novelraw Chapter 19 : Chapter 19
Chapter 19 : Chapter 19
Chapter 19. Intruder.
Park Seong-cheol threw open the lid of the unlocked treasure chest.
Hwaaak!
The contents were revealed with an illusion of light pouring out from inside the chest.
An ornate full-body armor engraved with a sun pattern.
A brilliant golden light, as if resembling sunlight, was actually flowing from the armor.
The
[
“…A Legendary-grade equipment!”
Park Seong-cheol's jaw dropped upon seeing the golden aura, a symbol of Legendary equipment.
Legendary equipment was rumored to be able to ignore the 1-Star difference between Awakeners with just one piece of equipment.
Since the Legendary skill engraved on a Legendary equipment possessed power comparable to a 1st to 4th tier Awakening Skill, a single piece of equipment brought about a power enhancement similar to obtaining a new Awakening Skill through awakening.
It wasn't strange at all for Park Seong-cheol to be surprised, as even the top-tier 9-Star Awakeners in the country rarely got to see Legendary equipment, and it had come out of such a low-level dungeon.
“…Who gets to have this?”
Park Seong-cheol asked with a stiff expression, perhaps nervous because the value of the treasure was too great.
Although the probability was low, it sometimes happened that someone, blinded by treasure, betrayed their party. And with a Legendary equipment, it wouldn't be strange if such a thing happened.
Lee Han-seong, understanding Park Seong-cheol's nervousness, carefully brought up the topic.
“They say Legendary equipment chooses its owner, so let's first check who can use it.”
“Can I check first?”
“Go ahead.”
As soon as Lee Han-seong's answer fell, Park Seong-cheol placed his hand on the armor.
Woooong- the armor resonated.
“Looks like you can use it, at least.”
Since it didn't seem to be repelling him, Lee Han-seong touched the armor next.
Woong.
“Oh. I can use it too.”
If only one person could use it, it would have been simple, but if it was like this, the story could get complicated.
Lee Han-seong, who had no intention of causing unnecessary conflict, yielded first.
“It's right for the person who can use the treasure better to have it, so you take it.”
“Really?”
“You guys yielded when it came to the Greatsword of Tenacity, so this time I'll yield.”
It was equipment both could use, but the resonance sound was louder when Park Seong-cheol's hand touched it.
And since the probability of getting more Legendary equipment in the future was high looking at the structure here, he could yield this much.
Above all, he had often seen cases of people falling into ruin after monopolizing everything for themselves.
“Alright. But since I'm taking this, you know what to do next time, right?”
“You don't have to state the obvious.”
Park Seong-cheol, who became the owner of the Legendary equipment, smiled broadly and equipped the Armor of the Sun.
Since Legendary equipment had similar characteristics to Spirit Armaments, there was no need to take off the Dragon Scale Armor he was wearing.
It was equipped on the soul, not the body, so it was possible to wear equipment in overlapping layers.
Ssssk.
The Armor of the Sun, transformed into a golden aura, seeped into Park Seong-cheol's inner self.
A faint golden sun pattern shimmered over the Dragon Scale Armor.
“How is it?”
He asked for his impression from Park Seong-cheol, who couldn't control the corners of his mouth after equipping the Armor of the Sun.
“I don't feel a big difference… but it feels reassuring somehow.”
“What about the skill?”
“It's a Legendary skill called
“Then you can't use it inside the dungeon.”
It was a shame that the dungeon was composed of caves where sunlight couldn't reach.
“Still, the armor itself has its own defense.”
He changed the subject to soothe his disappointment.
“But don't tell me they also got Legendary equipment over there?”
When he checked with Overmind, the treasure that came out of their treasure chest was in the form of a crystal orb.
It was, as expected, a Legendary equipment shrouded in a brilliant golden light.
A brief tension flowed between the two over the Legendary equipment, but it didn't devolve into the worst-case scenario.
Pajik. Pajik.
The tension quickly subsided because even when both of them touched the orb, only a rejection reaction occurred.
Since no one was acknowledged by the Legendary equipment, they decided to just take it and move on.
If there was someone who could be its owner on this side when they joined up later, they could make it a joint party possession like the Greatsword of Tenacity and let that person use it, and if this side also had a rejection reaction, they could sell it at an auction. There was no problem.
“But if Legendary equipment came out from the midpoint, does that mean we can get one more Legendary equipment at the destination?”
“Probably. There might be more midpoints.”
“Then let's go quickly.”
It was when he was about to head to the next passage with light steps, perhaps because he was full of motivation from acquiring the Legendary equipment.
Pat!
The cat, its ears perked, flinched and suddenly moved behind Lee Han-seong.
Shwak! Puhwak!
It took an arrow that suddenly flew in its place and burst, losing its cat form.
It was merely the Constellation's projection being dispelled, but for a moment, anger flared, and Lee Han-seong's mind went blank.
“How dare you!”
When he looked in the direction the arrow came from, a familiar face was visible in the passage they had come through.
‘Kim Jin-ho…?’
The thought of why he was here was brief.
Soon realizing that he had followed them with malicious intent, the two assumed a combat stance.
“Ha, you blocked that?”
But before he could even fully raise his sword, a presence was felt right next to him, and an unknown voice was heard.
Pat!
He reflexively activated 《Blink Step Village》, creating distance.
However, the owner of the voice was not visible near his original spot.
‘There are plenty of skills that conceal one's form.’
Just because he couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't there.
Ggul-leong!
He spread
The shadows spread out in all directions like a wave.
Lee Han-seong was startled by the opponent's location he soon felt.
‘Right in front?!’
There's no time to counterattack…!
Pat!
In a flash, he once again used Blink Step Village to create distance.
“Heok…! Heok…!”
He was out of breath after using the Awakening Skill consecutively.
But the opponent's position was still nearby.
It meant the opponent's speed was on par with teleportation.
“That skill seems to consume a lot of stamina. Stop and go peacefully.”
Seogeok!
With a feeling of something cool brushing against his neck, his head flew into the air.
Ssssk.
But since he had Nine Lives, his head, which was about to fly away, reattached to his body as if time was rewound.
Four lives remaining.
“A revival skill?!”
At that sight, even the one who had made the surprise attack seemed unable to hide his surprise.
His stealth wavered due to the emotional turmoil, and the opponent's form was revealed.
The opponent looking this way with astonished eyes was a face Lee Han-seong knew well.
“Fixer Kang Min?”
There was no need for words like, why are you here.
Since he had cut off his neck, he had to assume he had come targeting him from the beginning.
“To revive even after your neck is cut, surprising. The reason to end you here for sure has increased.”
Kang Min, who had cast aside his questions and revealed his killing intent. Park Seong-cheol charged at him from behind.
The time it took for Kang Min to cut Lee Han-seong's neck and reveal himself in surprise at the revival was a mere instant.
Park Seong-cheol, who had grasped the situation late and moved, had only just arrived.
The meaning was clear.
Park Seong-cheol could not keep up with Kang Min's speed.
“Hmm.”
Chaejaejaejaejaejaeng!
Kang Min, who lightly dodged the attack, extended his arm holding a dagger. For a moment, his arm multiplied into dozens of afterimages, and countless daggers rushed in, hacking Park Seong-cheol to pieces.
First Awakening Skill, 《Hundred Stabs》.
The name was simple, but its power and speed were exceptional.
If it weren't for the Armor of the Sun, an attack like that would have turned the Dragon Scale Armor into rags in an instant.
“Hraaap!”
Having experienced the gap with Kang Min in a single move, Park Seong-cheol had no choice but to throw a gamble.
With just the buff from Three-Foot Sword Makes Rivers and Mountains Turn the Same Color, he couldn't face the opponent, and One-Swing Sweep, Blood-Dyed Mountains and Rivers was not yet sufficiently charged with death.
The only thing to believe in was Chungmugong's unique skill.
It would be impossible to draw out all of a 6-Star spirit's unique skills at a 1-Star level, but he should at least be able to activate it.
The greater the gap with the opponent, the more correction is added to overall abilities, adding to Three-Foot Sword Makes Rivers and Mountains Turn the Same Color.
Chaejaejeng- Kang!
Chajeng- Kang!
His speed became a little faster, and the frequency of reacting to Kang Min's attacks increased.
But he was still at a disadvantage.
It was then that Lee Han-seong intervened.
Paaat!
The Swarm and Transcendence combo shown during the Sudden Rift incident unfolded.
Two lives were consumed consecutively, leaving only two lives left.
But if he didn't use them now, he would be killed by Kang Min anyway.
The inner spirits and Constellation connected by Overmind, and the external party members, were all promoted by one rank.
[A faint blessing from the Constellation is bestowed upon the Swarm.]
Next, Lee Han-seong raised the synchronization rate to its maximum as much as the party members' vessels had grown.
“Hraaap!”
Park Seong-cheol, who had already begun to parry Kang Min's attacks after being promoted to 2-Star level.
As the synchronization rate shot up from 20% to 30% in an instant, Chungmugong's third Awakening Skill was unlocked.
《Do Not Act Rashly, Be as Immovable as a Mountain》
Do not act rashly and frivolously; act as heavy as a great mountain.
The effect of the Awakening Skill, which embodied that meaning, was simple.
Bestowal of overall resistance to allies.
Allies within the range of the Rivers and Mountains Turn the Same Color aura were endowed with various attribute resistances.
Simply put, they became tougher.
Kagagagagang!
Thanks to this, it seemed Park Seong-cheol could also withstand Kang Min's attacks a bit more.
But Kang Min had yet to display even half of his full power.
“Do you think you can win by enduring like a turtle?”
Second Awakening Skill, 《Single-Point Concentration》.
Third Awakening Skill, 《Defense Penetration》.
Pubububu- Kwang!
An attack where countless stabs were concentrated on a single point, and at the same time, mana with a penetrating attribute was concentrated at the tip of the blade!
No matter how tough the Armor of the Sun was, it seemed unable to withstand even this attack, as a hole was pierced in the Dragon Scale Armor.
“You should make better friends in your next life.”
Pook!
Right after the hole was pierced, a dagger immediately stabbed through it into Park Seong-cheol's heart.
Puhwak.
But immediately after, Park Seong-cheol's form, whose heart had been pierced, melted into a black shadow and disappeared.
《Shadow Clone》
Jin Yu-seong, from the opposite passage, had saved Park Seong-cheol by unleashing his unlocked third Awakening Skill.
As an Awakening Skill derived from the skills
Pat!
The real Park Seong-cheol popped out of Lee Han-seong's shadow.
The wound on his chest was gone, but the Dragon Scale Armor with the hole in the heart area was not restored.
Park Seong-cheol, who had narrowly escaped death, wiped away his cold sweat.
Ssssk! Ssssk!
Next, shadow clones of Jin Yu-seong and Yoo Se-hee rose up beside the two.
Their real bodies remained in the right passage, and they had sent clones to help here.
Normally, the only one who could create a shadow clone would have been Jin Yu-seong, but thanks to the Constellation's blessing, everyone united in the Swarm was included as a target for the shadow clone.
Hwaaak!
Yoo Se-hee's clone's lantern lit up its third light, following the Light of Life Extension and the Light of Purification.
《Light of Healing》
Their health recovered little by little.
At this rate, no matter how strong Kang Min was, he couldn't kill us….
“That light. It's an eyesore.”
At that moment, Kang Min's aura changed.
‘I didn't think I'd have to pull this out here.’
He clicked his tongue inwardly, but he had to admit what he had to admit.
Their coordination using their abilities and excellent teamwork. If he let his guard down without going all out, he could be in danger.
Paat!
The next moment, a new being appeared beside Kang Min.
It was a man wearing a black cloak and a traditional wide-brimmed hat.
Gooooooh!
A natural appearance, as if he had been there from the beginning.
But the rank of that being was not a level they could dare to challenge.
“…7-Star?”
An opponent that could make even the Hobgoblin Rider or the Stone Golem look like nothing.
The 7-Star spirit that Kang Min had contracted with had revealed itself.
***
A 7-Star spirit.
From that point on, there was one big difference from the spirits below it.
That was ‘Spirit Summoning’.
If 1-Star to 6-Star spirits were close to a Class that simply passed on skills, Awakening Skills, and armaments.
From 7-Star onwards, they became closer to a Companion that could directly descend or manifest in reality and fight together.
Therefore, even a low-Star with a low synchronization rate limit could display the power of a 7-Star or higher spirit to near its full potential if they contracted with one.
That was why from a 7-Star contractor onwards, their rank was different.
And we were experiencing that fact with our own bodies.
Chwachwachwachwachwa!
He seemed to slightly spread his cloak to reveal the sword at his waist, and in the blink of an eye, a storm of azure energy poured out and swept away Yoo Se-hee's clone.
Ssk- Pasasasasa
A new clone appeared and tried to continue the effect of the lantern, but it couldn't last even a moment before the lantern was shattered.
Faced with the onslaught of the 7-Star spirit that poured out Awakening Skill-level attacks as if they were skills, we were struggling just to hold on.
Moreover, the enemy was not just the 7-Star spirit.
There was Kang Min, as well as Kim Jin-ho, who was hiding in the passage and firing sniper shots from time to time.
‘Dammit!’
At this rate, not only Lee Han-seong but also Park Seong-cheol would die.
There was a limit to the time they could buy with shadow clones.
Every time a shadow clone disappeared in place of an ally, Jin Yu-seong's health was rapidly dropping.
In the other passage, thanks to Yoo Se-hee unleashing the Light of Healing, he was unleashing more Awakening Skills than a typical 3-Star, but that was only while Lee Han-seong's Transcendence was maintained.
At that moment, the Constellation, which had been quiet for a moment from the shock of its projection being forcibly dispelled, recovered from the shock and proposed a breakthrough.
[The Unnamed Constellation proposes the 7-Star promotion of Chungmugong through a joint History Alteration.]
Park Seong-cheol's 6-Star spirit, Chungmugong.
Lee Han-seong's 2-Star spirit, Pheidippides.
It was a proposal to secure a 7-Star spirit for the allied side by linking Chungmugong, who belonged to the same Sun Constellation, to the History Alteration opportunity of Pheidippides, who was promoted during the Awakener qualification exam.
‘Certainly, if we can just block the opponent's 7-Star spirit, we can beat the remaining opponents.’
However, for this, Park Seong-cheol had to become the third official follower of the Unnamed Constellation.
Becoming a temporary follower through Swarm was not enough.
Park Seong-cheol's choice, upon hearing that fact through the Swarm connection, was unhesitating.
“Then, we have to do it.”
[The presence of the Unnamed Constellation becomes a little more distinct.]
As Park Seong-cheol chose the Unnamed Constellation without hesitation, the Constellation unfolded the History Alteration.
[The Unnamed Constellation activates a joint 《History Alteration》 for the completion of Spirit Pheidippides' (★☆) promotion and the promotion of Spirit Chungmugong (★★★★★★).]
[During the History Alteration, time in reality will stop, and you will be possessed by the past history recorded by the Sun Constellation.]
[The remaining achievements will be consumed for the activation of History Alteration. Current number of remaining achievements: 4.]
The ‘History Alteration’ achievement obtained from completing Henrietta's promotion was consumed, time stopped, and Lee Han-seong's eyes closed.
The History Alteration, on which both their lives depended, begins.