Chapter 14
Part 13
It felt completely different from an ordinary rubber gas mask.
The surface was rough and hard.
Where the filter should have been, there was something resembling a pouch of medicinal herbs.
“What is this? It doesn't look like a normal gas mask.”
“A special gas mask I made.”
Yugeon tapped the leather with his finger.
“Normal filters can't block the poison here. So I made one myself using Tower materials.”
“Can I ask what you used?”
“The outer layer is made from the hide of the Goblin King, the boss from Floor 10. Its hide has magical resistance, so the poison can't seep through it.”
“Ah! That boss with the golden mace. I remember it.”
Mincheol nodded.
He had defeated one before.
“Right. For the inner filter, I mixed activated charcoal made from burning Moss Monsters from Floor 3 with Purification Herb from Floor 11.”
Mincheol examined the mask with admiration.
Floor 3 Moss Monsters were famous for their powerful absorption ability.
Purification Herb from Floor 11 could neutralize toxins.
Yugeon had combined them to create a filter.
Then he sealed the entire thing with a boss monster's hide.
It was practically a perfect survival tool.
“Thank you!”
Mincheol immediately put on the mask.
The sharp toxic smell vanished.
Instead, a faint scent of grass filled his nose.
The tightness in his chest also disappeared.
Breathing became much easier.
As expected. There's really nothing hyung can't do.
Feeling relieved, Mincheol looked up.
Then his eyes widened.
“But hyung, why aren't you wearing one?”
Yugeon's face was completely uncovered.
No matter how strong someone was, poison gas was related to breathing.
Having tough skin did not mean someone's lungs were made of steel.
“Hyung! That's dangerous! Didn't you say the poison here even passes through protective suits?”
Mincheol shouted urgently.
Instead of answering...
Yugeon lifted his face toward the thick purple fog.
Then he inhaled deeply.
“Huuuuuuup.”
His chest expanded.
He filled his lungs completely with purple poison.
An ordinary person's lungs would have melted.
They would have died on the spot.
Mincheol watched nervously, expecting Yugeon to cough up blood.
“Haa.”
But Yugeon slowly exhaled.
Then he smiled.
There was not even the slightest sign of pain.
He looked refreshed.
As if he had just breathed pure forest air.
Ding!
[Accumulated growth has been reflected in your stats.]
Inner Energy +1
Inner Energy +1
Inner Energy +1
...
“Don't worry. This isn't poison to me anymore. It's basically medicine.”
“Excuse me...?”
Yugeon took another breath.
“The air is nice. Refreshing.”
“...”
Mincheol stared at him with his mouth open.
He had just inhaled deadly poison and called the air refreshing.
Yugeon's skin even seemed to glow faintly.
Every time he absorbed the toxins around him, his body appeared more energetic.
Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons.
His body had become something monstrous that could use poison as an energy source.
That meant he could walk through the ruined city without worry.
“Let's go.”
Step.
Step.
Yugeon walked through the snow.
Everywhere his feet touched...
Poison hidden inside the snow rose like heat haze and flowed into his body.
It almost looked like a living air purifier walking through the city.
Mincheol tightened his grip on his Bastion Shield and followed.
Thirty minutes after entering the city...
The ruined streets of Sapporo were completely silent.
Traffic lights had been bent like candy.
Every shop window was shattered.
Half-destroyed cars lay buried beneath the snow like white graves.
Only the occasional rolling can and creaking rusted sign disturbed the silence.
“Brr... It's cold.”
Mincheol trembled.
The gas mask protected him from poison.
It could not stop the murderous cold seeping into his bones.
He was wearing several layers of clothing.
The cold still reached him.
Yugeon wore much thinner clothes.
He did not seem cold at all.
By circulating his Inner Energy while absorbing the poison, heat continuously rose from within his dantian.
“Bear with it a little longer. Once we start moving, you'll warm up.”
“Excuse me? What do you...”
Yugeon stopped.
His gaze turned toward a dark alley across the intersection.
The sun was beginning to set.
The entire city was becoming darker.
Flash.
Flash.
Blue lights appeared inside the alley.
At first, there were only two.
Then more appeared.
Soon...
There were dozens.
Low growls echoed from every direction.
Mincheol immediately raised his shield and lowered his stance.
“Hyung, something's there.”
The creatures slowly emerged from the darkness.
White fur covered in snow.
Enormous fangs extending from their mouths.
Purple saliva dripping from their jaws.
“Grrrrrr...”
Snow Wolves.
Twice as large as normal wolves.
They had been corrupted by poison.
Creatures that survived even in this deadly environment.
There looked to be around one hundred.
“ROOOOAR!”
The Alpha Wolf howled.
