Paper 175: A Byproduct of Cerberus
Shin Ji-hoo was sitting by the window of a general store.
Currently, Lee Hee-yeon has been taken to the hospital.
Both arms were completely shattered, and the pelvis and ribs were broken. With a mild concussion and multiple organ damage, even a slight delay in emergency treatment would have killed him.
‘I used close to 10,000 SP, but it’s not a waste at all.’
[Set Intervention] was used.
There was also a potion, but it was a wound that was difficult to cure with only a high-level potion, not an elixir.
Thanks to her, she’s almost healed. It is just that he is receiving intensive care at the hospital to recover from the aftereffects and physical strength.
‘I almost got into trouble.’
I did it though.
No, it should be said that Lee Hee-yeon did it.
You hunted Cerberus on the 11th floor of the tower. She blew off one of Cerberus’ heads completely. At that moment, Cerberus lost his strength and Lerlia slashed another head.
Cerberus, with only one head left, wasn’t that strong. While Ji-hoo was healing Lee Hee-yeon, Kim Mi-ji and Lerlia were able to blow off the rest of the head.
In particular, it was easier because it was the head that Jihoo had sealed.
And as soon as I reached the 12th floor, I got off the tower.
Aside from the lack of time, it was because Lee Hee-yeon was injured a lot, and the reason was that even if I just stamped my feet on the 12th floor, I wouldn’t have to deal with Cerberus when I came back up.
It has achieved its goal well enough.
doo doo doo-
It rains incessantly
Winter is over now. Although a cold wind blows from time to time, it is becoming spring.
‘I didn’t know that Heeyeon Lee would awaken at that moment.’
That’s great.
Awakening usually ends with obtaining the first attribute and obtaining the status window. But this time, her [super sense] reached its limit and created another [special ability].
[Slicing Time].
It may sound childish, but there could be no more accurate and appropriate name. In the stopped time, it divides time itself. Time and space are connected, and cutting time is the same as cutting space itself.
It was only one ‘line’, but its power was beyond imagination.
Her body couldn’t stand it, but that’s just something you need to adapt to slowly. There was a big reason why my first opponent was a level 13 [Cerberus].
It’s not something you can use recklessly, but if you master it well and train it, it will be a very good weapon.
‘I’ll have to take a break from going higher than the twelfth floor for a while.’
Needs more complete maintenance.
Lee Hee-yeon should adapt to her special ability, and Ji-hoo should achieve more magical achievements. Kim Mi-ji also reduced her part-time job hours, saying that she had to practice more because she felt her limits this time.
Jihoo looked at the by-products displayed in front of him.
For reference, this hunt did not drop the entire body, but the body evaporated leaving a certain amount of by-products.
It seems that the top system is involved.
‘Plain leather is the most, and there are plenty of leather made of chloride.’
Normal leather is literally plain leather. Of course, the level and its defense are ridiculous, but that’s it.
The important thing is the leather made of this chloride.
[Chlorinated Skin of Cerberus (Lv. 11)]
: Leather made of intangible chloride. Since the physical resistance is 0, material things can pass through, but if Chlorine has the will to resist, nothing will be able to pass through.
“… … Where do you use this?”
Previously, the [Knights of the Cold] hunted Cerberus. However, it is not yet known where the by-products went.
Perhaps they are crafting artifacts in-house. With this kind of material, it was unconditionally advantageous to use it directly rather than selling it elsewhere.
So, it was the first time I knew that there was such an epidermis, and I had no idea how to use it.
‘[Chloride Crystal (75%)] isn’t bad, but it’s a bit disappointing.’
Surprisingly, the salinity of Cerberus is only 75%.
The 80% made by Jihoo seemed to be a higher number than I thought. well, not bad If it’s Jihoo, it’s not that difficult to make it over 80%.
‘And the claws of flame.’
big.
Very big.
It was difficult to bring this one. I had to make a spare slot in the inventory while wearing the equipment artifacts such as the Knight of Purification, the inventory slot where the Dyurahan was, and the bow and quiver.
“Hmm, it’s hard to get this out anywhere.”
It’s about the size of a large TV.
In addition to the chitinous claws, the [flame] spouting from the front would burn the general store itself if placed in a store like this.
Fortunately, it was said that it wouldn’t burn anything because the ‘will’ didn’t work like the [chlorinated epidermis].
‘It’s a by-product of the will.’
I guess it was because of this.
An unexpected by-product.
It was the soul stone of Cerberus.
『Soul Stone of Cerberus [Sulfurization of Hell] [Soul Stone] [Lv. 13]』
: A crystal containing the soul of Cerberus, the gatekeeper of Hell. Cerberus’ soul stone, which had great power and dignity, has a powerful presence in itself.
There are no other options.
However, being level 13 itself is a great option.
When Jihoo recently studied [spirit] and studied [artificial intelligence] and [ego] from before, the part he felt the biggest barrier to was this [soul].
Ego can be made.
Plausible.
However, the ‘artificial ego’ cannot follow the ‘soul’. Well, if it could be reproduced perfectly, it would be a god, not a human.
[Growth predation] was an expedient way to break through that wall, and so far it has not produced clear results.
[Lerlia] hunted Cerberus and the level of ego rose one more, but it still hasn’t shown its deeper self.
But what if you use this [Soul Stone]?
It could be different if it was a level 13 Cerberus, not another monster. In particular, what if [Growth Feed] was added to the [Spirit] made using the soul stone of [Cerberus] while passing through the zone called ‘Hell’ after the 11th floor?
“I might be able to get to the 13th floor without difficulty.”
Jihoo looked at the [Soul Stone].
Yes, I can make a [Spirit] with this.
Right now, Jihoo’s knowledge of magic and circuits alone is difficult. I think I will have to spend a lot of time studying for a while.
* * *
It was in the middle of studying that day.
A few guests came, but not many. It looks like it’s raining outside.
Then, someone came into the general store.
“Hello, boss.”
It was Lee Min-ho.
After working with Daehyun Group, I have been staying in [Street of Artisans], and this is the point at which headlines [Daehyun Group’s downfall] are going up and down several times in the media.
It was when news broke that more than 30% of the market capitalization had evaporated, and several affiliates were forced to take over due to an attack by external capital.
I don’t know how things are going, but with the article that several key executives of the Daehyun Group have died, the group’s chairman appeared at an official press conference with a youthful appearance.
Through dramatic discussions with [Kiskov], a multinational munitions industry, we were able to see the face of the chairman of Daehyun Group, who shouted that it would be revived rather than dismantled.
‘Well, it’s not something I know more about.’
Aunt Miyeon didn’t even show her face, perhaps because she was busy.
In the meantime, Jihoo needed an employee to fill the vacancy of Miji Kim and Heeyeon Lee, and secretly proposed to Lee Min-ho.
He came because he had to do it.
“How have you been?”
“thank you. Thanks to the boss!”
Jihoo didn’t ask.
It just tells you what to do. He must have known that it was considerate, and he only repeated the word thank you.
‘I can talk about the details later.’
What’s important right now is that it’s different.
Jihoo held up the [Hunter License]. At the bottom, there was information like an ID, and the word [A grade] was written in yellow, almost golden.
There were also anti-counterfeiting holograms everywhere, which seemed quite present.
“I am also a Hunter now.”
“Boss, you got an A grade. You are great too. I knew it!”
“hahahaha, what a tempo.”
Lee Min-ho was chattering beside him with a bright appearance, then greeted the guest who had just entered.
Jihoo suddenly thought.
‘Wouldn’t it be possible to get an S grade for production now?’
The same goes for emotions.
Jihoo’s [View] level is not moving at 8 yet, but several [Talents] and [Special Abilities]. And thanks to the production skills and experience of making level 11 or higher artifacts, it was not difficult to appraise up to level 10.
‘It’s not difficult to prove production, but the emotions are a little ambiguous.’
[Emotion] actually depends on luck. No matter how much knowledge and experience you have, you can’t know everything, and if you get caught in an area you don’t know without luck, it’s the end.
Besides, the S-class appraisal is not something you can do anytime you want to. S-grade appraisal is level 10 or higher. Alternatively, [Treasure] grade artifacts had to be used, but the number of them was so small that they were known to most, so making the test itself was not easy.
‘In fact, it’s not bad even if it’s just an S grade. As for the emotion, [View] I think raising a few more levels would be enough.’
It’s a bit unfortunate, but it hasn’t been a year since I came back to this street. You can think a little slower.
It was then.
“Jihoo~ I heard you caught Cerberus~?”
“Uh, aunt!”
It was Miyeon’s aunt.
While protecting Lee Min-ho for a while, it was hard to see his face because of something related to Daehyun Group. But now that I feel good, it seems that I have solved it to some extent.
“That’s enough to get an S grade~?”
“I think I can apply for certification, but I wonder if it is really necessary.”
“Well~ That’s your heart~ Rather than that, would you like to see this?”
“… … ?”
Jihoo was taken aback.
What she held out was an unknown artifact of a square pyramid made of metal. I could definitely feel the flow of magic power, and the pattern drawn on the outside was a type of circuit.
But [Read] doesn’t work either.
The reason why Jihoo was surprised was that Aunt Miyeon had intended to give him this item.
“I want you to appraise this~ I’ve done it~ Maybe it’s because I’m old now. It’s not going well~”
“Ah, that’s old. And no matter how much I say that my emotional abilities have improved these days, Aunt Miyeon is much better at it.”
Jihoo said so, but Aunt Miyeon’s eyes showed sincerity.
“I brought it because I failed a few times~ I can’t do it, so it makes more sense to entrust it to an outsider~ Is there anyone else besides you? Give it a try~”
Jihoo was embarrassed, but he was also happy because he thought he had grown enough to earn Aunt Miyeon’s trust.
It would be right to be confused.
‘Well, it’s the first time I’ve seen a circuit and it’s the first time I’ve seen metal. What the hell is this?’
While Jihoo was examining the square pyramid in a puzzled way, Aunt Miyeon opened her mouth.
“I got this~ when I raided the altar of an organization called Nocturne~ Magi was found at the altar~ and I found out that they recently made a chimera accompanied by human experimentation~ I think this will be a big clue. Do you know what I mean~?”
Jihoo nodded his head.
This is a problem that Aunt Miyeon has been worrying about lately. And it was also a problem related to the Daehyun group, which was harassing Lee Min-ho.
“There is a high possibility that it is an item from the Demon Realm~ Our earth side of the Demon Realm says they don’t know~ Can you check it out for me?”
“I will try. I’m sorry for my aunt, but I don’t know if I will.”
I was also a little anxious.
A feeling that you will be involved in something big and dangerous. However, if it involved people on the street, I had no intention of avoiding it.