Return of the Shattered Constellation

‘I was aware of how I’d grown stronger after I was cursed to end up in the Changgwi Cave, but have I really become this strong?’ Chang-Sun thought; he had mixed feelings as he watched Gwak Do-Woon panting loudly with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] in his chest.

He knew quite well how helpful the Changgwi Cave had been to him, as he had constantly absorbed the Changgwis’ energy whenever he killed one. He had also changed their energy into the Biwi attribute by purifying it with the Jigwi’s Eon Fire of the Eight Trigrams Brazier. Thus, that energy had become much more efficient.

However, he had been unable to tell how much he had progressed, as he had been too busy fighting in the Changgwi Cave and his stat points had not changed much even after acquiring the Biwi attribute.

‘Yes, I’m sure I’ve changed.’ Chang-Sun thought with certainty after clashing with Do-Woon.

He had progressed much further than he initially anticipated. Even though he had only begun to fight Do-Woon after Do-Woon was gravely injured during the fight with Woo Yeong-Geun and Seo Jeong-Gwon, and even though he had used his trump card [Double Sword Resonance], Do-Woon should never have been defeated so easily.

‘....I only acquired one of the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan] and haven’t even finished the book, but I still progressed this much?’ Chang-Sun thought, narrowing his eyes. He finally saw why Heoju and Sword Sky Tiger Munseong were hell-bent on obtaining the books.‘This just gives me all the more reason not to let Heoju have these books.’

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ shouts loudly for joy upon seeing your straightforward battle, but adds that she would like to see more explosions in the future. ]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ praises your performance, saying a villain should be executed by any means.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ smiles contentedly as he sees how well you control your ‘Tiger Form’.]

“Kill me…!” Do-Woon shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling and blood foaming from his mouth. He had expected to be killed immediately, but that was not the case; he realized that Chang-Sun was planning to extract information from him.

“It’s not difficult to kill you, but I need something from you,” Chang-Sun said with a shrug.

“You destroyed my children’s lives overnight… Why would I tell you anything…?!” Do-Woon growled, his bloodshot eyes full of hatred for Chang-Sun. For him, every member of the Highoff Clan was very dear to him, including Jeong Yoo-Jin. Many Clan members had volunteered to die on his behalf because they shared an affectionate mentor-student relationship.

Of course, that only made Chang-Sun snort. He retorted, “For all this time, you guys have been selfishly exploiting others, but you talk about loyalty now? Ridiculous.”

The dreadful shine in Chang-Sun’s eyes grew even brighter, and his canines gleamed like a beast’s fangs as he continued, “Anyway, endure if you can. I also want to see the Red Ghost’s limits.”

“…!” At that moment, Do-Woon bitterly regretted being captured by such a monstrous man.

* * *

“Ugh…!” Do-Woon groaned.

The clump of bloody foam surrounding his mouth grew larger and larger. He had coughed up so much blood that it would not be strange for him to die at any minute. The only reason he had been able to survive for so long was his sturdy body, which he had forged through rigorous training; even so, Chang-Sun had maximized Do-Woon’s pain with his exceptional torture technique, not threatening the man’s life.

‘…He’s refusing to talk,’ Chang-Sun thought as he pulled away from Do-Woon, sweating.

He had been confident when he began torturing Do-Woon, but Do-Woon was more determined than he had first thought. He had rarely met such people, not even in Arcadia.

‘He must have some valuable information,’ Chang-Sun thought, briefly considering the option of giving up on torturing Do-Woon. He had snuck out of the punitive force camp, so he had to return and join the White Tiger Clan members; it was unwise to spend any more time here.

‘The curse will activate soon, and I’ll end up at the Changgwi Cave again,’ Chang-Sun thought, analyzing the situation.

Still, he felt uneasy about just giving up on Do-Woon. Although he had obtained a substantial amount of information by eliminating several illusion mages, an assistant Clan leader had to have more valuable information.

‘The illusion mages were also reluctant to reveal information regarding the Phantom Demon,’ Chang-Sun recalled, wondering what to do next.

“Ha… Hahaha! You must be getting anxious now that things aren’t going your way, huh?” Do-Woon said provocatively with a leer, making Chang-Sun frown a little. “I was scared of you because you said you’re going to torture me… but you’re just scratching my itchy spots. You aren’t done, are you?”

“I won’t kill you in a fit of anger just because you provoked me, so don’t get your hopes up,” Chang-Sun replied calmly.

“Ha… Haha…! How can you be such a sly snake when you look so young…?” Do-Woon replied, seemingly not caring that Chang-Sun had seen through his trick. Instead, he only became more curious about Chang-Sun, who continued to remain composed despite the situation.

[The Skill ‘Viper Eyes’ has been activated, scanning the target!]

Regardless, Chang-Sun observed Do-Woon in detail to see whether he had missed anything.

Zing―!

Just then, the pendant hanging around Do-Woon’s neck trembled for the briefest of moments. Chang-Sun did not fail to notice Do-Woon’s eyebrows twitching almost imperceptibly, realizing that something was off about the pendant. Thus, he reached out toward the pendant without hesitation.

“T-That’s…!” Do-Woon exclaimed while squirming, realizing what Chang-Sun was trying to do. However, he could not do much, as all his limbs had been severed.

In the end, Chang-Sun tore the pendant off Do-Woon‘s next. It was in the shape of a cross, something that was absurd for a demonic being to be carrying around, and it resembled any ordinary cross given out to church believers. However, [Viper Eyes] told Chang-Sun that it was definitely not an ordinary cross, as an insidious light emanated from the back of the object. Just then, the pendant trembled faintly once again.

‘This is it,’ Chang-Sun thought, quickly infusing his mana into the cross after realizing how to use it.

Click!

As the demonic energy of the cross mixed with Chang-Sun’s mana, it let out a sound.

“No!” Do-Woon screamed from behind Chang-Sun.

『Assistant Clan leader?』

A woman who sounded as if she were in her mid-40s spoke through the cross. Her tone was so calm that it sounded cold.

‘The Phantom Demon, Jeong Yoo-Jin,’ Chang-Sun thought. The woman was undoubtedly Highoff Clan leader. However, he said nothing in response.

『…You’re not him. Who are you?』

Yoo-Jin asked a question, having realized why she had received no reply; there was a hint of anger in her voice.

『I’ll ask again. Who are you?』

“You want to save Gwak Do-Woon, right?” Chang-Sun suddenly asked. He had no need to answer her question, as he was well aware that he was the one with control of the conversation. Only the one who held power had the right to ask questions.

“Yoo-Jin! No! Just ignore him and turn off the communication…! Urgh!” Do-Woon hurriedly shouted, but Chang-Sun stopped him by lightly putting his foot on Do-Woon’s neck.

『Stop.』

Yoo-Jin tried to interrupt.

However, Chang-Sun replied, “I’ll ask the questions from now on. Answer wisely if you want to save him.”

Yoo-Jin stayed silent as Chang-Sun asked, “You know about the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan], right?”

『Are you the White Tiger Clan’s errand boy? No, someone from the White Tiger Clan would never ask…』

Yoo-Jin trailed off.

“Answer the question. You do know about the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan], right? It seems as if you’d at least know the rough location of the Fifth Cryptical Book, so talk,” Chang-Sun said, firmly believing Yoo-Jin had to know the Fifth Cryptical Book’s secret.

‘Judging from how they tried to acquire [Peter’s Key] and how Executive Director Oh desperately wishes to eliminate them, the Highoff Clan couldn’t have been an ordinary hound of the White Tiger Clan. The Highoff Clan must be far more involved with the White Tiger Clan than that,’ Chang-Sun thought. Even if that were not the case, the Highoff Clan leader would surely have invaluable information. However…

『…Kill him.』

Yoo-Jin suddenly broke the silence, her voice full of stifled anger. Still, she seemed to believe Chang-Sun would not harm Do-Woon, assuming Chang-Sun needed Do-Woon alive in order to dig up valuable information.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ laughs, saying it looks as if you have met a relatively smart enemy.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ pities your enemy for holding a candle up before the sun.]

Jörmungandr broke out into uproarious laughter.

“I will,” Chang-Sun replied concisely.

『W-What…?』

Yoo-Jin quickly cried out when she noticed something was going wrong.

Crack!

However, Chang-Sun had already put his full weight on the foot he had on Do-Woon’s neck. Yoo-Jin vividly heard the sound of Do-Woon’s neck breaking.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ giggles upon seeing the outcome he expected!]

Chang-Sun heard no response, but he could tell that Yoo-Jin was quite shocked. He said, “I did what you asked, so let’s end the conversation.”

『You…!』

Yoo-Jin began, biting her lower lip.

Chang-Sun was able to sense how angry Yoo-Jin was over the cross, but he did not let her finish speaking. He stopped infusing his mana into the pendant, throwing it into his pocket. He thought, ‘Now that I’ve provoked her, she’ll come looking for me even if I can’t find her later.’

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ shakes his tail, understanding your sinister plan.]

Chang-Sun planned to lure Yoo-Jin out to his location if he could not locate her. Of course, she did not know who he was yet, but she would be able to track him down with a few clues. He took his foot off Do-Woon’s neck, thinking, ‘She’ll be pretty shaken up if they share a strong bond.’

Even after his neck was broken, Do-Woon still appeared to be filled with regret, but Chang-Sun merely thought he was incredibly pathetic. The Highoff remnants had been committing sins without caring about civilians’ lives, but now they were yelling about how unfair it was to be persecuted by him.

[The Authority 'Soul Exploitation’ has been activated, successfully acquiring the ashes of the Player ‘Gwak Do-Woon’.]

[12% of your stamina has been regained.]

[5% of your mana has been regained.]

…

Ignoring Do-Woon’s corpse as it dissolved into ashes and spread through the air, Chang-Sun prepared to move in order to meet up with Baek Gyeo-Ul and Woo Hye-Bin.

[The level of the Authority ‘Soul Exploitation’ has increased after acquiring the ashes of a target whose level is much higher than yours!]

‘What?’ Chang-Sun thought, his eyes widening upon seeing the unexpected message.

The Authority’s level had increased; he had thought that would not happen until he reached Level 50, where he would be able to choose his second class.

‘…Oh, I wasn’t aware, but the Authority’s level increased because I constantly absorbed and purified the Changgwis’ ashes,’ Chang-Sun realized.

In any event, Chang-Sun was happy to hear the news that his Authority’s level had increased. Unlike Skills, Authorities’ effects and abilities changed noticeably. On top of that, [Soul Exploitation] had been given to him by Thanatos after he reached Earth.

[The abilities of the Authority ‘Soul Exploitation’ has expanded.]

[Acquired the ability to randomly extract part of a target’s abilities after absorbing their ashes!]

‘I got something pretty good,’ Chang-Sun thought, delighted to find that the abilities of [Soul Exploitation] had expanded further than he expected.

[Examining the absorbed target’s achievements.]

…

[Successfully acquired the Skill ‘Jade-Smashing Fist’ of the Player ‘Gwak Do-Woon’!]

‘[Jade Smashing Fist]?’ Chang-Sun thought, his eyes shining. He had previously heard of it, as it was the Red Ghost Gwak Do-Woon’s signature Skill.

[Jade Smashing Fist]

The Guardian of Player ‘Gwak Do-Woon’ originally gifted this skill to him.

Your arms will become as sturdy as refined iron, and you will be able to instantly crush your target.

· Skill Level: 1

· Type: Passive.

· Effect: Increase Power. Crush Metal.

[Extract the skill?]

‘I needed a skill to use in hand-to-hand combat, so this is good news,’ Chang-Sun thought, smiling faintly.

Having seen Do-Woon block the sharp edge of [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] using his bare fist, Chang-Sun pressed ‘Y’ without any hesitation.

Ding!

Ding!

[Successfully acquired the Skill ‘Jade Smashing Fist’!]