NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36
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[Gu Ma-jun (Human)] → [Gu Ma-jun (Chimera)]
It was different from the Rat Man’s way of merging. The Rat Man created a chimera by blending his crafted monsters with humans, but this time was entirely different.
‘Chimera.’
In genetics, a chimera refers to an organism that contains multiple different genetic traits within it. This time, it wasn’t about merging but was being transformed into a chimera by some substance.
‘It’s being swallowed.’
The original form was already gone, and it was gradually turning into something incomprehensible. The entity that once was Gu Ma-jun would soon be completely consumed.
“What the…”
Park Yo-han, wide-eyed, looked up at the creature as if he couldn’t believe it. Somehow, he had clasped his hands together in prayer… while backing away.
‘Running away is the right choice.’
Park Yo-han’s judgment was spot on. It wasn’t a matter of whether he could win or not; fighting something like that was utterly irrational and unreasonable.
‘At that state, there’s absolutely no way back.’
The line that should not be crossed had already been crossed.
The mass of flesh bulged endlessly, and then it slumped down like a puddle. Even if the Prodigal Son himself came, it couldn’t be reversed. This meant there was no longer a necessity for me to kill Gu Ma-jun.
‘…The Prodigal Sons will never know about my existence now.’
In that brief moment, the monstrous mass of flesh began to expand and consume everything around it. All living creatures in the vicinity screamed and fled.
[―(Chimera)]
[Height…] [Weight…]
[Strength…] [Agility…] [Endurance…] [Magic 0]
I let out a hollow laugh. I had never felt like my scouting was lacking before, but the current Gu Ma-jun, or rather that entity, was too difficult to read.
‘This is insane.’
Originally, the effects of the [Incomplete Product of Secondary Results] weren’t supposed to be this significant. To be precise, the rate of growth was abnormal.
‘Under normal circumstances, I could have dealt with it.’
The status displayed by the scouting was changing in real-time, like a rapidly spinning roulette. Especially the endurance was grotesque.
‘If I’m not seeing things incorrectly…’
Endurance exceeding 500. And yet, it just kept rising.
‘…This is not an opponent I can defeat right now.’
With E-class scouting, it was hard to even read this opponent. One might question whether such a state could be achieved just by consuming a drug—however, knowing its true nature would provide understanding.
‘Elixir.’
The ultimate substance of alchemy, the drug of immortality, the philosopher’s stone, divine blood; this legendary elixir had countless names. The Prodigal Sons were, for some reason, trying to create that very elixir.
‘The [Secondary Results] that manifested during that process.’
The [Heresy Prodigals] made numerous attempts to create the all-powerful elixir. They tried hundreds of known methods and failed with thousands of unknown ones.
However, they did not achieve nothing. Their obsession ultimately led to the creation of an imitation that was infinitely close to the elixir but was not an elixir—[Imitation Elixir].
Though named an imitation, its efficacy was miraculous. It could heal any wound and restore any state.
Thus, they reasoned.
‘If we could create a superior imitation elixir, might it become an elixir?’
But that was not the case.
The imitation elixir had fundamental flaws.
They couldn’t even make the imitation elixir. For some reason, only flawed “Incomplete Products” continued to emerge. That was the identity of the [Incomplete Product of Secondary Results] that Gu Ma-jun had ingested.
“Ughhh!”
As Park Yo-han fled, he was caught and pulled into the mass of flesh. Normally, he might have escaped, but he seemed exhausted and unable to dodge.
“Sa… save me!”
Watching him get swallowed, I pondered.
‘Should I save him? Or let him go?’
He was the opponent I’d just fought. There was no real reason to save him… or so I thought.
As I deliberated, the flesh mass surged again and ultimately consumed Park Yo-han completely.
‘…….’
Cancer is a symptom in which cells continuously divide.
And the [Incomplete Product of Secondary Results] did just the same, endlessly dividing cells to heal and regenerate. The difference was that, unlike cancer, it had no limits.
The fact that cells could divide infinitely meant they could grow infinitely.
‘If that were all, it wouldn’t be a problem.’
The real problem was the ‘evil’ contained within it.
An evil that sought to greedily devour everything. The moment I stepped on a tentacle, a message flashed.
[――has been consumed. Experience and satiety increased.]
If all it did was divide cells, it wouldn’t be called a chimera.
‘What’s mixed in with it?’
Centipedes. Carps. Sparrows. Cats. Goblins. Trolls… and humans too.
‘If it mixed traits of all species existing in this world, could it not be called a god?’
Starting from that idea and collecting the essence of all living things—both existent and nonexistent—was the identity of the imitation elixir.
Of course, the embedded essences bore grudges due to unjust deaths spurred by desire. The crystallization of that malice got mixed into the imitation elixir—[Incomplete Product of Secondary Results].
“Ughhh!”
In that moment, Park Yo-han’s hand briefly escaped. Without searching for a reason, he sprang into action. The tentacles of flesh blocked him with a disgusting and grotesque motion. The tentacles became whips, and I too extended my own tentacles.
[Tentacle Cluster (E) Lv.5 has reached maximum proficiency. Tentacle Cluster (E) Lv.5 -> Tentacle Cluster (E) Lv.6]
“Krurrr―”
The tentacles intertwined. Gaining elasticity, they leaped toward Park Yo-han.
‘……!’
Then, the mass created a wall. As I crumpled against it, the mass surged to engulf me.
‘Ugh!’
Like a swamp. Before being sucked in, I decided to use a skill I’d resolved not to use here.
‘Since it’s this height anyway!’
My leg enveloped by wind darkened. The ash ignited and consumed my gusts, flaring into black flames. With each step, brands marked the mass of flesh.
“―――!”
The mass writhed silently in agony. Size itself was violence. As the mass of flesh, dozens of meters long, twisted in pain, it felt like an earthquake.
‘I almost fell.’
Carefully, I dug where Park Yo-han had been, making sure not to lose my balance amidst the writhing flesh. Flesh stuck to my claws, but even that was consumed by the malicious appetite. I dug a deep pit in an instant, grabbing the cuff of Park Yo-han’s sleeve.
“Ku-wah!”
Given that Park Yo-han had endurance hitting 300, he was barely holding on, and it wouldn’t be strange if he got swallowed long ago.
Creeeak—Sizzle! The sleeve tore off too easily.
“Ugh, ughhhh!”
Park Yo-han’s face, stained with fear and disbelief, was now drenched in tears. His desperate eyes seemed to plead for rescue.
‘Chew…’
I bit his wrist. As my teeth sunk in deeply, almost reaching the bone, Park Yo-han’s eyes widened in horror.
“Ugh—AAAAHHH!”
Whether he shrieked or not, I threw Park Yo-han down below.
“Lu-lord!”
During his fall, he collided several times with the flesh, cushioning his descent.
‘…I can’t save him again, so please don’t get caught.’
The flesh, deprived of its meal, expressed its instinctual rage. All the tentacles sprung from it focused on me.
‘Agh. What an idiot…’
Park Yo-han was a figure of the temple, so saving him was for the sake of the future—I rationalized this late, but of course, that was nonsense. It was just that I was foolish. I felt pathetic while brainstorming an escape route.
‘Now, I just need to run away.’
Would that be easy? The agility of the towering flesh was now 300, and its strength exceeded 400.
‘…This is crap.’
This wasn’t some tragic heroine, and I couldn’t just die to save some bald-headed man. I opened the [Available Skill List].
[7 Skill Points Remaining]
What I needed was speed. And strength.
[Breakthrough (D) Lv.1 Skill Acquired]
An upgraded version of the Charge skill. It was an acceleration skill that Gu Ma-jun possessed, but I needed propulsion power to break through a wall, rather than just instantaneous speed.
[Charge (E) Lv.5 has merged into Breakthrough (D) Lv.1]
[Breakthrough (D) Lv.1 has reached maximum proficiency. Breakthrough (D) Lv.1 -> Breakthrough (D) Lv.3]
‘Level 3 Breakthrough.’
This might just work—what I thought transformed quickly into conviction.
[Whirlwind (D) Lv.3 and Breakthrough (D) Lv.3 coexist]
[Whirlwind and Breakthrough fuse to become Gale (C) Lv.3!]
[3 Skill Points Remaining]
‘……!’
The intensity in my eyes sharpened.
The moment I acquired the first C-rank skill, Gale, the wind enveloped my entire body. And the ashes caught in the gale scorched the mass of flesh.
‘Looks like the ashes can’t consume the gale.’
C and D. Although it was just a single rank difference, the gale began to push back the ashes this time.
No longer was the wall merely a wall. All obstructive barriers ruptured under the gale’s pressure. I easily broke through and landed firmly on the ground.
‘Running away isn’t difficult, but…’
I couldn’t kill that thing. I needed someone who could kill the mass of flesh.
‘The Temple? Would the Temple be able to hold it back?’
Unless the Bishop himself came, that might be a different case. Even the hammer of the holy knight, struck down on the ground, would just scratch the surface of that mass. Not to mention, the wounds that had ignited in my ashes had already left no trace behind.
‘What’s needed to kill this thing?’
Not numerous attacks, but a single powerful hit. Unfortunately, I lacked that firepower.
‘Let’s retreat.’
I saved Park Yo-han, and there was no reason to fight this flesh monster anymore—the mass chased after the wolf, but it couldn’t catch the wolf surrounded by the gale.
“――!”
The mass of flesh, filled with rage, gnashed its formidable malice at the fleeing wolf.
***
“What the hell is this? Seriously, what the…”
Hong Yu-ri didn’t hide her displeasure. Just when she thought she’d closed the distance, instead of a wolf, a jiggling mass of flesh was before her. It was truly an eyesore.
“Is this even a monster?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“…What should we do?”
“Who knows? Anyway, we agreed not to touch anything unless it’s a monster, right? Fighting something like that…”
She started to say she didn’t want to when a tentacle approached, and Hong Yu-ri’s expression turned icy.
“…What the fuck?”
“Vice Team Leader? We are only supposed to…”
Though she had cut it off, blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Hong Yu-ri wiped her face expressionlessly and shook her hand clear of debris.
“Oh. Got it.”
Even though her hands were trembling, Hong Yu-ri didn’t forget her mission. You could see her sense of responsibility shining through.
But that was as far as it went.
“Vice Team Leader!”
Just as the mass attacked her once more.
“…….”
Her crimson gaze darkened. Realizing it was too late, Woo Taek sighed.
‘Huh.’
Did I just hear a tick? Or was that the sound of someone’s patience breaking?
“—You’re dead.”
With her getting stressed out over the bugs and monsters, she brilliantly flipped Hua Yu-ri’s lid.
“…Please, do take it easy on us.”
“I’ll kill it soon; just wait.”
As he watched Hong Yu-ri’s back disappear, his eyes caught the wolf leaping through the mass of flesh. Surrounded by winds, the wolf flitted effortlessly, casting black flames about, teasing the mass of flesh.
‘He fights well.’
It must be the Alpha. It was hard to believe it was a Skull Wolf. From its smaller stature compared to normal Skull Wolves, it didn’t seem to be of a superior breed, nonetheless.
‘Just how many skills does he have?’
The black flames and swirling winds must all be the wolf’s skills. If it also possessed the skill of Predation, that’d be three right there. It was extremely rare for monsters to have so many skills.
“Sa-save me! Please help!”
A baldy monk, clutching his wrist, rushed up with a terrified expression, prompting Woo Taek to reassure him.
“Are you from the Temple? Calm down. What’s going on? What the hell is that?!”
As Woo Taek tended to the bleeding wrist, he inquired about the situation, and the monk shook his head like a madman.
“I-I don’t know! The believer suddenly—Aaah! More than that, run! If we don’t escape here—!”
He was in full panic mode. The mass would soon be handled by Hong Yu-ri anyway. Woo Taek decided to evacuate him first.
‘He seems like someone swept up in chaos…’
One of the conditions for entering the dungeon was to rescue those caught in the chaos. And it wasn’t long before Woo Taek found members of the Temple nearby.
“Oh, who are you…?”
“Team Dawn’s Search Team 3. Jeon Woo-taek. I just entered, so you probably didn’t get the memo, but Dawn also went into the dungeon.”
The paladin in shining white armor scanned Woo Taek from head to toe, then nodded as if convinced.
“Ah, I see. You have the frame of someone training hard. Truly a member of Dawn. I am Seong Dae-wun.”
The Temple members were likely scattered outside, but he had never thought this guy would turn Park Yo-han into that.
After the two shook hands, they both looked at the growing mass of flesh.
“So what is that? Is it related to our brother’s transformation?”
“It seems so. I just discovered it moments ago.”
“Hmm… I see.”
The mass had already achieved overwhelming size. It towered like a skyscraper. The surrounding vegetation couldn’t compete with its bulk. But where was the Vice Team Leader?
‘Please don’t tell me she got caught?’
And just then, the mass began to ignite.
‘That can’t be…’
Seeing that pillar of fire, Woo Taek felt relieved. After all, given the amount of magic she had, it was too extraordinary for her to get captured in this dungeon.
***
“……!”
The terrible magic I had sensed before returned. The sight grew red not as an illusion but as an undeniable truth. A tremendous amount of magic spread out from the mass of flesh. Had I delayed my escape even the slightest, I would undoubtedly have been dragged in too. I searched for the source of the magic and found a girl with red pupils standing there.
‘Hong Yu-ri? What the hell are you doing here?’
Hong Yu-ri seemed to notice me, locking eyes and mouthing words.
‘……!’
If her eyes weren’t deceiving me, she clearly said, “You’re dead too.”
A chill ran down my spine. I wanted revenge on Hong Yu-ri, but fighting her still felt far-fetched. The flesh monster would take care of her; I needed to move out of the way.
‘So, she had been chasing me all this way.’
That crazy girl. That insane girl!
The crimson magic unleashed a phenomenon, transforming into a massive pillar of flame that turned the flesh monster to ash in an instant.
‘What a monstrous girl!’
With a deafening boom, the ground trembled as Hong Yu-ri grinned wickedly.
“Now it’s your turn.”
Her hand moved. As her hand gestured, the crimson magic surged forward. I gulped, wrapping myself in the gale.
“――!”
The red magic abruptly changed course. Its endurance had already surpassed 500 and was climbing over 600 in no time at all. In that brief moment, the ashes amassed into a reformed body which lunged at Hong Yu-ri. Truly the regenerative capabilities of the imitation elixir!
‘…Can she defeat that?’
In the moment, she held the upper hand, but magic isn’t infinite. No matter how overwhelming one’s magic may be, it will inevitably diminish.
‘But for now, it’s my chance.’
Let the monsters fight amongst themselves. If they could kill each other in the process, that would be all the better.
“Hmph. You just wait there.”
‘As if I would wait for you!’
As the wolf ran away, the two monsters commenced their brawl.
***
The giant, gnawing on a mottled piece of meat, scrunched his brow.
“I was just trying to take a break.”
Even from dozens of kilometers away, the giant saw everything clearly.
“Hmm.”
Red magic and tentacles of flesh clashed violently. The advantage was generally Hong Yu-ri’s magic, but it wouldn’t be infinite. Would she manage to kill the mass before her magic ran out? The outcome would be decided on that front.
‘Hmm. 50/50?’
Even the giant couldn’t guarantee a victor. Under normal circumstances, he would rush in to help.
“Let them figure it out themselves.”
But the delicious piece of meat was far too enticing.
***
“Ugh, crap.”
The situation seemed to consistently favor Hong Yu-ri. The tentacles of flesh couldn’t touch her, all aflame. But her expression was not a happy one.
‘It just keeps regenerating.’
Did it have some regeneration skill? Just what was this bulk? The wolf had nearly caught it, but anger flared at the thought that he had let it slip away because of this damned thing.
“This is just… so annoying.”
Dungeons have themes. For instance, the cobalt mine is a hybrid of caves and mazes. This dungeon, the Yeonhwa Park dungeon, has a forest theme. Monsters typically emerge based on the dungeon’s theme. However, this mass of flesh was something I’d never seen in any dungeon.
A being beyond a monster, a disfigured aberration. Did such a monster truly exist?
Like something artificially created.
‘Artificially created?’
Suddenly, Hong Yu-ri realized what she had been doing in Busan. What she had observed.
‘Ah, so they must have made this shit?’
Though it was still just a hypothesis, it felt too coincidental. To anyone’s eyes, it seemed far from a naturally occurring monster. A failed experiment… the research notes seen in the sewers. Was this all just coincidence? If it were linked to human merging…
“Alright.”
An overwhelming magic lifted her up. Not the imposition of a spell but the sheer physical force exerted by her magic. Floating in midair, boosted by ridiculous magic, the featureless mass of flesh couldn’t comprehend the phenomenon and merely undulated toward Hong Yu-ri.
“—I’ll make sure to kill you properly.”
Her eyes, now floating, turned from crimson to a deep scarlet.
***
“Uh… Team Leader? What about tracking the Alpha?”
“Is that really important right now? We need to handle that thing first.”
The mass of flesh continued to swell. Initially concealed by the trees, it now overshadowed them. It looked like a mass of flesh the height of a ten-story building.
“Besides, the Alpha… is fucked.”
A faint hint of magic detection passed through. Most likely the Alpha. The Team Leader gritted his teeth.
‘There’s no way I’d catch that thing if I chased it down.’
It moved with a speed comparable to a train. If we pushed ourselves, we might catch it, but the pressing issue was the mass of flesh, not the wolf.
“The wolf isn’t going out anyway. There’ll be Temple people waiting outside if it does. But that thing…”
If it made its way out of the dungeon, imagining what would happen was terrifying.
“Do you want to see Daegu turn into a ghost city?”
“No. Not that. How about we just get your Team Leader here?”
“Do you know where that guy is?”
“Do you really expect him to be searching earnestly? He’s probably goofing off nearby. I’ll go find him.”
“Go ahead. I’ll head out first.”
As the Team Leader’s figure vanished into the distance, Seong Hoon let out a long sigh.
“Ah… this wasn’t supposed to happen.”
He had merely intended to observe some special breed of wolf, yet suddenly found himself embroiled in an absurd situation.
“This isn’t the time for this.”
He needed to find Team Leader 2 as soon as possible.
Though he didn’t believe it, a feeling of unease lingered.
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