novelburst
Chapter 90
Chapter 90
“Stretcher! Get a stretcher!”
“Over here! Quickly!”
“Ji-hoon, stay with us!”
A falling object accident—an occurrence all too common in the resource warehouse.
Fortunately, the injured worker had been wearing a helmet imbued with impact absorption magic, so the injuries likely weren’t severe.
Watching the commotion, Kim Seok-hoon sighed and said, “...That’s one of the variables I mentioned earlier. Sometimes, items react to mana fluctuations and move on their own, causing them to fall. Even if they’re secured properly, they somehow loosen. That’s why you have to be extra cautious.”
Handing Su-ho a safety helmet, Kim added with a smile, “Here, take this. Better safe than sorry.”
The accident was a perfect opportunity for Kim to teach Su-ho a lesson about the unpredictability of the job without much effort.
But to his surprise—
“Thank you,” Su-ho replied with his trademark smile, cheerfully taking the helmet and putting it on.
“Should I get started now?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, you can, but… are you sure you’re okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you just saw that accident happen…”
“That was dangerous, but I wouldn’t really call it a variable. With proper caution, it can be avoided. I’ll head in now.”
“...”
Despite witnessing the accident up close, Su-ho remained undeterred, his determination unshaken.
Without a hint of hesitation, he strode confidently into the warehouse.
Kim Seok-hoon could only gape in astonishment, shaking his head in disbelief.
“This guy’s something else.”
***
“Falling object accidents in the resource warehouse? That’s just another day here.”
Su-ho stepped deeper into the warehouse and began methodically searching for the items listed on his evaluation sheet.
“Let’s start with the ones for the test.”
The so-called logistics retrieval test, part of the first evaluation, was a breeze for Su-ho. During his past rotation in the Resource Management Department, he’d done this task to the point of exhaustion.
Filling his inventory with the required items, Su-ho also began searching for something else—something not listed.
“If my memory’s correct, it should be in this warehouse around this time…”
Su-ho preferred the Resource and Gate Divisions over the Awakening and Management Divisions.
Of course, this was a perspective shaped by his regression.
While the first two divisions offered connections with people, the latter two also provided tangible rewards—valuable items and skills.
“Even if most items are logged in the database and can’t just be taken freely…”
What Su-ho sought were hidden treasures—items with concealed properties overlooked by others.
As he scoured the warehouse, his eyes lit up.
“Found it.”
There, in the section colloquially called the “junk storage,” sat an unassuming object.
It was a simple item, carelessly placed amidst other unremarkable trinkets.
Su-ho checked its details.
[ Stone Apple ]
- A stone-crafted apple.
- Its maker is unknown, and it appears rather crude.
The description was as simple as the item itself.
Likely categorized as a junk item due to its lack of apparent functionality, it had been dismissed by the warehouse staff.
Su-ho picked it up and pretended to study his evaluation sheet while keeping his movements casual.
He avoided glancing around too much and was especially careful not to look at the security cameras positioned diagonally above. Drawing unnecessary attention was the last thing he needed.
“Now, let’s see what happens when I inject mana…”
Su-ho slowly infused the apple with mana.
At first, nothing happened. Then, faint luminous patterns began to appear on its surface.
“There it is. It’s reacting.”
This simple act—injecting mana—was all it took to reveal the apple’s hidden properties.
Such a minor effort, yet the Resource Division had never discovered the secret. The reason was straightforward: most of the staff lacked the mana capacity to unlock the hidden potential.
“You need at least red-grade mana for this.”
Finding someone with that level of mana in the Resource Division? Impossible.
“Which is why this treasure has stayed hidden until now.”
Mindful of the cameras, Su-ho made a show of acting startled, as if the item was malfunctioning.
He exaggerated his reactions, mimicking alarm and pretending to try and drop the apple from his hand—but to no avail. The act was deliberate. If questioned later, he could use this performance to feign ignorance.
The apple began to vibrate and glow ominously.
From its back, something long and slender slithered out.
A snake.
A semi-transparent serpent, small enough to be a newborn, emerged from the apple.
“There you are, Venom-Eater Snake.”
Su-ho’s eyes gleamed.
The snake wasn’t merely a physical being; it was a spectral creature—a type of Phantom Spirit.
Feigning shock, Su-ho pretended to struggle as the snake quickly slithered up his arm and bit into his neck.
[ You have been bitten by the Venom-Eater Snake. ]
[ The Venom-Eater Snake is merging with you. ]
[ A quest has been triggered. ]
[ Do you accept the quest ‘Trial of the Snake’? ]
Su-ho barely suppressed a grin as he read the notifications.
“So this is how I’ll obtain the foundation for the Venom Dragon.”
In his previous life, venomous beasts were among the most fearsome foes. Of these, three were legendary, collectively known as the Three Venoms:
- The Venom Dragon.
- The Venom Demon.
- The Venom King.
Each wielded venom as their primary weapon and possessed unparalleled resistance to poisons.
“I’ll get complete poison immunity eventually… but that’s a long way off.”
In the late stages of the Gate campaign, Su-ho had acquired the supreme skill Venomproof Immunity by consuming the heart of Venom Sovereign Venomus.
But for now, he needed a way to resist poison—and this was the perfect starting point.
“I’ll need this foundation to deal with her.”
The her in question was Suzuki Endo.
A renowned Japanese Hunter, she was one of humanity’s last defenders and a former ally. But now, she was nothing to Su-ho.
Suzuki’s title as the Witch came from her mastery of venomous magic.
“I’ll make sure you choke on your own venom, Endo.”
There was no greater humiliation than being overwhelmed in the area of your own expertise. Su-ho was determined to return the favor.
The Trial of the Snake quest was the key to creating the Venom Dragon, one of the Three Venoms.
Without hesitation, Su-ho accepted the quest.
[ You have accepted the quest. ]
A detailed quest window appeared in front of him, but Su-ho dismissed it with a glance.
Pretending to remain startled by the glowing apple, he ensured his performance was convincing.
“That should do it for now.”
Satisfied, Su-ho carefully returned the apple to its original place.
For now, he would play dumb.
If questioned later, he planned to explain that he hadn’t called for help because he feared losing points during the evaluation.
With his objective secured, Su-ho resumed his evaluation, ready to continue as if nothing had happened.
***
Not long after Su-ho disappeared into the warehouse, Kim Seok-hoon was confident he’d soon see him return empty-handed or at least asking for help.
After all, the resource warehouse was notorious for being a nightmare for first-timers.
“There’s a reason it’s called the ‘Labyrinth.’”
With mana-reactive items that frequently fell or stuck together, and the occasional random item outburst—even when confirmed to be non-cursed—the warehouse was as unpredictable as it was vast.
Only someone deeply familiar with its quirks and pitfalls could navigate it effectively.
But before long, Kim realized his assumption had been dead wrong.
“Just dropping these off for now!”
Su-ho appeared with a bright smile, dumping a load of items onto the ground before Kim.
Every single one was from the evaluation list.
And that wasn’t all.
Su-ho went back into the warehouse multiple times, each time returning with more items until, finally, he’d brought back everything on the list.
After depositing the last batch, Su-ho meticulously checked the items against the list and handed the evaluation sheet to Kim with a cheerful grin.
“That’s everything. Would you like to double-check?”
“Uh… yeah.”
Kim took the sheet, trying to mask his astonishment as he began comparing the items to the list.
But the more he checked, the more his jaw dropped.
“Holy… what the hell?”
An involuntary curse slipped from his lips.
The list had nearly 100 items, yet Su-ho had retrieved every single one without missing a beat.
Even the ones deliberately designed to trip him up—ambiguous names, confusing codes, and colors—were all accounted for.
“I even added those killer items to make it harder…”
Despite instructions from above to go easy on Su-ho because he was a Special Division royal, Kim had ignored them.
As a Grade 5 special hire, Su-ho was expected to quickly rise to team leader status, and Kim believed such individuals needed to prove their competence thoroughly.
Yet Su-ho had flawlessly tackled even the so-called "killer" items, leaving Kim in awe.
“People like this actually exist…”
Kim had assumed that Su-ho’s reputation was exaggerated, chalking up his achievements to exceptional combat skills rather than administrative prowess.
But now, witnessing this firsthand, Kim realized Su-ho wasn’t just a genius—he was an all-around prodigy.
“You’re incredible,” Kim admitted.
Su-ho chuckled modestly. “Not at all.”
“No, really, you are. Next, we’ll move on to the categorization portion of the evaluation…”
But here too, Su-ho excelled.
Despite the hundreds of items that poured into the categorization warehouse daily, Su-ho flawlessly completed all three stages of the sorting process without a single mistake.
By the time the first test was over, Kim could only accept the truth.
“...You’re amazing.”
“Haha, thank you, but it wasn’t that hard.”
“No, it really was. And I’m not just saying this because I’m from this department, but I think our Resource Division’s work is harder than any other. Most trainees receive their lowest scores here, yet you…”
Kim trailed off, clearly impressed.
Su-ho agreed.
He’d found Resource Division tasks grueling in his first life.
But now, with his second chance and extensive experience, the work felt relatively straightforward—especially compared to other challenges he’d faced.
“If you’ve been a pyramid slave, construction work feels like a breeze.”
More importantly…
“It looks like no one noticed the stone apple.”
Su-ho had expected as much. With so many CCTV feeds in the warehouse, it was impossible for the staff to monitor every moment.
While there was always the chance of a slip-up, no news was good news.
Su-ho smiled. “So, do I move on to the second test with Special Team 2 now?”
“Yes, but… there’s a bit of a problem,” Kim replied hesitantly, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
“A problem?”
“Yes…”
Kim’s discomfort was evident, leaving Su-ho curious about what issue lay ahead.