Chapter 37: Ganggwi and…
〚Unique-Rank [D] LV 20~25: You have defeated 23 Ganggwi soldiers!〛
〚Contribution: 100%〛
〚Rewards: Navy Coins ×230, Unique-[D] Magic Stones ×23, Ganggwi Shells ×61〛
〚Experience Points: 23,000〛
〚Level Up!〛
〚You have gained 1 extra point.〛
Drip.
Having finally killed all 23 Ganggwi, I forced myself to stay upright, clinging to my weakening legs. My head swam from the excessive blood loss, but I gathered my focus, forcing myself to stay conscious.
“I have… to go back.”
With Manbyun transforming back into a bracelet around my wrist, I opened my Inventory and grabbed a potion to drink.
I must endure. I must return. If I stop here, it’s all over.
Even now, my sister is in danger, and Gundan and the Saintess are risking their lives to hold off the monsters. I have to go. I have to protect them.
I refuse to live passively, suffering under the control of others. I won’t kneel before these mere ants.
‘I’m not stopping here.’
With that thought, I stepped past the bodies of the Ganggwi and…
Crunch!
“Argh!”
The moment I exited the cavern, something viciously bit into me, as if to trample on my determination.
It was the Ganggwi elite soldiers. Having heard the signal from the regular soldiers, they had waited for me to weaken, then ambushed me without hesitation.
Their powerful jaws pierced my abdomen, hurling me into the air and tearing open my right side as I flew.
“No… no…”
As I hit the wall and collapsed, the thought hit me—I was going to die.
At the same time, a bitter realization struck. I had been too arrogant.
Just because I’d raised a stat grade and gained a powerful new ability, I’d acted like I could conquer everything.
My hubris had led me to this lethal injury and certain death.
I was a mere insect, something crawling at the very bottom. And yet, I had dared to dream of grandeur after gaining a little strength. This ending was almost deserved.
Pearls before swine.
“Urgh… no!”
I pushed away the negativity. It’s not over yet. I cannot collapse here.
“Please…!”
Get up. Don’t fall. Move!
“Help…! Someone, help…!!”
The color was draining from my lips, my face growing paler.
My right thigh, which had only partially healed, reopened, the pain in my side rendering my leg useless as it dangled.
My exposed side felt numb, and even the wound that had pierced my organs was spilling blood as my body lost function.
I stretched out my hand, reaching desperately, but no one would answer.
“Fortune!!!”
It was impossible. Even though Heavenly Fortune could turn the situation in my favor, it couldn’t bring back a dying life.
The Golden Tower gave me wealth and power, but it would never intervene on my behalf.
It was the end. My vision began to close, my steps slowing. Crawling, I tried to move forward, inching towards the approaching elite soldiers.
Slowly… slowly… with futile hand gestures that embodied a mix of desperation and self-loathing.
Because of me, my sister will die. You idiot!
In the final moments, as my sight faded and my hearing dimmed, I sensed only despair instead of hope.
Click. Click. Click.
The powerful jaws of the Ganggwi moved toward me.
“Ah…”
‘No!!’
Please, please. My desperate prayer echoed through my mind, and just as one of the Ganggwi was about to crush my head with its powerful jaws, something unbelievable happened.
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange [Origin] has responded to your desperate plea!〛
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange [Origin] has leveled up!〛
〚The great consciousness of <Origin> has heard your desperation, breaking through limitations and manifesting partially.〛
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange [Origin] offers you a proposal.〛
〚Will you accept an exchange of equivalent value?〛
It was a miracle, a whisper of the devil I could not refuse. It was a lifeline I couldn’t ignore.
‘I accept! I accept!’
〚Exchange complete.〛
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange [Origin] grants you [Complete Recovery] and a temporary increase of two stages in the rank of Mugeuk Stat.〛
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange [Origin] raises the rank of your Misfortune stat by one level in exchange.〛
〚Time remaining: 10:00〛
In an instant, my wounds healed entirely, my mind cleared, and an overwhelming strength surged through my body.
I grabbed the jaw of the Ganggwi elite that had been closing in on my head.
The power of my Mugeuk Stat, now at grade E-, wasn’t just enough to withstand the Ganggwi’s force but to overpower it.
“Die.”
Crunch.
I slammed the Ganggwi’s head into the ground and drew my sword, slicing through its neck. There was no need to target its weak points; my blade tore through its armor and ended it in a single strike.
“Let’s end this quickly. I’m in a hurry.”
There was no time to hesitate or celebrate. I pulled out my flame sword and lunged at the remaining elite soldiers, cutting down four in a matter of moments and starting to run.
There was no attempt to conceal my presence.
I ran with full speed, cutting down anything that blocked my way.
Half of the ten minutes had passed by the time the guiding light from the tortoise in my pocket flared, revealing the man fighting off dozens of Ganggwi without so much as a scream.
His entire body was covered in wounds, with so much blood staining him that it was a wonder he was still standing. His eyes were dim, with no light of life left.
Behind him, a young girl, her pretty face ruined by tears, knelt on the ground, pouring every buff and heal she had onto him, pushing herself beyond her limits.
Clench!
Gritting my teeth hard enough to shatter them, I took a deep breath and shouted out loud.
“Come at me!!!”
My roar was louder than a lion’s roar, turning the heads of nearly a hundred Ganggwi toward me.
“Aaaaah!!!”
At last, the Saintess, seeing me, halted her skill. The tension dropped from her body, causing her to collapse as blood dripped from her nose and her eyes closed.
Seeing them sacrifice so much to protect my sister filled me with fury, and the power of the sun resonated with my anger.
“I’ll kill every last one of you.”
In the pitch-dark underground, a brilliant sun rose, illuminating and judging all. Its flames wrapped around my body as I charged forward.
A fight against more than 100 opponents, yet it was a one-sided massacre. The one massacring, of course, was me.
The flames, which had been barely effective against the Ganggwi’s hard shell, could not withstand the sun empowered by the Mugeuk Stat, raised three stages.
As I passed, I left only a trail of melted carapaces and neatly sliced weak points behind.
In under five minutes, the slaughter was over. As soon as all the Ganggwi were dead, I rushed over to Gundan, who was still standing, embodying the sacred aura, and caught him as he began to fall.
‘Danger!’
His breathing was weak, and he was unconscious.
His body was crumbling after pushing his powers beyond the limit, and the wounds covering him were so severe that even the old Saintess would struggle to heal them.
At that moment, the buff from Equivalent Exchange expired.
“Equivalent Exchange! I’ll pay whatever price, just save him!”
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange slips back into the depths of the abyss.〛
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange says it’s too much and seals itself.〛
〚A power short of reaching Authority has forcibly awakened of its own will.〛
〚Penalty applied. Equivalent Exchange is restricted for 7 days!〛
“No!”
Think… I have to think of a way to save Gundan. I can’t let him die here.
As I frantically searched for a solution, another Authority seemed to move as if to guide me.
〚Authority: The Golden Tower reveals something to you.〛
〚Item: Asclepius’ Staff [Myth-S+]〛
It was a divine artifact, belonging to the great god of healing and medicine.
Only then did I understand what the Golden Tower was trying to tell me, and I didn’t hesitate.
“Privilege! I’ll use my privilege! I imbue Asclepius’ Staff into Manbyun!”
〚With this privilege, you can project a single item for 10 minutes.〛
〚You have chosen the item: Asclepius’ Staff [Myth-S+].〛
Manbyun, previously transformed into a sword, flew toward me, glowing as it reshaped itself.
It became an old, rough wooden staff, coiled by a single snake—a symbol of healing and medicine. The moment I grasped it, I instinctively knew how to use it.
“Glaukos.”
Named after the first creature Asclepius revived after it was struck dead by Zeus’ lightning, this revival magic worked its miracle.
Gundan’s body, riddled with wounds, healed in an instant, and his breathing and consciousness returned.
As expected of the representative divine relic of the god of healing, its power was astonishing.
I let out a deep sigh of relief as I laid down Gundan, fully restored, despite being covered in blood myself.
I had saved a future SS-rank hunter. But more than that, I felt pride in having saved him with my own hands rather than watching him die helplessly.
I carefully laid the unconscious Gundan on the ground, casting a healing spell on the collapsed Saintess beside him before moving to my sister.
“Please….”
Using the last power of the staff, I looked into the eyes of the sun and activated it.
“Ophiuchus.”
Unlike the well-known twelve signs, the 13th sign, the Serpent-Bearer, summoned the supreme Authority of Asclepius.
The snake on the staff transformed into light and flowed directly into the capsule where my sister slept. The light serpent entered her body…
And then it came back out. As if her body was rejecting it, the serpent wavered around her, confused, then abruptly turned and entered me instead.
〚You have become the target of Asclepius’ ultimate Authority: Ophiuchus!〛
〚The power of the 13th sign of the zodiac, the Serpent-Bearer, resides within you!〛
〚A massive, indescribable curse within your body has been discovered!〛
The serpent quickly scanned through my body and displayed an ominous message.
〚Attempting to purify the curse!〛
Suddenly, excruciating pain engulfed me. It felt as though my entire body was collapsing and my soul shattering, an agony so severe I couldn’t even scream. At the end of that agony lay the wrathful Misfortune.
〚Unique Ability: Misfortune bares its teeth and snarls at the audacious serpent!〛
The serpent’s role ended there. It had dared to touch a force beyond its capacity and would pay the price.
Misfortune’s will ensnared the serpent, which struggled in vain, unable to escape the heightened power from Equivalent Exchange.
At that moment, Heavenly Fortune, which had been dormant, could no longer ignore the chaos and awakened.
〚Authority: Heavenly Fortune begins suppressing the power of Misfortune!〛
The serpent’s struggle with Misfortune evolved into a battle between Heavenly Fortune and Misfortune.
Ultimately, the result was a draw.
Not yet fully restored, Heavenly Fortune couldn’t overpower the vastly strengthened Misfortune.
Likewise, Misfortune wasn’t strong enough to overcome Heavenly Fortune.
The unexpected result led to an unforeseen benefit.
As the serpent, reverting to a staff, faded away, it left part of its essence embedded within my body.
〚The residue of Ophiuchus remains within you!〛
〚Title: Blessing of the Serpent-Bearer [Myth-C+] has been granted!〛
With that final message, the remaining time on the staff expired, and it disappeared completely.
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