The Game Difficulty Is Crazy
A cold silence spread through the chapel.
After the unexpected encounter with the demons, Glen forced his thoughts to accelerate nonstop.
‘Why are demons in a place like this? And on top of that…’
Glen carefully scanned the demon’s equipment.
Leather gear that allowed easy movement.
And when he confirmed the black bow and black hood, his breath caught in his throat.
‘A Ranger unit.’
A Ranger unit was a force made up of a small number of elite demons.
They usually operated behind enemy lines, carrying out ambushes, disruption, and assassinations.
But normally, they only became active right before a war began.
‘This makes no sense.’
Glen clenched his lips.
There was still more than a month and half left before the war was supposed to start.
Yet with things like this, it felt as if the war could break out at any moment.
‘I seriously don’t get it.’
Either the Ranger unit had crossed the border for a separate purpose unrelated to the war,
or the war had been pushed forward earlier than expected due to Lunatic difficulty adjustments.
He formed several hypotheses in his head, but none of them were certain.
Just as the confusion threatened to deepen, Glen quickly corrected his thoughts.
‘That’s not what matters right now.’
What mattered was that he was currently in an extremely dangerous situation.
Quietly grinding his teeth, Glen stared straight at the demon in front of him.
‘Focus on the situation first.’
Before figuring out the cause, he had to survive the crisis at hand.
That was the only thing he needed to think about right now.
‘How many enemies?’
If his memory was correct, a demon Ranger unit usually consisted of around four to twelve members.
With sharp eyes, Glen scanned the chapel.
‘Four in front, two at the entrance, four on the second-floor balcony.’
Just the demons he could see already numbered ten.
And they were not clumsy roadside bandits, but elite soldiers.
The minimum requirement to join a demon Ranger unit was at least two demonic rings.
In human terms, it was like forming a unit made entirely of knights, without a single conscript.
There was no need to doubt their skill.
At his current level, Glen could easily handle two-star enemies, and even most three-star ones.
But the Ranger unit’s minimum strength being two-star did not mean there were no stronger members.
‘Just the unit leader alone needs at least six demonic rings.’
That meant among those surrounding him were demons with three, four, or even five demonic rings.
‘Can I escape?’
He darted his eyes around, searching for an exit, but saw none.
Front, back, even above—completely blocked.
A true dead end.
Heat surged up his spine.
“Well now, human brat. Your eyes sure are moving a lot.”
A demon who had stepped slightly forward bared his teeth in a grin.
“What are you looking around so nervously for? Thinking of running?”
Glen silently stared at him.
Inside the black hood, he could faintly see red insignia on the shoulders.
The leader of the Ranger unit.
In other words, a six-star-class demon.
“Relax. We won’t kill you.”
The demon took another step closer.
“If you answer a few questions nicely, we might even let you live.”
The demon’s eyes curved into a sly smile.
Just from that cunning grin, it was obvious the words were a lie.
Regardless of the answers, they would kill both Glen and Tasha.
‘That’s how demon Ranger units operate.’
Glen glanced at Tasha.
Fortunately, she stayed quiet, holding her breath and waiting for Glen’s reaction.
Even though the situation must have been confusing, she did not act rashly.
That alone was commendable.
“Earlier, I saw you two walking together. Why did you come here at this hour?”
Glen stared at the demon for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
“……To use the prayer hall.”
‘With no escape route, I need to buy as much time as possible.’
At least his right hand still held his sword.
The fact that they hadn’t told him to drop his weapon meant they were seriously underestimating him.
Of course, considering the one in front of him was a six-star demon archer, this hardly counted as carelessness.
“A prayer hall? Ah, that closed place where you kneel down and clasp your hands in that pathetic act?”
“Yes.”
“Humans really do live diligently. Well, thanks to that, it makes it easier for us to assassinate our targets.”
In fact, prayer halls were the most common locations for assassinations by demon Ranger units.
Of course, due to matters of faith, there was no way to fix that.
“Enough. That’s not important. The important thing is the next question, so answer carefully.”
Step. Step.
The demon approached.
Then, in a low voice, he asked,
“Are you two the only ones coming here?”
“Why do you care?”
“We borrowed this place for a bit of important business. So until tomorrow, no guests are allowed.”
‘…So that’s it.’
A strange light flickered in Glen’s eyes.
From those words, he realized the purpose of the Ranger unit’s presence here.
“Leader, why are you saying useless things?”
“Huh? What’s the problem? We’re going to kill them anyway after this—ah, oops.”
The demon’s lips curled into a wicked grin.
“If I say that, will you stop talking?”
He shrugged and pulled a dagger from his waist, spinning it in his hand.
“Then let’s change methods. Answer properly and I’ll kill you painlessly. Refuse, and well… you’ll die slowly until sunrise. So? Is there anyone else coming here besides you?”
“Does it matter? You can just ambush them like you did to me every time someone comes.”
“Tch. Humans really are… when you ask them something, they never answer straight.”
Snorting, the demon took another step forward.
“You only talk after you see blood. Right?”
Step.
The sound of footsteps echoed on the floor.
At the same time, a sharp gleam filled Glen’s eyes as his calculations finished.
Vooooom—
Three rings of sacred power spun at once, flooding his body with vitality.
Then Glen swung his sword widely at the approaching demon.
Shaaaaak—
“Oh?”
