Return of the Shattered Constellation

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ asks if it’s really possible to become a ranker within a month.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ warns you that he will never forgive you if you overdo yourself and get hurt because of your greed. ]

Heoju considered Chang-Sun’s declaration nonsense, but Chang-Sun easily saw that Heoju thought it could be possible.

‘It’s more than just a possibility, considering it’s really easy.’ Chang-Sun sarcastically snorted in his mind.

He knew the weight of the title ‘ranker’ among Players. To become a ranker, the Player had to be at least level 50 and have a second class. They also had to complete a quest that was given by the Guardian.

Failure to complete those three requirements would keep their level stuck at 50 no matter how many achievements they made or experience points they acquired. The other stat points would not change too, ultimately preventing the Player from improving any further.

Those requirements were like big walls to most Players. Although they could somehow reach level 50, most of them failed to meet the other two requirements, causing their levels to freeze. That was why there were very few rankers compared to the total number of Players even though it had been dozens of years since the Gates to Dungeons opened up.

Hence, Heoju’s reaction was reasonable. Chang-Sun had accomplished many great things, but fulfilling the requirements to become a ranker was a totally different story. The difficult process took a year at the minimum and dozens of years at the maximum. However, that didn't apply to Chang-Sun. Since he used to be a star, it was absurd to think it would be difficult for him to become a ranker. He couldn’t let anybody know, though, so he planned to control the pace.

‘I still have work to do before I get my second class anyway,’ Chang-Sun thought.

“Yes,” Chang-Sun confirmed.

“Ha! Hahahaha! I was wondering what the King of the Underworld meant when he told me he was going to show me something interesting before I come here. To think you’d want me to give up my pride as a member of the One-horned Tribe… You’re a lunatic, not an interesting fellow! ” The Fourth Elder said.

Among the Ten Elders, the Fourth Elder’s past was the most unique. He was a member of the One-horned Tribe. Among the many civilizations in numerous universes and planes, the One-horned Tribe members were known to be born with the most outstanding talent for combat. Many rumors existed about them, such as how they were born with divine blood, how they were so belligerent that fighting was their existence’s only purpose, and that they were more belligerent than the legendary giants.

Due to their characteristics, the One-Horned Tribe members had created numerous combat techniques, which they inherited and developed for generations. They called their techniques <Martial Arts>, which was what Chang-Sun wanted to learn from the Fourth Elder. Of course, Chang-Sun wasn’t planning to learn ordinary <Martial Arts>. What he coveted was the ‘Blood Lightning Energy,’ the One-horned Tribe’s legendary martial art that was also known as [Blood Lightning].

“So you won’t teach me?” Chang-Sun asked.

“Of course—” The Fourth Elder was about to yell.

“Don’t you want to see Blood Lightning Energy take down stars one by one?” Chang-Sun asked.

“…!” The Fourth Elder’s eyes widened.

That was how Chang-Sun had learned the method to access the <Secret Dungeon> that housed the skill scroll of [Blood Lightning]. He had to meet some requirements before he entered it, though.

“Don’t enter the Dungeon without making preparations,” the Fourth Elder warned Chang-Sun.

“Why?” Chang-Sun asked.

“Using [Blood Lightning] means directly utilizing the strongest and most intense energy in the world. Reaching a certain level with it allows the user to even go against nature. This technique is the essence of a certain hero’s knowledge. That hero started our tribe’s golden age, which lasted for four generations. Anyway, the tribe leader who continued the golden age completed the technique. If you use the scroll now, it’ll ruin your body.”

“So I have to meet the requirements first.”

“You said you’ve learned from the previous people how to hold the ‘fire’ and create the ‘ice’ that would support it, didn’t you? If so, then you can build the biggest ‘fire’ there is.”

“You want me to make the Eon Fire as big as possible?” Chang-Sun asked.

“That’s right.” The Fourth Elder nodded.

The Fourth Elder had instructed Chang-Sun to upgrade the [Single Eon Fire] to its maximum level before obtaining the [Blood Lightning]. To do that, Chang-Sun and Thanatos put their heads together and chose three Dungeons to clear, the first being ‘Wuthering Stone Desert’, which was located in Nice, France. The second was ‘Doomsday City’ in Chicago, America, and the third was the ‘Den of the Evil Dragon,’ which was near Korea’s west coast.

The ‘Den of the Evil Dragon’ was the nearest to Chang-Sun since it was in Korea, but he decided to clear it last. Because of its notoriously high difficulty level, it had become one of the most famous uncleared Dungeons in Korea. The rookie Player who was known as Korea’s most promising rising star before Chang-Sun showed up was killed in that Dungeon while going through the <Tutorial>. Aside from him, it was also the tomb of many rankers.

Clearing it now would prove difficult even for Chng-Sun, so he decided to upgrade the Jigwi’s Eon Fire as much as he could through the two other Dungeons before even considering taking a step inside that Dungeon. For that reason, Chang-Sun had to leave Korea and visit France and America. Needing to come up with a valid excuse, he declared his intention to become a ranker.

‘Luckily, the [Fifth Cryptical Book of Hsan] happens to be nearby,’ Chang-Sun thought contentedly.

While interrogating Jeong Yoo-Jin, he found out that the [Fifth Cryptical Book of Hsan] was in Southern Germany, which wasn’t too far from France.

“I know it’ll be difficult to become a ranker from scratch, so I plan to acquire the [Fifth Cryptical book of Hsan]. Won’t I easily become a ranker if I obtain power from that book as well?” Chang-Sun explained.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ asks if you’ll be okay with being under two curses.]

‘Why does he bother to pretend as if he’s worried?’ Chang-Sun thought.

Although Heoju was pretending to be worried about Chang-Sun, he knew Heoju would immediately abandon him if he revealed his soft spot. Anyway, Chang-Sun had gotten very used to the Changgwi Cave curse already, so the pioneering process was progressing smoothly. Jin even had five subordinates now.

“The harder the trial, the more I’ll gain,” Chang-Sun said.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ nods, saying he can now understand your plan.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ praises your bravery and wants to bless you with a bonus reward!]

Paah!

A ray of light shone on Chang-Sun.

* * *

After the group dinner to commemorate the team formation, had come to an end, Chang-Sun and Baek Gyeo-Ul headed to Seongsu-dong the next day.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ keeps thinking that the girl yesterday will certainly become a great hunter.]

Meanwhile, Chang-Sun constantly received messages from Pabilsag.

“…?” Chang-Sun tilted his head.

Pabilsag seemed to like Woo Hye-Bin more than Chang-Sun thought, but he wasn’t sure why she was telling Chang-Sun. At first, he thought maybe Pabilsag was trying to make him jealous, but considering Pabilsag’s simple-minded personality, that didn’t seem to be the case. It looked like she became so antsy after she had found a woman of talent that she was sending him the message during the confusion of the moment…

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ is started despite being so antsy, having belatedly realized she has been sending you the messages.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ sweats hard and desperately explains she was not doing this because she does not want you anymore.]

Pabilsag started to sweat hard upon realizing her mistake. The deity who had been watching the whole event wasn’t about to let her mistake slide.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ clicks his tongue and says she is making a cowardly excuse.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ angrily says that is not for the serpent-head, who recruited another subordinate, to say.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ concludes he does not get distracted like someone.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ grabs an arrow, saying she will really make snake stew today. ]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ sneers and says try if she can.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ is so frustrated that she is running amok!]

…

Jörmungandr teased Pabilsag as usual. Whenever he did, Pabilsag would always fail to fight back and would end up becoming so frustrated that she’d go on a rampage.

‘It’s a mess.’ Chang-Sun just ignored them and turned his head elsewhere since their squabble wasn’t news to him.

Belatedly noticing Gye-Ul blushing in excitement, Chang-Sun subconsciously chuckled. “Are you that excited to see weapons?”

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ pricks her ears while scowling at the serpent.]

Feeling embarrassed, Gye-Ul scratched his cheek with his index finger. “Yeah, I’m… curious about how your spear will change.”

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ fervently nods in agreement, saying he’s right.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ snorts in excitement, looking forward to seeing outstanding weapons.]

Before Chang-Sun headed to ‘Yeti Hill,’ Choi Bu-Yong and Choi Hyeong-Gil of the Gold Cloud Trading Company had asked Chang-Sun for different items. Bu-Yong wanted as many good-quality [Cold Iron] as possible, and Hyeong-Gil requested a [Frost Monarch’s Breath]. Chang-Sun made a deal with Hyeong-Gil to trade the [Frost Monarch’s Breath] with the items to upgrade the Jigwis’ egg.

Since hearing the news of ‘Yeti Hill’ being cleared, Hyeong-Gil had already called Chang-Sun several times to meet with him as soon as possible. They decided to meet Hyeong-Gil today in the Choi-Lee Forge to hand over [Frost Monarch’s Breath] and [Cold Iron].

‘There are quite a lot of rare raw materials in the [King’s Treasures], which I received from the Winter King.’ Chang-Sun remembered.

After Chang-Sun completed the Hidden Quest ‘Winter King’s Last Wish,’ he was rewarded with the [King’s Treasures]. When he first inspected it, he was surprised by the number of treasures left behind by the Yeti kings. It surpassed his expectations.

If Chang-Sun sold a part of the treasures, his family would be able to live off the fat of the land for generations. Of course, [Cold Iron] caught his eyes the most. All the [Cold Iron] in [King’s Treasures] were [Thousand-Year Cold Iron] or [Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron]. Chang-Sun planned to upgrade the Nameless Spear and Gyeo-Ul’s spear using those materials.

‘I’ll have to finish making preparations before I head to France,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Squeak!

The taxi arrived at their destination, the Choi-Lee Forge, and Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul got off. Hyeong-Gil, who happened to be walking around the forge, hurriedly ran toward Chang-Sun. “Woah, look who’s here! Aren’t you the famous Tyrant? Hehehe, long time no see, sir.”

Heong-Gil bowed so deep that his head almost touched the ground. Gyeo-Ul looked at him blankly, wondering why he was acting like this. Gye-Ul had met Hyeong-Gil before, and although it didn’t last that long, Hyeong-Gil was somewhat confident back then. However, the Hyeong-Gil now acted as if he was going to grab a star from the sky if Chang-Sun told him to.

From Hyeong-Gil’s perspective, his actions were only normal. [Ice Crystals] couldn’t be acquired even if one wanted to since they were only available in certain places. After ‘Yeti Hill’ was cleared, the [Everlasting Ice Crystals] naturally became an invaluable treasure, so Hyeong-Gil ought to submit to Chang-Sun. If he could get even just one of them, the Gold Cloud Trading Company would grow bigger!

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ says he talks like a sly merchant now, tilting her head as she was not sure why he was talking like that.]

In contrast to Gyeo-Ul and Pabilsag, Chang-Sun didn’t really care. “Where’s Bu-Yong?”

“He’s waiting for you inside, sir! Hehe, what are you doing, boys?! Chang-Sun hyung-nim is here! Hurry up and open the door!” Hyeong-Gil instructed two men who looked like his subordinate.

“Yes, sir!” They said in unison.

Standing in front of the entrance, the two men loudly answered and opened up the door. Hot air rushed over Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul, and they heard the sounds of metal being hammered.

Clang! Clang!

“Bu-Yong hyung is diligently working. After learning you were going to arrive today, he wanted to finish the job as soon as he could.” Hyeong-Gil explained.

Not even checking who visited, Bu-Yong put his entire focus on pounding the metal. Standing beside Bu-Yong, the fire blazed up brightly in the Divine Fire Furnace, and the clear sound of pounding metal echoed in the forge.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ exclaims that she can see him becoming a master craftsman.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ says he has many great craftsmen among his disciples, but they are not as good as that man.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ quietly nods and says she can see how he could become a hero.]

“Hehe! Bu-Yong hyung will need more time to finish his work, so why don’t we close the deal regarding the [Frost Monarch’s Breath]... Hup!” Hyeong-Gil unwittingly held his breath while guiding Chang-Sun to the meeting room that was set up at the back of the forge because Chang-Sun had pulled out two [Everlasting ice Crystals], both of which seemed to be of splendid quality.

Hyeong-Gil’s eyes became glued to the [Everlasting Ice Crystals]. In contrast, Bu-Yong frowned and stopped hammering as he turned his head. The cold air the [Everlasting Ice Crystal] released could lower the temperature of the molten metal and Divine Fire Furnace. Bu-Yong was making metal supports that would secure the [Cold Iron] Chang-Sun would bring, so he couldn’t make any mistakes.

“Hey! What are you doing—!” Bu-Yong was about to yell but abruptly stopped because Chang-Sun threw the [Everlasting Ice Crystals] at Bu-Yong. Amid the confusion, Bu-Yong caught them and became startled. The crystals weren’t cold at all even though they were supposed to be holding immense ice energy. However, Bu-Yong felt a shiver that was colder than the ice energy of [Everlasting Ice Crystal] traveling down his spine. Feeling deja vu, he urgently tried to say something.

“I’m going to upgrade the Nameless Spear and Gyeo-Ul’s spear with those, so build new supports accordingly,” Chang-Sun instructed.

“Hey, you—!” Bu-Yong’s face reddened with fury since Chang-Sun’s instruction basically meant Bu-Yong had to start over after pulling an all-nighter for the past three days, but…

「Lee Chang-Sun has deposited 100,000,000 won into your W Bank account.」

“You’ve been paid, so you have work to do now, don’t you?” Chang-Sun said.

“Argghhhhh! You fucking son of a bitch!!!!” Bu-Yong screamed and pulled on his hair, realizing he had more work to do now.