Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Chapter 46 God or Demon King
The first thing I did after coming out of my precious friend the Demon Dragon's body was to check the information on the gift.
I was starving like crazy from fighting with all my might until just a moment ago, but it couldn't overcome my curiosity.
Being hungry is familiar to me now anyway.
[Black Dragon Heart (Legendary): The heart of a Black Dragon that exists only in the Demon Realm, not the middle world. It contains very intense magical power, and if fully absorbed, new abilities can be obtained.
① Overflowing Magical Power: When consumed, Magic stat increases by a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 30 depending on individual skill and compatibility.
② Demon Dragon's Recognition: If the magical power contained in the Dragon Heart is fully absorbed, the Dragon Heart settles in the body. Acquired Trait: Black Dragon Heart (S).]
'I can get up to 30 stats from one elixir?'
According to what I heard from Yoo So-eun, although there are variations, usually Rare-grade elixirs give 3 stats, Heroic-grade elixirs give 5 stats, and Unique-grade elixirs give 10 stats.
She said she didn't know about Legendary-grade elixirs since she had never eaten one herself.
So I had been secretly hoping, but if I could get up to 30 stats, it was definitely beyond expectations.
And it wasn't just stats I could gain. Although it was conditional, if fully absorbed, I could also obtain a trait.
Not just any ordinary trait, but an S-rank trait called Black Dragon Heart.
I wanted to devour the elixir right away, but I held back.
Thanks to the Super Adaptation Body effect of Myriad Fierce Beast, I was already in a state where I could absorb elixirs with high efficiency, but if there was a more certain method, there was no reason not to use it.
I knew of a method that would help me absorb it with even higher efficiency than now.
'First, if I devour the Black Dragon's corpse, I'll gain potential, so my compatibility will increase even more.'
It was natural that a Dragon Heart would settle more easily in a body similar to its original owner.
Since I could steal an opponent's potential through Predation, if I made my body similar to a Black Dragon's state through that, it seemed like it would be good for absorbing the elixir.
"Thank you so much, my friend. You're the first friend to give me both your heart and... your entire body."
The Demon Dragon was dead. It no longer existed. But it would continue to live as one with me, on my back, in this heart.
[All beings of the Pantheon and Pandemonium are appalled by your character.]
This time, it wasn't just appalled, but contained the phrase that they were appalled by my character.
'To think they'd be appalled by my upright character. Is this the first time everyone's seen someone with such good character in a while?'
It seemed that recognizing even the enemy I had just been fighting as a friend with whom I shared friendship, and accepting all of him with a reverent heart, had moved the transcendents.
The transcendents also seemed to want me to realize friendship, so I began devouring the Demon Dragon completely without delay.
Originally, I had planned to leave things like scales, bones, and teeth that could be used as materials, but it seemed I had to process everything to raise the elixir's compatibility even a little.
Of course, things that could be used as such materials were too hard to chew and eat, so I absorbed them through Predation, and what I directly ate was the blood and flesh that could raise my resistance.
"No way, even your meat is delicious..."
It had the most toxic and demonic energy-filled blood I'd encountered so far, but the taste alone was incomparably delicious compared to other demonic beasts.
Pain no longer had much effect on me, so I focused more on the taste than my body that felt like it was breaking.
The Demon Dragon's meat, which chewed very softly and became more savory the more I ate, was truly the best.
My gratitude toward my friend who had given me his heart and body, and even considered the taste, deepened even more.
How long had I been eating like that?
[Superior Comprehensive Resistance level increases.]
[Superior Comprehensive Resistance proficiency has reached maximum.]
[Superior Comprehensive Resistance is promoted to Supreme Comprehensive Resistance.]
The toxicity and demonic energy contained in the Demon Dragon's blood and flesh successfully helped Comprehensive Resistance break through the wall.
I was already at a level where I could somewhat ignore the Demon Dragon's curses and debuffs, but now the effect had gotten even better.
Now I could probably consider myself completely immune to low-level magic, curses, and debuffs, right?
'I absolutely must not leave anything behind.'
I was continuing to grow just by taking my friend's legacy, so leaving anything behind was absolutely impossible.
I ate, ate, ate again, ate until my stomach would burst, and devoured the Demon Dragon's corpse entirely.
[Supreme Comprehensive Resistance level increases.]
My resistance grew, and the potential I had gained from the Demon King's avatar and the potential I had gained from the demonic beasts melted together into one trait within me.
[The possibility of corruption settles in your blood.]
[Acquire Trait: Demon Blood (S).]
Divine Blood and Demon Blood.
Two traits that originally couldn't coexist met within my body. And they achieved harmony within me... like hell, they started fighting like crazy.
"Ugh..."
Predation doesn't make its own judgments.
It doesn't consider at all whether it harmonizes with existing abilities, and simply steals the opponent's potential.
Blood spurted out crazily from every opening in my body. It felt like someone was squeezing and crushing my organs randomly.
If I hadn't already become accustomed to the pain of my internal organs being damaged while accepting toxicity and demonic energy, I would have fainted long ago.
[All beings of the Pantheon and Pandemonium are watching your choice with attention.]
I had two choices.
First, expelling all the Demon Blood and demonic energy that had begun to settle in my body, leaving only Divine Blood and divinity.
This was the easiest method.
Since Divine Blood had already adapted to my body, eliminating only the newly formed Demon Blood wasn't too difficult a task for me, who had mastered controlling the inside of my body.
However, I would lose some of the Demon Dragon's potential, so there might be problems in fully absorbing the elixir.
Second, removing the Divine Blood and divinity that had settled in my body and establishing the newly acquired Demon Blood and demonic energy.
This would be a bit more difficult than the first option, but it was a better choice in the long run.
I was already close to being a Demon King, but if I gained demonic energy and additionally obtained the Black Dragon Heart...
If I chose this path... although I was reluctant to admit it, I could become the Demon King of the prophecy.
The gods and Demon Kings were probably expecting to see which of these two choices I would make.
'God or Demon King.'
They wanted to see whether I sought to become closer to a god or closer to a Demon King.
But I had a third choice that they hadn't anticipated.
Namely, maintaining this state while balancing the two and fusing Divine Blood and Demon Blood.
It was the most difficult option, but the one that could gain the most. Of course, it was also an extremely dangerous method where I couldn't even calculate the probability of success.
Instead, I wouldn't need to give up either one, and if I succeeded, I could see the highest peak.
Of course, leaving an easy path to become stronger right away and taking the difficult path just to see one peak would be foolish.
'But... when have I ever taken the easy path?'
I had plenty of ways to easily obtain power.
Even in this trial, I could have just caught the minimum number of demonic beasts enough to fill my hunger, or I could have reduced the pain by grilling the meat to remove the toxicity and demonic energy.
But I always tried to walk the more difficult path, and thanks to that, I obtained Supreme Comprehensive Resistance and could also get the legendary elixir called Black Dragon Heart.
These were byproducts I couldn't have obtained if I hadn't tried to create a disaster-grade demonic beast, if I had been satisfied with lower-level demonic beasts and just pursued comfortable and easy growth.
This time too, I had no intention of taking the easy path. I would unite these two guys who were trying to devour each other within me.
"What's the worst that could happen? Death?"
No matter how I looked at it, this was the right answer.
Martial arts, traits, resistance—everything I had built up so far had been like this.
Nothing was obtained easily, and everything I gained was obtained by dedicating blood, sweat, and pain.
'It's definitely not easy. That makes it more fun.'
The fusion of Divine Blood and Demon Blood.
That meant divinity and demonic energy had to coexist within me.
For two forces of completely opposite attributes to coexist side by side, I had to rearrange all the heterogeneous elements from the beginning, one by one, so that no repulsion would occur.
That task was like being told to mix water and oil that originally couldn't be mixed.
But that analogy of water and oil actually switched my thinking. Just because Divine Blood and Demon Blood were fusing, did I need to use only these two?
'Actually, water and oil can't be mixed together isn't absolute.'
If an emulsifier that helps with mixing intervenes in their bonding process, it was entirely possible.
And within me too, there existed a special trait unique to me that could help with their bonding.
'Let's start, All-Master.'
The trait that was essentially my foundation, obtained by completing my own path that no one else had walked.
If Yeong-min's Body had laid the foundation for the existence called Han Yeong-min, then All-Master was the essence built upon that foundation.
The two that originally could never be mixed began to become one due to the presence of All-Master intervening between them.
CRACK. CRUNCH.
After undergoing transformation, gaining Myriad Fierce Beast, and even awakening Divine Blood, my body, which I felt had no more room for evolution beyond simple stat increases, was still there.
My body was still continuing to evolve. It was surpassing the limits I had set.
A new possibility that was neither god nor Demon King was settling within me.
[Divine Blood, Demon Blood, and All-Master melt into one within you.]
[Acquire Trait: Primordial Blood (Ex).]
I received an extra-grade rating, but I wasn't surprised at all.
Three S-rank traits had become one, so wasn't this much honestly natural?
Rather, I was more interested in the trait's name.
Primordial. A word meaning the beginning of the universe.
The new trait was extraordinary from its name alone, and I could roughly guess how amazing abilities it possessed just from the power I already felt in my body.
But checking the information for more accurate understanding was essential.
[Primordial Blood (Ex): A trait possessed by one through whom flows the blood of primordial transcendents that existed before division into gods and demons.
Creates a body optimized for handling the energy of Primordial Unity (混元) where divinity and demonic energy have become one.
① Supreme Bloodline: One who possesses the most noble blood with nothing above it. Primordial Unity energy naturally flows through mana, increasing all stat efficiency by 50%. Receives the highest level correction when using divine authority.
② Great One: The aura of Supreme Bloodline naturally emanates. Easily gains reverence from those who serve transcendents including gods and Demon Kings. Can handle artifacts containing transcendent divine authority without penalty.
③ Omnipotence: One who is proficient in all things. Receives the highest level correction for growth in all fields. In combat, the more fields you can handle compared to your opponent, the higher level correction your abilities receive.
④ Uniquely Exalted Status : Possesses your own unique status. Damage received from those of lower status decreases while damage dealt increases. All penalties received from those of higher status disappear.]
As befitting an extra-grade trait, it was full of ridiculous abilities.
First, the 50% increase in all stat efficiency meant that when I raised 1 stat like others, I would see the same effect as raising 1.5 stats.
It would show meaningful differences even in the early stages, but as those numbers got higher, it would definitely show even more overwhelming differences.
The highest level correction for divine authority was the same.
Just the high-level correction in Divine Blood made handling divine authority quite comfortable, but the correction had increased by two more levels, so how much better had it become?
It was just a pity that divine authority was sealed while passing through the Testing Floors.
Now I could easily receive not just simple favor but reverence from transcendents' followers, and I could handle artifacts containing not only gods' but also Demon Kings' divine authority.
'Well, I'd need to have them to use them.'
It was definitely an ability that would be useful if I obtained mythic-grade artifacts.
The next ability, Omnipotence, inherited some of All-Master's abilities while having more advanced capabilities.
It was the same in giving the highest level correction for growth in all fields, but the effect of giving additional correction the more fields you had mastered compared to your opponent wasn't in All-Master.
'It's basically always active, isn't it?'
I had never seen anyone more knowledgeable in more fields than me. If such a person had existed in the first place, they would have been All-Master, not me.
But the most important among these was none other than the last ability.
Uniquely Exalted Status. A ridiculous ability that made me possess a unique status.
Divine Blood only showed superiority against opponents of lower status, but Primordial Blood had the effect of eliminating even penalties received from opponents of higher status.
Since all gods would have Divine Blood anyway, they could easily block attacks from those of lower status, but the existence of this ability broke that premise.
Because an existence like me, who could ignore status differences and inflict damage, had been born. This ability would become a dagger to stab into the gods' hearts.
'If they let their guard down around me, they're all fucked.'
Right here, right now, an anti-transcendent decisive weapon that no one had anticipated had been born.
The weapon called the human Han Yeong-min.