novelraw Chapter 195 : Rapid Growth - (2)
Chapter 195 : Rapid Growth - (2)
Chapter 195: Rapid Growth - (2)
Even the Constellations weren’t foolish enough to want a permanent binding relationship with Sanghyun.
They didn’t get forcibly entangled like the ‘Arrogant Empress of the West’.
Nor did they enter into formal contracts like the ‘Goddess of Luck’ or the ‘God of Storms’.
To put it simply, the term “passionate sponsor” would be most appropriate.
They weren’t crossing their arms and observing from afar, but they also weren’t clinging closely either.
It was a position where they felt emotionally connected yet could leave at any time.
Sanghyun didn’t care much either way.
The unexpected presence of a Constellation by his side was, in any form, a good indicator.
Now that the Constellations — the True Martyr and the Master of Propaganda — had joined him, Sanghyun gained two constant buffs.
This, too, was a privilege granted by the fervent support of a Constellation. It was also a reward taken after killing Park Jungmin.
◎ Prayer of Healing
◎ The Constellation ‘True Martyr’ continuously offers spiritual prayers to aid your recovery.
Stamina and mana recovery speed increases by tenfold.
‘That’s insane.’
At this point, calling it insane wouldn’t even be an exaggeration.
Even if stamina recovery wasn’t surprising, the fact that mana recovery was ten times faster!
It was like attaching a continuous refueling device to a running car. His mana simply wouldn’t run out.
On top of that, didn’t Sanghyun also have the unique effect of the Nameless Sword — the Everflowing Spring?
‘Park Jungmin had also consumed the True Martyr Constellation, which is why he could keep me bound semi-permanently.’
Only then did the secret behind the constant control maintained until Park Jungmin was defeated become clear.
He had always wondered how such a cheat-like ability could persist for so long.
Rapid growth.
The phrase suddenly popped into Sanghyun’s mind.
His growth so far had definitely been at a lightning pace, but now there were signs of true rapid growth.
Thanks to acquiring the Control skill, the diversity in combat was now incomparably greater than before.
Sanghyun also examined the effect gained from the Master of Propaganda.
◎ Fanatical Devotion
◎ The Constellation ‘Master of Propaganda’ draws 0.1% of divine power support from Constellations who favor you.
The Constellations and Divine Seats under contract with you experience a 10% increase in divine power, and you receive an additional 1% effect.
In that moment—
Though it didn’t reflect on his stats, a stream of stat boosts began stacking up like bonuses.
There were at least fifteen Constellations showing interest and favor toward Sanghyun.
Even if only a sliver of their divine power reached him, it raised his overall stats by more than 20%.
‘Maybe I should start hunting down Constellation Devourers. There must be plenty worse than Park Jungmin.’
That thought suddenly came to him.
Rather than slaying dozens or hundreds of boss monsters—
Wouldn’t it be better to relentlessly track and eliminate those who devoured Constellations?
“I’ll have to see this through to the very end.”
Sanghyun licked his lips.
Since he had entered the rift anyway, he had no choice but to finish it.
If he half-heartedly cleared the inside, civilians outside the rift could suffer severe damage.
It was something he had already realized while fighting Marlos.
If even one creature like Marlos escaped the rift, a massacre was guaranteed.
Marlos wasn’t the kind of monster to make one tilt their head in confusion — he was far worse.
The Great Osaka Rift where tens of thousands died in his past life wouldn’t even compare to what would happen.
Right at that moment—
Boom!
A loud explosion sounded from not far away.
When he turned his head, fragments that looked like what had been a person were scattering in all directions.
It was the body of a player who had been killed by a monster — or rather, what was left of the burst flesh.
“For someone, this will be the end.”
Sanghyun turned his head with a cynical expression.
In this unpredictable world, the line between life and death was razor-thin.
A moment’s carelessness, arrogance—
Or trembling too much in fear, and the afterlife would be right in front of you.
“I’ll have to stay sharp.”
Sanghyun steeled his slightly loosened heart after the deaths of Park Jungmin and Marlos, then began to run.
He didn’t know much about this rift either, so he had to act with utmost caution.
Of course, hesitation was not an option.
“The situation…”
“Is really bad.”
The expressions of the Player Union staff who arrived on site were grim.
Lee Sehwa and Kim Mincheol, who had rushed over urgently, couldn’t help but frown at the corpses piled up at the rift’s entrance.
“Guh…”
Thud!
One player, who appeared to have resisted until the very end, saw Lee Sehwa and collapsed with a groan.
Kim Mincheol ran over with a high-capacity healing potion, but the man had already taken his last breath.
“This isn’t a wound that could’ve been made by a sword or some sharp weapon.”
Kim Mincheol laid down the dead player.
Then, a wound about the thickness of a tire tread, deeply carved in, was clearly revealed.
It was certain that the one who caused his death was a monster. But for a monster to have such thick claws?
“How many players entered?”
“Twenty-five total were identified near the entrance.”
“Check how many are dead.”
Lee Sehwa’s expression darkened.
No matter what, the loss of players meant a loss of national strength.
Even if they weren’t affiliated with the Association, they could be needed at any time.
Just like now.
When a rift occurs, the only ones who can buy time before the Association intervenes are the players in the area.
Kim Mincheol dashed around the entrance at high speed, quickly surveying for casualties.
There wasn’t a single monster in sight that appeared to be the cause of this disaster.
He thought perhaps the monsters had been killed by players — but there wasn’t a single corpse.
In other words, after massacring the players, the monster simply left. This was the scene of a one-sided defeat.
“…No way.”
While Kim Mincheol was busily checking the surroundings, Lee Sehwa carefully went over the list of entrants again.
As expected, the name that stood out was Sanghyun.
According to staff, he was the first to enter the rift.
Lee Sehwa worried that Sanghyun might have died amidst all this chaos.
‘He’s become someone too far to reach, but losing such talent would still be a huge waste.’
She had also seen Sanghyun’s death match with Ma Dongho. And she had felt it then.
That the Sanghyun who had joined her during the Gaeseong subjugation was now just a fragment of the past.
Right then—
Kim Mincheol, having completed his search, spoke to Lee Sehwa.
“Twenty-three.”
“The dead?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The number Kim Mincheol gave meant that only two of the twenty-five had survived.
There were only two survivors.
“Who are they?”
“Shin Sanghyun and Park Jungmin are unaccounted for.”
“Which means, at least within a 500-meter radius of the entrance, they haven’t died—or are still alive inside.”
“Right.”
Lee Sehwa nodded.
It was as expected.
A player like Sanghyun dying here would be a waste. No—more like, it simply didn’t make sense.
“The second wave will enter soon, right?”
“They can handle stabilizing the entrance.”
“Let’s go, Mincheol. We need to find the two survivors. Or at least assist them.”
“You think they’re still alive?”
“Is that what you’re hoping for?”
“That’s not it, but… this rift is bigger than I expected. The dimensional energy feels abnormal, too.”
“Even so, we’ve always overcome and survived. It’ll be the same this time.”
As Lee Sehwa picked up her pace, the grumbling Kim Mincheol ended up following right behind her.
The atmosphere inside the rift certainly felt unusual.
Everything about the environment was alien, like nothing they had seen before.
It didn’t feel like a space connected to players as a trial or test—it truly felt like another world.
There was no logical explanation, but the sensation was undeniable.
At that moment—
“No way.”
Two things came into Lee Sehwa’s view at once.
One was the corpse of Marlos, his tongue hanging out, clearly dead. The other was the body of Park Jungmin.
On the dead Park Jungmin, clear wounds from his clash with Marlos were visible.
There was no need to analyze the cause of death.
“It’s clear this guy was killed by Shin Sanghyun. There’s a definite stab wound to the back of the neck.”
“Well, Park Jungmin was a mage-class player. Though, he was more famous as a journalist.”
“So it’s really Shin Sanghyun. He’s the sole survivor.”
Lee Sehwa looked around diligently, trying to locate Sanghyun’s whereabouts.
Though Park Jungmin was a fairly well-known journalist, the two of them didn’t dwell on his death.
Such things were too common in dungeons, gates, and rifts.
Loss could occur at any time—and if you carried every one of them with you, it would be unbearable.
Forcing oneself to turn away and ignore it.
That was an emotional defense the Player Union agents were trained for. To never let it show.
“To think he took down something with a hide this thick… and even nailed it from behind like this.”
Kim Mincheol examined the trace of a finishing blow left by Sanghyun and was stunned.
The stab wound on the back of Marlos’ neck had gone in nearly a hand’s width deep.
While Kim Mincheol wasn’t as strong as Lee Sehwa in combat, he excelled at analyzing monsters and their traits.
So even without having seen Marlos before, he could quickly infer things from the monster’s skin and tissue.
“What’s your calculation?”
“To deliver a wound this deep reliably, even factoring in Artifact support… it would require strength at level 500 or more.”
“Sanghyun shouldn’t be that high-level though, right?”
“Exactly. Which means the power that brought down Ma Dongho wasn’t brute strength—it was truly his own.”
Just then—
Kim Mincheol turned his eyes away from the dead Marlos and began scanning further ahead.
His eyes stopped.
His mouth opened.
Sensing the definite change in his demeanor, Lee Sehwa naturally followed his gaze.
And then—
“…A massacre?”
They could see it clearly.
To the north.
Scattered corpses littered the area deeper into the rift.
Of course, they weren’t players — they were monster corpses.
Each one had a part of their body horrifically slashed or torn away, painful even to look at.
“The other players who entered earlier were at least level 200, all highly capable.”
“Exactly. But this… this is another level. No, this is…”
The severed head of a monster that looked similar to Marlos was lying not far away.
Its mouth was wide open, as if it had died without even realizing it had been killed.
Lee Sehwa and Kim Mincheol, who had started out intending to assist Sanghyun, now felt something was different.
They began to wonder if Sanghyun even needed their help.
Sanghyun had already been clearing the path ahead as if paving a clean road for them to follow.