Evan could sense it clearly.
The mana of monsters hiding beyond the mist.
‘Should I strike first?’
But Evan quickly shook his head.
He had to rescue Alan and Reynold.
A reckless move wouldn’t be wise.
He needed to swiftly eliminate the boss monster and escape the gate.
That was the plan forming in his mind when—
Sssrrk!
Thwip!
A thorned vine shot out of the mist like an arrow, aiming straight at Evan.
Evan reacted instantly, slicing the incoming vine with his sword.
His reflexes were astounding.
‘No way I could’ve done that with my old, overweight body.’
It was the first time since arriving in this world that Evan had truly begun to make full use of his body.
Of course, compared to the peak of his previous life, it was still a far cry.
But for now, he was grateful to be this capable.
Still, the situation remained tricky.
‘Attacks from inside the mist, huh…’
‘This is going to be annoying.’
As he continued to follow Alan and Reynold, Evan slashed away at the vines flying at him and the approaching Callione.
Shhk!
It felt like slicing through grass.
The Callione’s head dropped to the ground with a thud.
At the same time, a sweet fragrance filled the air.
Even a small whiff made him feel pleasant and relaxed, as if peace were washing over him.
But Evan knew exactly how deadly that scent was.
That paralytic poison was the very reason Alan and Reynold had ended up in such a state.
Ignoring the fragrance, Evan rushed toward the place where the two had vanished.
Though they were no longer in sight, he tracked their mana signatures with his mana sensing ability.
He pressed forward, cutting through the thick mist.
***
Messages began popping up before his eyes as the sweet scent thickened.
[You’ve been slightly affected by Callione’s paralytic poison.]
[Your resistance to poison has increased by 120%.]
[Damage received from poison has been reduced by 70%.]
‘Is this poison something they released into the mist?’
Though the paralytic poison hidden within the fog was having a minor effect, it wasn’t enough to stop him.
Still, Evan couldn’t afford to take it lightly.
If he hadn’t had poison resistance, things would’ve gotten dangerous.
‘It’s not just paralysis—this poison also causes hallucinations, making it even more troublesome.’
In fact, faint hallucinations began to appear beyond the mist—nothing clear, just lingering afterimages.
The effects weren’t severe, but they made it harder to see.
‘The paralysis and hallucinations are irritating, but at least the poison isn’t lethal.’
The goal wasn’t to kill its prey.
It was to immobilize and keep them alive, so their biological energy could slowly be drained by the roots.
As long as he could resist the paralysis and hallucinations, his life wouldn’t be in immediate danger.
Shhk!
Evan slashed down the lurking Callione hiding nearby.
Thud!
Their flower-like heads fell to the ground, and they collapsed weakly.
Evan quickly dealt with them and sprinted forward.
Eventually, he spotted something through the mist.
On the field ahead, Alan and Reynold were lying unconscious.
Oddly enough, the mist had cleared in just that one area, offering a clear view.
And when Evan looked closer, he immediately understood why.
The vines that had originally wrapped around Alan and Reynold were gone.
In their place, new, translucent vines emitting a blue glow had started to coil around them.
Wherever those glowing vines were, the mist had disappeared.
‘What is this…?’
Evan narrowed his eyes.
He had never seen a plant-type monster like this before.
In fact, he wasn’t even sure it was a plant.
‘Hard to tell just by looking, but… there’s no doubt this thing is the boss.’
Sssrrk!
The glowing vine began dragging Alan and Reynold somewhere.
Evan pushed through the brush, following them.
***
When he arrived—
He saw it.
A flower the size of a person was walking atop the hill.
Evan couldn’t believe his eyes.
‘…Callione?’
But the creature’s form was bizarre.
Its petals were transparent and emitted a brilliant blue glow.
Not just the petals—its entire body shimmered with bluish light.
It looked almost like a flower made of light—beautiful, in a way that captivated the eyes.
‘I’ve never seen a Callione that looks this strange.’
At that moment, a system message appeared before him.
[You have discovered the boss monster: “Ancient Callione.”]
Suddenly, dozens of vines erupted from every direction.
‘…Damn it. It noticed me.’
The glowing blue vines shot toward Evan.
Sssrrk!
Evan moved swiftly, dodging the vines that flew like bullets.
‘Did I trigger this by chasing after Alan?’
But he dismissed that thought immediately.
From the moment he entered the gate, he had already been dancing in the palm of its hand.
Recalling how the Callione had prepared an ambush beforehand, it all made sense.
Sssrrk!
Dozens of vines surged toward Evan without pause.
He slashed with his sword, fending off as many as he could—
But the numbers were overwhelming.
Eventually, one vine caught him.
“Khugh!”
He was lifted into the air, completely entangled in vines.
Then, slowly, he was dragged toward the monster’s body.
“Alan, Reynold…”
As Evan drew near the creature, he saw Alan and Reynold suspended in the air, bound by vine-like tendrils.
Evan clenched his teeth and began watching for the right moment.
They wouldn’t die immediately.
Callione connected its roots to living prey in order to slowly drain their nutrients.
[You have been poisoned by the Paralyzing Toxin of the Ancient Callione.]
[Poison resistance increased by 120%.]
[Damage from poison reduced by 70%.]
[Poison Resistance skill proficiency has increased!]
[Poison Resistance skill proficiency has increased!]
***
The Ancient Callione released a potent paralytic toxin to incapacitate its prey.
A powerful miasma of poison engulfed Evan.
‘My current resistance won’t be enough to handle this.’
Evan felt his consciousness begin to blur.
[Poison Resistance skill proficiency has increased!]
[Poison Resistance skill proficiency has increased!]
System messages kept flashing in front of his eyes.
Paralysis began to set into his entire body.
“Urgh!”
His vision started to twist and distort.
Hallucinations crept in, and he saw the face of his dead younger brother, Lee Hyunseong.
At that moment, Evan gritted his teeth and opened his inventory window.
He grabbed a low-grade antidote potion.
Forcing his immobile arm to move, he brought the bottle to his mouth.
Gulp!
He drank it down in one go.
[Currently detoxifying 43% of the Ancient Callione’s Paralyzing Toxin. (00:15:00)]
As expected, one bottle wasn’t enough.
Evan continued drinking antidote potions while the Ancient Callione kept releasing more poison toward him.
[Poison Resistance skill level has increased from B to A.]
Evan, still bound, continued straining his body to move.
Slowly, strength returned to his arms.
The constant barrage of poison forced his Poison Resistance skill to level up whether he liked it or not.
His resistance against the toxin steadily grew.
And eventually—
[Poison Resistance skill level has increased from A to Rank 9.]
[A new effect has been unlocked.]
[Status effect resistance from poison increased by 30%.]
Upon advancing past Rank A to Rank 9, a new transformation occurred.
From this point on, hidden powers of the skill began to reveal themselves.
If the skill progressed through nine stages from Rank 9 to Rank 1 and then to Master, it would finally reach S-Rank.
At that point, all of the skill’s potential could be fully drawn out.
A major change occurred in Evan’s body.
The hallucinations vanished, and the paralysis in his limbs began to ease.
Of course, he was still being constantly poisoned.
But now that his Poison Resistance skill had leveled up, the effects were no longer significant.
In fact, only minor increases in proficiency continued.
“Damn it. I need to get out of here.”
Evan focused on the state of the Callione, looking for an opening to free himself from the vines.
It didn’t seem to have noticed him just yet.
But there were plenty of vines around the creature, and if he made a wrong move, even his arms might get sealed.
‘Isn’t there some other way out of this?’
Trying to cut his way out with a sword had too many risks.
If his sword—or worse, his arm—got caught in the vines, it’d be over.
As he was thinking, something caught his eye.
The vines wrapped around him looked unusual.
‘Wait… is this really a plant? That translucent blue glow…’
It didn’t feel like a typical plant. It seemed to be made of something else entirely.
‘Even if it’s different from a normal Callione, its core must still be plant-based. If there’s a more efficient way to attack than slashing…’
He was sure the vines were extremely toxic, but Evan wasn’t worried.
Without hesitation—
He bit into one of the vine strands.
[You have been poisoned by the Ancient Callione’s Toxin.]
The venom surged through his throat and spread throughout his body.
At the same time, however, a different and powerful energy coursed through him.
[You have consumed a millennium-old Spirit Herb.]
‘…What? The Ancient Callione is a spirit herb?!’
Evan’s eyes lit up.
Spirit herbs, like the legendary Immortal Herb or Red Dragon Herb, were top-tier S-grade materials.
So rare they were nearly impossible to find.
The Ancient Callione did contain a deadly toxin, but it had also stored spiritual energy accumulated over a thousand years.
‘And I don’t feel full at all.’
Evan grinned and grabbed the vines wrapped around his body—and began to devour them.
***
Ssslip!
The Ancient Callione finally noticed and whipped its vines at Evan.
But unless he stopped eating, it didn’t matter.
The Callione flailed, trying to throw Evan off.
But the more it struggled, the more tenaciously Evan clung to it and kept biting.
Eventually, Evan devoured all of the vines.
Now, he clung directly to the main body of the Ancient Callione, gnawing into it.
This was something only Evan could attempt, thanks to his Poison Resistance skill.
On the other hand, the Ancient Callione felt an overwhelming sense of dread.
It was a predator that consumed the life force of others.
But for the first time ever, it was the one being eaten.
No matter how much toxin it released, it couldn’t stop the human from devouring it.
In the end, the Ancient Callione could only thrash helplessly as it was completely consumed by Evan.
[You have defeated the boss monster: Ancient Callione!]
[You have fully consumed the millennium-old Spirit Herb.]
[Your overall physical abilities have permanently increased dramatically.]
System messages flooded Evan’s vision.
But he couldn’t pay attention to them right now.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Evan screamed in pain.
[Your body is being restructured by the energy of the Spirit Herb.]
The intense toxins and thousand years of stored life energy clashed violently within his body.
A sensation like being ripped apart from the inside overtook him.
His body had exceeded its limit for how much power it could contain.
Now, the process of expanding that vessel had begun.
It was said that upon reaching a certain realm, the body would begin to transform.
But in his previous world, that had never happened.
There was no need—it was already a near-perfect body.
But Evan’s current body was below average.
It had been considered the worst in many ways, especially due to his mana rejection.
Now, however, he was breaking free from that curse.
His bones thickened.
His internal organs and muscles shifted and transformed to accommodate the energy.
And thus, Evan’s entire body began to reshape itself—as if being completely rebuilt.