Chapter 56
Ssssssss.
The moment he plunged into the oasis, a sharp pain tore across his face.
The potent poison filling the oasis didn’t just melt the clothes Hyuk-min wore—it began melting his skin.
It felt like his entire body was being incinerated.
The worst pain he’d ever felt paralyzed Hyuk-min’s thoughts, which had been fixed on reaching the bottom, and he flailed within the oasis.
‘I can overcome this pain.’
His screams were brief.
‘Right now! I won’t die.’
Amid the agony, a sudden flash of clarity let Hyuk-min move.
His wildly thrashing arms and legs steadied, then pushed him toward the bottom of the oasis, which burned like open flame.
He hadn’t jumped in recklessly just because it was the only way to claim the reward.
Extreme pain? He’d expected that.
That his thoughts might shut down the moment he entered? He’d expected that too.
The fear of death?
The terror of the Hidden Room that fed on it?
The land of the dead?
What did any of that matter?
If No Death was connected to his Party, he would inherit the Revenant’s traits and never die.
Forcing his creaking body to move, he dove deeper and deeper beneath the surface.
Deeper. Deeper.
Enduring the pain, he plunged again and again toward the murky bottom of the oasis.
He could see his flesh melting away so badly that bone was already showing.
He didn’t care.
Even if he dissolved into a skeleton here, as long as he had the Revenant’s traits, he’d be fine.
‘Everything will proceed, exactly as I planned.’
From entering the Hidden Room to diving into the oasis.
He believed it was perfect—nothing had deviated from his predictions.
But Hyuk-min didn’t know.
Unless you were a god or the System, omniscience was not permitted to a created being.
Ding.
‘…..’
A single System message appeared amid the pain.
The message, flashing beside his rapidly draining HP bar, shattered the wall of his perfect predictions.
[Regeneration and healing are impossible in the Lake of Extreme Poison.]
[ The Party Skill – Partial Revenant, has been canceled.]
(T/N: Change from Party Skill – Armament “Lion” to Party Skill – Partial Revenant as it’s more accurate based from how the ability works.)
[You will die if your HP reaches 0.]
Just one thing.
A single deviation froze Hyuk-min’s entire body mid-dive.
At that moment, the impossibly murky bottom came into view.
A lone black box sat at its center.
The Hidden Room reward he’d been desperate for had finally appeared.
‘There’s no time to hesitate.’
After coming this far, there was no turning back.
Even hesitating would keep his HP dropping.
The distance to the reward was about the same as what he’d already descended.
He calculated as he moved.
‘It’s going to be close…’
His HP was already dropping below 50 percent.
He had to go just as far again—and if more than half his health was gone…
Was reaching for that reward any different from choosing to die?
Even so, to save time, his arms and legs kept moving on their own, separate from his thoughts.
‘Not “I can’t,” but “how!” Find a way! Bang Hyuk-min! Are you going to die like this?!’
Wasn’t there some way to slow the rate his HP was falling?
Then his eyes caught something—unlike his dwindling HP, his MP was still full.
‘Ah! MP!’
He didn’t stop to wonder if it would work.
He poured all his strength into wrapping a thin mana barrier around his entire body.
‘It’s working!’
His HP loss slowed dramatically.
He’d found a way.
Once he committed to using mana, ideas snapped into place one after another.
‘Skills! I have to use Skills!’
Haste.
[Canceled.]
Strength.
[Canceled.]
Flow.
[Canceled.]
[The curse of ‘Someone’ lingering in the Lake of Extreme Poison is obstructing your skill.]
Crackle.
[‘Someone’ tries to see you, but fails.]
[You cannot use buff-related Skills.]
His urgency spiked.
Even though his HP loss had slowed, his MP was draining at an absurd speed.
‘Can I open that box?’
‘Please….’
‘I didn’t think of this.’
‘It’s a variable. Is it possible?’
‘Will my MP hold out?’
‘No… I don’t think it will.’
‘I can’t die like this.’
‘Can my HP last?’
‘Can I do it…?’
‘Can I do it…..?’
….
‘Can I do it…?’
As he drew closer to the black box, countless thoughts flooded in.
Will it work? Will it not?
There was no turning back.
He knew that better than anyone.
So why wouldn’t the anxiety leave him?
Crack.
In the end, even the barrier vanished.
‘It hurts. It hurts so much.’
The pain returned, but his instinct to live at any cost was stronger, and he clenched his teeth.
The teeth he clamped down on shattered and dissolved in the extreme poison.
His HP began to fall even faster.
[Warning! Warning!]
[HP is below 20 percent.]
His vision started to dim.
He was close now—so close to the black box.
[Warning! Warning!]
[HP is below 10 percent.]
But the speed of his dwindling HP stole any certainty that he could make it.
[DANGER! DANGER!]
[5 percent HP remaining.]
‘I can’t go out like this…’
‘A chance I worked so hard to get…’
‘I can’t… I can’t go out like this….’
[3 percent HP remaining.]
‘I have to do it….’
‘I have to do it!’
‘I HAVE TO DO IT!!!’
And then, the moment his hand touched the black box as his vision blurred—
A brilliant light erupted, and a single System message appeared before his eyes.
[……]
Hyuk-min’s gaze changed.
The will that had pursued a near-impossible challenge shifted.
‘Nothing is impossible for me now. Just try and stop me!’
The last chance to undo all his regrets.
Hyuk-min’s past life—and his will—were nowhere near light enough to let it slip away.
A burning passion that transcended his crumbling body.
As a brilliant light burst from that unknown, overwhelming power, Hyuk-min clung tightly to the black box.
= = =
“Hah… Hah….”
Dozens of people lay collapsed all around.
And yet, not a single one was dead.
On top of a pool of blood whose metallic stench pricked the nose, only No Death and Hyun-jung stood upright, breathing heavily, facing the brightly lit Hidden Room.
“He’s a monster…”
“What the, why won’t he die? He should be dead by now, right?”
“I don’t know. He just won’t die. What the hell are those monsters…”
No matter how many rushed him.
No matter how many blades pierced his body.
No Death held his ground, taking every hit and striking back.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Most of the blood soaking the floor was No Death’s.
Even now, blood seeped from wounds that had already healed, dripping into the pool gathered at his feet.
A standoff.
Catching his breath, No Death wiped his dagger on his clothes.
Flinch.
Even that tiny, non-aggressive motion made the dozens of people facing him flinch.
Gulp.
Dry swallows echoed.
How could they not be afraid?
Anyone who had seen No Death in the chaos moments earlier couldn’t help reacting to his every movement.
Rip.
He untied the leather straps from his hand and dropped them.
The blood-soaked leather splashed into the pool.
No Death lifted his head.
His shoulders sagged with exhaustion, but his eyes had grown even sharper.
His gaze fixed on the one person who hadn’t flinched.
The woman who had led the near-panic crowd.
He glared at the platinum-blonde woman biting her lip.
“Hoo…”
He drew a deep breath.
He straightened his slumped torso and tensed his muscles.
Crack.
His bones popped back into place with a sickening sound.
Rrrrip. Thud.
He tore off his tattered shirt, shredded by countless wounds, and tossed it aside, revealing defined muscles without a single scar.
He turned to look behind him.
“You okay?”
Hyun-jung shook her head.
“I’m dying.”
Minor wounds marked her arms, legs, and side, but though she looked drained, her eyes and complexion were still lively.
Hyun-jung knew it was only because No Death had taken the lead.
“But I can still go on.”
“Then you’re fine. Shall we start again?”
Just as they prepared to finish what was left—
Crackle-crackle.
“What the!”
Black sparks spat from the Hidden Room behind them, shaking the inside of the Tower.
As the startled people stumbled back, something tumbled out of the Hidden Room.
“U-Uncle!”
Hyun-jung ran forward and embraced Hyuk-min.
Sssssssss.
Even from that hug, white smoke billowed from Hyun-jung’s clothes where they touched Hyuk-min.
Hyun-jung didn’t care.
Hyuk-min’s condition was too horrific.
Both hands and feet were gone.
Only half of his forearms and thighs remained.
His hair was gone, and the skin on his face had melted so badly it was hard to even recognize him as Hyuk-min.
“Uncle… Oh god, what do I do…”
Even so, Hyun-jung recognized him instantly.
She held him tighter, sharing the pain of the extreme poison through her tears.
“……”
Silence settled over the 70th floor, filled only by Hyun-jung’s sobs.
“Look over there.”
“Do you see that?”
“Did he clear it?”
No Death’s eyebrow twitched.
Amid the murmurs, he saw the black box clutched in Hyuk-min’s arms.
His eyes hardened.
Whether it was a clear or not, the lock was undone, and the slightly opened black box was visible to everyone.
On top of that, the Hidden Room had sealed shut in a brilliant flash of light.
The fear in the surrounding adventurers’ eyes began to shift.
The reward was right there.
Hyuk-min’s condition meant nothing to them.
Their gazes slid off the dying Hyuk-min and latched onto the Hidden Room’s reward.
“Interesting.”
Clang.
No Death tossed his dagger aside.
The clean metallic sound snapped the adventurers out of the greed that was about to swallow them.
Their eyes, fixed on Hyuk-min, turned to No Death.
Slowly. Slowly.
No Death walked toward Hyuk-min and Hyun-jung.
Then, under the intensified stares of everyone around, he drew a longsword from his Inventory.
It was the first time No Death—who had defeated everyone with only a dagger—had ever drawn a longsword.
An ornate, high-quality blade.
What if that monster’s true weapon wasn’t a dagger, but a longsword?
In an instant, suffocating pressure fell over the crowd, forcing them to gasp.
“Now then….”
He raised the blade high, then lowered it forward.
The blade halted in midair.
Then a cruel glint—one you only see in the eyes of someone who has killed—appeared.
“Don’t hesitate. Come at me.”
As black smoke that had long inspired fear billowed out, No Death’s murderous voice rang through the floor.
“This time… I’ll really kill you.”
The black smoke spread at once, becoming a wind that coiled around the greed-stained adventurers.
One, two, three.
People started to move.
Thud. Thud.
No Death’s words became the spark.
And as if a bomb had gone off, the dozens who had gathered for the Hidden Room began to run.