NOVEL WEB Chapter 39
Chapter 39
The poisonous mist.
It was a special environment one encountered while progressing through the second chapter of the tutorial.
While the toxicity wasn’t extremely high, walking within it steadily accumulated poison, causing anyone to collapse in less than an hour.
‘We had quite a hard time with this.’
Before his regression, Se-woon’s party quickly retreated outside the mist as soon as they realized its toxicity.
As a result, two members of their already small group ended up poisoned.
At that time, without a way to detoxify or avoid the poison, they had no choice but to take a detour around the mist.
Naturally, this caused significant delays, and they reached their destination much later.
However, this time was different.
Thanks to the magic book retrieved from Mammon’s treasure trove, the poisonous mist around them quickly dissipated.
With this method, they could travel the shortest distance to their destination.
But first things first.
“Lee Ha-neul, was it? Hurry and begin the treatment.”
“Thank you! Everyone, I’ll treat you in order, so please wait a moment!”
Lee Ha-neul quickly started curing the poison afflicting the people.
As the camp’s sole healer, she had been treating various wounds, but her Constellation was more related to diseases than injuries.
Thus, treating poison was practically her specialty.
Starting with Park Jeong-pil, who was in the worst condition, she quickly removed the poison from the others as well.
‘If we want to set off soon, I should help too.
– Opened the (True) Treasury of Greed.
[ Cure Poison ]
– The most basic detoxification spell from the White Tower that neutralizes poison permeating the body.
Humm…
With Se-woon now possessing a third mana circle, his circles spun rapidly.
Despite plans to mix the mysteries of different Mage Towers within each circle, Se-woon unexpectedly attained the third circle without having applied the mysteries from the Blue and White Towers yet. However, even with just the Green and Black Towers’ knowledge, Se-woon could easily purify mild toxins, as the poison wasn’t deadly.
The condition of the people improved swiftly, and the clan’s atmosphere began to stabilize.
“Se-woon! You’ve returned!”
“Thanks to Kang Han-cheol’s deep footprints, I arrived earlier than expected.”
“It was merely part of the training.”
“By the way, who are those people behind you?”
Yoo Seo-ah indicated to the people standing behind Se-woon.
There, a group of ten men and women with resilient expressions, hardened by numerous challenges, stood in a line.
Before Se-woon could explain, one of the men stepped forward to speak.
“My name is Lee Il-jung. Thanks to Se-woon, all of our lives were saved.”
“Hello, I’m Yoo Seo-ah.”
“If you would allow us, we would like to join this clan and follow Se-woon. Of course, we will give our best effort…”
The man spoke at length, apparently aware that they were outsiders and seemingly trying to gain trust.
However, Yoo Seo-ah didn’t respond to the man’s words but instead looked at Se-woon.
Se-woon nodded lightly, and Yoo Seo-ah extended her right hand to the man who was continuing his explanation.
“Welcome.”
“…Are you really accepting us?”
“Of course. If Se-woon vouches for you, we trust you.”
“Thank you! We’ll do our best not to be a burden!”
“A burden? Well, first, I think you need to change your clothes. Areum, Da-un?”
“Yes, unnie!”
“Yes, unnie!”
“Could you help these people with some clothes and give them a brief rundown of our situation?”
“Leave it to us!”
“Everyone, please come this way! We have some spare leather clothes we made!”
The twin sisters guided the newcomers who had followed Se-woon.
Everyone, including Yoo Seo-ah, extended a warm welcome, making the new people feel somewhat bewildered.
Moreover, they were astonished by the scale of the clan. Since the start of the tutorial, Se-woon’s clan had maintained nearly the same number of members.
Apart from those recently poisoned, there were no visible injuries.
The wagons were filled with all sorts of materials, sleeping bags, and food.
The faces of the people exhibited a sense of ‘relief’ that was rare since entering the tutorial.
“It’s surprising. Se-woon bringing people back.”
“If they’ve survived this far, their resolve must be firm.”
“Resolve… It’s the most important mindset here.”
While having a light conversation with Yoo Seo-ah, Lee Ha-neul finished treating everyone.
With the poison purified, Park Jung-pil rushed over, spouting praises and respect toward Se-woon, but Se-woon dismissively waved him away.
And so, they resumed their journey towards their destination, following the tutorial.
“So all that hazy stuff was poisonous mist? Ugh, just thinking about how queasy I felt…”
“Horrible, really.”
Se-woon’s spell continued to be active even at that moment.
When he was at the 2nd Circle, he might have felt some strain using mana, but now, as a 3rd Circle Mage, he could maintain basic spells like Breeze effortlessly.
However, the downside was the difficulty in using other powers.
Even though it was a basic spell, he was expanding its range to cover the entire clan, which could lead to instability if he engaged in direct combat.
As if waiting for this opportunity—
Buzz!
Zzz!
Various monsters began attacking the clan.
There were wasps the size of forearms and rats as large as waists. Among them were slimes squirming forward with black ooze.
However—
“Prepare for battle!”
“Prepare for battle!”
Under Yoo Seo-ah’s command, people successfully fended off the monsters.
Even if they got injured or poisoned, Lee Ha-neul was there, allowing them to fight confidently.
The poisonous mist was originally one of the most challenging trials for players in the second chapter of the tutorial.
But thanks to Se-woon’s wind magic and Lee Ha-neul’s healing abilities, they could advance more smoothly than during the monster waves.
And soon enough—
– You have successfully overcome the Trial of the Poisonous Mist.
– All participants in the trial are awarded 1,000 points
“Is the outside air really this clear?”
Se-woon’s clan managed to emerge from the poisonous mist safely.
* * *
Even after that, the trials of the second chapter of the tutorial continued.
Moving through cliff paths, crossing swamps filled with acidic solutions, and defending against monster attacks.
Each was a life-threatening trial.
For Se-woon before his regression, all these trials were nothing but horrific memories.
Back then, he had desperately tried to avoid these trials.
– You have successfully passed the Trial of the Shaking Bridge.
– All participants in the trial are awarded 1,000 points
– You have successfully passed the Trial of the Acidic Swamp.
– All participants in the trial are awarded 1,500 points.
– You have successfully defeated the Pack of Red Bears.
– All participants in the trial are awarded 2,000 points.
Now, they were able to pass through all these trials in a straight line without a single casualty.
Even if there were injuries, they weren’t fatal, thanks to the presence of healers Lee Ha-neul and Se-woon.
People gained confidence, stepping forward without hesitation.
Of course, this was also due to:
“Hyung, the path ahead is blocked. The wagon can’t pass through.”
“Just go. We’ll break through.”
“Oh, as expected of you, Hyung!”
Park Jung-pil, who was proving to be a surprisingly effective scout.
“Be cautious, everyone, the path is rough! Areum, Da-un, can you check the wagon wheels?”
“Yes, unnie!”
“Mine is so sturdy it won’t break. Hehe!”
“Mine won’t break either!”
Yoo Seo-ah, who was now skillfully directing people as smoothly as flowing water.
“Is that a boulder? I’ll break it.”
Boom!!
Crash…
“Wow, someone broke a boulder with their fist…”
“I thought we had grown stronger, but those three are in a league of their own. Truly.”
Kang Han-cheol, who cleared obstacles with overwhelming strength.
It was thanks to the roles played by various individuals, not just Se-woon.
And amidst all this…
– You have perfectly cleared the Hidden Dungeon, ‘Nest of Evil Insects.’
– Earned a remarkable achievement.
– Earned 4,000 points in individual merit as a reward
– Acquired the ‘Carapace of the Evil Insect.’
“Carapace, huh? The elder will be pleased with this.”
Se-woon often quietly sneaked away whenever he had the time to locate and clear various Hidden Dungeons.
These were dungeons whose locations he knew from his pre-regression days, thanks to frantically using ‘Guidepost of the Journey.’ to survive by avoiding trials.
Of course, back then, discovering the dungeons was as far as he could go since he lacked the power to clear them, but now, he could easily tackle such dungeons solo.
– You have designated the entire ‘Nest of Evil Insects.’ with the Power of Gluttony.
– The Fangs of Gluttony descend upon the nest!
– The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ savors the delightful, bursting texture of the evil insects’ fluids.
By devouring all the monsters in the dungeon, Se-woon completed his clearance.
A significant amount of energy was absorbed, accumulating in his dantian and circles.
While it didn’t produce as dramatic an effect as when he created the third circle, its efficiency rivaled, if not surpassed, that of any advanced internal techniques or mana training methods.
At this rate, he felt confident about reaching the fourth circle much sooner than planned.
“Hyung, you’re here!”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I found some traces while scouting and decided to follow them! There’s only one person who can massacre monsters like that, and that’s you, Hyung.”
Traces, he said.
As far as Se-woon knew, Park Jung-pil didn’t possess any skills related to tracking. This meant he’d followed Se-woon purely based on observation.
‘He wasn’t like this before my regression.’
Back then, he’d just followed Kang Han-cheol around, acting arrogant, only to lose his life when his shield was gone. That was the Park Jung-pil Se-woon knew before his regression.
But now? He was the opposite of what he had been.
As much as Se-woon hated to admit it, the guy had talent.
“Are you planning to stop anywhere else? The others have some time to spare, given that the path for the wagons is tricky and will take a while.”
“No, I’m going straight back.”
“Oh, what’s gotten into you, Hyung? You usually wander around whenever you have even a little free time.”
He was right. As long as it didn’t jeopardize the group, Se-woon constantly ventured outside to find Hidden Pieces.
Because of this, he had already cleared a total of five Hidden Dungeons, besides collecting various Hidden Items and a substantial amount of additional merit points.
However,
“I’ve already found everything worth looking for.”
“Wow, that’s amazing! Honestly, I get shocked every time I see your merit points, Hyung.”
As a result of diligently seeking out Hidden Pieces,
Se-woon’s merit points had reached:
[1st Place: Jung Se-woon 250,080 points]
[2nd Place: Kang Han-cheol 16,220 points]
[3rd Place: Yoo Seo-ah 15,980 points]
Se-woon’s points were nearing an astounding 250,000.
Another notable change was the rankings of Kang Han-cheol and Yoo Seo-ah.
Though not a vast difference, Yoo Seo-ah’s merit points had decreased slightly because she was now responsible for both combat and leading the people.
‘At this rate, I should at least be in the top rankings.’
Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if his points placed him first overall, but the Tower always has players of extraordinary caliber—those with different species, or those who started with strong constellations backing them.
So, it was important not to become overconfident.
Additionally,
“Let’s hurry back.”
“Yes, Hyung! You should try riding Baekrang! The more I ride it, the better I’ve gotten at driving it! The speed is just…”
[ Tutorial Chapter 2 – Movement ]
– Follow the arrows to reach the destination.
– Time remaining until arrival: 116 hours 22 minutes
They were nearing their destination.