The Player Hides His Past
Chapter 4: Demon Hunter (1)

◈ Episode 4. Demon Hunter (1)

I was skeptical.

‘Is this how demons appear in real life?

……Why, it’s been 10 years and no progress?

Because the current development was similar to the quest of the demon hunter.

But the moment the message came to me, I was convinced.

A demon had taken over Nam Chul-min’s body.

Suddenly, information from the community popped into my head.

-This is actually a real demon problem

-He’s already high level, but his condition is even worse.

-The mage and priest classes can get away with it because they have more mental strength, but warriors like us are punching bags without buffs and potions.

Certainly, real-world demons were tricky monsters.

A decade ago.

Not exactly the same demons I’d encountered on quests.

But I knew.

I knew I could not make such personal judgments in the presence of a demon.

“The pride of Romeo is, paradoxically, most exalted in the presence of the demon.”

Yes, what kind of demon is possessing Nam Chul-min.

How many levels it has.

We don’t even know what kind of condition it causes.

Another angle.

But my vision was clearer than ever.

There was no hesitation in my stride.

In this moment of demonic encounter, I spoke in a cold voice.

“You are a demon after all.”

My declaration sent shockwaves through the room.

Choi Jung-hoon stuttered.

He looked back and forth between me and Nam Chul-min.

“What do you mean by that, ah, demon?”

“Demons……!! I had a bad feeling about that.”

“Wait, if it’s a demon, then it’s something we can’t deal with……?!”

Nam Chul-min in shock.

However, the demon laughed.

“Hahahaha, I know what you’re thinking, you idiots!”

The devil seemed to be enjoying the situation.

It should be.

Humans’ negative emotions give it power.

“You humans are soooo fake and pretentious.”

But I didn’t have the heart to listen to the rant.

“You’re not classy.”

In my hand was a silver dagger.

“I don’t know if there is such a thing as class when it comes to a race as inferior as demons.”

Of course, demons do have a clear demerit.

It’s something I’ve heard over and over again as a former questmaster in Akshan.

Low, mid, high.

Above them are the Demons of Eternity, and even further up the ladder are the Demon Lords, the self-proclaimed kings of the demons…….

But as it is said.

『No demonic temptation, deception, or trial can make even a scratch on the high pride of Grandfell.』

Grandfell.

In other words, to me, they were all the same demon.

Therefore, there was no hesitation in my actions.

[Skill, ‘Natural Enmity’ is triggered].

───────

Enmity: Increases your combat power by leaps and bounds when battling demons.

───────

Now that Enemy Nemesis has been activated.

My physical abilities have increased by leaps and bounds.

Swoosh!

Concise and swift.

I stabbed the dagger towards the nape of Nam Cheolmin’s neck.

Ting─!

Indeed, plate armor.

I didn’t expect it to defend the nape of my neck.

A panicked voice could be heard.

“……Hahaha! Are you crazy? Aren’t you even worse than me? You’ve just been acting like a nice guy and now you’re wielding a sword? What the fuck are you……?!”

But I wouldn’t allow it.

“Don’t even try to talk to me.”

“……what, what?!”

“I don’t talk to my prey.”

Shhhhh!

It was impossible to pierce plate armor with a silver dagger.

“Then I should aim for the gap.”

In front of the demon, I was moving on instinct.

I could feel that my body’s abilities and my brain’s workings were definitely on a different level than when I was facing a gnoll.

Bam!

I stabbed a silver dagger into his inner elbow.

[Skill, “Rite of Exorcism” is activated].

‘I don’t know how long the effect of the Rite of Exorcism will last, but it doesn’t matter.’

What the message meant was simple.

It meant I’d scored a hit on the demon.

The demon stumbled back a few steps, startled.

“Crazy!!! It’s silver!!! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Instead of answering, he swung his dagger again.

The seam in its side.

The seam in his knee.

And the tiny slit in the nape of his neck.

Woosh.

Black blood poured from those wounds.

The demon said.

“You crazy asshole……. Can’t you see he’s bleeding?! This is really going to kill him. If you kill me, he’ll die too! No, no matter what, I’ll die with him. Do you think I’ll die alone?!”

I laughed inwardly with pleasure.

“How is that line the same as it was ten years ago?

Yeah, I’m not falling for it.

Demon Hunter’s attacks only deal damage to demons while the skill, [Rite of Exorcism], is active.

No matter how old it is, I haven’t forgotten that basic common sense.

I have. Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

But not to my face.

It never showed.

“The prey merely needs to be hunted.”

Boom!

*!

“Brother, don’t push yourself too hard. Avoid dangerous cracks as much as possible.”

“Got it, as*h*le.”

“I’m not kidding. The atmosphere in the fortress has been horrible lately, so I’m saying……. Why don’t you just join our guild? There are tons of things you can do as a player that don’t involve traveling the rift. Why, be an analyst or something.”

He just didn’t want to be an as*h*le.

“We’re brothers, after all, but we’re not the same.”

“You’re going to have to work harder to keep up with him.”

“I heard Tae-min got another boss raid, tell him congratulations.”

He just didn’t want to be a bother to his older brother.

As Nam Chul-min watched himself move about, he thought to himself.

“……Where did it go wrong?

His memory was fuzzy from the moment he entered the rift.

However, he clearly remembered the message.

[Lesser demons, imps are watching you].

[Your mental strength is too low].

[Condition: Possession is occurring].

“……imp?

An imp, a level 200 demonic monster.

Nam Tae-min was well aware of the dangers of demons.

He had seen and heard things from his brother, Nam Tae-min.

He gritted his teeth.

“Don’t go in there! It’s annihilation!

But no voice came out.

“……Yes, another party. With the help of another party!

The words came out unbidden.

“But don’t worry, this is a transfer station, so it’s pretty big. If we pick a good route, we should be able to hunt without overlapping with the other party.”

He was literally leading them on.

“Cheolmin, no, hyung!”

The madness continued.

Eventually, Choi and his party were surrounded by a horde of gnolls.

“It’s because of me. It’s because of me……!!!

Move.

Please move.

I have to help.

But Nam Chul-min couldn’t move a single step.

He could only stand and stare.

“No, f*ck, what’s wrong with you!!! Hey, Nam Chul-min!!!”

It was all his fault.

It was his own lack of ability.

Feeling helpless, Nam’s heart began to crumble.

“……Taemin, I guess I should have done what you said.

And that’s what the imp was hoping for.

Nam let go of the threads of consciousness he was barely holding on to.

All he could hear was a faint voice.

“Hey, Nam Chul-min, did you really think you were something because I was following you around calling you brother, brother? You’re either my brother or you’re a f*cking as*hole…….”

Yes, Choi was right about everything.

He was nothing more than that.

“Hahaha. Hahahahahaha.”

After that, all I could hear was laughter.

The laughter of an imp that seemed to be laughing at his weakness.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the laughter stopped.

“You are a demon after all.”

……You recognized the demon’s existence? How?

The words brought Nam Chul-min back to his senses.

Then an unbelievable sight appeared in his vision.

“……It’s overpowering the imp?

It was a ridiculous situation.

It wasn’t just their high level that made them tricky.

Demons often trigger ailments.

[Fear], [Despair], [Exhaustion]…….

To counteract their vicious ailments, you’ll need high Mental stats.

Or, even worse, an overwhelming level disparity.

“……What is this guy, anyway?

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

This wasn’t a fight.

Yes, the man was right.

It was a one-sided “hunt.

The imp’s howl rang in his ears.

He thought to himself.

‘……If the imp dies, will I also die?

If so, I will die.

He made up his mind.

His party members were in danger because of him.

Even if the imp had taken their bodies, it would be no excuse.

He had heard that demons preyed on the weak.

Even that was his own fault.

“Even if you’re dead, you have to pay for your food, don’t you?

Isn’t that right, Jung-hoon? Tae-min?

Luckily for him, the man didn’t seem to hesitate.

‘Unfortunately, there’s no way I can repay you.

That was the moment Nam Cheol-min thought.

Pook─!

The man’s dagger plunged into the nape of his neck.

It felt like something was being ripped out of his body.

Thud─!

……Somehow, his eyes opened.

“……?”

I could see the ceiling of the subway.

The crackling bulbs were glowing.

Bright enough to make me squint.

I heard a voice in the middle of it.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

It was laid back,

a voice that could not have been more relaxed.

“You have nothing to worry about because I am here.”

*

[Defeated a low-level demon, an ‘imp’].

[You have leveled up].

[Leveled up].

[You have increased your level]…….

You have leveled up.

I counted the messages and realized there were 12 in total.

I had just killed an imp, and I had gained 12 levels.

What the hell. Is this a true story?

I thought back to my battle with the imp.

I tried to figure out the level of the imp that was literally pouring out experience points.

But no matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

‘Gnolls are harder to play against than imps.

Gnoll was only around level 30.

The implication is simple.

‘……I told you that great expectations lead to great disappointment.’

I mean, this already exceeded my expectations, right?

Apparently, the ‘natural enmity’ between demon hunters and demons was much stronger than I expected.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m a lesser demon.

The gap was too wide to overcome.

The message didn’t stop there.

[Skill, ‘Silver Mastery’ increases in proficiency].

───────

Silver Mastery (24%): Grants additional damage and special effects to silver weapons.

───────

Killing an imp with a silver dagger has given this skill a huge boost.

I went from 19% mastery to 24% mastery in no time.

Unfortunately, the imp didn’t drop any items.

But I wasn’t disappointed.

Maybe it’s because I gained a ton of experience instead.

Or maybe it was the setting of Grandffell’s, which doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I couldn’t tell.

“Rather than that.

It was more important that I kept my word.

“I told you, you have nothing to worry about because I’m here.”

……I would have died of embarrassment if I failed to do so.

I learned from experience.

I knew from experience that I couldn’t change my behavior, which is a black mark in the history of the Grandfell.

Even in a moment of crisis.

His unyielding head proved it.

Which means I have no choice but to adapt.

Luckily, my adaptability seemed to be pretty good.

“Blah blah blah. Thank you. Really. This grace means that I must……!”

“Bro, are you alright? Damn, I don’t know what the hell happened…….”

“Whoa. I’m glad you’re okay. Really.”

“Wow. That’s awesome……!!!”

The burdened stares that fall on me.

The admiring glances.

I took it all in stride.

As if the reaction was natural.

I just thought to myself.

I just thought, “‘That’s cheap.”

They say young people are spoiled these days,

they don’t say that for nothing.

*

──────────

Title : Today’s Line 4 crack strategy review!! ><

author : Jung Yeopyeong

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Contents: Today’s strategy was almost a big deal ㅠ The party leader was possessed by an imp ㅠㅠ I really thought our party would be wiped out ㅠㅠ But there was an incredibly strong person in the party, and the imp was really just beaten and saved!! Party leader Sorry and thank you, I just cried and cried ㅠㅠ

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Comments :

─GunpilGirlfriend Concept Girl Jeong Yeopyeong is here again, and now she’s not even good enough to do a story?

─Let’s make the main work a little more sincere, Jung Yeon-ah, but isn’t the story of catching an imp at a play party too unconventional?

─Why not give it a name or just call it a party member?

─Hey, it’s not really a masterpiece… And I wanted to ask her name, too… You should see her. She can’t talk to us easily… What should I say? She just had the Force! Do you feel like you’re not on the same level as us?

-??? What the hell?

Level 368.

Player ranked 11th.

Nam Tae-min spat out a laugh as he read the post.

“So Hyung. You want me to believe this, really?”

In front of him was his real brother, Nam Chul-min.

“Yeah. It’s true.”

Nam’s face was as serious as ever.

“I’m the one who said I was possessed by an imp.”

“What, what?”

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