ACT 5 Along the Path of Stars
[TL Notes: In the last chapter, there was an information window which was about the colours of the moulds. The last colour was purple in the raw but that was the only time it was mentioned so I thought it was a mistake by the author and changed it to red. However, purple is mentioned in the chapter but it is a little confusing because it seems to be the same as the red mould. So Iâve changed information in the previous chapter to purple and just kinda thought of red and purple moulds as the same thing]
ââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ-
Awooo, Awoooo! Buksil and Baekgu jumped around while yelling.
âNoisy, please do it quietly. Dark Blade!â
âBut weâre bored because there is nothing to do.â
âBored? You dare say such a thing in front of me? Riposte!â
Ark rotated his sword and pushed back 10 Mould Zombies.
âArk-nim, the Mould Zombie on that side is about to explode!â
Buksil exclaimed while filming the battle with the eyeball. When he turned around, the Mould Zombie who had lost all its health was swelling up like a balloon. The Mould Zombie was about to use its worse attack, Spore Scattering. Ark had been having a hard time against the Mould Zombies because of this attack. In fact, the slow moving zombies werenât a big threat to Ark. However, he became defenceless while avoiding the spore attacks. The location was also in a poisonous swamp. The places where he could run away were limited. If he tried to avoid the mould attacked then he would be attacked by the other Mould Zombies.
âHowever, having my health decreased is better than being poisoned by the mould.â
If he was affected by the mouldâs abnormal states then the situation would become even worse. Furthermore, the zombie that was swelling up had a red aura around it. The red mould was the most dangerous one. Once inhaled, the poison would give him the symptoms of a âzombieâ and there was a 100% chance that he would die. However, now Ark just smiled.
âBefore I would do everything to avoid it, even if I had to plunge into the swamp.â
The Mould Zombie finally exploded and red powder was scattered everywhere. Then the message window that appeared in front of him wasnât red which indicated a crisis, but was instead blue.
-The âRed Mouldâ of the Mould Zombies has encroached into the interior of your body.
However, the toxin has died thanks to the powerful immune components before it could spread.
âHahaha! Look at this you damn zombies! This is the power of medicine!â
Ark gave an elated laugh and looked at the Mould Zombies. Yes, this was what Ark had spent the last couple of days and nights studying! Although he had managed to protect himself thanks to the saintâs tombstone, Ark had been in a gloomy mood. He hadnât figured out a way to deal with the spore attack. Fortunately, the saintâs tombstone was a safety zone so he would somehow be able to handle the Mould Zombies. However, Arkâs purpose wasnât hunting. It was to reach the City of the Dead through the swamp.
âI canât be driven into such a situation again in a place with no safe zones.â
No, it was still dangerous even with the safe zone. If it was other moulds then he could avoid it using the saintâs tombstone. But it was the end if he was poisoned by the red mould.
âIt doesnât depend on level or ability. If my stamina and mental strength is high, my resistance to the other states would increase. But that doesnât matter if Iâm affected by the red mould. Even if I manage to get away from here, if the mould is found elsewhere then there is no way I can pass. But the mould canât be cured using general treatment pills the way a common illness or poison canâŠâŠâ
Ark was contemplating this when he recalled a similar situation. An illness which general remedies and even Holy magic couldnât cure! Yes, he remembered the Galgin clan who received mass food poisoning in the Forest of Life and had been on the verge of death. And hadnât Ark been the one to settle the problem?
âCan I possibly solve it like that incident?â
Even poisonous pills were legal depending on the way it was used. Thus couldnât even dog poo be used as medicine? Oh, was that a bit different? Anyway, Ark had learned the method to cure the Galginâs food poisoning. Thanks to his <food>, he was able to determine the hidden effects of ingredients. So Ark then began his earnest study of moulds.</food>
<food>âThere are many experimental ingredients around.â</food>
<food>Ark started to hunt the Mould Zombies close to the tombstones. At this point, Ark still didnât know what kind of mould would appear after the zombie exploded. Whether it was grey, white or red, Ark took measures to ensure his safety. After reducing the zombieâs health to 90%, Ark would withdraw and finish them off with arrows. Of course, The Mould Zombies couldnât approach the tombstone so the safest way would be to just shoot arrows at them. However, Ark was still a beginner in archery. It would take forever to kill a level 300 monster. In addition, the arrows were for emergencies so he didnât carry a lot around with him. But he got what he needed.</food>
<food>-Brown Mould Spores Pocket (Poisonous Herb)</food>
<food>The only place where the mould is able to propagate. Usually in dead animals or the undead, the parasites would develop within the thin pockets. If the pocket receives an impact when the undead dies then it would break and the spores would scatter. Mould spores are extremely dangerous to living things, but the mould would die very quickly without pockets like these.</food>
<food>* Advanced Ingredient Identification Additional Information: A processing method can extract ingredients with immunity against the moulds.</food>
<food>âAs expected!â</food>
<food>Arkâs eyes lit up at the sight of the information window. Thanks to his advanced ingredient identification, he knew there was a possibility of creating a treatment against the moulds. So Ark spent one day finding the Mould Spore Pockets. In the past, he had used various methods of extracting ingredients to create the treatment for the Galgin. However, medicine wasnât that superficial.</food>
<food>âLetâs try drying itâŠ..ugh!â</food>
<food>The spore pocket was similar to a directionless germ weapon. If he touched it or dropped it onto the ground a little bit too hard then it would explode! So Ark had to kill countless numbers of Mould Zombies over and over. Ark used trial and error and gradually figured out the method of dealing with the spore pockets.</food>
<food>âHmm, the spore pockets wonât explode when soaked in water. They are dangerous ingredients so I should soak everything and keep it in water for the moment.â</food>
<food>Ark experimented on the spore pockets using various methods and recorded everything meticulously. But his mould research ran into a wall on his 2nd day. He had tried steaming, boiling, drying, soaking and other methods but he still couldnât extract the required material. Ark felt the same feeling of frustration as scientists who failed in their research.</food>
<food>âSurely they has to be a way to create a medicine against moulds?â</food>
<food>It happened when Ark was engulfed with disappointment and despair. A lot of amazing discoveries in science or medicine were found by coincidence. Nitro-glycerine was accidentally stabilized when the boat shook and a researcher created dynamite by accidentally mixing together a few chemicals. The miracle that occurred was also a similar coincidence.</food>
<food>âYawn, can you really make a remedy? The methods youâre tryingâŠ..eh?â</food>
<food>Buksil had been yawning because he stayed up all night as the assistance but he suddenly became startled. While in a half asleep state, he had mixed different experimental ingredients together.</food>
<food>âWhat are you doing? Donât you know we only have a few left?â</food>
<food>âIâm sorry. IâŠâŠâ</food>
<food>âEh? Wait, bring that over here.â</food>
<food>Ark checked the bottle that Buksil was holding in his hands and felt a sudden flash. The mixed liquid that Buksil prepared had dissolved the white and purple mould. But when the two liquids mixed together, the purple lightened and became indigo. Well, it was obvious when considering the normal colour associations. The problem was that the toxic element also changed colour.</food>
<food>âThere is also the method of mixing the moulds to change their nature!â</food>
<food>The accident had showed Ark other areas of study. Thus Ark concentrated on mixing the liquidized moulds.</food>
<food>âOh my god, it is so easy to separate themâŠâŠ.â</food>
<food>He spent so long searching for answers and it was right in front of his eyes. In fact, the answer was there when he saw the information window for the first time. He could make a final colour using purple, green and white.  Mixing purple and white was indigo, green and white was teal and mixing teal with indigo made blueâŠâŠ.and the colours of immune messages was blue. Yes, the correct answer was blue. When Ark mixed the teal and indigo liquid together, an information window instantly appeared.</food>
<food>-You have made the blue mould disinfectant.</food>
<food>By combining the ingredients and extracting it, you have successfully created something to kill the mould. When this disinfectant is sprayed, you can stop the propagation of mould. If you take the medicine then the mould canât occupy your body for a certain period of time. However, the toxin isnât neutralized so if you take a large dose in a short period of time it can be fatal.</food>