Chapter 17
Part 16
“So this is the lantern you were talking about.”
Mincheol examined it from different angles before handing it to Yugeon.
“Right. It absorbs evil energy.”
“What kind of evil energy? Poison?”
“No. More precisely, it absorbs Death Energy.”
“Death Energy... Does it absorb it and make it disappear?”
“If it were Mythic grade, probably.”
But this item was only Heroic grade.
Of course, Yugeon could use the Star-Forging Hammer to let it grow toward Mythic.
But doing that would destroy its original purpose.
“Let's go.”
Yugeon attached the lantern to his waist.
At this rate...
He really needed a spatial bag.
If he kept hanging items from his waist like this, he was going to look like a traveling merchant.
“Only one more item left.”
Yugeon and Mincheol turned away.
The remaining blue flames in the park lined up behind them.
Almost as though seeing them off.
Their final destination was the Hokkaido University Botanical Garden.
A giant glass dome located in the northern part of the city.
“Hyung, isn't it even colder here?”
The moment they entered the botanical garden, Mincheol began shivering.
Sapporo itself was cold.
But this place was on another level.
Every breath froze into tiny ice crystals.
“Of course. That thing is producing the cold.”
Yugeon pointed toward a small pond at the center of the garden.
The pond was completely frozen.
In the middle of it bloomed a single blue flower.
“That... is the lotus? It's beautiful, but I feel like I'd freeze to death if I got any closer.”
Mincheol took one step forward.
Crack.
The snow beneath his foot shattered like glass.
He immediately stopped.
The cold here was not ordinary temperature.
It was closer to a curse that froze mana itself.
“Take off your gas mask.”
“Excuse me?”
Mincheol was startled.
Still, he immediately removed it.
If hyung told him to do something, there had to be a reason.
“Huh?”
“How is it? No poison, right?”
“H-How...?”
“That flower surrounds itself in cold to purify the poison. It's a defense mechanism.”
“Ah... That's why there's no poison here. I didn't notice because I was wearing the gas mask. But how are we supposed to take it? It looks like touching it would freeze your hand solid.”
“Wait here. If you're careless, your entire body will freeze.”
Yugeon walked toward the pond alone.
Step.
Step.
The closer he got, the more white frost covered his eyebrows and hair.
A bone-chilling cold.
Even while generating heat with Inner Energy, the cold seeped deep into his bones.
Impressive. It hasn't even fully bloomed yet, but it's already this powerful.
Yugeon increased his Inner Energy.
Heat haze appeared around his body.
It pushed back the approaching cold.
It became a battle of power.
The flower rejected anyone who approached.
Yugeon intended to take it anyway.
Crack.
Yugeon walked across the frozen pond.
Eventually, he stood in front of the lotus.
Seen from close range...
It was even more beautiful.
The purification power coming from this single flower was suppressing all the poison in the botanical garden.
If he planted it at their base later...
No poison or curse would be able to invade the area.
It would become a perfect sanctuary.
“I'll move you somewhere warm.”
Yugeon reached out.
HISSSSS!
The instant his fingers touched the flower, his skin froze white.
The cold entered his blood vessels.
It tried to crawl toward his heart.
Yugeon did not stop.
He concentrated Inner Energy into his hand and forcibly suppressed the cold.
If he had even slightly less Inner Energy...
He would have become an ice statue on the spot.
Good thing I consumed the Five-Colored Poison Pearl first.
Thanks to that, poison could now be converted into Inner Energy.
That was why he could keep up with the lotus in this contest of power.
HUMMMMM!
BOOM!
The barrier of cold surrounding the lotus shattered.
Yugeon carefully removed the flower.
Its roots needed to remain intact.
Snap.
The moment it was pulled free...
The terrible cold filling the area vanished like a lie.
[Item: Sacred Flower of the Snowfield]
Grade: Heroic
Type: Installation Item
When planted in the ground, it absorbs harmful energy from the surrounding area and grows.
As it develops, both its purification range and purification speed increase.
Once fully bloomed, it continuously purifies poison and various forms of contamination within a 10-kilometer radius.
“Did the flower die?”
“No. It's only sleeping.”
Now he only needed to plant it in a suitable pot.
Then it would revive and begin purifying the surroundings again.
“We're done.”
The eye.
The hammer.
The lantern.
The lotus.
They had obtained everything they needed from Sapporo.
“Let's go. Time to head home.”
Yugeon and Mincheol turned away.
[Today's international news. Reports indicate that the 'Death Fog' hanging over Sapporo, Japan, has recently begun to weaken.]
[According to the Japanese Association, poison concentration in central Sapporo has decreased by more than twenty-five percent compared to several months ago. Scholars currently believe this may be part of a natural purification process, but the exact cause of the sudden change remains...]
“Huh? Hyung, look at that.”
Mincheol pointed toward the television while preparing food.
The screen showed an aerial view of Sapporo filmed from a helicopter.
Purple fog still remained.
But compared to the thick poison Yugeon and Mincheol had seen...
It had definitely become much lighter.
“They say the poison in Sapporo is decreasing. Natural purification? Can that stuff really disappear by itself?”
“Of course not.”
Yugeon calmly flipped meat on the grill.
The poison would not naturally disappear.
If anything, it would settle deeper into the ground and become even more concentrated over time.
“I ate it.”
“...What?”
“I drank a lot of it while we were walking around. My body basically worked like a filter.”
Mincheol stared at him.
It was true.
While they were in Sapporo, Yugeon had constantly absorbed the poison.
He had even called breathing a form of eating.
And because he kept circulating his cultivation method during combat...
It was basically like running a human air purifier twenty-four hours a day.
“Wow... Lowering the poison level of an entire city by yourself... Sometimes I wonder if you're really the same species as me.”
“I'll take that as a compliment. Eat your meat before it gets cold.”
Yugeon picked up a perfectly cooked piece of pork belly.
Fifteen days.
That much time had passed since they returned from Japan.
Many things had changed.
First, they had established a base in Yeongdeungpo.
It was close to the Tower.
Public safety was decent.
And it was isolated enough for Yugeon's future plans.
He bought an entire two-story house.
Mincheol's mother lived at his place, so they could not use that.
And Yugeon did not want to turn his old family home, filled with memories, into a base.
So he bought a new house.
Of course, I withdrew the money for it.
[Endless Golden Pouch]
Grade: Mythic
Type: Summoning Item
A money pouch without end.
A pouch that grants wealth to its owner.
[Item Effect]
A total of five times.
Can withdraw the maximum amount of money.
[Special Information]
Upgraded into a Growth-Type item using the Star-Forging Hammer.
Forcibly promoted to Mythic grade using the Flow-Piercing Needle.
Yugeon had already withdrawn one trillion won from the Endless Golden Pouch.
My physical condition is excellent too.
Strength: 28
Agility: 31
Stamina: 35
Feat: 3
Inner Energy: 312
Senses: 29
Technique: 24
Willpower: MAX
[Special Information]
Willpower MAX due to Empty Mind.
Thanks to absorbing a huge amount of poison in Sapporo...
His Inner Energy had skyrocketed.
He had also spent the last two weeks moving through every floor from Floor 1 to Floor 40, restoring his combat senses.
Mincheol had grown greatly too.
The two repeatedly cleared the lower floors together.
Their teamwork had improved to an extreme degree.
“Hyung, there's something I've been wondering.”
“Hmm?”
“Why are you still only in Sector 5?”
Mincheol had watched Yugeon this entire time.
He looked stronger than the Ten Great Stars.
Even they could not kill Baruoden or Drogas in one hit.
Yet Yugeon had killed those monsters with a single strike.
“There are... reasons.”
It was possible now because he had regressed.
Yugeon shrugged and avoided the subject.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
“Who's that? We aren't expecting anyone.”
Mincheol checked the intercom.
A man who looked like a beggar stood outside.
His hair was a complete mess.
His clothes were torn.
His face was covered in dirt.
“Who...?”
“Open the door.”
Mincheol tilted his head.
Yugeon stood as though he had been waiting for this moment.
Hwang Mungi had finally returned.
Click.
The front door opened.
The smell of dirt rushed inside.
Hwang Mungi practically crawled across the entrance and collapsed onto the floor.
“Water... Give me water...”
“You look terrible.”
Yugeon clicked his tongue.
He took a two-liter bottle of water from the refrigerator and tossed it over.
Hwang Mungi barely seemed capable of opening the lid.
But the instant he saw the water...
He drank desperately.
Gulp.
Gulp.
Gulp.
He emptied the entire two-liter bottle at once.
Then he released a long breath.
“Craaaah... I almost died.”
“Good work. You took longer than I expected.”
“Longer? Did you seriously just say I took too long? You demon bastard!”
Hwang Mungi shouted angrily.
