Touching Behind (4)

-Kuaaaaaah!

The basilisk’s scream filled the sky. Kang Shin-hyuk and the blue cow, who had cleaved through its curled torso, were covered in a shower of green blood.

-A terrible poison has entered your body, but Soul Poison (SSS) has completely resisted it. Soul Poison (SSS) skill proficiency has increased.

“It even has poison.”

-A 170,000HP bonus from one impressed by your wonderful performance!

Despite the bonus, Kang Shin-hyuk pulled away from his sword with a resentful sigh. He felt like he had only been able to win because of the Godslayer.

-You have subdued one that was harmful to the order of things! Bonus based on membership level! You received 550,000,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you received an additional amount equivalent to 50% of the reward, for a total of 825,000,000HP!

A shocking message appeared before him. 800 million?! No matter how strong it was, there was only one of them. The previous Light Mastery (SS) skill stone was 3.5 billion HP, and the administrator said it was cheap, but now he finally understood.

-Loot has been collected.

But that wasn’t all that was surprising. As the dead basilisk shattered in the air and loot items were automatically stored in his inventory, more messages appeared.

―You have acquired the Light Basilisk’s Crest of Light (SSS).

―You have acquired the bones and leather of the Light Basilisk.

―You have acquired the meat of Light Basilisk.

―You have acquired the poison blood of Light Basilisk.

“It was an SSS-class monster…”

It was also a boss-class monster. Ironically, it was in a world that weakened everything, so it was defeated.

Although Kang Shin-hyuk had also been weakened by Kieron, he overcame that limit and weakened the enemy with his Guardian Golden Dragon. It was no exaggeration to say it had won him the battle. Of course, it was also beneficial that the enemy fit his abilities.

“Would it have been easier with a status potion… no, probably not by much.” This time, the entire fight had been virtually done with his spiritual power and Golden Dragon Fighter. As his body became stronger, so did his Golden Dragon Fighter, but it would’ve been a small margin in that fierce fight.

‘Moreover, it only covers up to the SSS-rank.’ Now he was viewing the SSS-rank as only up to. It was natural given the administrator had revealed that Halo and the other members in the Hero Universe were generally above that rank. If so, it meant that status potions served to help members that were still lacking, or so Kang Shin-hyuk viewed it as such.

-A 120,000HP bonus from a thrilled administrator!

“There are too many bonuses.” He hesitated, noticing a shadow falling beyond the hole that was cut through the basilisk.

“Uh…” It was several of them, actually.

“I didn’t think it would end with one, but to be so many…”

-Are you okay, member?

If it were one more basilisk, it might have been doable, but more than two was impossible. Now, the only feasible option was to run, but that would leave the humans trembling in the kingdom below.

‘What do we do? I spent most of the power in the Great Heavenly Spirit…’ A new hole opened in the sky near Kang Shin-hyuk as he nervously watched the shadow monsters appear through the first one.

-Fortunately, I’m not late.

A giant, massive wolf, big enough to devour even the sun, suddenly appeared.

“…!” It had long, beautiful silver fur, and its eyes shone like green jade. Magical power illuminated its entire body, enough to blind anyone who could pierce magic.

-Anvil, it’s great to see you in person like this. Mirang, it’s Mirang. Can you recognize me?

Kang Shin-hyuk was relieved to find out the wolf was an ally. If it were a foe, he might as well lay down.

‘I guess he’s in a huge state right now?’ The wolf, Mirang, was so large that even the giant Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t see its entire body. Probably, this wolf had power similar to Halo.

-I can roughly see the limitations of this world. It’s a tricky restriction, despite being a low-level world.

Mirang looked around and spoke while Kang Shin-hyuk remained frozen. He could easily overcome the pressure of Kieron.

-Oh, they’re coming out now. I’ll take care of it. In the meantime, Anvil, calm those beautiful things.

“What…?” Kang Shin-hyuk was overwhelmed by the power emanating from Mirang. The wolf nodded and stretched a paw to point at the ground. Indeed, below them, the tiny humans were making a ruckus.

-Hero Universe.

-I wanted to do this quickly.

-It’s fortunate to see his face.

At that point, a sinister voice came out from the hole across from them. Kang Shin-hyuk realized that he couldn’t dare face them alone.

“Can I ask you to take care of it?”

-Sure, I came to do just that. Please do me a favor later. I require your craftsmanship.

“If that’s enough, then I’ll do what I can.”

-Very good. Let’s start right away!

The wolf laughed and burst through the air. Kang Shin-hyuk had to hold onto his bike to not be swept away by the current of magical power. In the process, his body shrunk back. Looking up, he saw the giant monsters in the shape of snakes being cut apart by the wolf’s claws and an ax protruding from its tail. He snapped out of it and drove down to the ground as the snakes’ blood rained down.

“Anvil!” Milia was shouting at him from atop the castle.

“If that poisonous blood breaks through the shield, it’s all over!” Milia cried out and grabbed him as soon as he landed. Looking up, he could see the snakes and Mirang fighting. The issue was that the blood dripping from the snakes was becoming a heavy rain that spilled out onto the ground. The shield of spiritual power was blocking it, but the sight of it bouncing off the shield to dissolve the area around them was terrifying.

“Is this the aftermath of fighting directly…?”

“What are those monsters? Are they the agents of God who came to execute us who couldn’t accept destruction?”

“Why is that your thought? They’re just a group that doesn’t like human prosperity. For now, let’s focus on stopping them.”

“Anvil, you…”

“I’m sorry, but we have a little more work to do! Go!” He enlarged the Godslayer again, activating Guardian to help deflect the poisonous blood raining down on them. It would buy them a little more time. Kang Shin-hyuk began to go through his artifacts and wondered what could be done.

“By enlarging the spiritual thread of the soul connector, I could make a shield… no, Guardian would be more efficient. I need to make a shield right away.”

-Sorry, member. Even in the Hero Universe, the only artifacts that can be maintained here are the ones you create.

That was right; he had been told that blacksmiths who handle spiritual power properly were rare. So rare that it was really just Anvil. Kang Shin-hyuk wracked his brain as he watched the battle happening above them.

‘Oh, what about Onyx?’ In this situation, it would be a disaster for those outside the city, but Onyx dutifully led the people from the mines back to the city. He had made a wise judgment as now the land around the city had become a true hell.

‘How to solve it…’ His mind kept going back to the problem. His spiritual power couldn’t infinitely block the poisonous blood. In the end, the only way remaining was something he really didn’t want. Kang Shin-hyuk would have to enlarge himself again to directly block the poisonous blood with the power of his Guardian Golden Dragon. Now that he had confirmed the blood wouldn’t affect him, suppressing it would be easy.

“Okay, then let’s go directly…”

“Anvil.” It was then, as Kang Shin-hyuk was squeezing his head for thoughts, Milia spoke up with a serious expression.

“Is it really only possible for the items you brought to become bigger?”

“Uh? No, it’s not. As long as the quality of the item is high enough, anything else can be…”

“That’s it.” Milia ran straight into the castle, and Kang Shin-hyuk guessed what she was thinking. However, he decided to abandon her expectations.

“Then, I should stop it.” Kang Shin-hyuk rode the bike back into the air. He had already grown once, so he remembered the trick. It consumed no small amount of spiritual power and his Golden Dragon energy, but it would be easier to maintain than the Guardian shield.

“After all, heroes shine more when they defend than when they fight.”

-150,000HP bonus!

“Oh, did I say it out loud?” He was suddenly aware of how much his self-talk had increased since entering the Hero Universe, but now those embarrassing thoughts were coming out. He blew away those thoughts as he enlarged himself. Green rain rained down upon him.

“Ah.”

-It’s a good day to practice soul poison.

“Right?” He responded darkly as he spread a shield out with the Godslayer in his hand. A thread of spiritual power moved towards the raindrops.

-…Member.

“Yes?”

-I really don’t think you need to come forward. First of all, even collecting the poisonous blood personally…

The administrator’s attitude had changed completely.

“Yes? But the consumption of spiritual power…”

-It will be resolved before that, so don’t worry.

Only

Kang Shin-hyuk thought the answer was strange as he gently stretched the thread out to gather the raindrops. Under the laws of this world, the size of the poisonous blood automatically decreased as he gathered it. Soon enough, he had collected two liters of it in a container he threw into his inventory before producing a new one. It was about the time when he considered finding a way to recharge his spiritual power when the blood stopped.

“Huh…?” Looking up, there was an enormous image of Milia. In her arms was an enormous orb of water.

“Uh…”

-I am the new member of the Hero Universe, ‘Water Fox.’

“The administrator forced that nickname on you.”

-How’d you know?!

While the administrator was astonished, Milia busied herself with manipulating the falling blood with the water orb. It formed a stream that moved according to her wishes.

The water orb wasn’t an artifact that created water; it was a treasure that manipulated all liquids.