Acquiring Talent in a Dungeon

A cold that caused the body to freeze.

The fear of death and losing everything.

Chang Ga-ram’s taunt that scratched at the nerves.

The waking of the beast that had been sleeping.

It was none of the above causes.

&

“Hah.” My exhaled breath froze in the air.

It couldn’t be helped. I had to give this up. I cancelled the inscriptions.

[Current Balance: 166/741. A cold state. Poisoned.]

[Current Balance: 192/741. A cold state. Poisoned.]

As soon as I gave up the patterns on both hands, ‘frostbite’ turned into ‘cold.’ My health stopped being reduced and started to gradually go up due to the potion. The 60% effect of weakening in the cold stopped having an impact on my health. The weight on my eyelids was also much lighter.

[Current Balance: 216/741. A cold state. Poisoned.]

But the problem was still the same.

“You have nothing left to say. Are your hands and feet paralyzed?” Chang Ga-ram asked.

I wasn’t paralyzed. I was still feeling fine, but I was stiff. My fingers and toes, elbows and knee joints, shoulders and waist. Every time I moved, it felt like I was frozen. It was similar to the state when I first attacked Yoon Chan-hee’s party with the explosions. In the meantime, Chang Ga-ram was decreasing the temperature in here.

It was unreasonable to move out from behind the shelf in this state. Although I didn’t know about the projectiles, the speed of the icicles wasn’t slow. I wouldn’t be able to completely avoid them. Furthermore, I was bound to suffer even more after giving up the inscriptions and moving to a close combat situation.

I checked the essences.

[Essence - Rock Lizardman. As long as the owner ‘grips’ it, muscle strength +2. Increases HP regeneration by 100%. The rate of restoration will dramatically increased against injuries such as burns. There is a slight decrease in the basal metabolic rate of the body.]

[Immune against various heat sensing abilities.]

[Body’s resistance to cold is decreased. You have become 50% more vulnerable to cold air.]

[Essence - Elder Salamander. The ‘Fire Lizard’s Mark’ will be inscribed on both hands. It is possible to switch it from an active/inactive state through a command. Fire and heat resistance increase by 25%. This won’t turn off as long as your HP doesn’t fall below one.]

[The average body temperature will rise by one degree. There is no physical deterioration caused by high body temperature.]

[You have become 15% more vulnerable to cold air.]

I could remove the lizardman and salamander essences to reduce the cold resistance penalties that they gave me. However... Maybe that wasn’t the answer. Rather than 100 points, I thought about something that would give 50~60 points.

I pulled out a bag from my inventory. There were tin cans that I brought in order to help with the cold. Of course, it was an item I purchased in reality for a wood fire. I never thought they would be used for this purpose.

Slide.

I opened the lid of the can.

Jeurereuk.

Then I poured the kerosene over my head. The smell of a gas station caused my nose to ache.

“What is this smell...?”

I didn’t have time to prepare.

[Current Balance: 356/741. A cold state. Poisoned.]

Half of my health had recovered. After waiting for my strength to come back, I placed a hand on my chest.

Slide.

I slide my finger against the lighter and a flame touched my skin.

Hwakak!

The flames instantly skyrocketed.

[Current Balance: 364/741. Burning. Poisoned.]

[Current Balance: 366/741. Burning. Poisoned.]

[Current Balance: 369/741. Burning. Poisoned.]

My HP was increasing rather than decreasing.

[Increases HP regeneration by 100%. The rate of restoration will dramatically increased against injuries such as burns.]

[Fire and heat resistance have increased by 25%. This won’t turn off as long as your HP doesn’t fall below one.]

The effect of the potion and regeneration synergized with each other, causing my skin to repeatedly recover from the burns. It wasn’t just my skin that was repeatedly being burnt and restored. A huge amount of heat penetrated my skin and entered my nervous system.

[Pain Tolerance Lv9. 36799/51200]

It wasn’t just my skin being regenerated. My nervous system was screaming out from the abuse that continued without the possibility of death.

Yes. Scream. I screamed so that people could hear me.

"It looks like a fire but how long can you las...”

I jumped over the shelf.

“...!” The eyes that confirmed the identity of the burning ‘wood’ were astonished. The distance between me and Chang Ga-ram was around five meters. He turned his way and extended both palms. Surprisingly, his reaction speed was still fast.

Jjejeok.

Icicles flew along the trajectory of his hand and flew towards me. The moment I landed on the ground, I spun one foot in order to avoid the attack. Victory was possible if I was in this state. I could certainly avoid the icicles.

Chang Ga-ram also moved, dodging back diagonally as he shot the icicles. They flew in a straight line. Instead of chasing after him using the shortest distance, I slipped sideways.

“...Ugh.” Even though none of them had hit yet, a groan emerged from Chang Ga-ram’s mouth. He had finally realized it.

When the first icicle hit... Yoon Chan-hee and Chang Ga-ram had maintained an angle of 60 degrees around my position. But it was a little different now. In order to freeze me as I hid behind the shelf, Chang Ga-ram’s position was in a line between the shelf and the group behind him.

As long as I avoided the icicles, I could approach while maintaining this positioning, even if it was slow. His companions were right behind him. As I moved closer, the more icicles that Chang Ga-ram fired at random. They scratched against my sides and forearms.

But it was different from earlier. The frost wasn’t established at all. They were more like thick needles than icicles.

"E-Everybody spread out!” The stuttering cry popped out as the distance between us narrowed. It was different. The followers of the orders were the same, but there was no one with a extremely fast and sober mind like Yoon Chan-hee.

The distance was too narrow for people to completely follow Chang Ga-ram’s order. I triggered Darkness Cloud. There was a mass of darkness that was a few meters in diameter. However, Chang Ga-ram had already seen this technique once and was aware of its weakness. He aimed for the center of the darkness where my head and chest were, shooting five large icicles.

The Darkness Cloud moved around me. Aiming for the middle was right, but the height was wrong. It went straight through the air. The moment I activated the Darkness Cloud, I had slid to the ground. As I narrowed the distance, I took actions to avoid falling while stooping down. I aimed from below.

I felt something cold passing over my head. After the sliding tackle, I firmly pushed against the ground with my hand. My body rose up and I threw a kick.

Jjejeok!

Thick walls of ice were covering Chang Ga-ram’s face and body. I didn’t know if I could penetrate through them, but that wasn’t my aim from the beginning.

Bakak!

My kick successfully hit his right shoulder. Chang Ga-ram’s upper right torso was pushed back.

[Current Balance: 439/741. Burning. Poisoned.]

Around 35 health was returned due to blood-sucking. The subsequent kick hit his left hand, that he had subconsciously raised to block to body. This time, 27 HP was received. Chang Ga-ram’s body couldn’t overcome the impact of the kick and jerked to the right. I didn’t kill him, but now Chang Ga-ram couldn’t completely use his two hands.

Teong!

Chang Ga-ram’s body rolled several times on the floor, and was still completely covered in ice. However, it wasn’t a form of armor. Inside the mass of ice, Chang Ga-ram with disabled arms could be seen. It was like a type of airbag. I flew straight towards the mass of ice. It was to use it rather than break it.

Tang!

Teteng!

The various arrows aimed at me hit the lump of ice instead. The other people kept attacking despite hitting Chang Ga-ram. They knew his strength. In fact, despite the numerous attacks striking against the surface, the ice showed no signs of damage. I tested out how hard the ice was.

Tong!

Jjeok. A fist-shaped mark appeared, but it was only on the surface of the thick ice. The ice also affected my hand.

If I swung my fist constantly then I would be able to break it, but... The problem was the lack of time. It had already been a few minutes since Yoon Chan-hee left the party. I needed to clean up this situation as quickly as possible and then stop Yoon Chan-hee.

If I couldn’t... At the very least, I could eliminate his weapons.

Not all the people over there would have the same defensive skills as this chunk of ice. I took out another can from my inventory. My body, where the flames had almost subsided, once again became covered with oil.

Hwakak!

I was now familiar with this sensation as I walked towards the ice cube.

"Let’s finish this quickly.” I declared.

A BBQ party.

&

It could clearly feel it. The pressure on the eggshell was gradually weakening.

Duong.Duong.Duong.

It was finally going to be able to get out. Its beating became more vigorous than before. The larva, trapped in the egg, pulsed.

“Yes. Wait a bit more.” Yoon Chan-hee was surprised at the vibrations coming from the small egg as he manipulated the levers of the generator. It took a little time to learn, but he quickly recognized the levers that controlled the egg.

Buuuuong.

The generator quickly recovered its power. The pressure on the egg lifted, revealing a light green colour instead of the amber.

Duong!

There was one last beating.

Rattle.

Fluid emerged through a crack in the egg. It extended its head. It took its first breath. The thing that emerged from the egg looked like a caterpillar.

“...” Yoon Chan-hee stood in front of it. At first glance, it looked disgusting, but it would eventually take a form suited for its master.

“Come.” Yoon Chan-hee opened his arms to it.

Saeeek!

It jumped like a bullet from the egg and into Yoon Chan-hee’s body. This person had been hoping for a partner, it could clearly feel his emotions from a distance. Above all, he was a master with a solid and stable desire.

Like a cub held by its mother, the larva melted into Yoon Chan-hee’s skin. Yes, to the sacred creature, Yoon Chan-hee was... “I am your master.”

He was the best prey.

Duong!

“...Uh?” The ringing sound spread from his chest to his head. A stupid moan emerged from Yoon Chan-hee’s mouth. “Ah... U...”

The sacred creature was to be delivered to the emperor. The journal cut off there. There was one egg in the hatchery. Yoon Chan-hee wasn’t rash. Hee-chul had probably made the same judgement. It was clear that the egg was to be delivered to the emperor.

But that was the end of the journal. Still, it was ‘before completion.’

The researchers wanted to create a sacred creature suitable for the emperor. It would contain superior traits that would be qualitatively different from the previous experiments. The result was a failure.

The nature of livestock was to be dependent on humans and submit to them. The work of erasing the realization that there were beings higher than humans didn’t succeed. It recognized that the human wasn’t its master, but its food supply. They were just food itself.

“Ah... Ahhhhh!” Yoon Chan-hee’s image of the world was devastated.

His desires and willpower were being sucked out by the sacred creature. The feelings that it had never once experienced in its life. The feelings of defeat, despair, humiliation and inferiority inside Yoon Chan-hee’s head.

Of course it was irresistible. However, this was his mind. Yoon Chan-hee focused his mind. ‘You. Get out of my head right now.’ But the sacred creature didn’t listen.

‘Shut up.’

“... Euh.”

It wasn’t a matter of mental power. Even if the world was different, Yoon Chan-hee was a human. His opponent was the fragment of a god. It was also a monster that had superior traits combined with magic.

The larva, who had already tasted desires, didn’t stop eating. Yoon Chan-hee put up a good fight. But just as a child succumbed to their parents, he lost control of his legs. He sank to the ground and urinated.

Within a short time, the sacred creature had completely made Yoon Chan-hee’s mind its perfect meal. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t a problem of quantity. It had been starving for too long. It wanted to absorb more diverse foods.

Suuuuoh.

The sacred creature left Yoon Chan-hee’s body. ‘That’ had already succumbed to the sacred creature. But it wasn’t the end of the delicious food. There was one food nearby that seemed absolutely tasty...

Chobeok.

The sacred creature was attracted by the desires it felt, not the footsteps.

“What is this?” He breathed out. Hee-chul, whose body was in a mess due to the fire, stared at the bug in front of him.