The Essence Reorganization

I let out a long breath.

My head was throbbing.

It wasn’t like I’d only devoured one or two essences up until now.

I had to assign each essence to a specific body part, then link them together under a main essence and its subordinate concepts. That process alone had taken forever.

Among them were a few essences I’d agonized over whether to deactivate because of how useful their skills were.

Anyway, the first stage of reorganization was finally complete.

The crown of the head—or the upper dantian. It was the part where a person’s spirit was said to reside.

I set the main essence there as the power of Nyx that I had devoured back during the tutorial.

Below it, I placed debuff skills like Black Gaze and Mark of Weakness as subordinate essences.

Debuff skills between 1-star and 2-star were practically useless against strong opponents, so I had no hesitation in grinding them down.

Uturi’s essence.

It was a 3-star ability I had struggled to obtain while climbing the mountain valleys of Jirisan.

It had been my main skill before I learned the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts.

Among all the essences directly related to the arms, none surpassed Uturi’s.

Well, that wasn’t the only reason I chose it as the main essence for my arms.

I was curious what kind of skill would emerge once I fused my newly strengthened Herculean Strength with martial arts.

It was also the symbol of Rene Davis.

Thanks to him, I had obtained Fusion Qigong, even if it was incomplete.

After testing the fusion of footwork with body techniques and martial arts using Shrink, I had reinforced Uturi’s essence.

Honestly, there hadn’t been any other essence suitable to serve as the axis for my arms anyway.

The options for the legs were a bit disappointing.

There was already Blazing Soul, and an even better version called Fierce Charge.

Still, I chose Rapid Dash as the main essence because of the additional Herculean Strength option.

When it came to stun infliction alone, it was far more stable.

Fierce Charge required at least ten meters of distance to activate, and the penalty for missing was enormous.

The permanent movement speed increase was also a decent bonus.

I assigned all the skills I had enjoyed using early in the Tower—like Swift Escape and Agile Hind Leg—as subordinate essences.

Even if I deactivated the skills, the Full Sprint created by their synergy wouldn’t disappear.

Next was…

There were no more essences left to grind into the heart.

Since I had only registered the Primordial Dragon Heart, the additional effects were minimal.

My mana recovery was already overflowing, but since it could be converted into dark mana, internal energy, or Seon magic, higher recovery was always better.

The increase in qi circulation efficiency didn’t just help recover spent internal energy—it also boosted the internal energy stat itself.

The same applied when absorbing elixirs, so it was an excellent option.

The faster conversion speed was incredibly useful too.

While I could somewhat use the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts, my internal energy had been too lacking to spam the Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword.

Now I wouldn’t be as restricted by it.

The Imugi’s essence, which I hadn’t been able to devour before my regression.

Because of that, the change felt even more dramatic.

I had assigned main essences to several other body parts as well.

I placed the sensory ability gained from the cavern dweller’s essence as the main one for my central nervous system and ears.

My reaction speed had become noticeably faster.

My spatial awareness and decision-making had also been upgraded.

There wasn’t any eye-catching stat increase, but even against opponents far above my level, I could at least react properly now.

And that wasn’t all.

The essence of the primordial species that I had used as the vessel for my body modification was registered as a power encompassing my entire physique.

All the ambiguous essences were subordinated under the primordial species essence.

Fortunately, since the primordial species—Tyrannosaurus—essence was a passive skill, my stats had skyrocketed.

“Status window.”

“Heh heh heh.”

A laugh escaped me involuntarily.

Thanks to grinding so many essences, my base stat average was now close to a thousand.

Even my internal energy—which had almost no way to increase except by consuming elixirs—had gained an extra 130 stat points.

At this level, I probably wouldn’t lose even in a head-on fight against Ellen without using Void Mirror.

I had deactivated quite a few skills, but my main ones were either added through synergy effects or registered as main essences, so there was almost no real loss.

My specs were now good enough to challenge missions beyond the 60th floor without falling behind.

If I used Void Mirror on top of that, I could even go toe-to-toe with the orc warrior who had defeated Ellen.

“Are you finished?”

“Thanks to you, Goddess, it went smoothly.”

“It is fortunate that nothing serious happened this time.”

Nyx let out a sigh of relief.

“Anyone listening would think I cause a scene every single time.”

“Then recall how you convulsed last time.”

“Ah, that was…”

“Was that the only time? You also made a huge fuss when absorbing elixirs, and when you absorbed bones as well.”

Damn it.

The heavy facts left me speechless.

“To earn the trust of Yeo, one must act accordingly.”

“Yes, yes. I shall humbly accept your wisdom.”

“Hehe, did you obtain everything you desired?”

“Yeah. I’ve gained enough power that I won’t lose to anyone who comes at me now.”

“Indeed. Your aura has grown tremendously in an instant.”

Nyx stroked her chin as if appraising me, her eyes slowly scanning my body.

Her gaze was so blatant that I unconsciously took a step back.

“Now, now, stay still. I am merely performing a health check. Why are you retreating?”

“Why are you looking at me with those eyes…”

“I am simply confirming whether anything has gone wrong with Yeo’s contractor.”

Nyx continued touching my arms and legs with delicate movements.

…This really is just a health check, right?

* * *

One day.

A strange rumor popped up on the internet.

The post was buried under a flood of curses.

Zhang Wufei skimmed through it and let out a crooked smile.

“Looks like the rumor won’t spread for a while. Good work.”

“It was nothing, Boss.”

“We can’t allow Yu Jinho’s value to rise any further.”

“Boss. Isn’t this a bit excessive? He’s just a player from a small country.”

“That kind of thinking is exactly why we lost Ping Lei.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine. That was my order as well.”

The Nine Dragons Syndicate executive broke out in a cold sweat.

Zhang Wufei didn’t even spare him a glance as he fell deep into his own thoughts.

I cannot leave Yu Jinho as he is.

It wasn’t strange that the Nine Dragons Syndicate had noticed the anomaly on the 36th floor.

Ever since they had recruited Ping Lei from Yeokcheon in the past, they had been constantly monitoring Jinho and Gold Moon for any irregularities.

It was only natural that Jinho would participate in a mission after returning from the demonic realm exploration.

The Nine Dragons Syndicate had hired several Silver-rank players and pressed the match button in sequence.

It was only possible because the 36th floor mission used global matching.

The result had been astonishing.

A different race, and an enormous reward.

Simply surviving granted far greater rewards than the existing missions.

Zhang Wufei had made sure to silence the player who had been matched with Jinho.

Matching with other races only happened from the 61st floor and above.

It was obvious who had created this variable.

At this rate, Yu Jinho might ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠actually stand in the way of the Nine Dragons Syndicate.

Even using the Hwarang Guild to keep him in check had ended in complete failure.

It was now difficult to even calculate how much damage the Nine Dragons Syndicate had suffered because of a single man named Yu Jinho.

According to Gold Moon’s intelligence, he even sparred with Ellen?

Ellen Taylor.

America’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠top ranker, and one of the names always mentioned alongside the world’s strongest players.

Yet rumors said that very Ellen had fought Jinho to a draw.

At first he had dismissed it as faulty information, but seeing Jinho’s recent actions, he was starting to feel a growing sense of crisis.

“All this trouble because of one player from a tiny country.”

Zhang Wufei gripped the armrest tightly.

Crack!

The armrest shattered into pieces.

Everyone inside the office held their breath and watched Zhang Wufei’s expression nervously.

Do you desire power?

A voice echoed in his ear.

Zhang Wufei’s eyes sharpened as he looked around.

“Who is it?”

The guild executives remained silent.

They simply looked at each other in confusion.

Mortal, it is not they who have called you.

The voice rang directly inside his mind.

Instead of answering, Zhang Wufei waved his hand.

Once the executives had left and he was alone, he finally spoke.

“A Constellation.”

Heh heh, you recognized me immediately.

“I already have a contracted Constellation. And they don’t speak to me directly like this.”

We must follow the Tower’s rules. If we break them, we cannot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enjoy our games.

“Then why is this Constellation speaking to me?”

Because of your desperation.

“Desperation?”

Your craving for power, and your anxiety. It is rare for a powerhouse like you to be consumed by impatience.

“Heh heh heh. What, are you going to give me power?”

In Egypt, there is my contractor, Abdul Hamad. Go and meet him.

“How ridiculous. A Constellation that won’t even show its face…”

Zhang Wufei growled lowly.

A Constellation approaching through loopholes.

If it had been the old him, he wouldn’t have given the proposal a second thought.

But.

“Abdul Hamad…”

Zhang Wufei repeated the name several times under his breath.