Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

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Chapter 99

7:30 AM.

30 minutes before the start of the 2nd wave of the war.

The battlefield was already in an uproar.

“They assigned six high-ranking knights to our side?”

“That's what I'm saying. I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“Huh… Should I be happy about this, or not? Isn't it dangerous?”

“What does it matter? We just do what they tell us to do anyway. I hope I survive and get a hefty reward.”

It was all because of the change in deployment from yesterday.

Everyone was chattering about it, worried about their own safety.

And I, the one who caused this situation…

“Ugh.”

I wasn't feeling well at all.

Because if they died, I felt like it would be my fault.

‘Being a commander isn't easy either. Having to feel like this every time…’

It's pain that ordinary people would find hard to endure.

That's probably why Elbert made me do this.

Just like he said, this truly was a punishment.

‘Let's think about this lightly. Since the war has broken out, someone has to die anyway.’

I consoled myself and held onto my mentality.

If I was troubled by this kind of thing every time, it would only cause more damage.

It was more rational to keep my head straight and try to save as many people as possible.

At that moment.

“What were you talking about? You don't look so good.”

Barundel, who was warming up next to me, asked.

Apparently, my complicated feelings were noticeable to him as well.

Since there was no need to hide it from Barundel, I confessed honestly.

As expected.

“You did this deployment yourself? No, how on earth did…”

Barundel was quite surprised.

Of course, he wouldn't have imagined it.

That I would be dragged to Elbert Tyran and end up doing this.

“He said this is my punishment.”

“Hahaha, punishment… That knight is completely insane.”

“Tell me about it.”

Barundel laughed with a dumbfounded face and lightly punched my shoulder.

“But don't worry too much. It looks like an excellent deployment to me.”

“Excellent?”

“Of course. If we follow this deployment, we should be able to defeat them easily even if they come out.”

I couldn't control my expression at his words.

It was as if he knew exactly why I had deployed the troops this way.

And in fact, he was right.

“Ah, I forgot to tell you. I have the ability to sense demonic energy. I think it developed naturally from hunting down so many demons.”

Barundel straightened his back and pointed to each of the rifts as he continued.

“The one that will come out of there is a [Succubus], over there is a [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger]. And in front of us is a [Demon Minotaur]. Isn't that right?”

“…”

It matched exactly what I had anticipated.

I pondered for a while about how to respond before opening my mouth.

“When did you get that ability…?”

“About five years ago.”

Five years.

I knew the identity of that ability.

Heroic tier trait, [Demonic Energy Detection].

This is also a growth-type trait, which can have a similar effect to the artifact [Demonic Energy Detector], but its performance is superior.

This is because the [Demonic Energy Detector] can find places where rifts are likely to occur, but it cannot identify the type of demon that will emerge from them.

On the other hand, the [Demonic Energy Detection] trait can do that.

That's why it's one of the essential traits for the scout class.

The important thing here is how to obtain this trait.

Achieving the feat of hunting 10,000 demons.

That was the unlock condition for the [Demonic Energy Detection] trait.

Simply put, this means Barundel hunted 10,000 demons five years ago.

Considering that the growth condition for [Anatak's Great Axe] was also hunting 10,000 demons, it was by no means an easy feat to achieve.

‘Just how much hunting has he been doing?’

I was once again amazed by Barundel.

Even though he was a veteran demon hunter and famous, I didn't know he was to this extent.

As I stared at him with wonder in my eyes, Barundel said,

“...Don't look at me like that. I think this ability is unstable.”

“Unstable?”

“Sometimes I can't feel the demonic energy. Like at the Aldeon Magic Tower.”

“Ah.”

I think I understood what he was talking about.

When the rift opened in Aldeon, and Baal appeared from it.

He seemed to be talking about not sensing that.

‘What was that about.’

It wasn't really surprising.

It's only natural that a mere heroic tier [Demonic Energy Detection] wouldn't be able to detect Baal's demonic energy.

That would only be possible when [Demonic Energy Detection] fulfills its second condition and grows into a legendary tier trait.

And the second condition is to personally defeat a demon legion commander.

Even Barundel can't easily achieve that condition.

Well, if he continues to accompany me, he'll achieve it someday.

Anyway.

“Still, it's amazing. Thanks to you, I feel relieved.”

I confirmed that my prediction was correct through Barundel's trait.

I felt the burden greatly reduced.

With this, the probability of problems arising from the deployment became very low.

While I was thinking that.

“But how does young Johannes know? I'm actually more curious about that…”

Barundel narrowed his eyes and threw a surprise question.

He was asking how I, without the [Demonic Energy Detection] trait, could know in advance the demons that would emerge from the rifts.

While I was pondering what to say, Barundel opened his mouth again.

“Come to think of it, there are many strange things. Like being skilled in combat despite your age and experience, and knowing a lot about demons. Ah, and you were also knowledgeable about dungeons, weren't you?”

It seems that the things I've shown so far have piled up and raised suspicions.

“Uh… that's…”

It was difficult to answer.

Even I thought I was acting a bit strange.

‘How do I explain this?’

At that moment.

Rumble! Crackle!

Rumble! Crackle!

Red lightning struck from both sides.

The time had come, and the war had begun.

‘Good timing.’

I immediately turned my head and ran towards the rift.

‘Now that the war has started, Barundel won't be able to ask me any more questions.’

Indeed, he immediately grabbed [Anatak's Great Axe] and followed closely behind me.

He had already returned to his usual serious expression, the one that showed he was risking his life.

‘Whew, good.’

At the rift ahead, only Barundel and I had to work together.

This was because, while changing the deployment, I had sent Thompson and Kayla to the rift where the [Succubus] was located.

It would probably be difficult for the two of them to catch the high-ranking demon [Succubus], but they wouldn't be defeated either.

Right now, I needed to focus on killing the high-ranking demon at our rift and quickly joining them.

After organizing the path I needed to take in my head, I raised my head.

“It's here.”

A familiar silhouette slowly emerged from the rift.

[Demon Minotaur].

The guy who crippled my leg in a previous battle.

Moreover, he was currently amplified by the 'Red Moon'.

Kuoooooooo-!

He had much stronger power than before.

At least twice as strong.

But.

“It won't be the same ticklish magic as back then.”

I had also become stronger.

It was time to show him what a proper revenge was.

***

“Come.”

Floating-.

As the war began, Elbert Tyran lifted his body into the air.

It was a technique that consumed a lot of aura, so normally he would have observed for a while before taking flight, but he couldn't wait now.

Because he was insanely curious.

Whether the war would really unfold according to the words of that mage.

He could see the entire battlefield.

And.

“Huh, how could this be…!”

Elbert Tyran saw it with his own two eyes.

The sight of the [Demon Minotaur], the [Succubus], and the [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger] emerging from each of the rifts.

It was true. The words of that mage.

“...This is unbelievable.”

To be honest, Elbert hadn't even half-believed the mage's words.

That's why he was currently in a state of shock.

It was understandable, as he was a commander who had led over a dozen wars.

While those around him evaluated him as a competent and intelligent commander, the soldiers who died under his command numbered in the hundreds.

Of course, he had done his best in every moment…

‘…What if I had known this?’

If he could have commanded even more perfectly…

Wouldn't he have been able to save at least half of the soldiers who died?

Such a sense of loss loomed over Elbert.

But only for a moment.

“...No. It's a good thing I know now.”

Elbert quickly regained his composure.

He had experienced this kind of ordeal hundreds of times on his way to becoming a knight commander.

He wasn't the kind of person to crumble from something like this.

“Whew.”

Elbert took a moment to catch his breath and calm his turbulent mind.

He shifted his gaze.

Towards the mage who had given him this information.

The complicated emotions he had felt just a moment ago quickly turned into astonishment.

“Just who is that guy?”

How could that mage know information that even he, the commander, didn't know?

Even though the mage had said he had never commanded before.

Although the mage himself said he had obtained the information from research, if it were that easy, someone would have surely told him when he was first learning to command.

The fact that they didn't meant that no one knew about this.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Elbert came to a conclusion.

“As I thought, that bastard is insane.”

Presumably, it would have taken an enormous amount of effort to find this information through research.

He would have had to search through every book related to the [Red Moon Prophecy] like a rat.

Moreover, reading it once wouldn't have been nearly enough.

He would have had to carefully read it over and over again to realize that there was a set pattern.

That kind of effort was nothing short of madness.

Of course, it was the kind of madness that he, as a commander, should admire.

Anyway.

Having such madness could also be interpreted in another way.

“He was interested in commanding…”

That the mage's dream was to be a commander.

Making that much effort would be impossible unless being a commander was his dream.

“He probably became a mage because of that.”

If you dream of being a commander, the first thing you need to prepare is power.

Become a knight commander, or a high-ranking mage.

Without that level of power, one could never become a commander, and because of this, one truly had to make a bloody effort.

Just like Elbert himself had done in the past.

Elbert, who had been silently watching the mage for a while, nodded once.

“Alright, mage. I'll make you a commander.”

He couldn't help with magic-related matters because he had no knowledge of them, but he could teach him anything about commanding.

Learning beforehand the qualities a commander should have would definitely be helpful later on.

Of course, it was precious knowledge that he couldn't share with just anyone, but that mage was an exception.

This was because he had always liked talented individuals.

Johannes was a talented individual who far exceeded Elbert's standards.

“Prepare yourself. I'll pass on all my knowledge to you.”

He was willing to pass on everything he knew to that guy.

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