# Akto's Reward (2)

There were no more moving Demons.

I could finally let out a deep sigh.

"Huuuuuu-"

"Vint, Karaman, Razel……"

Harrison and the others walked over to the corpses of their dead friends. They lamented over their deaths for a while.

However, they were not completely entrenched in their sorrows. This wasn't the first time they lost people along the way. They all knew the dangers before coming here.

Most importantly, it was not done yet. We had gotten rid of ten Demons, but we were still not at the Wall of Grief where Akto's soul is sealed.

I was certain that there would be Demons guarding that place as well. There might even be more than ten of them.

The fact that they haven't appeared probably means that they plan on greeting us at the Wall of Grief.

We needed to worry about that battle right now.

"Let's maintain our formation, but rest for 30 minutes."

Everyone sat down and started to maintain their equipment.

[Kang Hwi Ram Level 453]

Dexterity: Advanced Level 8, 95%

Strength: 415

Agility: 2,015

Stamina: 103

Intuition: 148

Magic: 203

Vitality: 42

Mana: 802

HP: 873

Endurance: 41

Reinforced Toughness: 160

Guard Point: 3,598

Intelli Point: 1,956

Spirit Energy: 95

*Available Points: 50

My Intelli Points had decreased a lot. It was because I put it toward Magic in order to strengthen the power of my Dragon Fear.

My Spirit Energy fell to under 100 points as well.

There was an easy way for me to recover my Spirit Energy, but it was different for Intelli Points.

I only had enough left to use it two or three times.

But I had no intention of saving it. A mediocre increase in Magic won't help much, so I plan on using a lot each time.

I still had about 80 Sand Warrior's Voices as well. I should have plenty to use during this clearing.

If I end up using all of them, then I just need to go back to the Magman Continent and hunt some more Sand Warriors.

I now had 26 Stone Elf's Souls.

The Stone Elves are actually much stronger than Harrison's group in terms of strength and tactical benefits. Because of that, our overall strength went up even though we lost 10 people during this battle.

Thinking like that made me a bit sad. I was thinking in such a calculated manner when my party members had just died.

But I couldn't help it. I had to do what I needed to do in order to keep the living alive until the end. I'm sure that's what the dead would want as well.

'But I wonder how many Demons will be guarding the Wall of Grief.'

I feel like the next battle will be a serious one. Unlike the other ones, the Demons will be prepared and we will need to go to them rather than have them come to us.

'What should we do?'

I did have a method that came to mind.

But I didn't know how it would go. Demons had very high intuition levels.

But I had no other choice.

"Shall we head out now?"

"Yes. Let's go. We need to finish this."

Goonto and the others all got up.

I first recovered my Spirit Energy.

It was simple. I just needed to open up a decent-sized Demon Cave and hunt the monsters. My Spirit Energy became full after hunting about 500 monsters around level 200.

[Spirit Energy: 1,564]

I cautiously started to walk.

We must have walked about 2 km. I could see anther group of Demons.

The Demons noticed us as well. They were all looking toward our direction and seemed wary.

However, they did not come charging at us. It seemed as if there was something there for them to protect.

'That must be where the Wall of Grief is located!'

I should be able to rescue Akto's soul if I got rid of those Demons.

Thankfully, the number of Demons was not as much as I thought. I could only see six of them over there.

Was it possible that others were hiding?

There were large pillars, so I would not be able to see them if they were hiding.

However, I could easily check that.

We first needed to create a formation. We would be at a disadvantage if we started to fight without a plan.

"Create the wall!"

The Dwarves put up their s.h.i.+elds to create a wall.

"Maintain formation and move forward one step at a time."

All of them followed my directions well. We slowly approached the Demons while looking as if we were pus.h.i.+ng a castle wall made of s.h.i.+elds one step at a time.

'Guardian Elemental. Go take a look.'

I used the Guardian Elemental to check behind the pillars.

There were no Demons hiding behind the nearest pillars. The Guardian Elemental checked the other pillars as well, but there were no Demons.

Did that mean there were only six of them?

'This could be easier than I thought.'

We still needed to be cautious. I cannot forget that a single Demon that made it through the formation had killed a lot of people.

I continued to move the formation forward. We were moving very slowly.

We got to a point where we were about 30m away from the Demons.

However, the Demons still did not move. They stood with a large pillar behind them and glared at us viciously.

'Is that pillar the Wall of Grief?'

I could not confirm it here. I'm sure that I'll see something if I take a close look after defeating the Demons.

"Shall we get started? Bernard!"

We had already discussed the plan. Everybody knew what they needed to do and when they needed to do it.

s.h.i.+one used point magic to buff Bernard's attacks. Bernard sent out fortified thunderbolts.

Crackle-

The Demons moved side to side to dodge the thunderbolts.

However, they did not move far from the pillar they were guarding. They seemed to be on a mission to defend the pillar no matter what.

Thanks to that, Bernard's thunderbolts were hitting the Demons at least one out of three tries.

I took out the Horn Flute of Darkness and blew into it.

Puuuuuuuuuu-

The Demons started to frown. Their movement speed slowed down a bit and Bernard's thunderbolts started to hit fifty percent of the time.

However, they still did not move away. It seemed as if they were waiting for us to get closer.

I couldn't let that happen. We didn't have a reason to do that either.

We stayed in place as well. I played the Horn Flute of Darkness whenever I had a chance while Bernard continued to throw thunderbolts that were fortified by s.h.i.+one's support.

'They're still not moving?'

I knew they wouldn't be sitting ducks forever. They seemed to have decided something needed to be done as Bernard's thunderbolts continued to hit them, as they started to attack.

They were extremely tough once they started to attack. They were slamming away at the Dwarves' s.h.i.+elds as if they were venting all of their frustrations.

B, b, boooom-

'Good!'

I took out the things I had prepared as well.

I ripped up a level 100 Demon Cave scroll while putting all of my Spirit Energy into Agility.

I then used Dragon Fear and threw a bunch of Sand Warrior's Voices toward the Demons.

'Stone Elves, come out!'

The Demons looked like they were caught in a snare. They were waving their falchions in their slowed state to shake away the Sand Warriors' Voices.

Yes! This was a trap for them indeed. I had verified the effectiveness twice already and saw how effective it was once again.

Twenty-six Stone Elves and many Dwarves flung their bodies toward the Demons. Harrison's group were all attacking the Demons with their weapons.

The finis.h.i.+ng touches were left to me. I created a combo and cut off the Demons' necks one by one.

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The last Demon's neck was cut away from its body.

Harrison's group shouted in joy once that happened.

"Hooray!"

However, Goonto was different. He urged me on with a slightly excited expression.

"Let's quickly finish the quest!"

Goonto had not forgotten. He remembered the reason we suffered so much to get here.

I was just as excited. I should get a pretty big reward for saving Akto's soul.

The special secret related to Jewel Alchemy.

My Jewel Alchemy was already at Advanced level 1. It was frustrating since the level hasn't moved at all since it hit Advanced Level 1, but someone at this level would normally need to have reached the One with the Sword level.

It felt as if I had hit a wall. I was thinking that I needed some kind of key to get past this point.

I was certain that the key to it was located here.

And I will verify that now.

I reached my hand out toward Goonto.

Goonto and I seem to be on the same page today. I didn't even need to say anything for him to hand Chubach's Solar Blade to me.

'This should be the Wall of Grief, right?'

I'll know once I break it.

I swung Chubach's Solar Blade toward the thick stone pillar.

Clang- Clang-

It felt as if I was using a pickaxe on a rock.

What is this made of for it to be this st.u.r.dy? I couldn't even leave a scratch even though I thought I was swinging the Solar Blade as strong as I could.

I tried to use every ounce of strength, but nothing changed. I even wondered if I would end up just breaking Chubach's Solar Blade in the process.

Of course, a famed sword like this would not break that easily.

"What happened to all of that strength you used to fight against the Demons? Hand it over. I will try."

That was possible because I had a combo going.

I could do the same if I used some monsters as stepping stones right now, but it was a bit complicated to use a Demon Cave scroll just for that.

I quietly handed Chubach's Solar Blade to Goonto. Goonto should be much stronger than me when it came to physical strength and sword arts.

Goonto was an expert who reached the One with the Sword level after all.

"Ptooie. Ptooie. Haaaaaa!"

Goonto spit on his hands and then swung Chubach's Solar Blade as strong as he could.

Clang- Clang- Craaaaack!

It really was different. The stone pillar started to crack as Goonto swung the Solar Blade.

The stone pillar suddenly crumbled into pieces after he swung a few more times.

The Dwarves let out a gasp as that happened.

"Woah! It's a Dwarf!"

"Are you……?"

"Are you Akto-nim?"

I was shocked as well. I didn't think a Dwarf would be imprisoned inside this kind of stone pillar.

He must have been stuck in there for a very long time. Hundreds, no, maybe even a thousand years.

But his outer appearance looked fine. It was as if he had just woken up from a long slumber.

Anyway, this made me certain. This stone pillar was the Wall of Grief and that Dwarf is Akto, one of the legendary Dwarves.

Goonto seemed to be shocked as well, as he stopped swinging the Solar Blade and took a few steps back.

Akto who was now free slowly looked around at Goonto and the others surrounding him. It was as if he was checking each person's face.

He then focused his gaze on me.

"Are you the human who pa.s.sed my test?"

"Yes sir."

"How amazing. I gave you this quest knowing that you might just be able to do it, and you really did save me. I give you my thanks."

Akto lightly smiled.

I then heard a voice in my head.

You have earned the qualifications to learn the special secret related to Jewel Alchemy.
Please receive the reward directly from Akto.>

I started to smile as well.

The special secret related to Jewel Alchemy. I was certain that the secrets to reaching One with the Sword were hidden within that as well.

"I am happy as well."

I did not urge Akto for the reward. However, Akto, like most impatient Dwarves, did not drag it out.

He reached his hand out as if he wanted to shake my hand.

"Come here and receive your reward."

Is he going to transfer the secrets through my hand?

I'm sure Akto knows what he is doing. I just needed to eat what he gives me.

I quickly went over and grabbed Akto's ha……!

'……Huh?'

Translator: Miraclerifle

Proofreader: Borderline m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t

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