The Dark Matter Core
The Hidden Mission — Shatter All of Klyphoth’s Altars — has been cleared.
Hostages Rescued: 150/150
✅ All personnel successfully rescued.
🏆 19th Floor highest record broken.
“You really saved every single hostage.”
Ping Lei stood there with his mouth hanging open, completely stunned.
Karla kept her usual stoic expression, idly running her fingers along the blade of her scythe.
“As expected of Master! There’s nothing we can’t do when we’re together!”
Lee Jiyoung beamed with a bright, silly grin.
“This outcome was only natural, since Yeo participated.”
In contrast, Nyx wore a pouty, sulky face.
Looking at her like this, there was no doubt she really was a goddess. Yet the moment our schedule ended, she would fuse with the sofa and remain glued to the TV like some kind of hostage herself.
Well, she had helped quite a bit this time, so I’d let it slide.
◈ 50,000 CP
Insane.
When I monopolized the second-floor hidden mission, I only got 1kg of orichalcum. Yet even though four of us cleared this one, they still gave us 3kg?
That brought the total to 12kg.
Considering it was an Iron-rank mission, the reward was ridiculously generous.
“Haha… hahaha! It’s orichalcum!!”
Ping Lei burst into manic laughter.
Orichalcum was a Platinum-rank material—something that was already difficult to obtain even in the 50th-floor section. It was a mysterious mineral that modern blacksmiths couldn’t even process properly.
It wouldn’t fetch its true value on the market, but if I offered it to the Guryong-bang, Zhang Wufei would be more than satisfied.
Nyx approached my side.
“Partner, hast thou not forgotten something?”
“Oh, right.”
“Hehe, thou didst not forget—”
“Time to devour the essence.”
The only thing left of Gaagshabla’s Branch was a shriveled husk that soon crumbled into dust.
In my previous life, I had never seen ‘Gaagshabla’s Branch.’ My strength back then hadn’t been enough to rescue everyone on the 19th floor.
But if my theory was correct, the skill I would gain from absorbing this thing’s essence was obvious.
[Devouring Gaagshabla’s Branch essence.]
[Essence absorption: 100%]
[Essence Grade: Ancient]
[Magic Power +17]
[Skill — Dark Matter Core has been added.]
Dark Matter Core
Grade: ★★★
Type: Passive
An organ that generates dark mana, which possesses properties opposite to regular mana.
When the user sends mana into the core, it is converted into dark mana.
*Conversion ratio — 1:0.7
Dark Matter Core.
Just as I expected.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t exactly talk about knowledge from the future.
The group known as Klyphoth consisted of demon worshippers. They were the ones who had inverted the concept of the ‘Sephirot Tree,’ which was said to represent the order of the world—and of every dimension.
They sought a world where the notions of good and evil were flipped, where chaos and terror became virtues instead of order.
The ‘Tree of Klyphoth’ was formed when all ten Qliphoth united into one.
Gaagshabla was one of the Qliphoth that made up that tree.
Any named monster with the title ‘Branch of XX’ would grant the Dark Matter Core when devoured. They were enemies I would run into often while climbing the Tower of Babel.
[Dragon Heart is colliding with Dark Matter Core.]
[Mana Core (Lower) is colliding with Dark Matter Core.]
Crackle!
Mana and dark mana were polar opposites. Since I already had two essences that assisted with mana manipulation, a strong backlash occurred.
“Partner, thy complexion does not look well.”
“My stomach’s just a little upset.”
Operating the Dark Matter Core might be different, but simply creating the organ inside my body wasn’t a problem. I had no immediate need to handle dark mana anyway.
“Thou hast obtained a new power. A blessed event indeed.”
“It’s all thanks to what the Goddess told me.”
“Yet it seems thou art forgetting something even more important.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Nyx’s face turned bright red. She kept sneaking glances at the orichalcum like a cat staring at a Churu treat placed just out of reach.
I was starting to fear the consequences if I kept teasing her, so I decided to stop.
With an exaggerated flourish, I presented the orichalcum to her.
“This humble one offers orichalcum to the Goddess.”
“Hmph. It is not that I particularly need it, but since thou hast shown such sincerity, Yeo shall graciously accept.”
Nyx’s smile stretched so wide the corners of her mouth nearly reached her ears.
Why couldn’t she just say she wanted it from the beginning?
Fearing I might change my mind, Nyx quickly turned away and absorbed the orichalcum on the spot.
It was still fascinating to watch such a hard mineral melt into a homunculus body. This was the second time I had seen the process, yet it never got old.
After absorbing all three kilograms, Nyx suddenly wrapped her entire body in Polar Night energy.
I watched curiously as her body began to shrink. She reverted to the size of a fairy—her old spirit form that I had seen many times before.
“What about your homunculus body?”
Oh.
That meant she could merge with my Polar Night when the situation called for it, then return to her homunculus body to assist in battle.
Depending on how we used it, this could become a powerful trump card.
The reuse time had dropped to ten minutes. That meant I could use Blessing of the Night much more frequently now.
“Master, at this rate, shouldn’t we challenge the Bronze promotion match right away?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Your level isn’t even close.”
To challenge the 20th floor, I needed to reach level 100 first. Every promotion match could only be attempted after hitting the maximum level possible in the current section.
“Then shall we run the 19th floor again?”
The words were tossed out casually.
“Sounds good.”
“I’m not tired at all.”
“If it is Team Leader’s command.”
The three of them accepted my suggestion without complaint.
There was no better mission for building team synergy. While raising our levels and earning CP, we would keep clearing the 19th floor repeatedly for the time being.
Since we had already received the first-clear bonus, Kim Youngsoo—the final member of our team—joined us for the repeated runs.
“I still have many shortcomings, but I would be grateful if you could bear with me.”
Kim Youngsoo bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
“Hmph. To think our teammate is someone who’s been stuck in Iron for years… Aaaagh!!”
I quietly stepped on Ping Lei’s foot.
“If you want to stay in this team, keep your complaints to yourself.”
“Ughhh… Understood.”
“Big Bro, just ignore what this guy says.”
“No, no. I must work even harder so I don’t become a burden.”
Kim Youngsoo smiled awkwardly.
Once all five of us entered, Kim Youngsoo’s unique ability, Legion Command, activated.
⊳ Morale greatly increased
⊳ Pain resistance applied
⊳ Centurion in command — massive morale boost
Kim Youngsoo controlled five puppets. With our five team members plus the five puppets, the buffs applied to a total of ten people.
This was exactly why having a commander-type on the team was so valuable.
The team members moved in perfect sync with my orders. Only Kim Youngsoo, who had to control the puppets, seemed a little clumsy at first. But he was adapting to team play quickly.
What had started as team coordination training and level grinding turned into a 19th-floor relay challenge. After one week, my level had climbed all the way to 76.
The other team members’ levels had risen sharply as well. The only regret was that Kim Youngsoo, who had already reached the Iron rank’s maximum level, couldn’t benefit from the experience.
“Wow.”
Ellen let out a short, impressed whistle.
“Some of us are sore all over, and you’re saying ‘wow’?”
“It’s just that no player I know has grown as fast as Mr. Yu.”
“There’s still a long way to go.”
The higher the level, the more experience was required. The amount increased exponentially. On top of that, we could only challenge the Tower twice per day. Even though our leveling speed was slowing down, we couldn’t grind indefinitely, which made rapid progress even harder.
Of course, that restriction would lose all meaning the moment a Gate Break occurred.
“Oh, right. I have a present for you, Mr. Yu.”
Ellen winked.
“A present?”
“You asked me to get something for you last time, remember?”
Was she talking about the Tyrannosaurus fossil?
“Hehe, seeing how happy you look makes me feel like it was all worth it.”
“That was much faster than I expected.”
“We owed you one, after all. Our Master put in quite a bit of effort this time.”
The Gold Moon guild.
They were clearly paying close attention to me. There was no way they had dug up a fossil no one even knew the location of. They must have bought it from another museum or a wealthy collector. It would have cost a fortune.
I knew that because in my previous life, I had spent absurd amounts of money collecting fossils myself.
“By the way, what are you planning to use the fossil for…?”
“You already figured it out, so why ask?”
“Hehe, I simply thought it was related to Mr. Yu’s personal taste.”
Yeah, right. I’d believe that.
She had probably already guessed that the Tyrannosaurus fossil was connected to my unique ability. The Guryong-bang had likely come to the same conclusion. They were probably trying to uncover the secret behind my power while also building goodwill by spending a huge sum.
Rich people’s way of thinking was truly incomprehensible.
One day later.
“Sir Jinho, we have secured the fossil you requested.”
The Guryong-bang had responded as well.
What surprised me was…
“Sir Jinho! We’ve finally won the auction for a complete Tyrannosaurus fossil!”
Han Suchang had also obtained a perfectly preserved Tyrannosaurus fossil at almost the exact same time.
The money used to buy the fossils was mine, but I was still grateful that he had handled all the troublesome work for me.
While repeatedly clearing the 19th floor, I had steadily accumulated fossils of primitive species. With this much, I could finally begin the process.
“Today is a rest day. Training is optional.”
I dismissed the team.
Nyx followed right beside me.
“That is unlike thee.”
“What’s unlike me?”
“Thou art not obsessively grinding missions.”
“I’m a little busy today.”
“Does it have something to do with those fossils?”
“How do you always know?”
I was starting to wonder if Nyx actually had some kind of mind-reading ability. It wasn’t listed in her status window, though.
Shaking off the suspicion, I spoke.
“I’m going to undergo body modification.”
“Modification?”
“I’m changing my vessel so it can hold more essences.”
“So the primitive species essences you’ve gathered had that kind of effect?”
“The primitive species essences are merely containers.”
My current body was weak. Even though I had grown stronger by devouring various essences and leveling up, I was still bound by the limits of the human species.
What I was about to do was forcibly expand the limits of my physical body—an artificial evolution.
It was a path I had pioneered in my previous life, not one provided by the System.
Now that I had also obtained the Dark Matter Core, the timing was perfect. The primitive species essences had gathered exactly when I needed them.
“Hoo, an artificial change, is it?”
“Are you coming along, Goddess?”
“Since Yeo is thy contractor, it is only natural that I observe the change.”
Yeah, right. It was obvious she was just bored and wanted to watch.
Still, it was for the best.
Body modification made one extremely vulnerable to external interference. With internal energy cultivation, you could stop at any time. But once you began reconstructing the very foundation of your body, there was no way to pause the process until it was complete.
Nyx, bound to me by our contract, was the one person I could trust to watch my back.
With Nyx accompanying me, I headed toward the warehouse where the fossils had been gathered.