Chapter 49 (1/2)
Chapter 49 – Day 12, 9th Floor Sacred Creature
It was like before the birth of a wolf. Let's look at the situation a few minutes before the Underdog Talent was fully realized.
A cold that caused the body to freeze.
The fear of death and losing everything.
Chang Ga-ram's taunt that scratched at the nerves.
The waking of the beast that had been sleeping.
It was none of the above causes.
&
”Hah.” My exhaled breath froze in the air.
It couldn't be helped. I had to give this up. I cancelled the inscriptions.
[Current Balance: 166/741. A cold state. Poisoned.]
[Current Balance: 192/741. A cold state. Poisoned.]
As soon as I gave up the patterns on both hands, 'frostbite' turned into 'cold.' My health stopped being reduced and started to gradually go up due to the potion. The 60% effect of weakening in the cold stopped having an impact on my health. The weight on my eyelids was also much lighter.
[Current Balance: 216/741. A cold state. Poisoned.]
But the problem was still the same.
”You have nothing left to say. Are your hands and feet paralyzed?” Chang Ga-ram asked.
I wasn't paralyzed. I was still feeling fine, but I was stiff. My fingers and toes, elbows and knee joints, shoulders and waist. Every time I moved, it felt like I was frozen. It was similar to the state when I first attacked Yoon Chan-hee's party with the explosions. In the meantime, Chang Ga-ram was decreasing the temperature in here.
It was unreasonable to move out from behind the shelf in this state. Although I didn't know about the projectiles, the speed of the icicles wasn't slow. I wouldn't be able to completely avoid them. Furthermore, I was bound to suffer even more after giving up the inscriptions and moving to a close combat situation.
I checked the essences.
[Essence – Rock Lizardman. As long as the owner 'grips' it, muscle strength +2. Increases HP regeneration by 100%. The rate of restoration will dramatically increased against injuries such as burns. There is a slight decrease in the basal metabolic rate of the body.]
[Immune against various heat sensing abilities.]
[Body's resistance to cold is decreased. You have become 50% more vulnerable to cold air.]
[Essence – Elder Salamander. The 'Fire Lizard's Mark' will be inscribed on both hands. It is possible to switch it from an active/inactive state through a command. Fire and heat resistance increase by 25%. This won't turn off as long as your HP doesn't fall below one.]
[The average body temperature will rise by one degree. There is no physical deterioration caused by high body temperature.]
[You have become 15% more vulnerable to cold air.]
I could remove the lizardman and salamander essences to reduce the cold resistance penalties that they gave me. However… Maybe that wasn't the answer. Rather than 100 points, I thought about something that would give 50~60 points.
I pulled out a bag from my inventory. There were tin cans that I brought in order to help with the cold. Of course, it was an item I purchased in reality for a wood fire. I never thought they would be used for this purpose.
Slide.
I opened the lid of the can.
Jeurereuk.
Then I poured the kerosene over my head. The smell of a gas station caused my nose to ache.
”What is this smell…?”
I didn't have time to prepare.
[Current Balance: 356/741. A cold state. Poisoned.]
Half of my health had recovered. After waiting for my strength to come back, I placed a hand on my chest.
Slide.
I slide my finger against the lighter and a flame touched my skin.
Hwakak!
The flames instantly skyrocketed.
[Current Balance: 364/741. Burning. Poisoned.]
[Current Balance: 366/741. Burning. Poisoned.]
[Current Balance: 369/741. Burning. Poisoned.]
My HP was increasing rather than decreasing.
[Increases HP regeneration by 100%. The rate of restoration will dramatically increased against injuries such as burns.]
[Fire and heat resistance have increased by 25%. This won't turn off as long as your HP doesn't fall below one.]
The effect of the potion and regeneration synergized with each other, causing my skin to repeatedly recover from the burns. It wasn't just my skin that was repeatedly being burnt and restored. A huge amount of heat penetrated my skin and entered my nervous system.
[Pain Tolerance Lv9. 36799/51200]
It wasn't just my skin being regenerated. My nervous system was screaming out from the abuse that continued without the possibility of death.
Yes. Scream. I screamed so that people could hear me.
“It looks like a fire but how long can you las…”
I jumped over the shelf.
”…!” The eyes that confirmed the ident.i.ty of the burning 'wood' were astonished. The distance between me and Chang Ga-ram was around five meters. He turned his way and extended both palms. Surprisingly, his reaction speed was still fast.
Jjejeok.
Icicles flew along the trajectory of his hand and flew towards me. The moment I landed on the ground, I spun one foot in order to avoid the attack. Victory was possible if I was in this state. I could certainly avoid the icicles.
Chang Ga-ram also moved, dodging back diagonally as he shot the icicles. They flew in a straight line. Instead of chasing after him using the shortest distance, I slipped sideways.
”…Ugh.” Even though none of them had hit yet, a groan emerged from Chang Ga-ram's mouth. He had finally realized it.
When the first icicle hit… Yoon Chan-hee and Chang Ga-ram had maintained an angle of 60 degrees around my position. But it was a little different now. In order to freeze me as I hid behind the shelf, Chang Ga-ram's position was in a line between the shelf and the group behind him.
As long as I avoided the icicles, I could approach while maintaining this positioning, even if it was slow. His companions were right behind him. As I moved closer, the more icicles that Chang Ga-ram fired at random. They scratched against my sides and forearms.
But it was different from earlier. The frost wasn't established at all. They were more like thick needles than icicles.
“E-Everybody spread out!” The stuttering cry popped out as the distance between us narrowed. It was different. The followers of the orders were the same, but there was no one with a extremely fast and sober mind like Yoon Chan-hee.