Return of the Shattered Constellation

Paaah―!

‘I have to alert Executive Director Oh about this…!’ Song Yoo-Jun thought as he ran frantically down the steep mountain.

The only thing on his mind was that he needed to escape the Dungeon by any means necessary and report all the incidents he had witnessed to Executive Director Oh. Chang-Sun had hunted two Jigwis and killed three demonic Players from the Highoff Clan, as well as the White Tiger Clan instructors, which suggested he had an ulterior motive.

Of course, the instructors had attempted to kill Chang-Sun first, so he could claim self-defense. However, if that were the case, he should have at least seemed surprised. Instead, he had exploited the instructors’ ambush as if he had been anticipating it all along, uncovered the secret that tied the White Tiger Clan and the Highoff Clan together, and even learned of the research facility’s existence. Yoo-Jun was certain that Chang-Sun had some secret designs in mind.

Although Chang-Sun had pretended he would become Executive Director Oh’s loyal dog, he clearly had a totally different plan in mind. Whether or not it was motivated by ambition, Chang-Sun’s plan would definitely involve stabbing Executive Director Oh in the back. Thus, Yoo-Jun had to get rid of him for Executive Director Oh’s sake. That was the conclusion Yoo-Jun eventually reached.

People in the present day usually thought rationally, so the phrase ‘deathsworn soldier[1]’ was just an archaic term seen only in old history books. However, that did not apply to Yoo-Jun, as Executive Director Oh had given him a name and a family. Some could point fingers and call Executive Director Oh a villain, but not Yoo-Jun. Executive Director Oh would be his master until the day he died.

Even though his loyalty was the result of brainwashing and hypnosis using the [Dream Sphere], he nonetheless had an obligation to alert Executive Director Oh as his master’s shadow. Luckily, it seemed Chang-Sun did not have sharp enough senses to see through Yoo-Jun’s concealment skill. Seeing as Chang-Sun was busy treating a guy called Baek Gyeo-Ul or something, he had to get out now…!

Slip—!

Yoo-Jun’s thoughts were interrupted when he felt a sudden pain in his knee. He fell forward, bleeding profusely as he yelled in pain, “Arrgh!”

Space distorted and Yoo-Jun, who had sustained a deep injury in one leg, reappeared. Because he had been running quickly, he slid a great distance across the ground. His clothes quickly became ragged, and the blood from his wounds trailed across the ground.

A ‘shadow’ fell onto Yoo-Jun’s head. Like a kite suddenly swooping down to snatch away its prey, Chang-Sun dove straight down, spreading his fiery wings.

Boom!

“Urgh!” Yoo-Jun groaned.

Yoo-Jun instinctively reached for his waist, but Chang-Sun was faster, driving [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] into the right side of his chest. The blade entered so deeply that its tip pierced through the other side of Yoo-Jun’s torso and dug into the ground. Revealing a pair of gleaming canines, Chang-Sun smiled coldly as he looked at Yoo-Jun, who squirmed like a bug at his feet.

“Glad to see you again,” Chang-Sun said nonchalantly.

“What…? What are you going to do with me…?!” Yoo-Jun asked, forcing himself to shoot Chang-Sun a glare despite his trembling. Although he wanted to escape from Chang-Sun at all costs, it seemed that he had been poisoned. Considering the fact that he was at a higher level than Chang-Sun, it should have been impossible for him to be subdued so easily, but that was how things were.

Unless Chang-Sun’s opponent was a high ranker, a gap in levels would mean almost nothing to him, seeing as he had gotten stronger after eating two Jigwis and becoming one himself. Thus, Yoo-Jun could not understand why Chang-Sun had not killed him, even though Chang-Sun could have easily severed his head if he wanted to.

“I was going to kill you right away, but I changed my mind because I don’t want Executive Director Oh to suspect me,” Chang-Sun said as if he had read Yoo-Jun’s mind.

“What…?!” Yoo-Jun yelled in shock.

“Why would I use another method when I have the best method?” Chang-Sun remarked as he pulled out something from his inventory, making Yoo-Jun’s eyes widen.

When Chang-Sun held up the opaque marble, the [Dream Sphere], Yoo-Jun realized what he was planning to do. [Dream Spheres] were made from the Seocheon Flower Garden’s wildflowers, which made them good for erasing personality traits within the Saha World. Chang-Sun was planning to place Yoo-Jun under new brainwashing.

“No—no…! Urgh!” Yoo-Jun resisted, afraid of losing his ego if he ate the sphere. However, it was too late. Chang-Sun had already grabbed Yoo-Jun’s jaw with his left hand, forcing the [Dream Sphere] into his mouth.

“I guess I don’t need to make you swallow it,” Chang-Sun remarked.

As soon as the [Dream Sphere] entered Yoo-Jun’s mouth, it melted and flowed down his throat. He convulsed violently as if he were suffering from a seizure, but he eventually stopped. His eyes had lost focus, which meant his sense of self had been ‘paused’.

[The Player ‘Yoo-Jun’ has swallowed a Dream Sphere!]

[The Player’s reasoning has been frozen.]

[The Player’s ego has been paused.]

[The Player ‘Yoo-Jun’ has entered the ‘Hypnotized’ state.]

Executive Director Oh called such a person a ‘Soulless Shell,’ a person who had lost their soul; there seemed to be no better term to describe such a person.

“Stand up,” Chang-Sun ordered curtly as he stepped away from Yoo-Jun, in order to see whether the sphere worked according to Bae Woo-Gyeong’s explanation.

Yoo-Jun stood up, following Chang-Sun’s order like a machine. Despite the fact that he was bleeding profusely from his chest, it seemed as if he felt no pain. Even Chang-Sun’s Paralysis Toxin seemed to have no effect.

After the first order, Chang-Sun gave Yoo-Jun several instructions such as ‘Sit’, ‘Roll’, and ‘Bark’, and Yoo-Jun carried out each one without any hesitation. Chang-Sun did not get the impression that Yoo-Jun was pretending.

However, what was the limit when it came to giving him orders? There was a chance that Yoo-Jun’s subconscious was still intact.

“Kill yourself,” Chang-Sun ordered.

Yoo-Jun immediately drew his sword from his waist and swung it toward his own neck.

Clash!

Chang-Sun quickly stopped Yoo-Jun’s sword using [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] and said, “Stop.”

Before receiving the command, Yoo-Jun had been about to shift to a reverse grip even as he staggered from Chang-Sun’s blow, but he stopped as soon as he heard the instruction.

Chang-Sun gaped slightly as he watched Yoo-Jun, remarking, “The White Tiger Clan certainly made something ridiculous.”

It seemed Bae Woo-Gyeong’s explanation about how the scroll had been used to borrow the power of the <Forgotten Stars> had not been nonsensical or exaggerated. Chang-Sun felt that he had to be very wary of the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan].

‘If the weakest among the three scrolls contains this kind of ability, what kinds of abilities do the other scrolls have?’ Chang-Sun wondered, suddenly understanding why the White Tiger Clan had been so eager to find [Peter’s Key].

Before Yoo-Jun could bleed out too much, Chang-Sun swiftly stopped the bleeding and calmly gave Yoo-Jun several instructions.

* * *

“You understand everything, right?” Chang-Sun asked.

Yoo-Jun nodded and replied, “Yes, I understand.”

Chang-Sun had given Yoo-Jun very simple orders.

―When you report about me, say there is no problem. Act as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.

In short, Yoo-Jun’s ego could ‘resume’ again, but from now on, he had to be absolutely loyal to Chang-Sun, not Executive Director Oh. However, adjusting the brainwashing and hypnosis Executive Director Oh had placed on Yoo-Jun was not easy, as the imprint was especially strong; thus, Chang-Sun had needed to put in a lot of effort to change it. Still, he had some experience doing so from his time as a fiend. Thus, after several attempts, he was able to make Yoo-Jun his puppet in the end.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ says you are such a snake, chuckling at your sly plan.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ watches your ambition with interest.]

Clap!

As Chang-Sun clapped lightly, Yoo-Jun’s hazy eyes regained focus, and he immediately got down on one knee.

“You can go,” Chang-Sun said, waving his hand.

“Thank you,” Yoo-Jun replied before using his concealment skill again.

Swoosh―

It was amazing to see how Yoo-Jun seemingly disappeared into empty air, even though he was right in front of Chang-Sun.

‘This will be more useful than I thought,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. He commanded, “Wait.”

Instantly deactivating his concealment skill, Yoo-Jun kneeled again, asking, “Do you have any more instructions?”

“Can I also learn your movement skill?” Chang-Sun asked.

His original plan had been to acquire Sagittarius’ movement skill, [Avatar’s Descent], in the Fierce Tiger Library. However, as he did not know when he would be able to visit the library again, he had to find a temporary substitute.

To seize opportunities in combat, it was necessary to move quickly. Chang-Sun had become substantially faster after acquiring [Jigwi’s Phantom Body], which meant he could not be content with his regular inefficient movements.

Luckily, most of the White Tiger Clan’s skills came from the Three Basic Skills. Chang-Sun had already learned [Tiger Prowl], so it seemed he could mimic Yoo-Jun’s movement skill to some level. The skill was very useful; it enabled Yoo-Jun to move as quickly as if he had used a lightness skill. He had often used it to hide and shadow, which was perfect for Chang-Sun since he had to sneak into the research facility.

‘It’ll come in handy for Gyeo-Ul too,’ Chang-Sun thought.

No, more than that, it would be a perfect match for Gyeo-Ul because it was similar to his [Shadow Steps], just as Chang-Sun expected…

“It’s called [Windstalking Tiger]. As it was derived from [Tiger Prowl], you’ll no doubt be able to use it. You can use this wind-type skill as a lightness skill, a concealment skill, and a stealth skill,” Yoo-Jun explained.

Seeing as his expectations had turned out to be correct. Chang-Sun nodded and said, “Good, then teach me.”

“But it’ll take a considerable amount of time for you to learn because there’s no skill book…” Yoo-Jun trailed off.

“I’ll take care of it on my own,” Chang-Sun said, gesturing at Yoo-Jun to begin.

Although he was unsure what Chang-Sun was planning, Yoo-Jun showed him the basic movements of [Windstalking Tiger] on the spot without asking any further questions. Just as he described, Yoo-Jun moved very naturally as if he were riding on the wind, even though he still gave off the heavy pressure of [Tiger Prowl].

“Again,” Chang-Sun commanded, making Yoo-Jun repeat his movements multiple times.

Chang-Sun simply watched Yoo-Jun without attempting to mimic him. However, after Yoo-Jun went through the motions about four times.

Whoosh―!

Chang-Sun suddenly adjusted his posture and took half a step forward with his right foot. Wind began to gather with him at its center. Yoo-Jun could tell Chang-Sun was not using [Tiger Kill], because unlike [Tiger Kill], which released refined energy outward, the nearby energy was being pulled toward Chang-Sun in the center. When he realized what was happening, Yoo-Jun’s eyes widened in shock.

“H-How on earth…?” Yoo-Jun exclaimed, gaping in disbelief.

Paah!

When Chang-Sun put his left foot forward, his body dissolved into gusts of wind.

Ding!

[You have comprehended a new concept based on your understanding of ‘Tiger Prowl’!]

[The Skill ‘Windstalking Tiger’ has been created.]

[Windstalking Tiger]

The basic movement skill of ‘Calamity Tiger’, derived from ‘Tiger Prowl.’

Like a flying tiger that moves on the wind, you can travel bravely and swiftly.

“The wind follows the flying tiger.”

· Skill Level: 1

· Type: Active.

· Effect: Lightness Skill. Skill Synchronicity.

Yoo-Jun doubted his eyes. How long had he struggled to learn the Skill in order to become Executive Director Oh’s shadow? It had taken him at least several years. However, Chang-Sun was already using it perfectly even though he had only seen Yoo-Jun using it three or four times. Ever since seeing him in the Fierce Tiger Library, Yoo-Jun had felt that Chang-Sun truly seemed like a person from another world.

Whish!

“So it’s like this,” Chang-Sun muttered to himself.

The wind coalesced again, reforming into Chang-Sun, who laughed in satisfaction. Just as he expected, [Windstalking Tiger] would be useful until he acquired [Avatar’s Descent].

“I really respect you,” Yoo-Jun said with sparkling eyes.

“You’re saying that again… Forget it, just go,” Chang-Sun commanded.

“…Yes, sir!” Yoo-Jun replied as he disappeared into the air again, looking at Chang-Sun with an inexplicable look of admiration.

Even after Yoo-Jun left, Chang-Sun practiced [Windstalking Tiger] several times.

[You have learned Skill 'Lightness'.]

…

[Skill Level increased!]

[Skill Level increased!]

…

[You have learned Skill 'Concealment'.]

[You have learned Skill 'Stealth'.]

…

When he familiarized himself somewhat with the skill…

Paah!

…Chang-Sun gathered as much as he could and released it all at once, launching himself explosively in the direction the two Jigwis had come from.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ laughs, seemingly dumbfounded.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ rummages through her stuff, to see if there is anything that can help you, one who displays excellent movements as a hunter.]

1. The original text used ‘jujong’ (주종), which literally refers to a master-servant relationship; the ‘archaic’ connotations mostly appear in fiction. Considering Yoo-Jun’s brainwashed, absolute loyalty, the concept of deathsworn from xianxia is the closest term to communicate the cultural nuances. ☜