Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Trapped in the Skeleton
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I immediately asked Asterix in response to his words.
"You can't get out? What do you mean?"
"Kihehe. Exactly what I said. I can't leave this summon's body."
"Kihehe. Idiot. If I knew, I'd have gotten out already. Why would I still be stuck here?"
Asterix, trapped inside the skeleton's body.
Was this a gain or a loss?
It didn't take long to decide.
'Seems like a gain?'
The death energy I had to pay as compensation every time I used [Trade].
As long as Asterix stayed inside the skeleton's body, I wouldn't have to give it up. The trade probably only ended when he came out.
In other words...
I could keep using Asterix's power without any cost.
"Kihehe. Is that what it is? Interesting."
As if he'd found the answer, Asterix clenched and unclenched the skeleton's fist before speaking.
"What's the reason? Tell me too. It's my skeleton, after all."
"Kihehe. Simple. This summon suits me better than that greatsword."
The greatsword where Asterix had resided and my summon.
The biggest difference between the two was obviously...
"Because of the trait?"
The [Blasphemous Demonic Sword] that only existed on my skeleton.
"Kihehe. Not bad."
Asterix nodded as if I was right.
"Exactly. I thought it was just using [Trade], but it even has the trait. What an intriguing summon. Kihehe."
But there was something I still didn't understand.
"Doesn't that explain why you can't leave my skeleton?"
Asterix responded to my question.
"Kihehe. It's like a magnet. The trait this guy has is holding onto me. And conveniently, there's no soul here."
What? No soul? Then...
"Cha Si-won already had a soul, so he could keep you trapped?"
"Right. Kihehe. Can't force your way out when the homeowner's already there."
If there was a soul as the homeowner, the constellation guest couldn't stay. That seemed to be the gist of it.
Anyway, what mattered now was...
"So you have no choice but to keep living in my skeleton?"
A solid residence for Asterix.
"Kihehe. Guess I'll have to impose on you a bit."
His answer confirmed it.
A skeleton that could use a constellation's power endlessly.
'Solomon.'
Suddenly, I recalled the moment I'd knelt before Solomon.
He'd said the landscape would have changed if there were just a few more humans like me.
It was starting to feel possible.
'Without the cost constraint, [Blasphemous Demonic Sword] is at least legendary-grade.'
Double stats was outright cheat-level power.
Now it was time to solve the remaining issue.
I opened Asterix's status window and pressed the question mark firmly.
"Asterix is too long. I'll call you As."
"Kihehe. Shortening my name on a whim?"
Unlike other skeletons, Asterix could speak directly.
He conveyed his emotions with his mouth, not messages.
"Insolent human. You think you can handle a constellation however you like? Kihehe."
I was curious too.
"That's why I want to test it."
Would Asterix obey my commands as obediently as the other skeletons?
If not, I'd have no choice but to destroy him, regrettable as it was.
To confirm, I gave a command that would surely piss him off.
"Kneel, As."
Something Asterix would never do.
"Kihehe. Kneel? Human, I am Asterix, the [Blasphemous Demonic Sword] who destroyed a world single-handedly. You think I'll obey like some ordinary summon?"
Despite his bluster, As knelt very politely.
"Put down the greatsword and raise your hands."
"Kihehe. You're insane. Why would I raise my han... Huh?"
He'd finally noticed.
That he was kneeling with the greatsword set aside.
"Kihehe. This is maddening."
As looked up at me with both arms thrust high into the air.
"Make me lower my arms right now. Kihehe."
"No more of that annoying laugh from now on."
"This won't work...!"
It was already fixed.
"Now you look somewhat normal."
"Damn it... That laugh is essential to the demonic sword! It makes me look cruel and sinister!"
"It just sounded annoying."
"You mad human... I'll escape this yoke somehow!"
That confirmed it perfectly. As could never defy my orders.
'Looking forward to the fight with the Demon Realm.'
As long as nothing like what happened with Kkaebi occurred, he could show exactly the power I wanted.
"What? Demon Realm?"
Did he read my thoughts?
"How do you know about the war with the Demon Realm? That's info no one on current Earth could possibly know."
As tilted his head while looking up at me.
Since he hadn't mentioned Solomon earlier when I'd thought of him, it seemed naming him shared my thoughts.
"You know Solomon too? What are you?"
Oh.
No helping it.
"No helping what?"
This was inconvenient, but tolerable.
He couldn't refuse my orders anyway.
Even if I died and he was freed, that wouldn't be a problem.
As long as I didn't break him, this was actually a chance to resolve my curiosities.
"Hey, constellation. I regressed from the past."
He paused at my words, then asked in a surprised tone.
"Regressed? You came from the future?"
"If even I didn't notice, it'd be one hell of a yoke. How could a human...?"
"Yoke? Anyway, Gaia gave up her divinity to use her authority on me."
"What? The administrator gave up her divinity-!?"
He shouted so loud it could be heard outside.
Far more shocked than when he got trapped in the skeleton.
"Is that such a big deal?"
"A big deal? Do you know our ultimate goal as constellations?"
"Not that much."
"To become the administrator. I.e., a god. That's why we make contractors."
Info I'd never known even in the future poured from As's mouth.
"What's the connection between becoming a god and contractors?"
"All achievements by the contractor become the constellation's. Achievements raise the constellation's rank."
I tilted my head.
"Achievements only showed up when I first got the trait, though?"
I'd never seen others in ten years.
"That's because from the moment you achieve the first one and become a contractor, all your achievements belong to the constellation. Visible only to them."
Such a secret existed. So the constellation who gave me [Undying Lord] had monopolized massive achievements?
Well, thanks to that I survived and regressed, but it felt like being a constellation's dog.
As if reading that thought, he spoke up immediately.
"Don't feel bad about it. You borrow our power to survive, and we borrow yours to become gods."
"Mutual symbiosis, right?"
"Exactly."
I looked down at As, still kneeling with hands raised, nodding.
"What?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why the sudden attitude change?"
The defiant As from before, who seemed utterly uncooperative, was gone.
His tone had shifted from playful to serious.
And now he was cooperating by sharing info I didn't know.
"Because the 18th Dimension administrator gave up her hard-earned divinity to regress you."
"Yeah, I've been curious about that. Why regress me of all people?"
"I don't know either. I haven't ascended yet. But it means you have something worth that much. You might win the war against the Demon Realm, protect the 18th Dimension, and maybe even more..."
"Ah? So you're actively helping me now?"
I understood the reason for As's sudden change.
"To raise your rank through achievements with my skeleton?
Even if Cha Si-won died, my skeleton had the same trait.
"Right. With you, I can achieve tremendous feats. I'm getting serious from now on. It's an opportunity. For me too."
With me, chosen by the 18th Dimension administrator.
As's honesty.
Much better than backhanded thoughts.
"Stand up. Lower your arms."
As rose slowly and threw me a line.
"Try not to order stuff like this in the future. I am a constellation, after all."
Obviously.
I'd gained a high-level info source unavailable anywhere else. No need to mistreat him just because he was a summon.
"Do you know why Gaia gave up her divinity to protect Earth?"
She wasn't trying to rack up achievements after becoming a god.
Did Earth falling mean Gaia died too?
"Even if the 18th Dimension falls, an administrator who's gained divinity once can just go to another dimension. No death involved."
As, having read my thoughts, continued.
"So it's probably because of Solomon."
"Solomon?"
"Yes. Solomon, [Lord of the 72 Demons]. He's a mythic-grade constellation one final achievement away from ascension."
I doubted my ears at the sudden info.
Solomon was a constellation? A mythic-grade one at that?
Come to think of it...
"Does completing that final achievement make him a demon god?"
Solomon had indeed called his goal 'demon god'.
"Right. Destroy ten dimensions, and he becomes one."
"But that's weird, right? You said contractors do the achievements."
"The final great achievement requires the constellation to act directly."
Meaning the Solomon I faced was a mythic-grade constellation.
"That doesn't add up."
I couldn't understand.
"What doesn't?"
"Shouldn't a mythic-grade constellation kill someone like me with one punch?"
I'd never clashed with one directly, but they aimed for godhood.
Plus, I was just a contractor of one.
A mythic-grade on the cusp of ascension should overwhelm me.
"They face restrictions, obviously. The system's laws supersede even administrators. No constellation is exempt."
Indeed, even the fire dragon in the hidden dungeon couldn't use its full power.
Then my next curiosity.
"What were Solomon's restrictions when invading our dimension?"
"Varies by conditions. Some draw out full power through erosion even in other dimensions. But usually, it's about 10%, one-tenth at most."
10%.
I'd only knelt to 10% of Solomon's power.
"Anyway, the administrator's reason for protecting the 18th Dimension is one thing: to stop Solomon from becoming a demon god."
As fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
"...I can't remember. Why? Hm... Seems like suppression is at work. My true rank as a constellation is high, but this body's is abysmally low. Info accessible to mortals is intentionally limited."
If he couldn't answer my forceful question, he was telling the truth.
Actually, if he'd possessed while keeping his full rank, he probably wouldn't obey me.
The constellation who gave me [Skeleton Expert] was just common-grade, after all.
"Not bad."
If Gaia was using me for her own gain too.
And if it was to stop Solomon becoming a demon god.
Perfect.
I'd been subconsciously worried she might backstab me since her goal was unclear.
Now it was clear.
"You trust no one, huh?"
As asked, reading my thoughts again.
"I trust. I just don't stop suspecting."
"Good answer."
As nodded and continued.
"And there's one thing you should know."
"Something to know? What?"
Pleased, As shared without asking.
"Without an administrator in the 18th Dimension, constellations could intervene via dimensional rifts. To help their contractors achieve feats."
What nonsense was this?
"Gaia gave up divinity in the future, right? The Gaia here still has it."
"You're misunderstanding something."
"What misunderstanding?"
"There's only one administrator."
What did that mean?
"You mean the future Gaia and current Gaia are the same administrator?"
"How? Does she cross time?"
"That's the [Divinity of Administration]. A massive yoke too. An absolute law even constellations can't escape. Beyond human comprehension. And such a god chose you."
Made me want to work harder.
"Anyway, constellation intervention will change the future you know. They'll do any feat to raise their rank."
Any feat?
That grated.
"Like what feats?"
"'Kill 100 lifeforms in 10 minutes.' 'Burn 99 humans.' 'Pit raised monsters against humans.' 'Collect 66 human arms.' 'Betray allies in front of a dungeon boss and survive.' All feats I planned."
As expected, all caused chaos on Earth.
I frowned at the unexpected problem and spoke.
"None of those help humanity? They're negatives in the war against the Demon Realm."
I'd assumed constellations would help, but the opposite.
"Achievements are system-made. Utterly neutral. Same for us constellations."
Made sense on reflection.
[Surviving When You Should Be Dead?]
And ['Gather Your Own Skeleton Materials for the Best Flavor!'].
The two that gave me traits weren't normal human feats.
They piqued constellation curiosity. Like bait to find contractors fast.
Anyway, the conclusion was clear.
"So constellations pursuing feats might clash with me."
"Possible, but they might help you too. Unlike those, there are feats to kill monsters."
Constellation intervention was a double-edged sword.
"How do constellations intervene? They don't come personally, right?"
"Impossible. The 18th Dimension can't handle constellation rank yet. Even sneaky descents let them use less than half of 10%."
"Then how?"
"Common way: oracles."
"Oracles? Verbal messages? Like 'Do this feat'?"
"Right. You'd call them quests. But can't spam them. Costs the system."
They did everything.
"Only legendary-grade constellations and above can do it."
Some relief.
If every tom, dick, and harry sent quests, the future I knew would collapse.
"Could there be more cases like you?"
"Like me?"
"Yeah. With just the trait, you took over the body."
"Practically none. Contract ends when contractor dies. I'm a very special case."
So even intervening constellations ultimately relied on humans for power.
'Just kill them.'
If they blocked my path or did weird shit for feats, seemed easy to kill.
"I'll lend my power too."
As spoke, reading my mind.
"Obviously. But you know you need to level up like crazy for that?"
"I know. So I have a favor. Combat's tough in this body, so help me level fast."
As's polite tone.
Hard to believe this was the same flippant sword from moments ago.
"Got it. I'll call you when I go hunting later."
"And keep the gravitas. Your speech finally sounds constellation-like."
As smirked at my words.
"Will do."
I unsummoned As and looked at my phone.
No contact from Cha Jin-hyuk yet.
What to do while waiting?
First thing that came to mind:
Browse the auction house for useful items.
Eun-joo was diligently mining gold to make money anyway.
Time to flex a bit.