Chapter 64

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[23. None]

[24. None]

[25. None]

“So they don’t have fixed names.”

Since this was the first skill Jaeha had ever obtained, these were likely Corpse Puppets that had never existed before. That meant it was only natural they had no names.

‘No description either, huh.’

If there was no description, then he had no choice but to create them himself. Thinking that, Jaeha pressed the three newly added entries with his finger. But there was no particular reaction—only the method of creation appeared.

“Guess I have no choice but to try.”

Resigning himself to it, Jaeha looked up the creation method. But the method was a bit strange. It was extremely similar to the way Reverse Heaven Jiangshi were made.

However, something extra was added. What was added was, of course, poison—and it stated that the poison needed to be at least twice as potent as Darkin’s poison.

“Is there even a poison stronger than that?”

While pondering this, Jaeha thought of Myriad Poison Art, and recalled that with Myriad Poison Art, he could combine the poisons he had to create even more powerful ones.

“Hmm. So I need to organize and refine the poison first before making the jiangshi.”

With his next task decided, Jaeha rose from his seat. Then he headed to his blacksmith shop.

* * *

“It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve been to the blacksmith shop.”

“Indeed.”

The moment Jaeha entered the blacksmith shop, he headed to the place that had been used as a research lab when John’s group was still there. Most of the equipment needed for alchemy had been made and used by Sia, and when John’s group left, they took it all with them.

As a result, the research lab was almost completely empty. So Jaeha summoned Sia and drew out Sia’s blood.

“Good. You can go now.”

“Tch, it’s not like I’m a professional blood donor, isn’t this a bit much?”

“Go take care of your work.”

At that, Sia puffed out their cheeks and returned home, and Jaeha began using Sia’s blood to create various things.

“Hmm, this should be able to withstand the toxicity, right?”

The vessel was made of adamantium—a metal said to be the strongest in the world, a product of alchemy—so it seemed more than sufficient for holding poison.

After making several items, Jaeha thought for a moment, then used Myriad Poison Art.

Poison mist began to pour out from Jaeha’s hands. After briefly considering how to utilize it, Jaeha immediately called for Undine.

“Undine. Fill this with water.”

<Okay.>

Then, submerging his hands in the clear water, Jaeha began circulating his energy, and soon the poison mist emanating from his hands dissolved into the water, beginning to transform into pure poison.

Before long, Jaeha began releasing the various poisonous energies he possessed, and soon the color of the poison began to change.

The murky black poisons began to shift into a deep purple, and once that state was reached, Jaeha withdrew his hands. Then, examining the completed poison this way and that, he shook his head.

“It’s stronger than Darkin’s poison, but it’s not that impressive.”

To create the new jiangshi, the poison needed to be at least twice as potent as Darkin’s. This level of poison was nowhere near enough.

‘This is going to take quite a while.’

Saying that, Jaeha let out a sigh and began to focus.

* * *

“Sia.”

“Hm? Master. Are you done?”

“No.”

After entering the research lab, Jaeha hadn’t come out for over three days. On the surface, the total number of poisons Jaeha possessed was over 20,000 kinds.

Of course, the number of poisons he had actually consumed was only about 300 at most, but with the system’s help, Jaeha held over 20,000 poisons as energy.

Unable to produce toxicity surpassing Darkin’s poison, Jaeha experimented by combining poisons this way and that. But he couldn’t easily create even similar toxicity, and in the end, he began focusing on mastering the manipulation of the poison’s energy itself.

After about three days of effort, his understanding of the nature of poison reached a level surpassing anyone else in the world. In effect, Jaeha had spent the past three days researching how to utilize the poisons he possessed.

“I can make them now.”

“I see.”

Sia nodded at Jaeha’s words. Then, looking at him, Sia spoke.

“Is there something you’d like me to do?”

“Yeah. I’ve set up a summoning magic circle, so go summon some people who could be used as jiangshi, along with Gersia.”

“Oh, so the same way you summoned the jiangshi earlier?”

“Yeah. Or you could take the jiangshi with you.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Good.”

“But, Master.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t mind working, but wouldn’t it be better to wash up a bit first?”

“Why?”

“You smell strange.”

“Ah…… this is poison.”

“What?”

“I’ve been playing around with poison for three days straight.”

“Then shouldn’t you be careful?”

“It’s fine.”

Jaeha smiled and absorbed the poisonous energy clinging to his body and clothes.

“Heh……”

“Get ready with Gersia.”

“Yes. How many do you need?”

“At least three. More would be better.”

“Understood.” Having heard Sia’s reply, Jaeha turned around. Then, as if something occurred to him, he stopped and spoke toward Sia.

“Don’t let Gersia touch the summoning circle.”

“What?”

“If something goes wrong, you could summon strange things from a strange world.”

“……Understood.”

“Good.”

Nodding, Jaeha went down to the sparring ground, used summoning magic to set up a magic circle, and then headed back to the research lab.

* * *

“Done.”

[Astonishment. You have created a poison that will go down in history for the first time.]

“Oh.”

Nodding, Jaeha looked at the poison. The poison had a red tint. Though called red, it wasn’t a color similar to blood—it was a noticeably different shade of red. Regardless, Jaeha smiled at having produced the poison.

[無]

[Toxicity: 5999]

“Toxicity, huh.”

With that, Jaeha checked the toxicity of Darkin’s poison.

[Darkin’s Poison]

[Toxicity: 2000]

“About three times as much. Good.”

Thinking that, Jaeha smiled and began cleaning up. Once the cleanup was done, Jaeha decided to name the poison. After thinking for a moment, Jaeha settled on a name.

[Heavenly Poison]

[Toxicity: 5999]

It was a double entendre—meaning both “a poison containing a thousand poisons” and “a poison from heaven.” Having finished naming the poison, Jaeha rose from his seat and headed to the sparring ground.

* * *

“Hoh. So this is a dimensional travel magic circle.”

“It’s a bit different from that.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Rather than a spell that moves between dimensions, this is a magic circle that summons living beings from another dimension.”

“One could see it that way. But it’s the same in that it’s interesting.”

Having said that, Gersia quietly gazed at the summoning circle.

“There are more than a few parts I can’t understand.”

“To borrow your words, the system is no different from a divine miracle. The problem starts with trying to understand something a god has created.”

“Hmph.”

With that, Gersia smiled.

“Speaking of which, where is that one, and what is he doing?”

“It’s just between us. The Master seems to have his own matters to attend to.”

“Good.”

At Sia’s words, Gersia smiled and whispered softly. With that, Sia understood why Jaeha had allowed only Sia to use the summoning circle.

‘Since I can control it anyway, there’s no need to warn them in advance.’

Then Sia immediately began configuring the settings. Having made quite detailed settings, Sia nodded and activated the summoning circle right away.

The summoning circle began to glow, and about 30 minutes later, Jaeha came down to the sparring ground.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you finish making the poison?”

“Yeah. Want to see?”

With that, Jaeha raised his hand and released a small amount of poison.

“Oh ho. Impressive.”

The first to react was Gersia. Even if not a being that specialized in poison, Gersia was a Dragon Lord who had lived for tens of thousands of years. Naturally, the things Gersia knew and had seen were numerous.

“It seems to be on par with a Green Dragon’s breath or dragon blood.”

“Green Dragon?”

“Yes. Green Dragons are born with a deadly poison from birth. And at an extraordinary level at that. Their dragon blood is a potent poison.”

“Oh ho. That exists?”

“To artificially create a poison on par with a Green Dragon’s blood is remarkable.”

“Fascinating.”

As they were chatting comfortably like that, the light of the summoning circle began to fade. When the light disappeared, fifteen people stood there, summoned.

“Kugh!”

One of them spat out a massive amount of blood the moment they were summoned.

“Hm. Quite the state they’re in.”

“Try conveying what I want to tell them with magic.”

Jaeha said to Gersia, and Gersia, for once, used the magic as Jaeha asked without much complaint.

Chapter 11

They were flustered when Gersia suddenly used magic. But the spell had already been cast, and their bodies were in such a wrecked state that they couldn’t even reject it.

And so they were exposed to Gersia’s magic, and soon learned why they had been summoned. As their expressions shifted and they began staring at Jaeha, he opened his mouth.

“Anyone who doesn’t want this, speak up now. I’ll send you back.”

As soon as Jaeha finished speaking, a man in a white robe opened his mouth.

“Repent.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Perhaps because he was on the verge of death, his voice came out as a whisper. Jaeha, who hadn’t heard properly, asked again.

“Repent.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“To possess the power to summon beings from another dimension…… *cough*, and yet how can you…… *cough*, waste such talent for a reason like this? If you used this power, it would be more than enough to aid a great being.”

“Ugh, what a fossil.”

Saying that, Jaeha scratched his ear.

“If you don’t want to, just say so. I told you I’d send you back.”

With that, Jaeha raised his hand.

“The very fact that you came to possess such power is all thanks to divine grace. How dare you defy the will laid out by the great one?”

“What nonsense is this. What, are you a priest or something?”

“Seems like it. I can sense divine power coming off that guy.”

“Hmm~”

At that, Jaeha smiled and checked something. Then, with a sly grin, he spoke to him.

“From what I can see, you came here because you wanted to live too. What bullshit. I didn’t forcibly summon anyone — I only called those who agreed to come after I asked for their consent.”

“……Which is precisely why I am once again offering my deepest apologies from the bottom of my heart. It seems I, too, have yet to let go of my greed.”

“You’re full of shit.”

Saying that, Jaeha shook his head and reverse-summoned him. Then he looked at the others.