The next day, Tae-Sung woke up, exercised, showered, had breakfast, and logged into the game. [Proatine Kingdom: Royal Infirmary] When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the infirmary located within the royal palace. He immediately checked his level and found that it was still Level 373, which meant that he hadn't died after the battle. He ended up groaning from the sudden exhaustion that took over him the moment he logged into the game. This was evidence that his character was in bad shape. [Stamina: ■■□□□□□□□□] [Divine Power: ■■□□□□□□□□] Even after a full day, he had barely recovered. Clearly, the battle had taken quite a severe toll on him. In fact, there was a notification in front of his eyes showing that he was afflicted by the Exhausted status ailment. [Alert: 35 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds remaining!] [Alert: 35 hours, 59 minutes, 58 seconds remaining!] [Alert: 35 hours, 59 minutes, 57 seconds remaining!] Siegfried finally understood the situation he was in. ‘Yeah, this is only normal. If I were fine after all that, that would be weird,’ he thought. He fought Archangel Raphael to the brink of death, fainted, fought again, and then got impaled in the stomach. The fact that he was still alive was nothing short of a miracle. A sharp pain pulsed from his abdomen at the very spot where the archangel’s spear had pierced him, and his waist that had been grazed by Touch of Death was completely bruised. ‘That aside, what happened to Michael and Metatron? They were in pretty bad shape too,’ he wondered, remembering the former Chief Archangel and the son of the demon lord. Siegfried pushed himself up from the hospital bed, but— A sudden intense pain radiated from his mana hall located right in the center of his chest. Badump! Badump! Badump! Then, his heart began thumping wildly, causing his pulse to skyrocket out of nowhere. ”A-Argh...! What’s going on—?” While he was groaning in agony— The flowers in the vase on his bedside table wilted slowly until they withered. But that was not all... A green mist seeped out of Siegfried, filling the room with a thick fog. Siegfried was shocked after seeing the radioactive energy he was releasing. He had no recollection of using Green Hell Magno, yet it was being released on its own. At that moment, someone knocked on the door. ”Your Majesty? Are you awake, sire?” A nurse turned the door knob and was about to open the door. Siegfried hurriedly screamed, ”Don’t open the door! You shouldn’t open the door!” ”Tell everyone to stay one hundred meters away from this room! This is an order! A royal command!” Siegfried had no choice but to scream to ensure that the nurse wouldn't get poisoned and die from the radioactive energy around him. There was no way an ordinary NPC could survive Green Hell Magno, and she was, without a doubt, going to die the moment she was exposed to it. Scared by Siegfried’s shout, the nurse hurriedly ran away from the door. ”What the hell is going on...?” he muttered, confused by what was happening. “I’ve carefully thought about it and realized that the energy compressed within the Dragon Heart of Inkarthus could gradually seep out from your mana hall. That, in the long run, would start damaging your body from the inside.” “You might be fine right now, but the energy within the Dragon Heart could leak out if a strong impact shocks you or if your body weakens significantly.” “Based on my calculations... If that happens, your body may not be able to withstand the Dragon Heart’s power and could collapse.” He suddenly remembered Dragon Lord Gerog's words before he left for the Seneca Kingdom. The Dragon Lord definitely warned him to be careful of getting struck by any strong impact. Getting grazed by Touch of Death and impaled by Raphael’s spear was definitely something that could be considered as a strong impact. Moreover, he was releasing radioactive energy against his will. This could only mean that Gerog’s warning was coming to fruition. Siegfried squeezed every ounce of his mental strength and tried to stop the radioactive energy from leaking out of him. However, the leak only got more powerful the more he tried to stop it. In the blink of an eye, the room was filled with a thick green fog of radioactive energy. Meanwhile, Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse were receiving treatment in the royal infirmary, just as they always did. ”We have a big problem, Elders!” The Director of the Royal Infirmary rushed over to their ward and cried out. ”Hm? What’s the matter? Did something happen again?” Daode Tianzun asked in response, tilting his head at the sudden commotion. “His Majesty is in danger!” ”He can just die then, no?” ”An Adventurer is immortal anyway, so he will come back to life even if he dies, no? I don’t see why this would be a big problem and cause all this ruckus.” Daode Tianzun was correct. There was no reason for an NPC to get all worked up just because an Adventurer was in danger. The Adventurers were immortal beings from another world, so they would just come back to life even if they died. ”That is not the issue!” ”Huh? Then what is it?” “His Majesty started unleashing radioactive energy and turned everything within one hundred meters of his ward into a death zone!” ”Oh...” Daode Tianzun muttered, looking dumbfounded. Then, he hurriedly got up and said, “You should’ve said so! I’m going right now!” He immediately realized the gravity of the situation and got moving. ”Right this way, Elder!” The director ushered him out of the ward. Daode Tianzun was about to leave when he turned around and glared. ”Hey, you. I memorized everything, so you better not think of pulling any tricks, you got that?” he warned. “C’mon now! Do I look like someone who would cheat over a game?” Betelgeuse retorted. “Ha! Did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice? I know that you were moving your chess pieces whenever I went to the toilet or looked elsewhere!” ”That hand of yours seems to be the problem. Maybe I should deal with it later,” Daode Tianzun warned icily before leaving the ward. When they arrived, everything in a hundred-meter radius around Siegfried’s hospital room was filled with thick green smoke. Daode Tianzun quickly cast a high-level barrier spell to prevent the radioactive energy from spreading any further. If left unchecked, the entire royal palace would soon be contaminated, turning it into a palace of death. In the worst-case scenario, they would have to relocate the palace entirely due to the contamination. “Hoho... What in the world is this?” Daode Tianzun muttered with a low chuckle. He proceeded to cast a purification spell to cleanse the radioactive energy while inspecting the situation. However, even he was not confident he could enter into the thick green smoke. This green smoke was far denser and potent than the one Siegfried often used, and he could even die on the spot despite being a Grandmaster. Daode Tianzun called Siegfried’s royal physician. “This won’t do. We need to call for help.” “Go and request the esteemed elder to come.” Daode Tianzun gave up on trying to fix this situation by himself. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t see a way he could step into that potent green smoke, neutralize its source, and make it out alive. No, he was not sure if he could even last long enough to reach its source without dying on the way. While he had already lived long enough to have no deep attachment to life, it did not mean he was fine with meeting a meaningless end. “Hurry and escort him here. I don’t think anyone else can handle this except for him.” The royal physician quickly rushed off at Daode Tianzun’s command. About ten minutes later— “What’s all this commotion?” Deus appeared in front of Daode Tianzun like a ghost, without the latter even noticing his arrival. “Why did you call for me?” “That is... As you can see, we have a bit of a situation here...” “Tsk, tsk... A so-called Grandmaster can’t even take care of some dust and had to trouble this great one?” Deus said, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “What a disgrace. Utterly pathetic.” ‘Excuse you?! Do you have any idea how lethal that radiation level is?! Grandmaster or not, just a second in that thing will send me straight to the afterlife!’ Daode Tianzun exclaimed inwardly. He couldn’t help but feel wronged at Deus’ scolding, but he, in all of his wisdom, knew better than to voice them out. In fact, he maintained composure and did not even let a hint of his emotions show on his face. “Tsk... You should train harder from now on,” Deus said, clicking his tongue. “This generation is full of weaklings. They’re so lazy that they don’t even train properly anymore. Tsk...” Clicking his tongue again, Deus walked straight into the thick green smoke without any hesitation. Why was he walking straight into the thick green smoke when even Daode Tianzun hesitated to do so? It was all because as far as Deus was concerned, the blanket of smoke before him was nothing more than a bit of fine dust[1] polluting the air. “A-Arghhh...! Gahhk...! I have... to... control it...!” Siegfried gritted his teeth and squeezed every bit of strength he had to stop the radioactive energy from rampaging. “Tsk... How much more foolish and pathetic can you get?” Just then, Deus appeared and scolded him in a calm yet condescending tone. “Keuh...! M-Master...? I greet... my—argh! M-master... Gahkk!” Even as he fought with all his might to maintain control, Siegfried did not forget to bow and greet Deus courteously. Surprisingly, Deus did not scold him this time. “This is what happens when you take in something beyond your means, my disciple.” “Sit properly and focus. I will help you.” Siegfried followed Deus’ instructions and forced himself to sit properly. Then, Deus placed both hands firmly against Siegfried’s back and channeled a certain kind of energy into him. Roughly five minutes later, the intense radioactive energy that had been rampaging within Siegfried’s body gradually calmed down. As soon as the situation was stabilized, Siegfried lost all strength and collapsed from sheer exhaustion. [Stamina: ■□□□□□□□□□] [Divine Power: ■□□□□□□□□□] He ended up getting exhausted once again. Suppressing the radioactive energy had completely drained him of energy. “My disciple,” Deus called out. “It seems that the Heart of Inkarthus that is within you is no longer stable.” “There is no solution for now,” Deus replied bluntly. Then, he continued, “But once you reach the rank of Grandmaster and reconstruct your body, you will be able to suppress its rampaging energy and, eventually, absorb it.” “But that is impossible with a mere Master’s body.” In other words, the only way to resolve this was for Siegfried to reach the realm of Grandmasters. Fortunately, he was currently Level 373, and he was expected to reach Level 449 without much difficulty. In the end, it all came down to how quickly he could break through the wall... “I have calmed it down for now. But if you suffer another shock, then this situation will repeat itself once again. “And you will find that thing difficult to control from now on, so it will be best if you exercise caution in the days ahead. Acting carelessly could lead you to kill those around you accidentally.” “I will keep that in mind, Master.” Thus, Siegfried became a walking nuclear reactor. He wasn't just any kind of nuclear reactor; he was the kind that posed a risk of leaking radioactive energy. Perhaps that was the reason why... A notification popped up in front of his eyes. [Alert: You have obtained the title – Radioactive Outcast!] The title’s effects were as follows... [Radioactive Outcast] [A title granted to those who emit radiation, causing others to naturally avoid them.] [Effect: +500% Probability that others will start avoiding you.] Just when things were starting to settle down, he was granted yet another title that had a very negative effect. ‘Ah, what the hell do I do now?’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly. Honestly, he wanted to just die at this point. Now that he was a radioactive hazard, people would start keeping their distance from him whether they wanted to do so or not. In other words, he would have to live in solitude from now on, cut off from everyone else. King Siegfried van Proa was now an outcast. 1. Fine dust is a huge problem in Korea, so it gets mentioned quite often in the media. ☜