17화 친구 (2)
Kang Seojun didn't even make it to the shower. The moment he stepped through his front door, he collapsed and slept.
He had been hauling that wretched body of his around on nothing but superhuman willpower, and even that had finally hit its limit.
Morning came fast.
"Nngh..."
Kang Seojun pushed himself upright on a bed filthy with dirt and pus. His head throbbed from the gauntlet of debuff traits, and his stomach lurched as if he might vomit at any second. Yesterday's exhaustion piled on top of it all, every joint and muscle screaming in real time.
He endured every last bit of it through sheer will and dragged himself to the bathroom. The toilet flushed with a roar.
He had a lot to do today. The Hell Slime still needed to be purified into Mana Slime, and he had to sort through the system messages that had chimed off and on through the night.
Kang Seojun stuffed every filthy scrap of clothing into the washing machine and stepped into the shower. Stale dust and crusted pus sluiced away under the warm water.
Once he was done, he slathered himself from head to toe with the Prosperous Realm Skin Moisturizer he'd bought from the Dimensional Shop. It was an all-purpose cream that soothed rashes and itching while hydrating the skin besides. His flesh was rotting in real time, so this kind of meticulous care was necessary even if it cost dimensional currency.
Skin care finished, Kang Seojun opened the window and sprayed Prosperous Realm Cleanliness Spray across the bed. The liquid hissed out, boiled up in foaming bubbles, and evaporated as it wiped every stain of pus and dirt clean away.
Keeping this wretched, frail body safe from disease required hygiene as well. Another necessary expense.
He threw himself onto the now-clean bed.
"Much better."
The sheets, which had been sticky and musty only moments before, were instantly soft and snug. Kang Seojun opened the system message window he hadn't checked the night before because he'd been asleep.
Siphoning the host's experience. Stamina EXP has increased!
Siphoning the host's experience. Durability EXP has increased!
Siphoning the host's experience. Sense EXP has increased!
. . .
Siphoning the host's efforts, Stamina has borne the fruit of growth!
Stamina +1
Siphoning the host's efforts, Agility has borne the fruit of growth!
Agility +1
Park Sinhu had apparently thrown himself into training through the night. Thanks to that, Kang Seojun had done nothing but sleep, and his Stamina and Agility had each risen by one.
He opened his status window to check his current specs.
Eye of Providence Lv. Transcendent
Dimensional Shop Lv. Transcendent
Favored One Lv. Transcendent
Morbid Obesity Lv. Lowest
Necrotic Dermatitis Lv. Lowest
Hunchback Lv. Lowest
Clubfoot Lv. Lowest
Twisted Arms Lv. Lowest
Sickly Constitution Lv. Lowest
Mana Insensitivity Lv. Lowest
Cannibal Parasite Lv. Lowest
Stage 4 Cancer Lv. Lowest
Time for Counterattack Lv. Epic
Parasitic Growth Lv. Epic
Quest stat rewards, constellation patronage, and the bonuses from Parasitic Growth had pushed his numbers up quite a bit in a single day. The build was still crude as they came, of course — but at this rate of growth, he'd be past an ordinary cadet soon enough.
Parasitic Growth — Special Effect
Select a trait to plunder from the host, or a trait to transfer to the host.
× 2 Charges Available
Park Sinhu's all-nighter had even netted him two trait-exchange tickets. Kang Seojun studied his debuff traits one by one, turning them over in his mind.
What should I dump on him this time?
The first one didn't even take any thought.
Trait to transfer to the host:
Stage 4 Cancer Lv. Lowest
Enrollment was still more than a week away, and he had no confidence he could last that long while still carrying Stage 4 cancer.
Trait Stage 4 Cancer Lv. Lowest has been downgraded to Stage 3 Cancer Lv. Lowest.
Host Park Sinhu has obtained the trait Stage 2 Cancer Lv. Low.
Vessels clogged by tumors opened up. Crushed muscle unclenched. A clean, rinsing relief rolled through his whole body. Breathing came easier, the pain receded, and his mind snapped into focus.
That, at least, had bought him a few more months of lifespan.
One exchange ticket left.
Now, how do I spend this one...
Dumping more cancer was a bad idea. Park Sinhu was Kang Seojun's debuff dumpster, yes — but he was also an experience shuttle. If Kang Seojun wanted to wring him for as long as possible without breaking him, the debuffs had to be handed off with care.
If Park Sinhu got any sicker, he'd halt training and throw himself into chemotherapy for a while. And then Kang Seojun wouldn't be able to suck a single point of EXP out of him. So cancer was out.
The Cannibal Parasite was a poor fit right now too. Park Sinhu would be knocking back elixirs like water every day. Foist the parasite on him too soon, and it might mature overnight and burst straight out through his gut. If Park Sinhu died, Kang Seojun would lose a useful experience shuttle and a perfectly good debuff dumpster in one stroke. So the Cannibal Parasite was out as well.
"Hrm..."
He needed something useful enough, but not so vicious it would wreck Park Sinhu.
"Oh."
One of them caught his eye.
That little bastard had woken him several times last night alone.
Trait to transfer to the host:
Insomnia Lv. Low
If Park Sinhu was saddled with insomnia, he'd stretch his training even longer on the nights sleep wouldn't come. And the EXP Kang Seojun siphoned off would swell to match. Fatigue might blunt the efficiency of those sessions, sure — but if the total volume of training went up, the experience gained would still increase in the end.
Park Sinhu's life would get a little more miserable. Kang Seojun didn't feel a shred of regret. The man had been a bona fide villain in every single regression. Turning a bastard like that into fertilizer for his own growth was the most worthwhile treatment he could get.
Trait Insomnia Lv. Low has disappeared.
Host Park Sinhu has obtained the trait Insomnia Lv. Low.
The noise that had been writhing through his skull like messy scribbles quieted all at once.
"I'll actually sleep through the night for the first time in days."
Kang Seojun stretched carefully so he wouldn't throw out his back, then stood. The system was sorted. Next up: yesterday's loot.
He took the glass bottle of nutrient solution he'd stashed in the fridge. Inside the green fluid, the Hell Slime was still swimming as vigorously as ever.
He sat back down on the bed and laid out the tools he'd need, one by one: the nutrient solution with the Hell Slime in it, a disposable combination box, the Holy Water of the Beloved Saint, mana crystals. It wasn't a process that called for a long list of materials or any particularly complicated steps. All he had to do was purify the Hell Slime.
Kang Seojun opened the nutrient bottle and dropped a mana crystal in with a plunk. He set it into the combination box with the lid still off. The saint's holy water went in the same way, cap open, settled beside the nutrient solution. Then he closed the box. It hissed as it sealed.
Four things to watch in this process. The Hell Slime had to be alive. The mana crystal and the Hell Slime had to sit close enough to make contact. The saint's holy water could not be allowed to touch the Hell Slime directly. And the glass bottles had to stay unsealed — lids off — so the materials wouldn't be airtight.
Even if he executed every step without a hair of error, the success rate was not high. Statistically, about three percent. Most of the time, the Hell Slime simply failed to survive the purification and died.
Hell Slime has been purified into Mana Slime!
Not that the three percent had ever meant anything to Kang Seojun. His Luck was 50. Calling that the realm of demigods would barely be an exaggeration.
He opened the combination box, and white vapor seeped out the way it does from a cooler. Kang Seojun reached through the smoke and drew out the glass bottle of nutrient solution. The slime that had looked like red flesh only moments ago had turned into something like blue jelly.
He brought the nutrient fluid carefully to his lips, squeezed his eyes shut, and drank — slime and all — taking care not to choke. If he wanted the Mana Slime transplanted through his entire body, swallowing it was still the surest way. His throat worked in intermittent gulps.
"Mmm..."
The texture was lukewarm snot. The flavor was clean and cooling. The mismatch was deeply unpleasant.
The Mana Slime is attempting to take root in your body!
That was when the Cannibal Parasite, starved around the clock, caught the scent of new prey and lunged.
The Cannibal Parasite is gnawing on the Mana Slime!
"You little worms..."
Kang Seojun immediately bought a Prosperous Realm Dewormer from the Dimensional Shop. An anthelmintic from a dimension of highly advanced civilization — a medicine that left beneficial flora untouched and killed only what was harmful. He swallowed it with water at once.
You have taken the Prosperous Realm Dewormer!
The Cannibal Parasites writhe, crying out in pain.
Effect:The Cannibal Parasites enter a stunned state for a set duration.
They were vicious enough that even a Prosperous Realm Dewormer could only knock them out for a little while. For now, that was enough. He only needed to buy the Mana Slime time to take root.
Once it successfully established itself, it would flourish in corners of his body the Cannibal Parasite's teeth couldn't reach.
Grade:Rare
A symbiotic organism that takes root in the host's body. It receives nutrients in exchange for producing mana.
Current Stage:Infancy
"Hah. Done."
Kang Seojun rinsed his mouth with a glass of purified water. From here on, his mana would grow on its own just from breathing. The Mana Slime was still young, so its grade sat at Rare for now — but if he managed it well and raised it properly, that grade would climb to Legendary or beyond.
When that day came, how high would his Mana stat go? A first-tier trait like Blessing of Mana might even awaken. And if it did, he could live as a mage alone and still enjoy wealth in the world's top one percent.
Kang Seojun smiled at the thought and looked out the window. Birds were chirping. The cityscape of Stellaport and the blue East Sea filled the view in a single sweep, and there in the middle of it sat Korea Hunter Academy — the main stage of Grand Hunter Academy.
He looked down at the academy and found himself hoping enrollment day would hurry up and arrive. Once the story properly began, his growth toward that otherworldly life of happiness would only accelerate further.