The Demon God Returns as a Max Level Player – Chapter 101

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Lee Seong-joon, instinctively sensing the opening of his upper dantian, moved forward, past the remnants of the broken wall.

As he walked, the existing common sense and concepts in his mind began to form a new world. Even in the midst of this process, he continued to walk forward.

Finally, as his strong will shattered the existing world and opened a new one, his body also responded.

First, a black liquid poured out from his body. The accumulated waste in his body was being purged. Of course, this wasn’t the only reaction.

Whoosh—!

A red aura spread out from his entire body like a thick cloud, engulfing his surroundings. The aura, which exuded an intense presence as if it would dye the world with blood, soon began to swirl and be drawn into the area above his head, near the upper dantian.

Next, the energy in his lower, middle, and upper dantian created a resonating sound as if it would explode.

Boom—!

The resonating sound was like something shattering. In fact, cracks began to appear on the skin of Lee Seong-joon, who was sitting in a lotus position. At first, they were small, but they quickly spread like a spider’s web, covering his entire body.

Crack—!

And, finally, the moment the cracks covered his entire body.

Crack—!

With the sensation of shedding a heavy restraint that had been binding his entire body, a cheerful sound echoed in his ears.

Ding—!

“Haa……”

Lee Seong-joon, who had been panting, opened his eyes. At the same time, a deep crimson light erupted from his eyes, then quickly disappeared. He had opened his upper dantian and reached the realm of Transformation.

In terms of hunter ranks, he had reached the upper tier among SSS-rank hunters. His existing body had been further strengthened, and from now on, he could use True Energy much more freely.

Lee Seong-joon, checking the green hologram window that appeared before him, smiled with satisfaction.

“Good.”

His Mana stat, which had been at 80, was now at 105. He had replenished a considerable amount of the internal energy he had been lacking. And the recovery speed of his internal energy had also greatly increased.

Although it wasn’t something that could be immediately confirmed on the system like his stats, he knew clearly how efficient it was, having already experienced it.

These alone were a satisfactory growth, but the changes weren’t limited to his internal energy.

‘From now on, I can freely use True Energy made from blood.’

Of course, it didn’t just mean that he could handle True Energy. For example, unlike before, when he had used True Energy in a fixed form, he could now draw out that energy and release it or transform its shape. The number of things he could do with it had increased immeasurably.

‘Razaka, was it?’

The king of werewolves who came down from the north. It was a moment he was looking forward to his battle with.

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The next day, at the military demarcation line near Gaeseong.

A considerable number of hunters were gathering in a place that had become a land of monsters and was devoid of human presence. It was only natural.

Razaka and his werewolf horde were moving south much faster than the Hunter Association had anticipated. Although it was a rather bewildering situation, the hunters’ faces were filled with tension.

But Lee Seong-joon, who had arrived later, had a calm expression. He was even walking towards the temporarily established subjugation headquarters with a relaxed expression.

Swoosh—

He pushed aside the tent that was blocking the front and entered the subjugation headquarters.

Ko Tae-hyun, with a bitter expression, bowed his head and spoke, “I apologize. Razaka’s descent was faster than expected, so I had to contact you rather suddenly.”

“Things in the world don’t always go as planned. I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Lee Seong-joon replied to Ko Tae-hyun with a smile and greeted Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin, who were seated inside the subjugation headquarters.

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

It was a light remark, but there was no reply. Of course, it wasn’t that they were ignoring him. They were just too dumbfounded to think straight.

“……”

After a brief silence, Oh Kyung-hyun burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! You’re a truly unpredictable person!”

“Indeed… I’m also quite surprised by this.”

Having seen him defeat the SSS-rank hunter Kang Yi-ryung in a friendly spar with her own eyes, she knew that Hunter Lee Seong-joon was strong.

But the presence that was now subtly emanating from him had a much deeper weight than when he had defeated Kang Yi-ryung. Although she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she could guess that Hunter Lee Seong-joon had achieved some kind of growth.

‘He grew again in less than a month…?’

It was an unprecedented growth rate.

‘Even the members of the Guardians, the so-called protectors of the world, haven’t grown like this…’

Ko Tae-hyun smiled leisurely at Lee Ye-rin, who was staring with wide eyes, and said, “I was also very surprised at first. But you get used to it after a while.”

It wasn’t the first or second time Hunter Lee Seong-joon had shown such an unbelievable growth rate. He was always showing a growth rate that surpassed expectations, to the point where it was pointless to even count the numbers.

Even if he didn’t want to get used to it, he had no choice. Of course, what was important now wasn’t how Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin would accept this reality.

It was that the heavy tension that had settled in the subjugation headquarters due to the upcoming difficult battle had begun to lighten somewhat.

“Still, I thought there would be some risk, since we’re subjugating the king of monsters, but it was a baseless fear.”

“That’s right. I think we can subdue him much more easily than I thought.”

Although he had defeated the SSS-rank hunter Kang Yi-ryung, Razaka was evaluated as a monster comparable to Yellow-rank bosses. And Hunter Lee Seong-joon had only been an SSS-rank for less than a month.

Considering that it usually took SSS-rank hunters of the middle tier or higher to deal with Yellow-rank raid gates, they couldn’t help but think that a head-on confrontation with Razaka would be a difficult fight.

But after seeing Hunter Lee Seong-joon in person, that thought completely changed.

‘He’s not at the level of someone who just reached SSS-rank.’

He was comparable to Yoon Min-soo or Tae Sang-cheon, who were considered to be quite skilled among SSS-rank hunters. He had enough power to hunt Razaka, the king of werewolves.

Naturally, smiles appeared on Lee Ye-rin and Oh Kyung-hyun’s faces.

‘Hunter Lee Seong-joon… he was a bigger catch than I thought!’

‘Getting a contract with Hunter Lee Seong-joon before he really started to stand out was truly a godsend.’

The tension that had settled in the subjugation headquarters began to disappear without a trace. At the same time, a bright future began to be drawn in Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin’s minds.

‘If this subjugation is successful, we can widen the gap with other guilds a little more.’

Ko Tae-hyun let out a dry cough at the bright smiles on Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin’s faces and brought the atmosphere back under control.

“Ahem…”

Although the reason to think about defeat had disappeared, it wasn’t good to show complacency. Ko Tae-hyun calmly summarized the current situation.

“As you all know, Razaka is not alone. He is leading a werewolf horde… and as he moved south, the surrounding monsters have joined his horde, forming a monster wave.”

Ko Tae-hyun, his expression hardened, spoke again.

“As we planned beforehand, in order for Hunter Lee Seong-joon to focus solely on the battle with Razaka, everyone’s strength and help is needed.”

To be honest, he, Lee Seong-joon, could have handled the subjugation alone. But there was no reason to refuse a situation where he could reduce the variables.

No, he was in a state where he felt sorry for even saying such a thing. Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin were also burning with a strong fighting spirit at Ko Tae-hyun’s words.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of the small fries.”

“We can confidently say that we have enough firepower, so you can trust us.”

Ko Tae-hyun smiled with satisfaction at the sight of Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin nodding without a moment’s hesitation.

“Yes, since you are all excellent hunters, I will trust you and leave it to you. Also, any situations that arise in the middle will be left to your autonomous judgment.”

The moment Ko Tae-hyun finished speaking, Oh Kyung-hyun, with a confident smile, stood up from his seat.

“I’ll have to get moving quickly to clear the way, so I’ll be leaving first.”

“Then I’ll be going too. I’ll see you all again, safe and sound.”

Lee Ye-rin also said her goodbyes as if she had been waiting and followed Oh Kyung-hyun.

“Then, I wish you good luck.”

Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin, who had been seen off by Ko Tae-hyun, soon stepped beyond the tent and completely disappeared from sight.

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A subjugation force was formed with 100 elite hunters, renowned in South Korea. Among them were Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin, the masters of the so-called five major guilds, Baekho and Bulsae.

And Lee Seong-joon, an SSS-rank hunter who was considered to be one of the strongest in Korea, also joined the subjugation force. There was no reason to think about defeat. As their morale rose, the hunters showed skills that surpassed their usual abilities.

Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin, who were leading from the front, also moved more actively than usual and showed outstanding performance.

“Drive out the monsters!”

“Don’t give them a chance to rest and push forward!”

It was no exaggeration to say that the hunters’ morale was soaring due to the successive victories.

“Awoooooo—!”

A bloodcurdling howl echoed across the vast plain, and at the edge of their vision, a horde of werewolves appeared.

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