Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Raided the Demon God's Warehouse
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While Se-woon was locked in fierce combat with the wolves, the people who had screamed at the sudden appearance of the wolf pack could only stare blankly at his performance.
"Who the hell is that guy?"
"How's he fighting wolves barehanded?"
"Maybe some kind of taekwondo athlete?"
"Athlete or not, is it even possible to take on wolves with no weapons?"
"Well..."
Was it really possible?
Se-woon wasn't facing just one wolf—he was up against five, all by himself. Bare-handed, with nothing but his arms and legs.
"Kyak!"
And yet, Se-woon held complete control of the fight.
The wolves abandoned their ambushes and charged as a group, but Se-woon's bizarre footwork caused every attack to miss.
Instead, he exploited their openings. With a sharp crack!, a threatening sound echoed as one wolf tumbled across the dirt.
Thanks to that, the pack's attention focused on Se-woon, easing the danger for everyone else.
Especially for one among them.
He's strong.
A massive man stood out among the crowd.
Kang Han-cheol watched Se-woon, feeling a burning emotion surge within him.
What was this feeling?
Born with a huge, powerful body, he'd never known true crisis or urgency before. Identifying the emotion wasn't easy.
But one thing was clear.
"Grrraaang!"
A wolf lunged at the moment people let their guard down.
Kang Han-cheol spun quickly, raising his thick arm to block the attack.
Kwak!
The wolf sank its fangs into the human arm in its jaws with full force.
Expecting soft flesh to tear and sweet blood to spray, it found Kang Han-cheol's arm unmoving.
His thick coat and the rock-hard muscles beneath repelled the sharp fangs.
Crunch.
Even so, it couldn't fully withstand the wolf's bite force.
Intense pressure throbbed through his bitten arm.
But Kang Han-cheol showed no sign of pain. His other hand clamped around the wolf's neck.
His massive hand dug brutally into the wolf's throat.
Kwang!
"Kyak!"
The moment its jaws slackened from the choke, he slammed it into the dirt.
A crude throw with no technique, but it flipped the wolf's eyes back as it lost consciousness.
That sparked something.
"W-We can do this too!"
"We outnumber them! Hey, anyone got anything that could work as a weapon?"
The panicked crowd began to regain their composure.
Even as that happened, Kang Han-cheol's gaze stayed fixed on Se-woon.
And in his heart...
I want to fight alongside him.
An admiration he himself hadn't noticed was quietly taking root.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Crack!
"Kyaaang!"
A wolf took a hit to its side from my shin and flew off into the distance.
The feel of its ribs under my leg—four or five must've snapped clean. Not instant death, but it wouldn't be fighting again.
"Graaang!"
Swish—
I ducked low to evade a claw swipe from a wolf lunging at my opening.
Arch Step, Horse Stance, Empty Step, Fallen Step, and more.
Basic Shaolin footwork I'd never used in my life flowed as naturally as from a seasoned martial artist.
This was the power of the treasure from the Greed Demon God, Mammon.
Even as more wolves surrounded me, sensing danger, fear took a backseat to exhilaration.
Kwajik!
I dodged another opportunistic charge and swung my leg into its gap.
The strike landed deeper than expected. This one didn't even scream—just deflated with a hiss and stopped breathing.
Adapting to Ten Paths Subduing Legs was making my attacks deadlier.
But...
"Damn. My body's weak as hell, even if it's mine."
Stamina was draining fast as time passed.
And as my body adapted to the technique, stronger kicks meant more damage rebounding onto me.
My mind was that of a battle-hardened player, but this body was just an ordinary human fresh to the Tower, like everyone else's.
Guess I gotta end this quick.
Taat!
I stopped waiting for them to come at me.
Now fully attuned to Ten Paths Subduing Legs, I charged first, leg lashing out.
"Grrrng!"
"Kyeng!"
"Graaang!"
The wolves resisted desperately, but they couldn't handle Se-woon, perfectly adapted to the technique.
It was like a wolf diving into a flock of sheep.
The wolves, suddenly treated like sheep, fought back fiercer, but nothing changed.
This was the first monster wave, after all—their numbers weren't overwhelming.
The others were holding their own better than expected too.
Just as my breath reached my limit...
"Hoo..."
I'd cleared the wolves encircling me.
Overexerting this frail body left my legs trembling.
Glancing around, the other wolves attacking people seemed nearly done too.
As I caught my breath in relief, a chilling gaze hit me like a jolt down my spine.
Wolf ambush? No, far worse.
From above. From the Tower's pinnacle. An untouchable being's stare.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Raven with Bowed Head' gazes down upon you. Se-woon's hunch was spot on.
Constellations.
The gods residing at the Tower's topmost floors.
Transcendent beings who had surpassed mortality itself, touching the laws that govern the world.
They might bestow power on players they favored—or punishment on those they didn't.
And that moniker, 'Raven with Bowed Head'.
Mammon.
How could he not know?
The owner of the warehouse he'd scoured for Chronos's Hourglass. The Greed Demon God, Mammon.
For such a god to take interest in him right as the tutorial began?
No need to guess why.
He figured it out?
Treasure Vault of Greed.
He'd thought the one linked to him from before regression was separate from Mammon's current vault, but the master knew best.
His mind raced with thoughts.
Hide the power from now on, avoid using abilities? Or make excuses to Mammon immediately?
None of his pre-regression plans accounted for the Authority of Greed or Mammon's attention.
He had no choice but to panic.
Then.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Raven with Bowed Head' detects traces of twisted causality around you. No hiding it now.
As expected of a god.
One use of the authority, and it saw right through him.
Cold sweat trickled between his clenched fist.
This was a Demon God.
No way it'd let him steal and use its vault's items unchecked.
At best, reclaim the vault. At worst, punishment right here.
But contrary to his fears, the chilling gaze softened.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Raven with Bowed Head' recalls the hourglass's existence and nods. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Raven with Bowed Head' smiles. "Huh?"
It knew he'd used Chronos's Hourglass too, yet Mammon showed no reaction.
If anything, it seemed expectant.
Did it predict this?
That after its death, someone would raid the vault and use the hourglass?
It felt like a stretch, but he couldn't dismiss it entirely. Gods operated beyond human logic.
Well, lucky for now, at least.
Even without permission, not only no punishment—Mammon was smiling.
No further words were suspicious, but it amounted to tacit approval of the vault's use.
In that case, time to use it freely.
With the owner's blessing, no holds barred.
Next up: test the next authority.
The Gluttony power that settled in him just before Chronos's Hourglass activated, after unintentionally slaying that Gluttony demon spawn.
Authority of Gluttony.
Like with Authority of Greed, he invoked it as if activating a skill.
But.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ A target must be designated. Defying expectations, Authority of Gluttony didn't activate.
A target?
Without knowing what it did, using it was tricky.
People still fought wolves nearby, but testing a Demon God's power—potentially dangerous—on civilians was out of the question.
He pointed at a wolf attacking someone to designate it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Invalid target. No dice.
He tried the ground and a tree on a whim—same result.
Frustrated, Se-woon aimed at the fresh corpse of a wolf he'd just downed.
Then.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Gluttony's Fangs devour their prey. Crunch!
"...!"
Over the wolf corpse, ghostly fangs materialized.
Resembling a beast's maw, it savagely tore into the hind leg.
Then dozens more jaws appeared, ripping into the body at breakneck speed.
Fangs gnawing frantically, as if starved for days.
In seconds, not even bones remained—the wolf vanished utterly.
No hide, flesh, or drop of blood hit the ground.
Stunned by the sudden spectacle, a new message appeared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Devoured 'Brown Wolf'. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Absorbed nutrients: Strength +1, Agility +2. "What?"
Se-woon let out an involuntary gasp of shock.
Stat increases? From a single Brown Wolf?
"Strength 1, Agility 2—that's three points, equivalent to a level-up."
Of course, he meant the system's 'free stat points'.
There were other ways too: organic growth from actions, trial rewards like this wave. The Tower had countless paths to power.
But this was different.
A Brown Wolf—one of the weakest monsters.
Devouring its corpse alone boosted stats?
If he could use this freely...
I could max out my physical limits in no time.
Regaining his pre-regression stats—or surpassing them—would be trivial.
Authority of Greed was shocking enough; this shattered player common sense.
A true Demon God's power.
However.
Wait, if so, then the Gluttony Demon God too...
As worry brought cold sweat down his back, right on cue, a hot gaze descended from above.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Hungry Prince' chews on a wolf thigh, then startles at the sudden fresh meat.