Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-461

Yeon-woo pulled out his Magic Bayonet with his left arm and cut his right wrist. Blood spurted out.

[Disabling Poison Blood]

It was a skill similar to Bayluk’s signature skill, Poison Blood, although the specifics were different. The greater the concentration of a poison he consumed, the more poisonous he himself would be.

When he’d first gained the skill, he’d taken in soul poison and Devil King Poison, which proved effective after he gave it to his Spirit Guai. However, since then, Yeon-woo hadn’t made any breakthroughs and plateaued. It had been a mistake.

He needed to continuously absorb all types of poisons over a long period of time to help his body grow used to it and increase the toxicity of his blood. However, because his body had adjusted to two rare and extreme poisons, it didn’t matter how much of the other poisons he tried to absorb. The skill simply didn’t respond.

He couldn’t get rid of a skill, so he gave up on it. It was useless except for training the elements of the Spirit Guai. However, the skill’s value skyrocketed after he captured Bayluk, and he managed to strengthen this signature skill to create Spirit Powder Poison.

The poison surpassed any other poison in existence, and it could even injure spirit opponents who didn’t have physical bodies. The soul poison he’d earned on the thirtieth floor also had this feature, but its strength couldn’t be compared at all.

Furthermore, Spirit Powder Poison had three other outstanding features: it was colorless, odorless, and tasteless. One could be poisoned without realizing it until one was already dying. It had all the attributes of the shapeless poison Bayluk had told Jeong-woo about.

‘It’s probably a beta version of his other goal, the shapeless poison.’ However, even though it was the beta version, the poison was effective enough to give Jeong-woo’s clones abilities that equaled Sky Wings. And now, it was in Yeon-woo’s hands after he squeezed Bayluk’s soul to learn how to make it.

A few days had passed since he consumed the poison, which caused Disabling Poison Blood to grow explosively. It also combined with the data Yeon-woo had on poisons and successfully created a superior skill. Yeon-woo bound it together with Throne of Death and managed to amplify its strength. Poison was secretive and dangerous. It was never far away from death, so he believed they went well together. ‘And I was right.’

[Formless Poison

[Number ???(Calculating)]

[Proficiency: 1.7% ]

[Description: An extreme poison created from combining the power of the Throne of Death and the poisons stored in your body with the skill ‘Disabling Poison Blood.’ It is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. It is as secretive as the hand of an assassin, and traps the recipient of the poison into the quagmire of death before taking their soul.

This poison must be applied to everyone. An assassin’s hand does not discriminate and can also allow its owner to rest.]

[*Venom Blood

Poison stored in the Venom Factory near your heart will also circulate in your blood. The poison has a medicinal effect, providing your body with inexhaustible stamina and virility. But as soon as it leaves your body, it can melt iron.]

[*Spiritual Spite

The odorless, colorless, and tasteless poison will always move according to your wishes. The amount of control you have depends on your environment and thoughts. However, when you are weak, it will move according to its own judgement.]

[**This is a unique skill. No other skill like this exists in the Tower. If it is successfully passed on to another player, it will lose its uniqueness. Instead, additional options will be provided.

**This is still an incomplete skill. Complete the skill to raise its rank or gain a number.]

It was the third unique numbered skill Yeon-woo had after the Atman System and Sky Wings. That meant the skill had the potential to go beyond a numbered skill and power and become a divine domain or divine authority after it was completed. Yeon-woo had already surpassed Bayluk if the potential of the skill was also taken into consideration.

Ssssss. When the Formless Poison was exposed to the environment for the first time, his blood instantly evaporated and took on the form of a white haze. It looked like ordinary smoke, but it had a vicious toxicity that could melt iron as though it were tofu and poison even divine beings. It was so dangerous that Yeon-woo had to be extremely careful while using it, but he didn’t stop to input more power.

[First Spirit]

[Focusing thoughts...]

[Assigning element - Fire]

Kyaaa. The souls inside his Soul Collection all screamed and turned into Black Guai, strengthening Formless Poison with their curses. Yeon-woo put his thoughts into the white haze and attempted to control it while maximizing his power by adding Wave of Fire, Holy Fire, Hell Tribulation, and Heaven Bracket’s Flame Wheel. The haze quickly turned into a black color and blazed into a cursed poisonous fire. It was a dangerous weapon.

‘As expected…it’s not easy.’ The power was so intense that Yeon-woo hesitated. It was impossible to control. At this point, it could kill its own user at any moment, and if it ran free, it wouldn’t be something any ordinary player could handle. Only the transcendents who were beings related to fire would have the chance to control it. If he gave up at this point and let it be, half the stage would be blown away, including the Heavy Mountains.

And the danger of the flames wouldn’t stop there. Sparks would spread randomly, causing more explosions, and the cursed Formless Poison it contained would mushroom throughout the stage. The stage would not only be destroyed in a few seconds, it would also become a wasteland that would never again support life.

Normally, he would have trapped it inside Aura, but that was impossible now, so he attempted another method. He clenched his fist. ‘Rotate.’

The flames that were about to spread suddenly turned into a whirlwind. If it was impossible to control it, he would gather it in one location first. The most effective method was to circulate it. He used First Spirit and focused his thoughts, forcing the flames into a spiral shape, creating a centripetal force.

It resulted in a cluster of sword energy, which was the next peak after strengthening sword energy. It was a superior application of qi that formed it into a round shape to intensify its destructive power. It could be used for long-range attacks.

But while the cluster Yeon-woo made looked similar to the Martial King’s, it was totally different. Even though he readily used hellfire, Yeon-woo didn’t even want to touch the ball because of the heat and poison it exuded.

「This is the thing—the helix…something! From the picture book you talked about. The one your brother used was like…a naginata? What are you brothers doing?!」 Shanon twitched within the shadows.

It wasn’t stable, and the slightest mistake could make it explode. Yeon-woo was using an immense amount of focus and magic power to control it. Merely maintaining its shape heated the Stone of Sin and his Dragon Heart.

Soon, the cluster was as large as Yeon-woo’s head, and it exuded a violent heat and light. However, that wasn’t enough. ‘I can’t be satisfied with this. If I stop here, it’ll be no different from a superior Wave of Fire or my black Aura.’ It would be more efficient to use the black Aura, in that case.

He wasn’t looking for an ultimate technique that was simple. He wanted something large, flashy, and explosion—a weapon that would cut even gods and demons.

He needed to raise its might dozens of times more. ‘Then…orbit.’ If one wasn’t enough, he’d make two, and if that wasn’t enough, he’d make three, and so on.

Swish! He created another cluster next to it. Because he had already made one, he could do it faster this time. It was smaller, but it contained a power that couldn’t be overlooked. He made them one by one, lining them up next to each other.

One, two, three…the creation speed increased until he had about a hundred clusters of different sizes in an instant. The clusters rotated to keep their shape as they orbited around Yeon-woo in an ellipse. The sight was beautiful, as though a miniature solar system had appeared.

「Fuck.」 Shanon saw the power within the beauty and trembled. He could see the delicate balance among the rotations, orbits, repulsions, and gravity. But even if he knew the theory behind it, he didn’t think he could ever attempt it. If the balance were shaken just by a tiny fraction, everything would be reduced to ashes.

Hanryeong, Rebecca, and even Boo, with his unconditional loyalty to Yeon-woo, looked shocked. No one could speak. The slight trembling of their souls was the only thing that expressed their fear.

Urrng. The clusters were resonating together as though they were whining to Yeon-woo that they wanted to run wild.

The rotation speed of each cluster soon surpassed the speed of sound and became as fast as the speed of light. The revolving flames were divided into multiple sections which spun into different directions, causing heat from friction. The brightness and heat filled the stage like a hurricane.

「But Master…are you going to leave it like this? This is a bit scary.」

‘Of course not.’ He wanted to create a cloud or galaxy of clusters, but it seemed this was his limit. ‘Oh well, I can work on increasing that from now.’

Yeon-woo had a plan that would make Shanon faint if he learned about it, and he activated the Black King’s power.

[Emptiness activated]

Suddenly, space divided, and a pitch-black abyss swallowed the small solar system. The light that overwhelmed the stage was extinguished. Shanon and the other familiars held their breath, knowing that the eye of the storm was the calmest spot.

[Black Gubitara]

Supporting his right wrist with his left hand, Yeon-woo pointed his fingers at the Heavy Mountains as though he were shooting a gun. “Explode.” The simple command had a spectacular result.

Swoosh! Instantly, emptiness grew along the sky and about a hundred meteors rained down. It was such a beautiful and glorious scene that everyone watching felt like time slowed down. However, as soon as the first meteor crashed into the Heavy Mountains, time returned to its normal pace.

『N-nooooo!』 The screams of the Guardians were overpowered by the booming explosions. Just one cluster made the center of the Heavy Mountains topple—and there were still about a hundred clusters left.

* * *

Krrrr. A tremendous amount of dust gushed out, and flaming rocks tumbled down, only to turn to ash from a storm of flames. A sharp sword-like energy condensed with the thoughts and curses of the souls. Crash! Crash! Rumble.

The black flames swallowed up the colorful fire—derived from the Fire of Origin itself—of the Heavy Mountains that had decorated the sky of the fifty-first floor, revealing a charred mountain that began to split and crack. The Heavy Mountains were being completely destroyed. A cluster of meteors followed, flattening the entire stage. Rumble!

[The godly society <Deva> is dumbfounded.]

[The godly society <Asgard> has fallen into shock.]

[The godly society <Olympus> is silent.]

…

[The demonic society <L’Infernal> cheers for their ally.]

[The demonic society <Jie Sect> looks at you with wary eyes.]

…

[Vimalacitra exclaims with astonishment again as he looks at you. He sends you a present as a token of his appreciation.]

[Cernunnos closes his eyes at the flashy event.]

[All gods watch the 51st floor.]

[All demons discuss something.]

[The heavenly world is paying attention to you!]

‘It’s working.’ As he watched the stage burn to the ground and read the messages that popped up, Yeon-woo felt reassured that his ultimate technique would be enough against transcendents. It only took six clusters to destroy the Heavy Mountains. The rest of them were just a waste of magic power since they only fell on a wasteland.

However, since he wanted to see his full power on display, he expended them without holding back. It was likely that he’d exposed the truth to the gods and demons, who might become his enemies or allies, but he had no inhibitions. ‘That’s not the only way to use this technique.’

He could destroy wide territories, use it to project his fire power, or even call on it during hand-to-hand combat. Obviously, he had no plans to show that off now, but beings like Vimalacitra and Cernunnos probably already realized what he could do. This had been a warning for them to be careful.

[The ‘Apostle and Protector of the Tower’ watches you.]

He could feel Allforone’s gaze momentarily turn in his direction.

Boom. The explosions didn’t stop after the Heavy Mountains were destroyed. Because of the unextinguishable spark option, the sparks that flew in all directions caused more explosions that had the same power as the first one, spitting out storms of flames as fire lightning beat down from the quaking sky.

The ground split dug dozens of meters deep, and lava flowed like red rivers as sulfuric gas spouted out. All moisture evaporated because of the intense heat, and the curses and poison that spread in the atmosphere erased what remained. Everything was blown away, leaving only an empty stage behind. Was this what the end of the world in prophecies looked like?

The Guardians who’d tried to appear through portals had been blown away as well; it was a mystery where they’d gone. A few of them might have disappeared forever. Only Yeon-woo and the shadows were left on the fifty-first floor. The sky was now red, and black winds whirled above the earth.

「Master, if you’re ever upset with me, tell me before it’s too late. I’m sorry about everything.」 Shanon quietly muttered an apology that wasn’t an apology.

Just then, there was a peal of familiar laughter, and a portal opened behind Yeon-woo. Yvlke appeared. “Ohyohyo. Deliberately destroying stages now…are you really trying to become enemies with the Bureau?” The eye behind his monocle was full of amusement and shock.

In contrast, the Guardians behind Yvlke all had stiff expressions as they held weapons in their hands. They emitted a violent aura, and it was clear that they were the Special Police Unit of the Bureau, a special forces squad who dealt with players who intentionally broke the rules of the Bureau.

It was said that when they stepped up, even transcendents had to kneel. It was clear how seriously the Bureau treated this incident.

However, the unit was nervous in front of Yeon-woo. They’d seen how he’d blown away the Heavy mountains and destroyed the stage. Explosions continued to boom even at this moment, creating cracks in space. They’d only ever seen anything like this during the Dragon Massacre and the battles between Allforone and the Martial King. As a result, they were very tense.

“I’m turning myself in.” But Yeon-woo just calmly held his hands out.

Yvlke’s eyes widened. The rest of the Guardians were taken aback.

“What?”

“What do you mean…?!”

“I messed up the stage, so I’m turning myself in. Is there a problem?

It was such a simple and shameless answer. The Guardians felt the urge to slap that brazen face.