Chapter 35
A tickling sensation flowed through his body.
It arrived after the rough feeling scraped down his esophagus.
His mind began to blur.
His stomach churned just like the first time he crossed a gate…
[Extracting mana from the consumed medium.]
[Mana absorption complete.]
[Training Room upgrade and activation now available!]
“What the— Are you okay?”
“….”
He felt completely fine.
To be precise, the symptoms only lasted for a very brief moment and disappeared immediately.
“Is this really supposed to work that fast?”
“Normally, the moment someone eats it, they go crazy and start raving… You just went ‘ugh’ for a second and it ended.”
She quietly examined his face and asked:
“You sure you’re okay?”
“It’s strange how fine I am. I feel unbelievably calm.”
“That’s impossible…”
Mephisto examined him with a baffled expression.
Seeing no signs of abnormality whatsoever, she began muttering to herself.
“Is it because your natural mana level is extremely low, so it didn’t react properly? No… even humans with zero mana react the same, so that’s not it.”
She sank deeper into her thoughts.
Once curiosity swallowed her, she forgot about the person standing right in front of her and started forming theories out loud.
She continued muttering things that he couldn’t fully understand, then suddenly looked back at him.
“If that’s the case…”
“Hm?”
Whip—!
Without warning, Mephisto flicked her finger and tried to snap his forehead hard.
Juhyuk simply tilted his head lightly and dodged it.
“…What are you doing.”
“You dodged.”
Her lips curled upward.
With a grin, she spoke:
“You shouldn’t have been able to avoid that.”
“It was way too obvious.”
“The speed just now is something even my Jinky can’t keep up with.”
Even her Cerberus beast couldn’t follow that speed.
“You struggled against Jinky, and yet you just dodged that like it was nothing.”
And Juhyuk had avoided it with a clean, minimal motion.
This proved only one thing:
“That herb worked. The side effect only lasted a moment.”
The Dreamshade he just consumed had drastically enhanced his physical abilities.
His mana amount didn’t increase, but his abilities could now rival someone empowered with mana.
How was something like this even possible?
“Just willpower alone? That makes no sense, no matter how I think about it.”
“….”
“Your mana level is still microscopic and pathetic, but your physical ability became monstrous.”
She slowly began walking.
Clack, clack.
Without a word, she circled him with only the sound of her heels.
After completing a full circle, she arrived behind him and gently grabbed his shoulder.
He didn’t resist.
There was no killing intent coming from her.
“You know… the more I look at you, the more I want you.”
A pleasant scent.
Like warm blankets dried under morning sunlight.
Completely different from the artificial, sharp scent he expected from a demon.
“Make a contract with me. Will you?”
“No.”
“Why? If you contract with me, you’ll become far stronger than you are now.”
Even with just a speck of mana, he was already at this level.
If he were to form a pact with the arch-demon Mephisto, then…
“You could have anything you want.”
“I don’t need anything.”
He didn’t even imagine it.
Wealth, honor—anything he wanted if he took her hand.
Most people would drool over such an offer, yet he didn’t blink.
“You want to live your whole life as an F-rank with trash-tier mana? There’s no reason to throw away the chance right in front of you.”
“There is a reason.”
He looked her in the eyes and answered:
“I’m neither smart enough nor stupid enough to make a contract with a demon.”
He wasn’t smart enough to outplay Mephisto.
Nor was he stupid enough not to understand what he’d be trading.
And aside from his personal resolve, he had plenty of reasons not to.
“Tsk. So stubborn…”
Mephisto clicked her tongue, disappointed.
“Fine, whatever. Today was entertaining enough. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Since we’re done, take me to Garistos’ mansion.”
“You’re rejecting my contract and still making demands?”
He didn’t have any other way to get there.
He normally wasn’t shameless, but the situation required it.
“I haven’t been compensated yet. Your mutt cracked my ribs and they still ache.”
“You’re just going to ignore the free library access and rare herb I gave you? And I healed you perfectly, so what pain—”
She stared at him like he was a ridiculous creature.
He repeated himself while she was busy ranting:
“You ever heard of PTSD? Besides, the library and herb were rewards I won through fair bets.”
The library was earned through a seduction wager.
The herb was also won after she herself declared it part of a bet.
Meaning, she had paid nothing for the actual injury.
“You can’t act like healing me settles everything.”
“….”
Mephisto stared blankly at him, then burst into restrained laughter.
“Pfft!”
She laughed for a long time, inhaled from her cigar, and exhaled smoke into the air.
“You’re right~ You really are right.”
After the laughter faded, she nodded slowly with a smile.
“I’d love to take you right now because you’re fun, but… you can’t go yet.”
“You said I’m strong enough to beat your mutt.”
“And even that isn’t enough.”
She responded to his annoyed expression:
“Even if multiple S-class humans attacked together, they wouldn’t make it from the gate to the first door. That’s Garistos’ mansion.”
Juhyuk had just become strong enough to possibly defeat Cerberus.
But even an army of them couldn’t breach Garistos’ home.
“The place is full of modified demons. Even I avoid going there unless absolutely necessary.”
That’s how dangerous it was—so dangerous that even an arch-demon avoided it.
“Going now is suicide. If you made a contract, that’d be different.”
“Either way sounds like a bad ending.”
“That depends on your choices.”
Her smile felt like mockery.
As if watching someone destined to fall someday.
He only felt more unwilling when she looked at him that way.
“Fine. Then give me more Dreamshade. I’ll just keep getting stronger.”
“You survived once and got cocky, huh?”
She sat down, crossed her legs, and inhaled her cigar.
With a relaxed tone, she answered:
“Even if I wanted to, I can’t. And even if I had more, Dreamshade only works once. After that your body adapts and becomes immune.”
That was proven through experimentation.
If Dreamshade worked repeatedly, hell would be filled with nothing but Dreamshade-enhanced monsters.
“You either make a contract or spend the rest of your life ignoring what you want.”
Make a pact and obtain power… meet Garistos…
Or leave without answers.
For him, the choice was binary.
Mephisto assumed any human would choose power.
“I said I’m never making a contract. Dream on.”
Never.
At least not now.
“Hmph~ Let’s see how long that lasts.”
She stood, flicked her cigar, and it vanished mid-air.
A gate appeared, similar to the one he saw before entering hell.
“If you ever need me, summon me. I’ll appear—no matter the method.”
After returning home through the gate, the very first place he went was his house.
He desperately wanted to test the strength he gained through Dreamshade.
He also had enough mana to activate the Training Room again.
He messaged his mom and acquaintances saying he would be unavailable for a while due to training, then entered the Training Room.
As always, he touched the mark on his arm—
[Would you like to enter immediately?]
The notification looked different.
‘Huh? That’s never shown up before.’
He wondered if it was a glitch.
He canceled and tried again.
[Would you like to enter immediately?]
Same message.
‘…Something’s wrong.’
If he had a way to diagnose it, he would, but he had zero artifact knowledge.
All he could do was wait and try again, but that changed nothing.
“Is it because of the Dreamshade?”
The malfunction started only after consuming it.
The Training Room could even detect mana stones, yet now it was malfunctioning after he consumed something unrecognized.
That seemed like the most plausible theory.
‘What do I do…’
If that demon named Garistos were available, he could have asked for advice.
But Mephisto said he wasn’t strong enough to go there.
Meaning he couldn’t use the Training Room until meeting Garistos.
‘That can’t happen.’
Without the accelerated time of the Training Room, he had no method of growth.
There was only one conclusion.
“Go in.”
He would enter the malfunctioning Training Room.
He wasn’t guaranteed safety, but he had no choice.
After deciding, he touched the mark again and entered.
When he opened his eyes, he was relieved to find he wasn’t dead.
It looked like the hellscape where he had met Cerberus—lava flowing all around.
He stood up, noticing a sword at his feet.
The moment he felt relief—
Kiki-kik-! Krrkk-! Kik…!
[Defeat the ???-Corrupted Dolls 1,000,000 times (0/1,000,000)]
A red-skinned doll, without even grabbing its weapon, charged straight at him.
