8

3526 N.C.

How does one become a Demon King?

Do they simply kill the king?

No.

There are several ways to become the Demon King.

With the approval of the majority of the existing Demon Lords, one may challenge the Demon King for the throne.

Alternatively, the Demon King may personally choose a successor to willingly pass down the throne.

But the final method is the hardest, and that is to defeat every single Demon Lord before earning the right to challenge the Demon King. In this way, one doesn’t need the approval of anyone at all.

Throughout history, only Lucien Daeva Asmodeus has ever ascended in this manner.

In his own words, “Politics is for the weak. In the face of overwhelming might, such trivialities are meaningless.”

Of course, regardless of the method, the victor must also be acknowledged by Klysha, the Goddess of Darkness. However, she has never once refused to acknowledge the winner.

But what if one doesn’t go through those processes and directly kills the Demon King?

Then they become a traitor and a criminal of Hellhelm unless they defeat every last of the Demon Lords. Even if they do this after the killing, it will fall under the rule.

Otherwise, they will be killed, and a new succession war will take place.

After all, an assassin doesn’t become the emperor of an empire after assassinating the said emperor. They just become a heinous criminal. 

*
*
*

“Now… do I have your attention?”

After the slit-eyed man said that, everyone in the room looked at the man standing at the podium.

“I am Arlos Fingel Sarlus. For the next five years, I will be your homeroom teacher. Let’s try to get along,” said the slit-eyed man, still wearing that creepy smile as he bowed slightly, one gloved hand resting on his chest in a grand gesture while his cape fell over his back.

Behind him, his name floated in front of the board.

After that, he eyed everyone for a while before saying with a gentle smile, “I believe you’ll all pay more attention now.”

He flicked his fingers, and the magic cast on everyone disappeared instantly.

The room, which had been as silent as a void, suddenly returned to normal, as if it had been brought back to life.

Even then, everyone was unusually quiet. Seeing this, a female student raised her hand nervously to speak.

“Professor, what subject will you teach us?”

Arlos smiled, pleased that someone had asked. “Good question. Magizoology: Dungeons and Monsters. That’s what I will be teaching you all. Do you know what it means?” Arlos asked.

“So, you’re going to make us memorize things about monsters and dungeons? The first class is just academics?” one student asked, clearly not a fan of sitting around and reading textbooks.

“No-ope~!” Arlos said with an extra tune.

“Isn’t that just boring? I’m more on the side of practical things. You can learn as you go through them. So instead of a boring reading session, I will teach you about survival,” he said, pausing for a moment.

“I will teach you how to survive against monsters and in dungeons. That’s more exciting, isn’t it?” he asked enthusiastically.

“Buu-t~! Before we really get into the class, let’s give you your S-Cards,” said Arlos.

“Sensei, what’s an S-Card?” asked one student.

“It’s a status card, essentially your identification card inside the academy. You cannot access any of the school facilities without it, so always keep it on you,” said Arlos.

He waved his hand, and many vines grew from beneath his feet. They brought the white, blank S-Cards out of his bag and placed one in front of every student, along with a needle. Then, they retreated beneath his feet.

“Now, everyone, drop a bit of your blood onto your cards, and they will be bound to you,” said Arlos with a gentle smile, clasping his hands together.

Although hesitantly, one by one, everyone started pouring their blood onto the cards.

‘Is it similar to the Adventurer’s Guild card?’ Hayato thought as he looked at the card.

He was a Bronze-rank (E-class) adventurer, and he would soon have to take an exam for his advancement to Iron-rank (D-class). Adventurers started at Copper-rank (F-class).

Hayato also picked up the needle and pricked his finger, letting a drop of his blood fall onto the blank white card.

As soon as the blood touched it, the card lit up with a blinding light for a moment. Some students yelped in surprise at the sudden flash, but it lasted only for a moment.

Everyone had finished binding their cards. Hayato’s blank card lit up, displaying his status information.

‘So, it really is the same as the Adventurer’s Guild card, but with more functions, it seems,’ Hayato thought.

He quickly hid most of his skills and other information, as well as part of his name, from the status card.

He had done the same with his Adventurer’s Guild card. If anyone checked his status now, they wouldn’t find anything he didn’t want them to see.

‘Danna-sama, it really seems the demons’ way of checking status is the best. You don’t have to worry about anyone stealing or carrying around such cards,’ said Kursh in his mind.

Hayato hummed in affirmation.

Demons had a different way of checking their status. Every citizen of the Demonic Continent, Hellhelm, had an insignia drawn upon their body that allowed them to see their status whenever they wanted, right in front of their eyes.

It was something like a status window that could become visible or invisible whenever they wanted. The insignia itself could also become invisible.

Hayato also had one on his body. It was far more convenient than the S-Cards or Adventurer’s Guild cards.

But S-Cards really had far more options than typical guild cards. There were notice boards, messaging options, charts, and other features.

Though there was a clear warning written at the top that, aside from the most basic functions, features like messaging, notices, and others wouldn’t be available outside the academy.

“Sensei, what do these points do? Mine says 100 points. What does that mean?” Ivanka asked, seemingly uninterested as she polished her nails.

“Those points are assigned to everyone. Currently, every single one of you has 100 points. The points determine your ranking, and higher-ranked students get access to more facilities and even discounts when buying or borrowing academy items. Also, to advance to second year, you will need at least 2,000 points as one of the prerequisites,” said the green-haired professor.

As he spoke, vines emerged from beneath his feet, grabbed the nail-polishing kits from Ivanka’s hands, and pulled them away, making her yelp in surprise.

“And you will be getting these only after school,” Arlos added.

Ivanka glared at him in irritation for a moment, but when she saw her slit-eyed professor smiling back at her, she stopped in her tracks and quickly looked away.

“So, points are important. Even though everyone has the same number of points, as you said, there are still ranks written here,” one student said.

And just as he said, everyone’s own rank was written there. Even their marks from the written test, practical test, and interview were displayed. This rank was probably based on their total scores from all three.

Hayato got a perfect score (100) on the written test, 85 on the practical test, and 85 on the interview, placing him at rank 34 among the 40 students in Class A. Class B started from rank 41 to 80, Class C from 81 to 120, and Class D from 121 to 160.

Hayato didn’t have any complaints about his practical score, as he had received roughly the marks he felt his performance deserved. After all, he hadn’t taken the practical exam seriously. If he had been allowed to fight the professor, he would have put in more effort.

But there was no need to exert himself just for showmanship. After all, he was sure that, no matter what, he would easily get into the Magic Department based on his written test alone. But his interview score shouldn’t have been this low.

‘Guess the professor from the interview didn’t like me questioning him back so much,’ Hayato thought.

And it had already been two months since the exam.

“Sensei, what are the other requirements?” asked Dune, the barbarian, seemingly determined for some reason.

“Calm down. It’s only the first day. You will know about them soon enough. So, are there any other questions? If not, then I would like to talk about your major and electives,” said Arlos.

“Sensei, what are the ranking battles? It says that it’s unavailable right now,” asked Joonhyuk.

“I was getting to that part. It will be available after two weeks. You can still check it, though. You will find all the answers if you enter that section,” said Arlos.

Everyone entered that section and saw what was written inside.

Ranking Battle Rules:

Conditions for having a battle:

– Lower-ranked students can challenge students of a higher rank.
– If you’re challenged, you’re not allowed to refuse, but the battle won’t start until you accept. A professor needs to be present to act as an overseer. 
– You may only challenge someone within ten ranks higher or lower than your own.
– Ranking battles will begin one week after every student has settled into their courses. So, two weeks from now. 
– Students from noncombat departments may refuse any challenges.

If the challenger wins:

– They steal the higher-ranked opponent’s rank and 200 points.
– They are transferred to the appropriate class.
– From lower-ranked opponents, they only receive 100 points.

If the challenger loses:

– They cannot challenge the same opponent again for two months.
– If they lose three times in a row, they can never challenge that opponent again.
– 200 points from the challenger’s total will be transferred to the challenged winner.
– They will be transferred to the appropriate class and may even be demoted.
– They cannot challenge anyone else for the next 15 days.

Battle conditions:

– Both individual and team battles are possible, at the discretion of the challenged person.
– You can only take part in one individual battle and one team battle per day.
– If a participant falls ill or feels unwell, they may postpone the battle.
– If a participant is sick or unable to fight for other valid reasons, a representative of similar or lower rank may be assigned in their place.
– However, if someone continually postpones a battle for an extended period of time, they will lose by default.

“Ha ha ha. So we can challenge others to fights? That’s good. What rank did you two get?” asked Dune, looking at Hayato and Virion. He showed his own rank as he said that. He was Rank 3.

“Heh heh heh… Behold! Prepare yourselves to tremble before this one’s rank! Even with its power sealed away, its overwhelming presence still seeped through the restraints!” Virion said, standing up and striking a dramatic pose with an evil grin.

Everyone looked at him strangely, so he quickly sat back down in his seat.

His rank showed as Rank 1.

“Oh, you’re better than I thought. Let’s fight sometime,” Dune said excitedly.

Virion smirked while hiding his face behind his hand. Then, both of them looked at Hayato. He simply showed them his rank, which was Rank 34.

Seeing this, Dune looked a bit puzzled.

“I thought you had the highest amount of mana in the class. So why is your rank so low?” Dune asked aloud without meaning to. He quickly apologized. “Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Heh, like I would be hurt by something like that. You don’t need to worry about my rank. Focus on the class,” said Hayato as he turned his head back toward the podium, resting his head on his hand.

Everyone else in the class was also talking about their ranks and such.

“Silence. You will get a public notice about everyone’s rank before the ranking battles officially start. So, there’s no need to get so hyped up now. And you can still check ten ranks higher or lower than your own on the S-Cards. And every month, the changed rankings will be publicly updated,” said Arlos.

“Why two weeks later? And what does it mean by one week after settling into the courses?” Hamazaki asked.

“It’s to get you guys used to the academy and the curriculum. I’ll now tell you about life at the academy.

You all have three major subjects from your own department, along with two common subjects.

You’re also free to choose whatever other elective subjects or courses you want. You have to choose at least three electives.

For this entire week, you’re free to attend any classes you want. But by the end of the week, you’ll have to select your electives. And after another week of getting used to your courses, you will be able to officially participate in the ranking battles.

Remember, ranks and points aren’t solely dependent on your grades. Your growth is up to you.

So, do choose subjects you want to study or that you think will help you in the future.

However, that also means…

If your grades drop, at best, you’ll be mercilessly kicked down to a lower class, or at worst, expelled. Be sure to remember that,” said Arlos, finishing with a cold tone rather than his usual enthusiasm.

The students gulped nervously at his final words.

They could check and select their subjects through the S-Cards. There were major subjects, common subjects, and elective subjects.

Major subjects were compulsory subjects specific to each department. Common subjects were subjects that the entire Class A would learn and attend together. The other classes had the same common subjects, but they would attend those classes alongside their respective classmates under the same or another professor.

Elective subjects were subjects that students were free to study at the academy. Students could attend as many elective classes as they wanted, but they would still have to designate at least three electives to take exams in.

Hayato was from the Magic Arts Department. On his S-Card, the names of his major and common subjects were displayed.

Common Subjects:

1. Magizoology: Dungeons and Monsters

2. History and the Art of War

Magic Arts Department:

Major:

1. Pure Elements and Magic Interference

2. Compound and Ritual Magic

3. Reinterpretation of Magic and Magic Circles

The electives section was still blank.

Aside from the Magic Arts Department, there were also the Combat Arts Department, Summoning Arts Department, Alchemy Department, Blacksmith Department, Support Arts Department, Research Department, and others in the academy.

The many selectable elective classes included Understanding Elemental Magic, Analytical Magic and Magic Circles, Fundamentals of Magic Analysis, Magic Interpretation, Reinterpretation of Basic Magic, Fusion Magic, Pure Mana and Aura, Mana Circuits, Mana Heart and Magic Arts, Aura Core and Noble Arts, Mystic Arts, Demonology, Theology, Understanding of Inherent and Intrinsic Skills, Bloodline Magic and Traits, Introduction to Thaumaturgy, Magic Engineering, Blacksmithing, Fundamentals of Arts, Elemental Studies, Spirit Summoning, Swordsmanship, Archery, Spearmanship, Combat Arts, History of Elarion, Geometric Thaumaturgy and Rune Inscription, Holy Magic, and more.

He would have to choose at least three of them. Hayato decided to attend different classes and see which ones suited him best. He had a week to finalize his choices.

Everyone else was also busy looking through the available subjects.

“Ahem, now that everything has been discussed, let’s start the class. But before that, let me ask you a question,” said Arlos before stopping and looking at every student’s face.

“What’s the most important thing when someone challenges a dungeon?” he asked.

“Is it knowledge about the dungeon and its monsters?” someone asked.

“No-ope~!” Arlos said.

“Levels? Skills?”

“Nah.”

“Mana? Aura?”

“No.”

“Arts?”

“Nope.”

“Then it’s gotta be power, right? If we bulldoze through everything, then there’s no problem at all!” said Dune.

“No. That only applies to people with overwhelming power. I’m asking about normal people. What do you think is the most important thing for you students to survive in a dungeon?” asked Arlos.

Some other students tried to answer, but none of their answers seemed satisfactory to him. Sighing, he asked, “Anyone else?”

“It’s the resistance stats, isn’t it?” Hayato said.

“Why do you think so?” asked Arlos, opening his gray eyes as he looked at him.

“Sometimes, dungeons have rules. And to avoid being affected by those rules, resistance stats help the most. For example, even a Mythril-rank (S-class) adventurer could die if their heart were swapped with the heart of a mouse.

And sometimes dungeons do things exactly like that. So wouldn’t resistance stats be the most important?” Hayato said.

Arlos smiled upon hearing his answer and clapped his hands.

“Bravo, bravo. You are right. Getting your resistance stats high is the most important thing when entering a dungeon. You don’t know what it will throw at you,” Arlos said.

Everyone thought about it for a while as the room became quiet. It really was true. If someone’s heart were swapped with that of a small animal, whose heart couldn’t even support a human body, they would die. Even the strongest people might not survive similar situations.

Seeing that everyone had gone quiet, Arlos clapped his hands again, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Now let’s do something fun,” Arlos said.

“Like what?” asked one student, puzzled.

“Monster hunting. Let’s do some practical survival training,” said the squint-eyed professor with a wide smile.

And so, their first class actually began.

*
*
*

There are two primary types of dungeons: Natural and Artificial.

Natural Dungeons are formed naturally through the accumulation and circulation of mana over long periods of time. They can develop underground, within mountains, forests, deserts, seas, or other environments.

Natural dungeons can be classified by their growth behavior:

– Growth-type: Continually expands over time, producing new areas, stronger monsters, and sometimes better treasures.

– Static-type: Stops expanding once it reaches a certain state. However, its existing areas may change or become more dangerous under certain conditions.

– Field-type: Instead of having a traditional enclosed structure, the dungeon encompasses a large natural environment such as a forest, desert, mountain range, island, or sea. Its boundaries may be difficult to identify.

Artificial Dungeons are created intentionally by intelligent beings, usually through magic, alchemy, enchantment, or other forms of advanced technology. They may be constructed by mages, alchemists, blacksmiths, researchers, or other specialists.

Artificial dungeons can be designed for various purposes, including training, experimentation, testing, research, containment, or entertainment.

The dungeons and monsters created by the Demon King falls under this category.

Other Dungeon Classifications

Regardless of whether a dungeon is Natural or Artificial, it can possess additional properties.

Duration

– Instant-type: An instant dungeon exists only until a specific condition is fulfilled. Once it is cleared or completed, the dungeon disappears.

– Permanent-type: A permanent dungeon remains after being cleared and can be challenged repeatedly.

Structure / Function

– Persona-type: A persona dungeon recreates a past event, possible future, legend, memory, or specific scenario. It operates according to its own rules and usually requires specific conditions to be fulfilled rather than simply defeating every monster inside.

Access Conditions

A dungeon may also have entry restrictions, such as minimum or maximum levels, required skills, limited numbers of participants, specific items, time restrictions, or other conditions. These restrictions can apply to both Natural and Artificial dungeons.

Infomania: 

1.

F Class: 10 levels (1–10) → Copper Rank

E Class: 15 levels (11–25) → Bronze Rank

D Class: 20 levels (26–45) → Iron Rank

C Class: 20 levels (46–65) → Silver Rank

B Class: 15 levels (66–80) → Gold Rank

A Class: 10 levels (81–90) → Platinum Rank

S Class: 10 levels (91–100) → Mithril / Legendary Rank

2. Most of the time, simply raising your level does not automatically increase your resistances. You have to train and develop each resistance separately for it to improve.

Resistance also depends on individual factors. For example, even if someone has the same level and the same rank in Magic Resistance as Hayato, Hayato would still possess higher resistance in practice. This is because factors such as talent, aptitude, and affinity also play a role. As a magical genius, Hayato naturally has advantages in these areas, allowing him to achieve better results despite having the same level and skill rank.

2. Mana Materials: steel, wood etc materials that have changed over time due to excessive exposure to mana.

3. A dungeon break happens when monsters flood out from the dungeon onto the surface, posing a threat to civilians.

The dungeon entrance undergoes a color transition through five stages: Yellow, Yellow-Orange, Orange, Red-Orange, and Red.

When it reaches a full red color, indicating high danger, a dungeon break occurs. These color changes are also detectable through abnormal mana signatures.

4. ‘Overflow’ happens when many same type monsters rush out of dungeons.

5. ‘Stampede’ happens when many different type monsters rush out of dungeons.

6. ‘Incursion’ happens when monsters change their floor of residence, moving to higher or lower floors. 

7. ‘Overhaul’ happens when the dungeon undergoes a significant change, altering entire floors in an unnatural way.

Trivia: 

1. Resistances: Hayato already had poison resistances. But he still constantly consumed poisonous substances and relied on healing potions to survive, eventually gaining better Poison Resistance. He repeated the same process for various other resistances as well. On average, it took him around three months to acquire and boost each one.