I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter – Chapter 126

Author: Cireng

Commander of the Dead (8)

He had become a mid-rank knight.

In truth, nothing much had changed afterward.

The only difference from his time as a low-rank knight was that he could now use the shop in Valhalla’s Sanctuary, which was accessible only to mid-rank knights and above.

Kang Ian looked at Tezeros with a hint of regret in his eyes.

‘Those wings of light… it’s a shame they can only be purchased starting from high-rank knight.’

The wings made of flowing light on Tezeros’s back.

They looked incredibly cool, but beyond that, they were also a skill that provided all kinds of beneficial buffs.

Devil Lord 3 had been out for several months now, and everything about it had already been thoroughly explored.

Nearly all builds and items had been researched.

Although Kang Ian hadn’t been able to play due to focusing on real life, he could easily find strategy guides online.

Including how to develop a Knight of Valhalla.

Using both martial arts and magic was part of that approach, and those wings of light were the same.

A must-have skill for high-level Knights of Valhalla!

But no matter how much he regretted it, he couldn’t use it right away, so Kang Ian turned his thoughts elsewhere.

After becoming a mid-rank knight, he began shopping to purchase newly unlocked items.

Thanks to Hometos, his wallet was full.

63,000 Evil Souls and 31,500 Nobility.

And that was just what he had obtained moments ago. On top of that, he had what he’d gathered recently and what he’d earned during the Busan Black Gate incident.

Considering the large number of undead summoned by Hometos, and adding everything together…

‘Evil Souls exceed 100,000, and Nobility is over 35,000.’

Even after receiving automatic Nobility income from Lee Chaewon, it was this much.

As expected, Nobility was extremely difficult to accumulate, but this was still satisfying.

In the mid-rank knight-exclusive shop, there were many various and expensive skills.

However, Kang Ian showed little interest in close-combat martial skills.

‘I’ve already learned Heavy Rock Swordsmanship and Valhalla’s Secret Sword Arts. I don’t need anything additional right now.’

Even just Heavy Rock Swordsmanship had proven extremely effective in real combat against giant monsters.

He could suppress enemies several times larger than himself with a single heavy sword.

For now, investing further would be a luxury.

Thus, his gaze turned toward magic.

[Skill Book: Radiant Lightning]

[Skill Book: Flame Serpent]

[Skill Book: Ice Blossom Barrage]

…

The magic skill books available from mid-rank knights onward were far more powerful.

If Fast Lightning was a lightweight spell that could be cast rapidly, these required casting time and consumed a lot of mana.

But in return, their power was undeniable.

“Tezeros, can I purchase this right now?”

Normally, he would have had to log into Devil Lord 3 on a computer, but he wanted to buy it immediately.

He couldn’t go home right away, and with Busan in chaos, going to a PC café wasn’t an option either.

Tezeros nodded.

It was a relief that he didn’t have to delay.

‘Whatever I buy will be good, but…’

Kang Ian pondered carefully.

He had already thought about which magic to purchase.

After a moment’s consideration, he chose one.

Ding!

[You have spent 6,300 Nobility to purchase ‘Skill Book: Flame Serpent’]

He chose based mainly on the attribute.

Fire-element magic.

Flames excelled in destructive power and had high versatility.

Radiant Lightning, a lightning-type spell, was also good… but since he already had a lightning spell, he chose a different type this time.

‘If needed, I can buy more later… though damn, it’s expensive.’

It was hard to gather, but spending it took no time at all.

Of course, with his current Nobility, he could afford several decent spells… but there were too many things to spend it on, so he needed to be careful.

For now, he planned to try one mid-rank spell and buy more if necessary.

‘Next…’

The next thing Kang Ian checked was the consumables tab.

Among them, far down the list, were extremely rare and expensive items.

[Lower-Grade Permanent Mana Increase Potion]

[Required Evil Souls: 30,000]

[Required Nobility: 3,000]

[Mid-Grade Permanent Mana Increase Potion]

[Required Evil Souls: 80,000]

[Required Nobility: 10,000]

They were potions that permanently increased mana.

The moment he saw them, Kang Ian frowned.

‘This price is seriously… insane.’

Just thinking about buying one made his hands tremble.

But after going through the trouble of buying mid-rank magic, what would be the point if he couldn’t use it much due to a lack of mana?

The more mana, the better.

Even now, he could only use sword energy skills three to four times before hitting his limit… this would increase that limit.

‘Once I master the Secret Sword Arts, I can use aura… but until then, I’ll rely on sword energy. And even after mastering it, more mana is always better.’

In every sense, this potion couldn’t be bad.

Except for its wicked price.

Ding!

[You have spent 80,000 Evil Souls and 10,000 Nobility to purchase ‘Mid-Grade Permanent Mana Increase Potion’]

However, after a cold, rational judgment, he bought the potion.

This was an investment.

An investment that would allow him to take a greater leap forward.

The lower-grade one was cheaper, but its efficiency couldn’t compare to the mid-grade potion, so he chose the latter.

After that, he saved the rest.

He needed to conserve resources in case something else came up.

There was no guarantee Tezeros would be able to lend him anything next time.

“Yes, Tezeros.”

When it seemed Kang Ian had finished shopping, Tezeros spoke.

“If it’s a mission I must carry out, I will complete it with my life on the line!”

Kang Ian answered with shining eyes.

From mid-rank knight onward, true knightly missions began… and their rewards were substantial.

‘Valhalla is generous with everything.’

No matter what, Valhalla’s missions always gave large rewards.

They had to be completed.

“Purify… you say?”

<Yes. The roots of evil are embedded all over the world even now. Remove them and sever the source of the demons’ power.>

Ding!

[A quest has been generated]

[Quest: Order Mission – Destroy the Roots of Evil]

[Destroy the roots of evil scattered across the world and stop the demons’ invasion.]

[Rewards: Valhalla Order Contribution Points, appropriate amounts of Evil Souls, and Nobility]

[Would you like to accept the quest?]

[Y/N]

There was no need to think.

He immediately chose yes.

With those words, his consciousness lifted, and he felt a floating sensation as he exited the Sanctuary.

When he blinked, the dull land came back into view.

Inside the Black Gate… the Land of Death.

Beside him floated Hometos.

First, Kang Ian grabbed him and asked the most important question.

“Hey. Do you have any more of those Demon Knight equipment things?”

Normally kind to others, Kang Ian had no reason to be polite to this one.

After all, it was a servant of demons.

And bound by contract, no less.

<No. That was already quite a lot. Unless I had obtained them from my lord for research purposes, there’s no way I’d have that quantity.>

“…Tch.”

Kang Ian clicked his tongue in disappointment.

He had hoped to squeeze everything out in one go.

“Then is there anything else? You’re a lich who’s lived a long time. You must have plenty of treasures stored up.”

“…So you’re useless now, is that it?”

Kang Ian’s tone turned cold.

Hometos flinched.

<B-But I still have a vast amount of knowledge in my head! And if I can return to my laboratory someday, I’ll give you all the treasures there!>

“Hmm.”

It sounded like desperate rambling to survive, but Kang Ian didn’t bother killing Hometos.

Thanks to the (slave) contract, he could control him completely… and he seemed potentially useful.

“Fine. I’ll trust you. I’ll be watching how you perform from now on.”

<Th-thank you.>

Hometos suddenly felt pitiful, wondering how his life had ended up like this.

***

After obtaining one crystal stone and two skill stones, Kang Ian exited the Black Gate.

“Did you complete the raid?”

“Yes.”

“Ah… I see. Good work.”

Some hunters who had been waiting nearby approached and asked, then looked at him with disappointment.

If Kang Ian had failed, second- and third-ranked guilds would have been able to enter based on contribution.

Since he had gone in alone, they had hoped he might fail and retreat… but that didn’t happen.

Shhh

As Kang Ian exited, the Black Gate slowly began to dissipate.

It was undeniable proof that the raid had succeeded.

The other hunters clicked their tongues and withdrew.

Left alone, Kang Ian wondered what to do next when someone approached quickly from afar.

“Kang Ian Hunter!”

“Team Leader Choi Seobin?”

It was Choi Seobin, team leader of Red Rose.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? I was waiting up front, but I had to step away for an urgent report… I didn’t expect you to come out during that time.”

She quickly examined him.

His relaxed expression and completely uninjured appearance surprised her.

‘He went into a Black Gate alone and cleared it this quickly?’

She had already felt how strong he had become while fighting the 50-meter skull together.

He was at least on par with her, a B+ rank hunter… or even beyond in some aspects.

Kang Ian smiled lightly.

“Yes. I was lucky. The inside was quite good.”

Yes… It was good. Extremely good!

“Ha… you’ve worked hard. You’ll need to write a report about the interior later, but we can do that afterward. You must be tired. I’ll excuse you from other duties.”

“I’m not that tired… what do you mean by other duties?”

“Right now, Busan is in the middle of damage recovery. The association and media are heavily focused on it, so hunters here are being deployed to various sites. But honestly, a lot of it is tedious work. I can exclude you from it at my discretion.”

Choi Seobin clapped her hands as if to say leave it to me.

“You’re the top contributor, so no one will complain if you rest. Leave the cleanup to me or the others and head back to Seoul, no one will-”

“How could I possibly do that!?”

“?”

The damage recovery in the city.

Handled well, it was an opportunity to earn a massive amount of Nobility.

And he was supposed to just leave and go back to Seoul?

If he did that, he wouldn’t even be able to sleep properly.

“I’ll stay until the end and help!”

After saying that, Kang Ian immediately began striding toward Busan.

Worried that good opportunities might be taken if he was late, his pace grew faster.

“……”