Chapter 17: He’s Here. Fist Demon… No, Gun Demon!
“Appraise.”
Name: Training Bracelet of a Noble House Description: A training bracelet created for the knights of a once-renowned but now extinct noble family. When infused with mana, it greatly aids in physical conditioning and mana control.
A simple leather bracelet.
After exiting the gate, Kim Suho used his appraisal system to identify the artifact and casually slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, injecting mana into it.
“Urgh!”
His body suddenly felt heavy. His mana moved sluggishly, as if something were obstructing its flow.
“Aids in physical and mana training,” it said—and Suho immediately understood why. He withdrew his mana from the bracelet.
Sitting on a park bench to rest, he glanced down at the artifact he had just brought out of the gate.
“Not bad.”
It wasn’t an artifact meant for use inside a gate, but it could be used for crafting. That meant it had market value.
“It’s made from mana-conductive ore.”
Though each artifact yields little usable material, gate-mined minerals are valuable. Researchers or crafters would certainly want them.
Suho glanced at the leather armor he wore, then adjusted the knitted army cap on his head.
He’d gained three artifacts from this gate that were useful for raiding: leather armor, a leather helmet, and a black sword.
All mid-grade or lower-tier artifacts with effects.
“Saved a ton of money.”
According to the auction app, they were viable for use up to level 30.
“So this is why people pay for gate raid permits.”
The returns from this gate alone were double the cost of the raid permit—even when calculated using the average auction price for similar artifacts.
“Granted, this might’ve been a special case.”
The “Ghost Town” gate featured spirit-type monsters, particularly Living Knights, which dropped artifacts. That likely boosted profitability.
Suho opened his phone and accessed the Hunter Association website.
“Just as I thought.”
Gates with urban settings were more expensive than forest, mountain, or grassland gates—by about 1.5 times.
Switching apps, he now browsed the Hunter Gallery.
“Let’s see…”
He looked for posts with high recommendations and views.
[Title: How to Choose Gates for Small Guild Raids] [Author: MyLeftArmHoldsTheBlackFlameDragon]
Let me keep this short.
If your goal is growth, buy raid permits for gates with lots of monsters—like forests, mountains, or grasslands. You’ll level up faster and get more standard gate rewards.
But if you’re after profit, buy permits for urban gates. There are fewer monsters, so fewer rewards—but you can often find unclaimed artifacts.
To sum up:
Growth = Forest/Mountain/Grassland Gates Profit = Urban Gates
“As expected.”
Ghost Town was a special urban gate with Specters and Living-series monsters, making it a high-profit zone. Suho nodded and stood up.
After completing the raid, he’d immediately messaged Team Leader Lee Yowon to report success. Since Lee said he’d arrive in about 30 minutes, Suho waited on a nearby bench, carrying a bundle of curtains from the gate.
“You really did clear it.”
“Well…”
Lee had told him to call anytime once it was done. Suho didn’t want to disturb him at 1 AM, so he’d sent a message instead—and got an instant reply.
“Working late?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t you work over the weekend too?”
“I did.”
“….”
Underneath his concealer, Suho could spot Lee’s deep dark circles.
Note to self: Never join the Association.
While Suho was firming his resolve, Lee gave him a professional smile—though clearly fatigued—and turned his gaze toward the bundle.
“That’s…?”
“An artifact. Usable for crafting.”
A deactivated artifact with no value in combat.
“You planning to sell it yourself?”
“Yes. I’ll sell it in bulk to the Association.”
At first, Suho had planned to sell artifacts in Hunter Street, where skilled craftsmen congregated to get the best prices. But after experiencing the Ghost Town raid, he realized he needed more training. That changed his mind.
He’d need to visit the Association again soon anyway, so why not just sell everything there?
“I see. Then… when will you be stopping by?”
“I’ll come in two days.”
“Alright. Let us know when you arrive. Oh, by the way—would you be interested in another assignment?”
“Hmm? Right away?”
“No, not immediately. Later.”
“….”
A request from the Association would let him raid gates without buying a permit.
With a soft smile, Suho nodded.
“Absolutely.”
1:00 AM – Raid Complete 1:30 AM – In-person report to Team Leader Lee 2:30 AM – Back at Haneul’s Home (Orphanage) 3:30 AM – Asleep
“Oppa…”
“….”
A soft voice woke Kim Suho from his deep sleep.
“You’re up early…”
A small girl stood beside his bed, hugging a bunny plush and staring at him.
She tilted her head.
“It’s lunchtime.”
“Oh… really?”
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“Sa-rang.”
“…You want me to summon her?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Kim Suho summoned Sa-rang.
“Soma and Charming too.”
“Summon Soma. Summon Charming.”
Maaa!
Ma!
Nya~
Unlike the utterly exhausted Suho, his summoned companions were full of energy. They rushed over to the girl, hopping onto her shoulders and head.
“Not tired?”
Nyaa~
Different XP levels.
“Is that so…”
Nyaa~
Yup.
“Then I’ll leave Sae-eun with you.”
Ma!
With a proud thump of his little chest, Soma declared it handled.
thud thud thud
Apparently, she just wanted to see the summons. The girl smiled and skipped out of the room.
“….”
Suho closed his eyes again.
KA-THUNK!
“Hyung!”
Not even 30 minutes had passed. He opened his eyes to see a boy holding a basket of sweet potatoes and corn.
“You again…?”
“Charming!”
“Sae-eun!”
“Okay! Sae-eun~!”
thump thump thump
The boy disappeared out the open door.
“….”
Suho sighed, thinking he should at least close the door, but sleep claimed him again—despite the lively voices echoing through the building.
“Suho.”
Not a sibling this time.
It was Kim Jung-sook, the head of the orphanage and the children’s mother figure. Her voice roused him again.
“…Yeah?”
“Skipping lunch?”
“…No.”
He wanted to skip. But instead, Suho gathered mana to recover slightly, sat up, and nodded.
“Alright. Eat, then nap.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
With a smile, she left the room.
“So tired…”
He had traversed every corner of the Ghost Town gate, defeating all Specters. He even took on a Living Knight solo in preparation for the boss battle.
There had been a short rest during the raid—but only for mana recovery, not actual rest. And as soon as mana was restored, he fought the boss.
crack, crack
Still sitting on his bed, he rolled his shoulders, preparing to get up—
[Skill: Demonkin’s Rank has Increased] [E → D] [A new summonable demon has been added.]
Just as he stood, a message popped up. Suho looked out the window.
Charming was running wild in the garden, casting “Domain of the King” repeatedly while playing with the little kids.
“Check skill. Demonkin.”
Name: Demonkin Rank: D Description: Allows the summoning of demonkind. Summons Available: Demon King, Sword Demon, Gun Demon
“Sword Demon must be a melee type…”
He narrowed his eyes and checked the summon list again.
Not Fist Demon…
“…Summon Gun Demon.”
Vwoooom—Flash!
A new demon appeared before him.
Mama!
In its hands were two wooden sticks shaped like toy guns.
“Confirm class: Gun Demon.”
Class: Gun Demon Description: The gunner of the Demonkin—a marksman representing the Demon race.
“Gunman, huh?”
Maa!
Gun Demon proudly held out its toy guns to Suho, stretching its arms like a kid showing off their favorite toy.
“…Alright. Nice to meet you.”
Maa!
As he’d guessed, leveling the skill increased the number of summonable demons. Unlike the Immortal skill, Demonkin had a visible “summonable” category.
“E-rank had the Demon King and Sword Demon. With D-rank, Gun Demon was added.”
That meant one new summon per rank increase.
“In total, I’ll have seven: the Demon King and his six retainers.”
Suho chuckled softly as he looked for his third summon.
Gun Demon was now sitting on the couch, watching TV with the kids.
“A movie?”
They were watching a classic Western on an old movie channel.
Bara-bam! Ba-ba-ba!
Maa…
Gun Demon’s eyes sparkled as he focused on the film.
On screen: two cowboys staring each other down in front of a saloon.
Bang!
One cowboy dropped to the dirt.
The other tipped his hat low, concealing a bittersweet smile.
Maaah…
As a single tear slipped from the cowboy’s eye, Gun Demon visibly shivered.
Ending credits.
MAA!
Suddenly jumping to his feet, Gun Demon bolted outside, kids excitedly following him.
Suho followed, wondering if… no way…
Maa! Maa!
Gun Demon waved frantically at Soma, his fellow Demonkin.
Ma!
Maa! Maa!
Ma?
Maa! Maa!
Maa…
Somang sighed, accepting one of the toy guns.
Gun Demon turned, took some steps to distance himself, then spun back toward Soma.
Ma-ma-ma! Ma! Ma! Ma!
Maaah…
Gun Demon hummed the movie tune. Soma sighed again, then closed his eyes. After a deep breath, he adopted a serious expression and looked back.
Ma-ma-ma! Ma! Ma! Ma!
They stared each other down, saying nothing.
Signal flare?
MAA!
That was Charming’s cue.
Pop!
A small, cute bang echoed, and green smoke puffed from the barrels of both toy guns.
Soma clutched his chest and fell dramatically. Gun Demon watched, then turned away slowly.
“I get it now.”
Soma, the Sword Demon.
He wasn’t just a warrior—he was a mentor. A babysitter for the young Demonkin like Charming and Gun Demon.
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