‘Is this Chen Long?’ Hyeonu looked at where Bakar was pointing and cocked his head. The man sitting there was so different from the Chen Long he knew. This Chen Long had skin that was so white it looked blue, eyebrows and hair that were frosted over, and a frozen body that was like an ice statue.

Hyeonu turned his head and asked Bakar for clarification, “Why did he change into that? Was he doing some type of magic? He is like a statue.”

Bakar met Hyeonu’s intense eyes and sighed deeply. His sigh gave the illusion that the ground had completely collapsed. Bakar hesitated a long time before carefully opening his mouth and saying, “He was too impatient and in a rush. He became greedy, now that he can afford to do so.”

Even while speaking, Bakar never removed his eyes from Chen Long. There was a deep sadness in those eyes. Based on the information he got from Bakar’s words, Hyeonu speculated on why Chen Long’s condition had changed.

‘In a hurry? Greedy? Did he eat something bad?’

Chen Long must have eaten the wrong essence. This was the idea that Hyeonu came up with. There was nothing that matched Bakar’s description except for that.

“As you can see... he couldn’t digest the essence properly. One of the merchant groups from the West Continent brought something called the ‘Frozen Heart’ and said it was hard to get. It was a very strong essence. The outside of the box was frozen due to various kinds of magic.” Bakar’s subsequent explanation proved that Hyeonu’s guess was right.

Yet there was still something Hyeonu didn’t understand.

‘He didn’t absorb the essence properly? Chen Long?’

This question wasn’t resolved. Chen Long was by no means a weak person. His strength was similar to or slightly higher than that of the present Hyeonu. A man of such power couldn’t absorb one essence? Hyeonu thought it didn’t make sense and asked, “Does it make sense that Chen Long can’t control one essence? No matter how strong the essence is, can’t you absorb it if you are thoroughly prepared?”

If it was that dangerous, someone could’ve helped from the sidelines. The Samsungga was plenty capable of doing that.

“It would’ve been good if that was it.” Bakar sighed once again. “The preparations we made were the exact opposite. We started research into how we can amplify the effect rather than absorbing it reliably. We didn’t spend a long time researching as the family’s books already contained numerous results of such studies.”

After hearing Bakar’s explanation, Hyeonu expressed feelings of surprise rather than concern. A method to increase the effectiveness of essences—he was quite interested in it. The essence wasn’t an easy item to get, so it might be meaningless even if Hyeonu knew the method. Still, if he knew it, he would definitely be able to use it somewhere.

‘It is good to have a greater effect upon consumption.’

Hyeonu couldn’t resist his curiosity and asked Bakar how to do it: “There was something like that? I’ve never heard of it before.”

“It is really nothing. If the surrounding environment is similar to the attributes of that essence, the absorption efficiency will be greater,” Bakar answered Hyeonu’s question like it wasn’t a big deal.

It was natural to be curious regardless of whether it was something important. If it were important enough to be kept a secret, Bakar wouldn’t have told Hyeonu about it. Clearly, he said it because he didn’t think it was that important. In fact, Bakar had weighed it.

What were the benefits of keeping the method a secret, and what were the benefits of sharing it with Hyeonu? He quickly compared the two and chose the one with the most benefits.

“It isn’t that difficult... So what happened after that?” Hyeonu responded while mentally noting down Bakar’s words. Hyeonu didn’t have an essence right now, so he couldn’t test it. Still, if he obtained one in the future, he promised to give it a try.

“The master immediately started to look for a place to consume it. That wasn’t easy. There weren’t many conditions. It just had to be close to the Samsungga; that was it. However, the southern part of the empire is very warm.”

“So the place you decided on was Shalun Mountain?”

Shalun Mountain was a region with many climates. As Hyeonu experienced, there were dense forests and strange canyons where thunderbolts fell. Naturally, there were cold and hot areas. It was a place that met the Samsungga’s standards.

“Yes, Shalun Mountain is the closest to Linakalu. The real problem occurred afterwards. The master took a small number of the Cheonryong Group and left for Shalun Mountain with the Frozen Heart. This was the result. I arrived late, but when I saw the result, I quickly brought the master to the hottest place on Shalun Mountain to improve his condition as much as possible.”

This was the end of Bakar’s explanation. All of Hyeonu’s questions were answered. He now knew why Chen Long was like this, so of course, they were answered.

‘Then how do I get him back to normal?’

Nevertheless, there was yet another problem. In order to clear the main scenario, Hyeonu needed to obtain Chen Long’s signature, and Chen Long had to be awake for that to happen.

Hyeonu asked, “Did you find a way to return him to normal? You don’t mean to keep him like that, right? There are already people in the Samsungga who are questioning Chen Long’s whereabouts.”

Bakar’s expression stiffened. He knew it as well. It was impossible that he wouldn’t know. After all, he was the one moving the Yeokcheon Group right now. Bakar knew the internal atmosphere of the Samsungga better than anyone else. He answered, “I know. Thus, it was nice seeing you here. I think you will be able to help.”

“How?” Hyeonu shot Bakar a look that implied for the latter to stop with the nonsense and bring out the right answer.

Feeling slightly nervous due to Hyeonu’s gaze, Bakar presented the solution the Samsungga had come up with: “The frozen heart is an essence with the ice attribute. The family judged that after giving the master an essence with the opposing fire attribute, a person with the fire attribute should control the magic power, and the master will naturally wake up.”

“Then the essence?” Hyeonu asked again.

“It’s prepared. I killed the lava giant that was originally using this place and cut out his heart,” Bakar said and pulled out a red bead reminiscent of the burning sun. The bead was around the size of a nail. It wasn’t as large as Hyeonu expected. In fact, it was a very small size for a heart.

“Isn’t it too small for a heart?” Hyeonu revealed his doubts without hesitation. It wasn’t a big problem, so he asked about it resolutely.

“It became like this the moment it was separated from his body. Nevertheless, there is no loss of energy, so it is definitely a good essence. I can’t get anything better than this right now,” Bakar explained. The Samsungga couldn’t get a high-quality essence casually as the demand for essences had always been greater than the supply. In addition, the supply was very small.

“Then let’s get started right away. I’m in a hurry as well. There is something I need to obtain from Chen Long,” Hyeonu said. He held out his right hand to Bakar palm-side up and shook it several times, indicating to give the essence to him quickly.

“I believe you, so please heal Master.” Bakar handed Hyeonu the red bead.

When Hyeonu received it, he immediately checked the item information.

‘Item Information.’

[Lava Breath]

[The heart of a lava giant who lived in lava and ate lava. He could be considered lava itself.

Rating: Unique

Restrictions: Fire attribute owner, magic power stat over 1,000.

Effect: Stats will randomly increase when taken (a maximum of 150 points per stat).]

‘It isn’t that good?’

Hyeonu’s expression changed when he checked the item information. It wasn’t as good as he expected. There was no skills or stats creation option. It was just an essence that had the potential to increase his stats. Compared to the ones Hyeonu had eaten so far, this essence wasn’t good.

“Is this really enough?” Hyeonu questioned.

Hearing that, Bakar gave an unexpected answer that Hyeonu didn’t expect at all: “That’s why I’m asking you to do it.”

‘So it’s like this...’ Hyeonu could guess how the quest would proceed thanks to Bakar’s answer. It seemed like a mini-game would appear again. Otherwise, just eating the essence wouldn’t have any consequences.

‘I’m not an NPC like Lebron or Raccoon.’

Hyeonu was good at using magic power, but this was based on the standard of a player. He couldn’t really handle it like the protagonists of fantasy or martial arts novels.

“I’ll do my best. I hope the result will come out well. Of course, I’ll make him wake up quickly, so don’t look so worried,” Hyeonu joked when he saw Bakar’s stiff expression. Then he turned and approached Chen Long as a message window appeared in front of his eyes.

[A quest has been created.]

[Chen Long’s Recovery]

[Chen Long has consumed an essence and became a frozen human. Return him to his original state.

Rating: SS

Restrictions: Recovery of Chen Long’s consciousness 0/1]

Rewards: Experience, Bakar’s trust, Chen Long’s gift.]

‘I got a quest here, so it isn’t an empty can.’

Hyeonu’s lips curved into an uncontrollable smile upon seeing the unexpected profit. The quest he’d considered an empty can led to another quest that was a jackpot. Hyeonu walked slowly and summoned Tang-E again: “Tang-E, come out.”

He had canceled Tang-E’s summoning earlier when Bakar appeared.

“Master dude, there is an ice statue. It’s amazing.” Tang-E moved to Hyeonu’s arms and pointed at Chen Long, who was in front of him, with shining eyes.

Hyeonu replied, “That isn’t an ice statue. It’s a person. He is just frozen for a while. Give me a buff. I need your support.”

The moment Tang-E appeared, all of Hyeonu’s stats rose, but this wasn’t enough. He didn’t know what would happen, so he thought he should get every buff that he could.

“Understood, Master dude. Tang-E is cheering for you.”

Right after that, Tang-E used all three buff skills that he had and gave Hyeonu a tri-colored glow.

[You have received Bear’s Momentum.]

[Physique has increased.]

[Strength has increased.]

[You have received the Forest’s Blessing.]

[Defense has increased.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

[You have received Breath of the Wind.]

[Your agility has risen.]

[Your movement speed has increased.]

‘Tang-E’s buffs are done... Summon the magic spirit.’ Hyeonu confirmed the buffs and summoned a dark red magic spirit that looked exactly like Tang-E. The summoning consumed magic power, but he made this choice because he thought the stats improvement he got with the magic spirit was more important. Hyeonu’s stats increased dramatically in an instant. His preparations were going well.

‘There is no need for the giant buffs...’

The item buffs didn’t need to be used now. Since they didn’t require much concentration or skill, they would be available the moment he shouted their names. Hyeonu approached Chen Long, who was emitting a biting chill, and opened the latter’s mouth. Then he carefully placed the red bead inside it.