The Overwhelmer (1)
"Tiresome bitch."
No blood stained his sword.
Cutting down Chardis had been merely symbolic.
From the moment she was dragged into the nightmare world by the skill,
her soul had been destined for destruction.
You have acquired all of the target's points.
You have absorbed most of the target's power through the skill.
A hidden condition has been met. The two skills resonate.
By slaying the star and its host, you have grasped a clue to a new realization.
A portion of the memory fragments held by the Witch of the Rack, Chardis, permeates your mind.
'What is this...?'
Lee Jin-hyuk's eyes widened at the unexpected message.
There was only one domain in which Jin-hyuk could currently gain a "realization."
Swordsmanship.
The martial art he practiced using his primary weapon, the sword.
The Star Destruction Sword Technique, created solely to destroy and slay Constellations.
'Even if it was incomplete, she was definitely a star.'
A star created by the high-ranking witches, who were well-represented among the Rankers.
Slaying that star and absorbing its power seemed to have brought him a clue to a new realization.
'But something is...'
Jin-hyuk frowned.
'It's just out of reach...'
It had clearly appeared in the system message window, and he had a general idea of what to do.
However, the exact direction he needed to take remained frustratingly elusive.
Yet, one thing was certain.
A portion of the power the witches possessed was permeating his body.
'Because of the effect of my trait, the restrictions on my race and talent have vanished. Which means...'
He lightly touched his chin.
'Can I cast the curses that only witches can use? And combine them with my swordsmanship?'
As he was lost in thought,
"Jin-hyuk!"
Russell greeted him with a hearty laugh as he emerged from the nightmare world.
"..."
Jin-hyuk didn't feel at all like his realization had been interrupted.
After all, even if he had stayed in that exact state for days, the clue wouldn't have been so easily grasped.
"Well, you aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"
Thus, Jin-hyuk merely turned to Russell with a smile.
"This much was a piece of cake. Hahahahaha!"
The plan Russell and Jin-hyuk had devised was simple but effective.
While Jin-hyuk cornered Chardis alone to keep her distracted, Russell would secretly slip out of his steel body.
Since the steel body could still move to some extent even after Russell left it, it was perfect for drawing attention.
Meanwhile, Russell would conserve his strength, get as close to the "vessel" as possible, and seize the opportunity to snatch it.
"You're smarter than you look."
"Do you think I'm just a muscle-brained idiot?"
If Dang So-wol had been there, she would have shot back, 'Yes, you are.'
Jin-hyuk merely smirked and avoided answering.
"Hey! Jin-hyuk! Answer me!"
Ignoring the noisy, jumping man, Jin-hyuk looked up at the sky.
Creeeeak... crack...
The blood-red sky that had been shrouding the area was beginning to crack.
The hidden dungeon, Blood Rock Valley, has begun to close completely.
The barrier has been destroyed, and the shroud blocking the sky has been removed.
Craaaack!
As the hidden dungeon closed, it began to vanish.
At the same time, the blood-red sky that had covered the lands of Xizang began to clear.
With Blood Rock Valley clearing and Chardis meeting her complete demise, the messages of the Constellations flooded in for the first time in a while.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], watches you and smiles.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], looks at you with displeased eyes.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], clicks their tongue and asserts that Constellations who interfere recklessly must be kept in check.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], coils up, pretending not to notice.
"It's been a while, everyone."
Jin-hyuk chuckled.
"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine—"
"Bwahahahahahahaha!"
A booming laugh erupted from right beside him, startling Jin-hyuk.
"Hey, you star folks! Long time no see!"
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], is disgusted, asking who that noisy bastard is.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], shines their eyes with interest, noting that their two favorite players have gathered.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], giggles.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], smiles, saying they like how that fellow is always so energetic.
"Hahaha!"
'Well...'
Jin-hyuk smiled as he watched the new Constellations suddenly reacting to him as well.
'This guy was always pretty popular.'
The Star-Fire Dragon, the Phoenix, and the Barbarian.
These three ancient races, who had once conquered the Tower in a bygone era, could not contract with Constellations.
Thus, the Constellations merely watched Russell without harboring any greed.
He loved animals, fought for them, and possessed a righteous personality.
On top of that, his strength was absurdly immense, allowing him to smash villains with his bare fists.
Certain Constellations addicted to instant gratification, as well as those associated with animals, tended to absolutely adore Russell.
'It was the same way before my regression.'
In any case, it was nice to see the Constellations again after a while.
Before his regression, he hadn't had much connection with Constellations outside of those belonging to the Star Universe.
But after his regression, it was a fact that they cheered him on in various ways.
"Well, in any case, it's over."
Jin-hyuk drove Holy Annihilation into the ground and looked up at the sky.
"Because it was a fierce battle."
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], asserts that if you truly fought and defeated the Witch of the Rack, it's a miracle that a mere sword like that even held together.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], flares up and glares at the commenter.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], looks around at the blood-soaked surroundings with interest.
Was it because Chardis was a high-tier Ranker who had been close to becoming a High Ranker?
Overall, even the Constellations found it hard to believe that Jin-hyuk had defeated Chardis.
'Believe it or not.'
As the Constellations gathered one by one, Jin-hyuk walked forward slowly.
He arrived at the spot where the "vessel" Chardis had painstakingly crafted lay.
"..."
Just like when he had seen the Constellation's vessel before his soul entered it in his past life, the face was completely blank, like an egg ghost.
Perhaps because it was a body meant for a witch, it was clearly female, not male.
"N-No!"
"Not... not that body...!"
Were they afraid that all their efforts would go to waste?
Even though Blood Rock Valley was completely collapsing and their lord Chardis was dead,
the high-ranking witches rushed forward.
"..."
Seeing them, Jin-hyuk merely swung his sword without a word.
Holy Fire
"Kyaaaah!"
"N-No!"
It wasn't even the Star Destruction Sword Technique; he had simply swung his sword once.
Yet, several of the high-ranking witches, including Rankers, were instantly incinerated and reduced to nothingness.
It was, quite literally, overwhelming might.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], widens their eyes.
The Constellation, [Name Omitted], watches you wield fire and sword together and expresses regret, saying you should have chosen them after all.
Multiple Constellations are astonished by your martial prowess!
A level of power that shocked even the Constellations.
Even though he hadn't revealed his full strength, the spectacle Jin-hyuk displayed was just that shocking.
A wall so high that ordinary players wouldn't even dare to look up at it.
Like those who ran at the "vanguard" on the highest floors of the Tower, where no one else had ever trodden.
Indeed, he was comparable to a High Ranker.
You have defeated the Witch of Obedience.
The Star Destruction Sword Technique stirs, taking you one step closer to a new realization.
You have defeated the Witch of Blackout.
The Star Destruction Sword Technique stirs, taking you one step closer to a new realization.
One peculiar thing was that the Star Destruction Sword Technique reacted whenever he killed a witch powerful enough to possess her own epithet.
And the sensation of a "realization" flickered just at the edge of Jin-hyuk's perception.
Truth-Seeking Eye
Just in case, he tried using the Truth-Seeking Eye as well, but it was still shrouded in mystery.
"H-Hieeeek...?"
"We... we can't beat that!"
"Run!"
In the end, he couldn't grasp the clue to the realization before the terrified witches fled.
'A bit of a shame.'
"Hahahahaha! Run with your tails between your legs, you fools!"
Watching Russell chase away the remaining witches with a hearty laugh, Jin-hyuk looked around.
"Looks like things are mostly cleaned up."
Jin-hyuk sat down.
Blood-soaked tentacles, corpses, failed creations, and old monks filled his vision.
"We don't need to clean up the aftermath, do we?"
"Hmm... true. I wouldn't even know what to do with all this anyway."
"..."
He stood up.
'I'm a bit tired.'
As they were discussing what to do for a few minutes,
Main Quest Cleared
a message rang out.
"Is it here?"
"Huh?"
"Nothing. It's just that the 10th-floor quest was cleared just now."
"...Huh?"
Hearing this, Russell's jaw dropped in a daze.
"You... weren't a Ranker?"
You have cleared the 10th-floor trial! Certain functions will now be unlocked.
From now on, experience gain and efficiency will be further increased.
The Epithet function has been unlocked!
From now on, the restrictions for Constellations to leave messages for you will be further relaxed!
All penalties on Constellations who received penalties due to excessive intervention have been lifted.
Having cleared the 10th-floor trial, the Tower searches for records related to you.
Numerous Constellations are watching you.
Just as clearing the 5th floor of the Tower unlocked some restrictions and allowed the use of certain functions,
clearing the 10th floor brought similar unlocks.
The essential step for this was searching through one's records.
Among those who cleared the 10th floor, those whose path so far was recognized by the Tower and the Constellations,
the so-called "Rankers."
They were no longer referred to as mere "players."
Epithet.
Just as Constellations used shadows to hide their true names, these players were given epithets.
Zzzzt!
The Overwhelmer.
It was the epithet bestowed by the Tower upon Jin-hyuk, who overwhelmed all.
The Overwhelmer's ranking is 1,023rd.
"...!"
Jin-hyuk's eyes widened in surprise at the ranking, which was far higher than he had anticipated.
'Unnecessarily generous.'
But thinking about it, he deserved this rank.
Although the Constellations and other players hadn't witnessed it, Jin-hyuk had defeated Chardis, a high-tier Ranker, in a one-on-one fight.
'Well, Chardis at this point in time would have been ranked around 2,000th anyway.'
Furthermore, Jin-hyuk still had more power hidden up his sleeve.
"Wow..."
Even Russell, who was always smiling, stared at Jin-hyuk in disbelief.
"How are you already in the top 1,000? Even I started in the 5,000s!"
"In a way, you might be the bigger monster."
"What do you mean by that?"
Jin-hyuk shook his head.
Russell, who had started in the 5,000s without any skills or items, might indeed be the true monster.
"Status window."
It had been quite a while since he last checked his status window.
Anticipating how many levels he had gained, Jin-hyuk opened his status window.