Gu devoured everything in sight.
To fill his empty stomach, he swallowed whatever came his way.
Poisoned land, toxic plants emitting potent venom, and venomous creatures.
Even humans.
Without discrimination, Gu's insides gradually became tainted with poison.
He tried to endure with his unique adaptability and poison resistance.
But swallowing all the poisons in the garden created a synthetic toxin that tormented him.
Baek Seung-woo quietly observed this scene.
The time was slowly approaching.
'No matter how much he adapts in real-time, overloading his body with hundreds of poisons can't be good for him.'
Until just a moment ago, Gu had been living deep within a cave.
The warm sunlight, countless plants and animals.
And the deadly poisons they carried must have been an overwhelming stimulus for him, far beyond anything he had ever encountered in his life. A stimulus strong enough to surpass his adaptation threshold.
Just how far would his adaptability go?
The poisons within his body combined to form a powerful concoction, and the various toxins were destroying his body and nerves.
In other words, if this continued, he might die before he could adapt to the poison.
But Gu did not stop eating.
As if it were his destiny, he devoured all the land and living creatures.
The more he ate, the more types and amounts of poison accumulated within him.
Before long, the dungeon was filled with Gu.
Unable to move easily anymore, Gu stopped eating.
There wasn't much left to eat anyway.
Only three humans remained.
Baek Seung-woo, Lee Ji, and a shadow lurking behind.
—Whoosh!
Purple flames erupted violently.
['Fox Fire' burns fiercely.]
['Demon Eye' pierces through Gu's internal organs.]
His red eyes turned purple.
In a monochromatic world, only Gu's internal organs shone in a bluish-green hue, a sign of being thoroughly saturated with poison.
Whoooosh—!
The flames split into two, spiralling and resonating with each other, growing in size and the sinister curses hidden within.
Every part of his body where his organs were located.
The flames and curses poured into the areas soaked in poison.
Kieeeek!
Gu writhed in agony as his insides burned.
The remaining land and weeds in the garden were swept away in the chaos.
Lee Ji trembled at the destructive sight.
Perhaps recalling the incident at the academy a few days ago.
Seung-woo, looking at the trembling hand axe, spoke.
"Run to the left."
"Huh?"
"There's nothing more you can do here, so run. I'll handle the rest."
There was no need to keep Lee Ji any longer.
The reason for bringing him along was to avoid unnecessary trouble.
But now, being with me itself is dangerous.
So it's best for him to run.
"B-But, Teacher… How are you going to kill that thing alone?"
"There's a reason I came into this dungeon, isn't there?"
"Even so…!"
"Have you forgotten who I am?"
The infamous new teaching assistant at Seven Stars Academy.
The hero who killed the mastermind behind the academy terror attack and saved many students.
At the same time, the nominal head of the infamous Cheonho Baek family, surrounded by scandals.
And—
'—The teacher who taught me.'
Originally, even if he had attended Seven Stars Academy, he would never have been able to learn such techniques through one-on-one lessons.
Yet, he taught me without holding back and even crafted the poisonous flower into an elixir for me.
"So don't worry and just go."
Yes, the teacher is not someone for me to worry about.
In this situation, I am the one who's in the way.
So I have no choice but to run.
As the teacher said, running is the only thing I can do for him right now.
"Teacher!"
"What is it?"
"Next time! Next time, I'll definitely be of help!"
"…Alright, train hard."
"Then, Teacher."
Lee Ji bowed deeply.
With the utmost respect he could muster, he spoke politely.
"Next time, I'll greet you again at the academy!"
With those words, Lee Ji ran off without waiting for a response.
Seung-woo watched his retreating figure before turning his gaze back to Gu.
Gu, writhing in pain as his internal organs burned.
It seemed the burns from the flames had not yet reached his threshold.
The burns consuming his organs and flesh spread widely.
Finally, the time had come.
Seung-woo judged this to be the perfect moment to hunt.
He immediately combined magic and skills using his mana.
The end of this dungeon was finally approaching.
***
Gu, writhing in pain, destroyed everything around him.
His wildly thrashing legs shattered the dry land, preventing any approach.
Ranged attacks were the only option.
'I'll finish him before he adapts to the burns.'
A monster that adapts to any stimulus once it surpasses a threshold.
At first glance, it seems to have no weaknesses, but fortunately, I know its weakness.
It's related to its strength.
Killing it before it can adapt.
Before it can even reach the minimum threshold of reaction, a strong stimulus can kill it.
Kuaaaa!
Like a massive mountain, Gu's screams grew louder and more gruesome.
A cry that instilled physiological fear in anyone who heard it.
Go was clumsily mimicking the cry of a high-tier being, attempting to ascend.
If I'm going to kill him, I have to do it now.
[Fox Fire]
[Pyrokinesis]
The cursed flames gained physical force.
The purple flames, spread like fog, instantly enveloped Gu and began burning his exoskeleton.
Kieeeek!!!
The exoskeleton, or cuticle, of Gu was extremely tough and resilient.
It had resistance to even potent poisons, but unfortunately, it had no resistance to flames.
['Fox Fire' burns fiercely.]
[Fire demons engulf the surroundings!]
[All sorts of sinister curses are deeply imprinted within!]
The holes are pierced by [Heat Yang Finger].
The flames mercilessly targeted those holes, burning through the flesh and cooking the insides.
No matter how much Gu could adapt to stimuli, the pain of his organs being cooked was something he couldn't adapt to.
Gu eventually collapsed, unable to adapt to the burns.
Thud!
His massive body fell lifelessly onto the dead land.
[You have defeated the hidden boss monster, 'Lonely Centipede.']
[You have cleared the dungeon 'Efnell's Garden.']
[The dungeon will close automatically in 10 minutes.]
Various messages appeared before my eyes.
But that was just the beginning.
[You have cleared the sub-quest, 'Hunt the Gu.']
[Rewards have been granted.]
[You have acquired the skill 'Ten Poison Immunity.']
[Knowledge about 'Gu Poison' has been granted in the form of a scroll.]
[You have gained +3 points.]
Hunting Gu yielded numerous rewards.
A skill that grants poison resistance, a scroll with ancient knowledge.
And even points whose usage I still don't understand.
For a mere D-rank dungeon, the rewards were extravagant.
Any ordinary player would be overjoyed with just this.
But not me.
Whoosh!
I wrapped [Heat Yang Finger] around my fingers and approached Gu.
The dead creature emitted a powerful poison from its mouth and pierced organs.
If I hadn't just acquired [Ten Poison Immunity], even approaching might have infected me with deadly poison.
Such was the intensity of the poison.
I paid no heed and placed my hand on Gu's exoskeleton.
Sssk!
Cutting through the center of his organs revealed a pinkish organ.
A fragment of an immature organ.
This was what I had been searching for.
"I'll enjoy this."
Without hesitation, I chewed on the organ.
Crunch!
With a big bite, the blood, flesh, and poison inside spread.
The more I chewed, the more my jaw muscles seemed to numb, so I swallowed the rest whole.
[You have consumed Gu's incomplete organ.]
[Your internal organs are tainted with poison!]
[The skill 'Ten Poisons Immunity' expels the poison!]
…
...
[The organ, completely purged of poison, adapts to the human body in a new form.]
[You have acquired a previously non-existent immune system!]
[You have acquired the skill 'Weak Body Resistance.']
Finally, I obtained it.
This was the hidden piece I had so desperately sought in 'Efnell's Garden.'
[Weak Body Resistance]
[Rank: F+]
[Description: A trace of a new organ created by Gu, who was saturated with hundreds of poisons, to generate antibodies in real-time. It is not a specific internal organ or a concept belonging to a particular group of animals. It can adapt to any living being and evolves each time it receives a stimulus beyond its threshold.]
[Adaptability]
[When a weak body receives a stimulus beyond a certain threshold, the body adapts based on that 'threshold.']
A skill that grants resistance to a weak body.
However, there was one peculiar aspect.
The skill's rank had a '+' symbol.
This wasn't a mistake or an error.
In skills, the '+' has a special meaning.
It signifies growth.
'A growth-type skill. A skill that grows with me, the ultimate dream of every player.'
[Weak Body Resistance] evolves and creates new skills each time the player receives a stimulus beyond the threshold.
And it's a skill optimized for me.
[You have discovered the hidden piece 'Weak Body Resistance'!]
[You have gained +5 points.]
The afterglow of obtaining what I desired was short-lived.
Messages filled my vision once again.
I was about to dismiss them, but the content made me pause.
'What exactly are these points?'
So far, I've gained various points through quests and rewards.
But I still have no idea what they are.
Even asking Nam Hwa-yeon yielded no answers, and nothing came to mind from Eve's mentions.
It seems like something is hidden.
But I have no clue what it is.
'I'll think about it after cleaning up.'
The poison heated by the flames bubbled fiercely.
The poison floated in the air like mist, saturating the area.
An environment where ordinary creatures couldn't survive.
But for me, with [Ten Poisons Immunity], and the shadow who had undergone assassination training, it was no issue. The only one missing was Lee Ji.
He had run far away after I urged him to flee.
"Now it's just the two of us."
"…Did you know about me?"
"Of course."
"…Since when?"
"Around the time I left the mansion and took a taxi."
"So, essentially from the beginning."
He scratched his head.
He seemed proud of his stealth skills.
Unfortunately, stealth is meaningless before me.
With heightened senses, [Demon Eye], and countless battle experiences, such tricks are useless.
[Demon Eye]
No need to explain everything, just turning my eyes purple was enough.
That alone was sufficient as an answer.
"A demon eye."
Given that hunters utilize their entire body as a weapon, demon eyes are considered efficient weapons.
There are as many types of demon eyes as there are hunters.
But I've never seen one as beautifully shining as this.
Amethyst-like eyes glowing purple.
They had a mesmerizing power that could enchant anyone.
Perhaps a gemstone eye that evaluates others while emitting colourful light.
"It's because of those eyes."
"Think what you want."
"If I gouge out those eyes and present them to 'him,' he'd be pleased."
What a chilling statement.
It didn't seem like a bluff. I could tell by looking at his eyes.
He genuinely intended to gouge out my eyes and present them to 'him.'
Why are all my opponents such lunatics?
Today's battle won't be easy either.
I bought some time, observing his subtle movements and posture.
"Hey, what should I call you?"
"Anything is fine. It doesn't matter what you call me."
"Really? Then—"
A smirk formed on my lips, tinged with mockery.
It was a laugh that questioned how someone could be like that.
"—Il-young."
"!!!"
Upon hearing his codename, a startled emotion was palpable even through his mask.
He must have been truly shocked.
Il-young glared at me with sharp eyes, demanding to know how I knew his name. But I ignored him, teasing him to buy time.
"How can someone's name be Il-young? Shim-young would make more sense."
"…."
I had teased him to get a reaction.
But strangely, there was no reaction.
Even after mocking his name, there was no response. My enhanced vision scanned his subtle movements.
Though obscured by the mask, Il-young was frowning.
It seemed he didn't understand my words.
"Huh?"
What, could it be?
Does Shim-young not exist in this world?
Now I understood.
He wasn't unresponsive; he couldn't respond.
Because he didn't understand my words.
Scratching my head in embarrassment at the unexpected variable, a good idea suddenly came to mind.
Well, if Shim-young doesn't exist in this world.
'I'll just create him.'
My gaze shifted to Il-young's lower abdomen.
In my field of vision, Il-young, for some reason, took a step back, seemingly sensing danger.
***
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