F-Rank Secretly Becomes Stronger - Chapter 70

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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70

 

“I’m not sure if the meal will be to your taste.”

 

“It’s delicious beyond what I deserve.”

 

Jung Juhyeok heard an answer different from what he expected.

 

Garisto had dragged him in, suggesting they have a light meal before starting their conversation.

 

For Jung Juhyeok, who needed Garisto’s cooperation, there was nothing good about refusing.

 

Either way, it was Garisto who held the initiative.

 

Garisto was the one who could free him from the artifact embedded in his body.

 

Thinking there was nothing good about acting in a way that would displease him, he accepted the dinner invitation.

 

“But where on earth did you get the Training Room?”

 

Garisto asked.

 

“Even if it’s a failed work, an artifact made by a demon isn’t something you can easily get anywhere.”

 

Naturally, possessing items related to demons is also prohibited.

 

It’s generally managed at the International Association level.

 

Where did he manage to obtain such a precious thing.

 

Jung Juhyeok answered that question simply.

 

“Academy rooftop.”

 

“Academy?”

 

Did he know what the Academy was?

 

While briefly considering whether to explain, he showed a reaction as if he knew about the Academy and spoke.

 

“The Training Room was at a place where those young green kids are?”

 

“Yeah, I don’t really know why it was there either.”

 

After the artifact was embedded in his body, he secretly continued investigating the Academy, but no matter how much he dug, there were limits to the information he could access as a student.

 

Moreover, even after graduation, he searched tirelessly for any information that might leak from somewhere, but it all ended up being futile.

 

The fact that he couldn’t move actively also played a big part, since if the owner found out he was searching for information about the Training Room, it might arouse unnecessary suspicion.

 

“You didn’t sell it to the Academy, did you?”

 

“I don’t remember. It was too long ago, and I just roughly sold off the failed work at a cheap price.”

 

Unfortunately, it seemed his good head didn’t remember everything.

 

Actually, there was no need to know who had caused the artifact to flow in anymore.

 

Since he had met the creator anyway, there was no need to find out who bought it.

 

“That doesn’t really matter now.”

 

The most important thing right now wasn’t who he had sold it to.

 

“Can you remove this from my body?”

 

Whether Garisto could remove the artifact from his body.

 

For now, that problem was Jung Juhyeok’s top priority.

 

“Well, that guy abandoned it at the testing stage without any experiments, so I’m not sure.”

 

“For something called such a half-hearted work, it has quite ridiculous performance.”

 

Inside, even if days or years pass, time flows differently from the outside.

 

Though he was so immersed in catching the doll that he barely paid attention, he at least roughly noticed that much more time had passed than when he came outside.

 

The ability to manipulate time.

 

That alone was impressive enough to feel amazing, but it didn’t end there.

 

“An artifact that makes time flow differently from reality and prevents you from feeling all the fatigue that should build up in your body couldn’t have been made easily.”

 

When you’re inside the Training Room, you don’t feel fatigue.

 

Even if you can’t sleep, even if you don’t eat.

 

No matter how much the doll hits you, you only feel momentary pain and don’t get injured.

 

“Right, mm-hmm, I did put quite a bit of effort into making it.”

 

His head nodded as if he was secretly pleased.

 

Though it wasn’t meant as a compliment, it seemed to be quite pleasant words from the creator’s perspective.

 

“Still, that was too ridiculous of an artifact.”

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“Why? The escape conditions are too harsh.”

 

A structure where you have to catch the doll a million times to escape.

 

There’s no other way to exit the artifact.

 

“At first, I made it so that even those with little mana could be used as weapons… but even so, a million times was too harsh.”

 

An ordinary human or demon would go insane before finishing it.

 

“Before long, when mental abnormalities occur, the artifact will immediately suffer damage beyond what it can handle and everything will end. In other words, it’s impossible to use without transcendent mental strength.”

 

After saying that, Garisto looked at Juhyeok with a pleased expression.

 

He had been grinning happily every time their eyes met, like a nephew meeting his favorite uncle.

 

“But is there really a need to remove it from your body? Looking at how stably it’s operating, it seems fine?”

 

“There’s no guarantee it’ll be problem-free forever.”

 

If he could continue using it like this, of course it would be good to keep it.

 

The Training Room was a great help for his growth, considering he was a slow learner.

 

“Who knows if it might suddenly explode when it’s been fine like this.”

 

The problem was not knowing when the artifact might act up.

 

Currently, having even consumed Dream Herb, the artifact had become strange, making it even more dangerous.

 

Garisto glanced at him and spoke with a regretful tone.

 

“That’s not wrong, but… still, looking at its current state, there’s no sign of that happening at all.”

 

“Never mind that, just take a look.”

 

Juhyeok took out herbs from the small bag he had brought.

 

It was the one he had received from Mephisto.

 

The herb with anesthetic effects that he had received, saying it would help in negotiations with Garisto.

 

“If you successfully remove it, I’ll give you a gift too.”

 

“…You’re certainly thorough about give and take.”

 

Garisto recognized roughly what kind of herb it was just by looking at its shape from a distance.

 

He nodded with a satisfied expression.

 

“Alright, I’ll take a proper look after the meal is finished.”

 

“And, one more thing.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Juhyeok paused for a very brief moment.

 

Then he wound the pasta on his plate around his fork and asked.

 

“You really never put anyone in the Training Room?”

 

A story that didn’t match up.

 

Juhyeok had definitely seen it inside the Training Room.

 

The demon who had sought out Garisto wanting to become stronger, and Garisto who had trapped him in the Training Room.

 

He had directly met that demon in the Training Room and even directly consumed his Magic Stone.

 

To dismiss it as an illusion that passed like a midsummer night’s dream, his mana had improved because of that Magic Stone and he had become stronger than before.

 

“It’s very different from the information I know.”

 

“Why would I need to lie? I told you from the beginning, that was a failure.”

 

The Training Room that had been a failure.

 

Garisto wasn’t stupid enough to use precious test subjects on a failure.

 

“Even if I put test subjects in such an absurd place, only their bodies would remain and their minds wouldn’t return, which would just create more burdens.”

 

“….”

 

“If you think it’s a lie, there’s nothing I can do, but realistically I have no reason to use that on test subjects.”

 

A tone that sounded annoyed.

 

Was this acting, or had he really never used test subjects?

 

If he had never used test subjects, then what were the memories and demon he had seen?

 

Juhyeok fell into contemplation for a moment.

 

After spending time like that by himself for a while, he opened his mouth.

 

“I made a promise.”

 

“A promise?”

 

“Yes, I went inside the Training Room and saw you putting a demon in there.”

 

It definitely remained in his memory.

 

Garisto with a child’s face showing a mad expression as he put the demon inside.

 

It remained so vividly as if it were his own experience.

 

“Come to think of it, you showed a reaction earlier as if you knew the Count’s face.”

 

The butler chimed in from the side.

 

Then Garisto took a sip of water and answered.

 

“What? I never put any function to show someone’s memories in the Training Room… much less creating and showing illusions.”

 

“…Illusion.”

 

As soon as he heard the word illusion, one thing flashed through his mind.

 

Juhyeok looked at the herb he had set down beside him and carefully opened his mouth.

 

“There’s one thing I can think of.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Dream Herb.”

 

“Dream Herb?”

 

Garisto fell silent for a moment at the name that came out of nowhere.

 

He asked again.

 

“Why that?”

 

“I ate it.”

 

“….”

 

His eyes frowned at the words that he had eaten the Dream Herb.

 

Garisto looked at the butler beside him and asked.

 

“Butler, did I hear wrong?”

 

“Judging by that reaction, you seem to have heard correctly.”

 

“Dream Herb?”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

After getting confirmation from the butler, he turned his gaze again.

 

Garisto seemed to find it hard to believe and asked again.

 

“You ate Dream Herb?”

 

“Yeah, I chewed and ate all of it without leaving a single leaf.”

 

“Ha.”

 

His face went blank.

 

Seeing his calm reaction, he seemed to know this wasn’t a joke but the truth.

 

“How could you eat that and…? No, is it possible because of the mental strength that endured the Training Room?”

 

He began muttering to himself like crazy.

 

Even while doing so, his gaze kept going back and forth this way, and there was something eerie about it that made his hair stand on end.

 

“Stop talking to yourself.”

 

“Ah, excuse me. You’re such an interesting test sub… I mean, human.”

 

He was about to say test subject again.

 

Was it right to entrust artifact dismantling to this guy?

 

He was a bit suspicious, but there was no other way.

 

“Anyway, after eating the Dream Herb, something went wrong with the Training Room.”

 

“What do you mean something went wrong?”

 

“Messages started having errors, or the dolls inside became stronger because of the Dream Herb.”

 

The messages that had typos after eating the Dream Herb.

 

The dolls inside appeared in a more powerful state, contaminated by the Dream Herb.

 

After hearing the symptoms, Garisto stroked his chin for a moment.

 

“Hmm… I think I’d need to examine it directly to know.”

 

He let out a brief contemplative sound.

 

After a moment of silence, Garisto spoke again.

 

“I need to examine you closely to see if you can remove the artifact. Since you even ate Dream Herb and problems occurred, there might have been some changes in the structure.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“And, as I just said, I’ve never used test subjects in the Training Room.”

 

“Can you prove that?”

 

“If you want, a contract is possible too.”

 

A contract.

 

For demons, it’s an absolute oath.

 

An act that could lead to the annihilation of one’s existence if the terms aren’t kept.

 

Garisto was confident enough to casually suggest such a thing.

 

However, Juhyeok didn’t back down there.

 

“Then let’s make a contract.”

 

“Fine.”

 

Garisto casually wrote down a contract on paper.

 

He presented a contract that briefly stated he would answer only the truth to questions about the Training Room.

 

As soon as Juhyeok received the paper and signed it, he asked.

 

“Have you never used test subjects in the Training Room at all?”

 

“That’s right. Never.”

 

“….”

 

After giving his answer, Garisto shrugged his shoulders.

 

There was no change in him whatsoever, and the Contract Paper that had lost its purpose burned away in midair.

 

“Didn’t I tell you?”

 

His confident expression was giving me a headache.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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