Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Gumiho Aureum
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The moment Cheonryeong was reverse-summoned.
In the domain of the final trial.
...The gumiho, Aureum, looked up at the sky.
He had the face of a fox, yet stood on two legs.
His muscular, statue-like body was clad in robes as white as fresh snow.
"Divine Beast."
...He sensed it.
The last scene the spirits had witnessed flashed through his mind.
And so, he was certain.
That thing was a divine beast.
A sacred creature that dwelled within the rift.
Until now, it had been so utterly transparent that he hadn't noticed.
As if it didn't exist at all, with no presence whatsoever.
Yet it had revealed itself upon eliminating Cheonryeong.
"How amusing."
The scenario was being rewritten.
Gumiho Yujin-seo had abandoned her starring role and pushed forward a new protagonist.
And that new protagonist was a divine beast contractor.
...Who could it be.
What fox could perform such a miracle.
Yujin-seo was a covetous gumiho.
With no creator present, she must have been eyeing even this fox den.
Still, he had left her alone.
Aureum had no interest in the fox den.
There was only one thing that held his attention.
A sacrifice to make me stronger.
His own martial prowess.
Growing stronger was his sole joy.
Shatter any foes that approached, claim victory, break through to the next stage, and tear down the walls ahead.
But for so long, no one had challenged Aureum.
Yujin-seo never set foot in this stage of the final trial.
In the end, all he could do was train alone.
Even so, it was fine.
"Spirits."
Swaaaaaah!
Hundreds of spirits surged around him like a tidal wave.
Then, the spirits began transforming into monsters of every shape and form.
...The spirits resembled foxes.
Unbound by form, capable of shapeshifting.
These were Aureum's sparring partners.
He trained by battling the spirits he had contracted.
Each reverse-summoning brought excruciating pain that clawed at his heart, but he turned even that agony into fuel for growth.
Thus, for hundreds of years.
The spirits began to evolve.
They gained egos and attacked him with relentless ferocity.
Endless cycles of summoning and reverse-summoning skyrocketed his total mana reserves.
This was far removed from the typical spirit user.
Moreover, these spirits were nothing like ordinary ones.
Attacking their contractor?
Such a thing was supposed to be impossible under contract.
But...
I'm hungry.
It wasn't enough.
Even as he fended off the charging spirits, regret filled his expression.
A hunger that spirits alone couldn't sate.
An unchanging routine.
A boredom with no challengers.
No fun.
Yujin-seo, the other foxes—they were all cowards.
But...
This time was different.
That bastard was undoubtedly heading straight for him.
In a rather audacious manner, no less.
What to do.
Should he simply watch the scenario shift and the protagonist change?
And why had Gumiho Yujin-seo suddenly made such a choice?
Either something tempted Yujin-seo, or something forced her to back down.
If the greedy Yujin-seo had yielded her place, it must be for a reward greater than that.
The fox den's ownership?
No, not that.
With the Creator of the Burning Boundary having lost claim, the den was practically hers anyway.
So then...
There was one clear possibility.
A fox wielding a divine beast, forcing even the gumiho Yujin-seo to her knees.
It matched the legends perfectly.
In that case, that bastard was.
"Ten-Tailed Fox."
...A ten-tailed fox.
Smirk!
"Finally, my worthy rival has appeared."
Pretty brutal wording.
And as the message described, the Land of Poison sprawling before them looked ominous at first glance.
The ground was a murky purple-black.
A barren, desolate plain.
And from beneath that plain, poison bugs occasionally writhed into view.
"...There's a path with weaker poison. I'll take the lead this time."
Yujin-seo said.
A path only foxes tread.
Only by sticking to it could they at least avoid death.
The poison bugs rarely ventured there.
This wasn't something she could just explain.
That's why she offered to lead.
To write a new scenario—and to kill Aureum—they needed to preserve as many survivors as possible.
But.
"Everyone, hold position here."
Park Chan-woo uttered words that shattered all expectations.
Thud.
Then he boldly stepped onto the Land of Poison.
"...!!"
"C-Crazy bastard!"
"Does he even know what kind of poison that is...!"
The foxes blurted out things they shouldn't have.
The poison permeating the Land of Poison wasn't ordinary.
It was potent enough to afflict even Gumiho Yujin-seo.
There was no antidote.
The poisoning lifted only upon eliminating Dokryeong.
Stray from the predetermined path, and you'd die before arriving.
And the path Park Chan-woo was taking wasn't even that safe route.
He had willingly stepped into a hellhole swarming with poison bugs.
Park Chan-woo nodded.
As expected.
Previously, in the Summoning Dungeon, when he stole the avatars' provisions.
After consuming what he presumed was Han Shin's Full Blood Elixir, his constitution had upgraded to Immunity to a Thousand Poisons.
Meaning a thousand poisons were harmless to his body.
Ordinary toxins couldn't even touch him.
Naturally, he figured the Land of Poison's toxins would be no issue.
And that assumption proved spot on.
Absolute Immunity blocks all poisons, while Thousand Immunity at least prevents death by poison.
Only one person had achieved Absolute Immunity.
Han Shin.
That bastard had Absolute Immunity to poison, fire and water, and even Indestructible Diamond Body.
But reaching Absolute Immunity wouldn't be easy for him anymore.
Park Chan-woo had stolen the Full Blood Elixir prepared solely for Han Shin.
Thanks to that, he'd never die from poison again.
Poison bugs. Gu poison.
The bugs surging from the ground and latching on.
Park Chan-woo pondered briefly.
The poison bugs here all took the form of gu poison.
They parasitized hosts, controlling them.
Meaning they wielded potent venom with complete mastery.
Rare breeds grown by feeding on poison over eons.
A thirst for research stirred.
He wanted to dissect them and study their survival mechanisms in detail.
Given the time, he could have.
If I absorb the gu poison separately...
His thoughts shifted gears.
Absorbing gu poison might elevate his Thousand Immunity even further.
Splat!
He burst an incoming gu.
Purple blood sprayed out.
Bug blood and venom.
He brought his handful straight to his mouth.
Gulp!
"Ugh..."
He grimaced.
It wasn't just tasteless—it was utterly devoid of flavor.
And his throat felt like it was burning away.
Stomach burn was par for the course.
"Oh."
Jackpot.
He hadn't expected much, but the effect was impressive.
Elixir-level efficacy.
Paradise.
This place was paradise for Park Chan-woo.
Splat!
Gulp!
He burst every bug in sight.
Once accustomed, he started chomping them whole, shells and all.
By the time he reached the end of the Land of Poison.
Ssssss.
The ground's poison gradually faded.
The mist, and even the writhing poison bugs—no longer visible.
"..."
There was nothing left to say.
The foxes could only blink in stunned silence.
They thought it had taken long enough this time to fail, but astonishingly, it succeeded.
They were already challenging the fourth trial.
"...Who is that guy?"
"He doesn't seem like an ordinary fox..."
The foxes were dying of curiosity.
At first, they dismissed him as some unheard-of fox strutting around.
But as the trials progressed, with each miracle Park Chan-woo wrought.
All they could do was marvel at the sight.
Was he really a fox?
If so, what kind?
"..."
Yet Yujin-seo offered no answer.
She couldn't.
She didn't know either.
Park Chan-woo isn't a fragment of a hidden piece.
She could only guess.
She and the other foxes.
All shared the same thought.
If Park Chan-woo was a fox.
And a being acknowledged by the creator, holder of full free rights to this fox den.
He wasn't charmed.
It was certain now.
She'd thought he was at first, but no.
He'd merely pretended to be.
That explained the nagging oddity.
...In that instant.
A thought flashed through every fox's mind.
The reason Yujin-seo endorsed him as protagonist.
The one who made Yujin-seo abandon her will with a single dose of poison.
Burned Hwaryeong to death, skewered Cheonryeong with a holy sword toss, and soloed Dokryeong without a hint of poisoning.
Could it be...
The only scenario that fit all this.
There was just one.
...Park Chan-woo is a ten-tailed fox.