Chapter 39: Infinite Proliferation (1)
Chapter 39: Infinite Proliferation (1)
The sound of liquid gurgling down was followed by the completion of a life-saving blood donation... well, sort of.
"Haa. That was delicious."
With a satisfied look, Ellis wiped the blood droplets from her lips with a handkerchief.
On the other hand, Jinhyuk touched the two bite marks on his neck with a complicated expression.
Ouch.
My head is spinning.
How much blood did this girl drink, exactly?
"If you seriously can't pull your weight, I'll lock you up in that ring for a month."
"Don't worry. With this amount of mana, I could probably blast all the bugs underground to pieces."
"Always talking big."
Rolling his eyes, Jinhyuk immediately connected to the [Tower of Trials] community and uploaded a video he had just taken.
[The video has been uploaded.]
It was his first time posting, even though he had been featured in the Hall of Fame multiple times.
'I suppose I can't expect banner events or promotions since I'm a newbie BJ.'
But that doesn't matter.
If it's meant to be, it will be.
As long as the content is good, the video that's meant to trend will trend.
Once it catches on even a little bit, the views will naturally rise—that's the way this industry works.
'Okay, that's settled.'
Next up, it's time to do some shopping on the 'Coin Exchange.'
Jinhyuk's eyes moved rapidly.
There were several items he needed to buy to achieve his goals below.
[Giant Growth Pill(C): 11,500]
[Mysterious Cube(D): 2,500]
[Ability Enhancer(D): 5,000]
[Sticky Glue(F)×4: 400]
[Spider Web from the Caltooris Forest(F): 300]
[100mg of Twin-Head Ogre's Snot(F): 300]
Jinhyuk swiftly purchased the items.
There was no hesitation since he already knew what to buy.
"You bought a bunch of useless-looking stuff."
Ellis cocked her head, her face clearly questioning 'Why would you spend all those coins on such trash?'
To someone unaware, it must seem like a total waste of coins.
"Wait and see."
With a smirk, Jinhyuk walked toward the edge of the abyss.
"Going down?"
"Yeah, things are about to get busy from now on."
It's going to be a fruitful day. I have to reach the end of the underground first floor by tonight.
With that, Jinhyuk took a step forward.
***
Woosh!
The wind pummeled his entire body.
A fierce tempest that prevented even 'Fire Elementals' from being maintained. So, naturally, visibility had been non-existent for a while.
"Is there any plan? Why are you not saying anything? Answer me! You're... you're not thinking of suicide, are you?"
Ellis screamed while gripping Jinhyuk's shoulder.
As a true noble, she could crash onto Earth clinging to a meteor and still survive unscathed.
But human bodies couldn't do the same.
At best, they'd die from full-body fractures. At worst, nothing would remain of them—not even their shape.
'Gravity magic or flight spells are out of the question.'
How long can you keep pouring out mana with no insight as to when this will end?
Materializing in my original form might be another story, but with this body, it's impossible.
However, despite Ellis's insistence, Jinhyuk did not respond.
He just silently kept counting in his head.
'17 minutes 13 seconds... 17 minutes 20 seconds... 17 minutes 44 seconds.'
Like a precise clock, moving the second hand in his mind.
Then, finally.
"Now!"
Jinhyuk yelled out at the exact moment.
[Ellis has activated Lv?? 'Reverse Gravity'!]
Suddenly, Jinhyuk went against gravity.
The gravity magic had triggered just about 1 meter above the ground.
Even a moment's delay would have spelled disaster.
"That's enough. We can jump down from here, no need for magic now."
"Huh? Oh—"
Ellis waved her hand, and gravity reverted, bringing Jinhyuk safely back to solid ground.
'I need to brighten up my field of vision first.'
The area was darker than dark, not a ray of light to be found.
Fwshhh!
[Lv4 'Fire Elemental' has been activated.]
Four fire orbs illuminated every direction.
It was a place of dank soil and sheer cliffs.
This was indeed the deepest part of the Tower of Trials.
But then.
"What are you doing?"
Ellis, who should have been sitting on his shoulder, was flapping her wings in mid-air, with a confused expression to boot.
"Stop hiding and tell me straight. How did you know exactly where the floor was?"
"You've been bothered by that?"
"Well, yes... it doesn't make any sense! How could you possibly know the right timing?"
"It's intuition."
"Huh?"
"I took a lucky guess."
Well, more accurately, he had remembered it.
It was probably back when he was tired of the Tower of Trials and seeking new thrills—he did crazy stuff.
Jumping from the top of a 3km high mountaintop into an avalanche then sledding down;
Sneaking into a dragon's lair while it slept, hanging a bell on its neck, and getting out;
Surviving inside the belly of a one-horned whale for a week;
And so on. Extreme activities that sparked adrenaline rushes.
Naturally, free-diving here was among those.
It wasn't long before his body remembered the depth of this ravine involuntarily.
"Seriously. No more talk of intuition or guesses. Tell me properly. Since we first met, it seems like you're hiding a lot. Partners shouldn't act this way!"
"I'll tell you later, after seeing how you handle this."
Ellis pestered him for answers, but Jinhyuk waved her off, looking annoyed.
At that moment...
"..."
"!"
Both froze at once.
Suddenly.
"Grrrr!"
"Gurrrrrk!"
The mud heaved and shifted as something began to move inside.
The creatures resting in the moist filth had sensed intruders in their domain.
Prey to be captured and devoured.
Shrnnk.
Jinhyuk drew his dagger.
'Giant worms...'
With their massive 5m bodies appropriate for their size class, they were quite imposing.
It went without saying, with their skin so thick, attacks hardly left a mark.
Especially from a small dagger.
In that case...
[Activating unique ability 'Grave of Swords'!]
Fwsssh!
A blue gleam ran along the blade.
The cutting wave that could sever anything, made all their fat layers irrelevant.
"Bind them in the order they come."
"Got it."
He and Ellis had synced up hundreds of times by now; even blindfolded, he knew exactly how she migrated through the space and invaded it.
Boom!
Jinhyuk sprinted forward, his feet pounding the ground.
"Roooaarrr!"
"Grrrr!"
The worms' mouths gaped wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth dripping with saliva.
But right before they snapped up their meal...
Their movements came to an abrupt halt.
Tiny red lines—thousands of strands—were visible, connecting to drops of blood.
Ellis's binding magic had taken effect.
Jinhyuk sped up even more, weaving between dozens of worms as he swung his dagger left and right.
Squish! Crunch!
The satisfying weight of the knife cut through as it sliced vertically through a 1m thick body.
With their movement restrained, the worms were nothing more than oversized targets.
What followed was a one-sided massacre.
Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!
While concussed pieces of flesh filled the pit.
It was halfway through the carnage when...
"Kraaaa!"
"Kuooh!"
The worms began to go berserk.
Despite being tied up in thin threads, they twisted their bodies as if it didn't matter.
'Quite a sight, self-harm isn't usually their strategy.'
It was useless to thrash about, impossible to free themselves.
But even as the worms gnawed at their own flesh, Jinhyuk could only offer a wry smile.
Bang!
That was when a tremendous noise erupted from a cliff.
Insects resembling scorpions and spiders emerged from the crevices.
"Squeeeee!"
"Keeck!"
They were innumerable.
Moreover, among them were winged varieties, filling the air quickly.
"Wow. Think you can handle all these by yourself?"
Ellis's eyes widened like those of a shocked rabbit.
But...
"You call that a question?"
Jinhyuk shrugged and pushed mana into his dagger.
Fzzzzzt...
The blue sword aura turned black.
Shortly thereafter, the solidified energy took on a form.
A dark moon, the Black Moonlit Night.
'The jewel of a raid is always an AOE skill.'
Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!
The mightiest skill, which had once destroyed a meteor in one blow, devoured the enemies.
***
As visions faded to black, the insects couldn't even twitch their antennae facing the oncoming doom.
In the darkness below, they were always the apex predators.
Other species were nothing more than food when hunger struck.
But for the first and the last time... they realized.
Their once deadly fangs, claws, and even their overwhelming numbers meant nothing before this human.
Where the storm had raged.
Ssssshh!
The superheated ground released steam as heat rose.
No living thing remained.
Annihilation.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
Having wiped out so many monsters, he had gained two levels.
Throb!
After using a major skill, his muscles ached all over, and his veins felt like they were burning.
But...
'It's definitely improved.'
His current mana was 41.
The effects of the 'Frozen Tears' he absorbed were palpable throughout his body.
With this much mana, he could use Black Moonlit Night up to three times.
Sigh...
Calm returned to his previously excited chest.
Jinhyuk spoke into the darkness.
"Why don't you show yourself now? Sending such low-level bugs to die... eventually you'll realize they're useless."
The spectacular performance had been meant to coax out the master of this underworld.
A solemn voice came at that moment.
"Hoh. You seem to know something about me."
Someone responded from within the darkness.
Zzzt, zzzt!
Merely hearing the voice brought pressure to his skin, an oppressive feeling similar to when he first faced Ellis.
'A worthy vessel that once contained a god's body.'
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart began to race.
Fighting mere trifles had become boring, but at last, he seemed likely to enjoy a real challenge.
"Answer me. Do you know of me?"
The power laced in the voice deepened.
"Of course, I know. Can't help but hear about the hunting hound that roams the desert."
The Hunting Hound of the Desert, that's how one disparagingly referred to the Egyptian god, Anubis.
"I was going to have a short chat before killing you since you're new here, but it seems you're hastening your own death."
"I'm not interested in chit-chat, just come at me. The nest won't perform its function unless you show yourself, right?"
The special item that could infinitely proliferate bugs, the 'Hive.'
This was why the first floor was considered the best hunting ground.
"Astonishing. To think you even knew about that."
"Plus, there's a lot more that I know. If it's all the same, I'd prefer you stopped hiding behind bugs and faced me."
"Ha ha ha! You're suggesting that I should confront the likes of you in person?"
The belly laugh that broke out seemed to find the notion preposterous.
Of course, this was the expected reaction.
To Anubis, I'm no more than a minor annoyance at this stage.
To replicate his abilities, I'd have to provoke him further.
[Judgement of Anubis]
Description: Anubis asks three questions, and if the target responds to all three, a 'curse' is triggered. The cursed individual's stats are reduced by 50%, and their unique abilities and skills are sealed for 1 minute.
An almost unfair unique ability with absolute judgment.
And to acquire it...
[Replication Condition: Deplete Anubis's patience and destroy the vessel containing his consciousness.]
Even though this Anubis was not the complete being but just a statue containing part of his consciousness, exhausting a god's patience is almost impossible.
However, if by an extreme chance the condition is met...
'I will gain the power to ask the most powerful questions in this world.'