novelraw Chapter 237 : Life-or-Death Struggle (4)
Chapter 237 : Life-or-Death Struggle (4)
Chapter 237: Life-or-Death Struggle (4)
‘I should seriously consider awakening. I’ll lose a portion of my lifespan, but still.’
Thanks to the contract with the Constellation of the Calamity Eye, Luca could utilize a two-stage “Awakening.”
By offering up his lifespan as a sacrifice, he could transform into a form one or even two stages stronger than his current self.
Each of the two stages was referred to as Awakening and Great Awakening respectively.
Despite the potential to become a being of explosive power, there was one reason why he didn’t often use awakening.
The duration wasn’t very long, and it came at the heavy price of losing his precious lifespan.
So for Luca, Awakening and Great Awakening were means reserved only for moments of life-or-death crisis.
If he used it recklessly just because things seemed a bit dangerous, he wouldn’t die in battle—but from lifespan depletion.
It wasn’t something he would use under normal circumstances.
But depending on how his fight with Sanghyun went, he thought it could be a worthwhile card to play.
After all, Luca was a Predator. If he killed Sanghyun, he could devour all of his Constellations.
Judging from the abilities Sanghyun had just shown, it was clear he had made contracts with high-level Constellations.
Moreover, the Constellation of the God of Storms was currently contracted with Sanghyun, and he could steal that too.
In that case, losing a bit of lifespan through Awakening or Great Awakening was a profitable trade.
The reason Luca felt secure even while being amazed at Sanghyun’s skills was precisely because of Awakening.
If push came to shove, all he had to do was activate his Awakening—so he thought.
Just then—
Swoosh.
As Sanghyun took a stance that seemed to activate Rising Air Current, Luca smirked and shielded himself.
He had missed crucial chances to counterattack earlier due to being distracted by that very skill.
But now, he had no intention of making the same mistake again.
He wasn’t foolish enough to fall for the same routine twice. He was confident he was wiser than anyone.
However, just then—
Boom!
“Guhh!”
Luca was caught in a completely unexpected change and let out a harsh gasp, his body doubling over.
It was Sanghyun’s Descending Air Current.
The preparatory movements were the same, but the result was a completely different skill that struck hard.
Bang! Crash!
“Gak!”
It felt like being crushed by a massive boulder from above—there was no way to withstand it with just his body.
Luca let out a metallic groan as he barely managed to lift his body, which had almost collapsed to its knees.
Psssh!
At the same time, he activated acceleration magic to the fullest, trying to distance himself from his original position.
Based on Sanghyun’s attack patterns so far, even a slight opening would be enough for him to rush in.
Unless he had already raised a shield or dodged in advance, Sanghyun would mercilessly target any gap.
The learned fear and pressure were real, and Luca no longer let his guard down.
‘How can anyone call that bastard a swordsman player? He’s just some hybrid wielding a sword.
The more I think of him as a swordsman, the more I get dragged into his rhythm.’
Luca wiped the cold sweat trickling down his forehead without realizing it as he thought.
Thinking back to his first encounter with Sanghyun was honestly embarrassing and a blow to his pride.
Even so, he believed facing reality was the right thing to do. Only then could he win.
[Kill him no matter what. If he lives, he’ll continue to be a thorn in our side. Kill him at all costs.]
Even the Calamity Eye, who had been watching all along, emphasized again after recognizing Sanghyun’s threat.
Maybe that was why.
Until now, Luca had chosen safe tactics over taking risks—but his mindset began to change.
Sanghyun had been attacking boldly all along, like a man with nothing to lose.
That led to many openings, but his momentum was so fierce that Luca couldn’t capitalize on them.
In that case—
What if he reversed the roles and attacked aggressively? Would Sanghyun show signs of panic? Maybe he’d actually be caught off guard.
Attack was the best defense.
Luca twisted the direction of his thinking by 180 degrees and used a teleportation-type skill.
It was similar to Blink in nature, though much more stable than Blink.
Flash!
Luca reappeared right in front of Sanghyun’s nose. Just casting a skill there would be enough to engulf him in its power.
But there was a problem.
『Gale Burst』
The moment Luca vanished from sight, Sanghyun had already anticipated his move and reacted.
Now in an Over Psychedelic berserk state, Sanghyun’s senses were sharper than ever before.
So even the faint distortion of Luca’s form was enough for him to sense his approach.
That moment didn’t pass quickly—it felt like it moved in slow motion.
So he had enough ‘relative’ time to assess and respond properly.
Crack-a-boom!
“Damn it!”
Before he could even launch an attack, Luca was swept up in Sanghyun’s Gale Burst and hastily raised a shield.
By sheer luck, he managed to avoid being reduced to a wreck by the storm.
The problem was that he was caught in the knockback of the Gale Burst while still holding his shield, and got sent flying backward.
It was a force of nature.
Getting hurled far away from Sanghyun like a thrown sack of luggage was nothing short of humiliating.
His already stifled chest felt like it was being clogged tighter and tighter.
Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since the battle began, Luca still hadn’t figured out all of Sanghyun’s skills.
He had only recognized the skills Sanghyun had already shown—he had no knowledge of the ones that remained hidden.
Most players didn’t have that many skills, so after exchanging blows a few times, it was usually easy to calculate their capabilities.
But Sanghyun was like a general store of skills, constantly pouring out new ones, making it impossible to gauge his true strength.
That uncertainty, whether conscious or subconscious, kept Luca hesitant and cautious.
Just now was another case.
He had been certain that if he closed the distance with a surprise attack, he could land a meaningful blow.
But didn’t Sanghyun immediately unleash that Gale Burst skill? It was a knockback-type skill Luca hadn’t predicted.
‘F**ked up.’
Crude, but the most fitting phrase to express his current mood. That was exactly how Luca felt right now.
Should he stop thinking and just use Awakening?
Did he really have to sacrifice his precious lifespan to face this bastard?
His mind became more tangled.
Meanwhile.
The Goddess of Luck, having returned to the Dimensional Realm, was able to meet the God of Storms right away.
The God of Storms had already been waiting for her for some time.
It was just that she hadn’t been able to see him because she had been away in possession of a human for her “incarnation.”
According to him—
At first, he hadn’t known there was any problem in the Dimensional Realm.
Understandable, since the Constellation known as the Late Bloomer Model Student was located on the outskirts of the realm, making it difficult to relay any information.
And the Goddess of Luck, who had been possessing a human body, couldn’t make contact with any Constellations other than the Model Student.
So it wasn’t neglect or inaction that led the God of Storms to be unaware of the dire situation in the Dimensional Realm.
It was only natural that he didn’t know.
That’s why the Goddess of Luck sought him out—to explain the situation and ask for help.
As expected of a Constellation—
Seeing Sanghyun suddenly, out of nowhere, fighting Luca made him sense that something was seriously off.
To understand why, he tried to find the Constellation closest to Sanghyun—her. But she had vanished.
From that moment, he began to sense that events were spiraling out of control in some unknown place.
So he waited for her return, and now that she was back, they were finally able to talk.
Considering the vastness of the Dimensional Realm, the God of Storms had saved a great deal of time.
She explained everything.
There was no need to complicate things.
The situation the Model Student Constellation was in.
The current state of the board that had been set.
Facts unknown to the Constellations and forces behind the scenes who had manipulated everything from the shadows.
Once laid out in sequence, the sharp-minded God of Storms immediately grasped the essence of the situation.
He spoke.
“We must proceed as cautiously as possible.”
“Yes, my lord. I think so too. If we let emotions get the better of us, it’ll be a disaster for everyone.”
“There are just as many evil-aligned Constellations in the Dimensional Realm as there are good ones.
If we target the Calamity Eye without clear reason, the evil-aligned Constellations could revolt.
It’s too easy for them to misinterpret this as an attempt to weaken their faction’s power.”
“That’s true.”
“If blood is spilled, the problem won’t be solved.
The balance between good and evil will collapse, and many Constellations and even Constellation Seats may fall.”
“In that case, the alternative is…”
“What if we make the servant who’s contracted with the Calamity Eye expose his master’s secrets with his own mouth?”
“Are you thinking of showing that scene to the entire Dimensional Realm? That will consume an enormous amount of divine power.
Still! I’ll lend my power too!”
The Goddess of Luck stepped in to help.
What the God of Storms meant was the equivalent of “broadcasting” that event across the entire Dimensional Realm.
But it wasn’t something that came for free.
This colossal operation would require an immense amount of divine power.
Depending on the situation, the God of Storms might lose so much divine power that he’d be forced to step down from his Constellation Seat.
After all, the distinction between a Constellation Seat and a normal Constellation came down to the amount of divine power they held.
“A Constellation Seat has duties and responsibilities. I’ll use all the power needed.
You just focus on relaying the message quickly to your contractor.”
“But…”
“Even as we waste words like this, time is passing. I don’t want to repeat myself.”
“Understood, my lord.”
“Hurry.”
“Yes.”
The Goddess of Luck immediately prepared to send a message to Sanghyun.
Sanghyun was smart.
It wouldn’t be hard for him to understand what the message meant and what he needed to do.
She believed in Sanghyun.
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
Sanghyun gasped for breath.
As Luca began pressing forward with an aggressive offensive, the pace of the battle began tilting in his favor.
Perhaps the gap in experience and level couldn’t be ignored after all.
No matter how hard Sanghyun tried, he felt like he was slowly being overwhelmed by that difference in level and experience.
Eventually, during the heat of battle, Sanghyun lost his left arm to Luca’s oxidation attack.
It wasn’t a near miss.
His arm had completely vanished in an instant from the sudden oxidation.
Even though he had anticipated that an oxidation attack might be coming, he had been caught during a lapse in concentration.
『Regeneration』
Fortunately, Sanghyun had a regeneration skill that allowed perfect restoration of each body part once.
So he immediately used the skill to regenerate his left arm.
He thought the new arm might be different from the old one, but aside from being bare skin, it was the same as before.
“Damn, now I’m living long enough to watch some punk regrow a lost limb.
This f***ing bastard.”
Luca’s sarcastic praise came as a bonus.