Players Who Returned 10,000 Years Later

Chapters 30. The Thousand Keeper of Hell (Part 1)

'Am I the only one who thinks we're dating?' After leaving the coffee shop, Kang Yu was slightly surprised by Han Sol's reaction upon hearing the words that they were a couple.

She makes him delicious kimchi jjigae every day and lets him stay in their house. Of course he thinks they're dating. But all hope is falling.

Kang Yu sadly lowered his head.

Gently staring at the man, Han Sol said:

— About it.. Kang Yu…

- Yeah?

— Um... You really think we're dating?

— It's a little embarrassing to admit it, but yes.

— I... so... — The girl's face flushed red as she walked a few steps behind Kang Yu.

When he stopped, he looked into the distance and thought of something.

— Did something happen?

— Ah, no, it's okay! —Han Sol, who was not expecting any questions, hurriedly shouted.

Kang Yu, surprised by his strange behavior, tilted his head to the side.

Han Sol continued to lag behind slightly, staring again into the distance.

— Heh-heh-heh. – Kang Yu seems to be thinking of something, a bright smile on his face.

Han Sol clenched her hands tightly.

When Kang Yu saw her acting so strangely, he decided to come closer and ask her again if she was okay.

But Han Sol precedes him and gains courage, quickly approaching Kang Yu.

—Kang Yu!

— Hah, huh?

— This... recently... — Han Sol started saying something as she stuttered.

But it must be pretty hard to say this 'something. His face was getting redder and redder and his voice was getting slower.

—Han Sol?

— Um... — She covered her mouth, and her body trembled slightly.

Against his hesitation, Han Sol took a deep breath and continued:

— About.

— Uh... what?

— You can switch to 'You.' Let's start with this.

(*Shape a more casual 'you'.)

Kang Yu smiled at Han Sol's words.

- It's okay.

- Thank you.

— Then, you can also call me 'you'.

- Ah no! I feel more comfortable! — Han Sol replied quickly and confidently, nodding her head.

— Okay, — replied Kang Yu while shrugging.

— Heh heh, glad to see your mood improving, — said Dae Su, who noticed Kang Yu and Han Sol, and approached. He continued by patting the man on the shoulder: — Then we will meet tomorrow in the Incheon district. I will send you the exact address later. —

— Mm-hmm. Why go so far?

— Better start with that gate. This time, we will hunt the Orcs, not the lizardmen.

— Mm-hmm…

— They are, of course, a little stronger than the lizardmen, but there is no swamp and there is no need to be silent to catch them.

- It was a good idea! — Kang Yu did not expect Dae Su to give such advice, but he was surprised.

'He really isn't stupid. He thought sanely, acted clear. He also knows what loyalty is. What else does the subordinate need?'

Kang Yu, with a big smile, looked at Dae Su. After all, it was a good decision to save him from the clutches of the Andras Guild.

— Okay, see you tomorrow.

- Yeah. What are you going to do today? How about a drink? — In a calm voice, Dae Su asked, imagining the three of them drinking a stack of soju*.

(TN: Soju is Korean alcohol, usually 13 —17 degrees.)

— No, I have a plan.

- Plan? What kind of plan?

— Level up. – Kang Yu said firmly when he saw his level.

It's level 29.

There was nothing left until rank 4.

'I mustn't miss the chance to level up.' Before trying to learn about the Devil's followers alone, he had to become stronger.

And since there was such an opportunity, the power that sealed Man Ma Jung would weaken as well.

He doesn't know what he has to face: High or Low Player. He must be ready.

'Waiting for 4th place.' He will probably gain new abilities that he did not have during the reign of Hell. So he couldn't help but be interested in the upcoming promotion.

'They say the higher the rank, the stronger you get.'

So, in anticipation of more useful abilities, Kang Yu turned to Han Sol and Dae Su:

— I think I'll go now.

— Yes, see you tonight, Kang Yu.

After saying goodbye to them, Kang Yu went to the Level C Gate.

***

— Well... — Successfully passed the entrance gate exam, Kang Yu took a breath.

'Let's start.' No strategy is needed to defeat orcs and trolls.

Kang Yu only needed to choose the right route to capture as many monsters as possible.

— Leveling up is getting harder.. — Even when killing monsters at level C, the level goes up slowly.

He preferred to grind at Level B Gate, but that was not possible yet.

Not only did it take a certain amount of mana stones to sell, but it also required 30 mana C-level stones to obtain a Level B certificate.

'That's why everyone is talking about the guild.' If a Player is a member of a guild, he can freely enter higher level gates with his peers, even if his level is not that high.

However, Kang Yu, who only had connections with the Andras Guild, which was under the close supervision of Hwaran's forces, did not have this privilege.

— It's time to make a connection. — He didn't think of joining a guild, but getting to know the Players who were in a big guild was a good idea.

'In addition, it's not too difficult.' Kang Yu has charm.

He cannot compare himself to other players, but he is sure that wherever he goes, he will not be left without attention. Because he knew very well that for every Player in battle, the most important thing was strength and skill.

Constantly thinking of gaining connections, he used the Power of Observation.

The Magi flew the black fog, sending all the identifiable information to Kang Yu's head.

'Let's start with eight trolls.' Kang Yu studied the position of the troll colony and headed towards them. Using the Power of Acceleration, he quickly slipped through the forest.

The man did not hesitate to fly into the pile of trolls and began to cut off the monster's head with a black sword made with Sword Power.

The troll, not knowing what was happening, froze for a moment and then started shouting loudly. Realizing that they were being attacked, they raised their mace and charged at Kang Yu from all sides.

However, he did not cringe when he saw a monster flying towards him three meters tall. Whatever it was, he didn't even consider it important.

Compared to the monsters living in Hell, those trolls even looked cute to him.

He ended the fight with no interest, destroying eight monsters in less than a minute.

Perhaps one could even feel sorry for the dead trolls, as their murders were extremely brutal.

In the blink of an eye, Kang Yu immediately found a new target, killing a horde of trolls in a single breath.

'I'll deal with the corpse later, ' Kang Yu thought. 'Right now it was much more important to obtain the 4th rank by reaching level 30, than to use Devourer Strength and take out Magi.

Leaving his body untouched, Kang Yu went to the next target with a frightening attitude.

— Mm-hmm.. — That's when he smelled blood.

Of course, everything around him was covered in the blood of eight brutally killed monsters, but the smell he caught was different from the smell of troll blood.

"It stinks of human blood." And the victim was not only injured, but most likely severely injured, to such an extent that the smell of his blood disturbed the smell emanating from the corpse.

Kang Yu narrowed his eyes and his eyes darkened.

He changed his route and headed to the source of the smell.

'Death in the Hunt.' The chances of Player getting injured during battle and now dying are very high.

In fact, death while hunting is not a strange thing, it happens quite often.

Silence Power.

However, we cannot rule out the possibility of death at the hands of a teammate or Demon Follower.

With the Power of Silence, Kang Yu took silent steps to continue walking towards the source of the stench of blood.

It didn't take long.

In the small clearing in the middle of the forest, there were five bodies of disabled Players.

— It... — Kang Yu looks at those bodies from top to bottom.

The bodies lying on the ground were damaged in such a way that it was difficult to distinguish their gender.

— They were killed by monsters. – Kang Yu muttered softly looking at the injuries of the Players.

— Hmm... — She squinted cluelessly and looked at the body again.

'There's no blood from monsters here.' If there was a battle and the monsters won, there should at least be a trace of them.

The group of five people who reached the C-level gate lost to trolls and orcs without even injuring them?

"It can't be that way." They did not even fight with the boss, so such a crushing defeat was unimaginable.

No, even if it was his boss, he would not be able to destroy the entire party without being injured by them.

'How did that happen?' Kang Yu narrowed his eyes, looking at the remains of the bodies of the Players lying around.

Just then, there was a cry of fear that pierced all the way to the bone.

The man's eyes widened to an impossible size.

- No…

A giant black beast with red spots stood in front of him.

A monster with a strong body about five meters tall.

The most important thing was that Kang Yu knew this monster well.

— What is Hellhound doing here?

The monster standing among the trees was nothing more than a guard from the First Thousand Hell Circle.

***