Chapter 42: Chapter 42 - Akasha's Snake (10)
(Volume 2, Chapter 17)
Chapter 42 . Akasha’s Snake (10)
Akasha’s Snake had a venom gland attached next to its Neidan . A gland that oozed out poison that could melt any monsters that came in contact with it . It was a kind of self-defense mechanism that Akasha’s Snake developed in order to protect its Neidan . Therefore, it would have required a specialized skill to remove the gland from the Neidan .
‘It’s not a problem if I can absorb it . ’
Bathory’s Vampiric Sword devoured anything that contained energy, even if there was a venom gland right next to it .
Thanks to this skill, it was a piece of cake for Yeon-woo to absorb the Neidan . He separated the venom gland and stored in the bag with Undine’s Goblet .
“It would be of great help if I absorbed the venom from the gland… But it’s also the main ingredient for crafting Gyges’ Eyes . ’
[‘Bathory’s Vampiric Sword’ skill proficiency has increased . 6 . 2%]
[A huge amount of spiritual energy (Akasha) is pouring into your body . It will be converted into Magic Power . ]
[A huge amount of poison is flaring up inside your body . It will be converted into Magic Power . ]
[Your status ‘Half Dragon Body’ is influencing the absorption process . ]
[Your Magic Power has increased by 8 points . ]
[Your Magic Power has increased by 6 points . ]
[‘Mana Circuit’ skill proficiency has increased . 2 . 1%]
[Due to the large energy inflow, the conversion process will require a considerable amount of time and health . ]
[Your status ‘Half Dragon Body’ has been determined to be unable to contain all the potential mana . Your body will continue its growth . ]
[Trait conversion in progress . ]
[The halted succession process will resume . 44%… 46%… 48%… . ]
[You are advised to stay in a safe place during the conversion process . Outer impact will cause a slowdown or deviation . ]
[Estimated time: 15 hours]
*Crackle* *Crunch*
The amount of energy contained inside the Neidan was too much for Yeon-woo to handle all at once . A mixture of monsters’ spirits that were yet to be purified, and the resentful spirit of Akasha’s Snake, they were all jumbled up inside the Neidan .
Thanks to Bathory’s Vampiric Sword, barely no energy was lost during the absorption . The intake of such enormous amount of energy caused drastic changes in Yeon-woo’s body . A change presumably far bigger than those that had taken place with Reinforced Physique .
The system warned him to stay isolated from the outside world until his body stabilized . But despite the warning, Yeon-woo slowly rose from his seated position and turned his head to see the Goblin King and the Orc King .
A vortex of mana was swirling along his Mana Circuit . It was causing the circuit to break down and burst open, and his muscles and bones to shatter and reassemble .
Terrible pain followed after the changes . However, Yeon-woo stood high, paying it no heed . He could control his senses and shut down a few nerves to suppress some of the pain . His Physical Resistance skill also helped him alleviate it .
“Hup!”
“That’s impossible…!”
Looking at Yeon-woo’s bloodshot eyes, the two kings flinched . It was due to a massive energy storm wound around Yeon-woo .
*Go-o-oh*
Yeon-woo’s aura coupled with the excess energy emitted during the absorption process created an indescribable atmosphere . Moreover, the two monster kings felt something in Yeon-woo that stimulated their instincts . Something akin to a predator .
Just then, they figured it out . It was his eyes . Those were the eyes of a predator . Right in front of them stood a predator even more insatiable and more frightening than Akasha’s Snake .
“I will kill you, chwik!”
Ignoring the mortal fear, the Orc King leaped to attack Yeon-woo . It was clear that the human in front of him was the cause of this whole tragedy .
But this was the situation that Yeon-woo wanted .
The two monster kings were also boss monsters just like Hargan . And boss monsters like them,
‘Will give me a lot of Karma and Tokens . ’
These two monsters had received serious injuries from fighting Akasha’s Snake . On the other hand, Yeon-woo’s body was in perfect condition excluding the conversion process .
Yeon-woo held Carshina’s Dagger backward and made a wide swing .
*Spurt*
The Orc King’s head flew off into the air .
[You have slain the boss monster, Farak (Orc King) . Additional Karma will be provided . ]
Without giving a second look to the messages, Yeon-woo dashed straight towards the Goblin King .
The Goblin King held out his helbard with a stern look on his face . Unlike the Orc King, his two eyes were calm, knowing his death was nigh . But the Goblin King struggled with all his might, as if he would not forfeit his life that easily .
*Kwang*
*Crunch*
Yeon-woo’s body was still going through changes . Now, even if he tried suppressing it, the terrible pain was still transmitted to him .
The good news were, the proficiency of Physical Resistance was increasing very quickly, now reaching almost 17% .
But he couldn’t help feeling physically exhausted .
Yeon-woo gritted his teeth and cut off the head of the last remaining Orc .
*Spurt*
With his face covered in bitterness and anger, the Orc’s head dropped and rolled on the floor .
“Haah!”
Yeon-woo let out a long deep breath .
After the death of the two kings, there were two paths the remaining monsters took . One was to run away, and the other was to resist till the end .
He did not bother chasing down the runners, because they were all weak and worthless . But he made sure to get rid of the resisting ones . Then he shoved the serrated teeth into them and absorbed their energy .
Yeon-woo didn’t stop after acquiring the Neidan and venom gland of Akasha’s Snake . He wanted to speed up his succession progress and improve his body as fast as he could . He desired more and swallowed more . He would do anything to become stronger, and nothing else mattered .
However, consuming hundreds of monsters had made him too exhausted . He could really use some rest in a quiet place .
Yeon-woo thought of going back into the snake’s den for a little rest, but he clenched on Carshina’s Dagger instead . There was one more thing left to bother him .
“Just come out already . ”
Yeon-woo cast an indifferent glance to one side .
There was no one in sight, but soon the space seemed to distort, then a player appeared .
With a stiff look on his face . Holding onto his shoulder with his one remaining arm . It was Bain .
“How did you know?”
Yeon-woo snorted lightly .
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“You didn’t think you could stay hidden with your aura leaking all over the place, did you?”
“… You really are a monster . ”
Bain stared at Yeon-woo with a look of fear .
He had been watching the whole process . From the time when Akasha’s Snake had gone on a rampage, to when Yeon-woo absorbed the Neidan and swept out the remaining monsters . And Bain had only one emotion towards Yeon-woo .
It was fear .
Running around like a ghost with a white mask, Yeon-woo took away the lives of others with just a swing of his knife . Such scenery reminded him of a grim reaper .
But soon, greed started to peek through his eyes .
If only he could have that power for himself . If only he could take the hidden piece waiting to be taken .
In Bain’s eyes,Yeon-woo was the hoarding hidden pieces all to himself . If so, he had to take them . They belonged to him .
So he waited and waited until Yeon-woo was exhausted . And at last, the time was here .
*Schwing*
Bain slowly drew his sword from the scabbard . It was his treasured artifact granted by ‘The Isle’ when he had first joined Team 1 .
The cold sound of the sword being drawn spread across the air . The green thread tied on the pommel of his sword trembled as well .
“But that monstrous power you have, I’ll have to take it away from you . ”
Yeon-woo twisted the corner of his lips .
“You? By what means?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about . ‘Cause I know that right now you don’t even have the strength to lift a finger . ”
Bain slowly walked towards Yeon-woo, thinking he was bluffing . Even if he could fight back, it didn’t matter . He had been conserving his energy the whole time just for this moment . Even if he had lost an arm, one arm should be enough to take him out .
But Yeon-woo didn’t stop sneering at Bain even when he got closer .
“Didn’t I ask you already? How are you going to take it away when I’m not alone?”
“What are you…!”
When Bain was about to shout back at his nonsense,
*Swish*
A sudden piercing sound rended the air .
*Puck*
And before Bain could even react, an arrow stuck deep into his temple .
The arrow was so powerful that Bain’s head snapped to the side as his body flew off .
Dying a painful death, Bain’s eye spotted Galliard with his bow pointed at him on top of a rocky mountain .
Galliard lightly leapt down from the cliff and landed next to Yeon-woo . He clicked his tongue as he looked around the completely devastated area .
“What’s all this mess? Was this all you?”
Even with his experience of countless tutorials, he had never seen anything like this before .
But Yeon-woo suddenly burst out laughing .
“Hmm? Why are you laughing?”
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Yeon-woo didn’t know how to answer his question . Just as Bain had said, he was feeling so wrecked he couldn’t even lift a finger because of the on-going conversion process .
And Galliard showed up right on time .
He didn’t know whether to call it a coincidence or fate . But it didn’t matter, because with him on his side, he could finally take a rest .
“Galliard . ”
“What?”
“I brought you a gift . ”
“What? Wait, you…!”
Yeon-woo took out the pendant from his pocket and threw it at Galliard .
The sudden throw took Galliard by surprise, but he managed to grab it . And as he realized what it was, he looked back to Yeon-woo with strained eyes .
So many questions flashed through his mind, but he couldn’t get them out because Yeon-woo was already falling unconscious before he could continue speaking .
Galliard quickly came forward and held Yeon-woo from falling . Looking at Yeon-woo, his eyes were shaking . He didn’t know what to make of this mysterious man .
But one thing was certain . He was asking for help in return for the present .
Galliard noticed his body was unnaturally hot . It didn’t seem like he was sick . He could only guess there was something happening inside his body .
“You’re leaving me no choice . ”
Galliard shook his head .
With Yeon-woo on his back, he headed back to his cottage .
It was a long time before Yeon-woo woke up .
The first thing that came to his sight was the ceiling of a familiar cottage .
And also,
The messages crammed in his retina .
[Trait conversion has been successfully achieved . Your trait ‘Reinforced Physique’ has been changed into ‘Diamond Physique’ . ’
[92% of the energy has been converted to Magic Power and absorbed into the body . ]
[Body improvement has been confirmed . The vessel is strong enough . The halted succession process had resumed its progress . ]
[Current progress: 92 . 5%]
[Your current status will be changed from ‘Half Dragon Body’ to ‘Near-complete Dragon Body’]
92 . 5%!
Yeon-woo checked his now almost complete succession process and clenched his fist tightly .
At that moment, it seemed that all of his painstaking effort had finally paid off . But on a second thought, he was surprised at the fact that the succession process was still incomplete despite the massive amount of energy he had absorbed .
It seemed his understanding of ‘Dragon Body’ was still lacking . He was getting very curious about how strong he would be when the succession process was completed .
Yeon-woo then went ahead and checked his status window .
[Player: Yeon-woo Cha]
Traits: Cold-blooded, Diamond Physique
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Strength: 121 Dexterity: 133 Health: 129 Magic Power: 208
Skills: Draconic Eyes(11 . 2%), Sense Strengthening(32 . 5%), Foresight(0 . 0%), Physical Resistance(20 . 3%), Combat Will(10 . 5%), Bathory’s Vampiric Sword(9 . 5%), Shunpo(19 . 5%), Magic Circuit(10 . 9%)
Several parts of the status window had changed a lot since he last checked . All of the attribute points were over 120, and Magic Power, the stat that was lacking the most before, was now the highest of all four .
His skills had grown a lot too . This was accomplished through continuous battles and growth .
Most surprising was that Mana Circuit, a skill he had acquired the day before, had grown by far the fastest in a single day .
Yeon-woo quickly focused his senses on his Mana Circuit and tried to control mana . And then,
*Woosh*
Mana began to move at his will . Very softly and smoothly . It was a somewhat novel sensation . A very strange, but at the same time, very familiar feeling . It felt like he had grown a new body part he could control at will .
Yeon-woo slowly gathered mana onto his hand .
When he swung his hand, he noticed that movement was now much easier than before . Mana had also hardened his hand, making it rock solid .
‘Mana is said to have a variety of uses depending on the user . ’
Yeon-woo kept in mind he should do some experiments on the uses of mana . Now that he could control mana at will, he wanted to find a way to use it in combat .
‘But what is this?’
While returning mana back to its original position, Yeon-woo realized his body seemed to have experienced a lot more changes than he expected . Not just the mana flowing through his body, but his body itself had gone through some changes too .
‘My senses… they’ve gotten keener . ’
Despite only making a slight movement, a huge amount of information poured into his head . The light was blinding, and the smells were paralyzing . Pain reverberated throughout his entire body . It was a similar sensation to when he first used Sense Strengthening .
He tried to figure out what might have caused this change . It was unlikely to be a change due to simple physical strengthening .
He considered the possibility of some of the energy from the Neidan having seeped into his body .
But what was interesting was that the feeling wasn’t strange to him . Somehow, it was very familiar .
‘Like Undine’s Goblet… . ’
While Yeon-woo was lost in a series of thoughts,
*Creak*
The sound of the opening door brought him back to his senses .
When Yeon-woo lifted his head, Galliard entered the room with a basket full of fruits .
“Are you up?”
edit: lol, hope nobody saw my fuck up .
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