The first time I encountered the Lake of Mana was in my 8th iteration.
The time I first unlocked the Proof of Protection by solving the gimmick was the 9th iteration.
I still remember the artifact information that the Measurement system showed at that time.
[Player Adjustment System: Measurement] ▶Measurement: Proof of Protection ▶Elements: “Artifact,” “Top-Tier,” “Prosthetic Arm” ... ▶Inherent Ability: “Protection” ▷Detailed Description: ??? (Unsealed)
-Ah, it’s here!
The thrill tingled from my fingertips to my toes as I raised both arms in excitement.
A rare top-tier artifact had appeared.
At that time, I was fleeing from a kill order and had only stopped by the Lake of Mana to boost my magic stat...!
It appeared!
‘And look at that option! It looks amazing!’
Protection. To defend and shield.
It was clearly a defense-type ability. Moreover, it was a top-tier level and wearable as a prosthetic arm...!
My eyes sparkled. With the constant danger of the kill order looming over me, I was always getting battered.
If I wore this, maybe I could avoid my character becoming a tattered rag!
With that thought, I cheerfully clicked on it to equip it.
-Ding!
[The artifact “Proof of Protection” is evaluating its user.]
...
[Player Adjustment System: Measurement] ▶Title “Hungry Ghost” “Predator” “Massacre Demon” “Top-Level Fugitive” ...
▶Mental State “Hunger”: Severe craving for food “Appetite”: Intense desire to eat “Emptiness”: Hollow and devoid of anything “Intent to Kill”: Thoughts and desires of murder “Malice”: A will aligned with evil
...
[Player Adjustment System: Development] [Quest “Kill 100,000 civilians (Achieved)”] [Quest “Kill 1 association assembly member (Achieved)”] [Quest “Destroy the Free City of Treiban (Achieved)”] [Quest “Destroy the Free City of Rodelenium (Achieved)”]
...
[The artifact “Proof of Protection” is enraged!] [The artifact “Proof of Protection” expresses intense hostility!]
-Bzzz!
[HP 1002/2981] ... [HP 998/2981]
‘Damn it.’
I couldn’t use it.
That artifact, despite being just a tool, was picky about its user.
In that 9th iteration, where I’d just entered a malevolent route, I couldn’t wield it.
Of course, I didn’t give up right away and tried several times, but the artifact was way too fussy.
It was frustrating. Up until the 8th iteration, I’d been on a good-alignment route, and the moment I shifted, something like this appeared.
I briefly considered just consuming it with my “Devour” ability, but worried it might backfire before I could digest it, I just sold it on the black market.
Even in the 10th iteration, I couldn’t use it.
I tried again in the 11th iteration as the Diamond Warrior, slightly lowering my evil score, but got shocked by electricity.
An artifact with annoyingly stringent conditions.
So, I had my doubts.
Would I really be able to use it?
Could I meet the requirements of this artifact that openly sought a good alignment?
...
It worked.
And it was shockingly easy... it unlocked itself without me doing anything.
‘What’s with this thing?’
I observed the Proof of Protection, now my left arm, with a slightly dumbfounded expression.
As befit a prosthetic arm, the Proof of Protection took the shape of an arm.
Its appearance was less refined and more rugged, in a bright white color.
‘It stings.’
The cut surface of my severed arm tingled.
It felt itchy at times, then like a searing burn.
In Siphnaha, when I lost my arm to Aerus, my magic circuits were also ripped away.
-Bzzzz...
The torn circuits twitched, gradually extending roots toward the prosthetic arm.
Magic flowed from the prosthetic, connecting with my magic circuits, binding to them.
Golden lines appeared on the surface of the prosthetic, showing the process of synchronization, or perhaps transplanting.
"Ah, ah! Hold on, junior!"
While I was enduring the rising pain,
Ji-yeon, who had been staring in a daze, suddenly flinched and slapped the Proof of Protection attached to my left arm.
"You can’t use something like that! Take it off right away...!"
[Sorry?]
Take it off?
I asked in surprise, and Ji-yeon, looking anxious, began tugging at my left arm.
Due to the ongoing integration, a faint sensation was transmitted.
"Using an artifact like that could block your physical regeneration...!"
‘Oh, so that’s what she meant.’
Even in a world with supernatural abilities, losing a limb is a serious injury.
It isn’t impossible to restore, though.
It takes time and money, but it is possible to fully regenerate lost limbs.
Even if the body part is lost, the blueprint remains in one’s soul.
Based on that, by filling the body with life energy, the limb can be restored as per the blueprint.
‘However...’
I glanced at the prosthetic. The golden line gleamed on its surface, and the sensation was becoming more precise.
Attaching an artifact like this, which integrates with the ripped magic circuits, could warp that blueprint.
In other words, wearing this might mean my real arm might never regenerate.
[It’s okay.]
"What?"
It didn’t particularly matter to me.
Ji-yeon blinked.
After gently removing her hands from my arm, I bowed slightly.
[Thank you for your concern.] [But I’m really okay.]
I shook my head, moving my still-awkward left fingers.
‘I’m hardly in a position to whine about something like this...’
I wasn’t sure if I’d even make it another ten years.
I couldn’t afford to throw away a top-tier artifact just because I might not be able to restore a single arm.
-Crack
Using my spatial power, I opened an exit.
A rift appeared slightly ahead, and a blue vortex began to form. The mist in the cave was drawn into it.
[The exit is open.] [Let’s hurry and get out.]
According to what I’d heard, there was no time to waste here.
Ji-yeon, looking slightly dazed, took a deep breath and nodded.
"...Yes. We should."
With a calm expression, she gathered earth to form armor and led the way.
Like a proper tank, she took the front.
I, too, plunged into the vortex.
.
.
.
‘Tch.’
The moment I exited the dungeon, I felt something amiss.
The surroundings looked different from when I entered.
The earth was dying.
There wasn’t poison oozing everywhere, but it was clear that the flora was wilting under its influence.
‘The Venom Dragon’s poison...’
This area was within its range. Though the entrance was different, it was part of the same dungeon.
It seemed like the entrance had been nearby.
Which meant... the Venom Dragon wasn’t far.
Seeing it firsthand, my expression hardened.
‘Has it truly become a specter...’
In the original, the Two-Headed Venom Dragon resurrected about three years later.
During that time, sacrifices and byproducts from the dragon were needed to complete the resurrection.
Even then, it was highly unstable, rampaging uncontrollably.
‘But...’
According to Ji-yeon, the Venom Dragon was under some control, albeit unstable.
I knew the specs of Gyeolwon, the head of the Death God Cult.
This was reality, not a game, so I knew there could be variables.
Even taking that into account, it made no sense.
If he had the power to control even a degraded alpha-tier creature of the 3rd level, he wouldn’t need to hide in seclusion.
-Bzzz, Crackle...
[Transmission failed.]
“Tch, communication is down.”
Ji-yeon clicked her tongue, trying to send a signal with her smartwatch.
[With so many dungeons nearby, communication will be difficult.]
Areas with multiple dungeons have chaotic mana waves, often disrupting communication.
While repeatedly attempting to send a signal, Ji-yeon surveyed the terrain.
"Then let’s head to the nearest Free City first."
[Are you planning to stop the Venom Dragon, Senior?]
“Yes. Although support will arrive quickly, we can’t just sit idly by in the meantime.”
Ji-yeon said this as if it were obvious.
Truly an impressive person.
‘She’s a good person.’
She worried about me potentially living with a prosthetic for life, and even in her injured state, she instinctively took the lead.
Even now, without hesitation, she was willing to risk her life to protect others.
After all, she’d gotten injured in the first place by acting as bait to save others.
Though I’d just started talking with Ji-yeon, I could already sense that she was a genuinely good person.
-Oh, damn talent difference...
...In the original, she would have held a slight inferiority complex? Envy? Toward Hong Yeonhwa and Baek Ahrin.
[Understood.] [Please wait a moment.]
I requested a moment from Ji-yeon, who was about to push off the ground, and let out a deep sigh, focusing my mind.
My left arm continued to throb with pain, gnawing at my nerves, but it wasn’t unbearable.
‘Observation Power.’
Normally, I keep the usage of this power fixed.
I set a range and collect all information within it.
While I occasionally adjust the range, it’s essentially a fixed area of use.
That’s all there is.
This method is convenient and effective, but due to my lack of skill, I can’t encompass the vast land within my range.
Limited range. Intensive data collection within the area.
‘I’ll change the method.’
I won’t limit the range to a maximum. I’ll exclude the underground and expand it as far as possible.
I’m not looking for dense data. I only want information on a single entity.
Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.
I clasped my hands in front of my chest. It was a sort of hand sign... a self-suggestion I hadn’t used since my left hand had been severed.
My prosthetic white hand and my black-sleeved hand came together.
-Crack
The Observation’s range fractured.
The cracks spread like spider webs and soon crumbled away.
The wall collapsed, expanding the range.
A slight strain pricked my head.
I felt a sting in my nose.
“Junior?”
I was probably bleeding from my nose. It didn’t matter. I continued to expand the range.
No dense data. I filtered everything out. All I was seeking was the presence of poison.
The poison intensified in one direction. I turned my Observation in that direction, and the poison thickened further.
A tide of poisonous mist rolled in.
And then...
-Send a shiver down your spine.
‘Found it.’
I observed a creature that was hardly alive.
A massive body, a vacant head, poison endlessly spilling from its mouth.
My face grew hard.
It was standing before a city.
A city still populated with people who hadn’t managed to evacuate.
[I found it.]
"Your nosebleed first... wait, what did you find?"
Ji-yeon, who had pulled out a cloth from her spatial pocket to wipe my nose, asked, perplexed.
[The Venom Dragon.] [I’ve pinpointed its coordinates.]
Ji-yeon’s eyes widened in disbelief. She seemed to question what she’d just heard.
I reached out and took Ji-yeon’s hand.
"W-why are you suddenly..."
Ji-yeon’s body trembled. Perhaps I startled her, but I couldn’t afford to wait.
[I’ll explain the situation later.] [We’re moving now.]
"Wh-what situation requires holding my hand like thi—"
-Whoosh!
Her words were abruptly cut off.
The surrounding space warped and wobbled multiple times.
“Wait, this...!”
‘Manifesting Power: Space.’
The wobbling space condensed in an instant, swirling like a vortex.
We were swallowed by the vortex.
An overwhelming sensation of weightlessness flooded over me.
The fierce wind whipped against my ears.
My hair shot upward.
“Wha... what’s happening?”
Ji-yeon murmured, dazed again.
"Oh."
She looked around, likely seeing the sky and the ground below.
“This is insane.”
And below her feet, she’d also see the head of the Venom Dragon.
Leaving her to process, I drew back my right arm.
‘Expansion Skill, Homogenization.’
I clenched my fist tightly. Compressed mana surged. It seeped between my fingers.
It was nighttime. The surroundings were pitch dark. The ground, drenched in poison, glowed a sickly green.
‘Daybreak.’
Suddenly, a golden light cut through the darkness.
The light split the night in a straight line, striking the Venom Dragon’s head.
[The artifact “Proof of Protection” is evaluating its user.] ... [The artifact “Proof of Protection” recognizes its user.]
...
[Player Adjustment System: Favorability] Lee Hayul → Ji-yeon Lee ●●●○○○○○○○ (21→31/100) “Successor of Taesan” “Good Person”