer, can only be used by me, right?
“Wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
A thought that came to mind at least once while playing the game.
I definitely remember. During the closed beta of Hero of Another World, if you attacked and interacted with a dimensional portal at the same time, the skill would be transferred… a bug.
And the only weakness of Bune stated in the strategy guide is, now, after controlling the patchwork, using dimensional shift twice, casting instant death on Edwin, and cursing Yerial and me, he has consumed a huge amount of mana.
He has no survival skills left.
“You don’t have it, do you…? Greater Magic Shield…”
Skill Information 
“Experience points, 100 times.”
All that was left was to pour everything I had into this damn gate.
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fire
The glitches will get out of hand real soon