Chapter 534

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Chapter 534: The Escapee (2)

The purpose of this prison visit was the arms dealer, Koatu.

And the massive hammer dropped to the ground when the warden collapsed.

Leaving all of that behind, Yeongwoo walked as if bewitched, following the direction in which the Serpent of Greed was staring.

‘What on earth made this thing react?’

The “treasures” the Serpent of Greed detects are judged relative to the owner’s standing.

Ever since Yeongwoo unified the Korean Peninsula, the snake had not raised its head once—clear proof of his elevated status.

But here, in this underground prison at the far edge of the galaxy, it suddenly lifted its head.

—Shiiiit.

The Serpent of Greed kept swaying its head toward the darkness, flicking its tongue each time Yeongwoo took a step.

And finally—

—Tchhht!

It hissed sharply when Yeongwoo stopped in front of a particular iron door.

“Here?”

At his question, the snake fixed its gaze on that very cell.

That was the place.

Standing before the barred door, Yeongwoo cautiously asked.

“…Is anyone inside?”

No answer came from within.

Instead, angry shouts rang out from other nearby cells.

—Hey! Let us out!

—Oi, don’t hog the fun for yourself!

—Just open this door already!

But words like those were as good as admitting they couldn’t break out on their own.

Ignoring the others, Yeongwoo turned back to the barred door in question.

“Sir? Are you there? If you don’t respond, I’ll have to open it by force.”

Even when he offered the very thing all the prisoners desired, the one inside gave no reply.

So, in the end—

“Then I’ll open it.”

Yeongwoo once again drew Bastard.

Fwoooosh!

‘This should open it… right?’

Come to think of it, he hadn’t even checked the warden’s body for keys, being too caught up in following the snake’s lead.

But now curiosity burned too brightly to turn back.

So Yeongwoo swung Bastard with full strength.

Whssshhh!

The mythic blade carved a crimson arc through the air—

Craaaash!

—leaving a hideous wound across the iron door.

‘…Oh.’

As expected, a mythic weapon could break it.

But since it was the only entrance to the cell, its durability was monstrous.

Even with the middle split open, he couldn’t just kick it down.

It took eight more heavy swings before he managed to tear open a large gap in the center.

‘Looks sloppy… not something I want to do twice.’

Through the shattered door, the cell was pitch-dark.

Still, the faint light seeping through revealed a figure seated inside.

“What, no lighting in here, sir?”

Yeongwoo called out to the vague silhouette.

Still no answer.

He had no choice but to push forward, thrusting Aratubank ahead as he stepped inside.

The Serpent of Greed hissed in excitement, eyes glittering.

—Shhhiiit.

But the prisoner…

“…Huh.”

The figure did not stir.

Yeongwoo realized belatedly.

“He’s dead…?”

The cell’s occupant was already a corpse.

Seated in a steel chair, hands cuffed.

Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark, Yeongwoo saw clearly.

“Damn… sir, how did this happen.”

The dead prisoner was a scrawny troll, about four meters tall.

Even slouched in the chair, the back of his head nearly brushed the ceiling.

He likely had never stood up straight once in this cell.

“What the hell. Are all the other cells like this too?”

The horrific environment made Yeongwoo grimace.

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At once, Earth chimed in.

○ That troll’s death is sad, sure… but who knows what crime landed him here. You’re not planning to release them all just because they look pitiful, right?

It was concern for Yeongwoo’s karmic balance.

Freeing all these convicts would dump mountains of bad karma on him.

○ I don’t know galactic law either, but prisons don’t hold just anyone. Even you haven’t been locked up yet.

“…That’s not wrong.”

Yeongwoo nodded quickly.

“Then what about the item?”

○ Hm?

“The treasure. Where is it? Surely it’s not the corpse itself.”

He looked at the snake wrapped around his arm.

The creature hissed, tilting its head toward the dead troll’s face.

“…What?”

So the treasure was somewhere in that head?

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

But the snake gave no change.

It kept staring.

So Yeongwoo reached toward the face.

“Maybe earrings…?”

Crack.

He twisted the stiff head aside, but found no jewelry at all.

Then… the treasure was part of the body.

“…Shit, no way.”

Experience told him: it was the flesh.

Since the snake focused on the head, the likeliest candidate was the eyeballs.

He brought the snake near the eye socket—

but it turned lower.

“Not the eyes? Then below… nose, mouth?”

He moved to the nose—again it pointed lower.

Toward the mouth.

“Oh.”

Realization struck.

With a short sigh, Yeongwoo grabbed the jaw.

“My apologies, really.”

He forced the jaw open.

Craack.

Inside, even in the dark, something gleamed brightly.

“…Oh, come on.”

It was a molar.

A tooth glowing with a strange crimson light.

“Really? That’s the treasure?”

Even as he asked the snake, his hand reached into the corpse’s mouth.

The snake had never been wrong before.

Click.

The moment he grasped it, a tooltip appeared:

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「Venomfang」 – Legendary Tooth

【Sturdy Jaw】

【Venom Affinity】

【Sturdy Jaw】

| The durability of the lower portion of the body part classified as Head increases by 30%.

【Venom Affinity】

| Grants immunity to most toxic substances; inhaling poison increases bodily regeneration.

“What, Venomfang?”

The absurdity made his body jolt—

and the tooth came loose in his hand.

Crack!

The troll’s jaw collapsed from the loss, drool spilling out.

Splaaat!

“Ugh, shit!”

Startled, Yeongwoo kicked the body away and bolted out of the cell, tooth clenched between his fingers.

“…Am I really okay with this?”

Back in the corridor, countless thoughts surged.

The grotesqueness of tearing out a dead man’s tooth.

The guilt of kicking the corpse aside.

And finally—

“…I have to equip this?”

It was, after all, equipment.

The cornea mutation had been like contact lenses.

The mutant stomach had to be swallowed.

The unique spine required surgery.

‘This is a tooth… maybe no surgery needed?’

Which meant he’d have to pull one of his own out.

○ Only you would end up with something like that. Eat poison, heal faster—seriously?

Earth chuckled.

“Shut up. Not funny. I have to yank out a live tooth.”

○ You fistfight alien lords, but one tooth scares you?

“That’s different.”

○ The Berserker Amulet will nullify the pain anyway.

“…Yeah, but still.”

Infuriating, but Earth wasn’t wrong.

He knew Yeongwoo’s state too well.

○ Hurry up. Pull it, then find Koatu. No time to waste.

“Goddammit, I’m doing it.”

His speech slurred—because his fingers were already in his mouth.

○ And don’t forget, the camera’s still on.

“….”

Yeongwoo suddenly realized the entire Earth was watching this live broadcast.

He was about to perform dental surgery on himself before all humanity.

○ Viewer discretion advised: disturbing content ahead.

Earth posted a warning message for him.

Then—

Craack!

“Guhhh!”

Without anesthesia, Yeongwoo ripped out his own molar.

And immediately jammed Venomfang into the empty socket.

Crunch!

“This is insane.”

Live on air, Yeongwoo had just swapped out his own tooth.

Peering into the reflection of Bastard, he saw the new equipment in place.

The Catalog updated at once.

Beeeep!

[Body Catalog]

〔7〕

Seven inhuman body parts already.

“A new day, a new tooth… what’s next, I wonder.”

Rubbing his sore jaw, Yeongwoo muttered.

Earth hurried him along.

○ Move it. Check the warden’s body—there’s gotta be something.

“That’s true.”

Approaching the corpse, Yeongwoo spotted something he’d missed before.

“Wait, what’s that?”

From the bottom of the warden’s pants stuck out a stone tablet.

He grabbed it.

The title appeared in universal script.

「Roster of Underground Prisoners」

It listed the inmates’ names, origins, and crimes.

“Oh ho. These guys, huh?”

Skimming the list, Yeongwoo’s gaze sharpened as he turned back toward the other cells.

“Looks like we’ve got a few more precious customers in here…”

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