Virus King [Translation]

There had never been a time when Novak had endured so much.

The world before him slowly began to blur, becoming dreamlike. This medieval Western world, like a bubble in a dream, was finally fading from Novak's perception, dissolving into nothingness.

But at this moment, Novak couldn't bring himself to care about the world around him—his full attention was focused on his left hand.

The speed at which countless light particles condensed far surpassed his expectations.

Amidst the ink-green rays of light, the particles swirled, encasing the light as though something was being born within.

At the same time, mysterious and profound fluctuations began to envelop Novak.

He recalled what Pukasiumi had once told him: the reason SSS-level items, professions, and talents were so rare was that they possessed something divine.

Novak only had a vague understanding of what divinity truly meant.

But he had seen firsthand how much the gods coveted such things.

In their scramble for the Dark Umbilical Cord, the Dark Mother Goddess herself had demonstrated just how essential these divine elements were to the gods.

Now, in this very moment, Novak began to understand.

Could this be divinity?

Was divinity something that faith could condense? Or was it power, capable of crystallizing into divinity?

If one were to become a god, to ignite the divine fire and form a Godhood, would that mean their divinity had reached the necessary threshold?

Novak didn't know. But indulging in such random thoughts helped him cope with the torment of the unknown.

The entire world around him had become increasingly ethereal.

Gradually, beyond this illusory world, a clearer, more tangible reality emerged in his vision.

It was the abandoned plague chemical factory.

Yet, what startled Novak was the absence of the dilapidation he had imagined. After spending what felt like an entire year in the dungeon, he had expected the factory to be in ruins. But no, it stood almost unchanged.

Even the mutated creatures—the plague flies and plague rats—that had once been controlled by Pukasiumi still roamed the factory grounds.

However, their behavior had shifted. They moved sluggishly, as if weakened from a lack of food or other resources.

Novak blinked in confusion. What was going on?

Hadn't he spent an entire year inside that dungeon?

Could this secret realm's dungeon have the same strange time distortion as other secret realms? Was time flowing differently inside?

It seemed the only reasonable explanation.

This revelation caused a wave of relief to wash over Novak, loosening the tight grip of tension that had weighed on him.

If the time cost hadn't been real, then the exhaustion he felt from the dungeon was negligible.

But just as that relief settled, Novak felt a pang of regret.

Had he known that time within the secret realm flowed differently from the outside world, he would've stayed longer in the dungeon. He could have spent more time gathering resources and exploring further.

Realizing this, Novak's nerves tensed once again.

Novak's gaze instinctively returned to his radiant left palm.

The light on his hand grew more intense, yet slightly dimmer at the same time, as the glowing particle, which had been forming in his palm, fully merged into his skin.

In the faint dark green glow, beneath the dim shadows, something was gradually taking shape.

The jet black and dark green hues on Novak's left hand slowly faded away. All the plague seeds, along with the divinity that had fused with the power of faith, were now concentrating into the emerging object.

A scroll!

A Job Change Scroll!

Novak held his breath. In this moment, he was even more anxious than when he had first been reborn.

Back then, the fusion of the zombie virus was uncontrollable. He could close his eyes, open them, and be done with it.

Of course, if it failed, it was simply over.

But now, everything was forming before Novak's eyes. He was fully engaged, his attention fixed on every second that felt as long as a year.

Meanwhile, Novak's once-illusory body began to materialize inside the factory.

The plague creatures that had previously been sluggish seemed to sense something. They turned toward the light, gazing in his direction.

Having been controlled by Pukasium before, these plague creatures obeyed the commands of the Plague Cult.

Now, with Pukasium's control fading—after all, he had been sacrificed—these creatures were beginning to stir.

The phantom figure that had suddenly appeared... 

It triggered a mix of hunger and fear in these giant plague rats, plague mosquitoes, and poisonous corpses. Their eyes gleamed with a ravenous desire for flesh.

Yet, at the same time, they hesitated.

Pukasium's influence still lingered, making their feeble souls want to bow to this figure.

As they struggled internally, the figure became more tangible.

Even the smallest details, like individual strands of hair, were now visible.

Finally, one of the giant plague rats couldn't resist any longer and slowly crept toward the figure.

Once the first one moved, a second followed, and soon the entire swarm of rats, mosquitoes, and flies began inching forward.

Although their movements were slow, the bloodlust in their eyes grew fiercer with each step.

Novak glanced at them.

At that precise moment, his body solidified entirely, and his true form separated from the secret realm's copy, fully returning to reality.

The concentrated light in his hands coalesced,

And an ink-green scroll was formed, resting silently in Novak's palm.

At the same time, the swarm of plague rats, flies, and corpses surged forward.

Novak's eyes flashed coldly.

Just as he was about to crush the massive plague rat that had leapt toward him, the entire swarm suddenly halted in mid-motion.

The next moment, these mindless creatures froze where they stood, motionless.

It was as if they had returned to their previous state, as if nothing had happened.

Novak paused, his movements stilled. He glanced at the trembling plague creatures, momentarily taken aback, then shifted his attention back to the scroll in his hand.

Suddenly, it dawned on him: these creatures weren't bowing to him. 

They weren't driven by fear or awe of his power.

They were bowing to the Job Change Scroll in his hand!

Novak's eyes narrowed as he focused intently on the scroll.

In the next moment, a name appeared before him:

['The Scourge of Life' Job Transfer Scroll (SSS)]