You Know (5)
-Magic poison, the first type of poison that Jormungand spreads in the land they wish to occupy. Their magical power is different from that of humans, so it doesn’t affect them, but humans who use strong magical power are more vulnerable to it.
The administrator’s message appeared to be calm, but Kang Shin-hyuk could sense a wave of subtle anger underneath it.
-Because of the poison that Jormungand spreads… humans who have prospered with magical power are destroyed by it.
“… That’s like Gromas’s Swallowing Fungus.”
-Where do you think they got the idea from?
Indeed, the idea of using the poison created by Jormungand against them was a clever idea, but in the end, it had been their doom. Then would Shin Eunah, who had taken that poison and turned it into her own power, be able to resist even this poison without difficulty? Would she be Jormungand’s most dangerous foe?
‘No, isn’t that not important right now?’ Now that the other superhumans were incapacitated, the only one who could stand against the poison mist was Kang Shin-hyuk. Even his condition wasn’t doing so great, however. It wasn’t just magical poison he was being bombarded by, and he was right in the middle of it as the one who was attacking the source of the poison. Even with his antidotes and resistances, he could feel the poisonous energy invading his body.
‘But I have no choice. I’m not affected by the magic poison.’ He exercised his spiritual power to energize the antidote and resist the poison. At the same time, he scoured his entire body for the energy to resist poison that should be inside his body. Spiritual power allowed one to contact the source of all things and bring it forth. If it were a skill he had, he should be able to find it.
-Guoooo…?
Did it notice he wasn’t poisoned by the magic? Or perhaps it realized that the power in the scythe he held could destroy it.
-Guooooaahhhhh!
“Huh?!” The boss made a strange noise and turned towards Kang Shin-hyuk, shaking its hand at him. Tentacles protruded from its fingertips, spewing out more poison to cover him. He had no time to escape. It was dense like a liquid, yet moved as quickly as gas, trapping Shin-hyuk in poison. It seemed to be the boss’s skill.
“Khhh!” Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes widened as he felt the concentrated poison hit him. The poison invaded his body, trying to melt his insides. His Golden Dragon Fighter regenerated and strengthened his body against it, burning brightly.
-Member!
“No, this…rather…this is good…!” The poison was spreading through him, and his body resisted it with full force. Kang Shin-hyuk could feel the process clearly as he closed his eyes and ignored the pain. It was only then he succeeded in capturing the root of the energy of resisting poison. The spiritual power that remained in him mixed with the Golden Dragon and permeated his skills to strengthen it.
-Through theatrical experience, the skill proficiency of the Resist Poison (SS+) skill has increased significantly, growing to the S-rank!
“…Done.” He had been trying to reinforce the skill, but the result was even better. It made it much easier to resist the poisonous energy. Kang Shin-hyuk bought and drank one more top-notch antidote, then expelled the poisonous energy from his body as he brandished his scythe. He pushed past the terrible pain, refining the energy in the falling scythe. He just needed to wait for the moment to liberate it.
‘It’ll be the last blow.’ He could only swing it only once he was confident it would connect. Kang Shin-hyuk grabbed the growing scythe and lifted it up in the air. It was chipped a bit in the fight, but it didn’t matter.
“Look, you asshole.” He activated his Wind Mastery as he wielded the sickle, causing fragments of the blade to slam into the boss’s body at once. It emitted that same dense fog once more, but it had no effect on Kang Shin-hyuk as it seemed to be the magical poison.
-Guoooooooh!
“Try again!” Kang Shin-hyuk broke through the poison mist, soaring through the air as he swung the scythe. Shattered pieces of the blade moved along the line the sickle drew, dancing around like cherry blossoms in a spring breeze. The monster’s body was torn apart, bit by bit, as the wind swept through the mist emanating from it. He was still taking damage from the non-magical poison, but even those wounds were recovering steadily. A golden glow surrounded him, making him seem like a small sun as he fought.
“Try it!”
-Guooooooh…!
It swung its hands once more, aiming its tentacle-like fingertips at Kang Shin-hyuk. Realizing that the poison was ineffective, it was now trying to hurt him physically. It was unable to move properly, however, given that it was physically blocked by the ceiling and floor. Because of that, it was unable to break through the storm of blades that Kang Shin-hyuk had created.
-Skill proficiency of Wind Mastery (S) has increased to S-rank!
Wind Mastery had grown twice already. Perhaps that, too, was a result of the luck bonus he had received the other day. If so, now was the correct time!
-Kashashasha!
The blade fragments moved around Kang Shin-hyuk, cutting through the monster. It screamed out in pain as several blades were embedded throughout its body.
“Woooooohhhh!” Kang Shin-hyuk threw the growing scythe, activating its abilities to make it massive. It had grown to a size of ten meters in an instant, finding its way into the boss’s chest. The ugly mouths all over its body opened at once, letting out a pained shriek. Kang Shin-hyuk kicked off the floor, reaching over to its torso to swing the other scythe he had in hand. A flash of gold radiated out with a loud roar.
-Bang!
The sharpened energy broke through the body vertically, causing a magnificent explosion. Kang Shin-hyuk was thrown to the wall by the explosive power, causing a groan to leave his mouth. He could feel the arm he had been holding the scythe with unpleasantly creaking. It was probably broken, but it relieved him that it was only broken.
“Hak…”
-Guoooh…
Kang Shin-hyuk felt his heart fall at the groan he heard. Did it not die? Didn’t it feel that terrible energy amplified by the falling scythe? But all it took was a breeze. The critical hit had been triggered on that last blow, successfully killing the enemy. With a soft wind running through the room, the monster was scattered into the air without a trace. Something small and sparkling fell to the ground, grabbed quickly by the automatic routing function. Fortunately, no one else had seen it.
-You’ve fought overwhelming enemies and overcome your own limitations. Strength and agility have grown by one step.
-Through a fierce battle, you have gained a piece of transcendental enlightenment that will lead battles in your favor. The skill proficiency of [Golden Dragon (SS+)] will grow to S-rank!
-You have received valuable experience that transcends the limits of skill. The rarity of [Wind Mastery (S)] has increased by two steps, becoming [Wind Mastery (SS-)]!
Indeed, the battle had been fierce, but the reward was sweet. It was the first time since crushing the spider’s egg nest that he had gained such experience. The most surprising thing of all was that the rarity of his Wind Mastery skill had increased even further. He didn’t think it could grow any further.
‘Now, it’s more like a trait.’ His wind, having reached S-rank proficiency, was undoubtedly lighter and sharper than before. It was a shame he was unable to fight while riding on his bike.
-You have subdued a monster that was harmful to the order of things! Bonus based on membership level! You received 23,000,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you received additional HP equal to 50% of the reward, for a total of 34,500,000HP!
That was also surprising. It had been a boss monster, but it was an incredible amount of HP to receive for only one.
-It is because it is a monster deeply connected to Jormungand. Rather than by its strength, HP has been paid as a measure of how much harm it would have caused if it were able to.
“I see…ugh.” Pain radiated through him. He knelt down, unable to stand. Normally, Golden Dragon Fighter would have healed his broken arm in no time, but his regeneration was delayed after he had expended all of his spiritual power while fighting.
-I bought a potion. I will summon it right away.
“Thank you, administrator.”
-3,000HP bonus for members who never forget to offer their thanks!
For saying a simple thanks, he had received back half of the potion’s cost. Once again, he wondered if the bonuses were getting worse as he drank the potion.
“Then, now…” The potion from the Hero Universe was special. It took only three seconds for it to soak into his entire body, and within five seconds, his arm was fixed. Kang Shin-hyuk opened and closed his hands a few times to test it. In the meantime, the scythe had fallen to the ground. He placed it in his inventory, as its ability wouldn’t be infinitely usable. Both of the scythes had been pushed too hard. For now, it would be best to let them rest quietly in the inventory.
“First, I want to move people to safety…” He fed those still alive potions from the Hero Universe, but none of them awoke. Perhaps the magical poison’s after-effects still remained.
-There is currently no safe place around. I think it would be best to leave them where the gate was destroyed.
Shin-hyuk smiled bitterly at the message. He looked around at the destroyed room that still had intact floors and ceilings. Through the broken windows, he could see the city of Paris in chaos.
“I suppose so. It’s incredible that it’s still intact.”
-This is because of you. It’s your achievement so that you can be proud of it.
He smiled slightly. This battle had gone lucky for him in several ways. He was able to block the enemy’s main form of attack because it was poison, and its dangerous magical poison had no effect on him. He wondered if that too was an effect of the luck buff.
“But, it won’t work for an SSS-class gate.”
-Unfortunately, no.
With how difficult the SS-class gate was, he could hardly imagine what the SSS one would be like. It didn’t matter how much he had grown in that battle; the difference was too large. To add to that, his status boost potions would soon wear off.
‘Thanks to the growth of my strength and agility, with the Venom Princess Soul, but strength and agility are SS-rank…’ His spiritual power and Golden Dragon were also S+. But that wasn’t enough to change the war situation. And Claire was even weaker than that.
-Noona.
He spoke to her through the whisper system.
-I’m coming to help.
The reply arrived soon.
-Bartender’s whisper: Yes.
-Bartender’s whisper: Help.
He raised his head with a vicious smile. It felt good to see her trust in him. He might’ve faltered entering such a dangerous place if she hadn’t shown him her heart.
“I want to enter the gate above me. What should I do?”
-You can purchase a one-time magic tool that allows for forced entry into the gate at the VIP special shop. With the administrator’s special bonus, it’s free.
Kang Shin-hyuk laughed as he felt the love of the administrator.
“Okay, let’s go right away.”
-No, you need to check the loot before that.
“…Huh?”