Stage 11 (2)
It wasn't quite a certainty, but I hadn't used the Elixir without any basis, either. People tend to focus only on an item's contents—its effects—but what I'd looked at was the description.
[Description]: A potion crafted by a great alchemist after long study of the ecosystem within a volcano's interior.
An ecosystem inside a volcano, which would be nothing but magma and molten rock? The thought crossed my mind for a moment before something suddenly came back to me—the existence of extremophiles, microorganisms that thrive in extreme environments. I mean, my ability was bacteria. There was no way I hadn't studied bacteria.
If an ecosystem really did form in that hellish environment where temperatures soared past a thousand degrees, then it could only be sustained by extremophiles. And sure enough, the Elixir had captured exactly that.
“Undead Rise!”
Having confirmed it, there was no time to waste. I applied the skill directly to the potion.
Would you like to use the skill Undead Rise?
Target: 103,623,074 Magmophile corpses.
(1) Perpetuus Exomodulus — Description hidden
(2) Caulobacter Crescentus — Description hidden
(3) Magmophile
─ Population: 103,623,074
─ Description: A bacterium that lives only within volcanic magma, feeding on the molten inorganic matter to grow. To endure the extreme heat and pressure within the magma, it continuously forms insulating material to create a protective membrane.
─ Ability: Forms 0.001g of insulating material per second per 100 million individuals (base 0.00001g, Control 200% effect applied). Insulating material effect: Fire Resistance +3,000%
So I'd raised the Magmophile lying dead inside the potion—now Unit 3 of my bacterial legion. But... now what? I could endure the heat using Unit 3's fire resistance, but the real problem was that I had no means of attack. If I could transfer the fire resistance effect to Unit 1, that would be ideal.
Ah, wait a second. The effect I'd gained as my skill proficiency rose hadn't ended with Unit 3.
(2) You can spend mana to temporarily strengthen your undead.
The C-rank proficiency function was still available.
“Undead Enhancement.”
Enhanceable Undead:
(1) Perpetuus Exomodulus
─ Enhancement Effect: Each individual can use the skill Predatory Evolution.
⟨ Predatory Evolution ⟩
─ Description: Devours a foreign microorganism with similar genetic traits to temporarily absorb those traits. The evolved trait lasts for a single generation only and is not inherited through cell division.
─ Details: Required genetic similarity 0.8% (base 80%, Control 200% effect applied). Required mana: 13% of current mana per 100 million individuals (base 1,300%, Control 200% effect applied).
Looking at the descriptions like this, my Control stat really was absurd. An 80% required similarity meant you could normally only devour microorganisms with closely related genetics—but the Control effect had all but erased that restriction. The mana cost had been enormous too, though it had come down to something usable now. Either way, it was exactly the skill I needed at this moment.
“Unit 3, sorry to do this right after saving you... but you're going to have to get eaten.”
100 million Perpetuus Exomodulus individuals are using the skill Predatory Evolution!
At my will, Unit 1's legion of one hundred million swarmed over Unit 3 inside the potion in an instant.
Your legion is devouring 100 million Magmophile!
The genetic similarity between the two populations is 23%. Traits successfully absorbed—evolution complete!
─ Population: 100,000,000
─ Description: A population that has evolved for a single generation by devouring the microorganism Magmophile.
─ Abilities: Decomposes 5kg of inorganic/organic matter per second per 100 million individuals (base 50g, Control 200% effect applied). Forms 0.0005g of insulating material per second per 100 million individuals (base 0.00001g, Control 200% effect applied, degraded by 50% due to trait absorption via Predatory Evolution).
So it couldn't absorb the ability perfectly after all. It could only manage about half the performance. Still, you were the only thing I had to rely on right now. I'd told it to work as fast as possible, but...
THOOM! Before I knew it, the massive lava giant had already closed the distance.
“Kgh!”
Just being near it, a searing blast of heat slammed into my face.
Using item, Essence of the Volcano.
It was a one-time use item, which stung, but I drank the Essence of the Volcano first. As for Unit 3—most of its population had just been devoured, leaving only a few million individuals, so I'd stashed it back in my inventory. If I wanted to rebuild its numbers, I'd have to go ask Kyuson.
The moment the potion went down, the heat became almost imperceptible. It felt like an insulating layer of slimy membrane was forming over my skin. So this was the same effect as Unit 3, huh?
But then... the lava golem that had been advancing on me turned completely around and headed in the other direction.
“What the hell is that thing doing?”
Before my bewilderment could even settle, a message appeared before my eyes.
The boss, Guardian of the Rekindled Altar, cannot perceive you.
Instead of attacking you, the Guardian takes another action.
The boss, Guardian of the Rekindled Altar, is absorbing the Guardian remnants.
The Guardian grows stronger.
“What?”
Have you no shame, you bastard? You're getting stronger in there? What kind of Stage 11 dungeon is this! But before I could even complain, the golem moved.
Absorbing the Guardian remnants.
The Guardian grows even stronger.
The boss was growing stronger by absorbing the stone golems I had destroyed.
“So the Essence of the Volcano was a trap.”
The dungeon had apparently been designed so that the moment you drank it out of danger, you'd be thrown into Phase 3. This thing was viciously nasty. And it was fast, too. In the brief moment I hesitated, it had already absorbed four golems. The boss had grown to a size almost impossible to compare with how it had started.
No way around it, then. One hundred million evolved Unit 1 soldiers. You're all I've got to believe in.
“Find the life stone and destroy it.”
And so, in an instant, a hundred million individuals burrowed into the boss's interior. Success or failure? It was impossible to even gauge—when—
Absorbing inorganic minerals from the magma through its evolved traits, Perpetuus Exomodulus (Evolved) grows even more active!
The individuals maintain their peak condition! All abilities temporarily increased!
The boss, Guardian of the Rekindled Altar, absorbs the last of the Guardian remnants!
The Guardian becomes complete!
Guardian of the Tranquily Blazing Altar has appeared!
Messages of the boss strengthening and my legion strengthening appeared at the same time. The lava golem had now grown to nearly the size of a house. Standing before it, even breathing properly was a struggle—when—
The effect of Essence of the Volcano is ending.
The instant the potion's effect wore off, a wave of heat whooshed over my body. Athena, abruptly transformed from the ring, blocked most of the heat, but even the radiant energy alone felt like it would cook me alive.
“When... will this... end...”
Compared to the agony, it was barely ten seconds before it was all decided.
At the same time, the lava dripping down cooled and blackened, while gases venting from within punched hole after hole through its surface. That massive lava golem was transforming into its cooled state—basalt.
Quite a few more messages had popped up after that, but I'd have to check them once I got outside. Either way, twists and turns aside, I had cleared a gate officially judged impossible to conquer at Stage 11. As if to prove it, the moment I stepped out of the gate, more messages appeared.
Kim Se-gyun has conquered the 11th-stage gate, Altar of Hasty Guardians, for the first time!
The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province region of South Korea has been pacified!
All monsters appearing in gates throughout Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will be weakened!
Another impossible-rated gate cleared. And with it, another pacified region added. Then, with a soft vroom, my phone—finally back within signal range—vibrated.
“You actually did it...!”
“I did, yeah.”
It had barely worked out, but a clear was a clear. Besides, there was no one around to see how I'd done it. I hadn't recorded anything, and I had no intention of coming back here—so of course there wasn't.
“So, how are the reactions?”
“How do you think?”
“Frenzied?”
“That all?”
Zephyros chuckled and went on.
“It'd probably be faster to find somewhere that isn't interested.”
I'd been browsing the communities and news sites too. But the firepower was incomparable to when I'd cleared the Stage 3 gate last time—finding a worthwhile post was its own challenge. The scroll was flying by several pages a second; how was anyone supposed to read this?
“Then... I'm guessing... there'll be a press conference or something?”
“A press conference? Obviously.”
Reporters had always been something hunters avoided, too. As a rule, steering clear of press conferences was the wise move.
“Deal with the reporters for a bit and I'll pull you right out.”
That was the spirit in which Zephyros said it, but that arrangement would have been a problem for me.
“I'll be at Gimpo Airport by 10 p.m. Set up a press conference there, please.”
“S-set it up? The reporters? At the airport?”
Zephyros was flustered by the incomprehensible request, but he soon let out a small sigh and spoke.
“If the client wants it, that's what we do. Understood.”
I caught one of the last flights out of Jeju and arrived at Gimpo Airport. Even at Jeju Airport, I was far from the only person who recognized me. I hadn't realized my face had gotten around that much, but apparently the photos leaked during my Stage 1 gate record had been circulating widely in the communities.
Most of the evaluations had been less “he's handsome” and more “pretty average,” or even “kind of gloomy,” which had stung a little. In any case, unless someone was a very enthusiastic community user, they wouldn't know my face. And yet, the moment I stepped through the doors—a simultaneous barrage of flashes!
“Attacking the eyes with light! How truly wicked, Summoner-nim. Shall I neutralize them preemptively?”
I shook my head at Athena's absurd offer. Don't do anything crazy, just behave, please. And you—where were you hiding when I was fighting that lava golem earlier, not showing so much as the tip of your nose...
But one thing was certain. Every reporter here knew my face. There was no other explanation—there'd be no reason for flashes to go off at my unremarkable face passing by among so many people otherwise.
“I'm with KBC!”
“MBS here! Just one question—!”
“SBV!”
The major networks, of course, plus every cable channel and rival broadcaster... but those outlets barely registered as a handful of interest.
“Daily Hunter!”
“We're from BBDC!”
“Hunting Times here.”
Compared to these foreign media outlets, that is.
Stepping forward before them, I casually took a Power Q Elixir out of my bag and drank. Unlike the old yellow-tinted formula, the blue Power Q Elixir went down my throat with a refreshingly cool sensation. At the same time, an awakening rush surged in, almost to the point of tingling. One bottle was enough to obliterate fatigue entirely.
It would be a problem if I looked like I was advertising too blatantly. I just wanted it to be intriguing enough that any reporter would wonder. Slowly, I let the drink slide down my throat. And right at that moment, a reporter who could hold back no longer raised his hand.
“Cho Gyuhwan of HTBC! Might I ask what that drink you just had is?”
Jackpot!
It was the moment a whale of a question—big enough to upstage even a Stage 11 clear—took the bait right there in the press conference.