The adrenaline from the furnace explosion had faded, leaving Jin Ryeong shivering in his woodshed.
He sat on his straw mat, holding the Crumb of Bone-Forging Pill in his trembling hand.
[System Warning]
Constitution (8): Critical Level.
Skill (Thousand Venom Hand): Passive corrosion risks permanent nerve damage if Constitution is not raised to 10+ within 1 hour.
"I have to eat it," Jin Ryeong whispered. "But if I eat it, the pain might knock me out."
If he passed out here, anyone could rob him.
Creak.
The door to the shed didn't just open; it was shoved violently against the wall.
Han stood there.
The Senior Assistant's face was twisted in a mix of greed and rage. He had seen everything in the furnace room. He saw the Elder give the "Rat" fifty taels. He saw the Crumb.
"You're alive," Han spat, stepping inside. He held a heavy wooden staff—the kind used to stir the massive mixing vats. "I expected you to be ash."
"Elder Baek rewarded me," Jin Ryeong said, his voice raspy. He closed his fist over the crumb.
"Rewarded?" Han laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. "He gave a dog a treat because he was in a good mood. Do you think you deserve a Tier-4 medicinal essence? You? A fire-stoker?"
Han extended his hand. "Hand it over. And the silver."
Jin Ryeong looked at Han. Level 4 Apprentice. Stronger than him. Faster than him. But Han didn't know about the Thousand Venom Hand. And he didn't know Jin was crazy.
"It's mine," Jin Ryeong said.
"It's the Sect's!" Han roared, swinging the heavy oak staff. "And I am your superior!"
WHOOSH.
The staff stopped inches from Jin Ryeong's face. A threat.
"Last chance, Rat. Give me the pill, or I break your hand and take it."
Jin Ryeong looked at his hand. The veins were already darkening from the Venom skill he couldn't control yet.
"You want it?" Jin Ryeong's eyes went cold. "Too late."
He threw the crumb into his mouth and swallowed.
Han's eyes bulged. "YOU DARE?!"
[SYSTEM ALERT: BONE-FORGING ESSENCE INGESTED.]
The reaction was instant. It wasn't digestion; it was detonation.
Jin Ryeong's spine arched violently. He screamed, but no sound came out—his vocal cords paralyzed by the sudden rush of energy.
The "Crumb" dissolved into a thick, white heat that flooded his skeletal structure.
[BONE RESTRUCTURING: INITIATED.]
It felt like someone was pouring molten lead into his marrow.Shutterstock
Under his skin, his knuckles turned white, then translucent, then a deep, dense ivory. The micro-fractures from years of hard labor were being forcibly welded shut.
Han didn't see the stats. He only saw insolence.
"Spit it out!" Han screamed. He swung the oak staff with full force, aiming for Jin Ryeong's ribs.
Jin Ryeong couldn't move. The calcification process locked his joints. He was a statue of pain.
CRACK.
The staff connected with Jin Ryeong's ribcage.
But there was no sound of snapping bone. There was only the dull, heavy thud of wood hitting a rock.
Han froze. The vibration traveled up the staff, stinging his palms. "What...?"
Jin Ryeong gasped, air rushing back into his lungs. The pain was fading. Replaced by solidity.
[System Notification]
Constitution: 8 -> 13 (Threshold Passed).
Bone Density: Increased by 40%.
Status: Mobile.
Jin Ryeong slowly turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot.
"Is that..." Jin Ryeong wheezed, "...the best you can do, Senior Brother?"
Han took a step back. "You... you monster."
Han swung again. A panic swing. Aimed at the head.
Jin Ryeong raised his left hand. The hand that had learned the Thousand Venom Hand.
He caught the staff.
THUD.
The force was heavy, but Jin Ryeong's reinforced bones held firm.
"My turn," Jin Ryeong whispered.
[Skill Activated: Thousand Venom Hand]
Cost: 2 Qi (Uses remaining Overcharge).
Dark grey energy swirled around Jin Ryeong's fingers. He squeezed the wooden staff.
HISSS.
The wood didn't break. It rotted. Where Jin Ryeong's fingers touched the oak, the wood turned black and spongy, disintegrating into wet dust.
Han watched in horror as his weapon dissolved in the servant's grip.
Jin Ryeong yanked the rotting staff, pulling Han off balance. He stepped forward and placed his grey-stained palm flat on Han's chest.
He didn't release the poison—that would kill Han and bring the Enforcers. He just let the Cold Qi of the venom seep in.
"Ahh!" Han shrieked, falling back. He clutched his chest. The spot where Jin touched him was numb, the skin turning a bruised purple.
Jin Ryeong stood over him. He looked like a demon rising from the pit.
"The silver is mine," Jin Ryeong said, his voice flat. "The pill is mine. And this room..."
He kicked the door shut.
"...is mine. Get out."
Han scrambled backward, terrified. He had bullied a rat, only to find out it was a viper. He didn't say a word. He fled, clutching his bruised chest.
Jin Ryeong waited until the footsteps faded. Then he collapsed against the wall, exhaling a long, shaky breath.
[System Status Update]
XP: 650/800.
Constitution: 13 (Safe for Venom Arts).
Qi: 0/2 (Exhausted).
Jin Ryeong looked at his hands. They were normal color again, but the bones felt heavy. Solid.