Chapter 168
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Love-Hate Deer's Scent Pouch
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That item cost a whopping 20,000 Madness, matching the value of a Bio-Metal Ingot despite being a consumable.
Considering that a Bio-Metal Ingot offered permanent effects like a Reinforcement Stone, one could easily guess just how potent this mere consumable truly was.
'Damn... it needs to be cooked to amplify its effect...'
The current situation wasn't one where he could say, "Hold on a sec while I cook this up."
Krrrar...
If this didn't work, he'd have to raise hell on the fourth underground floor—Alcatron's inner sanctum—and fight this black dog.
Krr...
'...Is it working?'
Sniff sniff...
Yet the black dog, which had looked ready to tear Kang Seol apart at any moment, was now burying its nose repeatedly in the Love-Hate Deer's Scent Pouch he'd pulled out.
The female of the rare Love-Hate Deer produced a bizarre scent during estrus to lure males.
The problem was that this scent was so potent it affected not just Love-Hate Deer males but a wide variety of creatures.
'It's basically a top-tier pheromone.'
Even Kang Seol felt his mind growing hazy from the rich aroma wafting around.
[Love-Hate Deer's Scent Pouch]
Grade: Madness
Appropriate Level: None
Weight: 0.5kg
Special Ability: Forces 'Friendly' favor or higher on hostile targets immune to normal favor gain. Also amplifies subsequent favor increases. However, ineffective against extreme arch-enemies. Favor gained this way drops more easily than normal.
'Please work... if I cause trouble here, I'll have to deal with even more of them.'
Sniff sniff... Sniff sniff sniff...
The black dog was calming down now, its body gradually shrinking.
"Success... I guess."
Huff huff... Huff huff huff...
Kang Seol let out a sigh of relief from his tense chest and checked the black dog's info that Seon Ji-an had read aloud.
[Starving Coco]
Grade: Transcendent
Estimated Level: 40~45
The world teems with countless diverse lifeforms, some hard to comprehend at first glance.
In a distant past, the world's beings were purer and simpler than now—and thus stronger and greater than modern creatures.
Shadow Wolves are prime examples of such ancient lifeforms. Born from shadows, they live their entire lives within them. Their fangs rend mountains; their claws carve lakes.
Yet time has erased even these mighty Shadow Wolves from the world.
Coco is likely the last Shadow Wolf remaining.
This great being is now extremely hungry.
Basic Abilities: [Bite 5], [Claw 5], [Feral Wolf 1], [Lonesome Howl 3], [Shadow Step 2], [Charge 2], [Fierce Assault 3], [Rend 3], [Blood Scent 1], [Passive: Shadow Beast 2], [Passive: Pack Lord 3], [Passive: Shadow Affinity 3], [Passive: Berserk 2]
Special Abilities: [Ancient Ferocity 2], [Purgatory Flames 2], [Wild Gift 5]
'...What the hell is this?'
Kang Seol's face darkened like he'd witnessed something utterly absurd.
'Coco' has sponsored 1,200 Madness!
[Living like this? Wow...]
Level over 40? Lmao wait, people barely meet level 20s and you're soloing transcendent level 40s? Lol
The lead-up is hilarious too lol. Fell from the ceiling and it was waiting below lol
Coco: Welcome to hell, rookie. I've been waiting for you.
I'm Coco. I love eating noses.
Sekai's absurdity hits again. Time to accept it.
How'd you survive this time?
Rubbing up against it to survive is legendary smh
Wait, it was a wolf, not a dog?
'Fighting it would've been dangerous...'
He definitely wouldn't have lost.
Jamad had reached Transcendent grade too, wielding the primal force of the Grand Sorcerer.
Plus, Kang Seol had his Twin Knights. The battle wouldn't have ended in defeat.
That said, it wouldn't have been an easy win either.
A clash of Transcendents would inflict equal devastation on both sides.
"Ooh... you met Blackie. Long time no see, Blackie."
"Tori?"
"Haha... how'd you rush down to the fourth underground so fast, buddy? Congrats, that's the new... no, shortest record."
Ghost Tori appeared, scratching his cheek. He must find this situation ridiculous too.
"Tori... does Alcatron collapse suddenly like that sometimes?"
"No way... this is a first for me too. Even when Thud-Thud went berserk, it wasn't this bad..."
"...Thud-Thud?"
"Yeah, Thud-Thud. But be careful with him. He's not like Blackie. He'll try to kill you on sight."
"How do you know?"
"No prisoner has ever survived getting near Thud-Thud."
"......"
"Still, Thud-Thud's lazy and sticks to one spot. Even when he moves, he doesn't go far."
Kang Seol tried pulling more info from Tori. If not for the floating messages.
[Coco's favor toward you decreases.]
"Hey, Tori."
"Yeah?"
"Blackie... I mean, this guy's a wolf."
"Really? News to me."
"His name's Coco. Any way I can win him over?"
"Hm... easy. Blackie loves food."
"I figured... food?"
"Yeah, Blackie's a top predator even on the fourth floor. Prisoners all run when they see him. Get caught, and you're dinner."
"Hmm... food, huh..."
Kang Seol got the idea and flung open his Fresh Ingredient Pouch.
At that moment, someone arrived at the stairs from the second underground to the third.
"...Found it."
It was Frannan, the Saint of the Scales.
He was likely the fastest to descend after excluding oddballs like Kang Seol.
"Goddamn... what the hell was that shaking earlier?"
Frannan couldn't even imagine it had dropped Kang Seol solo to the fourth floor.
Then, a presence stirred in the darkness.
"Shh... who's there... Your Holiness? Is that Frannan?"
"That voice... Yohimba! Is that you?"
"Kahaha! Whew, survived by the skin of my teeth. Frannan."
"Good to see you too. In this mess, you're the most reliable pick."
"What do you mean... isn't it that prized disciple of yours?"
Frannan nodded slightly at the thought of Kang Seol.
"Of course, he'd be fine too. But not something to say in front of you. Anyway, learn anything?"
"Oh, I did."
"What?"
Yohimba spilled the details.
"Feels like a prison holding something back, and this weird mix of ancient and modern vibes."
"Prison makes sense to me too, but ancient and modern mixed?"
"Yeah... architecture I can't even guess at, plus trap mechanisms that ain't modern tech. Something's off."
"Hmm... that's the quirk of ancient ruins. But modern mixed in?"
"The maintenance isn't that bad for ancient, and prisoners are still alive."
"I find that weird too. Immortality's a calling no one's achieved. If it's ancient architecture surviving to now... prisoners still kicking doesn't add up."
"Exactly. So I thought... maybe someone yanked Alcatron from ancient times to now."
"You're joking..."
"Or it's modern, and everyone just forgot."
"Artifact Society's tenacious. No other possibilities?"
Yohimba scratched his head.
"Sadly, I'm too hungry to think straight. But I noted other oddities here."
"Yeah? Let me see... Danger!"
"Pardon? ...Gah!"
Clank!
A chain sliced through the air.
The chain linked to the prisoner's shackle whipped the spot Yohimba had just been.
Boom!
Yohimba barely dodged, furious, and pulled out a massive object.
A gun. Crude, but unmistakably a gun.
"You bastard! Taste some gunpowder!"
Kachunk!
Boom!
Fwoosh!
The attacking prisoner's body shredded and vanished before Yohimba's eyes.
"Where'd you go!"
Kachunk!
Boom!
Kachunk!
Boom!
The prisoner was nimbler than expected.
Yohimba was sure this wasn't a second-floor prisoner.
'Damn... from below? Where'd this guy come from...'
And that certainty was confirmed by another event.
Huuuuh...
The prisoner clasped both arms forward.
"Wh-what... no way?"
Kachunk!
A sound that should never come from its arms rang out.
Frannan's eyes widened.
"Dodge!"
Boom!
Thankfully, Yohimba rolled away from the attack.
"Huff... huff... crazy bastard... where'd he come from..."
"Are all the prisoners here like this? Getting worse the deeper we go... Anyway, fall back."
"Frannan? We should fight together..."
"No need. I can handle it."
Crack...
Frannan cracked his neck and addressed the prisoner.
"I've decided on method 151 out of 163 ways to kill you just now. So die nicely."
Vmmm...
Hexagram magic circles appeared in Frannan's palms.
Thud!
The prisoner's body was crushed.
"......"
Crack crack...
The prisoner glared at Frannan with bloodshot eyes. Frannan impassively cast the next spell.
Vmmm...
Vmmm...
Vmm...
Three spells intertwined in an instant.
Rumble rumble...
As the prisoner's body began to burst under pressure, it resisted.
Crackle...
"Ho... resisting? You analyzed my magic?"
Crackle crackle...
Yohimba raised his gun at the prisoner breaking free.
"Frannan! Isn't this dangerous?"
"Just watch."
Riiiip!
In that moment.
Splat!
The prisoner's head exploded.
"...Huh?"
"Hmph, just a copycat. Far short."
"Wh-what happened?"
"It copied my spell instantly. But that's all. Magic isn't just power—without knowing the principles, mana backflows and kills the caster. Basic theory stuff."
"You predicted even that... impressive. 163 methods, you say."
"Think Saints earn it playing around? Nah, bluff."
"...Pardon?"
"Only thought of three."
"Ahem... ahem..."
"Anyway, let's head down. That shaking worries me. Something might've gone wrong."
They descended slowly to the third underground.
Chomp chomp chomp...
Huff huff...
"You can cook too?"
"I know a bit of this and that."
Chomp chomp chomp...
[Coco's favor toward you increases.]
[Coco's favor toward you increases.]
Coco devoured the meal Kang Seol made like it was vanishing before his eyes.
Its favor rose noticeably, but sadly, this wouldn't last.
'How much is it gonna eat... ingredients are almost gone.'
At this rate, Kang Seol would end up as Coco's meal once they ran out.
"Hey, something's coming."
"Huh?"
"A nearby prisoner caught the scent."
Kerrruk...
The prisoner that appeared was a tusked reptile. Looked like a Lizardman, one of the beastkin types.
'...Strong.'
This foe exuded a presence incomparable to first- or second-floor prisoners.
[Squinty Cro]
Grade: Legendary
Estimated Level: 33~37
Cro, raised on swamp miasma, is a predator of the wilds. Cro...
But before Kang Seol could finish reading, something shot forward.
Whoosh...
Slash!
Splatter!
"Kraaaagh!"
The Legendary-grade prisoner shredding apart before Coco—right where it'd been eating—shocked Kang Seol deeply.
"......"
Cro's blood splattered on his face.
Our dog doesn't bite.
It rips.
Snowman's face lololol
Reality check hitting hard lol
Crying? Hey, you crying?
Cro died without meaningful resistance, limbs torn apart by Coco.
'Is this good or bad?'
Kang Seol faced a hard call.
Take down Coco? Post-battle, defenseless, could he handle other prisoners drawn by the noise?
Just wait it out? No sharp plan to break through the fourth floor.
'Can't cook all day for Coco... sigh...'
Then, something unexpected happened.
Huff huff...
Coco dragged Cro's mangled torso to Kang Seol in its jaws.
"Want me to cook it?"
Huff huff...
"Me, your personal chef..."
[Coco's Special Ability: Wild Gift]
[Coco gifts you part of the hunted prey Squinty Cro's stats.]
[You receive Wild Gift.]
[Wisdom +3]
"...Being your chef ain't so bad. For a while, at least."
Been dreaming of being a good wife since I was little.
Career path forced lol
Stats went up?? Lol
This procs every time??
Stat farming here??
"Coco, good boy? Like walks?"
Huff huff...
Coco's tail wagged like a propeller.
[Coco likes you.]