Chapter 113

Part 113

The Jade Pill and the Golden Pill.

A few centuries ago, it might have been quite hard to determine which was more precious between them.

They had different roles and efficacy, after all. It was hard to decide which was superior. However, times had long since changed. With the development of civilization, their difference grew to be as wide as the gap between heaven and earth.

The Jade Pill was not worth what it used to be.

That was why Tenz had tried to give it to Yoo-seong as a substitute for the Golden Pill. “Ughh…”

A vein popped out of Yoo-seong’s forehead. No one understood pain as well as he did, given what he’d had to endure during the last year.

However, this was the first time he’d felt this level of pain.

Go-oh-!

In the modern era, the path to gaining CE was through a medical infusion. Instead of ingesting energy scattered in the atmosphere, hunters underwent a procedure with the aid of technology.

“Arggh!”

Modern hunters took the convenience of CE injection for granted.

Thud-!

Yoo-seong fell to his knees.

The pain was a little similar to when he took the Golden Pill, but it was also somehow entirely different.

If the Golden Pill changed his veins’ structure, the Jade Pill was performing a much simpler transformation.

Pure Ki ingestion.

It was not the same as the refined CE injected into human bodies. To be exact, this was raw energy boiling in Yoo-seong’s core.

‘Too many impurities.’

That was the result from Tenz’s research institute a long time ago when they studied the Jade Pill.

Although it contained a tremendous amount of energy, it contained too many “useless” impurities compared to the processed CE.

Of course, there was nothing bad about taking the Jade Pill. It was established that it could increase the amount of CE in the body. The problem was the taker had to settle for quite some time as the impurities were purged from their body.

It was far more economical and efficient to extract CE through a monster corpse.

Seoyu, who had come from Tenz, knew about this study, hence her advice to Yoo-seong. It was a troublesome process, and Yoo-seong hadn’t really had to use it before.

“You have to… move… move!” Yoo-seong muttered to himself.

Despite the pain, he did not lose focus. However…

Bang-!

No matter how many times he tried to deactivate the button, it did not respond. Perhaps it had decided that this was the best option to take.

At this moment, Yoo-seong could not move at all.

He was crouching in a fetal position, gagging and trying not to vomit. This was almost the same scenario as when he took the Golden Pill.

Immediately after his battle with the monsters, he had fallen unconscious due to the extreme pain he felt.

‘I cannot let the same thing happen right now,’ Yoo-seong thought.

The beast with the lightning and thunderbolts was somewhere in the real world. Auto-Hunt had decided to take the pill, meaning that despite the pain, Yoo-seong would be safe.

However, if he lost consciousness…

‘Civilians.’

Wolk-!

Blood poured out of Yoo-seong’s mouth, and his vision dimmed.

‘People will get hurt…’

Auto-Hunt was forcing him to stay still. So couldn’t he take a little break for now?

He would be safe, anyway. The disaster was not his fault.

He wasn’t even in his own country. Whatever the consequences were, it was because the hunting industry in this country was corrupted.

It was not his fault. He refused to take any responsibility for this.

But…

Yoo-seong’s eyes closed.

***

Dung-!

Dung-!

Masaru was a young police officer.

After the siren had sounded, his role was to assist in evacuating citizens from the operation area. Like everyone, he’d dreamed of becoming a hunter, but he soon gave up when he realized he was not talented.

Still, he was satisfied with his current profession.

Although he was not a hunter, he was still in a position to help people. His work also helped the hunters carry out their operations with confidence.

Although he might be lacking in ability, he too had his own role and importance.

Masaru felt proud of himself. Up until ten minutes ago.

Douung-!

“Ha! Haaa!”

The drum-like noise had woken him up, and he’d begun yelling in panic. His fear had been enough to make him wet his pants.

Dooung-!

Ten minutes ago, they had been leading people near the barrier line toward the tallest nearby building.

It was a very durable structure with an earthquake-resistant design, strong enough to function as a shelter. The building design was a masterpiece that incorporated Japan’s uncompromising pursuit of safety.

However, this proved to be meaningless in front of it.

Dooung-!

Masaru looked toward where the twelve-story building had stood earlier. Now, it was gone.

All that was left were large chunks of burnt rubble. Everyone who had been in it was buried alive.

Dooung-!

Dooung-!

The noise was now coming closer. Masaru crouched and tried to steal a peek.

At first glance, it could be mistaken for a huge lump of rock. However, if one were to look closely, the features began to be more recognizable.

It was a four-meter-tall ape, with limbs larger than timber.

Dooung-!

There were six humps on its wide back, which contained a constantly fluctuating blue light.

Douung-!

Masaru knew that those six humps were some sort of generator.

Right now, the creature seemed to be taking a break.

Screech-!

On the other side of the street, Masaru heard the sound of tires squealing. This meant that some hunters had arrived.

“There it is!” one of them yelled out and pointed to the ape. Three teams spilled out of the large vehicle.

“Is it alone? No sighting of other monsters around it?”

“Don’t be careless just because it’s not moving! That one looks at least nine stars or more!”

The hunters then proceeded skillfully. Long-distance teams took their positions, while short-range teams set up temporary barricades.

Just before the firing order was given…

Doogogung-!

The ape’s eyes opened.

“It looks… kind of ordinary,” one hunter observed.

Although it was four meters in size, it couldn’t be called “big” compared to other monsters. And apart from its size, there was nothing else special in its appearance.

It looked exactly like a dark brown ape. It only had six humps on its back and an ivory horn on its crown.

With its ordinary-looking eyes, the ape scanned the hunters around it.

The team leader then gave the order.

“Launch!”

Papapapat-!

Twelve Gellar Guns and three offensive Techs began attacking the monster. However, at the very next moment…

Jiing-!

A blue flash swelled up from its six humps, and the ivory horn on its head shone. That was it. An electromagnetic shield covered the ape, blocking the hunters’ attacks. Nothing got past the shield. Everything dissolved in front of them.

“What?!”

The electromagnetic shield disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

The team leader, although caught by surprise, regained his composure and gave the order again.

Once again, the six humps on the ape’s back shone.

This time, they didn’t even get the chance to fire.

Caang-!!

The ape disappeared from its spot, leaving only broken asphalt behind.

“Huh, it’s gone!”

“Where did it go?”

“Check above you!”

The ape had already reached its destination.

“Behind us!” one of the hunters screamed.

Everyone looked back at once.

Somehow, the ape had managed to pass through every one of them and reach their vehicle. It meant that it could have easily killed everyone in its path.

However, the ape didn’t seem interested in doing so. Instead, it raised a massive fist while the six humps on its back shone.

Kwagaaang-!

The modified vehicle, which weighed twelve tons, was crushed like a paper bag.

“Our car…”

“It cut off our escape…” someone who realized what had happened muttered.

Then the ape slowly looked back at them. This time, no one thought of it as ordinary prey.

“Fire! Fire!” the team leader screamed in panic.

Everyone began firing in desperation.

They were well trained. Despite the sheer terror they were feeling, their bodies followed their leader’s command. However, it was no use.

Jiing-!

The six humps shone once more.

“Huh?!”

The ape disappeared and reappeared in front of a shocked hunter.

Fa-jik-!

With one swipe of its massive hand, the hunter’s life ended.

It wasn’t hard to see that this was soon going to be a slaughter.

“Uh… uh…” Masaru turned.

Annihilation was only a matter of time. He tried to crawl, but he could not move his legs.

Desperate, he pulled himself forward with his arms.

However…

A shadow appeared above him.

Even though he didn’t want to, he found himself slowly raising his head. The creature stood before him, looking at him the way one would look at an insect.

Shh-!

The ape raised its massive fist. Human flesh and blood were dripping from it. Masaru couldn’t even close his eyes to prepare for death.

“Mom…”

Just as he muttered it…

Papapapat-!

Several bullets from Gellar Guns struck the ape’s face. Of course, they weren’t enough to damage the beast. The ape slowly shifted its head to see where the bullets had come from.

Then…

Jiiing-!

“Huh?!”

In the spots where the bullets had hit the ape, blue light began to burst out.

Parasitic Bees.

Masaru turned his head.

“Who…?”

Beyond them, he could see the hunter in shining red armor.

There Yoo-seong stood, gasping for breath.

He had reached this place without Auto-Hunt’s help. His body was still convulsing in places, but considering the situation, he wasn’t at all in bad shape.

Actually, he had just picked up a Gellar Gun from the field and used it to cast Parasitic Bees for the first time.

It was an amazing feat, considering that he didn’t have Auto-Hunt on. Still, it couldn’t be said that his attack worked well.

The ape was still unscathed.

The Gellar Gun’s power hadn’t been enough to penetrate its skin, leaving the Parasitic Bees technique useless.

Yoo-seong stretched his neck and observed the ape closely. Then…

Paaang-!

The ape disappeared.

Yoo-seong immediately curled up, but before he could even cast Steep Steps, the ape’s fist was already upon him.

Pagak-!

“Uck!” Yoo-seong grunted.

The armor on his right arm had been blown away with just one hit.

Yoo-seong spun a few times in the air due to the impact and crashed to the ground, rolling a few more times. His body felt as if he had been electrocuted.

Yoo-seong clenched his teeth and used his left hand to regain balance.

He had barely raised his head again, only to find the ape’s fist flying in once more.

“Damn it!” Yoo-seong swore as he pulled his left hand.

Spider web.

A tiny thread compared to the ape’s massive arm, but because of Yoo-seong’s timing, it was enough to change the fist’s direction.

Bang-!

Yoo-seong then used his Steel Steps and kicked upwards.

‘If I could only deal one blow,’ he thought.

Without Aura.

Without even Auto-Hunt.

The answer was his knee.

Concentrate on his aim and use the hardness of the Queen’s Hug to penetrate the beast’s eyes!

Pagak-!!

The ape’s head was thrown back.

“Okay!” Yoo-seong cheered as he soared over the ape.

However, he could see it: the ape hadn’t even closed its eyes after the impact. It was looking straight at Yoo-seong, who was in the air.

“Damn.”

Boo-!

The ape’s massive hand now grabbed at his torso.

Jiing-

The six humps on its back glowed.

“Ahhhhhh!” Yoo-seong could only scream as electricity flowed through his body.

Hoop-!

The ape threw his frail body away after a few seconds of dangerous voltage.

After flying tens of meters, Yoo-seong crashed through the glass of a building’s window.

The ape followed him with its gaze while the six humps on its back charged. However, unlike before, the ape’s eyes did not look indifferent at all.

It was as if it was saying, ‘I’ll finish you off this time.’

However, there was something neither he nor even Yoo-seong knew.

The ape wasn’t the only one charging.

-Conversion work completed.-

-Vol. 2 update complete.-

Words suddenly appeared in front of Yoo-seong’s eyes.

“What… oh…! Crazy.” Yoo-seong laughed. “You could have told me in advance.”

His weakened left arm felt heavy as he lifted it.

“Ugh…”

‘Will I be able to fight in this state if I press the button?’

Worried, Yoo-seong pressed it.

Suddenly he was overwhelmed by a feeling of fullness he had never experienced before.

“Huh?”

His legs, which had no strength just seconds ago, stood firm. His right arm, which had been paralyzed, crunched back into position. Above all, warmth began to spread from his lower abdomen throughout his entire body.

Yoo-seong stared at the ape on the street below him.

“Come on!” he yelled out.

Then he realized something.

He had Auto-Hunt on. However, he was still able to speak.

Yoo-seong felt his lips curl up in a smile. Then he yelled out once more.

“Come on, motherfucker!”

He didn’t know exactly what had changed after taking the Jade Pill.

But so far, he liked it.