Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Capturing the Poison Witch
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“Stop right there!”
Would anyone actually stop just because she said so? Ignoring Choi Miran’s shout, I kept running, and magic bullets came flying from behind. I dodged them in a zigzag pattern, putting as much distance as possible between us. My running speed was slower than usual due to the poison, but it gradually improved as the toxin detoxified bit by bit.
“Damn it!”
Choi Miran, who had been chasing me and firing magic bullets, glanced back and forth between me and the collapsed Park Sang-jun and Yang Sang-hun. She must have realized she couldn’t catch up to someone faster than her, because she gave up and turned back.
Confirming she was retreating, I crept closer again.
Spotting an opening as she rummaged through Park Sang-jun and Yang Sang-hun’s bags, I charged in once more.
“What the hell are you?! Why are you back?!”
Choi Miran yelled irritably and unleashed another poison mist, but I’d already built some resistance to it. It only gave me a slight tingle, no hindrance to my movement.
As I barreled through the poison toward her, she fired a magic bullet at me. But her low-level magic bullets couldn’t deal a fatal blow unless they hit me dead-on.
I shook my upper body side to side to dodge the incoming shots, swatting away any I couldn’t avoid with my arms, and closed in right up to her face before landing a hook to her side.
There was a loud *bang*, and it felt like punching a wall.
She’d activated a defensive skill at that exact moment, wrapping her body in a barrier.
She hadn’t used this skill all day while hunting—had she been saving it for a time like this? As my attack bounced off the translucent shield, the tension drained from Choi Miran’s face, replaced by smugness.
“Time to drop dead already!”
Maintaining the shield with her wand in her left hand, she pulled a bead of a different color from her pouch with her right and tossed it to the ground.
The moment the bead shattered, she leaped back to widen the distance between us.
Pale blue smoke billowed from it.
The green smoke had mainly caused paralysis, but getting hit with this blue smoke sent stabbing pains through my entire body, like being slashed with knives. I collapsed to the ground in agony, and from afar, Choi Miran wiped her sweat.
“Phew. What a pain you are. This poison isn’t cheap! You’ve put me in the red!”
With an expression full of irritation, she kicked me several times. Convinced I’d die from this poison, she casually strolled off to loot the bags again.
There wasn’t a single spot on my body that didn’t hurt. It felt like every cell was being pierced by a red-hot awl. Cold sweat poured out, my vision blurred, and my consciousness nearly faded—but I gritted my teeth and endured.
[Poison Resistance Skill has risen from F to E.]
[Resilient Mind Skill has risen from F to E.]
Choi Miran was stronger than I’d expected, but with Poison Resistance and Resilient Mind upgraded, it was no longer an issue.
The poison and pain slowly faded, my mind clearing. I charged at her again as she rummaged through the bags.
“Huh… how?!”
Unaware I could overcome even the blue poison, her face paled. She fired magic bullets to keep me at bay, but they’d never been much of a threat from the start.
I closed the gap in an instant and swung my fist, but it met resistance with another *bang*. Choi Miran twisted her lips into a smirk.
“Your attacks can’t touch me! This time, I’ll hit you with enough to kill an elephant!”
Just as she triumphantly reached for more poison, I hammered her shield with both fists in rapid succession. Cracks began to form after several hits.
“I’ll shatter it first!”
I shouted as I pounded the barrier. Startled, she abandoned her pouch and gripped her wand with both hands to reinforce it.
The cracks slowly sealed up, but I ramped up my speed to match, slamming away. A shield runs on the user’s mana—it’s neither infinite nor invincible. Hit it enough, and it breaks.
“Kyaaak!”
After dozens of strikes, the barrier shattered. The impact sent Choi Miran flying backward with a scream.
Catching my breath after the high-speed exertion, I missed my chance, and she bolted.
I chased her closely from behind. As she ran, she wildly scattered blue and green poison beads backward.
They burst with pops, spreading thick poison in my path, but I didn’t dodge—I took it full-body and charged straight ahead.
The high concentration overwhelmed my low Poison Resistance; it didn’t detoxify right away. Paralysis and pain hit, slowing me down.
“Huh? Did it work?”
Seeing me stop the pursuit, Choi Miran turned with a relieved expression, slowing her pace, thinking the poison had taken hold.
But the toxin weakened after a few seconds. I overcame the pain and paralysis with Resilient Mind and resumed the chase.
“What kind of freak are you?!”
Her face drained of color as she sprinted again. Fast for a mage, but with my Agility and Stamina near 20, there was no escaping on foot.
Whenever I closed in enough to catch her, she’d toss a poison bead, making me hesitate and buying distance. After repeating this a couple times, her poison smoke no longer affected me.
The gate came into view in the distance. Losing her here would be a headache, so I poured power into my legs for a final sprint.
[Stamina has increased by 1.]
Running while inhaling poison made my lungs and thighs burn like they were tearing apart. Enduring it pushed my Stamina up by 1. My body felt just a tad lighter.
At my even faster speed, Choi Miran’s eyes widened. I leaped and delivered a dropkick to her back. She screamed and face-planted.
The gate was just 10 meters away.
I snatched the pouch from her prone body.
“Which one’s the antidote?”
“…The green vial.”
She glared at me defiantly.
“Is that so?”
I pulled out the green vial, grabbed her jaw, and forced it into her mouth.
“No! Kyaaak! Urk!”
Choi Miran frothed at the mouth in agony from what was clearly pure poison, not antidote.
“Knew it. You were too compliant.”
I tested the various vials in her pouch on my tongue, using my body’s reactions to identify the real antidote.
I trickled some into Choi Miran’s mouth, then bound her hands and feet. Hoisting her over my shoulder, I returned to Park Sang-jun and Yang Sang-hun and fed them generous doses too.
While waiting for them to wake, I chewed on the jerky I’d brought.
Yang Sang-hun stirred first with a groan.
“What… happened?”
Still groggy from incomplete paralysis recovery, he asked.
“Remember the green mist? This woman poisoned us to paralyze and steal our items and magic stones. Without timely antidote, we’d all be dead.”
I nodded toward the unconscious Choi Miran. Even paralysis or pain poison kills if exposure is prolonged and heavy—heart stops or shock sets in.
Yang Sang-hun stared in disbelief, shaking his head in exasperation for a while.
“A woman who looks so normal… why? And she joined via the Awakener app. Did she think she wouldn’t get caught?”
“Who can understand a criminal’s mind? And Choi Miran’s probably not even her real name.”
Serial killers in gates couldn’t keep entering if party deaths flagged them. In my past life’s news, she’d used a fake ID.
“Thank you. You saved our lives.”
Once he’d processed it, Yang Sang-hun bowed his head to me.
“No problem.”
While talking with him, Park Sang-jun woke too. After hearing the story, he flew into a rage and tried to charge at Choi Miran—I barely held him back.
We exited the gate, explained everything to the bureau officials for the third time, and handed her over. The three of us went to the bureau to file statements. As expected, her ID was fake, and with the poison beads and antidote as evidence, she had no way out.
I handed over the beads and antidote, but secretly pocketed the pure poison extract. High-concentration stuff like this is rare and hard to make—perfect for leveling Poison Resistance. Today’s ordeal paid off.
“Thank you so much. I’ll repay you next time.”
Yang Sang-hun bowed again in gratitude.
“No problem.”
If I hadn’t recognized Choi Miran and intervened, those two would be dead—but I’d gained too, so no need to brag.
Park Sang-jun, however, vanished without a word of thanks. Not that I did it for that, but compared to Yang Sang-hun… I hadn’t liked him since he flirted with Choi Miran anyway. Probably won’t see him again.
* * *
A few weeks of busy regression life later, university break started, and it was time to head home. Finally, time to see Mom. I’d considered going straight to her first, but with my softened body, wandering this world felt awkward and unsafe. I wanted to be in decent shape before facing her.
No car yet, so I took a taxi. I’d called often since regressing, but thinking of seeing Mom—whom I’d thought gone forever after her death—made my heart race.
The taxi pulled up to the rundown apartment. Home after years.
I rode the elevator up and punched in the door code.
“Son~ You’re here?”
Mom came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands from cooking, and welcomed me.
“Yeah, Mom. I’m back.”
I’m back. From the future.
“Oh my, you’ve grown taller? And bulked up too.”
Her eyes widened at the sight of me.
“Come in quick. Dinner’s almost ready.”
She hugged me tight, then headed back to the kitchen.
“Yeah.”
Suppressing my surging emotions, I set the fruit basket I’d bought on the table.
“What’s this? You shouldn’t have. Where’d you get money for this?”
Back then, I lived off her money entirely, so she had reason to fret over the cost—but maybe because it was from her son? She just looked happy, worried about *me* lacking funds instead.
“Mom, I Awakened. I’m a Hunter now.”
Her hand paused mid-motion, stowing fruit in the fridge.
“I see.”
She wasn’t happy. Even with academies and better gear, Hunter was still infamous for the highest mortality rate. Dying in gates hunting monsters was now just a perfunctory name-scroll at news end—routine.
Even before regression, she’d wanted me in a safe office job over Hunter risks for cash.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. No dangerous spots.”
I’d definitely hit dangers, and caution wouldn’t always save me. But I tried my best to reassure her.
“Yeah. You always wanted to be a Hunter. Congrats, son.”
She congratulated me, but her voice held no strength.
“Mom, let’s move. You don’t have to work anymore.”
“No thanks. I like it here, and I’ll keep working.”
“No, I’m making good money now. No more hardship for you.”
“I’m not lazing around eating money you risk your life for.”
Her firm tone—usually so gentle—rang in my head like a bell. I’d thought I could start filial piety now, but she was deeply worried about me being a Hunter.