Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Owl Hunt (7)
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“Ugh…”
“Ghk. Gack.”
Panting breaths.
The agonizing screams that had echoed throughout the prison, now filled with a purple mist, gradually subsided.
“Don't put on a show, you bastards. You're not dead.”
Oh-jin looked at the Owls bound in straitjackets, a corner of his mouth twitching up.
“You can’t die here.”
For them, death was too great a luxury.
“Ah, ugh.”
An Owl looked up at him, its eyes wet with tears.
Its expression seemed to plead for death.
Oh-jin slowly shook his head.
“You have to live and pay for your sins, right? Huh?”
“Hah. Ugh… ah.”
Letting out a faint groan, it let its head fall limp.
‘This should be enough.’
Even without killing them.
In this weakened state, it wouldn't be difficult to absorb the mana of their Stigmas.
‘There was never a condition that they had to be dead to absorb their Stigmas.’
Though absorbing them while they were at full strength was still impossible.
It was a different story when they were on the verge of death.
‘Heukcheon.’
*Gurgle.*
A dark cloud extended from his palm, mixing with the purple mist and beginning to spread throughout the prison.
The dark cloud writhed greedily, like a living creature.
The black cloud moved toward the left chests of the bound Owls.
“Haa.”
*Grrrrrrr!*
The mana of their Stigmas flowed into him through the cloud of Heukcheon.
It was a shame he couldn't obtain a new Stigma, since all the Awakeners captured here possessed the same Noctua Stigma.
Still, the chance to drain mana from over two thousand Awakeners was an incredible opportunity.
‘Heh heh! This is better than any elixir!’
Of course, the quality of the mana was far inferior.
But the overwhelming quantity more than made up for that shortcoming.
—*Krrrrrr!!*
‘This is insane.’
A bright smile spread across Oh-jin’s face as the mana flooded in like a tidal wave.
This was the fastest way he could think of to get stronger.
‘Consistent training is important, but…’
Nothing could beat snatching someone else’s power whole.
“I won’t have to worry about running out of mana anymore.”
Well, it wasn't like he had been short on mana before.
But now, he had amassed such an enormous amount that he could use his Stigmas as much as he wanted with plenty to spare.
‘And.’
If he absorbed the Stigmas of over two thousand Awakeners at once.
‘…Could it be?’
Oh-jin looked down at his left chest with an expression full of anticipation.
As if in response.
—*Krrrrrrrrrrumble!!!!*
A dark cloud erupted from his left chest.
—*Tring!*
[You have absorbed a massive amount of Stigma!]
[The fifth blooming of ‘Heukcheon’ begins!]
“That’s it.”
Oh-jin grinned and snapped his fingers.
‘I absorbed the Stigmas of over two thousand Awakeners at once. Of course this should happen.’
From the beginning, his plan had been aimed at triggering Heukcheon’s blooming, rather than replenishing his mana, which he’d never felt particularly lacking in.
—*Krrrrrrrumble!!*
The dark cloud that had been swirling around his body like a tornado was sucked back into him.
[Heukcheon has reached ‘Fifth Star Transformation’.]
[The effects of Heukcheon's traits are enhanced.]
[A portion of the sealed power of the Lyra Stigma is released.]
[You have acquired the new trait ‘Gaecheon’!]
Along with the message that Heukcheon had reached its fifth transformation.
An intense power began to surge within him.
“Haa.”
*Crackle! Sizzle!*
Streaks of lightning, now thicker and darker, blazed ferociously.
After briefly savoring the power heating his entire body.
Oh-jin’s gaze shifted to the message window displaying the ‘new trait’.
‘Gaecheon?’
What is it?
“Let’s see.”
Oh-jin opened his status window to check the details of ‘Gaecheon’.
*Fzzt!*
The status window glitched, and unreadable characters appeared.
“What the?”
He tried several times, but the result was the same.
‘Is there some kind of problem?’
If not that, then.
‘It’s information I can’t access yet.’
He had never heard of such a phenomenon, so he couldn't tell which it was.
“Ugh.”
After a few more attempts, Oh-jin eventually sighed and shook his head.
‘There’s no way to check it right now.’
He didn't have the luxury of wasting time on something he couldn't figure out by thinking about it.
“In that case…”
Oh-jin sat down on a gas canister and gently closed his eyes.
Reaching a higher stage of Heukcheon’s blooming didn't just grant immense power.
For him, who was acting as a regressor, there was something that was perhaps even more important than power.
—*Fzzt!*
[As the blooming stage of Heukcheon has risen, the succession will now begin.]
‘Come on.’
Memories from Lee Shin-hyeok’s first life flowed into his mind.
—There’s a Sacred Relic buried in Mount Baekdu?
—Yeah. It’s solid information from Seon-yeong.
Lee Woo-hyeok nodded, sitting in front of Lee Shin-hyeok.
—I heard those Satellite Cult bastards are desperately searching for it.
—What star-grade is it?
—I don’t know that much.
Lee Woo-hyeok shook his head.
—But seeing how frantically those Satellite Cult guys are looking for it, it must not be an ordinary Sacred Relic.
—True, they’re not the type to move so easily.
Lee Shin-hyeok’s eyes gleamed.
—Wouldn’t it be a huge score if we found it?
—…Hyung, that’s not what’s important right now.
—Ugh.
*Flinch.*
Lee Shin-hyeok’s shoulders trembled slightly.
—Eliminating those Satellite Cult bastards is more important than finding the Sacred Relic.
—Ugh. I-I know that.
—…Haa.
Watching Lee Shin-hyeok avoid his gaze, Lee Woo-hyeok let out a deep sigh.
—Well, let’s try looking for it if we have time. If we snatch the Sacred Relic they’re so desperate to find, we can use it as bait.
—R-Right? That’s what I was trying to say!
—Yes, yes. I get it, hyung.
Lee Woo-hyeok chuckled and nodded.
—By the way, hyung…
—Ah, wait a second.
Lee Shin-hyeok suddenly pulled out his smartphone and stared at the screen.
The corners of his mouth twitched up and down.
—…Is that a message from Ha-eun-ssi?
—Huh? Uh, yeah.
—What did she say?
—She said she’s going to bed after taking care of her younger brother, and to have a good night.
—…And you’re that happy just from that?
Lee Woo-hyeok let out a hollow laugh and clicked his tongue.
—W-What! Is there a problem with that?
—Honestly, hyung. At this rate, when are you ever going to confess?
—Y-You’re one to talk! You haven’t confessed to Seon-yeong-ssi yet either!
—C-Cough!
Lee Woo-hyeok’s cheeks flushed as he let out a dry cough.
—Anyway, about Ha-eun-ssi’s younger brother.
—Oh, yeah.
—Have you met him?
—…No.
—Hmm. You don’t even know his face or name, do you?
—Yeah.
Lee Shin-hyeok let out a deep sigh and nodded.
—I don’t know why, but it seems like her brother kind of avoids me. She said he even told her not to tell me his name.
—You don’t think Ha-eun-ssi and that brother of hers are dating, do you? You said they’re not blood-related.
—Th-That’s not it!
*Bang!*
Lee Shin-hyeok slammed his fist on the table and shot to his feet.
He then scratched his head with an embarrassed expression and sat back down.
—I… I asked her once before. If she was dating the younger brother she’s taking care of.
—She said no?
—Yeah. She said they’re not lovers.
Lee Shin-hyeok shook his head.
—Then are they like family? You said they’ve been together since their orphanage days.
—No, she said that’s not it either.
—Huh? Then what kind of relationship do they have?
Lee Woo-hyeok’s eyes widened as he tilted his head.
—…Well.
Lee Shin-hyeok bit his lip and clenched his fists.
As if forcing out words he didn't want to say.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally let out a deep sigh and spoke.
—She said it’s a relationship where being together is natural.
With those sigh-laden words as the last.
—*Fzzt!*
[A portion of the Awakener ‘Lee Shin-hyeok’s’ records has been successfully succeeded!]
[The skill 《Pyxis Spearmanship Lv8》 has risen to 《Pyxis Spearmanship Lv9》.]
Along with the message that the succession was complete, his Pyxis Spearmanship rose to level 9.
“Ha…”
A faint smile formed on Oh-jin’s lips as he slowly mulled over the memories that had surfaced in his mind.
‘A relationship where being together is natural, huh.’
She, too.
Had she been thinking the same thing as him?
“Pfft.”
For some reason, he found it hard to suppress the laughter escaping his lips.
After chuckling for a while, Oh-jin swept his hair back and narrowed his eyes.
‘Let’s organize the information I’ve gathered.’
First, about his first-life self.
‘She said she was… taking care of me.’
Did that mean he had been injured badly enough to need her care?
‘Well, I was probably abandoned in a swarm of Ant-horns.’
Surviving alone would have been a miracle.
‘Then it makes sense why he avoided Lee Shin-hyeok.’
In the first timeline.
Ha-eun was saved by Lee Shin-hyeok, not him.
If he had heard that news.
‘…He wouldn’t have been able to meet him.’
When he heard that the bastard who threw him into a monster swarm and ran away had healed Ha-eun’s eyes.
What kind of emotions did his first-life self feel?
“……”
Who knows.
Since it was something he hadn't experienced himself, he couldn't easily imagine the feelings he must have had at that time.
“Well… let’s set that aside.”
After pondering for a while, Oh-jin shook his head.
He brought up the other pieces of information he had gained from Lee Shin-hyeok’s memories.
‘The Sacred Relic supposedly buried in Mount Baekdu, and the Satellite Cult.’
The Satellite Cult.
A name that had appeared without fail this time as well.
‘Can I meet them if I go to Mount Baekdu?’
Perhaps.
There was no information in this memory to pinpoint ‘when’ it happened, so there was no way to know the exact timing.
‘It seems to be sometime after the present, since Lee Woo-hyeok doesn’t know about the Satellite Cult yet.’
What kind of organization was the Satellite Cult?
And why were Lee Woo-hyeok and Lee Shin-hyeok chasing after them? He couldn't know.
“For now… it seems worth a visit.”
He had no idea where the Sacred Relic was buried, so he didn't know if he could obtain it even if he went.
But it was certainly worth a try.
‘There’s no need to rush there immediately.’
Since it was a time when Lee Woo-hyeok still didn't know about the Satellite Cult, there was some time to spare.
‘I should have enough time to get used to the power I’ve gained.’
*Crackle!*
Oh-jin created a much darker bolt of lightning on his palm and grinned.
“Alright then.”
He turned his head and surveyed his surroundings.
“Ah… ugh.”
“Ghk… ack.”
The Owls, their mana drained by the cloud of Heukcheon, were trembling with the whites of their eyes showing.
Only a thread-like amount of mana, so faint it could vanish at any moment, could be felt from them.
Mana that Oh-jin had intentionally left behind.
It was a minuscule amount, but there was a reason he had left some of the Stigma’s mana.
“Domination.”
Once again.
The dark cloud spread throughout the entire prison.
“…Heh.”
“Heh, heheh.”
Soon, the Owls stared blankly with vacant eyes.
Was it because Heukcheon’s stage had risen and its traits were enhanced, or was it because the Owls’ mental states were completely shattered?
He was able to successfully dominate over two thousand Owls at once.
“Forget everything that happened here today.”
“…Yes.”
“We… will obey your command.”
“And spend the rest of your lives diligently atoning for your sins, you bastards.”
*Pfft.*
Oh-jin chuckled and closed the valve on the gas canister filled with poison gas.
“Well then.”
Before opening the door to leave, he spun around.
He bowed politely towards the captured Owls.
“Thank you for the MEAL!!!!”
*Buuurp.*