“….”
A sigh of relief escaped Dohyuk’s mouth. He had feared the worst as he woke from time to time, that his body had changed into something drastic. However, it seemed that he hadn’t changed much; at least his face didn’t.
He looked down, checked, and found the difference. It was very subtle, but he could see the difference. His body was different. It wasn’t the first time his body changed. On the first day of illumination, all humans had their body trained to their maximum potential. But that was at the limit of normal humans.
After that, the body never changed much, other than becoming more robust. However, the change this time…
‘The bone structure is different.’
He checked the distance between his shoulders. It was now very broad, and it wasn’t just a bit broader. From his neck to his shoulders, all the muscles seemed to be very different from before. The change was also evident below the shoulders. He easily guessed that if he hadn’t seen his face in the mirror at first, he would not have realized that it was his body.
His body was trembling. It was probably because of the lack of nutrients.
“Status.”
<<Ability>>
-Strength: 386(+2)(C)
-Stamina: 571(+10)(B)
-Agility: 389(+7)(C)
-Magic: 56(+8)(D)
-Endurance: 305(+11)(C)
-Charisma: 233(+11)(C)
The numbers had also changed. All stats increased including even Endurance and Charisma with large numbers.
‘Is it because of the changes in my body?’
Over the Horizon.
His second Nature not only gave him power as a god, but it also increased his stats by experience through dangerous fights.
‘It increased a lot, but considering how I moved while I fought with Jung Ilgyu… the stat increase is probably from my Nature.’
However, he was sure that the changes to his body didn’t have to do with his increase in stats.
“Kerubac.”
He spoke and looked to the side of the mirror. From beyond his shoulders in the mirror, there was a man.
“Do you know anything about it?”
“About… Kerubac?” Giwon asked back with a relieved and happy look on his face.
“I have never heard of it.”
“It’s the bone sword that Jung Ilgyu had on his right arm.”
“Oh…”
Giwon seemed to realize what it was, but he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know much about that weapon. I never knew the name and he wasn’t one to share his knowledge.”
“Hmm.”
“The only thing I know is that he knew how to shape his right arm into a weapon in his previous life too. And I realized that it wasn’t his Nature that allowed him to do such a thing.”
Giwon then walked up as Dohyuk was tottering.
“Please.”
As Giwon helped Dohyuk walk, his legs kept shaking.
“It’s normal. You’ve been out for three weeks without eating anything.”
“…Three weeks?”
Giwon let Dohyuk sit on the bed and walked over to an icebox placed at the corner of the room. Inside was a packet and a water bottle. Giwon then sat on a chair, opened the water bottle, and handed it to Dohyuk.
“You should drink it all.”
With a shaky hand, Dohyuk held it up against his mouth.
“….!”
It was shockingly sweet and his throat gulped continuously to drink it all. It was weird. Dohyuk didn’t like sweets at all. However, even if it wasn’t Dohyuk, anyone would get sick if they drank this much sweetness. But, this liquid was different.
Dohyuk had never tasted such a thing before. The weird citric taste acted on Dohyuk’s tongue. He had drunk a lot already, but he didn’t stop until he finished it all.
“Ugh.”
Dohyuk then put down the bottle, and he was not shaking anymore.
Sugar. It was the best energy source for the human body. The liquid Dohyuk drank had enough energy to fill his emptiness.
“It’s called Syacumm.”
It was an energizing drink made by Bermurans from the red cactus that they grew.
“Their High Priest brought it over while you were out. A friendly gesture from Aruga.”
There was another friendly gesture, but before Giwon unwrapped it in front of Dohyuk, he warned, “It might be disgusting at first.”
The smell of blood spread as he unwrapped it. What was inside was a stack of something that resembled soot.
“Jerky?”
“It’s high quality. It’s not as stiff as it looks.”
It felt very stiff at first, but as Dohyuk chewed on it, it melted away like soft cheese. After he ate the first one, he took the packet and rose up.
“You should rest more…”
“It’s been three weeks, right?”
There was clothing that fit Dohyuk on the rack. Dohyuk put on the clothing and turned.
“So, did you meet your family?”
“…!”
Giwon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Yes!” he answered with a bright smile. It was a pure and honest smile, making it hard to believe it was from a beast.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
Dohyuk nodded. Then he walked out of the room as he chewed on the third jerky. Giwon began to brief him on what had happened since then.
“We managed to extract all the muscles of the Circle, including Jung Ilgyu. Yuri and I worked to confiscate all the items they had.”
“Where did you store them?”
“It’s stored by the rank in some building’s underground storage. Only me, Heeyun, and five volunteers who moved know the place. I have a list of items stored elsewhere.”
As they talked, they reached the front of the stairs.
“Oh.”
Before Dohyuk tried to walk down, Giwon stepped out and pointed at the window.
“You can check for yourself here.”
“…?”
Dohyuk looked out the window and saw.
Outside the city, there was something that resembled scarecrows that were neatly lined up.
“And they are?”
“It’s Jung Ilgyu and his men. We couldn’t bring them into the city, and it’s not a safe choice either. So we’ve tied them to crosses for now.”
They were all tied on wooden crosses, without a hint of resistance.
“And Jung Ilgyu is there too?”
“Yes, of course.”
He didn’t actually need to ask as he could see it clearly. There was one scarecrow close to the city, all alone, with Jung Ilgyu on it.
“Is that… safe…?” Dohyuk asked. He knew Jung Ilgyu had his muscles cut off, but he was an exceptionally strong man. He wasn’t sure if that was enough to subdue him.
“Of course.”
Giwon, however, was a specialist in that regard.
“We damaged a total of 86 muscle tendons and joints. We also removed all of his teeth, nails, and all of his hair.”
“Was that necessary?”
“You never know what he might be hiding to recover.”
That was not it.
“And without killing him, we kept on slicing his flesh and skin to focus his remaining energy on regenerating instead. When we found him waking up, we used chemicals to knocked him out.”
“…”
“And…”
Dohyuk was in awe. So Jung Ilgyu was like a bird who had fallen out of a nest. If it was at peak condition, no ants would be its match. But once it fell and was damaged, it had no way to fight back against those ants.
“It didn’t take long. The speed of his regeneration slowed within three days.”
“I see…”
It was obvious. Dohyuk looked down at the jerky. Even if Jung Ilgyu was exceptionally strong, he needed an energy source.
‘What if…’
The victor was him? It could’ve been Dohyuk who would have ended up like that. Dohyuk then turned toward the stairs.
“Let’s go.”
“To where?”
“To them. We can’t let them stay there forever. It looks bad too. We’ll put the bad guys in prison.”
“…”
Giwon was confused. Prison? That was nice if they had one, but they didn’t. However, Dohyuk did not answer his question right away. Instead, he looked at the stats that had popped up. The resource that had stacked while he was out, or the total amount of ‘faith’ he had gathered.
