Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Mind, Skill, Body (2)
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“Th-That’s impossible!!!”
Riac scratched furiously at the floor with an angry growl.
Clear claw marks were etched into the linoleum.
“Hey, get your paws off that.”
What are you doing to my new house?
“Fraud!!”
Huh?
“This is fraud!!!”
Riac glared at Oh-jin as if he'd been gravely wronged.
“You damn fraudster!!”
Well.
I mean, he wasn't wrong that I was a con artist.
But being able to use Lightning Flame was the honest-to-god truth.
“I showed you myself, you punk. How is it fraud?”
Oh-jin thrust his palm, wreathed in roaring blue flames, toward Riac.
It was far smaller and less vivid than the blue flames that had formed in Riac's mouth.
But it was an undeniable fact that the blue flame in his palm was ‘Lightning Flame’.
“Grrrr.”
Riac brought his nose close to Oh-jin's palm and sniffed.
“…Hah.”
Soon after.
He shook his head in disbelief.
“No matter how much of a Star of the Unheaved Sky you are, this is just…”
His voice trailed off, unable to comprehend.
“Star of the Unheaved Sky? What's that?”
Ha-eun tilted her head and looked back at Riac.
Flinch!
Riac's shoulders trembled slightly.
“A-Ahem! It is what we call one who is born with the destiny of a great hero!”
“…A great hero? Oh-jinie?”
Ha-eun turned to Oh-jin, looking dumbfounded.
She pinched his cheek, stretching it out as she snorted.
“Hmph! How is this bum born with the destiny of a great hero?”
“Owowow.”
First Vega, now Ha-eun.
Why did they love playing with my cheeks like they were dough?
“Well… anyway, does this mean I get nothing when Lightning reaches level 10?”
If the reward for getting the Lightning skill to level 10 was Lightning Flame…
Did that mean he'd already received the reward and would get nothing else?
‘That's kind of a letdown.’
Even without a reward, he’d have to train it hard since it was a core skill of the Lyra Stigma.
But he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
“Hmm… I do not know about that.”
Riac narrowed his eyes and continued.
“There has never been an Awakener who received the Stigma of Lyra other than you. I, too, received the Stigma from Lady Vega in a sense, but… a Spirit and an Awakener cannot be compared in the same way.”
Just as he said.
A Spirit and an Awakener couldn't be put on the same level.
“Perhaps.”
Riac stared at Oh-jin with a sharp gaze.
“When Lightning reaches level 10… you might obtain a completely different reward.”
“A completely different reward?”
“Yes. You might obtain something new that has never existed before. Humans are beings with more infinite potential than any ‘star’.”
Putting aside whether humans were really that great…
The speculation that he might get something new was quite tantalizing.
“Well, I guess I'll find out when I level it up.”
It was a skill he had to level up anyway, reward or not.
If he could get something new as Riac speculated, he couldn't ask for more.
“…By the way.”
Riac looked up at Oh-jin, narrowing his eyes.
‘He definitely said his memories of the Lyra Stigma's techniques disappeared when he regressed.’
Of course, even if the memories were gone, there must be parts he remembered subconsciously.
He was the Star of the Unheaved Sky.
A hero who had traveled back in time to rewrite destiny.
‘However.’
Even taking that into account.
‘Where in the world did this monster come from.’
Honestly, at this point, he was starting to wonder why Oh-jin hadn't managed to save the world in his past life.
“Haa. This is… are you sure you're not the Heavenly Demon?”
“What nonsense is that?”
Oh.
Shit. How did he know?
“Hmph. It's just a figure of speech.”
Riac snorted and whipped his head away.
“Heavenly Demon? What's a Heavenly Demon?”
Ha-eun asked, her eyes wide.
“It is nothing, Lizard Woman.”
“Hey! I told you to stop calling me Lizard Woman, didn't I?”
“Hmph! No one but Lady Vega can give me orders!”
Riac growled and snorted.
“You insolent little mutt!”
Ha-eun's eyes flared as she lunged at Riac.
“Kuaaang! Wh-What are you doing, Lizard Woman!!”
“Hah!”
She climbed on top of him and tickled his belly.
“Hyeop! N-Not there!!”
“Kyahahaha! So this was your weak spot!!”
Ha-eun hugged Riac and rolled around, making a commotion.
Was it because his strength was restricted?
Or was his belly really a weak spot?
Riac couldn't even put up a decent fight, simply lying on his back and accepting Ha-eun's touch.
“They got close pretty fast.”
Oh-jin watched the two rolling on the floor with a bitter smile.
“Oh, right. Vega.”
[What is it?]
“Do you know what the Ancient Constellations are?”
He asked, recalling the quest he'd recently received.
[…Where did you hear those words?]
Vega asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
Oh-jin answered in a low voice so Ha-eun wouldn't hear.
“I heard it from the Heavenly Demon a long time ago. I'd forgotten all about it, but it just came to mind.”
[Hmm.]
Vega crossed her arms and hummed thoughtfully.
From her reaction, it seemed she knew what the Ancient Constellations were.
[How much do you know of the Constellations?]
“Constellations?”
Eight years… no, nine years ago.
The transcendent beings who suddenly appeared when gates opened across the world and monsters poured out.
Beings who could turn humans into Awakeners by granting them the power of a Stigma.
That was about all Oh-jin knew about the Constellations.
‘Would a regressor naturally know all about the identity of the Constellations?’
But there was a limit to how much he could bluff about things he didn't know.
Especially when the other party was a Constellation herself.
“Not much. I was so busy fighting every day back then, I never had time to look into things like that.”
He gave a plausible excuse for now.
[I see.]
Perhaps because of the deep trust he had built with her so far…
She didn't seem particularly suspicious.
[The Constellations are beings created by giants called Titans, forged from the power of stars.]
“Titans?”
[Giants born from the beginning of time. Hmm… to put it simply, they are akin to ‘Creators’.]
“Huh.”
Creators, all of a sudden.
The scale was so massive it was hard for his brain to keep up.
“So. You're saying those Creators made the Constellations?”
[That is so.]
Vega nodded and continued.
[The Titans created the Constellations to manage multiple worlds simultaneously. The Edict is a device to restrict the Constellations, the managers, from recklessly exerting their influence on the worlds.]
In gaming terms, the Titans would be the developers, and the Constellations the GMs.
[However… once, in the distant past, there was a time when all the Constellations were annihilated.]
“All the Constellations were annihilated?”
[That is so.]
What in the world could possibly destroy all the managers of the worlds created by the Creators?
‘…Wait.’
No way.
[Fufu. It seems you have a rough idea.]
Vega continued with a faint smile.
[The darkness born from the beginning of time—Black Heaven devoured every single star in the night sky.]
In other words.
Did this mean the world had already been destroyed by Black Heaven once in the past?
[The Ancient Constellations is a term that refers to the Constellations devoured by Black Heaven back then.]
“……”
Right.
So that's how it was.
‘So that's why the quest reward is an Ancient Constellation.’
From the distant past.
It meant she would pull out one of the constellations that had been swallowed by Black Heaven and give it to him.
“Then the current Constellations are…”
[They are the new stars that were born after Black Heaven devoured all the stars once.]
“……”
Oh-jin pressed his lips together and touched his forehead.
His head throbbed.
‘So that's why Vega said Black Heaven was a power that could destroy the world.’
It was only natural for her to say that, given the world had already been destroyed by Black Heaven once.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
No matter how much he insisted that he had no intention of destroying the world…
It was obvious he'd be treated like a sinner just for possessing Black Heaven.
‘And I did destroy the world in the first timeline.’
He had no memory of it, but…
Considering all the circumstantial evidence, the identity of the Heavenly Demon was none other than himself.
[Do you now understand what the Ancient Constellations are?]
“Ah, yeah. Thanks.”
He smiled as if nothing was wrong, trying to sort out his complicated thoughts.
‘For now, let's just think about what I can do, what I must do.’
The end of the world, Black Heaven…
There was no point in racking his brain over it.
‘The future has already begun to change.’
Lee Shin-hyeok died.
From the moment he became a regressor.
A future completely different from the first timeline had already begun to unfold.
What was important was how he should act in this new future.
‘That's already decided.’
Oh-jin's eyes gleamed sharply.
He turned his head and looked around.
A new home.
Ha-eun, giggling.
Vega sitting on his shoulder, and Riac panting on the floor.
The warmth seeping into his skin.
‘I won't let go.’
Even if it meant deceiving the entire world.
He would not lose this handful of warmth in his grasp.
“Alright. Then I guess I'll go warm up a bit…”
[You will not.]
“Absolutely not.”
Vega and Ha-eun pushed on Oh-jin's shoulders, forcing him back onto the bed.
[Do you not know the state of your body right now?]
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting the moment you get up after being bedridden for four days?”
“Uh, umm.”
The two women were too forceful.
Oh-jin looked at Riac with eyes pleading for help.
“Haa.”
Riac approached with a deep sigh.
“I do think Lady Vega and that Lizard Woman are being a bit too overprotective of you, but…”
He narrowed his eyes and continued.
“This time, just stay put.”
“Keuk.”
Oh-jin swallowed a groan.
‘There's still so much to do.’
He didn't have time to be resting like this.
He needed to get stronger, even a little bit faster…
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Riac clicked his tongue and looked up at Oh-jin.
“Have you ever heard the words Mind, Skill, and Body?”
“Yeah, I've heard of them.”
Wasn't it a staple in martial arts novels?
“In your case, the balance between those three is completely shattered.”
“The balance is shattered?”
Riac nodded.
“First, Mind (心). This is…”
He shook his head with a fed-up expression.
“Honestly, calling you crazy is an understatement. In all my long life, I've never seen anyone as twisted as you.”
What the.
Was he trying to pick a fight?
“At least in the realm of ‘Mind (心)’, there is no one in this world who can compare to you. Not even among the Constellations and the monsters of the Demon Realms.”
“Uh… umm.”
Was it really that bad?
“Second is ‘Skill (技)’. Well… there's no need to even mention this one. You're a monster.”
“Are you complimenting me or picking a fight?”
“Both.”
Hmph.
Riac snorted.
“The problem is ‘Body (體)’. Compared to your ‘Mind’ and ‘Skill’, your physical body is utterly pathetic. Calling it the worst would be a waste of breath.”
“Huh? Is it that bad?”
Oh-jin looked down at his body and tilted his head.
“I've been training pretty hard, though.”
He had never neglected basic physical training, even before Awakening.
And it went without saying after he Awakened.
“…Do you really not know why?”
“I don't.”
“Haa.”
Riac let out a deep sigh as if looking at something pathetic.
Soon.
He turned to Ha-eun and opened his mouth.
“Lizard Woman.”
“Huh?”
“Take his clothes off.”
“…What?”
Ha-eun's eyes shot wide open.
“T-T-Take Oh-jinie's clothes off?”
“It is necessary. Do it quickly.”
“……”
Gulp.
Ha-eun swallowed hard.
The corners of her mouth began to curve into a bright smile.
“W-Wait a sec, Noona!”
“He told me to do it, okay?”
Ha-eun grinned and lunged at Oh-jin.
[Hmph! This goddess shall help as well!!]
For some reason, even Vega joined in.
“Aargh!! W-Wait!! What the hell is this!!!”
Oh-jin screamed and writhed, but…
Perhaps because his internal injuries hadn't fully healed…
He couldn't muster his strength as he wanted.
“Come on!!! Hurry up!! Get 'em off, you bastard!!!”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Ha-eun burst out laughing as she started to strip his clothes off.
“Ah, there is no need to take off his pants.”
“Kyahahahat!! His back!! Let's see his back!!!!”
“There is no need to remove his underwear either.”
[Ooh! What a fine specimen!]
“No.”
Riac's voice no longer reached the two women.