Chapter 242
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'Modified Seed of Life, huh.'
Seong Jihan recalled the time when he first obtained the seed of life.
Clearing the experimental area map, he received the Seed of Life from the "Green Administrator."
This SSS-ranked item had the effect of increasing the remaining attribute points by 10 upon consumption.
'But more than the +10 stats, it was the life force hidden within the seed that had the biggest impact on me.'
Although this energy attempted to covertly dominate Seong Jihan, it was subjugated by him instead.
Yet it remained an unknown force that he still hadn't fully grasped.
'And to think, this is the origin of the Blue Blood Demons...'
Seong Jihan eyed the item description that popped up in the system window.
[Modified Seed of Life]
Rank: ??
-Seed of life modified by someone.
-As the origin that transformed the Blue Blood Demons, it amplifies their possession ability.
-Upon returning it to the BattleNet after logging out, a promised reward will be given.
The unique possession ability possessed by the Blue Blood Demons.
At its core lay the modified seeds of life.
Seong Jihan looked through the description, blinking at the last part.
'Log out and return it... What an unusual procedure.'
"Inventory."
Seong Jihan attempted to stash the epic quest reward in his inventory.
['Modified Seed of Life' cannot be placed in the inventory.]
For some reason, the item refused to go into inventory.
"This complicates things."
Although he was fortunate to have found the origin, storing it was now an issue.
Surrounded by enemies intent on ending the hidden boss Seong Jihan, he also faced a frenzied tentacle.
[Give it back... give it back!]
The tentacle, having lost its source, was raging madly.
[Our sacred item... Give it back now!]
Squelch! Squelch!
From the empty eye sockets, numerous tentacles emerged, emitting a blue light.
Even after the eyes vanished, the possession power seemed to persist.
"Don't log out yet!"
"First, kill this brat!"
Under the tentacle's control, the players who'd been creating havoc all rushed towards Seong Jihan.
"Look at that. It must be a good item."
"Indeed, it is no ordinary matter... Between the hidden boss's diamond and that eyeball, I'll take everything!"
"Don't be rash. We can't afford to play solo here. Let's overpower him together, and we'll share the spoils afterward."
Players who had been fighting against the possessed quickly realized the situation and began to move.
It was a situation similar to when they surrounded him before.
'I've found the origin, so I can't just die.'
Before finding the seed, Seong Jihan was content to have engaged in a life-threatening fight to discover how to utilize life force.
Now the circumstances have changed.
He had to survive and receive the reward.
'Maybe I should break through on one side.'
Seong Jihan attempted to leave through the relatively weak side of the tentacle's wrath, but things did not go smoothly.
"Use all your might! Don't hold back any longer, unleash everything you've got!"
The players, who had been conserving their strength during their encirclement of Seong Jihan, in anticipation of victory, now intensified their efforts in response to the tentacle's order to go all out.
-So, the possessed enemies are making things worse...
-Here we go again with another round of trouble.
-Seems like the situation's worse than before... The possessed ones are attacking without any regard for their lives?
-Exactly. The ones who were surrounded earlier at least knew their lives were at stake...
Wait, isn't that Artemus?
During the previous standoff, Artemus remained neutral, neither assisting nor participating, but now, under the influence of the tentacles' wide-scale possession, he was heading towards Seong Jihan with all his might.
"Die...!"
Woooooom!
Artemus's iron body glowed red hot and then instantly engraved with glowing yellow letters as a whirlwind of powerful spells began to swirl.
"Crazy..."
"Such immense magical power!"
"Get away for now!"
The sane players all dodged while the possessed ones threw themselves into the onslaught, trying to ensure the success of their suicide attack.
'Damn...'
Boom!
Artemus exploded gloriously in the sky, sweeping all possessed players around him.
The blast eventually engulfed Seong Jihan's side as well.
It was the most powerful attack amidst the siege today.
[I can't... handle this blast.]
Even Ariel, who had been blocking attacks with the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods, conceded the attack was too powerful.
Swoosh...
The black vortex settled, and light flames took its place, completely engulfing Seong Jihan in a flash.
"Such a tremendous suicide attack. Even a constellation wouldn't survive that."
"So this is how the hidden boss ends..."
[My sacred item! What about the diamonds? What about the eyeball? Is everything okay?]
"That tentacle... Such ignorance. Would there even be an eyeball left after such an explosion?"
"We went through all this trouble for nothing."
Players threw comments from afar as they watched the flames of light, convinced that Seong Jihan was finished.
That's how powerful Artemus's suicide attack was.
However...
"Phew..."
The light ceased.
And there stood Seong Jihan, unscathed.
"No way..."
"...He survived that explosion?"
As gigantic and monstrous as it was, the players blinked in disbelief as they stared at him.
* * *
Artemus's suicidal attack.
The immensely powerful explosion crafted as the last resort by the universe's greatest blacksmith obliterated nearby kindreds who were also in possession, leaving no trace behind.
Yet how could Seong Jihan, the low-ranked species survivor, remain so intact despite the defensive skills being blocked?
"I... I give up on hunting the hidden boss."
"HP F? The system's playing tricks. With that level, it should at least be SSS."
[Note- Changing Vitality to HP in this context.]
"Even elves can't handle that..."
"I need to level up. This won't do."
Seeing the immortal-like Seong Johan, players lost their morale. One by one, they left the siege and focused on their original mission: destruction.
When all the possessed players vanished in the aftermath of Artemus's self-destruction, the Seong Jihan raid became impossible to continue.
'As expected of veterans. Quick decision-making.'
Seong Jihan watched from above with a relaxed expression.
Ariel asked incredulously,
[Master... how on earth did you survive that attack?]
"Oh, that?"
Ssssh!
Seong Jihan opened his right hand, which had been tightly clenched, revealing the Seed of Life that had notably decreased in size, now fitting comfortably in his palm.
Earlier, it was filled with an abundance of life force.
[Did you absorb it?]
"Yes."
When the explosion occurred, Seong Jihan made a choice.
'I can't... stop this.'
Was this the end of the epic quest?
After finally discovering the origin, such an anticlimactic end seemed a waste.
'Just putting this seed in the inventory wouldn't matter even if I died.'
Seong Jihan looked at the problematic seed just before the explosion.
Why was it being treated specially?
Although it contained various peculiar energies...
'Ah, right. If it's the vitality contained in the Life Seed...'
The vitality that regenerated the body.
Wasn't this seed where he first obtained it?
'Anyway, if I die, it's over. Might as well absorb it.'
Seong Jihan absorbed the force contained in the modified seed, feeling the life force replenishing his body quickly.
Even though his body was about to turn to dust in Artemus's flames...
The life force contained in the seed continued to revert Seong Jihan's body to its original state.
After repeating this process tens or hundreds of times...
"Artemus's self-destruction ended first."
[Huh. That seed had so much life force?]
"Yeah. Compared to the last time, what I received before was just a handful."
[You planned to absorb it that way. It looked like a dangerous force from the start.]
"Dangerous force?" Seong Jihan chuckled at the comment.
Dangerous force.
He's had a fair amount of that already.
Especially the power of the void, which even limits lifespan.
Compared to that, life force even healed his body.
"Later, I'll refine the power I've obtained into your sword. I'm preparing a place for it."
[Guh... You're going to add more life force? There's already so much! What are you going to turn Eclipse into?]
"Stop exaggerating. At most, it'll just have a bit more green."
[Ugh... My identity...]
"Okay, let's do it."
Seong Jihan injected more life force without listening to Ariel's complaint to the end.
"E... Eeek...!"
Swoosh!
From the center of the Eclipse, green spread out.
As Ariel clamped up dealing with the incoming surge of life force...
Wriggle! Wriggle!
[No. No... this can't be... My sacred item... My longing to live eternally in BattleNet...!]
Beneath Seong Jihan's feet, the tentacle that had bragged of its tenacity, surviving even Artemus's blast, surged up again.
It wailed at the sight of the significantly diminished Seed of Life in Seong Jihan's hand, then its tone shifted.
[Let's compromise, Player. Could you still hand it over to me? We.. together...can enjoy eternity.]
"Eternity?"
[Yes. By possessing these players, tethering to body after body. When one host's life ends, moving onto a new body... Repeating this process, to relish an eternal life. I can impart to you this ability of the Blue Blood Demons! Let's share this power!]
Possessing and switching hosts was how the Blue Blood Demons intended to achieve immortality in BattleNet.
'Can this potent power in the modified seed really make it possible to switch hosts eternally?'
As Seong Jihan contemplated the life seed, the voice of the tentacles softened even more.
[Come on now, will you not hand over the sacred item? Your flesh... it's insufficient for your talent. If you were a dragon-kind... Or a giant-kind... You'd have already conquered BattleNet and become the 'Fifth Administrator'! Fine, I will help you on that path! So...!]
The tentacle babbled, trying earnestly to sway Seong Jihan.
But...
[That's enough. Your kind has failed.]
Flash.
A light twinkled in the sky, and an elf wearing a white half-mask landed atop the tentacle.
[Begone.]
A slight tap.
With a simple kick from the elf, the tentacle was sucked into the ground and vanished entirely, unlike its previous tenacious survival of Artemus's blast.
['The Blue Blood Demons have been annihilated.']
The system message indicated the extinction of a race.
'Was that tentacle the last of the Blue Blood Demons?'
The being, which sought eternal life by possessing other beings and switching bodies in BattleNet, met an exceedingly dismal end.
It disappeared with just one kick from the elf.
Seong Jihan briefly observed the ground before quickly withdrawing his hand.
In that instant,
"Ah..."
A wooden sword grazed the spot where his hand had been, emanating light.
"That was close."
As Seong Jihan dodged the sword attack, the masked elf appeared taken aback by the miss.
[You're a talented kid. Hand over the seed. Then I might spare you.]
Seong Jihan responded to the elf's presumptuous demand by casually raising his middle finger.
[You're offering it?]
"No. I'm saying get lost, understand?"
[Ha!]
Flash!
As the elf's wooden sword sparkled with light again,
Ssssh...
A gigantic skull appeared in front of Seong Jihan.
"Crazy old elf. We agreed not to intervene with the bosses, so why are you messing with our leader?"
[You... Became a star constellation and still acting snobby? Out of my way. Now.]
[Can't do. This friend here is going to be my leader.]
Karlein, who did not intervene in Seong Jihan's previous crises, showed himself this time, perhaps treating the situation with the masked elf differently.
Then...
Ssssh...
Darkness descended from the sky, and ranks of the undead began to appear one by one.
The elf, clicking his tongue, glared at Seong Jihan with scorn.
[I promise you this. If you hand it over to BattleNet, I will go to your world and personally take your head.]
Flash!
With those words, the masked elf disappeared.
Seong Jihan watched him vanish and thought,
'That makes me even more eager to hand it over.'
The epic quest reward was alluring, and doing anything the elves disliked brought Seong Jihan joy.
[The game will soon conclude.]
As Seong Jihan saw the end message appearing, he resolved to return the seed, having consumed all its force immediately after the game's conclusion.
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