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After coming out of his Athenae Access Capsule, Minhyuk exercised and ate his salad as usual. After emptying six plates of salad in one go, he stood up in front of the mirror and thought, ‘There’s definitely a lot of improvement.’
He was now standing at 185 centimeters in height and 88 kilograms in weight. He had gained some weight after the Athenae: World War, but he was losing weight faster than when he used the drug that they developed for him. In fact, he was already banned from taking any more doses of the drug.
‘The side effects are pretty severe.’
The drug’s side effects included extreme fatigue, arthritis, and dehydration. Lee Jinhwan, his doctor-in-charge, had also advised that there would be adverse effects if he continued to take any more doses of the drug.
‘But I’m definitely better than in the past.’
Minhyuk looked at his figure in the mirror as he threw jabs and punches in the air. Compared to when he started Athenae, where he could not even move his body as he wanted, he felt as light as a feather. This meant that there were many changes in his body.
Then, Oh Changwook approached him and said, “You still remember about your physical and medical examination tomorrow, right?”
“Yep, I know.”
Minhyuk had taken his physical and medical examination in his home so far. After all, his house was equipped with equipment and instruments that were comparable to the ones in the hospitals. However, the tests that they did at home would eventually reach the limit.
So, they all decided for him to undergo his physical and medical examination at a hospital in America. The main reason why they chose to do it in America was so they could study eating addiction and discuss even further with renowned doctors to find a cure for the disease in the future.
Another reason was to participate in writing theses and papers about the treatment process and give hope to other patients. They could also check whether his high blood pressure, diabetes and arrhythmia had improved with this examination. However…
‘I won’t be able to access Athenae for two days.’
Minhyuk was already the king of a nation so not being able to access the game for two straight days was a huge deal.
‘We need to fill up the spot that Brod has left empty.’
Before he went for his physical and medical examination, there was still something that Minhyuk had to do.
‘I have to make Demon Kimaris my subordinate,’ Minhyuk thought as he immediately accessed the game.
***
Great Demon Verus and the 72 Devils were modeled after the Lesser Key of Solomon. Among these demons, Kimaris ranked 66th. He also had the title of a marquis. His ranking was on the lower side and he could even be said to be extremely weak among the demons in terms of force and power.
Minhyuk was able to summon Kimaris thanks to the Demon Summoning Ring in his hands. In fact, he could only summon Kimaris for the rest of the summons since the Demon Summoning Ring explicitly stated that the demon that he first summoned would be fixed. It was also because of that that Minhyuk was able to check Kimaris’ status window.
(Kimaris)
Rank: Demon
Type: Artifact Summon
Level: 699
Attack: 6,959
Defense:4,683
Special Abilities:
•Active Skill: Dreams of Truth
•Active Skill: Demonic Axe Technique
•Active Skill: Demonic Footwork
•Passive Skill: Unparalleled Bravery
•Passive Skill: The One that Gained Enlightenment
Potential: 151
Experience Value: 55% / 100%
According to the Lesser Key of Solomon, Kimaris was a demon known for making man courageous[1]. Kimaris was also known for being able to locate hidden and lost treasures. There were three skills in his repertoire to prove this.
(Unparalleled Bravery)
Passive Skill
Level: None
Effects:
•Those that fight alongside Kimaris will receive a 15% increase in all of their stats.
•Those that rush fiercely and courageously in the battlefield and have forgotten the fatigue of their bodies and their fears, as if they were never there to begin with, will gain better effects.
‘This is crazy.’
It was out of this world. It was just one of Kimaris’ skills but it was amazing. As long as they got Kimaris on their side, they would become 15% stronger. Also…
‘Those that forget their fears will become stronger.’
The biggest shackle in a battle was ‘fear’. This was something that was deeply ingrained in a man’s instinct when facing something that towered above them. Of course, overcoming and forgetting those fears was not an absolute solution.
But it would be a tremendous help to Minhyuk’s troops and guild members if they could forget that fear as they fought, no matter how slight.
Then, he looked at the next skill.
(The One that Gained Enlightenment)
Passive Skill
Level: None
Effects:
•It would help those that wanted to protect something, those that longed to gain victory, those that realized how weak they were and many more to awaken new powers at their most desperate point.
•For someone to awaken a new power, they must have enough power to grow further.
‘Isn’t this skill crazier than the one before?!’ Minhyuk thought as he clicked his tongue. It was an overpowered skill that granted Kimaris the ability to unlock someone’s hidden power upon their awakening.
‘So it’s true that none of them could ignore him, even if he’s a demon of low rank.’
Sometimes, lower ranked demons had greater value than higher ranked demons. But only after seeing Kimaris’ abilities was Minhyuk able to cement this fact as the truth.
‘Kimaris is a demon that will shine brightly if he is with humans.’
And finally…
(Dreams of Truth)
Active Skill
Level: None
Mana Required: 1,000
Cooldown: 48 hours
Effects:
•There are times when people forget where they put their things. Kimaris can stimulate that memory by putting them to sleep.
•There are times when people that have made legendary achievements, in fact even gods, have forgotten where they have hid their treasures and powers. If that happened, Kimaris can give them a glimpse of the place where they hid it, however it would be in their dreams.
‘This one’s crazy too…’
A significant number of those that had made legendary achievements or NPCs with incredible power might not remember the place where they hid their treasures, skill books, or other items.
The reason?
It was simple. It was because they were devices for quests. And this power would allow them to get a glimpse of it in advance.
‘There are only three summons left in the Demon Summoning Ring.’
Once the number of summons had been used up, the Demon Summoning Ring would disintegrate. Minhyuk went to an open space somewhere in the vicinity of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Beside him were Gorfido, Ghost Spear Ben, Best Selling Author Aruvel, Elpis and Beanie. The reason why they went to an open space was because they wanted to avoid incurring huge damages in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom should Kimaris decide to run rampant and plunge the world in despair. They must successfully win Kimaris over in this place. To do that, they needed to come up with a plan.
“What’s a good method?”
The first one to answer was Gorfido, “I think torture is good. Tie both his arms and legs with a rope and…”
“Gorfido. Good thoughts, happy thoughts. Didn’t I tell you to only say nice things?”
“I think we should just continuously make him feel hurt,” Gorfido said, which made Minhyuk shake his head. They must win Kimaris’ heart for him to become their true, trusted subordinate and ally.
This time, Beanie raised his paws. Beanie, who had climbed on Elpis' shoulder, crossed his arms and looked at them arrogantly.
“Oink, oink, oink!” I have a good idea, oink!
All of them turned to look at him. Then, Beanie said, “Oink, oink oink, oink!” Give him chicken then ask him to be our ally, oink!
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Almost all of them shook their heads at the arrogant baby piggy. They were all dumbfounded at his suggestion. However, there was one person that agreed, “Right. That’s definitely the best method. No one refuses chicken.”
All of them looked at Minhyuk with gaping mouths.
“Then, our first method is seduction through cooking.”
In fact, Minhyuk knew that it might be futile to seduce Kimaris to their side with just chicken. However, he had brought many people to his side with his cooking so far. After all, food was both a necessity and a source of joy for the lives of humans.
And the second method…
“How about making him recognize you through strength and force, Your Majesty?” Ghost Spear Ben said as he handed Minhyuk a glass of freshly made iced americano.
Minhyuk nodded as he drank the iced americano in one shot. That was also true. However, it was also a method that could create hostility. After all, it was impossible for someone that served Great Demon Verus to willingly serve Minhyuk.
Then, Aruvel said, “How about placing him in a small room with my novel. Then, we’ll cut it when he’s in the final volume and…”
Aruvel’s eyes twinkled. It was a very novel idea. However, the funny thing was…
‘There are a lot of people who claimed to be Aruvel’s fans that actually moved to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, right?’
Aruvel’s novels were far more powerful and influential than they thought. As Minhyuk thought about that, he suddenly realized, ‘We don’t even know what kind of being Kimaris is, right? So what’s the point of talking like this?’
Nothing would change. It was necessary for them to summon Kimaris for now and see exactly what kind of being he was. With that, Minhyuk declared that he would summon Kimaris. Everyone immediately took caution. The moment he showed hostility, everyone would attack him head on. The biggest problem here would be his hostility, which would only increase the more attacks they used on him.
“Summon demon.”
Shwaaaaaaaaaaaaa—
[Demon Kimaris has appeared!]
[You have summoned Kimaris through the Demon Summoning Ring. Kimaris is a wild and untameable demon. Keep in mind that he can attack you and your comrades.]
Tremendous amount of demonic energy appeared and swirled in the skies, shaking the trees and grass in the forest. As the demonic energy gathered in one place, the figure of a black soldier with a huge ax hanging on his shoulders appeared in front of them. His eyes that were completely black looked around. Everyone looked at him cautiously. After meeting only once, Kimaris had labeled Minhyuk as a mere human and of course, there was great hostility towards such a measly being.
However, their worries were unfounded. Kimaris only took a deep breath after taking a look around them, “Fwaaaaaaaaa.” As he exhaled, there was a strange sense of feeling refreshed displayed on his face. Then, he trudged forward to sit on top of a small boulder and asked, “Your business?”
“…”
Minhyuk and his vassals were all flustered. They had expected him to show anger and hostility and attack them the moment he appeared. That was the case with the last summon. However, Kimaris was a very clever demon. The fact that Minhyuk could summon him meant that he had sealed ‘Great Demon Verus’. This meant that he could not win against them here. So, he believed that there was no need to fight such a useless battle.
Minhyuk spoke in a dignified voice, “Kimaris. Swear your eternal allegiance…”
“Don’t want to.”
“…”
Minhyuk nodded at his straight up refusal. In fact, he knew that it was pure luck that winning Gorfido and Ghost Spear Ben’s hearts and then swearing their allegiance to him was just pure luck. After all, it was very difficult to obtain retainers that way.
This time, Aruvel approached Kimaris. He was a member of the demon race. So, there was a chance that he could decrease Kimaris’ hostility. Then, he presented his novel, “It’s a steamy novel about a demon’s love. Would you like to read it?”
“I don’t know how to read.”
“…”
The first plan failed.
“How about something to eat…” Minhyuk asked.
“Food? I usually eat centipede brain or elven bones, do you have those?”
“…”
The second plan failed. After all, they could not make elven fried chicken, right?
“Then, how about I make you submit?”
“Too troublesome.”
The third plan failed.
“You bastard, I’ll skin you until you swear that you will obey,” Gorfido threatened.
“Sure. Try it.”
“…”
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It seemed like Gorfido would not be able to force him to obey. So, the fourth plan also failed. If he was violent, then they could subdue him since Kimaris was the one that would attack first. But if they were the ones that attacked first to induce obedience then it would be impossible for Kimaris to give his true heart to Minhyuk and live with them. He can’t cook for him and they can’t even make him read Aruvel’s steamy novels because he’s illiterate.
Unbeknownst to them, Kimaris was actually enjoying the scenery.
Tweet, tweet—
“That’s nice.”
The sight of Kimaris enjoying the view of birds flying in the skies was completely contrary to the image of a ferocious and vicious demon. And when the summon time ended…
“I know that you have two more summons left in the Summoning Ring. Extend my summoning. I want to enjoy this scenery longer.”
Kimaris’ tone when he asked to extend the summons sounded strangely like, ‘Boss, can I get an additional thirty minutes in the karaoke booth?’
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Everyone was left speechless.
1. This probably refers to the phrase “making a man into a warrior of his own likeness” that used to describe Kimaris ☜