"Hold on, that sounds too dangerous. Isn't it fatal if my brain or Spirit Body gets damaged?" asked Yongno.

Mari replied, "Hmm, it's a little different. Maybe the term 'damage' is inaccurate in this case. It's indeed dangerous if your Spirit Body gets affected, but the damage I'm talking about is akin to muscle aches after working out. Your body returns to normal in time, but right now, it's hard to move."

"That means…."

"Your current status is ‘Serious Injury,’ but there is nothing wrong with your body. At this point, you just can’t use your spiritual power. Are you able to perform the Golden Pill Immortal Technique? No, right?"

Indeed, Yongno couldn’t circulate his qi with the technique, and he'd constantly been using it without even thinking. Even the minuscule amount of internal energy in his middle dantian was inaccessible; that internal energy was mostly consumed while he dived. Therefore, Yongno felt like he’d lost all his internal martial arts.

He asked, "Oh, so I can use my internal energy again after two hours, but in the meantime, I have no problem moving my body, right?”

"Correct. By the way, you also can't use the Water-Friendly skill with your current status. In fact, this situation only occurred because you used that skill- Eh?"

Surprisingly, Yongno was already heading to the ocean, holding the apple that Mari gave him.

Yongno shouted, "Then, I can still swim, right?”

"Yeah, but…."

"I totally understand! And thanks for the apple!"

Yongno then jumped into the water. The apple would probably be eaten while submerged or enjoyed after he finished diving.

Mari murmured, "Geez, is it that exciting to dive and swim? How come he never gets sick of it?"

Yongno was definitely far from normal. The way he used the Golden Pill Immortal Technique was the most extraordinary thing about him. Mari explained that Yongno could activate the technique at any time once he got accustomed to it, but she didn’t mean it would constantly run.

When circulating qi at the beginning of the Golden Pill Immortal Technique, users should put all of their attention on it; else, it would be like trying to memorize a paper full of prayers while simultaneously doing something else. However, if users mastered the prayers, they could recite them and do other things such as watching TV, playing games, chatting online, reading, or even jogging.

In this case, the users couldn’t say anything since they were using their mouths to recite prayers. Still, it didn’t restrict them from doing anything else. Nevertheless, performing two challenging tasks at the same time without taking any breaks for weeks or months was strange and near impossible.

Likewise, performing other cultivation methods while using the Golden Pill Immortal Technique was impossible. While users could do other trivial things, the technique wouldn’t run all day automatically. Such a convenient cultivation method did not exist. The Golden Pill Immortal Technique circulated one’s qi without needing one’s full concentration on the tightly integrated Gold Core, but it still required attention.

Mari marveled, "Yet, that is exactly what he’s doing. Ever since he learned the technique from me, he’s activating the Golden Pill Immortal Technique without any breaks. He’s really something."

Mari was sitting on the beach with a dumbfounded expression. As she felt the sea breeze, she stared at the sun hanging on the horizon. The color of the ocean made it seem as if it were twilight, with everything gradually appearing red. The view was too beautiful to only see once.

"Hahaha! Amazing! It seems that I’m the longest-living clone among the Marionettes. I never expected I would come this far,” said Mari.

Why were these useless thoughts crossing her mind? Mari wondered if Yongno was the reason behind it. She watched him dive and sometimes swim in and out of the ocean. Then, she realized that she was slowly diverging from the system’s regulations which had been firmly engraved in her mind. Perhaps the developers made the rules less stringent since she wasn’t supposed to be around for too long.

"Eh?"

While Mari was immersed in her thoughts, a black dot suddenly entered her sight. A late teenage boy was floating in the middle of the ocean like a dead fish in contaminated water. It was Yongno. With his head sunk in the water, Yongno looked like he was unconscious and was ‘Near Death.’ If Mari left him that way, Yongno would die.

"Geez, how did I end up being a guide to that weirdo?" she sighed.

Mari stood from her seat and started walking on the ocean to save the half-dead Yongno.

***Gold Core. Dark North Sea***

"Unbelievable!" Yongno shouted as soon as he was conscious.

However, Mari responded coldly, “Yes, it is, but would you please keep your mouth shut? You're bleeding from every orifice, and you’ve also received a severe internal injury."

‘Why do you behave so recklessly when your Regen sucks?’ It seemed like she was shooting a sarcastic glance at him, and Yongno broke out in a cold sweat.

He muttered, "Why are you being so mean all of a sudden...?"

"That’s because you're acting like a fool."

“I only dived 300 meters, though. My health is much higher from the Master-Level Swimmer title, but why am I weaker instead?" asked Yongno.

When Yongno's swimming skill reached Rank 3, he gained the Master-Level Swimmer title; it enhanced his Stamina, Strength, and Regen by 70 points each. Plus, when Yongno was underwater, it reduced his Stamina consumption rate by 40 percent, which vastly improved his stats.

Yongno finally had 110 HP, but he started to face problems when he reached a depth of 200 meters, and after diving for another 100 meters, he was immediately injured and rose to the surface. Thankfully, he survived the rapid change in water pressure, but Yongno felt that it was somewhat unfair.

"Is it because I used Internal Energy while diving? Although I can’t circulate qi, I used it since that’s how Diving functions. Is that the source of my problem?” wondered Yongno.

Mari replied, "It doesn't matter since the qi is automatically used without needing to circulate it."

Yongno looked bewildered and asked, "Then, what's the problem?"

"Why don't you use your brain? What's the difference between diving in the morning and now?"

"Well, I’ve had problems controlling my internal energy since I used a force that I couldn't handle."

Mari replied, "Then what’s the answer?"

Yongno thought for a while. ‘The difference... What's the difference?’ Then, he realized something. “The Golden Pill Immortal Technique.”

"Correct. A Regen stat of 110 points isn't low, but it isn’t enough to stay hundreds of meters underwater while fighting the water pressure. Even if your body as a whole can endure, your eyes and ears are sensitive to pressure,” Mari explained.

"Does that mean the Golden Pill Immortal Technique protects my physical body? Performing the technique didn’t enhance my HP, though."

Having high HP didn’t necessarily correlate to equally high defense. Users could block external pressure by casting a protection spell or using a Self-Defense Technique. They could create an invisible wall, pray to God for protection, or summon divine creatures or fairies to protect them. There were many ways; Yongno simply wasn’t aware of them.

Mari replied, "Including the Golden Pill Immortal Technique, most cultivation methods have as much repulsive force as the users’ internal arts. In particular, a self-defense technique is effective even without circulating your qi, but it isn’t the same for the Golden Pill Immortal Technique unless you reach a higher level of mastery.”

"That means there's a lasting shield while performing the Golden Pill Immortal Technique, right?"

"Shield... Not exactly, but it does make sense. If your internal energy grows, you'll be able to defend against low-skilled attacks without any special protections. For instance, if a person with a low internal cultivation base attacked a master, they would be knocked down instead and would receive internal injuries."

/Your status has been updated: 'Fatal Injury!'/

"Eh? Why can't I move at all when my status is 'Fatal Injury'?" asked Yongno.

When he had the same status before, he could at least flip over and lie on his back. So this situation was incomprehensible, but Mari looked nonchalant.

She replied, "This time, you’ve received physical injuries, so you won't be able to move until your status becomes 'Minor Injury.' This time, however, you can circulate your qi.”

"What? Didn't you say that I needed a two-hour break to use qi?" asked Yongno, thinking that he was unconscious for only a few seconds.

Mari responded, "Oppa, it’s been five hours since you blacked out."

Yongno then performed the Golden Pill Immortal Technique, and his qi started slowly circulating along its route. He felt lighter and invigorated.

"Hmm, but I still can't move. How long does it take me to recover?" asked Yongno.

Mari explained, "Your condition is quite fatal. Thanks to DIO’s system, you aren’t feeling any pain, but you actually have internal bleeding and ruptured intestines. That means you can die. Regardless you’re recovering anyway due to your physical uniqueness- no, maybe it’s from the unique aspects of the game.”

In fact, Yongno needed actual medical treatment. Even a licensed doctor would hesitate to treat his fatal injuries if there was no emergency care and medical appliances ready, but Yongno would survive nonetheless. His body wasn’t strong enough to heal immediately, but if he continued resting, he would fully recover in time. This was the benefit of his many Health points.

Besides, the Golden Pill Immortal Technique could assist a user’s physical recovery, although it wasn’t powerful enough to make him immortal.

Yongno asked, "So, how long will it take to heal anyway?"

"Hmm, since your Regen is only so-so, I guess it’ll take about nineteen hours to recover."

"Ugh, that's too long!" Yongno frowned. This recovery time was much longer than when he couldn’t control his mana.

Mari shrugged. “All you have to do is log out. Outside of the game, it’ll be around three hours. You know that DIO runs six times faster than real life."

"I see. Since I can't move an inch, I must study cultivation techniques."

"Are you even listening to me?"

Mari sent a cold glance at Yongno. ‘Spending too much time playing games can cause health problems!’

Yet, Yongno simply closed his eyes and hummed. He checked his Spiritual Power and found it’d reached 50 points again. Now that he thought of it, there was something he could try despite his dying condition. The moment he started to circulate the qi….

Mari asked, "Hold on. You aren't gonna take out your inner core again, are you?"

"I've done it once, so why not do it twice?” Yongno responded confidently.

Mari sighed, “Geez, I knew you would say that, but why don't you first take a look at the inner core you made earlier?"

"I told you I can't move.”

Mari ignored him and reached into her pocket, then took out a gold marble.

Yongno asked, "Eh? Why do you have it there?"

"I'm the NPC in charge of you, so I can interfere with the system to a certain point. By the way, why don't you check the item description?"

"That’s not necessary for me….”

Yongno moved his gaze to focus on the gold marble in Mari's palm and closed his left eye. One, two, three. The item window appeared.

[Item]

[Gold Core ?? Common]

[This is a product produced by extracting the cultivation accumulated in one's body from the Gold Core Immortal Technique. It contains half a year’s worth of cultivation base. It is of the Gold Attribute.]

He said, "Let's see... It’s called the Gold Core. I see no price here, and... Eh?! It’s worth half a year of cultivation?"

Yongno was astonished, and his mind jolted in surprise.

"Why? There must be ten points of internal energy in there or around five years of cultivation." Yongno stared at Mari with a horrified expression.

Mari shrugged and replied, "That’s how things go in this tough world. Your cultivation base rises faster in the beginning, but it gets slower and faces hurdles as time passes. Did you think you could extract your internal energy and absorb it later?"

"Gosh, but that can't be the reason behind the problem here. I'm not talking about absorbing only two or three years out of five," whined Yongno.

Truthfully, he was correct. It was difficult to entirely absorb someone’s cultivation base, but it wasn’t impossible to release or give it to others.

Mari replied, "In this case, there's a problem in the Golden Pill Immortal Technique. However, you could remove your inner core with that method because of the technique’s characteristics.”

"Characteristics?"

"Yeah. Usually, internal arts collect internal energy by using the Innate Genuine-Qi as its core, whereas the Golden Pill Immortal Technique materializes the cultivation base to create the Gold Core. However, the Gold Core maintains a cultivation base with a different method than other more typical internal energy cultivation techniques."

It was similar to gravitation. All humans were born with a small amount of strong and pure spiritual energy. In martial arts studies, this was called the innate Genuine-Qi. When a martial artist learned the cultivation technique of the innate Genuine-Qi, the external force gravitated towards this inborn energy. That was the acquired Qi.

For instance, if a martial artist had one cycle [1]of internal martial arts and used thirty years of energy, there would be thirty years of acquired Qi remaining. When it came to the innate Genuine-Qi, the martial artist still had one cycle of internal martial arts left.

Consequently, the person could regain the consumed thirty years of acquired Qi while still having one cycle of innate Genuine-Qi. Then, what if the martial artist used thirty years of innate Genuine-Qi? The answer was simple. Theoretically, the person would need to cultivate for thirty years to regain their previous progress.