Chapter 131

[Translator - Hestia]

[Proofreader - Kaya]

Chapter 131: Stumbling Into Opportunity

"Hyung-nim, over here!"

"Why did you set up so many tents?"

"We couldn't just leave the undead we transported out in the open to get covered in dew."

Minho’s sense had improved.

The mid-tier undead were placed inside the tents set up behind the lodgings.

"Minho, did the Phoenix Guild pass along any messages?"

"They said training starts tomorrow. Today, we should rest."

"What about you guys?"

"We’re going to do some light warm-ups."

Minho’s face showed clear signs of nervousness. It was understandable—after all, he was about to participate in joint training with the 2nd and 3rd ranked guilds in the country.

"Don’t push yourself too hard. If you wear yourself out training, you won’t be in shape for tomorrow."

"Yes, hyung-nim."

"You should train with us too, hyung."

"I’m going to rest. I spent weeks rolling around in the borderlands."

"Come on, we were wiping our faces with wet tissues and living rough too—ow!"

"Hyung-nim, please get some proper rest."

After waving off the younger team members, he stepped into the lodging tent.

Large hunter guilds always prepared camping facilities in advance, anticipating long stays in the field.

If a gate appeared in a remote location and the conquest dragged on, traveling back and forth became impractical.

Some expeditions lasted only a day or a week, while others stretched on for more than a month. In such cases, proper field accommodations were essential.

〔Didn't you finish in a day?〕

'Forgotten Temple took a week, though.'

〔Ah, indeed. Such a thing happened. I overlooked it.〕

After haphazardly throwing off his sweat- and dust-soaked clothes, he plopped down in the middle of the tent.

He was dying for a shower, but he had something to do now.

'I don't have time to put it off if I want to be ready for tomorrow's schedule.'

〔What are you talking about?〕

"Absorbing the Millennium Snow Ginseng."

〔Oh ho. The reward you received from that commission. I thought you'd forgotten about it since you never mentioned it.〕

'It was an elixir that could only be absorbed after becoming a 4 Star.'

Millennium Snow Ginseng.

An elixir he received from Chairman Jin Seonghyun of the Seongcheon Corporation.

He had cured his daughter using an undeveloped healing method.

Without Shin Joonseok's help, Yoojin couldn't have been 100% sure of success.

〔Rather than just thanking him, you should give him a proper reward.〕

"Why are you getting so worked up? You didn’t even help."

〔I had to watch that poor human being exploited up close.〕

"Shin Joonseok is happy."

Yoojin said.

‘That alchemy-obsessed—no, the future Grand Alchemist—cared about nothing but his craft. That’s why, even before my regression, he had remained single his entire life.’

Yoojin paused.

‘Well, whatever. As long as he's happy, that's what matters.’

〔And what gives you the right to judge someone else’s happiness?〕

Rather than responding to Kronos’ questions, Yoojin pushed them aside.

⋯⋯⋯

[Millennium Snow Ginseng]

- Rank: Unique [U]

- Type: Elixir

- Restrictions: None

- Durability: 10/10

A ginseng shaped like a human. It contains extreme yin energy and grants immense power to those who wield magic from the Yin Dimension.

⋯⋯⋯

The white ginseng, shaped eerily like a person.

As he placed the elixir infused with Yin-Dimensional energy onto his palm, an icy chill seeped into his skin.

"Doesn’t seem like it needs any special preparation."

Without hesitation, Yoojin tossed the Millennium Snow Ginseng into his mouth.

His teeth clamped down, crushing the elixir.

A bitter liquid coated his tongue, but almost instantly, a cooling sensation—like sucking on a mint candy—spread throughout his mouth.

"I need to make sure none of its energy escapes."

Encasing his entire mouth with spiritual power to prevent any loss, he swallowed it down in one motion.

Gulp.

The liquid trickled down his throat, and the moment it reached his stomach, his body trembled.

An overwhelming cold.

The extreme yin energy coursing through him made his limbs shake violently.

〔Are you alright?〕

"You think this is my first time taking an elixir?"

Whether it was the magic world or the martial arts world, elixirs were essential for growth.

Each person had elixirs that suited them best, and the effects varied depending on how their body absorbed the magic within.

"Millennium Snow Ginseng is a perfect match for me."

The elixir he had originally obtained to enhance Fafnir—he was finally taking it after three months.

⋯⋯⋯

[You have absorbed Millennium Snow Ginseng.]

[Spirit Power stat has increased by 200.]

[Total Spirit Power has increased by 42.7%.]

⋯⋯⋯

A boost in both stats and total reserves.

The higher his stats, the easier it was to control magic with precision.

As for total reserves—there was no need for further explanation.

"Even if I put aside control, more spirit power is always welcome."

Necromancers constantly worked to expand their reserves.

Undead summons were efficient to maintain, but they still consumed spirit power.

Even spells like [Unholy Command] existed to replenish the spirit power expended.

"Thanks to Life Drain, I’m already pretty efficient at managing my energy. But having more is never a bad thing."

〔Kuhahaha! You should be thanking me for all of this!〕

"Not all of it, Constellation-nim."

Yoojin absorbed every drop of energy from the elixir, ensuring none was wasted.

With his mid-tier undead rapidly draining his reserves, the Millennium Snow Ginseng significantly extended his combat endurance.

Satisfied with the expected results, he smacked his lips.

And then—

Zzzt—!

A faint remnant of the elixir’s energy, which he thought he had fully absorbed, suddenly surged downward.

The unfamiliar sensation sent another shiver through his body.

Thin strands of energy seeped into his dantian, triggering an odd sensation.

"H-Huh??"

It felt as if an icicle had stabbed him in the stomach.

His mouth opened instinctively, but no scream escaped.

Something told him—some primal instinct warned him—that he shouldn’t scream.

He swallowed the cry back down.

⋯⋯⋯

[Trait – Incomplete Sentinel has been perfected by Millennium Snow Ginseng.]

[Incomplete Sentinel → Transformed into Dark Battle Aura.]

[You can now manifest Dark Battle Aura without penalties.]

⋯⋯⋯

‘…Huh???? Wait. What did it just say?’

＊ ＊ ＊

[The Incomplete Sentinel] was a trait acquired upon reaching 4 Star.

It manifested in cases where one surpassed their limits through unconventional means—like revenants—without fully grasping enlightenment.

Even though Yoojin wasn’t from the martial world, the moment he broke past the 4 Star barrier, the trait had been added.

'But why the hell did it turn into Dark Battle Aura?'

This was something he had never experienced before in his past life.

There were few people he could even ask about it.

〔Surely, it’s because you have worshipped me! Kuhahahaha!〕

‘One potential candidate—no, the Constellation—was absolutely useless.’

Yoojin ignored the nonsense and immediately summoned Fafnir.

【Hmm. This isn’t even that complicated.】

"You figured it out?"

【You have grasped Aura. That’s why you can use it.】

‘…Excuse me? Didn’t that explanation skip about twenty steps?’

Noticing Yoojin’s skeptical stare, Fafnir let out an awkward cough.

【Remember when you first enhanced your vision with spirit power? I was surprised.】

"When I was trying to locate my spirit veins?"

【Yeah. Normally, only martial artists can imbue intent into their mana like that.】

"Because magic spreads mana outward to interfere with the world. The fundamental mechanics are completely different."

【It’s not about whether you’re a martial artist or not. You’ve already reached enlightenment.】

Vwoom—! Whoosh!

Fafnir extended his hand.

Dark, swirling energy flickered over the back of his palm—Dark Battle Aura.

【What rank was I when you resurrected me?】

"3 Star."

【And yet, I could still use Aura—no, Dark Battle Aura.】

"That’s because you had already reached 6 Star in your past life."

【But my draconian corpse hadn’t. Its stats were only at 2 Star.】

‘…Ah. That made sense.’

He had been overcomplicating things.

If he wasn’t a martial artist, then he shouldn't have even awakened the [Incomplete Sentinel] trait in the first place.

Maybe he had just been too shocked by the fact that taking an elixir had suddenly allowed him to manifest Dark Battle Aura in full.

'The system isn’t absolute. I forgot that.'

Even if something wasn’t explicitly defined within the system’s framework, meeting certain conditions could still unlock skills or traits.

Especially when it involved "enlightenment."

"Then why was it an elixir that triggered it?"

【Try using Aura directly. You’ll understand.】

"That’s way too simplistic of a solution."

【Huhu. Your problem is that you overthink everything.】

Coming from a former martial authority, that statement somehow carried weight.

Though still somewhat reluctant, Yoojin pulled a spear from his inventory.

‘All this from taking one elixir. What a mess.’

Hoo—

Exhaling deeply, he erased all distractions from his mind.

Aura.

A power of the martial world that had been beyond his reach in his previous life.

Thanks to Fafnir’s guidance, he could now manifest it—but even now, drawing out that power required intense concentration.

'I need to imbue my intent into my spirit power...!'

Wooong—!

A faintly glowing aura enveloped the spear.

At that moment—

The energy from the [Millennium Snow Ginseng], which had seeped into his dantian, reacted to the movement of his spirit power.

'Huh?'

A third energy, distinct from spirit power, had accumulated in his dantian.

A portion of the life force he had absorbed through [Life Drain] surged through his meridians, traveling up the shaft of the spear, where it mingled with the yet-unformed Dark Battle Aura.

[You have activated Dark Battle Aura.]

A swirling fusion of pale energy and a greenish hue.

Even Yoojin, who had been through countless battles, had never seen an aura of this color before.

【This is insane.】

"What are you sensing?"

【Two energies coexisting without rejecting each other. It must be because you primarily use a spear... Oh, I see now. That’s how it works.】

"Explain it in a way I can understand."

The [Millennium Snow Ginseng] was an elixir best suited for martial artists.

Since it contained an extreme yin energy, Yoojin had been able to absorb it without issue.

But at its core, it was still meant for martial artists—so by stimulating the energy in his dantian, it had compensated for Yoojin’s deficiencies as a magic-user and priest-class hunter using life force instead.

【That’s my theory, though I admit it’s a bit of a stretch.】

"No, it actually makes sense."

Had there ever been a case of a pure magic-user or priest-class hunter wielding Aura without a hybrid class like magic swordsman or holy knight?

He had already accomplished something unprecedented.

It wasn’t impossible for the [Millennium Snow Ginseng] to fill in the missing pieces.

"More than anything, I trust your instincts."

【Uh... Huh?】

"Why do you look so shocked all of a sudden?"

【I appreciate the trust, but... you’re accepting this theory way too easily.】

"I don’t exactly have a better explanation."

Complete mastery of Aura.

‘Now that [Incomplete Sentinel]’s penalty was gone, manifesting Aura felt far more natural. I really gained an unexpected fortune this time.'

Had Fafnir not guided him toward manifesting Aura...

Had he not obtained [Millennium Snow Ginseng], one of the few elixirs compatible with a Necromancer...

If either one of those things had been even slightly off, he would never have grasped the true power of the martial world—Aura.

〔When coincidences align, they become fate.〕

'This isn’t one of your heroic epics... right?'

〔Kuhahahaha! Heroes are destined to face unavoidable fate. Your heroic power has awakened amidst a series of coincidences!〕

‘...Sigh. Of course.’

Tuning out Kronos’ boisterous laughter, Yoojin calmly sorted through what he had gained from this encounter.

'First, my close-combat abilities have improved significantly.'

To use Aura in real battle, one had to push their concentration to the absolute limit.

If not for being beaten like a dog by Jang Miseon, he wouldn’t have even been able to use it at all.

Now, as long as he willed it, he could freely manifest Aura.

'Second, I can now acquire some martial skills.'

He had chosen Verdian Spearmanship as a way to utilize the physical enhancements granted by [Life Drain].

It was a core skill for learning its advanced form, [Death Spiral], and, crucially, had no prerequisites.

Most martial skills required either a martial-class profession or a certain level of proficiency in related techniques before they could be learned.

'If I can master skills that require Aura as a prerequisite, my close-combat ability will improve even further. What a ridiculous stroke of luck.’

A magic-user hunter excelling in close combat as well?

Compared to his past life, there was no telling how far he could grow.

"This is getting ridiculous."

【If you need tips on Aura release, I can teach you.】

"I meant it’s going to be hard to lose during group training. My abilities are just too exceptional."

【…】

[Translator - Hestia

[Proofreader - Kaya]