Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Stigma of Lyra (1)
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[So, you were the ‘Star of Heavenly Reversal’ after all.]
The silver-haired goddess nodded slightly as if she had expected it.
“Yes, that’s right.”
He answered in a calm voice.
Of course.
‘This is insane.’
Contrary to his composed expression, his heart was pounding wildly.
‘She actually believed it.’
They were gods born from the constellations.
While not the ‘omniscient, omnipotent monotheistic God’ often spoken of in Christianity, they were still transcendent beings with power and authority that a mere mortal could never hope to challenge.
Right now, he…
…had just scammed a ‘god’.
[I wish to speak with you at length about the future you experienced, but….]
The goddess’s eyes narrowed as she glanced around.
-Grrrrrrr.
A savage growl.
The Ant-horns were glaring at her, their eyes full of vigilance.
[These insignificant creatures are getting in the way.]
With a short sigh, the goddess looked intently at Oh-jin.
‘Is she telling me to take care of them?’
Her gaze seemed to say she wanted to see the skills of a ‘Regressor’ for herself.
‘Dammit.’
Backing down now was not an option.
“I will handle them.”
[Huhu. Indeed, I look forward to seeing the extent of the Star of Heavenly Reversal's power.]
“Right now…”
[Ah, I am aware. Though you have returned from the future, your body is still of this era. Do not feel burdened and fight as you are.]
Goddammit.
That’s the most pressuring thing she could have said.
“Hoo.”
He let out a deep breath and stood up.
A faint light emanated from his left breast, though he hadn’t turned on the micro-LED hidden in his clothes.
-Overflowing power.
His body felt as light as if he had set down a heavy pack he’d been carrying on his back.
‘So this is the body of an Awakened.’
Though he was only a 1-Star, the difference was distinct.
A realm that could never be reached through ordinary training.
The body of a superhuman, beyond the limits of a human.
‘But.’
Even with a body like this, Lee Shin-hyeok had fled pathetically from the monsters.
He wasn't trying to blame him.
‘It just means the monsters are that strong.’
Could he, who had just Awakened—literally ‘minutes ago’—fight against a swarm of dozens of Ant-horns?
‘This isn’t the time to be weighing my chances.’
Even if he were to cling to the goddess’s skirt and beg for his life, it was impossible for her to wipe out the monsters herself.
‘I heard the Constellations were bound by some law or another, making them unable to directly interfere with the mortal world.’
That was why they granted Stigmas to the Awakened and had them fight the monsters.
‘In that case.’
There was no other way but to fight them himself.
-Clatter.
He picked up the spear that had fallen to the ground.
The spear Lee Shin-hyeok had used.
He pointed the bluish blade at the Ant-horns.
“Karrrrrrk!!”
As he aimed his weapon, the Ant-horns roared savagely.
Two Ant-horns charged at him with great speed.
“Hup!”
He lowered his stance and shot the spear forward as if on a spring.
*Crunch!*
The Ant-horn’s carapace, which couldn't be pierced even by a bullet, shattered easily, and green blood splattered into the air.
“Kireuk!”
An Ant-horn charging from the opposite side saw an opening and lunged.
He pulled his body back as fluidly as flowing water and struck the Ant-horn’s jaw with the butt of the spear.
*Twirl.*
He spun the two-meter-long spear once with ease and pierced the Ant-horn’s stomach with the blade.
[Hoh, impressive.]
The goddess let out a short gasp of admiration at his fluid movements.
‘…What was that?’
It was Oh-jin himself who was surprised.
‘There’s no way it should be this easy.’
His body moved naturally, as if he had been handling a spear for a very long time.
No matter how easy a spear was to handle, it was certainly strange for it to feel this ‘familiar’ when he was holding one for the first time in his life.
*-Tiring!*
[Reading the ‘Records’ embedded in the Stigma of Lyra through Heukcheon.]
[The blossoming stage of Heukcheon is low. Readable records are limited.]
[Inheriting a portion of the records of the Awakened Lee Shin-hyeok.]
[Acquired Skill: 《Pyxis Spearmanship Lv4》.]
A message window popped up as if to answer his question.
And then,
“Keuk!”
*Throb.*
A pain like a red-hot iron skewer being shoved into his brain.
With the dizzying agony, his vision flipped.
-Pant, pant!
An unfamiliar scene unfolded in his mind.
He saw Lee Shin-hyeok, endlessly thrusting his spear in an empty lot.
-Keuk!
Though he staggered as if he would collapse at any moment, he did not stop thrusting his spear.
-If I stop here… I’ll never be able to catch up to Woo-hyeok.
Lee Shin-hyeok bit his lip fiercely and continued to thrust his spear.
Over and over again.
He pushed himself to the absolute limit.
‘…What is this?’
His inverted vision gradually returned to normal.
‘Are these… Lee Shin-hyeok’s memories?’
Even if they were memories, they weren't from the past.
‘There are scars I haven’t seen before.’
On the right cheek of the desperately training Lee Shin-hyeok was a distinct scar that ran from his cheekbone to his jaw.
A scar that hadn’t been there on the Lee Shin-hyeok he met a few hours ago.
‘If that’s the case.’
They were memories of the future.
To be precise, the memories of the Lee Shin-hyeok from the ‘first timeline’, the one who hadn't died so meaninglessly here, were flowing into him.
No.
It wasn't just memories that were flowing in.
“Krrrrrrk!!”
“Kaaaaah!!”
The Ant-horns that had been surrounding him charged all at once.
“Hup!”
He kicked off the ground and charged back towards the closing encirclement of Ant-horns.
*Crack!!*
The explosive spear thrust shattered an Ant-horn’s head.
“Kraaaaaa!”
Another Ant-horn charged from the right.
It was an ‘Elder’, its body a size larger than the other Ant-horns.
In the past, he wouldn’t have even been able to follow its movements with his eyes, but—
“Too slow, you bastard!”
—it was different now.
*Thump!*
He pushed off the ground with the spear shaft, launching himself into the air.
His body shot up explosively, as if he were pole-vaulting.
*Spin.*
He twisted his body in mid-air, readjusting his grip on the spear.
He brought it down precisely on the head of the Elder Ant-horn, which was confused at having lost its target!
-Cra-a-a-ack!!
“Yes!”
A thrilling shiver ran down his spine and spread throughout his body.
‘I can do this!’
An explosive power boiled within him.
The movements of the Ant-horns charging from all sides were etched clearly onto his retinas.
‘Slowly, don’t get excited.’
He regulated his breathing, kicked off the ground, and widened the distance between himself and the Ant-horns.
Just because he inherited Lee Shin-hyeok’s skill didn't change the fact that he was still a 1-Star Awakened.
A moment of carelessness would mean death.
*Crack! Crunch!*
He calmly swung his spear, thinning the number of Ant-horns.
‘Were 1-Star Awakened always this strong?’
Even while fighting dozens of Ant-horns at once, he didn't feel tired at all.
Considering Lee Shin-hyeok had collapsed after taking down a group of three or four Ant-horns, this was hard to believe.
‘The ones I saw weren't like this.’
Normally, the average 1-Star Awakened would panic like a baboon whose nest was on fire if even two Ant-horns charged at once.
‘…But why.’
Why.
Why did this feel so ‘easy’?
[Hmm….]
Watching him rampage through the Ant-horns, the silver-haired goddess narrowed her eyes.
[Are you putting on some kind of show for my amusement right now?]
A show?
This is a show?
What kind of nonsense is she spouting now?
[If not, then why are you not using your ‘Stigma’?]
What?
“……”
Oh-jin’s gaze naturally drifted to his left breast.
On his left breast, not the fake stigma he had carved with a knife, but the ‘Stigma of Lyra’ was emitting a faint light.
Right.
It was just emitting a faint light.
When a real Stigma was used, a far more brilliant light would pour out.
‘What, so this whole time…’
He’d been fighting dozens of Ant-horns without even using his Stigma?
[Ah, I see. No matter that you are a Regressor, you would not be able to freely use a newly settled Stigma.]
The goddess, lost in her own thoughts, nodded as if in understanding.
[For you, it must be like entering the body of a child who has just begun to walk.]
It was nothing more than the goddess’s own misunderstanding, but hearing it like that, it somehow made sense.
Since she was willingly deceiving herself, he couldn't let the opportunity pass.
He quickly nodded and replied.
“Yes, that’s right. To me, this body is… like that of a newborn baby.”
*Goo goo.*
I'm baby Oh-jin.
[Then, it must be my role to help that child take its first steps.]
…Mama?
[I shall help you use my Stigma with ease.]
As the goddess slowly raised her hand, a sparkling silver light seeped into his body.
*-Tiring!*
[Vega has bestowed upon you the Blessing of the Stars.]
[Proficiency with the ‘Stigma of Lyra’ has temporarily increased!]
Vega.
So that was her name.
‘Huh?’
But I’ve heard that name somewhere before…
-Bzzzzzzzt!!
“Keuk!”
Before he could ponder the question, blue lightning erupted from his entire body.
A torrent of blue light exploded from the Stigma on his left breast.
“Kraaaaaaaaa!”
“Karak, krrrrk!!”
The Ant-horns, which had briefly hesitated, charged once more.
This time, they were even in formation, centered around three Elders.
“Ssss.”
He took a deep breath and lowered his stance.
*Crackle, crackle!!*
He focused the blue lightning enveloping his body onto the tip of his spear.
Snapping his bent waist straight, he violently thrust the spear, now blazing with blue lightning.
‘Well then.’
Let’s see just how incredible the power of the Stigma of Lyra is.
[Activating 《Changnoe Lv1》.]
-KRA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KOOM!!!!!!
“……!!”
A storm of lightning swept through the area.
The tempest of lightning that spread from the tip of his spear incinerated the bodies of the Ant-horns charging from all directions.
‘Wh-what was that?’
A single strike.
With just one attack, over a dozen Ant-horns had been reduced to ashes.
“K-kireuk!”
“Karuk!”
The only ones who managed to survive the lightning storm were the Elder Ant-horns.
And even then, one of the three had been hit head-on by the lightning and died instantly.
“Krrrrrrk! Keoheong!!”
“Kararak!!”
*Thudududu!*
Sensing they were no match, the Ant-horns turned in unison and began to flee.
“…Hah.”
Oh-jin stared blankly at the backs of the fleeing Ant-horns with a dumbfounded expression.
‘This is insane.’
What was this?
This was not something a ‘1-Star’ Awakened could do.
It was a level that a 2-Star, no, at least a 3-Star Awakened could barely hope to imitate.
‘Just what… is the Stigma of Lyra?’
It was a constellation he had never heard of before.
[Huhu. As expected of a Regressor, you learn quickly.]
Vega smiled in satisfaction as she looked down at the earth, scorched by lightning.
Oh-jin’s gaze turned to her.
A breathtakingly beautiful goddess with silver hair that flowed down to her waist.
‘Vega.’
He once again engraved the goddess’s name, confirmed through the system window, into his mind.
‘Hmm… wait, Vega?’
Just then, her name flashed in a faded drawer of his memory.
‘Ve… ga?’
Vega?
Did she say Vega?
‘No way.’
Oh-jin’s jaw dropped.
“Vega…?”
[Hmm? Did you call me?]
Her gem-like golden eyes turned towards him.
-A thrill.
A tingling sensation shot down his spine and spread throughout his body.
*Gasp.*
His mouth fell open.
“This is fucking insane…”
There were dozens, hundreds of Constellations.
Even among those transcendent beings, there was a distinction between weak and strong Constellations.
And naturally, the rank of the Awakened was also determined by the ‘class’ of their Constellation.
The Constellations of the Zodiac were a prime example.
Just by receiving their Stigma, one could possess power incomparable to other Awakened.
-But even among them.
A supreme existence that even the Constellations of the Zodiac dared not challenge.
The three stars known as the ‘North Stars’.
Polaris, Deneb, and Vega.
The true identity of the goddess before him was one of the highest-ranking Constellations, possessing a ‘class’ so immense that other Constellations couldn't even dare to raise their heads in her presence.
‘Huh? Wait, so right now I’m…’
Now he understood why he, a mere 1-Star, had been able to effortlessly wipe out dozens of Ant-horns.
And one more thing.
‘I’ve been scamming one of the highest-ranking Constellations?’
He also realized just what an absurd thing he had done.
‘Shit.’
I’m fucked.