To Hell With Being a Hero! Chapter 331

Chapter 331

Samigina couldn’t even breathe properly. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but his lips simply opened and closed again. His body was cracking all over as if he was going to crumble and disappear soon. Chi-Woo looked down and contemplated deeply while Samigina was disappearing. Samigina was a great demon who Shersha had gone out of her way to personally visit. Perhaps he could be useful in the future.

Yet Chi-Woo could neither keep him alive nor wanted to at this point. Samigina had remained neutral according to his own will and chose to watch the upcoming future from the sidelines. Chi-Woo acknowledged that Samigina showed characters different from most of the great demons he had encountered until now, but that was about it. In the end, Samigina was simply a great demon belonging to the Demon Empire.

Thus, Chi-Woo decided to focus on the present for now. Samigina should pay the price for meddling in his past and trying to awaken him further. And conveniently, there was the perfect use for him right now—a way to utilize him much better than just letting him turn to nothingness.

“Hey, the parasite over there,” Chi-Woo suddenly called out, and everyone else looked confused. What parasite?

“I’m talking about you. You.” Chi-Woo turned around and stared at the small animal wagging their tail. The fenrir cub ran to Chi-Woo and barked at him fiercely, as if they were protesting being called a parasite.

“You didn’t do anything but watch. That makes you a parasite,” Chi-Woo snorted and looked forward again. He jerked his chin at Samigina, who was writhing on the ground like a bug.

“What are you waiting for? It’s a special meal for you. Quickly finish him off.”

“Ruff!” The fenrir cub stopped its incessant fierce barking and cheered like they were saying Chi-Woo was the best. Those belonging to the Mad Moon ate demonic creatures as food; among them, a great demon was a rare and special source of nutrients. And perhaps because of the species’ natural instinct, the fenrir cub hurriedly dashed towards Samigina. Soon, the s.p.a.ce was filled with the sound of bone and flesh being chewed and devoured.

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1. ‘7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent’: Reach at least 90% trust (Incomplete)

2. Eat the flesh and drink the blood of a great demon at a single-digit rank (Complete)

3. Awaken ‘Raw Divinity’ (Incomplete)

4. Manifest ‘Mad Moon Fangs’ (Incomplete)

5. Use at least 5 and at most 7 points of ‘Blessed Luck’ (Incomplete)

Chi-Woo was glad to see that the second condition was completed. There was still a long way to go, but it felt as if he had made his first step, and the day the fenrir cub would be freed of their t.i.tle as ‘parasite’ was coming soon. Anyways, with Samigina’s fall, the rescue team’s work was done. Though their mission could be considered an expedition, it was preferable to think of it as a rescue because there was nothing in this place, and they had no rewards to reap. Just in case, Chi-Woo searched through the floor for anything notable, but there was nothing. And though Chi-Woo was at least able to fulfill one of the conditions to parent the fenrir cub, everyone else couldn’t hide their disappointment.

“Sigh. I know Teacher did most of the work, but how could there not be a single gold coin or silver?” Jin-Cheon complained.

“But hey, you still gained merits. And I told you to be quiet,” Abis chided him and turned around.

Yunael was standing at the center of the room with a dazed look on their face. In the end, they were unable to save their two missing companions. Those two met pitiful ends as sacrifices for the great demon’s research, and it seemed Yunael was greatly bothered by this fact. Jin-Cheon noticed their reaction and fell silent. He understood how Yunael felt and couldn’t fault them. If it hadn’t been for Chi-Woo, he might have been living as a hopeless b.u.m somewhere right now.

‘There’s really nothing…’ After going through the room, Chi-Woo judged that they wouldn’t find anything and was about to exit the room with only the magic fire pit when he heard Philip’s voice.

—Chi-Woo, wait.

While floating in the air, Philip had been staring at the magic circle on the ground until now.

—Shouldn’t you try using it once before going?

‘What are you talking about?”

—I am talking about this. This.

Philip pointed at the fire pit that was shaped like a cauldron and sat in the center of the geometric circle.

‘Why…?’

—Think carefully about what Samigina told you.

Now that Chi-Woo thought about it, he vaguely recalled Samigina talking about ‘true worth’ and the fire pit being wasted in the hands of the Kobalos tribe. And he went on about paying the right price for things.

—Samigina summoned monsters to fight you all by offering sacrifices. He also succeeded in going inside your mind by sacrificing himself.

‘Hm…but Samigina became extinguished.’ More exactly, he became blood and flesh in the fenrir cub’s belly.

—What does that matter?

Philip countered.

—The one who started this ritual was the Kobalos tribe and it’s still going on. Doesn’t that mean Samigina was also someone who simply used the ritual? Though of course, he used this mysterious magic circle with it.

Chi-Woo nodded. That did make sense. The fire pit’s fire was still burning, and the magic circle below it was glowing a mysterious red light.

—Moreover, it’s a relic that can alter the fate of an entire tribe. That means it can borrow the power of a G.o.d…

Philip lifted one eyebrow while talking and smirked.

—It seems we don't have to go empty-handed after all. Though we would need to be careful since this is all conjecture.

Chi-Woo thought Philip’s words held merit, yet he needed to carefully think about the way he would approach this issue. Since the fire pit held mystical powers, there was a high chance that they would suffer great setbacks if they did something wrong to it. Thus, before he did something on his own, he gathered everyone together and asked for their opinions.

“It makes sense,” Abis clapped and turned to Yunael. “On that note, wasn’t Yunael supposed to get magic equipment as a reward for this expedition through this fire pit?”

“…That’s true, but I’m not sure if it will work.” Yunael didn’t deny it, but they replied in a lower voice, “The Kobolas’ elder said that the only one who can use the fire pit among them was their sorcerer.” Thus, he had told them that they should never use the fire pit for their own gains even if it was tempting and just bring it over to them.

“But just now, that great demon used it however he wanted.”

“Ah.” Yunael squinted at Abis’ counterargument. “That’s true…I don’t know. I’m just relaying to you guys what I was told.”

“Perhaps it has something to do with the magic circle.” Abis’ eyes shone as she looked at the glowing red magic circle on the ground. Even if the Kobolas’ elder was telling the truth, their deduction told them that they could also use the fire pit.

“Then how do we use this?” Jin-Cheon snickered and asked curiously. Abis couldn’t give him a ready answer. She simply looked back at Chi-Woo.

“…From what you described, it sounded like we need to hold a ritual to make offerings to spirits or a G.o.d,” Chi-Woo said after organizing his thoughts, “There are many reasons why someone would hold a ritual. It could be for rain, stable business, bountiful harvest, and so on, just like how the Kobalos’ tribe asked for their well-being.” And just like how Samigina used it for his own goal.

“Since the ritual is still ongoing, does that mean we can each ask for something?” Dulia’s eyes shone as she asked.

“That’s true, but…” Chi-Woo trailed off. In theory, the Kobalos’ magic fire pit was a relic that produced infinite possibilities, but it wouldn’t simply grant all wishes just because one earnestly prayed for them. That would be too good to be true.

“You must pay a fitting price,” Chi-Woo said. In other words, they needed an offering. Samigina offered several lives to summon powerful monsters and even offered himself to investigate Chi-Woo’s core. It was the same for the Kobalos. Perhaps their process of conducting the ritual was a way for them to fulfill this condition—as some of their members went through great tribulations and hards.h.i.+ps and eventually made some kind of offering, they were able to suspend their curse temporarily. Everything made sense then.

“The key is paying the right price,” Chi-Woo summarized simply for the rest of the team. “If you want to earn something, you have to prove your sincerity by offering something. You could get rewards based on how you use the fire pit, but if used wrongly, it could lead to disastrous results. Of course, we will only be sure of the details after trying it though.”

To gain something, one needed to lose something. As soon as Chi-Woo finished speaking, the surroundings became deadly silent. Everyone had sensed then that this was an opportunity for them to gain a reward they had only dreamed of, but they couldn’t rejoice yet since this was all still speculation. Besides, things could go wrong with a single mishap, and everyone just lingered around the firepit while glancing at one another.

“Ppyu!” It was then Steam Bun slid out and jumped to the top of the fire pit.

“Bag?” Chi-Woo called out, but Steam Bun didn’t move away. Instead, it opened its mouth wide, tilted its body, and dropped a whitish liquid substance into the fire pit. It was the substance that had healing abilities.

“That definitely has some value…” Abis said with a curious glint in her eyes. Everyone looked toward the fire pit as its fire wavered and the substance inside boiled. Soon afterward, the fire pit spat out something. Dulia’s forehead creased.

“…Meat?” It appeared to be a piece of well-cooked steak.

“Ppyu!” Steam Bun looked overjoyed and immediately went down and s.n.a.t.c.hed the piece of meat. Then it ate it joyfully while savoring each bite. After finis.h.i.+ng the steak, it jumped back to the top of the fire pit before anyone could stop it and excitedly dropped its white saliva down into the pit again. This time, it even separated a piece of its own body and dropped it in. The fire burned brightly, and another being that looked exactly like Steam Bun popped out.

“Pyo?” Its color and size were similar. The only difference between them was that this new one had a small yellow ribbon on top of its head.

“Ppyu?” The original steam bun hesitated like it was slightly nervous. The ribbon-wearing steam bun born from the fire pit looked around and spotted its own kind. It immediately jumped and rubbed its body against the original steam bun.

“Pyo~”

“Ppyu, ppyu…” As the ribbon steam bun expressed its affection for it, the original steam bun looked like it had no idea what to do. Still, it didn’t seem to dislike the companions.h.i.+p. Soon, the two lumps joined hands, circled around, and slid across the floor. The way they laughed and bounced around made them look like a young couple.

“What? A friend? It can even produce something like that?” Dulia said in astonishment.

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“Rather than a friend…it seems like a girlfriend,” Abis carefully expressed her opinion.

“Look at that guy. I understand. It’s nice to see,” Jin-Cheon swiped his nose and looked pleased by the two. The first one to try out the fire pit showed clear and significant results.

“I will go next.” Abis stepped forward with her quiver. “But let me experiment with it first.” She took a deep breath in front of the fire pit and dropped a coin inside before praying. What came out was a single rudimentary arrow.

“Hm, I see.” Abis smiled like she gained some certainty about something and took out all her equipment. She even took off her clothes.

“What? You’re getting so bold,” Jin-Cheon whistled seeing Abis in only her underwear.

“Don’t worry. You’ll all do the same,” Abis said, dropping even her arrows and bow.

“What, Abis? What do you mean?”

“What else can it be? You guys should also take off your clothes.”

“Huh? Are you joking?”

“You can just get new clothes when you return to the city. Stop complaining and strip.”

“No, but still.”

“Don’t you know that you have to give away the fire pit once we return? Do you think an opportunity like this is going to come again?”

“But…I…” Jin-Cheon looked unwilling, but in the end, he stripped down to only his underwear like Abis. His brother Aric desperately tried to remain unnoticeable, but Abis soon called him out.

“Aric! You too!” Eventually, Aric had to tearfully take off all his clothes except his underwear under Abis’ orders. It wasn’t only their equipment and clothes. After they dropped all the money and everything they had brought into it, Abis got on her knees and prayed fervently.

Hwaaaa! Soon, the fire pit’s fire rose.

“A bow?” Dulia said. As she said, the fire pit spat out one new longbow. Abis quickly took the bow. Her expression looked a bit mixed while she carefully studied it.

“Hm, it’s a bow intended for battle,” Abis concluded after stroking it for a long time.

“Why? Is it not good?” Dulia asked, and Abis slowly shook her head.

“It’s alright. It’s quite st.u.r.dy and delicate. It’s what upper-ranking officers will use in the military, but…” Abis sounded greatly disappointed. Though it was better than the bow she originally used, it appeared that it failed to meet her expectations. It seemed she had wanted magic equipment.

“Hm! It’s my turn now!” As Abis moved away, Jin-Cheon rushed forward with only his underwear on.

“Um…” Though he had stepped forward, he realized he had nothing much to offer once he was in front of the fire pit. “Hm…” He looked around for any possible offering, but of course, there was nothing. The loads of sacrifice he saw when he first came to the room had already been offered to summon monsters, and as time continued to pa.s.s without him doing anything, people began to voice their complaints.

“Hurry up. Can’t you see that people are waiting?” Dulia asked in annoyance while twirling her hair, and others agreed with her.

“If there’s nothing you can offer, come back for now.”

“Ah please! Wait a bit! Let me think!” Jin-Cheon shouted. Yet he couldn’t think of anything, and it was futile in the end.

“Hey!” Unable to bear it any longer, Dulia shouted in anger.

“Ah, I got it!” Jin-Cheon scratched the ground with his feet and took a fistful of rock pieces and dirt before putting it inside the fire pit.

“What is he doing…?” Dulia frowned, wondering what else he could possibly add. Then her eyes widened in shock.

“Ptew!” Jin-Cheon spat into the fire pit. Then he bowed his head and shook some of his hair into it.

‘Since this is a body part and fluid belonging to a hero, you can’t say it’s worthless. Perhaps it could be valued highly,’ Jin-Cheon murmured to himself, and Dulia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Even if they could offer anything as a price, what Jin-Cheon did just now was close to blasphemy. No, it was blasphemous.

“Hey, wait…” Dulia was about to stop Jin-Cheon after getting a foreboding feeling, but it was too late then. Jin-Cheon had already flicked his hair and bowed in front of the fire pit. Then the fire pit burned up.

Craaaaaackle!

Soon, looking all bright red, the fire pit let out explosive steam. There was no other way to describe it: it looked seriously p.i.s.sed.