Regeneration Suppression Powder

Yujun loaded the Regeneration Suppression Powder thick along his blade. The keen edge vanished under the coating, and his cutting power dipped a fraction—nothing that would matter in a fight.

He drove in and did not let up.

"Hhk—hah!"

Karas's breathing tore ragged. His arms and legs shuddered, and simply staying upright looked like more than he could manage. The regeneration he had trusted refused to answer him. A heavy shadow of defeat settled over his face.

"Where'd all that confidence go?"

"...I misjudged you. I've lost."

He conceded it without a fight. The admission was so clean it was almost absurd.

"Got a question."

"..."

"The one who killed you last time. What was his name?"

"Why do you care?"

"We're both human. That reason enough?"

Karas gave a bitter smile.

"Even I don't know his name. Only that he used a sword. His technique was exceptional."

"Good as mine?"

"You handle a blade astonishingly well yourself. So did he. Ask me which of you was better, though, and I couldn't say. When it comes to the sword, I'm little more than a layman."

"Yeah? Thanks for telling me."

"Finish it. This is the last time."

"Meaning you can't regenerate anymore."

"Correct."

A flash—and Karas's head left his shoulders. It was over, just as he had said. Able to rise again, he had never clung very hard to dying.

Still. I thought we'd at least start out even...

It ended flatter than he had expected. So this was the power an item could hold.

"Master. In the end, I accomplished nothing. I wished to fight..."

"You drew his eyes at the start. That was enough. You did well."

"Did I..."

"Next time I'll let you fight as much as you want."

"Yes!"

"Yujun! Look over there!"

Kim Heeyeon had found something. She jabbed a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finger toward it, and Yujun's eyes went wide.

A vortex of mana. Somewhere in the lull, a circling blue radiance had bloomed into being and flooded the dungeon.

"Doesn't look like a portal."

For a portal, the mana bound up in it was absurd.

"What is that? It looks dangerous."

"Wait."

He stood still and watched.

The Witch didn't want me coming here. She had a reason for telling me to leave the dungeon. Just because she hated the idea of it being cleared? She looked more desperate than last time. That mass of mana is why. That's why she called in a Karas who doesn't belong at this dungeon's level.

The problem is what to do with it.

Source of Mana. He knew nothing about it.

Yujun let out a frustrated breath.

"Master."

Paranet spoke up.

"What?"

"Permit me to go."

"In there?"

"Yes."

"...Hm."

It was a sure method. Paranet was a summon. Even if he died, Yujun could call him back.

"Fine. Go take a look."

"Yes!"

Paranet strode in with his head high. The moment he entered the Source of Mana, he vanished completely.

Unsummoned?

A check said otherwise. Paranet was still alive. Yujun waited in silence, and time went by.

"He isn't dead, is he?"

Kim Heeyeon asked. Yujun shook his head.

"Not yet."

"Really? Then what's he doing in there?"

"No idea."

That was when Paranet burst out of the Source of Mana.

"Hoo..."

"What were you doing?"

"I went in and came straight back out."

"What?"

"Yes?"

"You were in there a good while."

Paranet cocked his head.

"I could have sworn I came right out..."

"So, anything different? Body feel wrong? Anything hurt?"

"Nothing of the sort. Master ought to step inside as well. Heh heh. You will be astonished."

"Why?"

"Enter, and you will know. Enter."

Paranet bared his teeth in a wide grin, looking thoroughly delighted.

...

If he was that pleased, the Source of Mana must have done him some good. And now that Yujun looked again, the thing seemed a little smaller. No—it was smaller. Still enormous, but plainly reduced from what it had been.

He glanced at Paranet. The summon jerked his chin, as if to say get in already.

If it were harmful, he wouldn't be pushing me toward it.

Yujun pushed himself into the Source of Mana.

Fwaaah—!

The instant he crossed in, an indescribable clarity washed over him. Body and mind felt scoured clean, and what little fatigue he had been carrying melted away entirely. But the Source's true worth lay elsewhere.

The message hung in front of his eyes. Was he really allowed to take this for reality, and not a dream?

Then the Source of Mana shoved him out. The repulsion was stronger than even his physical stats could brace against, and he was driven from that exhilarating clarity before he could savor another moment of it.

Kim Heeyeon and Paranet came running.

"I—I thought something had happened to you!"

"Hm?"

"You didn't come out for over thirty minutes."

"Huh?"

"What were you doing in there?"

"I just stood there and walked out."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"You should go in too."

In truth, he wanted another turn inside the Source. Instinct, though, told him otherwise. The Source of Mana could be used only once.

"It's... not dangerous, is it?"

"If it were, I wouldn't be standing here smiling."

"Fair. All right. I'll be back."

Kim Heeyeon stepped into the Source of Mana and came out a few minutes later.

"W-whoa! What is this?!"

"How much did your Magic go up?"

"You got this too? Paranet too?"

"Yeah."

"Mine jumped by a whole 114. The result came up High."

"Oh. Lucky you."

"Right? What about you, Paranet?"

At that, Paranet's face had gone stiff. It was always stiff, of course.

"...M-mine was Mid. It rose by seventy."

"You look disappointed."

His expression had darkened. A bare skull was never easy to read, but the shadow on this one was unmistakable.

"I am displeased to have risen by less than that woman. Master—by how much did yours increase?"

"Two hundred twenty-six."

The two of them simply stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What?"

"I got High and went up 114. How did you come out with 226?"

"It came up Highest. That's where the 226 came from."

"One grade past High, and it's double?"

"Got lucky. That's all."

"I'm jealous. I only went up 114."

Paranet flared at that.

"Mortal woman. Are you mocking me?"

"You're undead. Of course your luck is terrible. Quit sulking, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and don't go coveting a living person's fortune."

"Do not provoke me."

"You've got no hair, so you'll cool off in no time. Lucky you!"

"...Were it not for Master's command, I would have killed you long ago."

Watching the two of them, Yujun laughed.

"Paranet. You've got nothing to be disappointed about. All of your stats went up by seventy."

"That is correct! In a sense, am I not the one who benefited most?"

Yujun nodded, and Paranet grinned as if the sulk had never happened.

Been a while. Maybe I ought to look at my status.

Somehow Magic had become his highest stat. And Magic was the one he had fed the fewest unallocated points. The irony was hard to miss.

I should use a skill gem, too. He had one Skill Gem (Mid). Gems were brutally hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to come by, and he had no desire to spend it before a better skill turned up.

I really am short on skills. Raw Magic alone sat at 500. Stack the percentage boosts from his items on top of that, and the figure climbed toward a thousand.

I want something S-rank or higher. Mana to spare, and almost nothing to spend it on.

That was when the Source of Mana vanished.

"Ah—!"

Paranet lunged for the place where it had been.

"Ah, my mana..."

He dropped to his knees as if the world had ended.

"Since when was that yours?"

"...So it may be used only once. A terrible shame."

"Well, yeah. If it was going to hand the stuff out, it might as well have given us all of it before it left."

There had surely been mana left in the Source.

"In truth, I... attempted to enter once more. That Source of Mana repelled me."

"Figured."

Absorb until the Source was gone? If that were possible, a system called the Dice of Fate would mean nothing at all.

"Guess it was an event dungeon, more or less."

"But didn't you say a witch owned it? Why leave something like this in a dungeon? It's practically on display for anyone to take."

At Kim Heeyeon's question, Yujun shook his head.

"She thought this was the safest place."

"Huh? Why?"

"Think about it. This was never a dungeon just anyone could clear."

"...Ah. Right."

She caught on quickly. The environment had swung to brutal extremes. They had even been sunk in the deep sea, and nearly lost consciousness to the pressure. Every time, Yujun's items had carried them through. Not just anyone could have reached the end of this place.

The Source of Mana disappeared, and the dungeon's exit appeared in its wake.

"Wait. Is the Source of Mana completely gone?"

"Doubt it."

"Then?"

"Moved somewhere else, probably."

"Did the witch do it?"

"Couldn't say. One thing's certain. She's going to be absolutely furious."

Either way, they had taken everything there was to take. And so Yujun's party cleared the hidden dungeon, the Source of Mana.

A summons came down for Coordination. Its people were busy enough that the whole roster could not gather, and yet no fewer than six of them assembled in one place. Or rather—five, to be precise.

Song Taeyeong addressed Ji Gyutae, whose face filled the screen.

"Gyutae-hyung. What's happened all of a sudden? You don't usually call a muster."

The answer came through the feed, smooth and unhurried.

"I have a favor to ask."

"A favor, from you? Something the likes of us can actually do?"

"As you can see, I am in the Demon Realm. I will not be returning to the Continent for some time."

"Yes. We know."

"So what's the favor? You know we're busy. Start with the point."

Ban Soyeon said it with a thoroughly unimpressed face.

"Hey. Is that any way to talk to hyung?"

"Since when have we stood on manners? Stay out of it."

"..."

They had never been a tightly bound group. Coordination had been founded for mutual profit and nothing more, and the only thing that kept them from splintering was Ji Gyutae's strength.

"This is not a matter that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠requires all of you. In return, whoever resolves it will receive a considerable reward."

"A reward. What kind of..."

Choe Gangmin, who had been watching in silence, brightened.

"A skill gem."

"What? Those barely even circulate on the Continent. You're actually putting one up? What grade?"

"High."

"High-grade? You're serious? Actually serious?"

"Have you ever known me to speak empty words?"

"Not that, but..."

Choe Gangmin glanced around at the other members of Coordination, then spoke.

"I'll do it."