Chapter 335 – Part 2 – Poison Crafting

Choi Seong-min, who had received permission for soloing, entered the Saber-tooth Tiger dungeon.

The dungeon manager watched him with a click of his tongue.

‘He’s just asking to die.’

Occasionally there are hunters who, with youthful arrogance, show off saying they’ll conquer alone.

Each time, the dungeon manager would stop them saying it’s against regulations, but in his heart he wanted to let them enter.

‘What kind of joke is a dungeon? Conquering it alone.’

There are reasons why the number of people is set to multiple.

That’s why the dungeon manager couldn’t understand the hunter who just entered.

He couldn’t understand the Great Hero who allowed him to enter either.

‘I let him in at the Great Hero’s request, but…’

The manager was certain.

There was no way he would return alive.

But exactly 24 hours later.

The dungeon manager had to admit his thoughts were wrong.

‘He… came back alive?’

The returned Choi Seong-min was disheveled unlike when he entered, but there were no signs of injury.

He was so intact it was hard to believe he had entered alone.

“Good work.”

He just smiled and greeted the manager, then leisurely drove away in his sports car.

* * *

The impression of conquering the Saber-tooth Tiger dungeon, which was said to rival A-rank difficulty, was simple.

‘Nothing special.’

Choi Seong-min had easily endured and survived, making Song Chi-hyeon’s worries seem pointless.

‘Saying I endured is embarrassing.’

He had just massacred and come out.

It wasn’t that the Saber-tooth Tigers were weak.

‘I’ve become abnormally strong.’

Three reasons could be cited.

First, his monstrous stats.

‘Strength is in the 1,900s, Health is close to 1,000, and Agility is approaching 1,600…’

These were stats that no one would think belonged to a B-rank hunter.

‘Unless it was an A-rank hunter approaching level 3,000.’

The total sum of stats was at an absurd level.

‘It’s not just because of this though.’

Second were the fraudulent traits.

Sharp Blade that ignores defense with a 10% chance.

Fierce Attack that triples attack speed.

Dagger Mastery, Counter, First Strike, Combat Sense, and so on.

There were plenty of traits that contributed to greatly increasing combat power.

‘Lastly, the top-grade weapons and equipment are factors that make me strong.’

The Saber-tooth Tiger was the most dangerous among B-rank dungeons?

‘When I even killed the named boss alone, how could it be dangerous?’

To Choi Seong-min, it was just a dungeon full of mobs.

‘Still, it’s disappointing there was no boss.’

He had gone to the boss room to catch the Saber-tooth Tiger King, but no one was there.

‘But I got a lot of runes, so I should be satisfied.’

Saber-tooth Tigers are wind-attribute, so they give Agility runes.

Thanks to Rune Affinity, he was able to raise his Agility by 20 in just one day.

‘Not only that, but my combat power also increased tremendously.’

The 150,000 combat power he told Song Chi-hyeon wasn’t a lie.

However, that was only until before entering the dungeon.

Now that he came out of the dungeon, it had greatly increased to 230,000.

Thanks to hunting to his heart’s content, he was able to bring out all his hidden combat power.

‘If I exceed 300,000, I’ll become A-rank.’

It might be difficult by next month, but at this rate, he could definitely make A-rank the month after.

‘Come to think of it, I should report to Song Chi-hyeon.’

He remembered Song Chi-hyeon’s order to call when he came out of the dungeon.

After pulling over to the shoulder, he made a call from the morning.

-Is that Seong-min?

“Yes, it’s me. Great Hero.”

-You returned safely! No wait. Just because your voice is fine doesn’t guarantee your body is fine too.

“I returned completely unharmed, so please don’t worry anymore.”

-Then that’s fortunate. I almost lost a subordinate I cherish.

“That won’t happen. I promised to serve the Great Hero for life, so I can’t die carelessly.”

-You speak well.

Relieved, laughter flowed from Song Chi-hyeon’s voice.

-Today’s a work day, right?

“That’s correct. I’ll wash up and go to work as usual.”

-No. You must be tired from hunting, so rest well at home today. I’ll tell the Association.

“Ah… Thank you for your consideration.”

When the call ended, a smile appeared on Choi Seong-min’s lips.

‘I was tired anyway, so this worked out well.’

Following Ghost City, he had hunted for a total of 30 hours without rest in the Saber-tooth Tiger dungeon.

Apart from physical stamina, he couldn’t help but be mentally tired.

‘Song Chi-hyeon has good sense in things like this.’

Choi Seong-min, who had been chuckling, eventually stepped on the accelerator and headed home.

* * *

He soaked his body in hot bath water.

Like magic, his fatigue melted away and drowsiness washed over him.

He went to sleep immediately after finishing his bath.

Choi Seong-min, who woke up after a good sleep, stretched with a more refreshed feeling than ever.

‘I’m in the best condition. If I were told to assassinate Song Chi-hyeon right now, I could do it.’

The VIP Assassination cooldown had also returned, so he was confident he could accomplish anything.

‘Surely there wasn’t a call while I was sleeping?’

When he checked his phone, there were no missed calls.

‘Since there’s been no summons yet, it seems he hasn’t brought that guy yet…’

He had to assassinate Song Chi-hyeon before bringing the guy who erases memories.

‘I don’t know when he’ll call that guy, so I need to finish assassination preparations.’

Fortunately, he had matched his items to the highest grade and obtained the Doppelganger’s Mask.

If he just made poison, preparations would be complete.

‘I have the materials, so I’ll make it quickly.’

Speaking of which, he sat cross-legged on the bed and used his skill.

‘Poison Crafting.’

A message window immediately appeared before his eyes.

[You have used the Poison Crafting skill.]

[Please select materials to use from the following.]

-Poison That Can Melt Anything x3

-Concentrated Wasp Poison x1

These were the materials Choi Seong-min currently possessed.

‘I should make everything.’

First, he touched the Poison That Can Melt Anything.

[Do you really want to use this material to make poison?]

‘Yes.’

[You have 3 materials. Please specify how many to use.]

‘All of them.’

After a moment, the materials in his inventory disappeared and a message appeared.

[Crafting successful!]

[You have obtained 3 Covert Neurotoxins.]

An unfamiliar item was in his inventory.

[Covert Neurotoxin]

-Category: Consumable

-Grade: B

-Effect: 10% stat reduction for 36 hours

-Usage Restriction: Poison Crafting skill learner

-Description: Weakens stats without the target knowing. Even if they open their status window, it appears normal as usual, so they can never notice the poisoning. Can be applied to the body or mixed into food. However, once used on a target, they develop resistance and the effect no longer works. Also, using multiple doses doesn’t stack effects.

‘I need to poison Song Chi-hyeon with this before the assassination.’

Since he’s a strong opponent, it’s natural to weaken him as much as possible before fighting.

Reducing all stats by 10% would increase the assassination success rate.

‘I don’t need to worry about being caught. There’s no poison more covert than this.’

The advantage of neurotoxin is that it can poison the target without them knowing.

‘Although stats actually decrease by 10%, it doesn’t show in the status window.’

No matter how sensitive someone is to bodily changes, they couldn’t notice a stat reduction.

It’s only a 10% decrease, not a lot.

‘The duration is also 36 hours, so there’s plenty of time to prepare in advance.’

He had already thought of a way to poison Song Chi-hyeon.

‘That guy drinks pear juice every morning like a habit. He’s been drinking it consistently for almost 3 years.’

If he secretly put poison in the pear juice the butler brings, he could easily poison him.

‘It’s hard to apply to the body, so mixing it in pear juice is perfect.’

Set the assassination date and poison him by putting poison in the pear juice beforehand.

It was a truly simple plan, but the problem was that it could only be used once, so he had to be careful.

‘I have three neurotoxins, but I can only use it once per target.’

That’s why it’s better to use it when the assassination date is definitely set.

‘I can use the remaining poison on other Heroes, so there won’t be a problem.’

Choi Seong-min used the skill again.

And he made poison with the remaining material, Concentrated Wasp Poison.

[Lethal Deadly Poison]

-Category: Consumable

-Grade: A

-Effect: 50% movement speed reduction and 50% increased damage taken for 5 minutes. Effect decreases by 5% every 30 seconds.

-Usage Restriction: Poison Crafting skill learner

-Description: Applies deadly poison that can threaten life. Movement speed is greatly reduced and damage taken is greatly increased. However, the effect decreases every 30 seconds and is detoxified after 5 minutes. Can be applied to the body or mixed into food. Once used on a target, they develop resistance and the effect no longer works. Also, using multiple doses doesn’t stack effects.

‘This is an even more fraudulent poison than the neurotoxin.’

Movement speed reduced by 50%?

The opponent absolutely cannot escape or chase.

Damage taken increased by 50%?

In other words, it means the assassin’s damage increases by 50%.

‘The problem is the short duration and gradually decreasing effect…’

Anyway, if the opponent is in such a state, it can be finished quickly, so the short duration is fine.

‘Poison with neurotoxin in advance, then apply deadly poison right before assassination.’

Then assassinating the extremely weakened Song Chi-hyeon would be nothing.

‘My combat power is 230,000. It’s lower than Song Chi-hyeon’s 600,000, but it’s strong enough for a backstab.’

The possibility of assassination at the current level is high.

Especially if both poisons are used, the odds converge to 90%.

‘Since the opponent is who he is, I must assassinate him perfectly.’

Since he decided to use poison, now he just needs to set the assassination date.

‘I have to assassinate before memory deletion, but if possible, it’s better to kill after combat power update.’

There’s one reason Choi Seong-min obtained the Doppelganger’s Mask.

To kill Song Chi-hyeon and act as a Great Hero.

‘Since I can perfectly transform into the killed target, I had to obtain it before assassination.’

If the assassination succeeds, Choi Seong-min can live as Song Chi-hyeon for several days.

‘But when combat power update day comes, acting as a Great Hero ends that day too.’

The moment it’s revealed that Song Chi-hyeon’s name isn’t in the rankings, it’ll be exposed as fake.

Acting as a Great Hero would only last a few days.

‘That’s why if possible, it’s better to kill after combat power update rather than now.’

If killed after the update, he could pretend to be a Great Hero for at least a month without anyone knowing.

For long-term rule, it’s better to kill later.

‘9 days remain until combat power update. I have to endure without having my memory deleted during that time.’

If he just endures for 9 days without incident, then poisons and assassinates Song Chi-hyeon after combat power update?

‘That would be the best scenario.’

He could enjoy the Great Hero’s traits and power to the maximum.

‘I hope Song Chi-hyeon doesn’t call the memory deletion guy until then…’

With such thoughts, Choi Seong-min postponed the assassination.

Hoping nothing would happen for the time being.

* * *

The next day.

Choi Seong-min, who went to work at the Association normally, had to receive Song Chi-hyeon’s call.

-Come to my mansion after work.

Contrary to yesterday’s hope, Song Chi-hyeon’s summons came.

“Ah, understood.”

As soon as he hung up, Choi Seong-min’s brow furrowed.

‘Damn, did he already call that guy?’

Since he called him to the mansion instead of the dormitory, he might have called for memory deletion.

‘If I go to Song Chi-hyeon and he’s with the memory deletion guy…’

He’d have to kill them both on the spot.

* * *

After work, when he arrived at the mansion, he saw the butler who came out to greet him.

“Have you arrived? Mr. Choi Seong-min. The Great Hero is waiting. Please follow me.”

Even while following the butler, Choi Seong-min didn’t relax his tension.

‘Putting poison in pear juice is out of the question, so I’ll have to apply it to his body when I get the chance.’

He planned to weaken him with both poisons and then assassinate Song Chi-hyeon.

‘I don’t need to worry about the memory deletion guy. He only has excellent traits – his rank is F-rank.’

Maintaining tension so he could assassinate at any time and even finishing mind control, Choi Seong-min entered Song Chi-hyeon’s office.

At that moment.

“You’re here?”

‘Huh?’

Choi Seong-min’s eyes widened.