Level -99 Archmage

Chapter 24. Constitution Enhancement

Elixirs.

Refers to potions imbued with mystical and miraculous energy or medicinal effects. The efficacy of these potions is so potent that they can push the boundaries of human “limits,” making it a rule to consume only one type at a time. If different types of energy mix before being fully absorbed, they may become contaminated. Moreover, an excessive spread of energy in the body often led to ruin. Even the recommended dosage was minuscule. Overusing even a single type of elixir could result in one’s qi and blood bursting, leading to death. Excess is as bad as deficiency. This proverb best describes the nature of elixirs. However, Park Chan-woo was different.

‘If it’s converted into a buff effect, that means it’s recognized as volatile.’

Perhaps because his body couldn’t properly absorb the effects of elixirs.

Due to the status ailment “Weakest,” which fixed all his base stats at 1, the effects of the elixirs instead converted into temporary “buff effects” that lasted only 100 hours.

Buffs, no matter how many were stacked, had no side effects. Since they were volatile, they would simply disappear with time. Of course, even buffs couldn’t stack if their properties were opposite or if they canceled each other out. But even this limitation did not apply to Park Chan-woo.

‘Since I have ‘Void,’ there’s no penalty for conflicting attributes.’

The effect of ‘Void (Eternal-grade)’, which he had impulsively purchased at a nightclub. It nullified the drawbacks caused by clashing attributes. This effect was not limited to just magic. Even the opposing energies of elixirs were neutralized. Thanks to this, Park Chan-woo could consume elixirs without any hesitation. Once he had ingested over 20 types of elixirs, both his Attack Power and Defense surpassed 1,000.

‘…This is absurd.’

It was so absurd that he let out a dry chuckle. His current situation had already long since exceeded the realm of comprehension. If this were someone else’s story, even Park Chan-woo himself wouldn’t have believed it. He might have even scolded them to at least make their lies more convincing. And for good reason.1,000 Attack Power and Defense were stats that could only be achieved after reaching Level 30 or higher.

And that was under the assumption of equipping all kinds of high-tier gear. Yet, Park Chan-woo’s level was -95. It was logically impossible. But perhaps because his existence itself belonged to the realm of impossibility in the first place, It felt like multiplying a negative by a negative to get a positive.

‘Thank you, Yoo Han-seop.’

He sincerely thanked Yoo Han-seop. The map Yoo Han-seop had given him. The countless elixirs marked upon it. Park Chan-woo was collecting every single one of them, roaming the Abyss of Transmission as if it were his own backyard.

‘But… constitution change, huh.’

The statement that his body constitution had transformed due to the mixing of all these elixirs’ effects. Along with the title “Elixir Addict,” his entire body had begun to change. What exactly had changed? Just as this thought crossed his mind, as if it had been waiting—

“Ugh.”

Park Chan-woo let out a small groan and clutched his chest. A sensation of intense heat surged through his body. It felt as if all the elixirs he had consumed were merging inside him. His body was already frail. Because of the status ailments “Sickly” and “Weak,” he was constantly fatigued and highly susceptible to diseases and curses. This meant even minor changes affected him severely.

As his body temperature suddenly spiked, the world spun around him, and sweat poured from him like a waterfall.

“Hup…!”

Park Chan-woo quickly covered his mouth and nose. His instincts warned him, the energy from the elixirs was about to leak out. As a result, the energy trapped inside raged even hotter. It felt like every single cell in his body was screaming. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to scream along with them.

‘Endure it, Park Chan-woo.’

With superhuman endurance, he held on. Changing one’s constitution. A complete transformation of one’s physical nature. To say this was painless would be a blatant lie. If he let the energy escape now, he would be left with nothing but a half-baked result. Park Chan-woo knew this well from experience. Every time he broke past a limit level, he had faced similar trials. Humans encountered a limit level every 10 levels. To progress to the next realm, they had to overcome it. As the levels increased, the trials became harder, and the pain became greater. If one couldn’t endure, they couldn’t advance.

Compared to the overwhelming despair of breaking past Level 90, this pain was nothing. Any ordinary person would have passed out hundreds of times by now. But to him—

‘I’m used to this.’

It wasn’t just because he had overcome many limit breaks. To survive, he had endured all kinds of pain. When he was captured by human hunters, he was doused with molten metal. When his fingernails were ripped off and salt was rubbed into the wounds, he never gave up. Even when the demon known as “The Butcher” flayed him alive for 30 hours, even when he was trapped by the “Illusion Fairy” and tormented by nightmarish visions for 30 days, Park Chan-woo endured everything.

So what was something like this to him?

Even though his body was weakened, there was no way that someone who had returned from the horrors of the future would fail to endure this. His expression slowly relaxed. Before long, a sense of calm confidence settled into his eyes. As his energy stabilized, another message appeared.

『Constitution Enhancement successfully achieved!』

『’Immunity to Hundred Poisons ‘.』

『You are immune to most poisons, preventing any form of poisoning or contamination.』

“Ahhh…!”

A smile bloomed on Park Chan-woo’s lips. It seemed the immense number of elixirs had spread like poison throughout his body. Considering how incredibly potent they were, they might as well have been toxins. By adapting to all of those energies, he had attained “Immunity to Hundred Poisons.”

If he had let the energy escape, he would have only gained something minor, perhaps just “Immunity to Ten Poisons” or a small resistance to toxins.

‘In the Abyss, poison resistance is invaluable. But full poison immunity?’

Unlike basic poison resistance, which only worked against toxins of its corresponding strength, a transformed constitution allowed him to endure even the deadliest poisons. That difference was immeasurable.

At least now, he wouldn’t die from poison. Soon, Abyssal beings specializing in poison would begin to appear. There would be entire zones flooded with deadly toxins and monsters capable of killing with a single drop of poison. Other resistances were important too, but poison immunity was nothing short of essential.

‘I’ve gained something priceless.’

No—

This was beyond priceless. At this stage, achieving “Immunity to Hundred Poisons” was impossible for almost anyone. It wasn’t just a high-level poison resistance, this was something that only an elite few could attain.

Of course, once he reached Level 80, he would naturally gain a similar ability. But that was a long and difficult road.

“If I consume more elixirs, could I reach ‘Immunity to a Thousand Poisons’… or even ‘Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons’?”

A natural greed began to grow. After 20 elixirs, he had achieved “Immunity to Hundred Poisons.” But there were over 50 elixirs marked on Yoo Han-seop’s map. If he consumed them all, would he attain the ultimate immunity?

Especially, ‘Immunity to ten thousand Poisons’ was a state where poison itself had no effect. No matter how powerful the deadly poison, it was useless in front of ‘Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons.’ And as far as Park Chan-woo knew, only one person had ever reached that state.

‘Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons, Fireproof Body, Invulnerable Body… That bastard had all of them.’

Even possessing just one of these would make someone the strongest, but that bastard had three. The first to reach level 99. A bastard so despicable that even speaking his name was unbearable! Park Chan-woo shook his head, forcing himself to focus. At least for now, he was ahead of that bastard. Even if it was limited to 100 hours, he possessed overwhelming attack and defense power. If it were up to him, he would wipe out all the avatars here, including that bastard. But—

‘Killing the Water God comes first.’

Otherwise, his ‘non-existence’ would be meaningless. If the creators and the Water God became aware, all his plans would be ruined. Killing the Water God and making sure South Korea reached 5,000 points came first. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Park Chan-woo exited the cave. He had no intention of resting for even a second until he consumed every elixir. More than anything—

‘The elixir that bastard tried to obtain… It’s most likely in the poisonous mist swamp.’

Back then, that bastard had definitely obtained an elixir from this place. He had entered to retrieve the elixir and obstructed people to prevent the Water God Abyss from being cleared. Since that bastard had played the role of a ‘savior’ for quite some time, his past deeds were well documented. There were even eyewitness accounts of him leading people and ‘creating miracles in the poisonous mist swamp’ during this time. That place wasn’t far from here. And according to the map, the rarest elixir was located in the poisonous mist swamp.

* * *

‘I am the strongest.’

Yoo Han-seop was strong. It wasn’t just that he created the ‘Dawn Fellowship’ and led people. He knew how to conceal his emotions, was ruthless and cruel, and had no fear of blood. Perhaps due to his nature, he was chosen by a powerful ‘Creator’ and was granted numerous benefits upon becoming an avatar. He was talented. He was ambitious, and he never wasted his efforts. A truly complete genius. He survived far beyond the expected rate in the Abyss, and during the ‘First Night’s Abyss,’ he reached the top 10 contribution rankings while fighting the ‘Twelve Divine Generals’.

‘Even avatars are no match for me.’

Whoosh!

As he gazed at the burning corpses, Yoo Han-seop smiled.

Three.

That was the number of avatars he had killed. Even avatars, who had grown under the full support of their creators, were no match for him. However, avatars were supposed to be humanity’s leaders. They were beings meant to stand above humans. It wasn’t that they were weak, it was just that Yoo Han-seop himself was exceptionally strong. Unlike ordinary humans, avatars, when they died, were completely burned to ashes, making them easy to distinguish.

『Your Creator is extremely pleased and grants you a ‘Gold Box’ as a reward.』

And each time a corpse burned, his Creator, satisfied, bestowed a ‘Gold Box’ upon him. Those who had stolen what his Creator had prepared, their punishment at Yoo Han-seop’s hands was rewarded accordingly. He opened the gifts as soon as he received them.

『Opening ‘Gold Box.’』

『Obtained ‘Magic-Infused Earring (Lv. 7, Rare).’』

『Opening ‘Gold Box.’』

『Obtained ‘Amber Knee Guard (Lv. 7, Unique).’』

『Opening ‘Gold Box.’』

『Obtained ‘Wild Shoulder Guard (Lv. 7, Rare).’』

‘…Unique. Not bad.’

One out of three was of Unique grade. Not just decent, this was actually quite good. For a normal Gold Box, the rewards were excellent. Currently, the highest-grade equipment Yoo Han-seop possessed was the ‘Silver Knight’s Sword (Epic),’ which he had obtained from a ‘Gold Box (★)’ during the ‘First Night’s Abyss.’

‘Normal, Rare, Unique, Epic. No higher grade has been discovered yet.’

As far as he knew, the highest grade humanity had reached was ‘Epic.’ He had never heard of anything beyond that. His eyes trembled with excitement as he examined his newly acquired equipment.

Name: Amber Knee Guard

Level: 7

Grade: Unique

Description: A knee guard embedded with amber.

Equip Slot: Knee Guard

Defense: 23

Durability: 2,000

Unique Option:

(1) Increases health by 2.

‘Ohhh. A unique option!!’

Yoo Han-seop clenched his fist, grinning. From the Unique grade onward, equipment had ‘unique options.’ These options typically increased stats or granted special functions to the user. At a time when even a single stat point was crucial, gaining 2 extra health points was an incredible blessing.

“Thank you, my god! I will strive even harder and punish these thieves with all my might.”

Bowing deeply, Yoo Han-seop expressed his gratitude toward his Creator. Now, he was even better equipped to continue hunting avatars. After equipping the Amber Knee Guard and his newly obtained items, He opened his map and headed toward a marked ‘arranged event’ nearby. Even though the ‘arranged event’ had already been looted, any avatar unaware of that fact would still come here. And soon—

‘They’re here.’

As expected, someone had arrived. Coming here meant they were highly likely to be an avatar. However, Yoo Han-seop frowned upon seeing the person.

‘…That guy?’

The man who had single-handedly slain the ‘Dragon General’ in the ‘First Night’s Abyss.’

…Lee Hyuk-soo had appeared.