Chapter 119: Disaster-grade Dungeon (2)
Tzzzz… Kwatzztztzt!
Void energy wrapped around the cult leader’s scepter and spun fiercely.
As Void energy seeped into the broken joint, it attempted to fuse the two pieces together.
Crack— Kwatzztzt!
Just as it was about to penetrate, it was repelled precariously.
As if blocked by a barrier.
Jin-young watched the scene and spoke.
“How about mixing in Cyclic energy?”
The tentacle pondered for a moment before replying.
『Let’s try it.』
As Jin-young’s Cyclic energy blended into the Void energy,
Shiiiiiiing—
The Void energy began spinning at a speed so fast it was now invisible to the eye.
As Jin-young had expected, the two energies fused smoothly rather than clashing.
This was possible because he knew hellfire—the exclusive property of demons—contained Cyclic energy.
Of course, psionic energy could also achieve energy fusion with delicate control, but right now such fine control wasn’t necessary.
The fused Void and Cyclic energy seeped back into the scepter’s broken joint.
Paaat!
A intense black light burst forth, and the scepter fused back into one piece.
Sssss…
An eerie aura emanated from the cult leader’s scepter.
A small vortex of Void energy swirled within the black orb at the scepter’s tip.
And that wasn’t all. A faint trace of Cyclic energy was embedded, making the energy sphere rotate more smoothly.
“Since it’s not a perfect restoration, it definitely feels like something’s missing. It doesn’t seem particularly useful to us.”
Jin-young said after gripping the scepter in his hand.
Powerful Void energy flowed through it, but with the tentacle present, it wasn’t especially useful.
『How about giving it to Vritra?』
“Hm… That doesn’t sound bad.”
Since it was the scepter used by the Void Church leader, he thought Vritra, as a demon, might be able to wield it well.
Shuuuu—
At that moment, Vritra flew in after finishing his business.
Jin-young sent the scepter flying toward him.
Tap.
Vritra caught it lightly in his hand and scanned the scepter with surprised eyes.
“You actually restored this?”
“It’s not perfect. If that Galomah guy sends another clone, you might get one chance to counterattack. Though, considering your current skill level, running away is probably all you’ll manage.”
Jin-young was worried about Nine City.
It would take some time for Galomah to come out beyond Gehenna again, but it was only a matter of time.
If the same thing happened again and Jin-young was absent, it would be dangerous.
Of course, the tentacle would notice any anomaly immediately, but he couldn’t know what might happen before he arrived.
That’s why someone like Vritra needed to become stronger.
As if sensing that without being told, Vritra bowed his head and said,
“I’ve been painfully aware of my own weakness lately. It must be because I grew complacent with power and neglected my training. From now on, things will be different.”
When Vritra raised his head again, a resolute will burned in his eyes like hellfire.
At that moment, applause rang out.
Clap clap clap.
“Wow, applause.”
Dmitri clapped with an admiring expression.
Jacob awkwardly joined in, and Anu barked excitedly.
“Woof! Woof!”
Seeing this, Jin-young spoke quietly.
“You guys should learn from him a bit.”
“I’d love to. But I don’t have mana.”
Dmitri shrugged and replied cheekily.
Meanwhile, Jacob kept his mouth shut, glancing at Jin-young’s reaction.
“If you don’t have mana, you should make up for it with your body. This won’t do. Let’s start the subspace second-generation training course right away.”
“Suddenly what kind of training…”
After obtaining Void energy, it wasn’t just the tentacle that had changed.
The subspace had also undergone noticeable changes.
The ability to adjust the flow of time—which had been possible before—had expanded greatly in scope.
And entirely new functions had been added.
It was now possible to change the environment inside subspace, adjust pressure, and even inject Void energy into living beings.
Of course, the prerequisite was having a body strong enough to withstand the energy.
Dmitri and Jacob had originally been 1st-grade Hunters, so they were excellent, but since they had stopped activities long ago, they needed to be brought back up to standard.
And above all, to accept Void energy, one needed to possess black mana.
Or have no mana at all.
Only those right in front of him satisfied the condition of having a 1st-grade or higher body without mana.
“I didn’t say anything though…….”
“Whine…….”
Jacob and Anu made desperate sounds trying to get out of it, but the words didn’t reach Jin-young’s ears at all.
“Come on, let’s go in.”
“No…”
Shuuu—
The two were sucked straight into subspace.
Along with Anu.
***
“Damn it, we’re really back.”
“…….”
Dmitri, sucked into subspace, spat out a curse.
Jacob glared at him.
He was furious, thinking it was because of that loose mouth of his that they ended up here.
But this wasn’t the time for them to fight among themselves.
There was a lunatic in this subspace.
Someone on par with the Heavenly Thunder Sword Technique—no, perhaps even surpassing him.
Honestly, getting beaten half to death during training wasn’t the issue. It was just meeting Experiment Subject 78 again that he hated.
“But the atmosphere feels different somehow.”
Jacob sensed that the subspace’s atmosphere was unlike usual.
Calm and refined.
It was to the point that someone entering subspace for the first time wouldn’t fall into fear or confusion.
“Is it? It feels the same as always to me.”
Dmitri kept spouting nonsense as usual.
At that moment.
“Ten. Nine. Eight…”
A red-haired man approached, muttering in a barely audible small voice.
It was Experiment Subject 78.
The moment they spotted him, the two men and Anu immediately went on guard and backed away.
“One. Two. Three…”
However, 78 didn’t even glance at the others and just passed by while muttering numbers.
They, who had swallowed nervously in tension, looked at the back of his head in bewilderment.
He wasn’t scattering red mist everywhere like before, nor running around like a rabid dog drooling.
“What the hell.”
“Yeah.”
Jacob and Dmitri tilted their heads in confusion.
Soon, a voice rang in their minds.
『Jacob, Dmitri.』
“Please speak, great one.”
The two immediately prostrated themselves.
Though not called, Anu also flattened himself on the ground.
『Starting today, you will begin body modification training.』
“Yes, we are ready.”
The moment their words ended,
Tzzzzzt—
The pitch-black subspace began to be dyed in all sorts of colors.
It looked like paint splashed onto a black canvas.
“……!”
The two jumped in surprise and looked around.
Soon, the paint began to take form.
A flat ground appeared on the floor, and buildings with flashing neon signs rose around them.
In the red-tinted sky, massive airships flew about.
The entire subspace hadn’t changed—only the area around them had transformed.
『This is a recreation of a part of Gehenna.』
“This is Gehen…”
While Dmitri marveled and looked around,
Shwaaaaek— Puk!
A long spear flew from somewhere in the alley and pierced straight through Dmitri’s back.
“Gah……!”
It missed the heart, but blood gushed out in spurts from the pierced chest.
Jacob briefly showed a surprised expression but quickly calmed down and scanned the surroundings.
『Demons will ambush you just like that. It’s nothing special. Survive as long as possible.』
“Kuughhh…”
Dmitri pulled out the spear that had pierced through his back.
Puhwaak—
Blood sprayed like a fountain as the spear came free.
Thanks to subspace’s power, the wound healed quickly, but the pain remained vivid.
『I will grant grace to the most outstanding one.』
“We will do our best!”
Jacob and Dmitri shouted in unison. Especially Dmitri, who seemed to have forgotten the pain he had just felt, was filled with enthusiasm.
“Grrrrr…”
Anu also burned with fighting spirit, but
『You are not at the level to join here.』
“Whine?”
Shuu—
He was expelled from the training ground.
***
Chae Jin-young, who had returned to Earth.
Now, the situation inside subspace was projected in real time inside his mind.
The endlessly wandering 78, and the two earnestly engaged in training.
‘Anu doesn’t need to train with them, right? He’s already reached disaster-grade monster level.’
When Jin-young had assigned him to excavate sacred relics, Anu had consumed more hellstones in the meantime and now possessed the power of a disaster-grade monster.
『If it’s this one, we could inject Void energy right away.』
‘Will he be able to handle it well? He’s smarter than most monsters, but instinct still takes precedence.’
『We can inject it only when necessary.』
‘That would be best. Anyway, once the injected energy is used up, it can’t be regenerated, right?’
Those who received Void energy injection from the tentacle were finished once the energy was depleted.
Unlike mana, it couldn’t be recovered again.
It was the same principle as Jin-young being unable to recover if he exhausted all his Cyclic energy.
Because it wasn’t energy they had originally mastered.
But fighting with that energy was clearly far better than fighting bare-handed.
Knock knock.
While conversing with the tentacle and waiting, the person he had been expecting seemed to have arrived.
“Come in.”
At Jin-young’s words, a man and woman entered together.
Executor Hong Jun-su, his senior from the Intelligence Department, and his junior, Silver Snow Eun Ji-eun.
“It’s been a while, Psycho junior.”
“Hello, sunbae-nim!”
Hong Jun-su and Eun Ji-eun greeted him respectively. Jin-young returned a light nod and got straight to the point.
“It’s not about anything else—I have a proposal for you both.”
“A proposal?”
“Eh, what is it?”
Curiosity sparked in both at the word “proposal.”
“Executor sunbae, have you ever thought about handling black mana?”
“…You know full well what it means to handle black mana.”
Hong Jun-su approached the topic cautiously, as expected.
Even though he had lost his mana, handling black mana—the symbol of GODS—would feel dirty.
No, beyond dirty, it would be unpleasant and humiliating.
The reason he was in this state now was precisely because of the demon who used black mana.
“I know. But you also know better than anyone that conducting Hunter activities without mana comes with major restrictions.”
“…….”
Hong Jun-su couldn’t easily refute Jin-young’s blunt words.
“And what I’m proposing isn’t just ordinary black mana.”
“……?”
“Let’s just say it’s a power on a whole different dimension. Of course, unlike mana, it’s impossible to use it while regenerating permanently.”
“What…”
Hong Jun-su struggled to fully grasp Jin-young’s words.
“Anyway, think it over, and if you’re interested, contact me within three days. You can go ahead now.”
“…I’ll think about it.”
Hong Jun-su left the room first, still looking confused.
“And you.”
“Yes!”
When Jin-young turned to call her, Eun Ji-eun answered energetically in a disciplined posture.
“I want to check your red mana. Don’t be surprised.”
“I’m ready!”
Eun Ji-eun stood straight with her lips pressed tightly together.
Tzzzt—
A black portal opened behind her, and a tentacle shot out, piercing into the back of her head.
“Ugh…”
Of course, it didn’t actually pierce, but the bizarre sensation made her shoulders shrink involuntarily.
Srrrr—
Soon, having finished its task, the tentacle quickly withdrew.
“Phew…….”
Eun Ji-eun sighed in relief and stroked her chest.
『The quantity is large, but the quality is somewhat lacking. To compress it into energy, we’d need either much more quantity or higher quality.』
“Hm…….”
Jin-young stroked his chin after hearing the tentacle’s words.
Whether increasing quantity or improving quality, it wouldn’t be easy in her current state.
It was obvious at a glance that she was at a plateau.
If there was one breakthrough, it was Experiment Subject 78 in subspace.
With the tentacle’s power greatly strengthened, the subject’s madness had calmed considerably, but his mind remained unstable.
“Is there some problem…?”
Seeing Jin-young’s serious expression, Eun Ji-eun asked worriedly.
“Looks like you’ll have to come along too.”
“Yes? Where to?”
“A disaster-grade dungeon raid.”
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