Chapter 42
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 42
Generally, Monsters are graded from 1 to 9 according to their danger level.
But that only applied within the ordinary range—when they could be classified from known data. Beyond that lay an incomprehensible realm that human standards could hardly judge.
It was impossible to force the Monsters beyond that realm into a standardized scale.
So people lumped them together under just three syllables.
Irregular.
Gwisusan was one of the few Monsters that had been designated Irregular since ancient times.
Other than its colossal body, perhaps two or three times the size of Yeouido, almost nothing was known about it. It had become a forgotten Monster that existed only in the history books.
But the fact that it still exists—right now, I, here.......
am proving it with my own body.
Hoooh.
After jumping in as if I were bungee jumping, I was now on one very long bobsled ride.
Of course, comparing it to a bobsled was purely my guess.
Because I couldn't actually see anything.
My field of vision was black whether my eyes were open or closed, and I was only aware that I was being swept along by lukewarm liquid and descending at high speed.
How long had it been?
Just when I was barely managing to breathe through the respirator connected to my oxygen tank.
Whoosh—
Was this what it felt like for a ski jumper coming down the ramp?
My stomach dropped as gravity suddenly yanked me downward.
I didn't know how high up I was, but I fell helplessly.
Thump—
My butt hit the floor.
Fortunately, the floor was soft and springy, so it didn't hurt as much.
After quickly checking my condition, I switched on the flashlight mounted on my chest.
*Click—*
Then the surrounding scenery came into view.
Looking around, I could tell the space was enormous.
If not for the walls ceaselessly undulating, I would have mistaken it for a huge underground cavern.
Maybe I should have appraised some basic anatomy before coming.
I couldn't tell exactly which part of the body this was.
However.
Judging from the hiss coming from my wetsuit and the faint smoke rising from it.
I could only guess that the liquid sloshing beneath my feet was some kind of digestive fluid.
It seemed I had entered through a breathing hole and come all the way down to the stomach.
Anyway, since I had entered intact, I had to consider it half a success.
Now I just had to find the Cheonjam Thread.
I had to hurry.
The time limit was roughly one hour.
I could feel the reason as soon as I removed the respirator.
"Hup."
For a moment my breath caught and I staggered.
It was because the oxygen concentration was noticeably lower than outside.
The oxygen remaining in the tank had to be used for escape, so I couldn't waste any more.
I closed my eyes and slowly drew deep breaths, trying to adjust to the new environment.
The contents of the original work flickered through my mind.
Radeon had ended up inside Gwisusan after getting caught in an unexpected accident.
The pit he jumped into to escape the Yosal Corps' pursuit happened to be Gwisusan's breathing hole.......
Swept along by digestive fluid, he arrived here nearly battered to pieces.
With his skin and hair melted away here and there.
As a side note, after he later made a name for himself, his skin recovered to some extent.
But his hair, no matter how much money he poured into it.......
I'll stop here.
Anyway, then how did he obtain the Cheonjam Thread?
Actually, he didn't find it on his own; he was dragged there by the scruff of his neck.
Because inside Gwisusan's body, there existed another Monster living parasitically on it.
I don't know the details well either.
I only figured it was about time for them to show up.
That was when my sharpened hearing picked up a strange sound.
Kik-kik—
Hearing a sound like someone forcing a rasp from their throat nearby, I quickly switched off the flashlight and lay flat.
Kik-kik—
The closer they came, the stronger the foul stench became.
Urgh.
I held it in and pretended to be unconscious without moving a muscle.
Then, a moment later, I heard their voices right beside me.
Judging by my senses, there were four in total.
Kik-kik—
Kiiik.
They carried on an animated discussion as if evaluating merchandise, then finally moved.
In an instant, hands gripped me from all sides and hoisted me into the air.
* * *
To creatures that had lived their whole lives here, darkness was no obstacle.
I was dragged along like a whole pig being taken to a barbecue.
In the meantime, I picked up a few pieces of information about them.
First, their height was about up to my waist.
They were fairly strong and had sharp claws, but not enough to make me feel threatened.
While I was hanging there thinking about this and that.
Suddenly the stench thickened, and kik-kik cackles erupted from all around me.
It seemed I had finally arrived at their stronghold.
Thud—
I was flung down like a piece of luggage.
I heard the sound of rushing footsteps and felt hands groping here and there.
About ten of them?
One of them grabbed the oxygen tank I had been hugging tightly and tugged at it.
If it got damaged like this, it would be a big problem.
The moment I judged it was time to move, I sprang up without hesitation.
"Hands off. You little shit."
I shouted angrily and swung the oxygen tank I was holding, smashing it down.
With a satisfying impact sound, the one that had been hovering around was sent flying.
[Name: Ampaengi]
[Danger Grade: 10]
[Attribute: Darkness (36%)]
[Characteristics: A parasitic Monster that lives clinging to Gwisusan's body. Its appearance resembles a goblin and it possesses unremarkable abilities.]
So its name was Ampaengi.
Kiiik—
As they recoiled in fright, I quickly activated Manifestation.
The moment the sorcery formula was complete, I raised my hand and struck down toward the ground.
1-star Fire-Style Sorcery, Blaze Assault.
[Manifestation Accuracy: 86%]
Immediately after, three pillars of fire shot up in a space where darkness had been the norm.
Rooooar.
Searing heat and blazing light illuminated the surroundings.
Since these creatures had never been acquainted with light in their lives, their reaction was dramatic.
Kiiiiiek—
The creatures, looking like they could have called Gollum a brother, shrieked in terror.
There were about seven of them.
But judging by the many holes in the walls, there were probably far more of them.
A quick, decisive battle was the answer.
I twisted the trajectories of the surging fire pillars and drove them toward the creatures.
Rooooar.
The fierce flames swallowed even their screams.
[Defeated Grade 10 Monster, Ampaengi.]
[Defeated Grade 10 Monster, Ampaengi.]
.
.
[Acquired a total of 40 hours.]
As expected, chaos and surprise attacks were a winning combination.
I dealt with them easily, but I was still hungry.
['Greed' absorbs the Demonic Energy of the Grade 10 Monster 'Ampaengi'.]
.
.
[Seal Release Rate: 1%]
After absorbing even the Demonic Energy as dessert, silence and darkness settled again.
I turned on the flashlight and scanned the large holes in the walls.
It was probably in one of these.
The creatures' treasure vault where they had set aside things that seemed valuable to them.......
"Let's hurry."
Oxygen was already scarce, and I had even set a fire, so time was tight.
I manifested the 'Chungyongwi Warrior's Dagger' and gripped it in my hand, then approached.
A 32-stroke, 1-star Wind-Style Sorcery, Bull Gale.
[Manifestation Completion: 85%]
It wasn't as fast as outside, but I still searched for the vault with fairly nimble movements.
Kigik—
First, the first hole was a bust.
I stabbed the dagger into the belly of a creature that charged at me fearlessly and infused it with mana.
As the cutting power strengthened further, I slashed diagonally.
[Defeated Grade 10 Monster, Ampaengi.]
My technique was rough, so I got splattered with blood, but this was no time to be squeamish.
I roughly shook my hand to flick it off, quickly absorbed the Demonic Energy, and moved on to the next hole.
Like that, one, two.
While fighting through unfamiliar close combat and advancing.
"Found it."
At last I was able to set foot inside their treasure vault.
A recessed circular space.
For creatures as dim-witted as the Ampaengi, I had expected their vault to be a jumble of random junk.......
"What is this?"
For a moment I doubted my eyes.
There were only a few items, but they had been kept surprisingly neat.
The musty mold smell was unavoidable, but the way they had carefully arranged everything was almost endearing.
"This isn't the time."
Feeling a sudden wave of dizziness, I staggered toward it.
First, I looked for the Cheonjam Thread, the reason I had come here.
When I spotted a pair of copper bracelets that looked like they would crumble at a touch, I heightened my visual acuity.
Then I saw it.
A thin bundle of thread wrapped around the bracelets like a spool—something you would never notice unless you looked closely.......
"Just the brief info."
I reached out and checked the information.
[Cheonjam Thread]
[Grade: Rare (Upper)]
[Description: Thread extracted from the Cheonjam, a rare Monster believed to be extinct. Known as one of the strongest fibers in the world.]
[Effect: When mana is infused, it changes to a nearly transparent state. Length can be freely adjusted.]
Finally.......
I grinned and hurriedly stowed it away.
The reward was good enough to make everything I had gone through feel trivial.
"Hold on."
It was at that moment that I hesitated instead of leaving right away.
I had managed to enter Gwisusan's body, hadn't I?
And once I left, who knew when I would ever encounter this creature of rumor again?
So.......
Leaving now felt like a waste. I found myself wanting to at least inspect the other items first.
I stared at the remaining time, deliberated, then crouched back down.
Appraising them one by one, I hoped for unexpected luck.
"Oh. What's this?"
Before long, a low exclamation slipped out.
It was a shabby-looking pouch, so I had appraised it without much expectation.
[Subspace Pouch]
[Grade: Rare (Mid)]
[Description: A pouch with subspace functionality. It even has weight-reduction magic applied.]
[Effect: Can freely use a subspace of 1 pyeong in size.]
Jackpot.
Subspace functionality itself was rare enough, and I, a webtoon artist, had never seen one this portable.
"What is this, my lucky day?"
This alone was a jackpot, but there were still four more cards I hadn't turned over.
I activated Appraisal again and went through the confirmation process.
Three were duds, and the remaining one inside a small chest was an item I knew well, so laughter leaked out before I even confirmed it.
A jackpot glowing with iridescent light.
It was Magwang Ore.
The grains were a bit smaller than before, but it was obvious this too would be worth hundreds of millions.
With careful hands, I picked up the Magwang Ore and placed it in the Subspace Pouch.
I rose from my seat with an expression of utmost satisfaction.
I had packed plenty, so now it was truly time to leave.
* * *
Rooooosh.
For the escape, I followed Radeon's method.
He had cleverly exploited Gwisusan's natural purging process to get back outside.
Simply put, he became a kind of excrement.......
I'll skip the detailed explanation.
When I slammed Attribute Combination Art, Hellfire, into the stomach wall, I was instantly marked as a dangerous element.
To deal with it, digestive fluid burst out like a torrent, and I was swept out.
I was dumped into the middle of the sea, but after blowing the whistle repeatedly, I met up with the captain circling nearby.
"Goodness, what kind of investigation did you do to end up looking like that....... Ugh, the smell."
The captain seemed quite startled, but since I answered in monosyllables, he didn't pry further.
By the time I arrived at Taehak, the sun was already sinking low.
After showering and filling my starving stomach, I headed to the nearby general training room.
It was time to see what all that hardship had earned me.