Chapter 74 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon, You Were a Handsome Man (1)
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D-Grade Dungeon, Clover.
Not only did the dungeon's exterior feature lush clover-like plants, but they were scattered throughout the interior as well.
This Clover Dungeon had no monsters, but it was filled with a variety of plants unknown in the modern world.
Several of these plants, whose effects had been identified, were used as medicinal herbs, making the Clover Dungeon a frequent stop for delivery workers employed by pharmaceutical companies.
However, with no other relics or monsters, it was always an empty place.
Rustle.
At that moment, a shadowy figure in gray robes appeared suddenly in front of the Clover Dungeon.
It was a muscular man wearing a demon-faced mask and carrying a large sack over his shoulder—the Heavenly Demon.
He gazed indifferently at the plants scattered around the dungeon entrance.
He walked endlessly into the dungeon's massive cave-like interior.
[Head this way.]
Guided by Nameless, the Heavenly Demon navigated the branching paths.
Before long, a vast forest stretched out before his eyes. He had reached the dungeon's heart.
"Hmm."
The serene forest, with light filtering in from somewhere, looked like a scene from a fairy tale.
As he surveyed the woods blooming with nameless flowers and plants, the Heavenly Demon asked,
"What am I supposed to take?"
[This Big Drum Mushroom right here.]
Nameless hopped down from the Heavenly Demon's shoulder and pointed to a mushroom growing between the trees.
The finger-sized Big Drum Mushroom shimmered with vibrant rainbow colors that seemed impossible for nature.
"Quite the peculiar thing. A poison mushroom?"
[It looks flashy on the outside, but it has no poison. In fact, it's packed with antibacterial agents.]
"Antibacterial agents?"
[Yes. Properly diluted, it makes an excellent mold remover.]
Mold was the bane of wallpaper jobs, something you'd see endlessly.
Especially in damp basement units or places prone to leaks, mold could grow not just on the wallpaper surface but deep into the walls.
Click.
The Heavenly Demon pulled a square wooden box from his sack—the one Jang Chaewon had given him to hold the Big Drum Mushrooms.
[About twenty should do it.]
The Heavenly Demon nodded and diligently harvested the Big Drum Mushrooms clinging to the trees.
In the process, he spotted a white umbrella-shaped mushroom at the base of a tree.
"Smells good."
He reached out, plucked it, and an indescribably savory aroma wafted up.
It was like the scent of wild matsutake grilled over gentle coals.
"What's this mushroom? The fragrance is incredible."
[It's not in the encyclopedia. This place has tons of plants whose effects and components haven't been analyzed yet.]
"Hmm."
The Heavenly Demon stared at the mushroom, his mouth watering.
He wasn't one to crave food, but this tiny mushroom's scent stirred a fierce hunger.
"Should be fine to eat."
As he brought it to his mouth, Nameless cautioned him.
[Heavenly Demon. As I said, the plants in this dungeon haven't had their components or effects fully...]
"No matter. This seat is impervious to all poisons."
He popped the mushroom into his mouth and chewed. His eyes widened in an instant.
The texture was like tender meat, and the aftertaste was refreshingly clean, like downing a fragrant shot of liquor.
"A delicacy!"
The Heavenly Demon exclaimed in admiration after swallowing.
He had no memory of ever tasting a mushroom this delicious in all his years. He felt like scouring the entire dungeon for more.
He smacked his lips and scanned the surroundings again.
But no matter how closely he checked the trees, no more umbrella-shaped mushrooms appeared.
[Heavenly Demon. Awakeners from pharmaceutical companies sometimes come here. We don't want to run into them, so let's harvest and head back.]
"Hmm."
Swallowing his regret, the Heavenly Demon nodded.
"Understood."
* * *
That night, in the Heavenly Demon's rooftop room.
After getting home and finishing dinner, he was reading an interior construction book for once, instead of the TV.
But his expression grew increasingly uncomfortable as he stared at the pages.
As time passed, his dantian felt congested, and heat seemed to radiate from his skin.
"Hmm."
His scowl deepened, prompting Nameless, who was lounging across from him, to speak up.
[Heavenly Demon. Are you unwell?]
"No. Don't worry about it."
But as Nameless scanned his body, its sensor eyes widened.
[Heavenly Demon. You have a fever.]
"A fever?"
[Your temperature is over 43 degrees right now.]
The Heavenly Demon had mastered the Absolute Divine Art, Reverse Pole Divine Art, allowing full control of yin and yang energies.
His normal body temperature hovered below 40 degrees.
But now it was 44 degrees—the level it hit when unleashing his Heavenly Demon Supreme Ability, exploding with immense power.
[Maybe you caught a cold?]
"A cold?"
The Heavenly Demon scoffed and shook his head.
"This seat's body underwent three rebirths before reaching the Diamond Physique. And after attaining the power of ten jiazi, blades and swords cannot harm me, fire and water cannot invade, all poisons are nullified..."
[But aren't you not in perfect condition right now?]
His proud recitation faltered, his expression darkening.
True. With his internal energy of ten jiazi lost, the mystical properties embedded in his body could no longer be fully sustained.
"Even so, no mere ailment can invade this seat's body."
As he spoke, his body swayed and he collapsed to the floor.
[Heavenly Demon!]
The startled Nameless rushed over and examined his face.
Even the whites of his eyes had turned red. A classic symptom of poisoning.
[It looks like you've been poisoned.]
"Poisoned?"
[Yes. My guess is that unknown mushroom from the Clover Dungeon is the culprit.]
"Hmph, this seat is impervious to all..."
The Heavenly Demon shut his mouth again. If his internal energy wasn't whole, then his poison immunity had shattered too?
He shook his head and continued,
"There was no poison in that mushroom. If there had been, this seat would have sensed it immediately."
Having mastered every poison manual in the Demon Vault,
he was an expert who could even detect the colorless, odorless, intangible poison that no one else could sense.
[Heavenly Demon. We need to get you to a hospital. Calling an ambulance now.]
"Hmph, don't bother. Just let me sleep..."
He waved his hand dismissively, but suddenly his vision went black.
He tried to rise, but it was futile. Sensation left his limbs, and it felt like all his blood was draining to his feet.
Thud.
With a dull sound, the Heavenly Demon lost consciousness.
* * *
"Mr. Cheon. You awake?"
A familiar voice rang in his ears.
As the Heavenly Demon slowly opened his eyes, a familiar face came into view.
Wrinkles creased every inch, yet it somehow brimmed with youthful vitality. It was Kim Chanwon.
"What the heck happened? And what's with that look?"
"What are you talking about? When did you enter this seat's quarters?"
"You don't remember?"
Kim Chanwon turned to Nameless standing nearby.
[You suddenly lost consciousness, so I called urgently. I figured you'd get here faster than an ambulance.]
"I lost consciousness? This seat?"
Since learning martial arts, the Heavenly Demon had never once fainted. For a martial artist, losing awareness could trigger a sharp drop in internal energy.
As his expression hardened, Nameless spoke cautiously.
[You were out for the five minutes it took Kim Chanwon to arrive.]
"I see."
With a bitter look, the Heavenly Demon circulated his energy once.
Not even reaching one jiazi, his power level showed no anomalies.
[And... there's something you need to check.]
"What is it?"
[Look here.]
Nameless pointed to a mirror hanging on one wall.
Rubbing his throbbing forehead, the Heavenly Demon turned to the mirror.
"This!"
Even he, who would remain unmoved if the heavens collapsed, watched his eyes grow wide.
Reflected was not the rugged, weathered face of the Heavenly Demon, scarred by countless trials.
Instead, a peerless handsome man like a figure from a painting was frowning.
"What happened to this seat's face!"
Stunned, he touched his face as Kim Chanwon spoke.
"That's what I wanna know, Mr. Cheon. What'd you do to change your face like that? Plastic surgery or somethin'?"
Unable to comprehend, the Heavenly Demon approached the mirror slowly.
His messy hair was now softly smoothed, and his muscular build had slimmed to a sleek form.
"This is troublesome."
Gazing at his lean body, he looked exasperated.
"My Diamond Physique has shattered."
Though his internal energy was gone, he had maintained the Diamond Physique, the pinnacle of external martial arts.
But now shattered, over seventy percent of his steel-like muscles had vanished.
"What happened?"
Instead of answering, Nameless projected a holographic video into the air.
Crack. Grind.
The 3D footage showed the Heavenly Demon sweating and lying down.
Bone-cracking sounds emanated from his body. As time passed, his skeleton and skin tone shifted, eventually even his hair softening.
"Good lord... Mr. Cheon, you're transformin'! What gives?"
Nameless shook its head at Kim Chanwon's words.
[I thought it was the mushroom from the dungeon at first... but it seems like something else. No poison mushroom could alter a person's bone structure like that.]
"Mushroom?"
Nameless calmly explained the Clover Dungeon incident to Kim Chanwon's question.
He nodded thoughtfully.
"Might be that mushroom's doin'."
[Excuse me?]
"Plants in Clover Dungeon are all freaky things we don't have in our world, right? So why not one that changes your face like that?"
Unlike Nameless, the yokai Kim Chanwon considered the possibility of unknown dungeon ingredient effects.
[Even for a dungeon plant, could one mushroom really have that kind of power?]
"If ya think about it, dungeons themselves don't make a lick of sense."
Kim Chanwon narrowed his eyes seriously.
"Could be no ordinary mushroom—maybe a relic dropped by a hidden monster that wandered in."
[Hidden monster relic... that could be it.]
It made sense upon reflection.
Hidden monsters could wreck a dungeon on appearance and leave relics with absurd effects upon vanishing.
"But Mr. Cheon."
Kim Chanwon's eyes filled with longing as he looked at him.
No way. Maybe not. Taking a deep breath, he asked with utmost seriousness,
"What'd that mushroom look like?"
"What do you mean?"
"That mushroom... I wanna try one too."
But the Heavenly Demon shook his head firmly.
"No."
"Wh-, why not?"
"It'll only harm your body."
"Harm? It made you this handsome."
At Kim Chanwon's words, the Heavenly Demon shook his head with a strange expression.
"It's not handsome."
"Huh?"
"Seems like it contains a powerful deadly toxin. Enough to shatter this seat's Diamond Physique."
"What're you sayin'? Deadly toxin?"
"This face... is this seat's original appearance."
In an instant, a freezing blizzard whipped through the rooftop room.
Kim Chanwon and Nameless, frozen solid like salted fish, spoke in unison.
"This is your original face?"
[This is your true appearance, Heavenly Demon?]
"Yes."
The Heavenly Demon nodded with a troubled look.
"That mushroom must have contained a deadly toxin capable of shattering my Diamond Physique, or some unknown component."
"That can't be right!"
Faced with the unbelievable truth, Kim Chanwon's lips trembled like a vibration motor.
"Th-, this face is the original? Wh-, what kinda hell did you go through to end up like that—no, change like that?"
"This seat's body has broken human limits countless times. Upon achieving the Inner-Outer Diamond Body, my appearance merely shifted a bit."
"Merely" didn't cover it—it was like heaven and earth apart.
Kim Chanwon gaped in horror, as if beholding a terrifying entity.
"No way. Then why's your frizzy hair all straight and soft now? Makes no sense!"
"I told you. I achieved the Inner-Outer Diamond Body."
The Heavenly Demon pointed to his soft locks.
"Even my hair became harder than steel."
"What?"
"Troubling indeed."
Leaving Kim Chanwon with his jaw dropped, the Heavenly Demon muttered glumly.
"I can only hope it's temporary."
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