125. Waiting for the Free Delivery Gift

“Human. Where is this place? What is going on here!”

“Hm….. To simply put, a storage place for steaks? It’s a place where steaks are sold.”

“Keheru! That’s right! I can smell the steak! But it doesn’t smell as good as the ones I ate at human’s house.”

“Is that so? But unlike my home, you can’t just go around picking up stuff and eating them! I’ll make as much as you want when we get back home, so stay patient even if it’s difficult to.”

“Kel kel. Human! I am not a monster who only cares about eating food. I am one of the few goblins to have intelligence and the ability to reason.”

“Ok. Either way, you promise? And also it sounds like I’m talking to myself, so don’t talk to me right now and follow along quietly.”

“Keru. I got it.”

I arrived at the biggest mart in the area.

It was to obtain the food and water supply we needed for our trip into the demonic realm.

That was the reason why I had the smiths craft me 6 S ranking Awakened duffel bags.

Other than that, there wasn’t much else to bring.

All I needed were a perfectly trained body and insanely powerful skills.

Originally, I had planned to come here with Jong Ho, but he still headed for the dungeon despite today being the day the Gate opened.

I realized that he was a lot more anxious than he let on.

I could sympathize with me well.

I myself was the same, after all.

I wasn’t dealing with a portal, but a Gate leading to the demonic realm.

Since shopping wasn’t a difficult task, I decided follow Jong Ho’s suggestion to head to the supermart by myself.

However, as I left the house, I realized too late that a wrinkly goblin was tagging along by my side.

And just like that, the world’s first shopping with a goblin began.

Since I wasn’t satisfied with the amount of items on display, I headed for the mart’s customer support center instead, asking Karin a question along the way.

“Karin.”

“Kel?”

“There is air in the demonic realm, right? Like breathable air.”

“Keruru. Of course there is. It’s the same as Earth. Even the flow of magical energy is the same as Earth. It’s just that humans can’t detect it.”

“Whew….. That’s good. I thought I had to bring oxygen tanks.”

“Keru.”

“Hey, about your pocket. Looking at the amount of stones you pulled out, it definitely does not match the size of it. Just how does the interior structure of that thing work?”

“Kukuku. So you’re amazed by the great Karin’s ability!”

“…. That’s an ability? Wow. Amazing. A-m-a-z-i-n-g.”

At his boasting, I gave a dry and sarcastic praise.

Even though it was sarcastic at best, he seemed pleased by my reaction and began to ramble on.

“That’s right! Excluding me, all the Puppet Goblins are incredibly high priority targets. They instinctively pick up items from stones to weapons that are scattered all over the demonic realm. They pick up just about anything.”

“So they carry invisible pockets or something?”

“No. It’s similar to a pocket dimension. A pocket dimension that only the owner can access! It’s my own space that is free from being bothered by the rest of the world.”

“What…. That sounds grandiose for no reason at all. It doesn’t suit you. So why didn’t you shove in all the meat into the pocket dimension last time before you left?”

“Kerukeru. That’s…. I was too excited from the taste of the meal, I forgot.”

“R-right…. Classy, sir Puppet Goblin Karin!”

Karin scratched the back of his head out of embarrassment.

The thought came to mind that if I can use this stupid goblin, I can easily transport a lot of supplies.

He said that the demonic realm is beyond comparison in terms in size when considering Earth’s size.

That’s why even if I strained myself to get it done quickly, it would still take a long time to kill all the monsters.

Also, it wasn’t likely for the demonic realm to have food that’s edible for humans.

After all, the only thing there would probably be monsters butchering one another for consumption.

A month? Two? Even half a year? It could even take longer than that.

Even if I could consume the monsters after all my supplies run out, it would still be a dire situation.

What of the need for water? I wasn’t sure if I was up for drinking that purple blood.

So it was necessary to bring as much as food and water possible.

“Karin.”

“Kel?”

“How are you going to repay me for the steak you ate today?”

“Keru… Can’t you just give it to me for free today?”

“Hey. To think that the great goblin Karin wants something for free…. Would that make you a laughingstock?”

“……”

“You don’t have any stones left on you. I guess you won’t be able to eat steak today.”

“…..”

Karin looked like a child who had his candy stolen from him.

His shoulders drooped so low that it looked like it would touch the floor.

It didn’t last long however, because he spoke to me with hands on his hips, his face lively once more.

“Human! There are a lot of steaks here. We can eat here.”

“Oho…. The great goblin Karin won’t keep his promises? Is he a goblin that only cares about food?”

“Kek!”

“You remember, right? The promise you made as soon as we entered the mart.”

“I will give you lots of stones once we arrive at the demonic realm…..”

“What good would that be for me if I am going there to die.”

“Then, do you… Is there anything you want?”

“There is something.”

“What is it!”

“Your pockets.”

“This isn’t something I can give…..”

“Yep, I know. I just want to fill those pockets with some stuff.”

“Okay. Whatever enters the pocket dimension becomes weightless, so I can hold as much as you want.”

“Okay. It’s a deal.”

I proceeded to go to the customer support to order a massive amount of supplies.

They said that it’ll take two 5 ton trucks to bring it all.

It was settled that the delivery will be made straight from the factory instead of the mart. And within 3 hours at that.

Truly, I cheered for Korea’s delivery speed.

I didn’t plan to order this much before.

Price didn’t matter to me, but the issue was that I didn’t have any reliable methods to transport the supplies around the demonic realm.

However, this wasn’t the case anymore.

Karin had his pocket dimension.

I couldn’t use it as I pleased, but I believed that it wouldn’t be that difficult to turn Karin into my ally.

That’s why the duffel bags were going to be filled with beef!

I planned to take it with me by freezing it perfectly with Iceberg.

The cooldown was nonexistent, and I had an infinite amount of mana. It was limitless.

There was no reason why the meat would be thawed.

The taste wouldn’t be as good, but it would be more than enough to lure the steak-crazed goblin.

I asked Karin.

Since I was going to the demonic realm now, I wanted to know more useful information about the place.

“Karin. To get rid of the portals on Earth…..”

“You need to kill all the monsters. Kel Kel. Didn’t I tell you this before, human. You’re not very smart.”

“Yeah. I already know that. Isn’t there another way though?”

“You just need to become the demon king.”

“Is the demon king a god or something? You keep saying the answer is becoming a demon king every time I bring up a question. You say that I could return back to Earth and even get rid of portals. At this rate, are you going to say that humans were created by the demon king?”

“Keruru. That’s right. The demon king is an existence akin to a god. Of course, the demon king did not create humans, but it’s certain that the demon king is a like a god.”

“Oh…. You know what god means? I’m impressed.”

“Keruru. Of course. I know what god means. The stupid existences they are as well.”

“Yeah. You’re smarter than what I gave you credit for. Might as well become the demon king”

To come back to Earth, I had to become the demon king.

One was considered a demon king once they had the most amount of magical energy in the demonic realm.

I didn’t know how much magical energy they carried, but if I killed them all, I would become the demon king.

I could also kill all the monsters to get rid of the portals on Earth.

However, if I did that, humanity would fall into chaos.

Currently, the primary source of energy for Earth are bloodstones.

From machinery as big as a house to the tiniest of objects, everything had bloodstone incorporated to it.

If monsters were wiped out, the economy would lose their source of bloodstones.

But I couldn’t just leave the portals alone.

I decided to think on this issue later.

It was then. I noticed Karin laying on the floor.

He was holding his stomach and laughing as if he had gone insane.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Kel kel kel. Human is funny. Kel kek! You, who can’t even face against sir Berdan, is thinking of taking the position of demon king. Kel kel.”

“…..”

“And human, you cannot even harness magical energy. A demon king that cannot even use magical energy! Kelkeruuuu.”

“Are you saying that even if I become a demon king, I won’t be able to return home unless I am able to harness magical energies?”

“No, but…. Kelruk. Anyways, human was being too silly.”

“Hey, this is important. So you’re saying that I can still travel through dimensions, even if I cannot harness magical energies?”

“That’s right. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Then it’s fine.”

“Kek! Kek! Kek! I can feel it.”

“What?”

“The Gate! I can feel the magical energies of the Gate.”

“So it’s ready already…..”

****

“You say it’s today! Are you sure, Ho Jin?!”

“Yes, commander. This information came to me suddenly at dawn.”

“Immediately contact the global Awakened organization!”

“Yes. However, we do not know where the location of the Gate is going to be….”

It was then.

As if listening in on the conversation between the two, the news reported urgent news.

“This is near Soli-san, located near Yangpyeong……”

“Raise up the volume!”

“Yes!”

“Behind me, a massive portal is forming. Due to tens of portal explosions occurring yearly in the area, many of the residents are in fear. On top of that, the portal is far bigger than any of the standard portals. Let’s hear from the residents nearby.”

“I live not far from the prohibited area, when suddenly…..”

“Hm…..”

“Is that…. The Gate that heads to the demonic realm…..”

“Notify everyone in the association, and also contact all the guilds and freelancer Awakened as well. I shall personally notify the global Awakened organization.”

“Yes! Understood!”

“Ah! Also….”

“Yes, commander.”

“Do not suppress the press. The entire nation must know. However, do not let anyone, civilian or Awakened, near the premises. Also have all the residents nearby evacuate.”

“Yes! Understood.”

“Ho Jin…. It’ll be a massive battle. I hope that it won’t be the case, but if monsters do come through the Gate from the other side….”

“….”

“Hurry! Hesitation will only breed fear.”

“Yes!”

Ho Jin replied and ran at full speed.

The association had been preparing on a massive scale.

The association had done everything in its power to raise powerful Awakened, including Awakened from the association to those at the guilds.

However, no one had foreseen the Gate opening 15 days earlier than what was scheduled.

The one silver lining was that all the rankers of the world began to arrive to Korea roughly a month before.

Half a year ago, portals exploding and the radical faction caused incidents to occur without end in Korea.

Also, the commander had informed the global organization by submitting an official form, so the organization had moved accordingly in case of the Gate actually forming.

The Gate formed in Yangpyeong.

Many portals covered this area, enough for the association to declare this area prohibited.

That was probably why the Gate had also formed here.

It was probably the one area on Earth with the highest density of magical energy.

The commander had just finished briefing the situation to the global organization.

It was then that his phone rang.

“Min-Cheol lad!”

“Yes, commander.”