Chapter 225
Chapter 225
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: Chilseong Council (1)
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“Yaaaawn.”
A drowsy yawn came from beside him.
“Oh-jiiin...”
With a languid voice, Ha-eun wrapped her arms around Oh-jin's body.
Neither of them was wearing clothes, the soft touch of their skin vivid.
“Ehehe. I love my Oh-jin so much.”
Still lost in a sweet dream, Ha-eun rubbed her cheek against his like a cat.
“...”
Oh-jin lay still, careful not to wake her, and stared up at the bedroom ceiling.
The day after he’d disgracefully sobbed his eyes out on the hospital rooftop.
After the doctor cleared him for discharge, Oh-jin left Isabella behind in Italy, saying he had things to do, and returned home first with Ha-eun.
Left alone with him for the first time in a while, Ha-eun had pounced on Oh-jin like a starved beast the moment they got home.
‘I never thought I'd lose my virginity for a second time.’
A deep sigh escaped Oh-jin’s lips.
How startled he had been when Ha-eun first started casually stripping off her clothes as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
For Oh-jin, who had lost all memory of them being lovers, the past few days had been a continuous stream of new sensations.
“Mmm.”
“You're awake?”
Ha-eun rubbed her eyes and nodded.
“Ugh. I'm dead.”
Ha-eun clutched her back and winced.
With eyes weary from exhaustion, she poked Oh-jin’s cheek.
“Honestly, this guy doesn't know the meaning of moderation.”
She pouted her lips cutely, as if complaining.
“Why'd you go at it with your eyes rolled back like it was your first time?”
“...”
*Because it was my first time,* he swallowed the words.
“Hehe. But damn, it was really good.”
Ha-eun grinned and kissed Oh-jin’s cheek.
“Ready for some breakfast?”
“Nah, you eat alone. Thanks to a certain someone, I'm so tired I'm going back to sleep.”
Ha-eun pulled the blanket up and waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.
Oh-jin chuckled, got out of bed, and got dressed.
‘A simple breakfast, then.’
After quickly blending some chicken breast and various vegetables into a shake, Oh-jin headed straight for the training facility.
He’d rested well for a few days; it was time to start thinking about the future.
“*Inhale. Exhale.*”
Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the spacious training room, Oh-jin closed his eyes and circulated the mana within his body.
He had absorbed the mana of the Mother Masu and Cheon Sang-gil, but…
…the amount of mana he could actually control hadn't changed much.
‘I still haven't fully assimilated either of their powers.’
Even Damian's mana, which he had obtained before that, remained coiled within the dark clouds of the Black Heaven, stubbornly refusing to move.
“Assimilating these is the most urgent task.”
Oh-jin frowned in frustration.
‘Do I need to raise the Black Heaven's stage to digest them properly?’
He wanted to raise the stage of the Black Heaven, but with no set method, he had no idea where to even begin.
“Thinking back on the times the Black Heaven's stage had risen…”
There might not be a set method, but…
…based on his experience so far, the key to raising its stage was, as expected, 'devouring' something.
‘But the problem is what to eat now.’
The Black Heaven was already full to bursting; it barely reacted to any ordinary prey anymore.
“The only things that got a recent reaction... were probably the Dragon Vein and the Mother Masu.”
Both were prey that were not easy to come by.
Dragon Veins were so rare you could count them on one hand globally, and even if they existed, they were usually hidden in top secret.
The Mother Masu was even more of a headache.
‘Because she was a Holy Spirit.’
Where else could he find a Masu imbued with a part of a Constellation's soul?
“This is driving me crazy.”
It was all the more frustrating because they weren't things he could obtain just by wanting them.
‘Well, let's set that aside for now.’
If he focused on what could help him right now.
‘Come to think of it, I got a new trait for the Black Heaven after absorbing the Mother Masu.’
He opened his status window for the first time in a while and checked the Black Heaven's traits.
The name of the new trait was ‘Vaporization’.
A short, dry laugh escaped Oh-jin’s lips as he read the description that followed.
“It's literally an ability that does what its name says.”
The 'Vaporization' ability allowed him to turn a part of his body into the Black Heaven's dark clouds for a brief moment.
It was a very intuitive and simple ability, but…
‘Isn't this a completely broken trait?’
Physical attacks didn't work on the Black Heaven's dark clouds at all.
Of course, having only used Gaecheon a mere three times, he couldn't be sure if there was an attack somewhere in the world that *could* affect the dark clouds.
But fundamentally, any physical force, including the mana of a Stigma, would just pass right through.
In other words.
Being able to turn a part of his body into the Black Heaven's dark clouds, even for a moment, meant…
‘I've essentially gained a momentary invincibility skill.’
Moreover, it was a truly broken skill, equipped with the unfair advantage of letting the opponent's attack pass right through him while his own attacks landed.
A satisfied smile spread across Oh-jin’s lips as he finished reading the trait's description.
“The activation time, convertible area, and number of uses will be the main issues.”
There were still many things to test to properly gauge its performance.
Oh-jin’s eyes sparkled like a child with a new toy as he used Vaporization.
Ruuuumble.
As he used Vaporization, a part of his body turned into a dark cloud.
‘The convertible range is about 30cm.’
It wasn't enough to transform an entire arm, but since most attacks were focused on a single point, it was more than enough to be useful in a real fight.
‘The casting time is almost instant.’
He could use it immediately just by deciding to, without any special preparation.
It was the perfect skill for a momentary feint or evasion.
If there was a downside.
“…It consumes way too much mana.”
If it felt like this much to Oh-jin, whose pure mana capacity was second to none, it was likely that other Gakseongja wouldn't even be able to use it at all.
‘Judging by the mana cost, I can probably use it three... no, four times in a real fight.’
He could manage six or seven uses if he focused solely on evasion, but you can't win a fight just by dodging.
Considering he needed to counterattack after dodging an attack with Vaporization, three to four times was a more realistic estimate for practical use.
‘This will increase once I fully absorb Elder Cheon Sang-gil's and Damian's mana.’
Just gaining an evasion skill that was practically invincibility was a sufficient reward.
‘I can use it for offense too, not just evasion.’
Another downside was that since part of his body turned into a dark cloud, it was too conspicuous.
“I can just mix it with illusions.”
When he used an illusion on the vaporized part, it seamlessly returned to its original appearance, like applying CG to a green screen.
From an enemy's perspective, their attack would simply pass right through his body, making them feel as if they were fighting a ghost.
“I really like this.”
Oh-jin raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.
‘Alright, then.’
He closed his eyes gently and focused his mind.
He now understood just how broken the Vaporization trait was; it was time for a practical test.
“Who would be a good opponent for today?”
As he pondered, Oh-jin smirked and activated the Stigma of Libra.
The halo of light extending from the Stigma gathered to form a handsome young man with sharp eyes.
His cold eyes glinting, he raised a sword coated in white frost toward Oh-jin.
“Vengeance for Deneb! In the name of the Starlight Warrior, I will not forgive you!”
“Hmm.”
That wasn't his character.
“...Do not approach Deneb.”
“Yeah, that's more like it.”
Oh-jin watched the illusion of Allen Oskar and nodded in satisfaction.
He hadn't seen him fight much, so he couldn't perfectly replicate the illusion, but…
‘I'm sick of fighting that bastard Cheon Do-yoon's illusion all the time.’
A change of pace like this is important now and then, right?
“Alright, then.”
*Shk-chkkk!* The folding knife he drew from his waist transformed into a spear.
“Shall we begin?”
*CRASH!*
A thunderous roar echoed through the spacious training room as Oh-jin and the illusion of Allen Oskar clashed.
* * *
“Damn, I'm beat. Haven't moved my body like this in a while.”
Oh-jin rubbed his aching body as he left the training room.
He had been so engrossed in his battle with the illusion that he hadn't noticed the time pass; the sun was already setting outside.
‘Come to think of it, I skipped lunch and kept going.’
Oh-jin clutched his rumbling stomach and headed home.
When he opened the door, he saw Ha-eun sitting on the sofa, dressed in dolphin shorts and a loose-fitting oversized t-shirt.
“Finished training?”
Ha-eun, who had been nibbling on snacks, ran over to Oh-jin and offered him one.
He took the snack she offered and asked.
“Did you get some good rest?”
“Yep, rested very well, you punk.”
Ha-eun chuckled and nodded.
“In that case...”
Oh-jin's gaze fell on Ha-eun's long, slender legs, which were on full display, as he gently pulled her into an embrace.
He'd already showered in the training room, so there was nothing holding him back.
Ha-eun gave him a sly grin and smacked his butt.
“You want to go again, the moment you get back?”
“Ahem.”
“Hehe. Damn, you really like your Nunna that much, huh?”
“Well…”
Oh-jin trailed off, looking at the giggling Ha-eun.
How could he tell her that he wanted to make enough new memories to replace the ones he'd lost?
“Finish your sentence, you little rascal.”
“Shut up.”
“Look at you, getting all shy. Honestly, my Oh-jin is just so cute when he's like this.”
Ha-eun grinned, pinching and stretching Oh-jin's cheek.
Oh-jin pulled her hand from his cheek and kissed her deeply.
Just as the mood between them was heating up.
“Ah, wait. There's something I need to tell you before we start.”
“What is it?”
“The Association contacted me earlier.”
The Association?
‘Come to think of it, I haven't spoken with anyone from the Association in a while.’
He'd been too busy following Isabella in Italy or cooped up in Vega's temple to have much contact with them.
“What's it about?”
“I'm not sure about the details. They just said they'd like you to come to the Association tomorrow.”
“Hmm.”
Well, that's not a difficult request.
“You're coming too, right?”
“I don't have anything else to do, so of course I'll go with you.”
“Then we'll have to get up a bit early tomorrow.”
Oh-jin gently released his arms from around Ha-eun and stepped back.
If they had plans for tomorrow, he should avoid doing anything too draining today.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“What if you can't get up again tomorrow?”
“Then let's not overdo it. Just ten rounds.”
“Three.”
“Let's meet in the middle at nine.”
“...”
*Does this Nunna not know how to do math?*