The reason he had sought out the imugi in the first place was its heart.
He needed it to craft the Elixir of Agelessness.
Just obtaining that would've been enough to call it a success.
[You have acquired the achievement 'Imugi Slayer'! Achievement Level: 100 / Achievement Rank: Epic]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
.
.
.
Endless messages unfurled before his eyes.
There were so many that a scroll bar was practically needed.
And when at last the barrage of messages came to an end, the number that appeared was—
[You have reached Level 70!]
It was almost impossible to believe.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?"
This time, it wasn't an exaggeration.
His eyes had genuinely almost popped out.
Jinhyuk, frozen in place, checked his status window again.
He hadn't misread it.
Not 60—70.
A massive 21-level jump.
Was such a number even possible?
He had never seen growth like this on any Tower site.
[All stats increase by 30! Maximum mana increases to 20,000!]
[Maximum collectible cards increased from 5 to 10!]
[Maximum collectible weapons increased from 3 to 7!]
[Sync Rate increased by 10%! Current Sync Rate: 112%]
[You have acquired 1 Blank Card – True and 3 Blank Cards – Common!]
[Current Blank Cards Owned: True: 1, Rare: 1, Common: 3]
A dizziness close to faintness washed over him.
What in the world.
What kind of absurd growth was this?
He gazed lovingly at the new Achievement Collecting sitting in his Unique Traits tab.
If the trait had a physical form, he would have rubbed his cheek against it all day.
Still, even so—an imugi that lived for thousands of years was only Epic rank.
What on earth would he have to slay to get Legendary or Mythic?
[The Black Knights' Commander, Saira Kincayton, has leveled up! Current Level: 125]
Even Saira—whose EXP bar had been nearly full but still refused to budge—shot up by three whole levels in one go.
[Yordle Ranger Squad Captain Kancho has leveled up! Current Level: 87]
[Undead Dark Cassstro has leveled up! Current Level: 98]
[Greedy Collector Momo has leveled up! Current Level: 90]
[Star Alchemist Ellia Fossen has leveled up! Current Level: 106]
The levels of his card heroes climbed nicely as well, unlocking several new skills and traits.
The party's overall power skyrocketed.
"Amazing."
Feeling the strength seeping into his body, Saira looked at Jinhyuk.
This was different from any Tower climb she had experienced.
He hadn't defeated a monster.
He hadn't broken through a fortress blocking the path.
All he had done was quietly wait until something manifested.
Yet they had grown this much—solely thanks to their master, Jinhyuk.
'Maybe…'
A realm she had never reached in the past flashed through her mind.
A ceiling she could never break, no matter how she struggled.
With Jinhyuk, she thought she might actually reach it.
It was still too early—she hadn't recovered her original power—but the mere possibility was enough to satisfy her.
"Truly remarkable."
Dark's lips curled upward.
No one loved battle more than he, and no one longed for strength more fiercely.
A master who quenched such thirst—
He was ecstatic to the point of madness.
After checking several things, Jinhyuk turned around.
He already felt full to bursting from what he'd gained.
But it wasn't over yet.
"Momo! You're up!"
"Up!!"
"Hold it!"
"H-hold it!?"
Momo, who had been sprinting forward with all his might, slammed on the brakes.
"Take out the cooking ingredients and tools first."
"Okay!"
He dumped out a mountain of equipment, then darted back toward the imugi's corpse.
Jinhyuk started cooking behind him.
It seemed random, but it was necessary.
This imugi was several times larger than the giant centipede elder.
Even Momo would take time.
He needed to prepare food to keep Momo energized during the long work—
"All done!"
"…Excuse me?"
Jinhyuk looked up, jaw dropping.
He hadn't even lit the burner yet.
But Momo was already done?
He checked Momo's system window.
[Rapid Butchering]
Instantly dismantles and processes any creature, regardless of size.
A freshly-earned unique trait from leveling up.
Even with instant processing, he hadn't expected it to be this fast—not with a beast this large.
Their dear friend Momo had gained something incredible indeed.
"Master! Here's the snake's heart!"
Momo dragged something over with great effort.
"Ugh!"
Kancho recoiled, grimacing.
Momo's other trait—Dainty Hands—raised the quality of harvested parts as his level increased.
Now that it had reached stage 6, the heart was too fresh—still twitching visibly.
"Whoa!"
Ellia rushed over excitedly.
Even in her 3,271 years of life, she had never seen an imugi heart in such pristine condition.
"Granny!! There's something weird here!"
Momo called her over.
Ellia spread her arms wide and hurried toward him.
Jinhyuk, curious, followed them.
Momo grabbed a chunk of flesh and gave it a tug.
A moment later, plop—a half-spherical object slid out.
It was drenched in blood, crimson and mineral-like.
Ellia bent down, brushing off the blood and tissue.
Momo the dissector and collector, and Ellia the alchemist—
A strangely perfect duo.
"Huh?"
"Why? Why? Is it good?"
After several prompts, Ellia made an odd expression.
"You said we needed three ingredients, right? Looks like we won't have to search for the last one. Momo, water jug."
"Yep!"
As Momo poured water over the mineral, Ellia continued.
"Master, you know the dragon's pearl, right? The yeouiju?"
"The thing a dragon needs to ascend?"
"Exactly. It's not as precious as that, but since an imugi is a creature trying to become a dragon, it carries something similar. This one is called a Red Jade (Jeok-ok). It was originally white, but after consuming humans and absorbing foul desires, it turned red. This guy lived thousands of years, so it's brilliantly scarlet and gorgeous. Hohoho."
Ellia suddenly laughed like an old granny and rubbed the jade against her cheek.
"This Red Jade contains a very potent, sinister energy. The desire to avoid death—to live longer—is one of the most powerful, twisted forces out there. When this energy merges with the centipede elder's heart and the imugi's heart, it'll amplify everything and become a perfect ingredient for agelessness."
"Makes sense."
"Granny! You aren't scamming the General Commander, are you?! Be careful! That tongue of hers can be scarier than a snake's!"
Kancho always became extra spicy only when roasting Ellia.
Still, she wasn't wrong—this was worth trying.
"Let's do it."
There was no reason to delay.
Waiting would only reduce the hearts' freshness.
He immediately sat down and pulled out the bizarre potion-making box.
He brought the two hearts and the Red Jade to the box.
Just as he wondered whether he needed to cut them—
Ding!
[You will use the hearts of the Lava Centipede Elder and the Imugi, along with the Imugi's Red Jade, as materials. Turning the box will display the list of potions that can be crafted. Materials will not be returned even if the desired potion does not appear. Proceed?]
Jinhyuk took a deep breath and nodded.
[You have used the final charge. The Bizarre Potion-Making Box has been destroyed.]
With a booming sound, the box began to spin.
Jinhyuk clasped his hands together.
It had to appear.
The Elixir of Agelessness.
The Ryu Gai expedition team, climbing Mount Yulong with high expectations, suddenly stopped.
"…?"
At the very front, Ryu Gai froze.
Dozens of explorers behind him halted as well.
A strange stillness flowed through the group.
A government official nervously approached Ryu Gai.
"Sir Ryu Gai? What's the—?!"
His eyes widened.
Ryu Gai's face was twisted in fury.
He rubbed his eyes.
Something was wrong.
The quest that had been perfectly normal just moments ago—
had vanished without a trace.
The system being unfriendly was nothing new.
Maybe it was a glitch?
He repeatedly opened and closed his system window.
And then—
"Goddammit!!!"
Ryu Gai roared when the quest still refused to reappear.
The expedition members stirred anxiously at the atmosphere.
Ryu Gai staggered to the ground, gripping his head.
'Impossible. Impossible. Why is it gone? How?'
The quest's activation conditions were absurdly strict.
Without divine luck, no one could ever fulfill them.
Meaning the chance of someone other than him receiving the quest was nearly zero.
So why? Why had it disappeared?
As he pondered, Ryu Gai abruptly stood.
He began drawing out his awakening power.
"Sir… Sir Ryu Gai?"
"I'm going on ahead. Something's gone terribly wrong."
The exploration team was far weaker than he was.
Their pace was slow and frustrating, but he endured it out of obligation.
Now was no time for patience.
He had to confirm it.
Boom!!
Without waiting for a reply, he kicked off the snow and shot into the air.
Twin dragon forms materialized beneath his feet.
There was nothing to step on, yet he sprinted on air, body firing forward at high speed.
'The imugi is mine.'
He clenched his teeth.
'It belongs to me, Ryu Gai—the Dragon of the Continent!'
A dragon should be the one to devour an imugi.
If not him, who else had the right?
Who would dare claim that right?
After a long flight—
He finally reached the cave and frowned deeply.
Someone had already gone inside.
Crack.
Denying reality, he walked in.
Moments later, the very scene he desperately hoped not to see lay spread before him.
The ice was shattered.
Imugi blood and chunks of flesh littered the area.
"No!!!"
He screamed in anguish, slamming his fist into the ice.
Then he noticed footprints.
Even with snow blowing in, they remained clear.
Meaning—
'They haven't gone far.'
There was no time to waste.
Ryu Gai spun around and raced out of the cave.
He returned to the expedition in an instant, veins bulging on his temple.
"Request emergency support from the government."
"…What?"
"If you don't want to lose the imugi, shut down all access to Mount Yulong!! Now!!!"
"R-right away!"
The exploration had cost the government immense resources.
Failure was unacceptable.
They had to catch the culprit.
The thief who stole the imugi.
Some peak on Mount Yulong.
Jinhyuk knelt at the summit.
In his hand—
a potion.
[Elixir of Agelessness Infused with Malignant Qi]
Upon consumption, your physical aging will cease.Contains a malignant energy beyond adequate description.Due to this energy, unexpected changes may occur.
He stared at it with a reverence worthy of worship.
'Immortality, welcome.'
He tipped the potion into his mouth.
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T/N:
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