Chapter 33
“Dei... what?”
“Deinococcus radiodurans. ‘Deinococcus’ refers to the bacterium’s spherical shape, and the latter part describes its characteristic. ‘Radio’ refers to radiation, as in ‘radioactive,’ and ‘durance’ means endurance. You know the word ‘endure,’ right? It comes from the same root.”
It suddenly felt like we’d switched back to English class.
“A-Anyway... can that bacterium really withstand radiation?”
“Isn’t that what its name says?”
“I suppose so. A spherical bacterium that can withstand radiation...”
“Would you like to see it?”
“You have some?”
“Of course. It was one of my research fields, too.”
Oh, now that I thought of it, I should ask.
“Was that research because of the incident in Russia?”
“Whoa... how did you know?”
I wasn’t an idiot. It wasn’t hard to figure out...
Just because you’re smart, does that mean you can look down on me?
Well, I’m joking.
“You were pushed out in office politics because of that incident in Russia, weren’t you?”
“Yes. It was a little unfair, but there was nothing I could do.”
Even as she said that, her tone was much more cheerful than before.
“Still, I don’t care about it at all now. I like where I am. If anything, I think it was for the best. If I hadn’t been pushed out of Seonggwang back then, I might never have met you, Mr. Segyun.”
“So it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
It was a blessing in disguise for her, but for me, it was like winning the lottery.
I mean, if not for her, who would’ve introduced me to a bacterium that could withstand radiation just because I’d mentioned it?
“Where did I put it...”
After rummaging through the samples for a while, she took a culture plate from the corner of the refrigerator and handed it to me.
“Here. You want dead bacteria, right, Mr. Segyun? Just in case, I keep the ones that died after my research, too.”
Ooh, she’s thoughtful.
“Thank you.”
Then, shall I summon it?
I’d almost used up No. 4, Botulinum, anyway, so I should reverse-summon it and fill that slot.
“Reverse Summon, Undead Rise.”
[You use the skill ‘Reverse Summon’ on ‘Clostridium Botulinum Type A’ and its bacterial group.]
[Would you like to use the Undead Rise skill?]
[Target: 392,956,003 Deinococcus radiodurans corpses.]
[Currently Maintained Undead]
(4) Deinococcus radiodurans
─Population: 392,956,003
─Description: An aerobic microorganism with strong resistance to radiation, high temperatures, and other extreme environments. It can absorb and stabilize radioactive metal ions. It is exceptionally good at repairing DNA damage, so radiation-induced mutations do not occur easily. It divides readily even in ordinary environments.
─Ability: Each individual can withstand 550,000 Gy of radiation (base 5,000 Gy, with the 210% Control effect applied). Repairing DNA after structural damage takes 6.54 minutes per individual (base 720 minutes, with the 210% Control effect applied).
The first question that came to mind was...
What was a Gy?
I must have voiced that question without realizing it.
“Gy? Could it mean gray?”
Ms. Im Gyuseon answered right away.
“Gray?”
I know at least that much English.
But why were you covering your face like you were embarrassed?
Don’t do that...
“I-It’s the unit for absorbed radiation. When applied biologically, it’s the sievert.”
“I’ve heard of sieverts.”
“For X-rays and gamma rays, one gray equals one sievert, while for alpha rays, it’s about twenty sieverts per gray, I think? Alpha rays are much more lethal to living things.”
“Then is 550,000 gray a lot?”
At my question, Gyuseon shook her head in disbelief.
“...You’re asking if that’s a lot? Even the radiation dose at the center of a nuclear explosion is probably only a few thousand to tens of thousands. 550,000 would be... a dose you could barely reproduce in a laboratory particle accelerator, in nanosecond or femtosecond intervals?”
“Whoa.”
It reminded me of when I got lucky and pulled a Legendary as a kid, then nearly got bullied for asking everyone if it was a good one.
So... if it can withstand 550,000 gray, then if those numbers are accurate... it’d be fine even at ground zero of a nuclear blast?
“The LD50 for radiation is five sieverts. That means half of ordinary people die after being exposed to just five sieverts. 550,000 gray is roughly tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of times that.”
I’m in trouble.
I...
I think I just drew a dragon-slaying sword to kill a chicken...?
And I nearly forgot the part after that.
Even if it was destroyed... it would repair itself after about six minutes.
The things I’d used so far were undead bacteria, but this one seemed like a ‘real’ undead.
“Then, roughly how many of these would I need to protect my entire body?”
“Your whole body? Hmm... These aren’t really meant to be used for that.”
After tapping on a calculator several times, Ms. Im Gyuseon continued.
“You’d need at least 300 billion. And that’s the bare minimum.”
300 billion, huh?
The maximum bacterial undead force I could maintain in normal circumstances was just over 4 billion.
Even that was after making up for a lot through leveling up and various other factors.
It might sound like a lot, but by microscopic standards, it wasn’t much at all.
I did need another step up, though...
I had money, so why was it so hard to get items?
I was trying to get items that increased my maximum mana and mana recovery, but none were available, and the ones that did appear kept getting sniped.
Was there really no way to solve this right now?
As I pondered, a voice rang out in my head.
─Summoner. You can make use of Blood Gold’s specialization ability.
What? Athena? Long time no see.
But what was this specialization ability?
─Blood Gold can easily fuse with cellular tissue. It can also absorb the traits of a summoned entity. Would you like to use the specialization ability?
That was possible?
I wasn’t sure how it would go, but it was much better than not trying.
I nodded, and a system message immediately appeared.
[Athena uses the skill ‘Specialization.’]
At the same time, my mana dropped sharply.
Nearly eighty percent of my mana just got taken in one huge chunk?
[‘Specialization’ of the Blood Gold Golem is applied to the Deinococcus radiodurans strain.]
[Specialization has been successfully applied.]
[17% of Athena’s composition has been altered. It will return to its original state when Specialization is removed.]
But it didn’t look like anything had changed.
The bacterial colony, which had been dark and mottled, had only become a little reddish.
But then it happened.
A red membrane suddenly spread out from the bacterial colony in the petri dish.
“Eek!”
Ms. Im Gyuseon jumped back in surprise, and I was startled, too.
The membrane spread over my skin.
An extremely thin film completely enclosed my body without a single gap.
My skin felt slightly red, but I couldn’t tell that anything else was different.
─The target’s traits have been preserved, while Blood Gold has been used to replace its cell walls.
So could it completely block radiation in this state?
─Its protective capability has been diminished compared to the original organism due to the increased surface area. Adding more organisms will increase its resistance.
Ah, that made sense.
Even though there were 400 million organisms, they’d formed a colony only a few centimeters across on a petri dish.
I’d spread them out into a membrane large enough to cover my entire body, so their ability had to weaken.
Even so...
The original had a resistance of 550,000.
If it was a dragon-slaying sword,
then even with its performance degraded, it would still be perfect for killing a chicken.
─By current measurement standards, it can block at least 100 sieverts of radiation.
It had fallen from 550,000 to 100, so just how much had the surface area expanded?
Still, that should be plenty.
I had no idea what the radiation levels inside were, but since people didn’t die the instant they entered, it had to be below 20 sieverts.
They’d said people died instantly at around 20 sieverts.
A protective capacity of 100 sieverts was more than enough.
─Please note that if you remove Specialization, the organisms will be destroyed.
Got it.
But why are you only telling me about this ability now?
─Because this ability wasn’t suited to the organisms you’d been using before.
That was true.
There’d been no point in increasing the volume of the bacteria I’d used until now.
Anyway, I’d already given up on clearing that Russian dungeon.
You’ve got me reconsidering again.
**
As I left the lab with mixed feelings and headed to the office, a voice came through my mind.
─Segyun.
‘Yes, sir.’
A voice call through the Ansible Earring Zephyros had just given me.
─I’m sure of it now. Someone’s interfering with your item purchases.
‘What?’
─The bigger problem is, I think it’s probably Kaiser.
‘Those bastards.’
I was angry, but the bigger problem was that I had no way to deal with it with my current strength.
If they kept interfering like that, my only option was to get items directly from dungeons.
That had clear limits.
Knowing that, we both sighed for a while.
─I’ll see what I can do for now, but understand it won’t be easy.
Without power on the same level or greater, we can’t fight back...
“Hm?”
I think I just came up with something.
To sort out the thought that had suddenly occurred to me, I said,
“Sir, suppose I decided to clear that Russian Gate.”
─We agreed to give that place up, didn’t we? What, are you still hung up on it?
Of course I was.
It had a Star Relic, and now there was no longer any radiation risk.
But that wasn’t the point.
“If I said I needed certain items to clear the dungeon, and Kaiser’s people were blocking me from buying them, would Russia help me?”
─What?
There seemed to be a moment of thought, then a burst of laughter came from the other end.
─So you’re going to use state power... the state power of a major country like Russia, to go after an American multinational dungeon-development giant?
“Yeah. I’m not asking them to buy anything for me. I’m just asking them to let me buy it myself at a fair price. Would they really refuse to help?”
─They’d help. Russia has enough influence to do that.
“If they’re planning to use me, I should make full use of them, too.”
I’d show them what it meant to squeeze them for everything they were worth.
**
When I sent word to the Russian side, things went much more smoothly than I’d expected.
They asked me to send a catalog of the items I wanted, and soon a reply came.
─The seven types of rings are already in our country’s possession. We can transfer them to you at a low price. I’ll look into the robe and hat.
Honestly, it was better than I’d expected.
Was this the power of ‘state power’?
I’d thought I’d have to collect them one by one.
It was also good news that Russia already had the complete set of seven rings.
They were a set item that only reached peak efficiency when all seven were together.
Although they cost 100 million dollars each, a whopping 700 million dollars total...
I’d spent nearly a trillion won, but...
If I’d tried to gather them one by one through auctions, I might’ve had to spend a billion dollars if I was unlucky.
Under Kaiser’s interference, I wouldn’t have been able to collect them at all.
[Seven-Colored Cycle Ring (Red)]
[Quality]: Legendary-grade set accessory
[Description]: A set of seven rings. It is said that collecting them all will show the way to the enlightenment of circulation.
[Details]: Greatly increases maximum mana in proportion to the wearer’s level. Greatly increases mana recovery. When all seven rings are worn, the skill ‘Enlightenment of Circulation’ can be used.
[Enlightenment of Circulation (Usable Item Skill)]
Description: While wearing the rings, you gain enlightenment of circulation and your maximum mana continues to increase. (10% every 24 hours) The increase stops after reaching a maximum of 300%. The effect disappears and resets as soon as even one ring is removed.
The increase to maximum mana and recovery was nice, but the set effect went without saying—it was absurdly overpowered.
As you’d expect from an effect that required collecting seven Legendary-grade accessories, its performance was incredible.
A 300% increase to maximum mana.
It took 30 days at 10% a day, but once I reached the cap, I’d have little reason to take them off.
Percentage increases became more effective at higher levels than flat increases, but at around 300%, that kind of efficiency didn’t even matter.
Whether low-level or high-level, for classes that consumed a lot of mana, this set was considered the ultimate item.
There was a reason each ring cost over 100 million dollars, despite being Legendary-grade.
Since I’d get more out of them the sooner I equipped them, I went straight to Russia to pick them up.
And when I put on all seven rings...
It felt as if my mana were swelling and surging in real time.
“How do they feel?”
“They’re nice.”
“I’m glad you’ve agreed to clear the dungeon again. They’re valuable items, but I don’t mind handing them over for that.”
Oh, come on. Anyone listening would think you’d given them to me for free.
I bought them with my own money, you know.
Anyway, after putting them on, I checked my mana status...
[Mana Status]
─Current natural mana recovery rate: 7.1% per second.
─Currently using 0.035% mana per second to maintain the current population (base 3.9%, with the 210% Control effect applied).
Oh, so if I roughly calculated it...
Maintaining my current bacterial army of 4 billion only used 0.035% of my mana...
And I could sustain that up to 7.1%.
Leaving Arina looking puzzled, I hurriedly took out my phone and opened the calculator.
About 203 times.
203 times 4 billion was 812 billion.
So the bacterial army I could operate now numbered about 812 billion.
If I pushed myself temporarily... I could now operate a trillion or more.
On top of that, my maximum mana would keep increasing up to 300%.
This step-up...
Had gone way too far, hadn’t it?