novelraw Chapter 27 : Chapter 27
Chapter 27 : Chapter 27
Chapter 27. Kim Jin-ho
Huff… huff…!
Meanwhile, Kim Jin-ho, who was fleeing towards the starting point, was running while panting for breath.
“Why is that damn wolf so fast!”
He kept an eye on Lycan, who was chasing him with his Clairvoyance, and occasionally fired arrows to keep him in check.
Ping- Shwip! Ping- Shwip!
Lycan easily dodged them, drawing a silver trajectory.
He even saw and dodged the 2nd awakening skill 《Snipe》 that was mixed in midway.
Lycan, who had been a 1-star Dire Wolf, was now a 3-star Werewolf, empowered by the Myriad Forms Transformation Stigma.
“Grrrrrr!”
Myriad Forms Transformation did not just change the form, but also copied the abilities and rank of the transformed being.
For now, because the rank and power of the constellation that had bestowed the Stigma were insufficient, the transformation was limited to the level of a Werewolf, which was two stages higher.
But if the constellation regained all its power, the potential of Myriad Forms Transformation was that it could transform into an even more powerful form.
Tatatatat!
Lycan, with the swiftness derived from Moonlit Dash, quickly closed the distance with Kim Jin-ho.
The silver moonlight that had only been on his legs now covered his upper body as the Werewolf's 2nd awakening skill unfolded.
《Silver Moon Steel Body》
Shing!
The Werewolf's claws stood up like blades, and a silver light similar to Sword Aura enveloped them.
“I'm not going to die to some dog that Han-seong raised, let alone Han-seong himself!”
Kim Jin-ho, on the verge of being torn apart by the werewolf's claws, stopped running and threw a gamble.
He raised his synchronization rate with the sniper heroic spirit to over 90% in an instant.
“Cough!”
Kim Jin-ho coughed up blood even before Lycan touched him.
It was a synchronization rate runaway phenomenon.
His mind was being covered by the memories and ego of an alien being.
But he didn't stop.
If he stopped, he would die anyway.
And the moment the synchronization rate reached 100%, Kim Jin-ho's ego was overwritten by the heroic spirit's ego.
“Ah—”
Just before Lycan touched the crouching Kim Jin-ho with his claws, his head lifted.
The eyes that had been filled with the fear of death were gone, replaced by a cold gaze.
“Where do you think you're going, you beast.”
Kim Jin-ho, or rather the 4-star sniper heroic spirit that had taken over his body, moved just enough to be out of the claw's range and fired an arrow.
Pew!
It was an arrow fired from point-blank range, but with Lycan's speed, he could have easily dodged it.
Even if it hit, it would not have been able to wound his body with Silver Moon Steel Body unfolded.
Lycan's reason judged so, but his instinct told him to dodge, so he hastily moved his feet.
Thwip!
Just as he was about to feel relieved after getting out of the arrow's trajectory.
The trajectory of the fired arrow bent.
It was the power of the 3rd awakening skill 《Sure Hit》, which had been unlocked as the heroic spirit took over the body.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
The arrows of Sure Hit, which only aimed for weak spots with
The more arrows there were, the harder it became to dodge.
Moreover, since
Whoosh- Ssssk!
Even if he tried to intercept the arrows with his claws before they hit his weak spots, the arrows would bend in a trajectory that avoided the claws, creating an opening instead.
Pop! Stab! Thud!
An explosion that went off at the tip of his nose, and arrowheads that pierced each of his two eyes.
One of them, due to its penetration attribute, almost pierced his brain, but thanks to Silver Moon Steel Body, he barely avoided instant death.
“Whimper.”
As if to finish off the whimpering Lycan, Kim Jin-ho fired an arrow.
A penetration arrow that split the arrow already piercing his eye!
Craaack!
Since it had dug into a place that was already pierced, this arrow finally pierced Lycan's brain.
Fwoosh!
However, Lycan did not die.
The Shadow Clone that had been cast on Lycan took the damage instead.
It was because Lee Han-seong had connected him to the Swarm before sending Lycan, in preparation for such a situation.
However, since the situation was urgent, Jin Yu-seong had created Lycan's Shadow Clone by his side.
And when Lycan survived by using the clone as a substitute, his position was also bound to be the Midpoint of the right passage where Jin Yu-seong's main body was.
“Did I miss him?”
Kim Jin-ho muttered as he looked at Lycan's Shadow Clone that had disappeared into a shadow.
He turned his body and headed back towards the Midpoint.
He had no intention of returning to the starting point to escape.
“Lee Han-seong… I will kill you.”
The will left by Kim Jin-ho's ego desired Lee Han-seong's death.
Although his body was still only 1-star, with the skill of a 4-star heroic spirit, it would be possible to succeed in a snipe if he watched the situation.
Ssssk.
The Stealth skill unfolded, and Kim Jin-ho's form melted into the shadows of the passage.
***
“Lycan was defeated?”
Thanks to being connected through the Swarm, Lee Han-seong, who had watched the whole situation of Lycan's defeat, let out a sigh.
To think he would hand over his body to a heroic spirit using a synchronization rate runaway.
The current Kim Jin-ho was no different from a 3-star awakened being.
He was no match for us in our Consecutive Transcendence state, but he was at a level that could become a variable once Consecutive Transcendence wore off.
‘I'll have to keep him in mind for now.’
Kang Min, who had been fighting Park Seong-cheol, met his death as soon as Chungmugong, who had defeated Giparanga, joined the fight.
Kang Min's head, which had been beheaded by Chungmugong's Three-Foot Sword, was rolling on the floor with its eyes wide open.
Considering the great war of the future, the loss of a 7-star contractor's fighting power was a waste, but there was no way he could let an opponent who had tried to kill him live.
‘Be content with having become a sacrifice for our growth.’
It was a story that would be resolved if we became stronger, as much as Kang Min had disappeared.
However, what was concerning was that this was the first time Park Seong-cheol and the other party members had killed a person.
“Are you okay?”
“What?”
“This is the first time you've killed a person, not a monster.”
I deliberately brought up the topic of killing to gauge their reaction, but they didn't seem to be shocked.
“If we didn't kill them, we would have died. Is there any reason not to be okay?”
“It wasn't much different from killing a monster.”
Since we were connected through the Swarm, I knew they were being sincere.
Rather, Yoo Se-hee asked.
“Isn't there something more important than that?”
“……?”
“The fact that a contractor tried to kill you means there's someone behind it outside, doesn't it?”
“Why, it could have been Kim Jin-ho who hired him.”
“Don't say things you don't believe yourself. Or do you still not trust us?”
“Of course not.”
“Then, it would be nice if you could start telling us your secrets now.”
He knew very well what she was asking.
The power struggle for the position of Association President.
Chungmugong, who had been promoted to 7-star.
The blessing of the constellation that he felt every time he used the Swarm.
There must be many things she was curious about.
“Yeah. We've come this far, what's there to hide.”
Lee Han-seong looked at the constellation's projection.
The constellation, sensing his intention, wrapped the projection in Shadow Craft and, just as it had when it was a cat, materialized a real body made of shadow.
“This is the first time we've greeted each other in person. It's nice to meet you. Humans.”
At the appearance of the suddenly appeared cat-eared beautiful girl, Jin Yu-seong's jaw dropped, and Yoo Se-hee's eyes widened.
Especially in the case of Jin Yu-seong, who mainly used Shadow Craft, he knew that creating a real body with shadow required the skill of a Shadow Clone, that is, the level of an awakening skill, so his eyes were even more surprised.
Park Seong-cheol, who had been able to see the projection even before it showed its real body in shadow, was not surprised.
“So the shadow cat you made at the beginning of the hunt was made like this.”
“That's right, it's the constellation I serve. And now, it's also the constellation Seong-cheol serves.”
“What?!”
Although they were connected through the Swarm, he hadn't deliberately revealed the details related to his choice of constellation, so it was the first time Jin Yu-seong's team had heard about it.
But the surprise was brief.
“Well, considering what you've shown us so far, it's not strange that you've already chosen a constellation.”
He seemed to have understood quickly.
“But no matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem to be one of the twelve constellations of the Heavenly Palace. Is it a Heretic constellation by any chance?”
Jin Yu-seong asked a crucial question.
Lee Han-seong nodded his head.
“The concept of Heretics itself implies a Heavenly Palace-centric way of thinking, but if I had to say, it is a Heretic.”
“It's not a constellation related to the Unchain side, is it?”
Watching Yoo Se-hee mention the name of the representative terrorist organization where the contractors of the Heretics gathered, he shook his head.
“When I made my choice, I was the only follower of the constellation. Now, with Lycan and Seong-cheol also becoming followers, it has increased to three.”
“A constellation with only one follower. It seems it's not such a dangerous constellation.”
“But how can it provide this much help with such a small force…?”
It was common sense that the power of a constellation was the causality it could intervene with in reality.
The help Lee Han-seong's constellation had given was an abnormally large intervention, even just with Chungmugong's promotion.
It was the constellation that answered.
“It is because this one's rank is not yet that great.”
The reason the twelve constellations could not easily intervene in reality was that their ranks clashed with the world.
They had to consume the resource of causality and reduce the world's backlash by using heroic spirits to intervene in reality.
But the Unnamed Constellation was different.
The constellation that had not yet regained its name was a half-constellation, so the world's backlash was not that great.
It was a situation where more intervention was possible because it had fallen.
“If this one were to regain its name, it would be difficult to provide the same kind of help as now.”
At the prospect that the direct help would not last forever, Jin Yu-seong focused on a different part.
“So, you're saying that if we become a follower now, the constellation's full support will follow.”
“That's… true.”
“We can't miss an opportunity like this.”
[The Unnamed Constellation's rank becomes a little more distinct.]
It seemed Jin Yu-seong had immediately chosen the Unnamed Constellation, as the constellation's rank rose.
“I also didn't really like how only those favored by the twelve constellations succeeded.”
Soon, as if she couldn't lose, Yoo Se-hee, who had shown her antipathy towards the Heavenly Palace, also finished her choice of constellation.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand.
If they became followers of one of the other twelve constellations, there were many competitors who were far superior to them.
No matter how promising they were, they were still far below the top-tier awakened beings.
As the constellation's support was mostly concentrated on the upper-level followers, it was inevitable that they would rarely receive the constellation's benefits.
‘Did they think it's better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon?’
[The Unnamed Constellation's rank becomes a little more distinct.]
The constellation, which had gained its fourth and fifth followers in a short time, seemed to swell in rank, and then shrank again.
The duration of Consecutive Transcendence had ended.
As the ranks of those belonging to the Swarm lowered, the constellation's rank also decreased in proportion.
The newly blossomed Myriad Forms Transformation Stigma could have been sealed again.
Fortunately, the increase from accepting the two as official followers remained, so that didn't happen.
Fsssss.
Jin Yu-seong's Shadow Clone, which had become 1-star again, was dispelled, and the two's clones also disappeared.
Park Seong-cheol, who had confirmed that the change in the followers directly led to a change in the constellation, opened his mouth as if something had come to mind.
“It wouldn't be bad to create a guild beyond just a party. Now that I've become a 7-star contractor, I've met the qualifications to participate in the upcoming Heavenly Palace Festival, and if I do well there, it would be possible to gather guild members and new followers.”
“That is not a bad idea. Do so.”
The constellation nodded as if it liked Park Seong-cheol's opinion.
The Heavenly Palace Festival he mentioned was an event similar to the Olympics before the Great Cataclysm, a stage of competition and harmony where awakened beings from all over the world gathered to compete.
However, this Heavenly Palace Festival was too dangerous to participate in with such a light heart.
A raid by the terrorist organization Unchain would take place at this Heavenly Palace Festival.
Lee Han-seong's expression became serious as he recalled that tragic future.
‘To stop that, I have to become stronger than I am now.’
What was needed was overwhelming power.
And the fastest way to obtain such power was through items.
“For now, the nuisances are gone, so let's continue the raid.”
If he had his way, he would have wanted to deal with Kim Jin-ho, who had been eaten by a heroic spirit, first, but there was no way to find his location right now.
It would be better to deliberately show a gap to lure him out.
He was also looking forward to the legendary equipment that would come out at the next Midpoint, so we immediately entered the next passage.
***
Afterwards, the raid went smoothly.
Lee Han-seong's team, with the addition of Chungmugong, was a given, and thanks to the addition of Lycan to Jin Yu-seong's team, it was possible to keep up the hunting speed without falling too far behind.
Thus, the two teams from both passages arrived at the 2nd Midpoint at a much faster speed than before.
“The Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord after the Sun Sovereign.”
“Is that a fairy over there? They say it's an apostle of the Wind Constellation.”
Just like the first Midpoint, there was a temple, and inside, a Stone Golem modeled after an apostle was waiting.
“I get it now. It seems the left passage has the apostles of Earth, and the right passage has the otherworldly apostles.”
“Hmm. Then what about the next passage? Could this be the last Midpoint?”
If the number of the twelve constellations was divided in half, there should be up to the sixth one.
But since there were only two apostles of Earth, he couldn't be sure if there would be more Midpoints.
“Well, we'll find out when we get there.”
We waited for Jin Yu-seong's team to defeat the Stone Golem in the opposite passage, and just before they finished, we awakened the statue on our side.
Chwaak!
No matter how tough a 4-star golem was, if the 7-star Chungmugong stepped up, it was over in one blow.
Click.
The treasure chest opened with the collapse of the Stone Golem, revealing the form of a legendary piece of equipment.
“It's a sword.”
[
From Lee Han-seong's team, a demonic sword shrouded in a gloomy darkness similar to the Demonic Sword of Gluttony appeared.
From Jin Yu-seong's team, a pair of boots with wind swirling around them came out.
Gulping, I was about to slowly take out the Heavenly Slaughter Demonic Sword.
Paaat.
Kim Jin-ho, who had been hiding in the shadow behind the treasure chest, jumped out and reached for the Heavenly Slaughter Demonic Sword before him.
But Lee Han-seong, instead of being surprised by the opponent's sudden appearance, smirked.
“Yeah, I knew you would come.”
The sniper heroic spirit that had taken over Kim Jin-ho belonged to the Heavenly Slaughter Constellation.
He couldn't have just passed by a treasure containing the power of the Heavenly Slaughter Constellation.
Slice!
Chungmugong, who had suddenly appeared by his side, cut off the arm that Kim Jin-ho had extended.
The eyes of the one who had finally realized he had made a mistake after being mesmerized by the treasure shook violently.