Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chang-Sun did not simply sit idly while waiting for the Jigwi to return. In the meantime, he conducted an investigation, finding out that the Jigwi usually left its nest to hunt for two to seven days at a time.

However, Chang-Sun could stay in the ‘Black Blood Mountain Range’ for only a hundred days. The problem was that he had a lot of other things to do besides hunting the Jigwi. In order to take care of his long list, he could not waste time. As such, he installed traps all over the nest.

Just like the time he had fought the Plague Spider, the final boss monster of the ‘Forest of Firewielders’, it was impossible for Chang-Sun to kill the Jigwi alone with his current ability. Thus, he had to change the nest’s environment to tip the balance in his favor.

[The level of the Skill ‘Lesser Trap Installation’ has increased.]

[The level of the Skill ‘Lesser Trap Installation’ has increased.]

...

[The Skill ‘Lesser Trap Installation’ has reached its maximum level. A higher-level skill has been created.]

[The Skill ‘Intermediate Trap Installation’ has been created!]

[The level of the Skill ‘Intermediate Trap Installation’ has increased.]

[Installing a giant trap!]

Perhaps because Chang-Sun had decided to install large and small traps all over the nest, designed to work in tandem like a series of cogwheels, his skill level increased more quickly than he had expected. In truth, he had not started installing the traps solely to kill the Jigwi.

‘I hope I can increase my level as much as I can, as well as my Magic stat,’ Chang-Sun hoped, as he had recently hit a wall at Level 29.

[You are currently in the ‘No Guardian’ state. If you have no Guardian, you may have trouble leveling up due to the lack of blessing and protection.]

[The number of deities currently waiting for the Scenario Quest (Choose a Guardian) to start again is 15.]

[Please choose a Guardian.]

A Player with no Guardian would be limited in their ability to acquire new Skills, and would require more experience points to level up, as they lacked a deity’s blessing and protection. Compared to Players who had Guardians, they would require 1.5 times the experience to level up, or perhaps even two or three times more. In order to reach Level 50, the minimum needed to be called a ranker, a Player with no Guardian could sometimes need ten times as much experience as one with a Guardian.

In the end, a Player with no Guardian was bound to have their leveling process stagnate for a long time. That was precisely why Chang-Sun had been unable to level up from 29. There was an immense gap in the amount of experience points needed between the Level 20 range and the Level 30 range.

‘I’ll gain a lot more after passing a difficult trial, though,’ Chang-Sun thought

Experience points, which he needed a lot of, were not solely used to level up. They also gradually accumulated in a Player’s soul layer by layer, creating karma. As that karma filled the Player’s soul, it would begin to improve that soul’s Class. Upon reaching a critical point in that process, the path of ‘Exuviation’ and ‘Transcendence’ would open up, enabling the Player to earn a Divine Class.

Thus, it was important to build up solid karma from the very beginning; otherwise, a Player would never be able to pursue ‘Exuviation’ and ‘Transcendence’ even if they wanted to. Before obtaining the Divine Name ‘Divine Twilight,’ Chang-Sun had been so focused on his physical growth that he ended up lacking in many aspects. This time around, he had no intention of letting that happen again; as such, he had decided never to choose a Guardian.

A Guardian could make leveling up easier for the time being, but in the long term, having one would only sabotage a Player’s chances of cultivating their soul. Besides, there was nothing good about the restrictions imposed by having a Guardian.

Even though Chang-Sun had joined the White Tiger Clan, his intentions remained the same; he had no intention of making Heoju his Guardian. Just as he had done until now, he was planning to leave Heoju hanging. If the opportunity to choose a Guardian came again, he would only use the quest as an opportunity to make that Guardian plummet from Heaven.

‘Fifteen deities want me, huh? I thought some of them would have given up, but it looks as though there are already more of them.’

During his ‘Choose a Guardian’ quest, many Celestials had given up on him when he had chosen no one, but it seemed several deities had begun to watch him again afterward. Apart from Pabilsag, Jörmungandr, Mephistopheles, and Minerva, the four deities who continued to watch him with interest, Heoju and several other deities had started to watch him. Some of them could even be called stans(?).

‘Well, the deities who went away will return soon,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Click!

[A ‘Red-Bearded Hwagwi’ has fallen into your trap!]

‘I got him,’ Chang-Sun thought with a smile.

It seemed one monster had been roaming around the nest. A Red-Bearded Hwagwi, a Jeokyeomgwi’s evolved form, was a monster that caused droughts wherever it passed, dragging its long, fiery beard along the ground.

Kieeeehh!

[The ‘Red-Bearded Hwagwi’ has begun squirming to get out of your trap!]

[An ‘Explosion Rune’ has been activated!]

[The ‘Red-Bearded Hwagwi’ has sustained damage!]

[The ‘Red-Bearded Hwagwi’ has fallen into the ‘Burning’ state.]

[A ‘Piercing Rune’ has been activated!]

[The ‘Red-Bearded Hwagwi’ has sustained damage!]

[The ‘Red-Bearded Hwagwi’ has fallen into the ‘Bleeding’ state.]

...

[Paralysis Toxin has been activated!]

[The ‘Red-Bearded Hwagwi’ has been poisoned by Acid Toxin!]

[The Skill ‘Blood Toxin’ has leveled up!]

The Red-Bearded Hwagwi suffered a similar fate as the Decaying Plague Spider. It fell into a pit, where a dense thicket of embedded bone spears pierced its body; subsequently, several runes carved into the pit walls activated consecutively, dealing a great deal of damage.

The one thing different about the new trap was that the bone spears were smeared with Chang-Sun’s horrifying [Blood Toxin]. No matter how much the Hwagwi tried to resist, it was blinded, paralyzed, and melted all at once, giving it a great deal of trouble.

[You have successfully killed a ‘Red-Bearded Hwagwi’!]

The message Chang-Sun had been waiting for finally appeared, quickly followed by several others.

[A ‘Two-Headed Serpent Monster’ has fallen into your trap!]

[A ‘Fire Dog’ has fallen into your trap!]

[A ‘Homun Bird’[1] has fallen into your trap!]

...

The Jigwi could be called the king of fire-type monsters. As such, its nest would always contain strong fire energy, attracting all manner of fire-type monsters to it. Although that came with the risk of getting eaten by the Jigwi, the benefits of settling near the nest outweighed that risk. As such, Jigwi nests formed their own unique ecosystems.

For the Jigwi, it could just choose the prey it wanted from such an ecosystem, and even if it went away for a long time, the other monsters would keep its nest warm. The Jigwi thus formed a symbiotic relationship with the nearby monsters, just as a crocodile would with crocodile birds.

Chang-Sun’s plan was based on that relationship. He had set down a large quantity of meat laced with Ice Toxin, which fire-type monsters loved to eat. When the monsters gathered around to eat the meat, his traps would activate. Soon afterward, more monsters would be drawn to the traps to eat the previous monsters’ corpses, and the traps would activate again, and so on…

As the whole setup formed a stable system, all Chang-Sun had to do was manage and repair the traps. Not only would he gain a great deal of experience points from killing the unaware monsters, he would also be able to harvest a lot of plants, similar to the Crying Flowers and Laughing Flowers in the monster villages. It was like killing two birds—no, four birds—with one stone, as he could raise the level of his trap skill while killing time.

[Level up!]

Chang-Sun’s smile widened when he finally saw the message he wanted.

“Open the system window.”

[Lee Chang-Sun]

Divine Name: Divine Twilight (Unusable)

Title: Natural Enemy of Serpents

Faction: Underworld

Guardian: ―

Class: Rune Master

Level: 30

Strength: 91 (+55)

Agility: 96 (+45)

Stamina: 80 (+48)

Magic: 75 (+45)

Intelligence: 87 (+60)

Willpower: 85 (+60)

Acquired Skills:

Advanced Dagger Proficiency Lv.4

Lesser Rune Creation Lv.8

Lesser Rune Engraving Lv.9

Viper Eyes Lv.4

Intermediate Trap Installation Lv.2

Blood Toxin Lv.3

Black Mountain King’s First Claw Lv.1

Acquired Effects:

Fire of the Eight Trigrams Brazier Lv.2

Ten Toxin Immunity Lv.1

Unbending Spirit Lv.2

Composed Spirit Lv.2

Acquired Authorities:

Soul Exploitation Lv.1

Execution Sword Lv.1

Special Note: Due to your lack of a Guardian, your leveling speed is too slow relative to the magnitude of your achievements. Please choose a Guardian.

Additional Stat Points: 45

Stroking his chin, Chang-Sun nodded in satisfaction. If he continued the mass slaughter, it seemed he would be able to increase his stats quickly.

Kieeehhh!

Kyaaahhh!

The sound of writhing monsters caught in traps echoed throughout the nest.

『Huh…!』

Song Yoo-Jun let out a faint exclamation, seemingly surprised to witness such a sight.

Boom, boom, boom!

Rumble, rumble―!

[A massacre is taking place!]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ laughs ecstatically, saying the explosions are an incredibly pleasant sight.]

* * *

However, after ten days passed, Chang-Sun had to change his plans.

‘The Jigwi isn’t coming,’ he realized.

At first, Chang-Sun had thought the Jigwi had just left the nest to look for food, as it had left behind several traces that indicated it had just been there a few days prior. He had believed the Jigwi would return after a week at most; however, even after ten days, the Jigwi never returned, even though it would normally be about time for it to check on its nest.

That could only mean one thing.

‘The Jigwi left,’ Chang-Sun thought, clicking his tongue.

He was unsure why the Jigwi had left its nest; perhaps it was because it had run out of food in the nearby region, or it had decided to move its nest on a whim. However, the problem was that Chang-Sun had wasted ten precious days.

‘It wasn’t a total waste, though,’ Chang-Sun thought as he inspected his status window.

[Lee Chang-Sun]

Level: 32

Chang-Sun had leveled up twice. It had been no small task, considering how he had almost annihilated the ecosystem around the nest, but he was very satisfied. However, he could not achieve his goal without the Jigwi, which meant he had to move to find it.

‘Deciding my next move is the problem… Will I just have to follow the river this time too?’ Chang-Sun thought, scratching his head.

The possibility of the Jigwi moving its nest had never occurred to him. A creature of the Jigwi’s size would have very limited options in choosing a nest, which meant they usually never moved. However, that seemed to have happened regardless.

As Chang-Sun could not continue to sit around in the nest, he was just about to move, when…

Pah!

Suddenly, Chang-Sun’s eyes sparkled, and he quickly moved into the bushes. The nest had turned into a barren wasteland due to the many explosions caused by his traps, but he sensed a ‘shadow’ hiding skillfully in the area—one other than Yoo-Jun.

“…Hup!” the shadow exclaimed, seemingly perplexed by the unexpected sight of Chang-Sun heading in their direction.

Clash!

The shadow trembled, just barely stopping [Tiamat's Snaggletooth] from biting deeply into their neck. Chang-Sun and the shadow’s eyes both shone; Chang-Sun was interested to see how the shadow had blocked his attack, and the shadow was taken aback by the strike’s sheer power. The shadow was especially surprised by the way [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] had buried itself into their spear handle, considering how powerful their spear was.

“Unbelievable...! What is that dagger…?” The shadow muttered as they leaned back, revealing their face.

‘Baek Gyeo-Ul?’ Chang-Sun thought, finally recognizing the shadow.

Baek Gyeo-Ul was a man with hideous burns across his face and eyes full of spite. Although his robust build made him look as bulky as an armored warrior, he still looked well-proportioned, as he was over 190 centimeters tall.

Chang-Sun was somewhat surprised to find that the shadow was one of the people he had been keeping an eye on in the Safe Zone. He wondered, ‘Why is he here?’

Had Gyeo-Ul been following Chang-Sun? Come to think of it, there were always several trainees who caused trouble during each training session, avoiding the supervisor and instructors’ surveillance.

Judging from Baek Gyeo-Ul’s aura alone, he seemed to be the sort who would never play dirty…

‘Well, I guess it doesn’t matter,’ Chang-Sun thought as he tightened his grip on [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth.]

No matter what Gyeo-Ul’s reason was, Chang-Sun had no intention to let him leave in one piece. Chang-Sun’s plan involving the Jigwi had to remain a secret to the supervisor and the instructors, as well as to Yoo-Jun, who had been following Chang-Sun the entire time.

Swish, swoosh, swish―!

With [Tiamat's Snaggletooth], Chang-Sun struck quickly, aiming to slit Gyeo-Ul’s throat.

“…!” Gyeo-Ul quickly retreated and swung his spear, thinking he would be in real trouble if he did nothing.

Clash, clash, clash!

Chang-Sun’s [Tiamat's Snaggletooth] and Gyeo-Ul’s spear clashed several times. Although [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] was longer than ordinary daggers, it was still classified as a dagger. In contrast, Gyeo-Ul’s long spear was three meters long, but he swung it with great speed. Additionally, the spear was very heavy, making his attacks strike with great force.

Gyeo-Ul was so talented that most instructors would be unable to win against him in head-to-head combat; his abilities exceeded his official records. Even his level seemed higher, and Chang-Sun assumed he was around level 35 or 36. His movements were particularly extraordinary; they were fierce yet flexible, as if a shadow had come to life. They were a perfect match for his long, heavy spear.

However, there was one problem…

Clash!

It was that Gyeo-Ul was fighting against Chang-Sun.

Chang-Sun deflected the spear by swinging [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] upward, causing it to fly into the air in a spray of red sparks. The spear’s handle was already covered with several large and small scars left by [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], indicating how quick Chang-Sun’s attacks had been.

Swoosh―!

In order to seize the opportunity to attack Gyeo-Ul, Chang-Sun quickly darted in to close the distance. Although Gyeo-Ul looked puzzled, he quickly attempted to strike Chang-Sun’s chest with his left palm.

Pang!

Even though Chang-Sun heard a loud burst of air, indicating that Gyeo-Ul had used the famous ‘palm blast’ technique, he continued to charge forward. He skillfully turned his body sideways at the most critical moment, dodging the attack. At the same time, he drew the [Yuchang Sword] from his back pocket with his left hand, holding it in a reverse grip and quickly pushing it against Gyeo-Ul’s neck.

“…!” Gyeo-Ul froze, unable to move.

The blade of the [Yuchang Sword] pressed against Gyeo-Ul’s neck, leaving an indent on his skin. As Chang-Sun had not sharpened the blade, it was dull, leaving Gyeo-Ul unhurt. However, a man with Chang-Sun’s talent could easily sever someone’s head even with such a sword. As Gyeo-Ul was well aware of that, he could not even think of fighting back.

The tall Gyeo-Ul looked down, making eye contact with Chang-Sun, who was a head shorter than him.

“You…” Chang-Sun began, looking back at Gyeo-Ul with a sharp gaze. He asked, “How in the world can you use [Shadow Secret Technique]?”

[Shadow Secret Technique] was the signature Skill of one of Chang-Sun’s old colleagues.

1. A giant bird that appeared in the texts Cheongjanggwanjeonseo (청장관전서) and Yangyeopgi (양엽기). ☜

Namu's Thoughts

Note:

Fire elemental energy has been changed to fire energy