Demon King
Chapter 13: Exclusive Store (2)

Exclusive Store (2)

“Aaghh!”

The one-armed Goblin Fighter in front of me shrieked, waving his rusty sword. His right arm stump bleeds where it has been cut off. I took a step back and looked around, not rushing to cut him down.

The path we’re in was smothered with blood. A mountain of Goblin corpses, most of which were entirely beaten and cut out of shape, continued to pile as I kept felling the enemy until no more Goblin Fighters are to be seen. The shrieking Goblin Fighter in front of me doesn’t look the same anymore. He looks like he knew it was over. Still, he shrieked once more before charging towards me, trying to drive a sword through my heart.

The fact that my body wasn’t exhausted conversely made me more tired. I knew I had to finish.

“Swoosh! Shiing!”

I gave a mighty swing and connected. The charging Goblin’s head flew, it’s bloody afterimage remained floating in the air for a few moments. I grabbed his head and chewed hungrily.

[You gained 70 experience]

[You received 10 bronze.]

The Goblin Fighter, who gave 100 experience when encountering him for the first time, now only gave 70. What’s more, as my level went up, the amount of experience I needed to level up went higher, so I had to kill more and more of these Goblin Fighters to level up.

I looked around once more to the weirdly spectacular mess. It was a place where a normal human being would have thrown up. With a bitter laugh, I sat on the corpse of a female Goblin Warrior. It hadn’t been long since she died.

“Now, I will eat well.”

As I sat there, looking at the corpses, I wondered if it will take longer to eat them all than fighting against them in battle. So distraught, I pulled the body of the nearest Goblin fighter and opened my mouth.

[Predation of Hunted Goblin Fighter 524/1,000]

[Predation of Hunted Goblin Warrior 12/200]

I searched both inside and outside the aisle and inside the inventory. And I confirmed that I had eaten all the corpses except one of the Goblin Warriors’. I had kept it for emergency use. For reference, the inventory was 4X4, or 16 cells, in line with the second evolution.

It was a tough fight. Once the boat was filled, it was easy to fire mana by shooting three or four shots. Wielding the sword and draining the boat along with stamina was not a joke.

I ate so hard until I had 100, and my stomach was so full I couldn’t eat anymore.

However, I noticed that the Status had a skill called Leap.

[Beginner Leap Lv1]

[The higher the level, the higher you can jump. Can be used for running away.]

The description of the skill was simple, and the effect was simple. Up, forward, left and right, back, it was just a skill to run. The only drawback of this skill was that it consumes a lot of stamina on a subject that only runs about 1m on a level 1 basis.

And it was a blessing to me, at least for now.

From the moment I confirmed that the Leap was on the Status, I ran hard. Every time I ran, my bloated stomach was getting reduced. Stamina was also being consumed rapidly, and just after five runs, I was hungry again.

From then on, I had to eat until my Stamina and Magic were exhausted, used the Leap and Black Thunder to lower the numbers, and then repeat my eating routine until my Stamina and Magic were exhausted.

During this time, I wasn’t in one’s right mind. This wasn’t the kind of work that I would do with ordinary thinking. Also, it was less stressful to keep eating than to fight.

Despite repeatedly eating for hours after the massacre in the dungeon, I wasn’t sure if it exhausted all the Goblins. But there was no new Goblin Fighter appearing in one aisle or the other.

I ate more than 500 Goblin Fighters and 12 Goblin Warriors without a problem. Goblin Fighter was good, but the Goblin Warrior was better. I would rather eat Jjajangmyeon than this one.

When I finished eating, I paused and confirmed the status that I had put off.

[Kang Si-ha (Fate)]

[Hob Goblin Lv29]

[Strength – 107 health – 106 Magic – 36 Luck-???]

[Skill-Ebon Heart, Predation Lv2, Lower Swordsmanship Lv2, Beginner Black Lever Lv3, Beginner Leap Lv5, Beginner Sensing Lv9, Beginner Attack Lv3, Beginner Leadership Lv4, Beginner State Resistance Lv5]

I sighed after seeing the results. After killing 524 Goblin Fighters and 13 Goblin Warriors, I only climbed to Level 4. I didn’t know how long it’ll take me to level up by catching the remaining 476 Goblin Fighters.

Still, the growth of the status and skill itself was a pleasure.

When it was a Goblin, the strength and stamina only increased by 1, but after becoming a Hob Goblin, the Strength increased by 3, Stamina 3, and Magic 1 each time the level rose. The Predation added 4 to the Strength and Stamina and 1 to Magic.

After eating over 500 fighters, my Strength and Stamina only rose by 4, which meant that, in my experience with Leveling Up, my Strength and Stamina Increased, so my intake needed to increase. No matter how much I complained, the bottom line was that I needed to eat more.

I wanted to moderate my desire to grow my skills further. The Swordsmanship had been upgraded and had risen to the 2nd level, and it was incredibly high that I had gained Leaps and Black Lightning due to excessive use for Stamina and Magic. This was a surprise skill, so I didn’t want to raise it because I didn’t need to use it. The level of immunity was also up 5 levels.

The only strange thing is the Leadership Skill.

[Beginner Leader has become Lv4]

[You will be able to lead a group. As the level rises, the number of groups that can be gathered increases, and if you have a strong load, or if you successfully command a large number of groups, the skill level increases.]

More so, there was no one else in the cave except me. I was not leading anyone, so of course, I wasn’t even going to try using this skill. But even if I tried to write it, I couldn’t. Nevertheless, this skill level rises slowly, so it was on the 4th level.

[Beginner Leader has become Lv5.]

Level 1 went up again, and I didn’t have to do anything. I tried to reason why this was happening, but no matter how much I tried, the answer never came. I couldn’t figure out. It didn’t make sense that skills leveled up at will without being used

I decided to push the fact that I owned Leadership Skills at the back of my mind. I’d find out more about it later when I went upstairs.

Hunting and Predation were also over. There are no monsters around. Then the time had finally come.

[67 silver 70 bronze]

I decided to try a dedicated store.

[Would you like to enter a dedicated store? Admission is 10 silver. You cannot enter during battle.]

[Yes]

[No]

As soon as I recalled the keyword “exclusive store”, a notification window popped up in front of me. I was thrilled to see the words in it.

The entrance fee is 10 silver!? This spooked me a lot inside, but I reached out to the notification window that says, “Yes.”

As soon as my hand touched the notification window, a plain black wooden door with a light bell ringing sprung out of the cave wall I was facing.

[Enter the exclusive store. Good luck today.]

This new reminder in front of my eyes made me more anxious. However, the entrance fee of 10 silver was already consumed. I had already paid the value of 100 Goblin Fighters, and I had no choice but to open the door.

However, the place in which the door opened to might have been a mistake. A wall stack with liquor bottles came into view. There was also a quality wooden counter and a chair in front of it. It was the same bar I came to when I didn’t have any money to buy pork cutlet.

The door closed behind me, and almost immediately, someone appeared at the counter. The voice startled me, for I imagined that nobody else was going to be there.

“Welcome,” he said.

He looked different from humans. He had elongated and sharp ears, his skin was white and pale, and he was taller and had a vigorous body. His sleek, silver hair grew over his shoulders. He spoke with a low, subdued voice in clear Korean language. He had clear and transparent eyes, with charming aesthetics.

“Welcome to the Exclusive Store, Fate.”

“Oh, hello,” he said, making eye contact with me, a Hob Goblin, and his warm smile created tiny wrinkles around his eyes.

“You are the first the first guest to come to this pub.”

In my mind, I thought the gentleman was an excellent moral person for having given me essential information within a few minutes of my encounter with him.

I was the first guest he had seen since he started running the bar! In other words, no other earthling had ever earned 10 silver so far! Or even if they had collected 10 silver, they were not qualified to enter there! This was exciting news!

“Haha, it’s delightful when you think about it, isn’t it?” He laughed nicely and invited me to sit down.

I sat in the chair, and suddenly, I was engulfed in incredible sadness. It wasn’t until that particular moment that I came in touch with my human side again after all the fighting other monsters in a dark cave.

The poison in my heart was released for a little. I felt relaxed for the first time since I awakened in a Goblin’s body.

Only

“For every time you enter the Exclusive Shop, you’ll get one drink for free. Would you like to have it now?”

Alcohol? I was stunned! My ebon heart was beating in my chest.

“Sorry. I can’t afford it,” I replied.

He looked with a widened gaze as if he couldn’t believe my answer. But I didn’t intend to drink, whether it was free or paid for.

I had no intention of staying where I wasn’t sure whether it was a bar or a shop for the rest of my life.

I knew the time from the moment I entered the store. A glass window with the numbers 20:00 on one side of my view proved it.

I don’t want to be stretched out more than necessary. I don’t want to get my mind interfered with by alcohol. I didn’t want to be shaken by the uncle’s calm and relaxed voice. The place I should be at is that dark dungeon. I have to fight the monsters again.

But what the uncle said next surprised me.