Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: I've Acquired Chaos Mana
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"Take this and head to Jumper."
After emerging from the Demon Vein, Geon-woo immediately handed Paeng a spatial pouch containing a magic tool and a box of mana stones.
"What? You want me to go alone?"
"Yeah. We can't just leave those guys like that."
"But what are you planning to do?"
Paeng agreed with Geon-woo's words that they couldn't abandon Muhammad and the others.
But did he have some method ready right now?
"They've been holding out pretty well."
"Is that what you call holding out? They looked like they were about to drop dead any second."
"Chaos Mana has invaded most of their bodies. And yet they're still alive and fighting it off."
"Well, it's not unheard of. Sometimes people get addicted to Chaos Mana and end up becoming residents of the Great Demon Vein..."
Paeng muttered while gazing worriedly toward the Demon Vein entrance.
Just as she said, a tiny fraction of those addicted to Chaos Mana survived without dying and became part of the Great Demon Vein.
But in every such case, they lost their minds completely.
They all became slaves to something within the Great Demon Vein, following only that entity's will.
"That's different from this. They still have their self-awareness."
"Yeah, that's why I don't think that's it either..."
"It's a special case. They're enduring severe Chaos Mana poisoning without dying, and they're still retaining their sense of self."
"That much is true. You know something, don't you? You said you had a hunch."
"Yeah. So go wait over there for now. You need to guard the clinic. That's my base of operations."
"Base or not, if something happens to you, Geon-woo, everything falls apart. You know that, right?"
"If something happens to me, Ilryeong will sense it right away. So don't worry—just go and wait. I've left the Hundred Man Jiangshi Team with Ilryeong, so they should hold out for a while."
"You're just going to take your elite guard Jiangshi?"
"There wasn't any danger besides the Chaos Mana. Even if something comes up, trust me."
"Alright, fine. Who else am I gonna trust if not you? I'm going."
Convinced by Geon-woo, Paeng had no choice but to drag her heavy feet away.
When she thought about it, the situation wasn't all that dangerous.
Muhammad and the others couldn't leave the Great Demon Vein no matter what, but Geon-woo could come and go freely.
So he could just go in and out, finding a way to save Muhammad and the rest.
It almost felt silly standing there with Geon-woo like they were filming some dramatic scene over nothing serious.
"Hmm. It has to be because of Gangsigong."
After Paeng left, Geon-woo recovered the energy for his Heavenly Brain Multi-Heart Sub-Spirit Jiangshi Technique near the violet entrance of the Demon Vein and examined the Chaos Mana closely.
The reason Muhammad, Cheon Su-wan, and the others had endured severe Chaos Mana poisoning this long.
Geon-woo believed it was due to Gangsigong.
"But something doesn't fit. That's not enough to explain it."
After pondering for a while and fully restoring his energy, Geon-woo deployed a repulsive field to push back the Chaos Mana and re-entered the Demon Vein.
* * *
"You're back?"
"Ugh..."
"......"
"..."
"They're looking worse by the minute."
When Geon-woo returned to Muhammad and the others, only Cheon Su-wan was fully conscious.
"They'll all be fine."
Yet Cheon Su-wan looked at Geon-woo with a surprisingly bright expression.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Haha. Because I was in the worst shape originally. But now, I'm getting better bit by bit."
"Getting better? Really?"
Geon-woo scowled deeply at Cheon Su-wan's words.
And for good reason—Cheon Su-wan's body contained almost no normal mana, filled instead with Chaos Mana.
"What does it matter either way? The important thing is we're alive, right?"
"Sure, better than dying. But are you really okay?"
"Are you worrying about the master of the Great Demon Vein?"
"The master of the Great Demon Vein?"
"I'm starting to sense things now that this has happened."
Cheon Su-wan turned his head toward the Great Demon Vein connected to Jihyeol.
"So the Great Demon Vein has a master?"
Geon-woo asked, watching him.
"To be precise, you could call it the ruler of the Great Demon Vein. Such a being exists."
"Can you explain in more detail?"
"What’s so hard about that? Once I took in the Chaos Mana, the master tried to seize my mind. That's how I learned about the Great Demon Vein's situation."
"I see. So what’s the deal?"
In response to Geon-woo's question, Cheon Su-wan began explaining the Great Demon Vein's circumstances.
According to him, the Great Demon Vein was a territory under some kind of dominion authority.
It seemed like a contract where those possessing Chaos Mana submitted to the master of the Great Demon Vein.
"But you're all still in your right minds?"
"It's because we have energies besides Chaos Mana. Normally, Chaos Mana doesn't allow any other energy, so you can't hold both at once."
"Hmm. From what I can tell, you don't have anything but Chaos Mana, Cheon Su-wan."
Geon-woo examined him again with a puzzled look at his words.
But the only energy emanating from Cheon Su-wan was still Chaos Mana.
Not even a shred of vitality remained in Cheon Su-wan, Muhammad, or the others.
Everything had been supplanted by Chaos Mana.
Their appearances hadn't changed, but inside, they were completely dyed in Chaos Mana.
"Hmm. What other energy do you mean? I can't detect anything besides Chaos Mana."
In the end, Geon-woo failed to find any energy besides Chaos Mana in Cheon Su-wan, Muhammad, or the others.
"Hahaha. Leader, you've never seen the residents of this Great Demon Vein, have you? That's why."
"The residents of the Great Demon Vein?"
"Those bound to the master. Ones made purely of Chaos Mana."
"Made purely of Chaos Mana?"
"Yes."
"If they're purely Chaos Mana... then they wouldn't have proper physical bodies. More like energy beings or spiritual entities."
From Cheon Su-wan's words, Geon-woo got a sense of what form the Great Demon Vein's residents might take.
That made it clear that Cheon Su-wan and Muhammad right in front of him were completely different from them.
"You're still maintaining material bodies. Chaos Mana flows through those bodies. And the base for those bodies is..."
"Originally human, plus the genes from the bio-armor, and on top of that, the factors from Gangsigong."
"Human, bio-armor, Jiangshi."
"Exactly. Those three combined to form a vessel that can contain Chaos Mana. That's why the Great Demon Vein's dominion doesn't take hold over us."
"Because you have other energies besides Chaos Mana?"
"Yes."
"Khuhuhu."
As Cheon Su-wan nodded in agreement, Muhammad opened his eyes with a long exhale and sat up.
"Muhammad, you okay?"
"Very, very good. Hahaha!"
At Geon-woo's words, Muhammad burst into a refreshing laugh, as if a blockage in his chest had cleared.
"Urgh."
Cheon Su-wan groaned at the sight.
Geon-woo shot him a quick glare.
"No, I wasn't trying to hide it or anything. I just wanted to surprise you a bit. That clueless Muhammad..."
"Sorry about that."
Muhammad averted his eyes from Cheon Su-wan's glare.
"You must've gotten some hint toward growth from acquiring Chaos Mana?"
Geon-woo guessed what their behavior meant and asked.
He had sensed the strange energy within Muhammad's hearty laugh.
A mind power unlike anything he'd felt before.
"Chaos Mana is incredibly special. It's the nemesis of all other mana types."
Cheon Su-wan spoke to Geon-woo with a serious expression.
"That goes without saying. Otherwise, the Mana Vein Mountains wouldn't be off-limits."
"In terms of ratio, it's about 10:1. Meaning one unit of Chaos Mana can match ten units of normal mana."
"So your training results will be ten times better from now on?"
A 10:1 ratio was an enormous difference.
"And the master of the Great Demon Vein can't leave it, but we can."
"There's the issue of not being able to recover Chaos Mana outside, but if we store it up properly inside, we can operate outside without much loss."
Cheon Su-wan and Muhammad took turns explaining the situation.
But Geon-woo frowned the moment he heard them.
"Doesn't that mean you can't replenish your power if you use it outside? That's a huge weakness."
"It is. We couldn't endure power-draining attrition or swarm tactics."
"But we do have a powerful one-shot attack for sure. Like a strategic weapon you can't use recklessly, but when you do, it inflicts massive damage."
"You four have become that kind of existence?"
"Yes. If we properly store the Chaos Mana, it's entirely possible."
Cheon Su-wan replied confidently to Geon-woo's question.
Muhammad nodded in agreement.
"Strategic weapons... Not bad, but it'd be better to find a way to replenish Chaos Mana even outside."
"Of course we'll do that, but it won't be easy."
At Geon-woo's words, Cheon Su-wan adopted a cautious attitude, as if he knew something.
"What is it?"
Geon-woo asked.
"Chaos Mana is produced by the master of the Great Demon Vein. He grants that ability only to his six servants."
"He bestowed the ability to create Chaos Mana on his kin?"
"Yes. So to gain that ability, you have to capture one of those six."
"If you capture one? You can produce Chaos Mana yourself?"
Geon-woo asked excitedly, sensing potential.
"From the memories I obtained, the residents of the Great Demon Vein devour each other. And when that predation reaches its limit, they issue a challenge."
"A challenge?"
"There’s a hierarchy among the Great Demon Vein's residents too. Lower ranks challenge higher ones. Win, and you take their position."
"Honestly, once we're recovered, we're thinking of trying a challenge ourselves. The problem is we aren't proper residents, so we can't grow our abilities through predation."
Muhammad chimed in while listening to Cheon Su-wan.
"You can't devour?"
"That's only permitted for those belonging to the master. It's a cycle to prevent the Great Demon Vein from stagnating and rotting, you could say."
"But you can challenge without devouring?"
"We have Chaos Mana, so fights are possible."
"No, if you can't devour, doesn't that mean you can't steal the ability to produce Chaos Mana either?"
Geon-woo asked as if wondering why bother with challenges then.
"It's different. It's not about devouring the opponent—it's more like claiming the abilities attached to the hierarchy rank."
"So you can't eat them, but you can take the perks of their rank?"
"Something like that."
"That's a good way to put it."
Cheon Su-wan and Muhammad nodded simultaneously.
"But you think the master of the Great Demon Vein will just sit back and watch?"
Geon-woo lobbed a heavy bombshell at the two.