Chapter 06. The Demon Root?
"S-Skill check. Demon."
Name: Demon Tribe Grade: E Description: Can summon a demon. Summonable Units: Demon King, Sword Demon
Demon King.
The typical ruler of the underworld in fantasy novels — an absolute evil being.
“...Wait a minute.”
He remembered the first time he used a summoning skill.
“Undying.” Kim Suho had thought he would summon an immortal being — someone who couldn't die. But what appeared wasn’t an undying entity, but a ‘burning’ lion — literally a lion made of fire.
“Demon King... Demon King... Demon King...”
To prevent disappointment, Kim Suho pondered if there could be another meaning behind the term “Demon King.” But no matter how hard he thought, the only image that came to mind was the classic demon overlord from fantasy fiction.
Could it really be the real deal this time?
He unconsciously swallowed nervously and scanned his surroundings.
He couldn’t sense any ghost’s mana.
Kim Suho entered a dilapidated building and activated the skill.
“Summon Demon King.”
Woooong—
As soon as the skill activated, a magic circle appeared on the floor.
“O... Ohh.”
Green mana began pouring out of the circle.
Fwoosh!
A flash of light burst from the center of the circle.
Kim Suho instinctively shut his eyes against the bright flash, then slowly opened them.
“...Huh.”
—“Demon...”
“...Huh?”
—“Demonnn...”
Standing at the center of the now-faded magic circle... was the Demon King.
“Are you... freaking kidding me...”
It had arms and legs — but it was shaped like a brown tree root.
—“Demon!”
“Hey! Hey!”
“Hm?”
“What’s that?”
Seven-year-old Kim Suho, hiking down from a mountain summit, pointed at something a middle-aged hiker was holding.
“That?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s yam root.”
“Yam root? Isn't that just a tree root?”
“Nope. It’s a kind of edible plant.”
“Wow. I thought it was just a tree root.”
Fascinated, young Kim Suho nodded as he stared intently at the yam in the hiker’s hand.
“Yam root...”
“D-Display Demon King’s status.”
Name: Unnamed Race: Demon Root Rank: Demon King Skills: King of Plants (E), Domain of the King (E)
“...Race and rank confirmed: Demon Root, Demon King.”
He remembered learning in Hunter Association classes that you could identify the race and rank of a summon.
Race: Demon Root Description: When a yam absorbs mana and becomes a Mandragora, and through a series of improbable accidents gains sentience, people came to recognize it as its own species. Because its origin plant was a yam (“cham-ma” in Korean), they abbreviated “Cham-Mandragora” to “Ma-jok” — Demon Root.
“...”
So it gained intelligence and was accepted as a species.
Its origin? A yam.
Thus, the Demon Root.
Rank: Demon King Description: The representative of the Demon Root species. As its leader, the World Tree bestowed the title of “King.”
“Hah. Hahaha. Hahahaha...”
It wasn’t a Demon King.
What he’d summoned was a Yam King.
To be exact, the Yam Root King.
“Check rank: Sword Demon.”
Apparently, this species didn’t only have the Demon King.
There was also the Sword Demon.
Rank: Sword Demon Description: The sword-wielding representative of the Demon Root species.
“Hah... hahahahahaha...”
This had to be a joke.
“Summon Sword Demon.”
A new magic circle appeared. With another burst of light, the Sword Demon arrived.
It was another root-like creature with arms and legs, just like the Demon King — but this one leaned on a wooden sword like a walking stick and stared up at Suho.
—“Demon!”
“Oh, this is just ridiculous...”
He couldn't help but laugh. When something is too absurd, laughter is all that's left.
Kim Suho crouched down, staring at the Demon King and the Sword Demon.
“So... you’re the Demon King?”
—“Demonnn!”
“And you’re the Sword Demon?”
—“Demon!”
“By any chance... is there also, say... a Poison Demon?”
The Demon King and Sword Demon turned to look at each other. It didn’t take them long to decide. The two root creatures looked back at Suho and nodded.
—“Demonnn!” —“Demon!”
So... there is.
There really is a Poison Demon.
“Pfft—ahahahahaha!”
Thump-thump-thump.
—“Demonnn~” —“Demon!” —“Meowww.”
Two yam roots scurried around the ruins, while the “burning” lion — in a loaf-of-bread pose — purred softly in its sleep.
“Wow. What a circus.”
—“Demonnn?”
“No, no. You do your thing.”
—“Demonnn!”
The Yam King waddled off again on its stubby legs, followed by the Yam Swordsman, faithfully guarding its rear.
“Check skills.”
Name: King of Plants Grade: E Description: Accelerates the growth of plants.
Name: Domain of the King Grade: E Description: Increases mana density within the area. Boosts mana regeneration for all beings inside the domain.
One skill useful for farming.
One that boosts mana regeneration.
“Hmmm.”
He briefly wondered if these could be used in combat. Then he closed the Yam King’s status window and opened the Sword Demon’s.
Name: Unnamed Race: Demon Root Rank: Sword Demon Skill: Swordsmanship (C)
Unlike the Yam King, it only had one skill — but it was high-grade: Swordsmanship, a combat support skill that anyone could theoretically acquire with enough training.
“...Huh?”
Hunter Kim Suho. Weapon of choice: sword. Swordsmanship skill: none.
Sword Demon. Weapon: wooden sword. Swordsmanship skill: acquired.
“Wait, are you saying... I’m worse than a yam?”
Can’t accept it?
No — he had to. Because the system itself said so.
“Sword Demon.”
The Sword Demon stopped. It glanced between the Yam King and Kim Suho, then ran up to him on its little legs.
—“Demon!”
“Yeah. Demon.”
—“Demon!”
“Right, right. Sword Demon.”
—“Demon!”
“Would you... maybe... teach me swordsmanship?”
Kim Suho was always a practical man. But asking this wasn’t easy.
This thing was barely the size of a human forearm.
“Whew.”
Taking a deep breath, Kim Suho looked again at the Sword Demon.
“Sword Demon, would you be willing to teach me your swordsmanship?”
—“Demon?”
It tilted its head, then nodded and tapped the ground with its wooden sword.
—“Demon!”
“You will?!”
—“Demon!”
“Th-Thank you.”
—“De-mon!”
“Alright. Let’s do a proper lesson when we get home.”
—“Demon!”
The Sword Demon ran back and took its place behind the Yam King.
He had found himself a swordsmanship teacher.
Even if that teacher was technically a plant.
“...Hey, good enough is good enough.”
—“Meow-meow-meow.”
Ignoring the sound of Sarang the lion purring smugly, Kim Suho sank into thought again.
He had gained a new summoning skill. And the summons included one swordsman and one healer with a mana recovery skill.
“Sword Demon.”
Kim Suho called out again.
—“Demon!”
“Mind showing me your sword skills?”
—“Demon! Demon!”
At first, the Sword Demon sounded annoyed — as if wondering why it was being called again. But once he asked for a demonstration, it bounced with excitement.
—“Demon! Demon!”
Then it struck a stance, as if to say watch this.
Woooong—
“Holy crap... is that sword aura?”
Its wooden sword glowed with green mana.
The Sword Demon began to swing. It started slow, but its pace quickly picked up, and sharp trails of sword energy slashed through the air.
“Whoa...”
Even Kim Suho, who only knew how to swing and stab, could tell — this was true swordsmanship.
Thwack!
With a final flourish, the Sword Demon reversed its grip and stabbed the ground with its sword.
Bababababam!
“Wait—”
But it wasn’t just visual effects.
The moment the sword struck the ground, waves of sword aura exploded outward, carving real scars into the surrounding walls.
And yet, not a single wave touched Kim Suho, Sarang, or the Yam King.
—“Demon!”
As if asking, Impressed?, the Sword Demon raised its chin proudly.
Kim Suho couldn’t help but applaud.
The Sword Demon had excellent sword skills and mana control.
Of course, it wasn’t without weakness.
Durability.
The Demon Root species came from yam plants absorbing mana and becoming Mandragoras. No matter how sentient or intelligent they became, at their core, they were still plants.
“You don’t feel pain, right?”
—“Demonnn~” —“Demon!”
They were on the move, tracking down another ghost. Perched on Kim Suho’s left shoulder was the Yam King. On his right, the Sword Demon, who nodded at his question.
“Alright. Time to spear things.”
He had three summons. The Yam King would stay in the rear — not suited for battle. But Sarang the fire lion and the Sword Demon could use Suho’s mana for combat.
“If it takes about 10% mana to take down one ghost…”
Suho would use 4%, Sarang 3%, and the Sword Demon 3%.
That left little room for defense.
That’s why he had asked if the Sword Demon could feel pain.
A dark ghost came into view.
Suho slowed down and eventually stopped at a safe distance.
The Yam King leapt off his shoulder and tucked itself into his chest pocket.
The Sword Demon took a stance — one hand gripping Suho’s hair, the other steadying itself like a spring.
Sarang stretched and curled up on Suho’s head, eyes fixed on the ghost.
“Fuuuu...”
First battle with the new summons. He quietly relayed the mana limits to them.
Thud.
Suho stomped the ground. Not to move — just to make noise.
The small tremor and sound drew the ghost’s attention.
It lunged. To it, Kim Suho was just a strange human with root creatures on each shoulder and a cat on his head.
Swish!
It dashed toward him, and Suho waited.
“Silence.”
Once close enough, Suho activated an artifact and enhanced his body and weapon with mana.
The Sword Demon also channeled mana into its weapon.
“Sword Demon — top side.”
—“Demon!”
With a short cry, the Sword Demon launched itself forward, creating a one-meter-long arc of sword aura.
Shlaaak!
The timing was a bit off — first battle, after all.
But it didn’t matter.
“Whoa.”
Suho watched in awe. Unlike before, where all he could do was turn ghosts translucent, the Sword Demon’s strike cleanly separated the ghost’s head from its body.
Stagger.
The shock was too great. The ghost couldn’t run. It opened its mouth wide in a desperate call for help.
But Suho had already cast Silence.
“Sarang, finish it.”
Fwoosh! Thunk!
The ghost's final scream was cut short.
“Sudden shock causes momentary paralysis...”
Suho stared at the mana crystal it dropped.
Even after using tons of mana to empower his weapon, he had never caused that kind of effect.
But this root warrior did it with just 3%.
“Wow... wow. Woooow.”
Tap.
The Sword Demon landed gracefully, spun its wooden sword into a reverse grip, and planted it like a cane — lifting its chin with pride.
—“Demon!”
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