Return of the Shattered Constellation

Kieee―!

A Flame Goat ran frantically across the ground, letting out strange cries. It was trying to get away from the ‘monster’, as far away as it could.

Normally, the goat would have stayed true to the order engraved in its instincts: ‘Upon encountering a human, kill.’ However, its desire to live and its fear of ‘that man’ superseded that order.

To the Flame Goat, that man was definitely not a human. It was wearing the skin of a human, but it was an entirely different sort of being altogether. Although he was soaked with blood, he brandished his dagger with murder in his eyes, and yet his face was blank as if he wore a mask. No matter how many monsters blocked his way, no matter how many wounds were inflicted on him, he did not let out a single cry. No monster thought of him as a human.

Feeling pressured by the man’s murderous demeanor and inexhaustible vigor, the monsters either chose to avoid him furtively, or return to their homes to gather reinforcements. The latter was what the flame goat planned to do.

Its ‘mother’, living in their cave, was fully capable of handling the human. In truth, only ‘Mother’, the queen of the mountain, could take on the human. If things continued the way they were going, the monsters that bore flame cores would definitely go extinct.

As it approached the cave, the Flame Goat wondered why its view suddenly turned upside down before it could even call out ‘Mother!’

That was the last thought to go through the goat’s mind.

Swish!

[Eliminated a ‘Flame Goat’!]

[You have lit the fire in the Purgatory Brazier, successfully acquiring the ashes of a ‘Flame Goat’.]

...

[Acquired ‘Sarira of Fire’!]

[Acquired ‘Flame Goat’s Horn’!]

...

“I finally found it.”

Chang-Sun beamed, walking past the Flame Goat’s head as it rolled along the floor. It had been three days since he began to roam around amid the monsters, and he had finally found the place he wished to find.

It was a small cave. It was easy to overlook, as thick branches and leaves covered the entrance and it was located on a shallow slope where many monsters still remained. However, it was the origin of the monster wave and the true heart of the second sector.

‘It took longer than I thought,’ Chang-Sun thought, lightly clicking his tongue. He had thought a day would be enough, but it seemed he had underestimated the ‘Tutorial’.

He began to wonder whether the civilians could withstand the onslaught, thinking ‘Still, with that soldier, they’ll be able to hold out somehow.’

Chang-Sun had not just blindly left the civilians alone to sustain damage all by themselves. To begin with, if they could maintain a phalanx formation, basic weapons would be enough to counter the monster waves. In Chang-Sun’s eyes, Park Hae-Seong’s leadership was more than enough to accomplish that. Besides, he had even handed Hae-Seong some runes in case unexpected problems occurred. Thus, the civilians would be able to hold out if they did not overtax themselves. On top of that, he had already killed the dangerous monsters.

Still, if there was one part that bothered him because it had not gone according to plan, it would have to be how long it had taken him to locate the cave...

In truth, his discovery was partly due to luck.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ thinks highly of you. He grants you a bonus!]

[The Skill ‘Serpent Eyes’ has been temporarily changed into ‘Viper Eyes’.]

[Viper Eyes]

Just like a snake that instantly catches its prey, you can analyze terrain and locate important places.

· Skill Level: 1

· Type: Active.

· Effect: Identify important details, strengthen intuition.

A new deity had cut in and helped out Chang-Sun. He thought ‘First came Pabilsag, and now there’s Jörmungandr?’

Jörmungandr was a snake so big he could wrap around an entire world, and had even swallowed a world in the past. It was rumored that he had great cunning and wisdom. He represented a different kind of jackpot from Pabilsag.

In truth, if only their divine essence were to be considered, Jörmungandr far surpassed Pabilsag. Being able to partially borrow the eyes of such a being was very effective for hunting monsters.

‘For him to give this away as a <Bonus> without any terms, it seems he wants to test my ability.’

When civilians encountered totally different types of skills they had never seen before, they often had no clue how to use them, and were left bewildered. However, the most talented ones fully understood those skills. They even tried to think of better ways to apply them. Chang-Sun fell into that category. The word ‘apply’ was, however, an understatement in this case. He used the skill so well, it was as if he had known everything about it to begin with.

[Viper Eyes] could help him identify information about nearby environmental features if he widened its field of view. If he narrowed it down, on the other hand, he could identify weak spots on his opponents. If he narrowed it further to the size of a fingernail, he would be able to locate opponents’ vital points and kill them instantly. As he had already been able to achieve critical hits with every attack, there could be no more accurate targeting system.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ expresses his admiration of your ability, but is also curious as to how it is possible for you to display such skill.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ asks whether your talent is related to ‘Death’ or ‘Battle’.]

The distrustful snake Jörmungandr seemed to have reservations about Chang-Sun’s identity, as opposed to simply admiring his ability. However, that changed nothing.

‘Anyway. Let’s finish this quickly.’

Resolving to increase the pace, Chang-Sun firmly grasped [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth]. It had been accompanying him for three days, and it already felt like a part of his body. He had gotten much more familiar with it.

Then…

“Ahhhh!”

A sharp shriek that seemed to come from a young woman pierced Chang-Sun’s ears.

‘Was there someone here?’

Chang-Sun was concerned about whether any of the escapees from Hae-Seong’s group had located the cave more quickly than he did. Still, he could not let people die, so he shot forward in the direction of the scream.

In the outer area of the cave stood a bear, far too large to be considered an ordinary bear. It stood over a female student in a school uniform. The student trembled, her legs shaking so violently that she was unable to stand up.

‘Flame-Patterned Bear?’

Just as Asian black bears had half-moon-shaped patterns on their chests, the monster was marked with a flame-shaped pattern. It was classified as a fairly high-rank monster, comparable to the Bloody Mamba in strength. With its power, one swing of its front paw would be enough to tear the student apart like a sheet of paper.

‘It’s too far. So…!’

Chang-Sun quickly reached into his inventory.

[Equipped the ‘Fire Dog’s Rib Spear’!]

Whenever Chang-Sun had a spare moment, he had butchered monsters and carved their bones into spears. He grabbed one such spear in his left hand as he ran forward. Then, he powerfully planted his right foot on the ground, pivoting on it; in one smooth motion, he twisted his waist, throwing the spear using the torque of his rotation.

It was not particularly difficult for him to choose a target, as [Viper Eyes] accurately revealed the opponent’s vital spots. At the moment, the red dot it created marked the Flame-Patterned Bear’s right eye.

Swish―!

The bone spear flew so quickly that it could practically be mistaken for an arrow, embedding itself in the bear’s eye.

Roar…!

The bear’s attempt to attack the student was interrupted, causing it to rear up to its full four-meter height and let out a horrific roar that shook the whole area.

However, the roar did not continue for long. Another bone spear swiftly followed the first, piercing through the bear’s thick neck and embedding itself in a boulder.

Thud!

The ground shook as if an earthquake had begun.

[Eliminated the ‘Flame-Patterned Bear’!]

[Level up!]

“I-Is it d… dead…?” the student murmured, dazed and shocked after her narrow brush with death. She felt as if the fallen bear would stand back up and tear her apart the way it had done to her friends.

“Are you okay?” Chang-Sun called from above.

Hearing that voice finally brought the student back to reality. She shed a single tear of relief, finally realizing she had survived.

Drip―!

* * *

“Woo Hye-Bin?” Chang-Sun asked.

“...Yes, that’s right. Thank you for saving me, mister,” the student replied, having just introduced herself. She was in third grade, studying at the middle school in the nearby Jamsil district.

Chang-Sun listened as Hye-Bin recounted the story of how she had gotten entangled in the Random Break; she had been visiting Jamsilsaenae Station to eat tteokbokki after her classes ended.

“Your friends?” he asked.

“That is… sob!” Hye-Bin choked back sobs, trying to hold back her tears from bursting out. If Chang-Sun considered her a burden, what would happen afterward was obvious. Due to that, her face was contorted, but she could at least have a conversation.

“They’re dead, aren’t they?” Chang-Sun asked.

“…Yes,” Hye-Bin replied.

It was a fairly common story in Arcadia. A Dungeon would suddenly break out, and a colleague would be found dead after happily drinking and laughing the day before. Earth did not have that problem at the moment, as Dungeons there had been monitored. From now on, however, if the Celestials continued to blatantly interfere, the events of today would become more common.

“How did it happen?” Chang-Sun asked.

Hye-Bin silently pondered how to begin her story for a while, then eventually began talking.

The story was simple. After Chang-Sun left, Jeon Choong-Jae had begun to take an active role, and started creating a group of followers. Hye-Bin and her friends had been among them, having simply wished to go back home using the power of a goddess.

‘Jeon Choong-Jae?’ Chang-Sun thought, his eyebrows knitting.

He vaguely remembered the name, but he could not recall where he had heard it. Had he met the other man on Earth? His memories were just too faded from the passage of time. However, the questions that came to mind when he heard the name were not enough to make him stop the story, so for the time being, he continued to listen.

“When people started to fall behind one by one, though… He suddenly changed,” Hye-Bin said.

“Changed?” Chang-Sun repeated.

“Yes. He just left them to be eaten by the monsters,” Hye-Bin replied.

Chang-Sun lightly clicked his tongue. Such things also happened often. Certain individuals would encourage people while pretending to act like a noble hero, but when they served their purpose, they would be discarded. Those people either became bait, or sacrifices to form an elite army.

“Then were you and your friends left alone, just like the others?” Chang-Sun asked.

“...Yes,” Hye-Bin said, nodding with a heavy heart. Chang-Sun’s every word was sharp like a thorn, so he did little to soothe her wounded heart. Still, his voice carried power and felt reliable.

“How did you get here?” Chang-Sun asked.

“My friends helped me, telling me to escape no matter what happened… I ran frantically to find a hiding spot and ended up here. But there was a bear inside…!” Hye-Bin exclaimed.

‘She has a <Talent> for escaping. Then she coincidentally ended up here,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Even if Hye-Bin had a <Talent>, she would have little choice but to die if she were left alone amid a pack of monsters. For her, meeting Chang-Sun was a lucky break.

It was also good for Chang-Sun, as it allowed him to discover what had been happening to the civilians in the Dungeon, and alerted him to possible interference from new variables. However, there was still an unanswered question. He asked, “That guy named Jeon Choong-Jae, what skill does he have that allows him to share power?”

Chang-Sun was well aware of the divine name ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl.’ Her real name was Minerva. She oversaw civilization, wisdom, and war. She was a Star who could be clearly seen even in Earth’s sky, and her divine rank was on par with the Zodiacs. She was also famously known by the name Athena.

However, as far as Chang-Sun knew, the closest skill or authority Minerva had was for commanding an army. She had nothing that would allow someone to transfer power. Nonetheless, giving out a deity’s power for free to civilians who did not even qualify to be followers would be impossible…

‘...Unless all of that was just bait to harvest their life force and their souls after death.’

In that case, several skills and authorities with such evil characteristics came to mind. Every last one of them belonged to beings that were classified as absolute evil.

“The thing is…!” Hye-Bin trailed off, feeling somewhat uneasy about answering.

Chang-Sun lightly snorted, remarking, “It’s fine if you don’t want to answer. But you’d better not wish for my help anymore.”

“N-No.” Woo Hye-Bin shook her head and rolled up her sleeve, revealing a tattoo on her left arm. It was shaped like the seal of ‘Minerva’s Owl’. She said, “Mister Jeon Choong-Jae… No, that bastard said he could share the power of the goddess through this.”

“You got ripped off.” Chang-Sun snorted again after seeing it, briefly dumbstruck.

Hye-Bin’s gaze rapidly shot over to her arm. Her pupils trembled as she asked, “Then what…?”

“That’s the brand of a devil,” Chang-Sun said.

“What… is it?” Hye-Bin asked again.

Chang-Sun reached out his hand to the seal, saying, “When this seal is stamped on a person, it means their soul has been sold to the devil. It means a sacrifice.”

“…!”

“The real seal of ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ doesn’t look like this. This bird is a tawny owl, not a true owl… The closed eyes are upside-down, and the book is torn. Basically, it’s a fake mark to trick people. Since the seal is reversed, its effect is the polar opposite,” Chang-Sun explained.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ is surprised by your wide knowledge!]

“T-Then…?” Hye-Bin asked.

“Upon death, the marked person’s life force and soul are instantly taken. Their life force goes to the host, and their soul goes to the devil. It’s messed up. Perhaps by consuming the victims’ life force… Jeon Choong-Jae must have gotten pretty strong,” Chang-Sun remarked.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ nods in response to your analysis.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ wonders as to the source of such profound knowledge.]

“W-What about my friends? No way… Then…?” Hye-Bin stuttered.

Chang-Sun said no more, merely remaining silent.

However, Hye-Bin knew quite well that his silence meant ‘yes’. She collapsed onto the floor. Her dead friends’ faces flashed before her eyes. They had died in her place, trying to save her. Frustration and despair weighed heavily on her heart like a boulder.