From Today, I'm a Player

Demetrios' forearm had begun to swell.

‘The Roar of the Savage Beast!’

Lee Jun-Kyeong could tell what move the punk was preparing to use as he knew his name and the unique skills he had. This skill boasted overwhelming power both at long range and at close range.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had felt the mana gathering on Demetrios’ forearm, so he shouted, “Avoid it!”

No one should even attempt to block it as even bumping into it could be dangerous. It needed to be avoided. Jeong In-Chang moved instantly without verbally replying.

“Tsk.”

Demetrios felt the mana rumbling in his forearm and turned around. Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang had already gone out of range of the Roar of the Savage Beast, and it seemed it would be difficult to hit them with it.

Since it wasn’t a skill that could be canceled, he had no choice but to shoot it at Catalyon.

– Growl!

The boss cried out when the skill made contact, and a lion-shaped mark appeared on Catalyon’s cheek. It was proof that the Roar of the Savage Beast had hit it, and Demetrios would receive an additional stat increase when fighting with a target marked with it.

And…

Swish!

A red spear had flown toward Demetrios as he fired his speed. It flew at a sharp speed, and Demetrios tried to block it with his forearm as he had been slowed down after using his skill.

Clang!

However, Muspel’s Spear was stopped before it reached Demetrios and was thrown to the floor. As if there was a thread attached to the spear, Muspel’s Spear began to point toward the place from where it had been thrown from.

“See, that’s why I told you to use a weapon,” said George, who had stopped Muspel’s Spear. He had knocked it down with a blue gladius.

“Am I supposed to be thankful?” Demetrios retorted.

“How ungrateful.”

Demetrios shrugged, and George sighed.

"There’s something different about the Underdog’s spear."

"What?"

Demetrios didn’t care about the nitty-gritty, and it was George’s role to assist him with those bothersome issues. George continued, “There’s something ominous about it, so be careful. It might have an effect similar to that of your Roar of the Savage Beast.”

"Whatever."

Demetrios snorted despite his colleague’s warning. Rather than turning towards Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang, who had hidden themselves…

– Growl!

…he ran towards Catalyon, who was writhing in pain.

And…

"It looks like I’m being looked down on too."

Odysseus was holding his gladius, but he suddenly emitted a wave of energy. His mana hadn’t been released thus far, and had finally been exposed at this moment. Although it wasn’t as condensed as Demetrios’, mana that was seemingly stronger than his grade exploded out from him.

Swish!

A gladius split the air.

Whimper.

A Catalyon lion had been running ferociously towards George, but had been split in two and fell to the ground. It was a breathtaking blow. He had predicted the enemy’s movements in advance and cut through it with a single blow.

He commented, “I told you, I’m different from that idiot.”

George quickly kicked the ground and began to move. He immediately twisted around, floating in the air, and slammed his gladius down on a place in the forest where no one seemed to be.

At that spot, a man with a greatsword blocked.

Clang!

Odysseus smirked. "Didn’t I say I was different?"

Unlike Demetrios, who wasn’t good at observation or tracking, George was very talented at detailed work, which made up for his less powerful fighting skills. Finding and attacking the hiding Jeong In-Chang was a form of those talents as well. George drew back his gladius and took a fighting stance.

“I’m saying that I want you to fight me too,” he said to Jeong In-Chang.

“What is he saying?” Jeong In-Chang complained as he couldn’t understand English. Instead, he raised his greatsword and made a cross-slash toward George.

“That won’t do!”

As if expecting such an attack from Jeong In-Chang, George shifted the axis of his feet to avoid the greatsword. Just when George aimed for the resulting opening that Jeong In-Chang revealed…

Puahahak!

…a torrent of water appeared from out of nowhere, spewing toward him. He couldn’t block the flood with his gladius alone. He looked up belatedly towards the place where the water gushed from and saw a round skull floating in the sky.

However.

"There is no damage…?"

George was surprised. Although he had been drenched in the spewing torrent, he wasn’t injured, even though it should have been a blow that his opponents had been waiting and waiting for a chance to make.

“What was that…?”

He had an ominous feeling for some reason.

He became more certain of it after seeing Jeong In-Chang’s smirk, and there was something else too.

‘There’s a sweet smell?’

The water that he had been doused in had begun to emit a strange, sweet smell.

George soon knew what it was.

"Grrr..."

"Growl."

"Growl!!"

The Catalyon lions suddenly flocked around him.

He muttered, "It’s monster pheromones..."

It was a monster pheromone that only high-level alchemists could create, and it emitted a scent that attracted monsters. This substance was something that was mainly used as bait for hunting.

"Damn it…" he said, looking at the lions around him.

To think he would be fed shit in this manner.

When he looked ahead, Jeong In-Chang had disappeared. All that had been left were dozens of Catalyon Lions had been strengthed by the demonic mana.

They gazed at George while purring pleasantly.

"Purrr."

Then, they stood with their members lifted.

"Damn it."

George trembled at the sight of the monsters who had evil intentions.

***

"Catalyon! Bite him!"

Catalyon began to charge forward with its massive front paws.

– Growl!!

It had no problem navigating through the boss zone due to its colossal size, and soon it collided with the roaring Demetrios.

"Ahhhh!"

As Catalyon’s front two paws smashed into Demetrios’ hands, Lee Jun-Kyeong watched silently.

'How…’

He wondered how high must Demetrios’ strength stat be, to think something like that was possible. The giant was competing in strength face to face with Catalyon, who had swallowed demonic mana and shifted to the second phase. Not only that, but he wasn’t even being pushed back.

He muttered to himself, “Even if he has the buff from the Roar of the Savage Beast…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong thought that this was still a little ridiculous.

“Come back, Catalyon!” he screamed, as if he thought there wouldn’t be any fighting, but…

– Keuahhh!

…naturally, there was no way that Catalyon would listen to his orders. Earlier, Catalyon had charged Demetrios as the giant had caused the most damage to it recently. Due to being marked by the Roar of the Savage Beast, it had chased after Demetrios as it had recognized him as the most powerful enemy.

It wasn’t that it was listening to Lee Jun-Kyeong’s orders. Lee Jun-Kyeong tried to get Demetrios’ attention while raising Muspel’s Spear, but the giant had no time to spare as he roared along with the frenzied boss.

"Keugaaaaah!"

– Growl!

Since there was the chance that he would end up in a situation where both of them would attack him, he had no choice but to use the power of the red ore against Catalyon a little while ago.

‘I have to be careful.’

All of his spear attacks would now contain the power of the red ore, so it was essential to be accurate with his attacks when he had to make a move.

Tak, tak, tak!

The sound of footsteps rang out, and he could tell that Jeong In-Chang was coming over.

'It looks like Odysseus must have been tied up well.'

From the beginning, they had never ignored Odysseus’s, George’s abilities. It would be difficult for even an immortal to be still alive if they committed such a stupid act as not taking him into consideration. He had naturally prepared a way to deal with George, and with the help of Park Yu-Jin, he had prepared the perfect plan.

It would be about now.

“Purrrr!”

George would be having a good time with the Catalyon lions. Still, they were pressed for time.

Lee Jun-Kyeong stated, “We have to finish this before Odysseus returns."

They didn’t need to be the ones to take Demetrios down. They only needed one blow. Just one blow was required to be successful.

"All right!"

Jeong In-Chang, who answered with curiosity, took his seat, and Lee Jun-Kyeong began to prepare.

'He definitely…'

Everyone knew what Demetrios was like. He was a battle buff, completely crazy for battle, but because his ability was so strong, it was difficult for him to find a match that would satisfy him. Consequently, the giant was always looking for a battle in which he would be able to give his all.

And this situation was the exact moment he had been waiting for.

“Hahahahaha! Good! Great!” Demetrios howled with glee.

The boss of the A-Grade Gate had been transformed by demonic mana, and he had the added difficulty of dealing with Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang at the same time. That was making him ecstatic. 𝙗𝒆𝙙𝒏𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙣𝙚𝒕

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at him.

'It’s beginning.'

Little by little, the giant's eyes were beginning to turn red and bloodshot. The more the battle heated up, and the more powerfully the mana of Catalyon spread, the more Demetrios' eyes grew red. Although it looked as if he was still in control…

‘You can’t contain it that way.’

Whether it was Olympus’ secret or Heracles’ secret, there was no way for Lee Jun-Kyeong not to know about the fatal weakness they hid. After all, he had come from the future and was the owner of the Demon King's Book.

'It’s something that anyone would have known.’

In fact, anyone who had come from the future would have most likely known about it.. The reason was simple. Although he had been strong and had made a name for himself as a great Hero, the giant eventually hadn’t been able to control it in a public setting.

‘Crazy Killer, or even a Berserker.’

In the colossal battle that took place after the upheaval, on the battlefield where countless Hunters fought together, Heracles had become swallowed by his special characteristic.

That was his weakness.

He would go completely crazy and turn into a mad zealot who only thought about battle, blood, and slaughter. In fact, he ended up killing a lot of the Hunters who had come to slay monsters and spread his notoriety. After that, the only news about him was that he had been confined somewhere by Olympus.

He had been a hero whose notoriety had only passed down even further by the time Lee Jun-Kyeong was alive and breathing in the distant future.

"He’s coming!”

Finally, they started looking over at this place. Catalyon had begun to deal with the ones who had constantly been darting around in its periphery.

Boom! Boom!

Every time it moved, the mountain vibrated, and the ground was damaged. Then, as it came closer, it raised its front paws and dropped them immediately.

BOOM!

Lee Jun-Kyeong barely avoided them, while Jeong In-Chang blocked them with his greatsword.

He grunted, “Ugh… still, it feels manageable.”

“It’s coming again!” Lee Jun-Kyeong warned.

This time, he grabbed Muspel's Spear and ran forward. Catalyon wasn’t the one doing all it could do to trample Jeong In-Chang. Instead, it was Demetrios.“Now we finally get to fight properly!”

The giant was rushing toward Lee Jun-Kyeong through the battlefield at an even faster speed than Catalyon had. Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t see any barriers that would be able to stop him. However, he didn’t even need one. Instead, he lowered his stance and raised his round shield, holding up Muspel’s Spear alongside it. It was a perfect defensive stance against cavalry, a method that was mainly used by the soldiers of ancient Sparta. Ironically, a Greek Hero was rushing toward it.

"Great! Good!"

Soon, Demetrios would arrive. The reason he was able to run so fast was related to another one of his skills.

‘Rush of the Rhinoceros.’

When this skill was activated, Demetrios could charge speedily forward like a rampaging rhinoceros. In return, he could only go straight and couldn’t stop until he reached the target. Therefore, that punk would end up crashing into him.

The giant hollered, “Do you think you’ll be able to stop me with something like that?!"

However, Demetrios was right. Although Lee Jun-Kyeong’s defensive stance was excellent, his opponent's strength was too great. There was a chance he wouldn’t be able to withstand it, and the charge would succeed. However, a fire erupted in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Flicker.

“...”

Reign of Fire had activated, and a sudden soaring fire had erupted, blocking both of their line of sight. Demetrios flinched and did his best to respond, but it was already too late.

“Ha-eup!”

Instead of taking a defensive stance on the other side, Lee Jun-Kyeong suddenly broke through the fire and fell from the sky. Although Heracles’ feet stopped the charge immediately as they collided…

“Ugh…”

…Muspel’s Spear and still pierced deep through the giant’s arm. A red liquid flowed down the weapon, and it was something that didn’t quite seem to be his blood.

"This…?"

It began to flow through Demetrios’ wounded arm as well. The giant staggered from the sudden vertigo. As it was affecting Demetrios, who was gradually getting overtaken by his special characteristics, the effect was evident almost immediately.

“Is it poison…?” he asked as he took a step back.

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong responded cautiously while lowering his posture, “No.”

It was a red ore that had been birthed by an ogre mage. After lengthy research, it was given a name, but it had actually been called by two different names.

Liberation.

Or…

Lee Jun-Kyeong announced, "Madness."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

When both of Demetrios’ eyes had turned completely red…

"No!"

A voice could be heard from the forest.

1. ?(yeot) is a type of taffy made in Korea. It’s famous for being super sticky and is nearly impossible to chew without getting it stuck in your teeth. There are stories of people pulling their own teeth out by trying to chew through it while it’s stuck. The term here is to be fed yeot.