Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The demon restaurant could serve as a decent fortress. It had a narrow entrance and a lot of furniture he could use in combat. This was a good place for Choi Yeonseung. If he fought on a wide plains area, he would have to fight against demons coming from above, below, and all other directions.

The demons could spit or shoot beams from their eyes and fire concealed steel weapons from their tails. Choi Yeonseung only had his hands, feet, and body.

At the very least, he should obtain the geographical advantage!

“Yes. From now on, this is... The Demon’s Inn.”

Choi Yeonseung recalled the martial arts novel he had read when he was bored during his hunter days. In the martial arts novel, a retired master bought a guest inn and operated it stylishly.

... Even if he couldn’t run it nicely, this restaurant—no, this inn was his!

‘Hmm. I wonder if the novels I was reading will already be finished by the time I return to Earth.’

Choi Yeonseung didn’t have any hobbies, but he still followed novels, manhwa, and movies. He didn’t know how many years would’ve passed by the time he returned. However, it would probably make him quite happy if he could look at everything he had put off at once, even though it was such a small thing.

‘Hrmm. Considering how long I've been here, Lee Yeongdo should’ve started his next work, right? How many volumes of Legendary Moonlight Sculptor would’ve been released? I hope it reaches 20 volumes. I can binge it. Am I being too greedy?’

“My... This is my restaurant...”

“Yes. Get out.”

Choi Yeonseung kicked out all the demons, including the half-revived ones and those yet to be revived.

"Hrmm..."

After tidying things up a bit, Choi Yeonseung glanced around the kitchen. It had unidentified ingredients and tools. Nevertheless, a kitchen was a kitchen!

Choi Yeonseung once again recalled his clan leader’s words.

-Yeonseung! A person must have a hobby, a hobby!

“Well, there’s that.”

For a while, he had forgotten his determination to cook, but that idea resurfaced when he saw this kitchen. Choi Yeonseung reached out with the intention of figuring out the ingredients first.

[Poison has been consumed. Internal energy...]

“Umm. This is poisonous. What about this...”

[Poison has been consumed. Internal energy...]

“... This is...”

[Poison has been consumed...]

“Are there only poison here?”

What kind of restaurant was this? However, he realized this was only natural after giving it some thought. Humans couldn’t possibly eat the dishes served in a demon’s restaurant.

Choi Yeonseung sighed and ate the unidentified red meat, blue mushrooms, green fish, and purple vegetables. Since they were all poisonous, his internal energy kept increasing.

After finishing the ingredient checks, he felt fortunate for having Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons.

‘Um... They’re all poisonous.’

Choi Yeonseung gave up and was about to eat them raw to increase his internal energy but abruptly stopped. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t mind eating poison. If so, wouldn’t that make poison an ingredient as well?

‘I can cook and eat them!’

It was perfect logic!

From then on, Choi Yeonseung fought off the invading demons during the day. He would then study cooking at night to find out what could be eaten in the Abyss! At this time, he didn’t know he would stay here for over a thousand years.

***

“Give me back my restaurant, human bastard!”

“This is the Demon's Inn now. Get lost!”

The grudge of the demon chef, who lost his restaurant and pot that had adamantium in it, was terrifying. No matter how many times he was killed, he never gave up. He just kept charging forward. The demon chef attacked Choi Yeonseung with a knife in each hand. In retaliation, Choi Yeonseung struck the demon’s chef weapons to deflect them away. He then used Origin of the Celestial Fist.

“This... This is making me furious! Why won’t my kitchen knives reach you?!”

[Through numerous battles, the A-rank skill ‘Unity of Body and Fist’ has been acquired.]

[You have become more accustomed to the Origin of the Celestial Divine Arts.]

[Your internal energy circulation has become faster.]

[......]

Unity of Body and Fist, an A-rank skill! It was a skill that perfectly harmonized its practitioner’s mind and body, causing their movements to become tens of times faster! All martial artists coveted this skill.

‘I’ve been wondering how to get it, but it could be learned through training all this time?’

Choi Yeonseung was puzzled.

Spin.

This was the power of Covert Attack Reversal! Despite his opponent having turned into a giant, Choi Yeonseung could still stupidly spin him in the air and throw him away.

Thump!

The demon’s own strength struck him, and his gigantic body crushed all the remaining demons. Upon confirming that the battle was over, he brushed his hands off.

“I’ll always accept a fight for as long as you bring something like these with you.”

He picked up the adamantium piece and the meat and went inside. The eyes of the fallen demons burned.

‘Just you wait, human bastard!’

***

Realizing they couldn’t win in a melee battle, the demons changed their methods. The moment Choi Yeonseung came out, they started casting magic at random. Of course, Choi Yeonseung protected himself with internal energy and moved quickly to attack the demons.

Magic was basically slower than martial arts. They had to be cast, aimed, then fired. With the speed of a martial arts user, it was possible to pierce them in an instant amid such a long preparation.

[You have succeeded in stopping the attack with the the Origin of the Celestial Divine Arts' internal energy!]

[Having withstood the attack of a demon, your body's strength has increased further.]

[You have reached the state of impenetrability. The A-rank skill 'Impenetrable Skin' has been acquired..]

“!”

Impenetrable Skin!

This was also one of the skills close-quarters combatants wanted. It made his flesh and muscles harder than steel, blocking all attacks. It didn’t make him invincible, but the level of defense it gave was still a blessing. Lots of hunters had died from sudden attacks by monsters.

“Human! Please die!”

“You definitely got hit by magic! How are you still standing?”

With his melee combat and evasion already at maximum level, the demons couldn’t help but shed tears when they saw him gain a defense skill as well. They couldn’t win! Even after nearly a few hundred years, this guy just kept growing stronger and widening the gap between them.

“That’s all for today’s fight. Go home, everyone.”

Choi Yeonseung was now fully at ease. The demons’ desperate attacks made Choi Yeonseung faster and stronger until they no longer stood a chance against him.

“Boo! We haven’t fought yet!”

“I’ll give you a numbered ticket. If you come tomorrow, I’ll let you fight first.”

“Ohh! Humans are nice. Gar will be the first to fight!”

He was so relaxed that he even became close to the demons!

***

‘I just remembered I have my hunter card with me.’

Upon registering with the association, one would receive a hunter card that showed the hunter’s skills of the hunter whenever they injected their power into it. Its function was simple, but it was one of the hunters’ favorite items. He had forgotten about it. After so long, he decided to check it out. Choi Yeonseung took out an old card from his wallet and poured internal energy into it.

Name: Choi Yeonseung

Hunter Rank: C+

Aptitude: Martial Artist

Stage: Peak-class

Skills Possessed:

A-rank Origin of the Celestial Divine Arts.

A-rank Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons.

A-rank Unity of Body and Fist.

A-rank Covert Attack Reversal.

A-rank Impenetrable Skin.

A-rank Three Flowers Gathering.

A-rank Heavenly Martial Physique.

A-rank State of Perfection.

?-rank Resonance From the World.

“!!!”

He had more skills than he could’ve ever imagined.