I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 38. The Demon Race (1)
Rank 5 in South Korea.
Jeoksong, bearing the red pine as its symbol, is a massive guild that every Hunter dreams of joining.
The name itself was a mark of distinction.
A symbol of strength.
“All of us matched into a single attack party?”
“Ha! Incredible luck. And every one of us from the 1st Group, no less.”
1st Group and 2nd Group.
Jeoksong had purchased a total of ten entry tickets.
The most skilled were sent to the 1st Group; those with somewhat lesser ability to the 2nd Group.
And.
The five people here were among those elite few assigned to the 1st Group.
A force capable of conquering even moderately dangerous dungeons without outside support.
“The guild set the success bonus at a billion won. We absolutely cannot let anyone else take first place.”
“Come on, don’t worry needlessly. Not much information flows from the Central Region to the Eastern Region. No one knows more about it than we do.”
No trace of tension showed on any of their faces.
Unless Jusin or Ssaulabi had shown up.
A third-rate guild like those dregs in Hanam would tuck tail the moment they locked eyes with them.
But then.
Whoooosh.
A strange presence brushed past them through the wind thick with volcanic ash.
Something tall and bipedal was approaching.
“A monster?”
No.
Something about it felt deeply wrong.
In this place, where cave orcs and aquatic creatures dwelling in lava made up most of the fauna, such an entity had never been recorded.
“Everyone, fall back!”
Jo Il-ho, the attack party leader, instantly rearranged his mana.
White brilliance coalesced in an instant, befitting a seasoned 6-Star Rank lightning-attribute Mage.
[Skill ‘Lightning Spear’ activates!]
Thunder cleaved the air and pierced through its target.
The force was tremendous.
Crackle!
Sizzle!
Sparks continued rippling outward.
“Jo, Il-ho. Wasn’t that an overreaction? What if it’s just another attack party…?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Jo Il-ho wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
A visceral revulsion and rejection.
His stomach churned continuously with dry heaves.
‘That thing was dangerous.’
If he’d allowed any distance, he had no idea what would happen.
But it should be fine now.
It had taken the Lightning Spear head-on, so it couldn’t possibly have survived—
Swish.
In an instant.
Jo Il-ho’s vision inverted completely.
“…!?”
This couldn’t be happening.
What he saw now was his own body.
Except his head was gone.
“What…”
He should speak.
He should ask what happened.
But his lips wouldn’t move properly.
His vision continued to dim.
“Kyaaaaahhh!”
“Il-ho!”
The Hunters belonging to Jeoksong screamed.
A man with black skin and yellow eyes was holding Jo Il-ho’s severed head.
Beyond the walls exists a vast multitude of races and factions.
So much lay shrouded in mystery that humanity had uncovered only a handful of truths.
Yet a few were known.
And the most notorious stood directly before them.
“Demon… Race.”
There was no doubt.
Despair had arrived—a despair that not even a full Guild assault could overcome.
Shiver-shiver-shiver.
Bodies trembling like aspen leaves.
Clang! Metal shrieked.
Weapons clattered to the ground.
Every soul froze in place, their will to fight drained utterly away.
“How disappointing.”
Barkan’s brow furrowed.
“Not even the will to fight. As I suspected—is that smug bastard the only one in this place who can entertain me?”
The human who had finally piqued his interest.
His mind was consumed with thoughts of that grinning man.
Yes.
To truly enjoy combat, these insects would not do.
“P-please… spare us…”
“I beg you…”
Whoosh.
Barkan swung his long obsidian blade.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Black flames erupted from the earth, swallowing all of Jeoksong whole.
* * *
Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle!
Thick smoke billowed upward.
They had begun their hunt.
“Boradoli! How many detonation points have erupted?”
“Hey, don’t call me that! I told you not to!”
Never mind. Just tell me what you’ve detected through the Crown Dolls.
“How do you even know about those?”
How indeed.
He’d memorized the skills and traits of every ranker—could recite them in his sleep.
The Crown Dolls were a type of construct that possessed the Mana Detection ability.
It was obvious that Boradoli had scattered them across the terrain to gather intelligence.
“Three Attack Parties have vanished. All of them were parties heading east.”
Three…
Damn it.
Was luck itself abandoning them?
Only the Demon Race could annihilate an entire five-person Attack Party in the blink of an eye.
If three parties had fallen simultaneously, then one had to assume three Demon Race entities were present here.
And eastward lay the direction where the Dungeon’s boss monster dwelled.
‘If they’ve established themselves there, prey will come seeking them out on its own.’
The situation was deteriorating by the moment.
Things were unfolding far worse than he’d anticipated.
They possessed only a single advantage.
‘Numbers.’
An estimated minimum of over a hundred teams had entered the Demon’s Throat.
Locating them individually, scattered like grains of sand across this vast expanse, would require considerable time.
Their only chance lay in securing what they sought before then.
“We must hurry.”
Ju-sang gazed at the colossal volcano looming distantly ahead.
They were nearly at their destination.
* * *
Moments later, they arrived at the entrance of a volcano of staggering proportions.
Upon the massive doors were carved symbols representing light and darkness respectively.
Rumble… rumble-boom!
Crash-crash-crash-bang!
The active volcano continued to belch smoke and flame.
It rumbled as though ready to erupt at any moment.
The Heart of the Volcano.
The Demon Race had come to this Dungeon for one reason alone: to claim this item.
‘They can’t possibly imagine that I know about this.’
A insignificant creature, beneath their notice and contempt.
There was no way such a human could know the demons’ secrets. That’s what they believed with absolute certainty.
So they hunted without worry, focused entirely on the task at hand.
Well then.
It was time to show them just how foolish and arrogant that assumption truly was.
“Amy’s role is critical here.”
“O-of course! I’ll do my very best at whatever you ask!”
“You need to divide Holy Power and Dark Power exactly in half, distributing them equally to both doors. The margin of error cannot exceed 0.35%.”
There were two ways to open this door.
Supply both light and darkness—magical forces in equal measure.
Or.
Bring darkness so thick and pure that it would swallow all light entirely.
The Demon Race had intended to use the latter method.
For creatures without Holy Power, it was the only viable option anyway.
‘That’s why they had their underlings gather life force.’
The resentment of those who died betrayed—that was the purest Dark Power of all.
But they had something far better in their hand.
[Amy channels both ‘Holy’ and ‘Darkness’ simultaneously!]
Tank Necromancer and Paladin both.
The innate talent that was Amy’s gift blazed forth.
Whoooosh!
Both doors flooded with contrasting colors of light.
‘Insane.’
It was a display of control that drew involuntary admiration even as he watched.
Truth be told, he’d set the 0.35% margin deliberately tight as a precaution, but Amy rendered such concerns meaningless—she distributed Holy Power and Dark Power with perfect precision.
And then.
Crack-crack-crunch!
Doors weighing dozens of tons began to open, slowly, ponderously.
A sacred space lined with crimson pillars.
[The Guardians sense the presence of strange intruders!]
One by one, the Guardians protecting the Heart of the Volcano began to stir awake.
“Take them down before they’re fully conscious!”
This moment—when they’d just roused from long slumber and could muster only a fraction of their true power—was the only opening they’d have.
“Understood!”
“Just kill them all, right?”
Hyang Pyeong-jak and Boradoli burst forth in opposite directions.
Moving at tremendous speed, they carved through the flame giants.
Nearly one-fifth of them fell before they’d even had a chance to stretch.
Slash!
Ju-sang joined the fray as well.
[The Frost Flame Ultimate Sword activates!]
Kabal Rado and Heukwol.
Both daggers bloomed with bitter cold.
Blizzard winds swirled as the temperature around them plummeted.
[Additional damage of 20% applies against flame-attribute monsters!]
With the advantage of opposing elements added to the mix, it was like adding wings to a tiger.
Brilliant techniques unfolded as the Guardians fell like rotting leaves.
‘My right hand is fully at ease now.’
For so long, life had meant fighting with only the left.
It had been painful and awkward.
There had been so much despair….
But not anymore.
No longer did he need to torment himself within that nightmare.
Thump.
His heart beat with genuine joy.
Conditions incomparable to anything before.
‘It’s possible.’
This time, I’ll topple The Emperor and reach the ending.
After about ten minutes had passed, not a single Guardian remained inside.
[You have obtained the Heart of the Volcano.]
[Acquisition Difficulty: S]
[Description: In the distant past, when the Red Dragon entered eternal slumber, the magical power it released seeped into the volcano. Over thousands of years, it settled into the Heart of the Volcano.]
[Upon Use: You can draw out a dragon’s power, but its fury may consume the user.]
A colossal mass of magical energy.
Think of it as a lesser version of a dragon’s heart.
‘The question now is how to use this….’
Countless scenarios tangled in Ju-sang’s mind.
To calculate the highest probability of survival.
Just as he was checking strategy and establishing a foothold against the Demon Race—
Crunch.
A small commotion arose.
“Is anyone… here?”
An Attack Party had drawn near to this vicinity.
About fifty people in number.
Every one of them looked terrible.
As if they couldn’t remember when they’d last eaten or drunk, or when they’d last managed even a moment’s rest.
Those barely clinging to life had gathered and consolidated until they formed this massive group.
Because they hadn’t been matched, they carried all sorts of penalty traits plastered across them.
From among them, a man who appeared to be the party leader approached.
A crimson pine emblem… that would mean….
“You’re affiliated with Jeoksong?”
“I belong to the 2nd Group. I’m Kim Dae-hyeon.”
The 1st Group had been wiped out some time ago.
Before the Demon Race, there was little difference between 1st Group and 2nd Group.
“We encountered the Demon Race on the way. If it weren’t for the Mage, we’d all have been buried there.”
“Raven Parbon—a 6-Star Rank Mage who once served in the Imperial Army.”
An elderly Mage took up the thread of the conversation.
Originally, there had been about 150 survivors, but they’d split into groups of fifty and scattered in different directions.
It must have been an attempt to raise the survival rate even slightly.
“They’ll be here soon enough. So forgive my impertinence, but I’m asking—would you take us in at this position too? We can offer compensation from the Guild’s side, as much as you’d like.”
Fifty fighters, then….
This was a double-edged sword.
Not a small number, but aside from a few, they were difficult to deploy as true combat power.
If he carelessly assigned them tasks, there was a real danger he’d end up cleaning up messes instead.
Of course, it wasn’t all disadvantages.
He spotted several Priests in the Attack Party.
Holy Power was one of the few means of landing effective blows against the Demon Race, so that aspect was certainly attractive.
‘I’d say the advantages and disadvantages are about even.’
Ambiguous.
So it became a dilemma.
Ding!
It was at that moment the status window flashed before his eyes.
[A Quest for the Great Challenger has arrived!]
[First Trial on the Path to Emperor—’Hardship’.]
[Difficulty: S]
[Objective: In a dungeon where survival rates have plummeted catastrophically due to the Demon Race, guide 70% or more of the people outside.]
[Reward: 1 Ability Enhancement Voucher. Additional 5 Stat Points for each person saved.]
[Failure: You will be unable to receive further quests for the Great Challenger thereafter.]
The moment Ju-sang saw the status window materialize, his eyes widened.
What is this?
Though he’d seized countless dungeons before, this was his first time receiving a quest of this kind.
-Special rewards for the Great Challenger will be unlocked sequentially.
Now that he thought about it, he remembered.
The message that had appeared when he first entered The Emperor.
That’s right.
It had to be one of the rewards mentioned back then.
‘A task to become Emperor….’
Jusin parsed each character inscribed in the quest one by one.
Did it mean that upon success, he would receive a reward befitting his ascension to Emperor?
Or did it mean that if he couldn’t even surpass this, he had no right to be Emperor at all?
Whatever the intention, one thing was certain.
‘I cannot fail. Not ever.’
First of all, the reward itself was absurd.
Five stat points for each person saved? It was unbelievable.
If this were true, it would be enormously helpful in raising his rank.
But the real treasure lay elsewhere, not in stats.
[Ability Enhancement]
A reward that could strengthen an existing ability and elevate it to a higher tier.
B-rank to A-rank.
A-rank to S-rank.
And S-rank to… ‘Transcendent Tier.’
Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
His heart raced wildly.
He felt a surge of electricity coursing through his entire body, as though he’d just won the lottery.
This changed everything.
He would need to revise his plan, incorporating the attack party and restructuring the whole strategy.
“I understand. We’ll fight alongside you.”
“Thank you. Whatever you ask of us, we’ll do our best to help.”
Kim Dae-hyeon bowed with a bright smile, expressing his gratitude.
But the joy was short-lived.
Parbon screamed.
“Everyone, evacuate now! This instant!”
For someone who always maintained his composure, such a reaction could only mean one thing: the situation was dire.
“Parbon. Evacuate at once? What do you mean by that?”
Kim Dae-hyeon asked immediately.
“This location has been marked as a coordinate. Soon, this entire area will become a hellscape.”
The Demon Race.
They had arrived at the Volcano.

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