Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Poison Essence in Action
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The ability to absorb poison was a concept that Luke couldn't quite grasp simply by reading the skill description provided by the system. He wondered if it meant he would indiscriminately absorb every trace of toxin within a certain radius, as the explanation felt far too fragmentary to be of much practical use. However, after taking the risk and activating it himself, he finally understood the true nature of the manifestation and how the skill actually functioned within the world of Agas.
At the same time, it became abundantly clear to him that the Poison Essence was not an omnipotent tool, for there was a definite limit to the amount of toxicity it could hold at any given time. Luke realized that if he wished to continue neutralizing the environmental hazards, he would either have to vent the buildup or find a direct application for it, which was precisely why he had chosen to slip out of the range of the thick poison fog early on.
Messages flickered into existence right before his eyes, revealing a skill system that had been perfectly tailored to the unique properties of the Poison Essence. While discharging likely meant simply expelling the accumulated toxins into the environment and discarding them, Luke decided that he would much rather try using the substance first to see what kind of advantage it could provide him in combat.
Since he was currently only holding common-grade toxins, he made his selection and watched as the system prompted him to designate a target for the application, offering items, equipment, or even terrain features as potential options. The fact that he could apply poison to the very ground or surrounding objects was an unexpected and versatile development that he hadn't initially considered.
For his first experiment, Luke pulled a throwing dagger from his belt and designated it as the target, watching with fascination as a faint green smoke rose from his navel and seeped into the steel of the blade.
Luke let out a soft exclamation of interest as he realized he had effectively gained the ability to enchant his weapons with the very toxins he neutralized, essentially recycling the danger he faced into a lethal weapon of his own. He noted that the effect didn't vanish immediately upon holstering the weapon, suggesting a decent duration that he would need to monitor closely over time. He soon discovered that he could even perform this enchantment in the heat of battle, allowing him to apply toxins to his arsenal from a distance.
Satisfied with his new utility, Luke looked back toward the battlefield where the war was progressing in a one-sided slaughter. While the Demian soldiers and other users seemed to be the primary forces, the stage was truly being set by two rising stars: the rookies. Luke knew that in a situation like this, the high-level magic scrolls he had stolen from Regulus's laboratory would truly shine. He had been unable to use them against the black mage because they required a manual casting time and specific targeting, but from his current position in the rear, he could chain the spells together undisturbed.
His level was now firmly established, and he estimated that if he continued to steal and hunt until the following day, reaching level 42 was a very feasible goal. That would be more than enough to handle or even completely overwhelm the rookies who were currently drawing so much attention. After all, Luke had once held the top ranking in the world until the system shifted to the 'Named' era, and he had no intention of showing any weakness to his juniors. He pulled a silver iron mask from his inventory—a simple piece of concealment gear he had stolen from a soldier earlier—to hide his face beneath his hood and ensure his identity remained a mystery.
With his eyes gleaming from within the shadows of the mask, Luke prepared to give the juniors a lesson they would never forget.
Rover Tube had become the massive, go-to content platform for everything related to Agas, hosting real-time streams and countless videos that attracted an insane global audience through its mobile application. One particular streamer named Timothy, who currently sat at the very bottom of the rankings with only a double-digit viewership, was hoping to change his fortune by covering the ongoing territory war.
Timothy was an ambitious man who dreamed of reaching the same scale as the top channels, which was why he had positioned himself on the frontlines of the conflict between Demian and Kaum. He knew that the audience was hungry for footage of the two star rookies, Kotaro and Kenny, and his viewership began to skyrocket the moment he changed his stream title.
The chat room quickly filled with excited messages from viewers who were eager to see the "stars" in action. Timothy leaned into his role, jokingly calling himself a famed war correspondent as he crawled through the grass to get a better angle on the two men.
Kotaro was a dual-wielder who had reached the top ten among rookies on his very first day, and Kenny was a poison specialist whose area-of-effect skills were proving to be devastating in the large-scale conflict. Timothy noted that while other streamers had already been killed trying to film them, his own expertise at hiding and fleeing would allow him to grow his channel safely.
The atmosphere in the chat became even more electric when a user named Roxy entered the broadcast. Roxy was the current number one ranked rookie, a fellow streamer who usually pulled in thousands of viewers on her own. The audience was stunned that she would spend her time watching Timothy’s low-level stream, but she quickly clarified that she was there to perform a check on her fellow competitors.
The viewers were thrown into a state of confusion by her blunt admission. How could the number one rookie believe she would lose to the number eight? Roxy explained that Kotaro had scored an incredible 81 overall in his aptitude simulation with a reaction speed of 88, which actually surpassed her own statistics. She pointed out that he was capable of batting away incoming arrows head-on with ease.
She specifically highlighted his mastery of the parry system, a high-level mechanic that allowed a player to deflect incoming attacks and force their opponent into a groggy state. It was a technique that even seasoned rankers struggled to use consistently, yet Kotaro seemed to be spamming it infinitely without a single error. Roxy declared that no one at their current level should be able to counter or overcome his parrying skills.
However, at that very moment, a user wearing a silver iron mask charged toward Kotaro. The audience prepared to watch another victim fall to the rookie's blades, expecting to see the dual-wielder effortlessly deflect the strike.
Cling!
But the result was the exact opposite of what they expected. Instead of a successful parry, Kotaro’s twin blades were bounced back with a violent force, and his entire form was shoved backward by the impact. The masked stranger remained completely unscathed.
The chat fell into a sudden, heavy silence before exploding with panicked questions. Even Roxy, who had been so certain of her assessment, could only offer a single, shocked response.