Demon King

The Garden of Nak (2) [End of Volume 2]

The Fallen are a result of the ‘Great Integration’, a process of merging Hater and Earth into one.

“If a human loses his life at the moment when the Great Integration takes place, that person loses his human body and opens his eyes from the monster’s body. It means that you will be a Fallen.”

I went through the same process. So far, I have been in the same shape as the general Fallen.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Not much information has been revealed about it, and no one knows, even the Fallen themselves, or the humans.

So, right after the Great Integration took place, great chaos struck the planet.

Most of the Fallen, who opened their eyes to monster bodies, were killed by humans when they tried to revert to human society.

“People realized that we were once humans like them because we can speak human words, not monster languages. But soon. they didn’t care about it.”

“Because of compensation?”

“Yes, because of the rewards. The rewards make it possible to protect yourself in this society.”

Enormous experience and money. People treated the Fallen as a special monster and slaughtered.

It didn’t matter to them that the monsters were human inside.

Humans thus hunted the Fallen to become stronger. More and more Fallen were killed.

“In a crazy world, protecting themselves was the top priority. The Fallen are easier to hunt compared to pure monsters, and the rewards were more excellent. We are good prey for them.”

Society has met a new order.

In less than a month, there were numerous conflicts, explosions, and destruction, but nevertheless, humans succeeded in creating a method to survive in a new planet covered with monsters and dungeons.

“Innumerable businesses and factories were rendered obsolete and soon shut down. Workers were laid off. In order for those who do not have combat skills to live, they have to plow fields now. It’s not easy because of the monsters that can appear without any warning.”

“The Fallen…”

“There are a lot of monsters popping up, even not considering the Fallen. The Fallen became an evil that had to be cut off and not mixed with human society.”

Ouch.

We were blocked and excluded.

“Then, society has been reorganized around those who had powerful abilities. Many guilds have been created. They started to aim to become stronger in their own way and influence society. They are no different than any other kind of company.”

“What about the government?”

“It exists. It’s just that the social structure has changed, but the rich and powerful remained unaffected. The government just became more punitive and blatant when it comes to tax and restrictions.”

The life of the powerful, manipulating human lives.

Now, I could understand that the brothers and sisters were driven to the dungeon without proper armor. To live. To survive.

“It gets a lot worse…”

New types of precious goods emerged in the reversed society. Gold and artifacts.

And the best place to get those two are dungeons.

“Dungeons became possessions of various influential guilds. They manage dungeons, collect gold, and monopolize good artifacts. Every guild wants to dominate. I think they are preparing for war. Whether it was a war between humans, or against monsters, nobody knew.”

“Where is gold used?”

It seems that humans crave gold.

“Auction houses. Training centers. Goods that can only be purchased at stores operated by natives. You need gold for all of them. Now, the value of existing currencies such as won, dollar, yen, and yuan is falling endlessly. Everyone wants gold, the most powerful currency now.”

Natives. I suddenly thought of Rain and A.

Lee Chan-yu seemed to guess what I was thinking and opened his mouth.

“Natives. They’re the ones who are the complete opposite of the Fallen,” he added.

“The inhabitants of Hater who appeared on Earth in human form after the Great Integration, even though they had no partners on Earth. Isn’t that the reverse of us who do not have partners from Hater?”

“Are they strong?”

“Yes, very. Stronger than the strongest people on Earth right now.”

“So, they are not hunted. Unlike the Fallen.”

“And they all look beautiful. Unlike us. It’s the opposite, as if someone made it that way, right?”

After we finished speaking, we faced each other and smiled.

We were in the form of a terrible evil spirit and a werewolf, so we fully understood how terrifying we look.

I laughed. Ten thousand emotions contained in one expression.

Lee Chan-yu’s words continued. He wanted to talk more about the natives.

“They want to help humanity. They help them adapt to a changing society, and they themselves want to live with humanity. At least on the surface, it seems like that.”

“What is their position toward the Fallen?”

“They treat us as monsters.”

It was a simple conclusion.

“It’s also the biggest reason humans can freely hunt Fallen. Natives are more powerful and richer than humans. They have the goods that humanity needs, gold, and artifacts. They treat Fallen as monsters; thus humans tended to follow their judgment.”

“It must be difficult to judge their intentions… First of all, are natives something to avoid?”

Proof of Mine artifacts has come from these natives. If someone tries to separate humans and Fallen in human forms, the intention must be clear.

I also asked about other things. Exactly how much the Earth has changed. How the outsiders live. How many dungeons are there? All of them were thoroughly engraved in my head.

“The arena we talked about earlier, that’s the only way to meet natives who are friendly to Fallen. They gave out items that could block Proof of Mine to those Fallen who can reach the finals.”

One side has artifacts that can identify a Fallen; the other side provides artifacts that can hide a Fallen’s identity.

It is clear that they are in opposite positions.

So, in other words, the natives are also divided into two groups.

Among them, Rain and A are probably on the side of the Fallen.

To be precise, on my side.

Then, why didn’t they tell me that there was a way to hide my identity?

If I go there now, will Rain bring it to me as a commodity if I wanted to purchase it?

I don’t think so.

But it’s probably not because they want me to die, but because they think I don’t need it.

Knowing Rain, he tends to overestimate me.

As I was troubled by the thoughts of my collaborators, Lee Chan-yu finished explaining the artifact.

“Of course, it doesn’t change your appearance. So, it only works for those who can transform into human form like me.”

I looked at him. His appearance was a werewolf over 2 meters tall, with thick hair all over his body.

“A human form…” I muttered.

“… … Sorry, I don’t want to go transform back right now.”

“No, I am not asking you to transform.”

I was just thinking about the way I would evolve in the future.

Goblins, hob goblins, and bugbears.

I wondered how much farther should I have to go in the future to evolve into a human-like form.

I looked at myself. Black, thick skin. Gigantic limbs. An ugly face far from a human’s. Elongated ears.

Human-like form? Honestly, it seems absolutely impossible.

Then I came up with a question.

“So, there were others with partners with non-human races such as elves, dwarves, and demons.”

“Ah, yes. There were.”

“They are completely missing from your story.”

Lee Chan-yu shrugged and said.

“They are gone. Without a trace.”

The story seems to be over.

After the long talk, Lee Chan-yu took out the water he had in his inventory, took a sip, and offered it to me.

I rejected it and thought about the things I learned and what my next steps would be.

And finally, I laughed bitterly when I came to the conclusion that all I had to do was get stronger.

But before that…

“Okay, I definitely got both pieces of information that I asked of you. Is it possible for one person to get two of those artifacts that hide the Fallen?”

“…Yes. I have two right now. Would you like one, captain?”

Lee Chan-yu pulled out something small and shining from his arms and threw it at me, and I caught it without difficulty.

It was a small badge.

[Proof of Life (350/1,985). Rarity – Rare. If you have this, you will be able to evade the magic of the traitors.]

Maybe someone had it before me. I put the badge in my arms without saying anything about it.

Lee Chan-yu also said nothing.

“Thanks.”

“It’s nothing compared to what the captain did for me.”

“Yes, and I have something to say about you calling me ‘captain’.”

“What is it?”

I hesitated a little, but soon I confessed my circumstances honestly.

“To put it plainly, I need to get stronger very quickly.”

“Even stronger than you are now?”

“I’m only an intermediate monster. But it can’t stay that way in the future.”

“… … .”

His eyes were wide open. He must have grasped the meaning of my words.

“Lee Chan-yu, I am welcome to having colleagues. However, that only applies if you don’t slow me down. How about you? Do you want to be stronger?”

“You are talking about evolution now?”

“Yes.”

Lee Chan-yu was worried. But soon, he nodded with determination.

“Evolution, I heard it was possible. I have only one way to choose anyway… … Do it. I will surely survive.”

“Good. Then let’s start right now.”

I drew my sword. I took one glance at the pleased Lee Chan-yu, then rushed out of the safe entrance and into 3F.

“Wait a minute, me too. I am going now, too!” I heard him scream. Only

I have to catch 100,000 monsters on the third floor.

After spending much time dealing with intruders and talking with Lee Chan-yu, I have to catch up quickly!

From then on, when the clock wheel turned five and a half turns, I finally reached level 70.

[Level Up!]

[You can enter the Garden of Nak.]

And a new trial came to me.

[End of Volume 2]