Resurrection Chapter 49 - I Do Not Remember

“Blood?”

“It is not indicated in the awakened system, but it is a berserker trait. Drinking the blood of a powerful monster strengthens the body and increases HP. For a berserker, HP is everything. Once you have the tankiness, that is when you can really show your true skills.”

I looked at Min Gongchan with eyes full of suspicion again.

“You are telling Heesoo hyung to drink monster blood? You are not supposed to drink snake blood carelessly, what if it is poisonous?”

“It is not poison, so trust me. You ate a lot of monster meat in the past, but you are fine, are you not?”

I was surprised, wondering how he knew that I had survived by eating monster meat. It seems my future self told him, but does that mean I become that close to this guy to the point of revealing my past?

Heesoo hyung seemed to have the same thought as he looked at me intently. I was already in the middle of being misunderstood for being close to Min Gongchan, so it was quite awkward.

Whether he knew about this subtle atmosphere or not, Min Gongchan spoke towards Heesoo hyung.

“Monster blood and flesh, if eaten properly, are medicine. Seo Heesoo, you will have to get used to drinking raw blood.”

Not seeming very keen, Heesoo hyung furrowed his brows and asked.

“Are you saying I will have to keep drinking it in the future?”

“Yes. Depending on the case, there will be frequent occasions where you have to chew on a heart or something, so be prepared.”

Heesoo hyung’s complexion turned deathly pale, as if the mere thought made him nauseous. Seeing that, Min Gongchan said excitedly.

“If you just do as I say, I guarantee you will reach level 60 in a week. I always keep my word.”

Feeling like Min Gongchan was bullying Heesoo hyung, I snapped at him.

“Anyone can talk. We will see. Whether we can trust you or not.”

Min Gongchan grinned. I averted my eyes from his smile, packed my weapon, and got up. Min Gongchan and Heesoo hyung also got up, and we once again began to push through the fog and advance into the dungeon.

👑

As Min Gongchan had said, we walked for about half a day towards the northwest.

The time it took was close to half a day, but the actual distance we moved was not much. Since it was a swampy area, we could not go in a straight line, and we often had to stop in place or turn back the way we came to deal with the monsters that popped out in the middle.

In any case, Min Gongchan was right, and when a clearing appeared, a place that seemed to have been a lizardman’s settlement appeared. In the middle of a tall reed forest that easily surpassed a person’s height, there was an empty space, and the nests of the lizardmen were scattered here and there. However, there was not a single lizardman, and a truly huge snake was coiled up.

「Balaurs ★★★: The mortal enemy of the lizardmen, this giant serpent is a being that has metamorphosed thousands, tens of thousands of times from a swamp earthworm. Befitting the name earth dragon, unlike dragons with wings, they have numerous legs. These legs, which move as if they have a will of their own, are as elastic as springs and can extend freely in length, allowing this giant creature to leap into the air. Never enter the swamp with a Balaurs. Once you are dragged into the swamp, there is no way to survive.」

Putting aside the content of the alarm, it was a terrifyingly ugly creature. It was as if my nightmare of wriggling things, which I absolutely loathe, had been materialized.

I got angry at Min Gongchan, who was also crouched down and hiding in the reed forest with me.

“How is that a serpent? It is a millipede.”

“Considering its size, it is closer to a serpent. The alarm also calls it a serpent.”

“Have you ever seen a snake with legs? That is not a reptile, it is an arthropod.”

While we were having a pointless argument, Heesoo hyung did not say a word. I belatedly realized Heesoo hyung’s condition and looked at him with concern.

“Heesoo hyung… are you okay?”

With a pale face, Heesoo hyung asked Min Gongchan.

“Do I really have to drink that… monster’s blood?”

Min Gongchan answered with a grinning smile. Heesoo hyung pressed his lips firmly together with a white face. Min Gongchan, seeming delighted about something, said cheerfully.

“Consider yourself lucky. Usually, that guy hides deep in the swamp, so it is hard to see him. He only crawls onto land when hunting, but that guy found the lizardman settlement, feasted, and fell asleep. His movements will be sluggish, so this is your chance. First, give me the Dimension Pocket.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Why the Dimension Pocket?”

“Because I need to take out the item inside. You do not know what is in there. If you do not know what is in there, you cannot take it out. That is the biggest drawback of the Dimension Pocket.”

Come to think of it, that is right. The Dimension Pocket works by opening the entrance and then imagining the desired item, which then pops out on its own. Naturally, if you put something in and forget about it, you can never find it again. Instead of handing the Dimension Pocket to Min Gongchan, I glared at him.

“Do not be ridiculous. Just tell me what you are looking for. I will find it.”

If I let Min Gongchan hold the Dimension Pocket for even a moment, I did not know what he would pull out of it. Min Gongchan clicked his tongue and explained for a long time about the item he needed to take out. It seemed that it was not enough to simply know the name of the item; I had to know its specific shape as well.

After Min Gongchan explained by even drawing a picture on the ground, I barely managed to find something inside the Dimension Pocket.

It was a palm-sized emblem with a very complex design. Min Gongchan gestured with his chin for me to give it to Heesoo hyung and said.

“It is the crest of the vampire grand duke, Anatole. It contains seven demonic spirits that the grand duke has tamed with his blood. It will act as a vanguard, so with this, you can fight alone.”

“No, you want Heesoo hyung to fight a 3-black-star monster alone?”

“You cannot break through to level 60 in a week by sharing experience. Your role is more than enough just by reviving Seo Heesoo when he dies. Was that not the goal in the first place?”

Since Min Gongchan was right, I could not step forward. However, I looked at the thing called Anatole’s crest with great, extreme, and deep suspicion. When Min Gongchan got fed up, Heesoo hyung silently accepted it.

“It would not make sense to hope to become stronger without any risk. Do not worry. I will fight well and come back.”

Heesoo hyung attached Anatole’s crest to his chest. Min Gongchan did not stop there and had me cast all the buffs I could on Heesoo hyung’s greatsword.

However, he did not let me cast buffs on Heesoo hyung’s body itself. When I asked why, Min Gongchan chided me as if I should have known.

“It cannot be helped because he is a berserker. Why do you think berserkers are dull to pain? It is because the more pain they feel, the stronger they become. A berserker is someone who gets stronger the more they overcome life-and-death situations. It is different for equipment, but casting buffs on the body itself is not very helpful for growth.”

It was a plausible story. The job of an awakened one changed depending on who they took as their main god, and depending on the job, there were behavioral patterns that promoted growth.

For example, a warrior needed a lot of combat experience. In the case of a pugilist, especially, the skill proficiency would build up faster only if they fought with their bare fists without any bladed weapons.

On the other hand, in the case of a swordsman, training was more important than experience. It was a headache because they evolved depending on how precisely they could use their sword when casting a skill.

I am also a swordsman, so I have to train hard in swordsmanship, but to be honest, close combat does not suit my constitution. An all-around job character is perfect for me…

In any case, I could not cast buffs on Heesoo hyung’s body. Even though he had basic armor, to my eyes, it looked no different from a bare body. It was a relief that I could at least apply buffs to his weapon.

Heesoo hyung held his greatsword, which was shining with all sorts of buffs, and said.

“Then I will go and take care of it.”

I nodded, and Min Gongchan advised.

“First, calmly attack its legs so it absolutely cannot jump into the air. If that huge body jumps, the ground will collapse. Here, only the surface is hard; the bottom is all swamp, so one wrong move and you will be sucked into the swamp.”

Heesoo hyung nodded and carefully pushed his way forward through the reed forest. Then, in an instant, he kicked off the ground and charged towards the giant millipede… no, the Balaurs.

It was unbelievable that he was in a state without any buffs. His not-so-small body seemed to float lightly into the air, and then he brought his greatsword down.

“Slash!”

With the activation word, a dazzling light struck the Balaurs’s round head. With a “Clang!” a loud noise as if hitting a piece of metal, not a living creature, erupted, and the Balaurs began to move with a “Shhh.”

Seeing the creature uncoiling, Heesoo hyung calmly slammed his greatsword into the ground with a “Thud.” A few legs were cut off, and the Balaurs went berserk, writhing its body.

Ruuuumble!

Because it was so huge, the ground shook just from it thrashing around. The Balaurs’s countless legs moved in and out repeatedly, wriggling, and just looking at it was so disgusting that it gave me goosebumps.

Those legs struggled to grab Heesoo hyung, but Heesoo hyung daringly ran up the Balaurs’s back. As he ran, he cut off its legs here and there, and I clenched my fist and let out a cheer.