Avici Hell (1)
Napang had been reclaimed by the military once more.
Thus, the pioneer city of Napang returned to normalcy.
Kwon Yeol was arrested on the spot.
His cousin, an imperial assembly member, was also apprehended by New Seoul police, while Oasis Guild members were detained and transferred to Hapbin Prison.
Though Napang was thrown into chaos, few knew that Kim Taeju was the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
He'd holed up inside the guild office while suppressing the Oasis Guild members, summoned the legion commander over the phone, and captured Kwon Cha Yeol within those same walls.
The only ones who'd ventured outside were Ilbaek, Ibaek, and Sam-baek.
Once the situation had calmed somewhat, Taeju left Napang behind.
"Time to head out?"
"Meow!"
Their destination: Barun, the largest grassland pioneer city.
They could have driven straight there in no time, but Taeju deliberately took the long way around.
Areas near the cities were safe zones, thoroughly cleared of monsters, blanketed in vast green wheat fields.
But stray just a little beyond those safe zones, and everything changed.
No farmlands in sight.
This was monster territory.
Remnants left after the pioneer divisions swept through.
Without any elite monsters, though, it made for relatively easy hunting grounds for raid teams.
Hunting was in full swing even now.
Everyone hunted monsters, of course—but for different reasons.
The military aimed for total extermination, ripping them apart without a thought for byproducts. They'd harvest anything useful that dropped, sure.
Civilian raid teams, on the other hand, prioritized byproducts. They tried to take monsters down intact, harvesting only the valuable parts.
Taeju? Poison was his main goal. Even lucrative monsters held no interest.
He just sniffed around the grasslands until something caught his nose.
"Oh! Poison herbs."
To be precise: grassland poison mugwort.
Something he hadn't seen in Jirisan.
Bitter as hell.
One more poison added to his poison essence.
Weak or not, it didn't matter.
The key was variety.
He needed to sample all kinds of poisons to uncover clues for curing mana rejection syndrome.
He harvested a bunch and stored it in his infinite space.
Beyond the mugwort, all sorts of other poison plants dotted the area.
Taste, store. Taste, store...
Suddenly!
"Kyaaak!"
Sam-baek bared his teeth at one direction, snarling.
"Hm?"
Rumble rumble rumble!
The ground trembled.
Sprout, sprout, sprout...
Long, branch-like things burst up from underground.
...Antennae?
He knew what they were now.
"Eh, no poison though."
Variant sawtooth ants, armored in tough exoskeletons.
They came in swarms—fifty at least whenever they appeared.
No poison, true.
But hunt them anyway.
Perfect practice for his hidden weapon arts.
Shh!
A cluster of thin blood seal needles materialized in both hands.
Taeju scattered them into the sky.
Whirrr!
They arced in a parabola,
then rained down—
Pew-pew-pew-pew-pew-pew-pew!
Pfsh! Pfsh-pfsh-pfsh-pfsh-pfsh!
A wide-area hidden weapon technique: launch countless needles skyward to fall like a downpour.
The variant sawtooth ants turned into pincushions and dropped dead.
Thud thud thud thud!
The blood seal needles were sucked back into Taeju's hands.
"Tch, not perfect yet."
"Nyaang!"
These were elite mana crystals mixed into blood seal needles.
But infusing qi into each and every one? Tougher than expected.
He knew the theory, but his body couldn't keep up.
"Practice makes perfect."
"Nyaaa..."
If he had a Poison Spirit, it could form qi on thousands—tens of thousands—of projectiles and guide them to targets automatically.
Taeju pressed on.
Along the way, he crossed paths with monster-hunting raid teams.
"Hey! You look like a compatible. Dangerous even for awakeners here—and with a cat? ...Join our team?"
"I'm good."
"Worried about shares? We'll treat you same as our compatibles."
"Thanks, but..."
Nice folks.
So as they parted, they couldn't help but warn him.
"Just one thing: if the air ahead warps weirdly, run. Camouflaged assassin scorpion."
"Got it. Thanks."
An assassin scorpion would be welcome, actually.
But this wasn't a one-off.
Every raid team made similar offers.
Too risky alone for a compatible.
We'll escort you safe—come with us.
Maybe because he wasn't an awakener?
A facial tattoo might've cut down on the hassle.
Let's make one.
Taeju pulled out his smartphone, switched to selfie mode.
Reverse Appearance Art altered facial structure, but mastery let him change skin tone too.
Neutral black should do.
Mimicking an awakener.
Surprisingly common: illegal tattoo jobs. Called tattoo frauds.
Shh!
Part of his face shifted hue.
Then, like magic, a fake awakening tattoo appeared.
"How's that? Awakener enough?"
"Nyaang."
"Perfectly convincing?"
"Meow!"
Should've done this sooner.
With the tattoo, his disguise was flawless.
Taeju resumed wandering the grasslands with Ilbaek.
Along the way, digging poison herbs, snaring scorpions and rattlesnakes to add their venom to his collection.
No elites was a shame, but...
Night fell before he knew it.
"Rest here a bit before moving on?"
"Meow."
He pulled camping gear from infinite space, pitched a tent.
Chairs, table out. Campfire lit.
"Nice, right?"
"Yaaaoow..."
Stars over the grasslands were something else.
Countless, spilling across the sky.
Taeju sat, pulled out an immortality peach.
Crunch crunch.
To expand the shared warehouse, he'd devoured all premium peaches and nectar—leftovers were just yawn peaches.
"Want some?"
"Meow! Nyaa! Nyaang!"
Tossed one each to Ilbaek, Ibaek, and Sam-baek.
Then, air account smartphone out. Played a video.
A familiar face appeared.
- This is our multiplex under construction.
A seven-story wooden building. Dang Gunak the Poison Immortal.
- Thanks to it, this boring immortal realm's turned into a total blast.
These days, he and Dang Gunak didn't exchange letters.
Snapped daily life vids on air account phones, sent them over.
Said what they wanted this way.
Other immortals popped in too.
- Oh! This live? ...For real? Ahem, h-hello, Great Hero Taeju. I'm Danju Seonin. Hope you're using the talisman I drew well. Saw sneakers in that drama—do they really make your feet comfy?
- Hey! Danju Seonin! Don't be so shameless...
Sneakers collab.
- Great Hero Taeju, you good? I'm great. Let's grab chimaek next time.
Stock up more chicken and beer.
Geomseon too.
- Harley?
- Crazy! Harley bikes even here?
- Harley?
- Cut it out!
"Kekeke!"
He could guess.
Probably filmed before Geomseon got his Harley.
Next delivery: Geomseon roaring through the immortal realm on it.
Taeju had some vids ready too.
Might as well flaunt Ilbaek & co.
"Introducing my pet."
Focused lens on the cat.
"Ilbaek."
"Meow?"
"Stand by the campfire."
"Nyaang!"
"Next, Ibaek."
"Yaang!"
"Sam-baek, come out."
"Nyaaa..."
And,
"Transform to white tiger."
"Graaawr!"
How could he not brag about such an obedient beast?
"Back up."
"Grr?"
"Way back, farther..."
Good distance.
"True form."
No sooner said,
Whoooosh!
Il-I-Sam-baek ballooned to house-size.
"Groooowl..."
A massive three-headed white tiger's roar echoed across the high plain.
Time flew in the Immortal Realm too.
The realm's one-and-only multiplex—entertainment and shopping under one roof—finally completed.
Staff hired to run it.
Smart ones: Gwigok Seonin and Galhong Seonin.
Naturally, they drew envy from countless immortals.
"Me?"
"Nah, no more new hires."
"Internship even..."
"I'll work 168 hours a week like a dog. No vacation needed."
But few immortals could match Gwigok and Galhong's work ethic.
Earth equivalent: top Silicon Valley IT devs.
They rolled out Immortal Realm credit cards.
Immortals traded peaches for peach coins.
Rumors spread; even Peach Palace's Seowangmo and her fairy maidens got cards.
Not just them.
Celestial officials too.
Underworld reapers.
Peaches poured in.
Hand over fist.
A huge grin spread across Dang Gunak's face for the first time in ages.
And on top—
Bzzzzt!
Delivery signal in his head!
It's here!
Good mood.
Stashed incoming peaches in shared warehouse. Didn't forget air account smartphone.
Reconciled with Geomseon.
Needed treasure swords, no choice.
Ten bought from him, stored too.
Checked Earth delivery.
Insane.
Even more goods.
Second-floor shopping space might not cut it.
Not a mega-mart, but way bigger than a convenience store.
One thing left: grand opening.
Ribbon stretched across multiplex entrance.
"Now, time to cut the ribbon."
Dang Gunak snipped; fireworks exploded everywhere.
Boom boom boom boom!
"Hooray!"
"Long live Chairman Dokseon!"
"Movies now?"
"Heh, drinks first."
"Hey, Juseon bartender, highball here!"
"Gonna browse goods first."
Everyone's pockets were flush.
Rich from the start, poor before—didn't matter.
Multiplex construction paid worker immortals wages.
No need for physical cash.
Just credit peach coins.
And the billboard on the multiplex wall.
Various poisons harvestable from the Demon Realm—buying at good prices.
Murim immortals perked up.
Soon, they'd haul in poisons or yokai corpses.
Print more peach coins for it.
Ahh!
Issuer of Immortal virtual peaches, peach coins.
Immortal reserve currency federal board chair.
That was Poison Immortal Dang Gunak.
"Everyone, come on in!"
Immortals flooded inside.
All seven stories.
Top floor: Dang Gunak's residence.
Floors 4-6: movies, dramas.
Mostly 300-year-old Earth films, shows, variety—
Taeju wanted to showcase Earth's golden age.
Floor 3: arcade.
Geomseon, fresh off his Harley, already gaming.
Floor 1: Juseon's cocktail bar lounge.
Immortals mingled here.
Dang Gunak leased it to Juseon.
For peaches, of course.
Floor 2: shopping.
Earth goods galore.
Does a sparrow pass the mill?
One of Immortal Realm's richest, Seowangmo, swept in with fairy maidens.
"Oh? Clothes. Shoes too."
Shopping VIP Seowangmo, Dang Gunak trailing.
Women's section: all for her.
"All latest stock. Top Earth luxury."
Seowangmo nodded approval.
No ordinary goods.
After buying Hermes bag from Dang Gunak, she'd obsessed over matching outfits and accessories.
But Immortal-made Earth-style clothes? Cheap fakes. Unsatisfying.
This? Paradise.
"Bag this, this, that one too."
Seowangmo's ruthless shopping spree began.
Dang Gunak pumped flattery.
"Impeccable taste."
"You think?"
"If your soul were on Earth, you'd be a fashion designer."
"Hmm, it does appeal."
"Or model. Perfect size, right? Rare figure even on Earth."
"Hohoho, Dokseon too!"
Seowangmo covered her shy smile, swung at his shoulder.
Thwack!
Hurt like hell.
Regular human? Instant death.
"What's this?"
"...Ah, th-that's a bra. Like a chest cover."
"Huh? Oh, holds and gathers the breasts here."
"Ex-exactly."
But Seowangmo set the bra down.
"Might enhance silhouette, but... too small for me."
Small? C-cup?
"Needs to be this big. Can you get it?"
"Y-yeah, I'll source it. Might take time."
E-cup or bigger.
Pure Seowangmo.
Now he got the "Mo" in her name.
Suddenly!
One figure caught Dang Gunak's eye.
Hm?
Kangrim, sightseeing from the underworld.
Perfect timing.
Just the guy I wanted to talk to.
Dang Gunak sidled up quietly.
"Welcome. Kangrim."
"Oh! Dokseon, great show thanks to you. Impressive."
"Buy something."
"Heh, no peaches... couldn't get a credit card. Just here for a movie with Taktap."
"I'll load your card with 10,000 peach coins."
"Huh? Why?"
One peach = 100 coins. 10,000 = 100 peaches' worth.
Kangrim knew—had to be stunned.
"...No such thing as free. What's the price?"
Dang Gunak leaned in, whispered.
"Want to meet that Heavenly Demon scum in Avici Hell."
Kangrim jumped.
"Wha—no way I can swing that."
"Quick chat. Few words, done."
"Told you no. Great King finds out? Disaster! Pretend you didn't hear."
Dang Gunak pulled an item from infinite space.
"Credit card and this."
"Huh? That's..."
"Fountain pen. Fill with ink—no inkstone, brush needed. Handy for ledger work. Extras ink too."
"...Hmm."
Kangrim pondered.
M-engraved fountain pen: sleek.
Classy writing tool.
"Really can't..."
"One more?"
"Sigh."
Decision made.
"No long visits."
"I swear."
"No one else knows."
"Our secret."
"Fine. I'll arrange it. When?"
"Since you agreed, now."
Dang Gunak, soon to meet the Heavenly Demon.
Not as mortal—but immortal to Avici Hell prisoner.