The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4: Poison Essence (2)

He repeated and repeated again.

Just one technique from each martial art.

Understanding was sufficient.

What was lacking was physical proficiency and internal energy.

His soul was that of Danggumak, the world’s greatest Jeoldaedokma, while his body was that of the frail Kim Tae-ju who had been a Mana Rejecter—he needed to narrow this gap as much as possible.

Sweat poured down like rain.

Had he ever used his body this intensively before?

It was the first time since being born as a Mana Rejecter.

Due to his curse, moving his body vigorously should normally strain his heart.

‘…Has it all healed?’

Suddenly!

“Kuk!”

His heart felt like it was tearing apart.

Nothing had changed.

Did this mean that even learning poison arts couldn’t overcome his curse?

Tae-ju eventually collapsed, pressing his hands against the ground.

“Uuugh…”

Then a change occurred.

The poison essence settled in his dantian.

Poison energy moved through his blood vessels.

Honweonmusangdokryeongong began circulating unconsciously.

An instinctive action carved into his soul.

As the poison energy flowed, the pain gradually subsided.

“Whew.”

Though not completely healed, it was effective.

‘In the end, poison arts were the answer.’

If his poison arts matured?

He would be able to escape from this damned curse.

‘Let’s continue training.’

He wanted revenge too, but…

The target was his stepmother.

His father might be involved as well.

‘…No. Father wouldn’t be.’

Even if abandoned, a father was still a father.

The childhood memories of being loved by him were still vivid.

‘Tsk.’

He would have to give up on revenge.

Instead, he would establish himself alone.

Cutting ties with his father.

In a way, that would be filial piety.

Removing himself from the harmonious family they had newly formed.

And he wanted to live as his heart desired.

At least without watching others’ expressions.

For that, he needed to gain power.

Tae-ju took out all the poisonous herbs he had gathered earlier from his pocket and put them in his mouth.

Since he had created poison essence with Seven-Point Death poison, weaker poisons were merely at the level of nutritional supplements—medicinal herbs were everywhere.

‘Should I gather and eat a few more?’

Then his poison energy would grow slightly stronger.

He would gain some skill and then leave Seorak Mountain.

He chewed and swallowed the poison bellflower, continuing to repeat technique combination training.

He lost track of time.

The gap between soul and body gradually narrowed.

Suddenly!

Rustle!

A presence heard from afar.

‘Hmm?’

Swish!

From over there too.

Rustle!

This side as well.

Someone was gradually closing in toward where he stood.

‘I’m surrounded.’

Who could it be?

Sergeant Go Young-ho and his squad members.

Go Young-ho was a Mana Adapter, and the squad members were Mana Conformers.

Having formed poison essence, dealing with them would be easier than administrative paperwork.

‘It would be good if only those guys came, but…’

Lieutenant Jang In-dong.

He might have come along too.

A System Awakener blessed by mana.

Should he avoid them, or face them head-on?

Actually, the conclusion was already reached.

Avoid them?

That was nonsense.

Jeoldaedokma Danggumak would beat the ground in anguish.

Asking if his other-world self was such a weak-hearted fool.

Martial arts grew by overcoming the brink of death.

Once he started running away, he would make the same choice next time.

‘I’ll kill them here.’

That would be his first murder.

Wouldn’t it be burdensome for a half-baked soldier who had only handled administrative paperwork?

‘…Absolutely not.’

He was Imperial Forces Second Lieutenant Kim Tae-ju and also Jeoldaedokma Danggumak.

Who in all of martial history had killed the most people?

Thousands upon thousands of murders.

The reason why “Ma” (Demon) was attached to his title despite being from the orthodox faction.

He had done everything to achieve his goals.

Chivalrous conduct was never a consideration from the start.

What difference did it make whether you killed with noble swordsmanship or vile poison?

Even his own allies had cursed him.

Cruel, sinister, evil, cunning, shameless.

But Danggumak had no qualms.

To win, he mixed poison into food and tea.

He had even poisoned wells.

He killed people by hiding and throwing hidden weapons without showing his face.

He often pretended to shake hands while poisoning them with small poison needles attached to his ring.

Therefore, Tae-ju also had no qualms about killing people.

He only wondered how he could kill them well.

Lieutenant Jang In-dong, who was both a Mana Adapter and System Awakener.

A chance to test his poison techniques.

‘Even if revenge against stepmother Honda Mitsui is difficult, I must at least kill that bastard before I leave.’

Tae-ju tucked the greatsword into his right sleeve and pulled out three 500-won coins, fitting them between his fingers.

* * *

Mana Adapters.

Even without awakening, they were healthier, lived longer, and were physically superior to ordinary people.

But awakening and connecting to the system was another matter entirely.

Beyond mere acceptance, one had to receive mana’s blessing.

In that sense, Lieutenant Jang In-dong was quite fortunate.

Born as a Mana Adapter and even achieved awakening.

However, it wasn’t enough.

The difference in levels among awakened ones.

There were stages determined by the system.

Initial awakened ones were designated as ‘users.’

This meant they could store mana in their bodies and use it to strengthen themselves physically.

And they developed unique characteristics exclusive to awakened ones.

The type of characteristics could be identified by looking at their tattoos.

In Jang In-dong’s case, it was 【Physical】 and 【Endurance】.

Beyond user, the next stage was ‘beginner.’

Skill usage became possible.

When the number of skills increased and could be used freely, one became a ‘regular.’

Company-grade officers needed to be at user, beginner, or regular level.

The requirement for field-grade officers was expert, meaning a skilled practitioner.

The expert stage was subdivided.

Junior expert, middle expert, superior expert.

And to become a general and earn stars, one had to reach the realm of master.

Jang In-dong had no intention of aspiring to master level.

He lacked both the ability and confidence for that.

Just reaching the expert realm would be enough.

But he lacked the talent.

His given limit was exactly up to beginner.

Of course, there was a method.

Taking an elixir would work.

An elixir made from elite magical beast energy crystals as ingredients—consuming it would reconstruct the body and instantly elevate one to junior expert level.

The problem was having no way to obtain it.

Not only was it expensive, but it was extremely rare and rarely appeared on the market.

Then came one commissioned officer.

That was Second Lieutenant Kim Tae-ju.

A worthless Mana Rejecter.

But his father was General Kim Woong-bang, who led the Paju Domain.

If he could win that guy’s favor, something might fall his way.

He only learned later that the guy was a broken ladder.

Turns out he was a disowned child.

Still, he treated him well on the surface.

There was no point in bullying him unnecessarily—he might tattle to his father, and treating him well wouldn’t cause any loss.

Then a proposal came from above.

To eliminate one officer.

If handled well, they’d give one elite elixir as payment.

There was no need to hesitate.

He’d been an eyesore from the beginning.

A piece of trash serving as an officer thanks to being born to the right parents, despite being a Mana Rejecter.

Mobilizing the entire company might reach the company commander’s ears.

Instead, he brought five useful subordinates including Sergeant Go Young-ho.

Six people total including himself.

Assuming he was alive, they conducted a search operation centered around the bottom of the cliff where he’d fallen.

Ground dug up here and there—had he been so hungry he dug up grass roots to eat?

Stupid fool.

Most of the root plants here were poisonous.

“Someone’s ahead.”

“I know.”

“Doesn’t seem to be an orc.”

Even if it were an orc, it wouldn’t matter.

He could handle a few by himself.

“Sergeant Go Young-ho.”

“Yes!”

“Go around back and tighten the encirclement. You guys go that way, block the escape route and approach carefully.”

Soon.

One person standing blankly in a small clearing in the forest.

“Second Lieutenant Kim Tae-ju!”

Finally found him.

The guy didn’t answer and just stared at him silently.

“Not going to state your rank and name?”

“Between us, what’s the point? Am I still your subordinate?”

Lieutenant Jang In-dong was dumbfounded.

What was that piece of trash relying on?

“Heh heh heh, well… I understand. No pleasant words would come out in this situation.”

“Why did you do this to me?”

“Hey, does there need to be a reason to dispose of trash? When something looks disgusting and smells bad, you just throw it away.”

Tae-ju also smiled coldly.

As expected, the guy was letting his guard down.

Go Young-ho and the four squad members surrounding him were the same—they didn’t even aim their guns, just sneered.

“Let me ask one more thing.”

“A guy about to die sure has a lot of curiosity.”

“What did Honda Mitsui promise you? Money? An elixir?”

“…How dare a lowly bastard!”

“It must be an elixir. Something that could fill in your pathetic talent.”

Lieutenant Jang In-dong’s eyes turned cold.

“Listen carefully, you retarded piece of trash. First, I’ll break your arms and legs. Then I’ll drop you from the cliff again.”

“Try it, if you can.”

Honestly, he was uncertain.

The guy’s calm eyes and attitude.

Could he have possibly awakened?

But there were no traces of awakening.

He couldn’t see the facial tattoo that was mandatory when one awakened.

He wasn’t armed either…

‘He’s nothing after all?’

Let’s finish this quickly and go rest.

The quick-witted Sergeant Go Young-ho asked.

“Should we handle this?”

“No, just watch.”

Pabat!

Jang Indong kicked off the ground and charged forward.

“Die!”

But then?

Swish!

As if by magic, Kim Tae-ju vanished without a trace.

Jang Indong was startled.

“Huh!”

What the hell?

Where did he go?

At the same time, a pale white hand approached his chest.

Thwack!

“Kuk!”

The impact pushed him back a step.

It was the price of carelessness.

Jang Indong was pushed back a step.

Honestly, he was quite shocked.

Pushed back by a palm strike from a Mana Rejecter?

What was even more absurd was that the guy had completely turned his body around.

“How dare you…”

What the hell was he thinking?

Did he think one hit would be enough?

He was showing his back so openly while acting completely unconcerned.

‘I’ll kill him!’

Jang Indong drew the longsword from his waist.

And tried to stab it into the guy’s back.

“…Huh?”

Stumble!

He tried to move forward, but his legs wouldn’t respond.

Finally!

Spurt!

Red blood gushed from his mouth like a fountain, his vision spun, and his consciousness blurred. His breathing became labored, and he inevitably collapsed.

Thud.

One strike for now.

He had specially concentrated the poison energy densely before injecting it.

About 50% of his total energy?

For that reason, his poison energy had decreased significantly.

Tae-ju didn’t consider this a fight.

It was an experiment to see if his poison techniques worked on Awakened ones too.

One was dealt with.

The second was Sergeant Go Young-ho.

The bastard who had pushed him off the cliff.

Not an Awakened, but a Mana Adapter.

Tae-ju’s eyes met Go Young-ho’s.

Sensing something ominous, he hurriedly drew his mana gun from his waist.

“You piece of trash…”

Tspirit!

The military sword shot forward like lightning.

Leaving a silver afterimage, it pierced into Go Young-ho’s heart.

Thunk!

“Kuk!”

The bulletproof and blade-resistant vest was useless.

Sergeant Go Young-ho writhed before collapsing forward.

“Se, Sergeant Go.”

“Aaaaah!”

The squad members were startled by Tae-ju’s movements.

“Cr, crazy!”

“…Wh, what the hell is that bastard?”

“Shoot him quickly! Shoot! I said shoot…”

The squad members panicked, not knowing what to do.

They raised their rifles and aimed forward but couldn’t pull the triggers.

Then!

Tspat!

A silver line drawn long through the air, leaving an afterimage.

Thwack!

A single coin pierced through a squad member’s head, scrambling his brain as it passed through.

No scream was heard.

Phantom Mirage followed by Flash Strike.

A combination move ingrained in his body.

Mana Adapters and ordinary soldiers could never handle Tae-ju.

He threw three coins in sequence.

At close range, how could he miss?

Tspit! Pit! Pipit!

One each to the head, nice and neat.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

“Kuk!”

“Aaak!”

“…”

Did it take about 10 seconds?

He killed them all.

Now all that remained was the guy collapsed and gasping.

“Kuhuk! Wh, what are you?”

Jang Indong’s face had turned pale blue as he fumbled around his waist.

Probably trying to pull out a pistol.

Or looking for an antidote.

He probably couldn’t think straight.

Breathing would be difficult too.

The poison core in Tae-ju’s dantian was made from a Mutated Seven-Spotted Snake.

The poison worked mercilessly even on Awakened ones.

“How do you like it?”

“…You, you’ve Awakened.”

“Awakened my ass.”

Jang Indong looked at Tae-ju and spoke with difficulty.

“Sp, spare me.”

“Let’s switch positions – would you have spared me if you were in my shoes?”

“…I, I treated you well all this time.”

“Wasn’t that because I’m the General’s son?”

“N, no, it’s a, a misunderstanding…”

Gush!

Red blood spurted from Jang Indong’s mouth.

The sweet scent of poison flowed out along with it.

“If you came here intending to kill someone, you should have been prepared to die yourself.”

Tae-ju turned away without hesitation.

“Pleeease, ple, please… guh, guhhh…”

Jang Indong’s breath finally stopped, unable to finish his words.

The reason he could kill the bastard so easily.

First was carelessness. It would have been difficult if he had attacked with skills from the start.

Second was that the bastard’s level was merely Beginner.

Third was ultimately the poison arts.

Tae-ju wasn’t doing well either.

The pain had started again a little while ago.

“Hah, fuck.”

Even now he was desperately circulating the Honweonmusangdokryeongong.

“…No time to spare.”

That’s when it happened.

“Kuooooo!”

“Kaaaaa!”

The roars of magical beasts that shook Seorak Mountain—it was the war cries of orcs.

He knew well what this phenomenon meant.

‘Mating season has begun.’

Tae-ju pulled out the greatsword embedded in Go Yeong-ho’s chest.

Orcs in mating season.

The time when their feeding activity becomes most active.

They would probably devour all the corpses scattered around this place completely.

Only bloodstains or a few body parts would remain.

Thus, Tae-ju returned alone to the Seorak Mountain Outpost.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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