CHAPTER 350: 349

"There’s something called the Demon Slayer Squad? I didn’t know."

"Not surprising. It’s a group that must never let its identity be discovered by demons. So, interested?"

Honestly, I didn’t even need her answer to know.

As soon as she heard it was a group specializing in hunting demons, her cheeks flushed, and she couldn’t keep still.

Then, my master, who had been standing with arms crossed and a blank expression, spoke.

"Think carefully. Once you join, you won’t be able to live the same life as before."

"...The same life as before?"

"Yes. Eating will mean surviving on calorie bars for sustenance. Wearing clothes will mean enduring over a month in the same outfit. And sleeping? Forget about having a fixed place to rest." "..."

"Even after enduring such hardships, we can’t guarantee you wealth or fame. Do you still want to join the Demon Slayer Squad?"

It had been a long time since I’d seen my master speak so much at once.

’But master, the calorie bars are just because you find meals inconvenient...’

Convenience foods these days are really advanced, you know.

"...I can do it. No, I want to do it."

"Hmph, I hope you’re not saying that out of a reckless impulse."

"I need to find the demon bastard who killed my family and avenge them. Beyond that, I’ll kill every last demon in this world."

Fen Miao spoke with a fiery determination in her eyes.

"...Tch, all talk."

Then my master turned and started walking away.

"...Huh?"

"What are you doing? Let’s follow her. That was her way of accepting you." "T-that was her accepting me?"

"Yeah, she seems to like you quite a bit."

Fen Miao opened her mouth in disbelief.

"...Where are we going?"

Late at night.

I accompanied my master to escort Fen Miao to the second branch of Utopia.

"Pack only the essentials. Everything else will be disposed of by the Academy. All traces of your existence in the world will be erased." "Understood. I’ll be back shortly."

After sending her inside with instructions to pack her belongings quickly since she would be joining the Demon Slayer Squad, I found myself with a brief moment alone with my master in front of the building.

"Master."

"Hmm?"

"Here."

I opened the spatial tattoo and handed my master a black book.

"...What’s this? Attribute Energy Bullets?"

Master frowned as she examined the black book in her hand.

"It’s confidential, but this is one of the spoils we acquired from the Demonic Gate. It’s a skill book that allows you to create and unleash energy bullets made of attributes in a barrage." "...."

Hmm, perhaps the term "skill book" is unfamiliar? No, that expression...

’Ah, it’s the "I didn’t contribute to the raid, so why are you giving me something so valuable?" face.’

I let out a small laugh.

’She’s still so old-fashioned in some ways.’

My master knew that thanks to her, I had acquired the absurdly overpowered trait of "Fated Bond." And she must have realized that none of the members of our party were particularly suited to this skill book.

Yet she hesitated, feeling burdened by receiving something so valuable.

’When it comes to situations like this, the most effective method is...’

Of course, taking a hostage.

Why a hostage, you ask?

I suddenly hugged my master tightly and met her gaze. She inhaled sharply and averted her eyes.

"Master, are you really not going to accept this?" "Disc-disciple... someone might see—"

Her eyes darted around nervously, scanning our surroundings.

"There’s no one around. You already know that. And so what if someone sees? Everyone already knows about our relationship from the broadcast."

"Still—"

"If you want me to let go, then take it quickly."

"...Disciple. I told you—"

"If you don’t accept this, something terrible might happen to me during the next Demonic Gate raid."

That’s right. The hostage was me.

My own safety.

As expected, her body stiffened as soon as I mentioned the possibility of danger.

Her reaction was adorable.

"...Something terrible might happen?"

"Yes. I’ll need your help in the next Demonic Gate raid." "...Fine. But still—"

"Yes, I know you’d help me without asking for anything in return. I trust your skills, Master. It’s not like it matters whether you learn this or not."

"...."

"But if you learn this, I’ll be safer."

"You’ll... be safer?"

"Yes."

I nodded, emphasizing the point.

Master let out a short sigh and nodded in return.

"...Fine. I’ll learn it. Now let go." "As expected of you, Master."

I smiled as I let go of her.

For some reason, Master looked slightly disappointed as she reluctantly opened the demonic skill book.

Hwaaaaahhh—

The skill book shone with a bright white light, disintegrating into particles and being absorbed into Master’s body.

She closed her eyes, taking a moment to process her newfound knowledge.

Saaaaahhh—

A cold aura swirled around her, and ice crystals began forming in the air.

It was a breathtaking sight, like pristine snow suspended in midair.

’...Wow.’

But soon, the ice crystals absorbed the surrounding moisture, growing larger and sharper, transforming into pointed octahedrons.

Then, they began moving according to Master’s will.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The ice shards danced freely in the air.

’I thought it would just end with shooting them, but this...?’

Watching the display, I felt a strange sense of familiarity.

’...Wait, doesn’t this resemble the technique I saw from the Sword Emperor before?’

The Sword Emperor’s skill involved condensing energy into sword forms, filling the area with a storm of blades—Thousand Blade Formation.

Master’s newly awakened ability through Attribute Energy Bullets shared similarities with that technique.

Of course, the form of the swords was different since they used different swordsmanship styles.

And instead of condensed energy blades, these were sharp ice fragments.

’Actually, this might be more efficient. Condensing energy into tangible forms... Honestly, that’s only viable for someone with the absurd mana reserves of the Sword Emperor.’

Additionally, if those ice fragments inflicted a freezing status effect, it would make the technique even more potent.

After about a minute, the ice shards evaporated into vapor and disappeared.

"...Tch, the duration is still too short. But it’s... not bad."

Ha.

I let out a faint laugh at those words.

"Truly a genius."

This person is my master.

Master always humbly claims that she had no choice but to walk the path of the sword, unlike me, who is blessed with exceptional talent. But in my eyes, the true genius is Master.

’I had cheat-like advantages in the beginning and used knowledge from the game to get a head start. That’s how I grew to this point.’

But Master, even before meeting me, had already stepped into the realm of semitranscendence.

Perhaps the greatest fortune I’ve had since being thrown into this world was meeting Baek Seol-hee and taking her as my master.

At that moment, Master looked back at me and spoke.

"Disciple."

"Yes?"

"This... consider it an advance payment."

Even after achieving such a new level of accomplishment, the fact that she still says something like this so formally—it’s endearing.

I smiled brightly and nodded.

"Of course! No matter how busy you are, Master, I will definitely, absolutely bring you along to the next Demon Realm Gate." "Hmm."

Yes, the next Demon Realm Gate absolutely requires Master’s assistance.

Why?

Well...

"Because it’s a double gate."

A double-dungeon-style gate where one gate generates another inside of it.

In such situations, the party has to split into two groups.

In the original game, this required assembling both a main party and a sub-party to clear it.

However, the sub-party... well, it wasn’t great.

’After observing the sub-party today and watching Fen Miao, it became clear.’

Maybe if they were stronger later on, it would be different.

But if we sent a sub-party of Fen Miao’s current level into the Demon Realm Gate, they would die, 100%.

But.

If Master could take charge of one of them, splitting the party into two balanced groups of 4?

There’s no need to even hesitate.

I could confidently go "all-in!" without any worries.

No matter what anyone says,

Master is one of the people I trust the most.

.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

New novel you must CHECK

✅Infinitely Regressing In A Loop

✅Bought By A Demon

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Support the Translation! 🌐✨

30+ Advanced Chapters are currently available in Patreon, make sure to visit and support me.

patreon.com/Immortal_author

ko-fi.com /immortalauthor

discord.gg/KscfBegBPT