Chapter 101
“Ugh… mm.”
Even while groaning from his wounds, Judgment Spear was in trance.
I simply watched over him while—
[‘Bone Seven’ uses the skill, ‘Intermediate Healing’ (Lv.1).]
—silently continuing the healing.
“Mm…”
Judgment Spear’s lips twitched.
“Aah… so that was it? Truly remarkable. The realm of spear technique is subtle and endlessly fascinating.”
He muttered, shaking his head, then nodded to himself again.
‘So this is how a continent-acknowledged genius thinks?’
With only a few casual hints from Sunny, he was already reconstructing something entirely new and grasping enlightenment.
As someone below even “average,” I honestly couldn’t understand it.
‘Yeah.’
No matter how I looked at it, the answer was necromancy.
If you can’t be a genius yourself—
You just raise one to serve under you.
Much easier.
Much stronger.
“……”
About an hour later—
The spear master sitting cross-legged finally opened his eyes.
Then he rose and gave me a respectful fist-clasp salute.
“You called yourself Skeleton King, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Truly… thank you. Because of you, I gained the clue to break a wall that blocked me. My mind feels clear for the first time in a long while.”
A surprisingly proper greeting.
Judgment Spear bowed even deeper.
“You may not understand just how invaluable this is to a martial artist. I am now indebted to you. Should the day ever come when you require my aid…”
His voice settled into the empty clearing.
“I promise to help you with all my strength. I swear it upon the name of my teacher, the Spear King.”
He lifted his head and looked straight into my eyes.
“However, this promise stands only so long as you do not violate my principles. Surely you can accept that much?”
“Your principles being…?”
“If you were a murderer who kills without reason, even if you were my benefactor, I would judge you with my own hands.”
Reasonable.
Everyone has their own line.
I have mine — “Give back exactly what was given.”
He has his — absolute judgment.
Strangely enough, I respected him for it.
Maybe one day, when this trial ends, we could even be friends.
“Mm.”
I nodded.
“Sure. It’s not like I go around killing people for fun.”
“Indeed! Yes! Somehow that suddenly seems obvious. A man like you could never be evil.”
“…Just now you were calling me dangerous.”
He shook his head quickly.
“If you had evil intent, you could have killed me easily while I was engrossed in enlightenment. And you would have gained a massive amount of ‘trial points’ as well.”
“…Uh.”
To be honest, I didn’t think it would have been that massive…
“But yes, you’re right.”
He nodded decisively.
“Forgive me for the misunderstanding. You are unlike ordinary people. A man without greed. A man who needs no judgment. There is no reason for me to follow or watch you any longer.”
“Ha… ha…?”
What the hell.
I didn’t say anything, but he was doing the talking — and the forgiving — all by himself.
I scratched the back of my head, a little embarrassed.
“Anyway, thanks for clearing that up. And since I won our wager, I guess I’ll be going now—”
Just as I was about to leave—
“Wait.”
He called me again.
“…What now?”
“How old are you? Judging by appearance, you haven’t passed your mid-twenties yet.”
“Mm… good guess. It’s been about three and a half years since awakening. I’m 23 now.”
“Twenty-three…?”
His eyes widened slightly.
Why?
Was 23 such a strange age?
“What? Do I look too young?”
“It’s not that. It means you’re the same age as me.”
“……”
…Huh?
I blinked at him.
And then asked:
“…I’m sorry, what?”
My eyes were twice as wide as his.
This was honestly more shocking than finding out he was the Spear King’s disciple.
What kind of twenty-three-year-old talks like a seventy-year-old uncle?
“My, my… what an interesting twist of fate!”
His eyes sparkled.
“They say even brushing sleeves creates a bond. Yet here we are — same age, same era, chosen by the same number of Rankers, fighting in the same place, exchanging spear techniques and enlightenment! If this is not ‘fate,’ then the word should not exist!”
“Aha… yes… that’s… very poetic, I guess.”
Why was he suddenly like this?
At first he was all cold, stoic, urban-warrior vibes.
Now he was talking like an excitable youth.
“And to think we’re the same age! That makes this fate… destiny! Ahh, there is no helping it. We are destined to become close.”
“Haha… Sure. Getting along sounds good. After the trial is—”
“By the way, you’re from Korea? What guild? I belong to the Hermit’s Society founded by my master. If you are unaffiliated—”
“Oh, I’m with Dmir Workshop.”
Before he could even extend an invitation, I shut it down fast.
‘Jin-Ah already said it.’
She wanted to grow the workshop into a major guild.
It wasn’t guaranteed, but—
I made a promise.
And even Ki Soyul abandoned her family guild.
“Dmir Workshop? Never heard of it.”
“It hasn’t spread to your country yet… but give it time. You’ll hear the name a lot.”
“Hahaha! If you say so, I’ll believe it. Well then, you seem eager to leave.”
“……”
Oh?
So he *was* paying attention.
Thud.
He held out his left hand.
“Let us shake hands before parting. May we meet again under a better fate.”
How could I refuse?
Grip.
I clasped his hand firmly.
“Sure. See you again.”
Thus—
I gained a Chinese connection.
—
My poisonous journey continued.
A lonely journey.
A toxic journey.
I ate so much poison the once-blue sky now looked green.
So much that I couldn’t tell whether the burning in my throat was stomach acid or venom.
So much that the phrase “sick of it” became painfully real.
One day passed, then two.
Then three, then four.
And before I knew it, time flew by.
If the intel was right—
‘Toxin Mist’ should emerge tomorrow or the day after.
“Boy.”
The old man hovered in the air, staring at me.
“At this point, even second-grade deadly poisons don’t affect you anymore, do they?”
“Yeah. Honestly, most poisons now feel like regular meals. Some of them even taste good.”
“…Madman.”
“Hey, you taught me all this, remember?”
“It will be soon. The day you reach the Thousand-Poison-Immunity Body.”
“……”
It was true.
Even without the system window—
My body knew it.
Is this how a caterpillar feels when it knows it’s about to molt?
Like the pump you feel when working out—
Except I was poison-pumped.
“The rate you’ve grown is unbelievable. Even in another world… not even a month, and you reach Thousand-Poison Immunity.”
“Mhm…”
I closed my eyes.
“But I’m still worried. Will it be enough to face Toxin Mist?”
“Toxin Mist, eh?”
“Yes.”
“Until I see it, I cannot say. But if it is simply a mass of all existing poisons, then only the first-grade ones matter.”
Makes sense.
Second-grade poisons barely registered anymore.
“But if there are hundreds or thousands of first-grade poisons… all at once… that won’t be funny.”
“Then move quickly. First-grade poisons are rare. Eat as many as you can, as fast as you can. Build the resistance.”
“Got it. I’ll keep moving.”
Following the old man’s advice—
I didn’t stop.
Not even for a moment.
And sometime the next day—
[Skill ‘Hundred-Poison Immunity’ (B-grade) evolves.]
[You have acquired ‘Thousand-Poison Immunity’ (A-grade).]
[This skill has room for further growth.]
I finally achieved Thousand-Poison Immunity.
—
Delilah’s hologram chamber, central room.
“Hmm.”
A man with crimson eyes and a sword on his waist— the Red-Eyed Swordmaster Luka— rubbed his chin.
“Lady Delilah.”
“Yes?”
“This Joo Donghoon fellow.”
Luka had been paying attention to me ever since I discovered the Thunderstrike Floa.
The one who achieved the highest ‘trial point’ score of all time.
How could he not be curious?
“He definitely bought both information tickets from Floa… so why hasn’t he left the central region? Anyone normal would run far away. Unless…”
“Yes.”
Delilah nodded.
Her expression darkened.
“It looks like he intends to face Toxin Mist head-on. Foolishly…”
“To face Toxin Mist…!”
So that was it.
“Just like that kid Jang Daewoong once did.”
“Jang Daewoong… you mean the Korean berserker?”
Luka hadn’t been a judge at the time, so his knowledge was limited.
“Well, he didn’t fight it directly, but he had to be dragged away in the end.”
“I see…”
Luka shook his head.
To earn the title “berserker,” did one need a brain wired differently?
“Lady Delilah.”
He swallowed nervously.
“Yes?”
“In all your years… has anyone ever suppressed or destroyed Toxin Mist?”
“No.”
Her answer was immediate.
“Toxin Mist isn’t something meant to be defeated. It’s the condensed waste venom of entire worlds. It is not prey. It is something one must absolutely avoid.”
“Then… Joo Donghoon will…?”
“Recklessness leads only to death.”
“You believe he’ll die?”
“If he tries to handle Toxin Mist alone.”
“…I see.”
Luka exhaled regretfully.
If Delilah said so, it was so.
Even the Sage of Oxford, Rank 4, recognized her wisdom.
But even so—
Something inside Luka stirred.
Something about Joo Donghoon’s path so far—
Something that made one feel inexplicably excited.
“But… what if.”
Luka asked again.
“What if Joo Donghoon really does defeat Toxin Mist?”
“……”
Delilah could not predict the rewards of her own dungeon.
Only that they followed logic, difficulty, and contribution.
“It might yield an enormous reward, right? Something worthy of a feat you yourself called impossible?”
“…I do not know.”
But her once-dark expression—
Now held a glimmer of curiosity.
“But I admit… I’m looking forward to it.”