Chapter 34
“Is this entire section about artifacts?”
“Yes, take your time looking around.”
Contrary to my worries that she might not keep her promise, Mephisto kindly pointed out the section containing information about artifacts.
However, the artifact section she introduced me to was far from what I would call ‘kind’.
“Taking my time looking around here would easily take ten years, I think.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
Literally, the section looked larger than a sports field.
Just as I was thinking it might take even longer than my stay in the training room, Mephisto peeked in and asked.
“I could find it for you right away if you give me a hint.”
“…No thanks.”
“You know, the more you hide it, the more it piques my curiosity, right?”
The corners of her mouth twitched upwards slyly.
Looking at her, I fell into thought for a moment.
‘Would it be okay to give just a very small hint?’
It shouldn’t be a big problem as long as its exact identity isn’t discovered.
From the start, searching this entire library alone was practically impossible.
Ultimately, it was a situation where I needed help.
Juhyeok reluctantly offered a filtered hint.
“An artifact related to space.”
“Space?”
She reacted to the keyword ‘space’.
“Transfer? Or perhaps sealing?”
“Well, I don’t know that either.”
Should I call entering the training room a transfer?
Or should I see it as being sealed until specific conditions are met?
It was just a mysterious place where one doesn’t age no matter how much time passes, doesn’t feel hunger, and doesn’t get injured, yet still feels pain.
But saying that much would have been too big a hint.
“Space, huh… Well, that alone narrows it down a lot.”
Mephisto gestured lightly, and the books moved.
Several books flew out from the shelves on their own and landed on the table.
“There aren’t many demons skilled enough to create artifacts related to space.”
The candidates were reduced to what seemed like just about five.
Although they were somewhat thick, it was a much better situation than having to examine all the other books.
“Thank you. This will help me finish quickly.”
“Don’t mention it. Enjoy yourself slowly.”
She said, gesturing exaggeratedly.
Leaving her theatrical reactions behind, I calmly examined the books.
An artifact that seals a person inside a small space.
An artifact that throws a human to random coordinates.
I was frowning, diligently searching through artifacts that were sometimes so cruel they were hard to look at directly, when…
[Artifact for Weapon Manufacturing.]
I found a notable artifact entry.
[This artifact transfers the target to a space where time does not flow.]
[The purpose is to increase the combat power of test subjects with low potential.]
[Characteristic: The artifact was confirmed for disposal during experiments as the test subjects’ mental strength could not endure it.]
‘This is it.’
I knew it the moment I saw it.
A space where time does not flow.
The goal of increasing the combat power of a target with low potential.
It perfectly matched the specifics of the training room engraved on my body.
‘I need to read all of it first.’
If I stopped at this part, Mephisto might find out which artifact I’m looking for.
Juhyeok stubbornly and diligently examined artifacts that seemed completely unrelated, and when he finished reading the last volume, he got up and said.
“Garitos.”
“Huh?”
“Where is the demon named Garitos?”
The name of the demon who created an artifact similar to the training room.
To be precise, he started making it but discarded it.
For now, it had the highest connection to the training room.
“…Ah~ I see.”
She nodded immediately upon hearing the name, as if it was familiar.
She made a somewhat bitter expression.
“So it was Garitos, that guy.”
“Do you know him well?”
“Know him? Well, among demons, few wouldn’t know his name.”
She took a cigar out of her pocket and lightly lit it.
Perhaps because she was a demon, unlike the way one should just hold smoke in the mouth, Mephisto inhaled deeply into her lungs and then exhaled.
Because of her beautiful appearance, even that looked dignified.
“He’s a demon obsessed with manufacturing artifacts. He just holes up in his room every day, making strange objects, and lives alone, secluded and gloomy.”
“Then it should be easy to find him.”
Fortunately, he wasn’t the type to move around a lot.
When Juhyeok asked, ready to go find him immediately, contrary to expectations, a negative opinion emerged.
“No, you absolutely cannot go as you are now.”
“What?”
“There’s no way you could break through that guy’s mansion security when you can’t even defeat Cerberus.”
She inhaled the smoke deeply again and added.
“By human standards, you’d need at least S-Class, and even that would honestly be difficult to get in.”
“Is the security that strict?”
“He makes so many different things… If you go in carelessly, you’ll quickly become food for his test subjects.”
A grim warning.
It seemed like something you could laugh off as a joke, but seeing her make a genuinely disgusted expression made it seem more sincere.
“And there probably isn’t a madman in this world who would walk in there of their own free will…”
She trailed off and then gently met my gaze again.
A hint of mischief began to cloud her expression.
“For some reason, it feels like that madman is right in front of me?”
Her coquettish voice.
She blew the cigar smoke in the opposite direction and showed a bewitching smile.
“How about it? Do you want to find it so badly that you’d make a contract with a demon?”
“…”
Minimum S-Class.
Could I really reach the training room on my own?
Objectively looking at my own talent, it seemed difficult to achieve it quickly.
Above all, S-Class is truly a realm of talent, not just effort.
It’s a stage that those with talent only barely step into after pouring in blood, sweat, and tears.
Of course, Juhyeok had repeatedly put in soul-crushing effort, to the point where comparing it to ‘blood, sweat, and tears’ was almost embarrassing.
But reaching S-Class with that alone was unrealistic.
“No thanks. I’ll find it with my own power.”
Even so, he had no intention of making a contract with a demon.
Even if someone held a knife to his throat and asked, a contract with a demon was out of the question.
Knowing the end of humans who made contracts with demons, as history proves, he resolved not to yield to any temptation.
“I’m going back now, so please open the gate.”
“Hmm…”
No reaction to the request to open the gate, just crossing her arms.
Mephisto looked at Juhyeok’s face, deep in thought.
“Have you heard of Dreamthistle?”
“I don’t know. Just open the gate.”
“Dreamthistle is a herb whose very cultivation is taboo even among demons. It’s a herb you can’t obtain easily.”
I pretended not to hear it to avoid falling for a pointless temptation, but she continued.
“After someone recklessly touched it and hell almost faced destruction once, everyone implicitly banned it together.”
She probably wouldn’t open the gate until this topic was over.
Roughly guessing as much, Juhyeok asked in a disinterested tone.
“Does your body explode if you eat it or something?”
“No, you become incredibly strong. If an ordinary imp eats it, it becomes strong enough to kill most A-Class humans.”
It was a herb that explosively unleashed one’s potential.
However, if that were all, it wouldn’t have been tabooed.
Mephisto immediately explained the reason.
“But in exchange, it destroys the consumer’s mind, turning them into a psycho who destroys everything.”
Mental destruction.
Dreamthistle explosively boosts the consumer’s potential, but takes away everything else in return.
“The whole world seems like an enemy, and they become monsters screaming as if their ears are being torn off, ripping out their friends’ throats and eating their flesh.”
She looked at me and said with a grin.
“I have one.”
“But you said cultivation is banned.”
“Cultivation is banned, not possession. Everyone has one or two stashed away.”
She answered smoothly, then moved her hand lightly through the study.
Her slender, jade-like hand disappeared into thin air, and shortly after, it reappeared holding a clump of grass that looked immensely imposing just by its color.
“How about it? Just looking at it, you can feel it’s something you shouldn’t eat, right?”
“Yeah. So why are you showing me this?”
“Can’t you roughly guess?”
The corners of her mouth rose sharply again.
She approached Juhyeok and whispered.
“Let’s make a bet.”
She placed the bright red Dreamthistle in front of Juhyeok’s eyes and said.
“If you eat it and lose your mind, becoming a monster, you die right here by my hand.”
She lightly drew a line across her neck with her finger.
Despite the chilling sensation, he instead looked straight at her.
“But if your mental strength is strong enough to overcome the Dreamthistle, you’ll become strong enough to easily beat our Jinxie with no risk.”
An herb that could make him strong enough to defeat Cerberus.
Yes, aside from the mental collapse, it was an unparalleled opportunity for Juhyeok.
“How about it?”
“…”
Silence flowed for a moment at the new bet proposal.
Juhyeok deliberately enunciated more clearly.
“Was there not a single lie in the explanation you just gave?”
“I swear on my name. There is not a single lie in the explanation about Dreamthistle.”
Her answer was just as clear and firm as his.
The agony began.
Belief in oneself.
Could he really maintain his sanity even after eating a poisonous herb that grows in hell?
When it came to mental strength, he was second to none, but even so, he couldn’t help but hesitate.
Slowly, he reached his hand towards the herb.
The moment he picked it up to examine the coarse-looking herb more closely.
[Unidentified entity confirmed.]
[If this entity is consumed, an immediate upgrade of the training room is possible!]
“…”
A familiar message greeted him.
Juhyeok looked at the message for a moment and asked Mephisto.
“Does this herb have magic power inside it?”
“Of course. All plants that grow in hell contain it.”
He stroked the Dreamthistle while listening to her.
‘All humans who consume magic stones mutate into monsters.’
However, Juhyeok remained fine even months after consuming a magic stone.
He assumed it was because of the training room that he still hadn’t mutated.
‘Even if the effect obtainable from Dreamthistle disappears completely, it means I won’t go insane.’
An attempt with zero risk.
For Juhyeok, it was a bet he had no reason to refuse.
“I accept the bet.”
The moment he accepted the bet, he grabbed the bright red herb.
Seeing Mephisto’s face, which showed slight surprise at how quickly he accepted, he replied.
“I’ll enjoy my meal.”
With those words, Juhyeok roughly chewed and swallowed the Dreamthistle.
