“Keu-heu-heu, have I finally cleared it…?”

While staring at the giant magical beast that was collapsing in front of Ilahan’s eyes, he let out a laugh showing his good mood.

He had finally completely cleared the quest that had taken a lengthy 2 weeks.

And Ilahan’s retainers that had scattered due to the tussle lined up in front of him after quickly organizing themselves again.

“Great work, master.”

“You’ve done a great job, Lord!”

Ilahan accepted the greetings of his retainers with a good mood as he stared at the quest completion messages that popped up afterwards.

Ring-!

• You have successfully cleared the quest the ‘Path to the Shim-ma-yeon[1]’.

• Clear Rank: A

• You have obtained 250 thousand Fame.

• You have satisfied the qualification requirement in order to enter the ‘Shim-ma-yeon’.

• Will you enter the ‘Shim-ma-yeon’?

If the name was literally translated, Shim-ma-yeon meant the ‘deep pond of the devil’.

And Ilahan nodded his head without hesitation.

“I’ll enter!”

Following that, a message popped up again.

• You will enter the ‘Shim-ma-yeon’.

• A high concentration of Devil Energy has begun to wrap around your body.

• Your body has gotten heavier. Your movement speed has decreased by 30%.

• You are the first to discover the ‘Shim-ma-yeon’.

• You have obtained 150 thousand Fame.

• You have obtained 3000 Devil Energy.

• Your Devil Energy Activation Rate has permanently increased by 2.5%.

* * *

A big and sturdy-looking physique that looked to be a little over 2 metres tall.

The devil with red skin and black hair, as well as sharp-looking eyes, was ‘Yankoun’, exactly who Ian was looking for.

‘I’m certain it is Yankoun, but…’

However, as soon as Ian saw Yankoun, he couldn’t help but tilt his head.

This was because Yankoun’s outer appearance had changed a lot.

“What a relief, Yankoun. You’ve been released quicker than expected.”

At Ian’s words, Yankoun grinned as he nodded his head.

“That’s right, I was able to be released within a couple of days thanks to you. Thanks to that, I was able to preserve as much of my Devil Energy as possible.”

Ian asked what he was curious about.

“But Yankoun, did something happen for your outer appearance to change so much?”

Originally, Yankoun had an incredibly giant build.

Even now, at over 2 metres, his physique wasn’t small, but compared to his previous build, it was a small physique that was only about 70% his original size.

On top of that, the hair that grew thickly all over his body had completely disappeared as well.

Fortunately, his facial features were still the same, so Ian was able to recognize him immediately.

Yankoun wore a pleased smile as he responded.

“Seraphim had helped me.”

At Yankoun’s out-of-the-blue response, Ian wore a puzzled expression.

“Huh…?”

“At the time when I was released from the Tower of Punishment, my Devil Energy was at about 45 thousand. However, thanks to Seraphim giving me a Highest-ranking Grass of the Devil Spirit, I was able to reach 50 thousand Devil Energy.”

“…!”

The two eyes of Ian, who realized the meaning of the words Yankoun said, slightly grew.

‘I believe I heard for sure back then that if his Devil Energy was over 50 thousand, he would obtain the right to become a Noblesse…’

And as if he had read Ian’s thoughts, Yankoun continued his words again.

“Thanks to that, I have met the qualification requirements in order to advance to a Noblesse. Although, of course, in order to become a true Noblesse, I need to take the promotional round.”

“Is that the reason why your outer appearance has changed?”

Yankoun nodded his head.

“That’s right. As the bowl within me grew big enough to control the overflowing Devil Energy, my outer appearance has also turned over a new leaf into a more refined image.”

Ian internally let out a shout of delight.

‘Keu! To think that he would appear after growing on his own like this!’

Even though he didn’t know what the process of the promotional round was, because the fact that the path to becoming a Noblesse had sped up alone, Ian wanted to dance joyfully.

‘But from what I noticed during the Devil’s Test was that the difference in fighting power with just one difference in rankings of the devils I faced was incredible, though…’

If Yankoun, who was immeasurably powerful as a matter of fact, became even stronger, he would be able to feel a force just like when he first obtained Kaizar in the central continent.

And just when Ian was thinking of this and that, Yankoun’s mouth opened up again.

“Ian, the reason that I was able to overcome this wall, let alone be released from the Tower of Punishment, is all thanks to you.”

The sound of Ian gulping audibly rang out.

Gulp-.

Yankoun’s words continued again, and they were the exact words that Ian was waiting for.

“I was already deeply moved by your strength, and I’m also greatly indebted to you.”

Ian and Yankoun’s gazes met in the air.

“I want to be with you from now on. I want to become your retainer and pay off the debt I owe you, as well as support you on your journey.”

A system message popped up in front of Ian’s eyes.

Ring-!

• High-rank Devil ‘Yankoun’ wants to become your retainer.

• Will you accept ‘Yankoun’ as your retainer?

Of course, Ian immediately nodded his head without having to think about it.

“Thanks, Yankoun, please help me out a lot from now on.”

Following that, a message popped up.

• You have accepted High-rank Devil ‘Yankoun’ as a retainer.

• Retainers Currently Owned: 40/40

• The maximum number of retainers that a ‘Marquis’-title aristocrat can have is ’40 people’.

• In order to additionally have retainers, you must be promoted to a ‘Duke’-title.

• The amount of Fame required to be promoted from a ‘Marquis’ → ‘Duke’ title: 3 million.

• The current amount of Fame possessed: 18.3 million.

• You possess enough Fame to be promoted.

• Will you proceed with the promotion to a ‘Duke’ title?

‘Huh…? A message like this pops up now that I’ve maxed out my retainers.’

Ian rubbed his chin as he contemplated for a moment.

Because he filled up his retainer holding amount, a message suggesting a title promotion had popped up.

‘The amount of Fame needed for a Duke title is 3 million, and the additional amount of Fame needed in order to be promoted once more to an Archduke is 5 million…’

Even if he was to be promoted straight to an ‘Archduke’ title at once, he would still have a whopping ten million Fame left.

However, Ian shook his head.

“No, I will not be promoted now.”

• You have rejected the title promotion.

• Your ‘Marquis’ title will be maintained.

This was because it wasn’t a title he needed immediately, and he was currently experiencing the incredible power of Fame.

‘To be honest, even the reason why I was able to obtain such an unbelievably powerful retainer like Yankoun may also be thanks to my outrageous amount of Fame.’

Of course, thanks to the bugged play due to a system error, it was true that he was able to have tremendously powerful Yankoun submit to him.

However, even if there was a system error, if it wasn’t for the enormous amount of 18 million Fame, it would have been hard to obtain him as a retainer at least.

‘I’ll take advantage of the Fame a little more, and promote myself later when I need it.’

Ian, who organized his thoughts on Fame, opened up the information of ‘Yankoun’, his newly obtained retainer.

• Yankoun

Level: 351

Classification: Devil

Class: Combat Devil (Berserker)

Position: High-rank Devil

Personality: Valiant

Talent Rank: Heroic

Combat Stats (Expand)

Detailed Abilities (Expand)

Possessed Abilities

• Devil Energy Eruption

As his giant greatsword is pierced into the ground, powerful Devil Energy erupts in its vicinity.

All opponents within a 20-metre range will receive 8927 (17.9% of his maximum Devil Energy) damage per second for 10 seconds.

While Devil Energy Eruption is in use, Yankoun will not be able to move at all, so if he faints or falls into a status condition like paralysis, the activation of the skill will be stopped.

(Cooldown Time 5 minutes)

• Devil Energy Concentration

‘Destructive Devil’ Yankoun can focus all of his Devil Energy every time he attacks and deal the maximum amount of damage possible.

His Devil Energy Activation Rate will permanently increase by 20%, and the damage dealt by a normal attack will permanently increase by 30%.

However, his movement speed will permanently decrease by 20%.

(Passive)

• Battle of Fury

For 15 minutes, ‘Yankoun’ will be in a state where he is engulfed in madness.

While he is engulfed in madness, Yankoun’s Defensive Power will decrease by 30%, while his Offensive Power will increase by 50%. As well, his movement speed will increase by 30%, and his Devil Energy Activation Rate will increase by 15%.

(Cooldown Time 30 minutes)

A powerful High-rank Devil that was one of the Twelve Chosen Generals of the Devildom in the past.

He is an exceptional ‘Berserker’ who is valiant and has a combative tendency.

Ian, who read through Yankoun’s information window, felt himself automatically nod his head.

‘As expected, as all of his inherent abilities are like this, his Devil Energy constantly burst out when I fought him.’

The part that Ian didn’t understand the most when he had fought Yankoun was the fact that his Devil Energy Activation Rate was incredibly high.

This was because in Ian’s case, he needed to attack about ten times for a possible chance of his Devil Energy bursting out, but Yankoun had burst out Devil Energy with a normal attack almost once every two times.

‘His passive, as well as his buff raises his Devil Energy Activation Rate tremendously.’

His AoE attack called ‘Devil Energy Eruption’ also looked incredibly powerful, but he thought that Yankoun would be a card that could display an even more powerful ability in a boss battle.

‘To be able to deal a fixed amount of damage that is Devil Energy at such a high success rate… He’ll be just the right person to use when catching a sturdy defensive-type boss.’

Overall, Yankoun’s stats made Ian incredibly pleased.

However, there was just one part that he was disappointed in, and that was his Talent Rank.

‘I thought that for sure his Talent Rank would be Legendary-rank or higher, but it’s a Heroic-rank.’

Amongst the 40 retainers that Ian possessed, he had as many as 15 retainers whose Talent Ranks were Heroic-rank.

However, for Legendary-rank retainers, he only had Kaizar, so he was secretly anticipating Yankoun’s rank.

‘Well, still, since his level is so high and even his Devil Rank is a High-rank Devil… I should be satisfied with what I have although it’s disappointing.’

Taking Yankoun, who had now become his retainer, Ian headed out of the inn.

‘Whew, alright. Shall I head over to the Fortress of the Devil now?’

The Fortress of the Devil was apparently in Zone 80 of the Devildom.

Ian began to move quickly in order to proceed with Seraphim’s quest.

He needed to meet Devil King Ricardo who was supposed to be in the Fortress of the Devil.

‘Who knows how much time it will take to get through until I reach Zone 80. I still have quite a bit time remaining until I reach my time limit, but I need to move as quickly as possible.’

As he had finished preparing for all sorts of things, it was time for him to pierce through the gateway of Zone 100.

‘I wonder how many gateways I can freely pass through with the position of a High-rank Devil…’

Ian desperately prayed that he would be able to freely pass through all of the gateways up to Zone 80.

[1] Shim-ma-yeon = As written in the chapter, Shim-ma-yeon is Chinese/traditional Korean for “deep pond of the devil”.