Chapter 24
Elixir.
A sacred and efficacious aura, or a remedy known for its miraculous effects.
Its medicinal power is so potent it can raise the ‘limits’ of a human, thus it’s a fundamental rule to ingest only one type at a time.
If different auras mix before being fully absorbed, contamination may occur. Also, an overly intense aura spreading through the body often led to becoming a cripple.
Even then, only a minuscule dose was recommended.
Excessive intake of even a single type of elixir could rupture one’s energy channels and result in death.
‘Excess is as bad as deficiency.’
This idiom suited ‘elixirs’ best.
However, Park Chan-woo was different.
‘The fact that it’s converted into a buff effect means it’s recognized as volatile.’
Perhaps it was because his body couldn’t properly receive the elixir’s effects.
Due to the status ailment [Weakest], all of his base stats were fixed at 1, so the elixir effects converted into [buff effects] that lasted only 100 hours.
Buffs had no side effects even when stacked in the dozens.
They were volatile anyway and would disappear over time.
Of course, if the buffs were polar opposites or canceled each other out, they couldn’t be stacked.
But even that didn’t apply to Park Chan-woo.
‘Thanks to [Void], I don’t suffer penalties even if attributes are in conflict.’
The effect of [Void (Eternal)], an impulse buy from the nightclub.
It nullified the side effects of conflicting attributes.
This effect wasn’t limited to magic alone.
It also neutralized the conflicting auras found in elixirs.
Thanks to this, Park Chan-woo could ingest any elixir he came across without hesitation.
After consuming more than 20 types of elixirs, his [Attack Power] and [Defense] exceeded 1,000.
‘…Unbelievable.’
He let out a hollow laugh.
His current situation was far beyond the realm of comprehension.
If it were someone else’s story, even Park Chan-woo himself wouldn’t have believed it.
He might’ve scoffed at them to make their lies at least a little more believable.
And rightly so—[Attack Power] and [Defense] exceeding 1,000 were values only achievable by surpassing at least Level 30.
Even then, only with all sorts of high-grade equipment.
Yet Park Chan-woo’s level was –95.
It was something utterly impossible by any conventional logic, but perhaps it was because Park Chan-woo himself had always existed in the realm of the ‘impossible.’
It felt like multiplying two negatives and ending up with a positive.
‘Thank you, Yoo Han-seop.’
He sincerely expressed his gratitude to Yoo Han-seop.
The map Yoo Han-seop had revealed.
All those marked elixirs.
Park Chan-woo was collecting them all one by one, roaming the Invasion Abyss as if it were his own home.
‘Still… constitution change, huh.’
The saying that the effects of multiple elixirs mixing together had altered his constitution.
Along with the title [Elixir Addict], his entire physique had begun to change.
What exactly had changed?
Just as his thoughts reached that point, almost as if waiting—
“Urgh.”
Park Chan-woo let out a low groan, clutching his chest.
A burning heat surged through his body.
It felt like the effects of countless elixirs were mixing inside him.
A body already frail to begin with.
Due to the status ailments [Feeble] and [Frail], he was constantly low on energy and highly susceptible to disease and curses.
Meaning, he reacted intensely to even minor changes.
As the heat suddenly spiked, the world spun around him and sweat poured like a waterfall.
“Guh…!”
Park Chan-woo hastily covered his mouth and nose.
His instincts told him the elixir’s aura was about to overflow.
As a result, the aura trapped inside raised his body temperature even more.
Each individual cell screamed in agony.
Part of him wanted to scream along with them.
‘Endure it, Park Chan-woo.’
With superhuman endurance, he held on and held on.
[Constitution]. The complete reworking of one’s body composition.
It would be a lie to say it wasn’t painful.
If he allowed the elixir’s effects to escape here, he knew from experience that he’d be left with nothing to show for it.
Each time he surpassed a level limit, he experienced a similar revelation.
For humanity, ‘limit levels’ appeared every 10 levels, and one had to break through them to advance to the next tier.
The higher the tier, the harder the trial, and the greater the pain.
If you couldn’t endure it, you couldn’t overcome it.
Compared to the overwhelming pressure he’d felt when pushing past Level 90, this pain was nothing.
The average person would’ve fainted a hundred times over.
‘I’m used to this.’
To him, it was familiar.
Not simply because he’d gone through many level breakthroughs.
To survive, he had endured every form of agony imaginable.
Even when captured by the [Human Hunter] and subjected to torture—scalding molten metal, nails torn out with salt rubbed in—Park Chan-woo never once gave up on himself.
Even when his flesh was peeled for 30 hours by the demon known as the [Butcher], or when he was bound by the [Illusion Fairy] and tormented by horrifying hallucinations for 30 days—
Park Chan-woo endured it all.
So mere pain like this?
Even if his body had grown weak, for someone who returned from a nightmarish future, failing to endure this was absurd.
Soon, his expression relaxed.
Before long, a sense of composure filled his eyes.
Once his energy settled, another message floated into view.
[Constitution Enhancement has been successfully completed!]
[[Immune to a Hundred Poisons].]
[You cannot be poisoned or invaded by most toxins.]
Ahhh…!
A smile bloomed on Park Chan-woo’s lips.
It seemed the countless elixirs had spread through his body like toxins.
Their incredibly potent effects might as well have been poisons.
By adapting to all those auras, he had attained [Immune to a Hundred Poisons].
Had he let the aura escape through his mouth or nose, he’d have only gained [Immune to Ten Poisons] or a minor poison resistance at best.
‘In the Abyss, any resistance to poison is invaluable. Let alone [Immune to a Hundred Poisons].’
It wasn’t just resistance—it was full immunity built into his very constitution.
A normal [Poison Resistance] would only provide immunity against toxins matching its rating, but a changed constitution meant he could now withstand even highly lethal toxins to some extent.
That difference was nothing to scoff at.
At the very least, he would no longer suffer a sudden and meaningless death from poison.
Soon, Incarnations that specialize in poison would begin to appear.
Entire regions of the Abyss filled with poison, or monsters harboring deadly toxins capable of killing in seconds, would start showing up.
Other elemental resistances were important too, but poison resistance was arguably essential.
‘I’ve gained something truly rare.’
Rare didn’t even begin to describe it. At this stage, it was something impossible to obtain.
Not mere poison resistance, but [Immune to a Hundred Poisons]—something only a select few had ever achieved.
Of course, one might naturally acquire similar abilities after reaching around Level 80, but even that was no easy feat.
‘If I consume more elixirs, could I reach [Immune to Thousand Poisons] or even [Immune to Ten Thousand Poisons]?’
A desire arose naturally.
After consuming twenty types of elixirs, he reached [Immune to a Hundred Poisons].
On the map Yoo Han-seop had revealed, more than 50 elixirs were marked.
If he consumed them all, wouldn’t it be possible to reach [Immune to Thousand Poisons] or even [Immune to Ten Thousand Poisons]?
Especially [Immune to Ten Thousand Poisons]—a state where poison no longer worked at all.
No matter how powerful the toxin, it would be useless before [Immune to Ten Thousand Poisons].
And as far as Park Chan-woo knew, there was only one person who had ever reached that level.
‘[Immune to Ten Thousand Poisons], [Impervious to Water and Fire], [Diamond Body]… that bastard had all three.’
Even possessing just one of those would make someone the strongest, yet he had all three.
That bastard—the first to ever reach Level 99.
Just thinking of him filled Park Chan-woo with disgust so intense he didn’t even want to say his name.
He shook his head.
At least for now, Park Chan-woo was ahead of that bastard.
Even if it was limited to 100 hours, he held overwhelming [Attack Power] and [Defense].
Part of him wanted to wipe out all the Incarnations here, including that bastard.
‘Killing the Water God comes first.’
Otherwise, his [Nonexistent] status would become meaningless.
If the Creators and the Water God noticed, everything would fall apart.
Killing the Water God and earning 5,000 points for the Republic of Korea came first.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Park Chan-woo exited the cave.
Until he consumed every last elixir, he had no intention of resting for even a second.
More than anything—
‘The elixir that bastard was after… it’s likely in the poison mist swamp.’
Back then, that bastard had definitely obtained an elixir here.
He’d entered the area in search of an elixir and interfered with others to prevent the Invasion Abyss from being cleared.
That bastard had spent quite a while posing as a ‘Savior,’ so his life story was relatively well-known.
Even at that time, there were reports of him leading people and “creating miracles in the poison mist swamp.”
That location wasn’t far from here.
And based on the map, the most difficult-to-obtain elixir was located in that very poison mist swamp.
—
‘I am the strongest.’
Yoo Han-seop was powerful.
It wasn’t just that he had the talent to form the Dawn Fellowship and lead others.
He could suppress emotions, was cruel and ruthless, and held no fear of blood.
Perhaps thanks to that nature, he had been chosen by a powerful Creator, becoming an Incarnation and receiving all kinds of blessings.
He had talent.
He was greedy, and he never slacked in his efforts.
A perfectly complete genius.
He far exceeded the expected survival rate in the Abyss, and in the “First Night of the Abyss,” he fought against the Twelve Species and ranked 10th in contribution.
‘Even other Incarnations are no match for me.’
Fwoosh!
Yoo Han-seop smiled as he looked down at the burning corpse.
That made three.
The number of Incarnations he had killed.
Even Incarnations raised with the full support of their Creators were no match for Yoo Han-seop.
But Incarnations were supposed to be the leaders of humanity. Beings that stood above humans.
They weren’t weak—Yoo Han-seop was simply that strong.
Unlike ordinary humans, Incarnations left behind scorched, blackened corpses when they died, making them easy to identify.
[Your contracted Creator is deeply satisfied and presents you with a ‘Gold Box.’]
And each time a body burned, the Creator expressed delight and gifted a [Gold Box].
They were thieves who had stolen what he had arranged.
Yoo Han-seop’s punishment was their price.
He opened every gift the moment he received them.
[Opening ‘Gold Box.’]
[You have acquired ‘Magic-Infused Earrings (7Lv, Rare).’]
[Opening ‘Gold Box.’]
[You have acquired ‘Amber Knee Guards (7Lv, Unique).’]
[Opening ‘Gold Box.’]
[You have acquired ‘Shoulder Pads of the Wild (7Lv, Rare).’]
‘…Unique. Not bad.’
One of the three items was [Unique] grade.
Not just “not bad”—this was excellent.
Among the rewards from a standard [Gold Box], this was a very good result.
Currently, the highest-grade item in Yoo Han-seop’s possession was the [Silver Knight’s Sword (Epic)], which he acquired from a [Gold Box (★)] during the “First Night of the Abyss.”
[Normal], [Rare], [Unique], [Epic]. No grades higher than these had been discovered so far.
As far as he knew, [Epic] was the highest grade humanity had reached at this stage.
Yoo Han-seop looked over the newly acquired equipment with trembling eyes.
Name: Amber Knee Guards
Level: 7
Grade: [Unique]
Description: Knee guards inlaid with amber.
Equip Slot: Knee Guard
Defense: 23
Durability: 2,000
Exclusive Option:
(1) [Stamina] +2
‘Ohh. An exclusive option!!’
Yoo Han-seop clenched his fist and smiled.
Starting from [Unique] grade, items came with [exclusive options].
They usually increased stats or granted special functions to the user.
At a stage where even 1 point in a stat made a difference—
Getting a boost of 2 [Stamina] was a tremendous blessing.
“Thank you, my god! I shall punish the thieves with even greater zeal and dedication.”
Yoo Han-seop bowed deeply toward his Creator in gratitude.
He was now fully equipped to double down on hunting Incarnations.
Wearing the Amber Knee Guards and the rest of his new equipment, Yoo Han-seop unfolded the map and set out toward the next marked location of a planned “arrangement.
Although the [arrangement] had already been stolen, any Incarnation unaware of that fact would still come seeking it.
And before long—
‘He’s here.’
As expected, someone arrived.
Coming to this location almost certainly meant they were an Incarnation.
However, Yoo Han-seop furrowed his brow the moment he saw who it was.
‘…That guy?’
The man who had slain the [Dragon God General] in a single strike during the “First Night of the Abyss.”
…Lee Hyuk-soo had arrived.
