Demon lord’s Martial arts ascension

By the time we finished clearing the gate, the moon was already rising in the sky.
“Hunter Jeon Min-cheol, thank you for your hard work.”
“Were you all waiting this whole time?”
“It was your first gate clear, of course we had to wait.”
The support team members slowly came out of the gate behind me.
The moment the last person returned to reality,
*whoosh!*
A blue oval shrank and quickly disappeared.
“Am sadong gate clear complete. We should report it to the association.”
“Guess I’m going to have to work overtime because of me.”
“What are you talking about? Overtime is just part of the job when you’re dealing with the branch manager.”

Ellie chuckled.
“By the way, what’s the next schedule like?”
“It’s set for three days from now.”
“Good, it’s not tomorrow. I’ll need to schedule something else.”
“If you don’t have any other plans, you were thinking of raiding the gate right away, weren’t you?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Ellie suddenly shouted.
“That’s not normal! Typical hunter teams wait about three to four days before attempting another gate raid.”

“That’s true. Fighting monsters comes with both physical and psychological exhaustion.”
Team Leader Jeong Young-hyun added.
I shook my head.
“It’s fine. Starting the day after tomorrow, just schedule one per day.”
“Hmm… okay.”
“Oh, and can you introduce me to a craftsman tomorrow?”
“Only those affiliated with the guild are available right now.”
“That’s fine. I just need something to wear.”
I waved the slightly torn sleeve of my shirt.
‘Don’t think of this in terms of my past life.’
When I was a gladiator, I never worried about minor injuries.
*Hoshinma-gang.*
I wrapped my overflowing mana around my entire body in a defensive form.
A powerful shield that could deflect most attacks.
But at my current level, that’s not an option.

I couldn’t use *Hoshinma-gang* even if I wanted to, and forcing it would drain all my Chaos Energy in a matter of seconds.
‘I need equipment.’
I’m still weak in this life.
I can’t rely on the combat style I used when I was a gladiator.
“I’ll contact you as soon as the meeting with the Meister is set up. It shouldn’t take long.”
Ellie said confidently.
“I’m looking forward to it.”

I nodded with a smile.
* * *
The next day, I went to the Intergalactic Union building.
[Hunter Jeon Min-cheol, welcome.] The golems greeted me.
This time, they were better at recognizing people.
Feeling proud, I puffed up my chest.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”

The short, stocky dwarf came out to greet me at the entrance.
Wait a second…
“Are you the Meister?”
“I am. Who else would I be?”
No way.
You’re only 300 years old, aren’t you?
I almost blurted out the information I saw through *Eye of Truth*.
For dwarves, 300 years old is about the same as my age.
The title of Meister or Craftsman should be reserved for someone much older.
‘Not sure if I can trust this guy.’
I looked at the short dwarf with a skeptical expression.
Whether he knew what I was thinking or not,
“Hunter Jeon Min-cheol, please follow me to my office.”
“Alright.”
I followed the dwarf to his office.
“Do you have any specific equipment in mind, or would you like to order something?”

The night before,
I had thought about what equipment I needed.
‘To maximize my martial arts, the gear needs to be lightweight.’
The warriors of the mainland rarely wore heavy armor.
By manifesting their energy, they could easily tear through steel.
Heavy armor only slowed them down and drained more stamina.
It wasn’t much help in battle.
That’s why martial arts developed a way of defense that disrupts or cancels out an opponent’s attack rather than relying on armor or shields.

“Light armor. It shouldn’t interfere with movement.”
“What about weapons?”
“This is all I need.”
I tapped the back of my hand lightly.
The dwarf scratched his chin as he looked me over from head to toe.
“Armor, huh… What are your abilities, Hunter Jeon Min-cheol?”
My abilities?
Was he asking about my stats?
“Ah, wait a minute.”
This was a tricky question.
On my status screen, everything was displayed in numbers.
-Stats are displayed according to Earth’s standards.
*Jeon Min-cheol*
Strength [D], Agility [D], Endurance [D], Health [D], Chaos Power [C+].
‘Can you work with this?’
-The stats can be displayed collectively.
Wow.
Praise the status screen!
I recited the converted numbers from my status screen.
“Your mana is unusually high.”

“Is there a problem?”
“No, it’s just that close-combat hunters usually have low mana, so I was surprised.”
The short dwarf summoned a hologram.
It displayed a black shell.
The surface was gleaming with a shiny luster.
“This is the shell of an Andre, a type of insect monster that appears in B-class gates. I’ll use this to craft light armor.”
“Insect shells. It would be light, but won’t it be weak in durability and vulnerable to fire attributes?”

“Hehe. Andre’s shell has high mana conductivity. If we engrave a formula that increases defense based on the user’s mana, the effect will be quite good.”
Oh.
He actually sounds like an expert now.
The initial doubt I had started to fade away.
Noticing the change in my expression, a sense of pride flickered across the dwarf’s face.
“It’s a material that’s typically preferred by magic-type hunters with low endurance stats. But I think it would suit you, Hunter Jeon Min-cheol.”
“Can it boost stats other than defense?”
“Of course.”
The fact that it could enhance other stats besides defense opened up more possibilities.
“Then increase my strength.”
“Understood. By the way, could you tell me what type of weapon you primarily use?”

The weapon I primarily use…
‘It’s gotta be a sword.’
In the Mainland, there’s a saying:
A sword is the king of all weapons.
I don’t fully agree with it, but among the martial arts of the Mainland, many of the high-level techniques are sword-based.
‘The problem is that I don’t have many sword techniques I can use right now.’
A sword is a difficult weapon to wield.
I intentionally avoided learning sword techniques.
Currently, I can register up to 10 skills.
The limit isn’t due to the system, but rather the maximum potential of my physical body.

“Alright. I’ll craft the armor accordingly.”
“How much is the budget for the armor?”
The dwarf closed his eyes, seemingly calculating in his mind, occasionally furrowing his brow.
“Excluding the processing fee, the material cost will be around 2 billion.”

“Sounds good. I’ll pay with this.”
I took out a gold-colored card.
It was something Ellie had given me.
“That won’t work. Didn’t I tell you that our guild fully supports you, Hunter Jeon Min-cheol?”
“Item support wasn’t part of the contract.”
“Consider it a gesture of goodwill.”
I shook my head.
“I want to maintain a fair business relationship with the guild.”
“A fair business relationship…?”

“Does that mean you consider Branch Manager Martan as an equal business partner?”
The dwarf.
Actually, both Martan and Ellie’s skills had surprised me several times.
‘They’re not bad as partners.’
Martan looked at me with sparkling eyes, seemingly moved.
Hey,
Isn’t this unfair? A middle-aged man’s eye attack?

“Is there anything else you need?”
“No. I don’t have anything else in mind.”
“How about a ring, bracelet, earrings, or maybe a necklace?”
“Honestly, I’m not too familiar with that stuff.”
“If you set a budget limit, I can customize it within that range.”
“4 billion.”
I decided to use most of the payment I received for this contract.
“Understood. I’ll contact you once the artifact is ready.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hehehe. You won’t be disappointed.”
Martan rubbed his hands together excitedly.

* * *
Vroom—
The sound of a bus engine echoed in my ears.
On the way home.
In about 30 minutes, the bus would stop at the nearest station to my shared apartment.
‘There’s no schedule today, so I should probably practice my inner cultivation technique.’

The method of pushing the body to its limit and using the *Seongcheonjoegyeong* (Sacred Sky-Form Technique) to grow the vessel.
The higher the accomplishment of the core *Seongcheonjoegyeong*, the more effective the physical training becomes.
The explosive improvement in my physical abilities before the licensing exam was due to the energy of the *Seongcheonjoegyeong*.
‘I can’t expect such explosive growth anymore.’
This is why the warriors of the Mainland devote so much time to training their inner cultivation.

While watching the rapidly passing scenery, I started thinking about training when suddenly,
*Boom!*
A loud explosion rang out.
*Screech!*
The unpleasant sound of friction filled the air as the bus’s speed sharply decreased.
“Ah!”
“Ugh!”
The sudden stop caused the passengers to scream.
‘Did a deer suddenly run out in the middle of Seoul?’

The curiosity was quickly resolved.
“Look! Look! There’s a gate!”
A man pointed out the window with his right hand.
The direction his finger pointed toward.
A crack in space appeared in the middle of the road.
“The gate’s color is strange.”
I stared at the gate.
It was a black-colored gate.
Completely different from the one I entered yesterday.

“The monsters are coming out of the gate!”
“Everyone, run!”
The passengers on the bus went into a panic.
No,
Every citizen in the area was terrified, desperately trying to escape from the gate.
‘That’s… a kobold.’
A monster with the head of a dog and walking on two legs.
Its height was about 1.2 meters on average, making it small, but it made up for its physical weaknesses by using various tools.
The average rank is E-class.
It was weaker than boars or Wisdom Monkeys.
What was unusual, however,
Was that the kobolds that came through this gate had black fur, instead of the usual blue.

“Hunter! Are there any hunters here?!”
“When is the association coming?!”
As the monsters emerged, people screamed in terror.
At times like this, it’s best to live up to expectations.
I pushed open the bus window and squeezed through the gap.
[Dark Star – Spear]
Grabbing the spear, I charged forward.

“Ahhh!”
A civilian, possibly having twisted their ankle, fell to the ground.
The kobold, drooling, approached.
As I activated the Chaos Energy, I simultaneously used the *Gyeongshin* technique to increase my speed.
“You disrespectful mutt. Who are you drooling at?”
“Grrr! Prey. It resists!”
The kobold pulled the lever of the crossbow in its left hand.
*Piiing!*
The string released, and the arrow was shot with great force, propelled by the elasticity of the crossbow.
The speed was too fast to avoid with just my eyes.
‘All I need to know is the angle and timing.’
*Whirrr!*
Just before the kobold fired the crossbow,

I thrust the spear forward and quickly spun it.
*Ping!* The arrow bounced off the spear’s shaft.
“Grr?”
“You’re not worth using a martial technique on.”
The spear, fully extended, pierced through the kobold’s throat.
It didn’t even have time to scream before it died instantly.
The E-class kobold couldn’t withstand the amplified attack powered by *Seongcheonjoegyeong*.

– You gained 2.5% experience.
– Chaos energy was detected in the body of the defeated opponent.
– You can absorb the Chaos energy by operating *Seongcheonjoegyeong*.
Huh?
System, what did you just say?