Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The Hourglass Constellation (9)
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‘I completed the quest?’
Oh-jin’s eyes widened as he stared at the blue message window that had appeared before him.
He had only absorbed the Stigmata Stones of the demonic beasts to replenish his depleted mana.
But an unexpected quest had been cleared.
‘I thought it wouldn't progress because of the low quality.’
The number of demonic beasts was staggering, but each one was only at a 4- to 5-star level.
Of course, that wasn't a low level by any means.
But since he had failed to complete the quest with the Stigmata Stone of a Neglish, a monster of a similar level, he had naturally assumed that absorbing the demonic beasts' Stigmata Stones wouldn't be enough either.
‘A quality bonus, huh.’
He had thought about it a few times before.
Perhaps there was some kind of connection between the Black Heaven and the Black Stars.
‘Not something to think about right now.’
Oh-jin dismissed the deepening thought and fixed his gaze on the blue window before him.
Progress: 100%.
Along with the message stating he would randomly acquire one of the ancient constellations, the string of characters on the blue window was moving chaotically.
-*Tiring!*
‘The Hourglass Constellation?’
It was a constellation he had never heard of in his life.
‘Then again, I suppose it's only natural.’
The ancient constellations were those that existed in the distant past, before the world was once destroyed by the Black Heaven.
There was no way a familiar constellation would appear.
‘I wonder what kind of ability it has.’
His eyes shining with anticipation, he activated the Stigma of the Hourglass.
The Stigma blazed brightly, and a blue haze enveloped his surroundings.
And then.
“—What the?”
The world.
Stopped.
The scattering ash and smoke.
The thick blood pooling and flowing on the ground.
The flying insects that had gathered on the crushed flesh.
Everything.
Froze in an instant, as if someone had pressed the pause button on a video.
‘What… what happened?’
Oh-jin's eyes shot open in the frozen world.
He tried to move his arm, but even his own limb wouldn't move properly.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat."
Just then.
A voice, like a tape being stretched out, reached him.
Turning his gaze in that direction, he saw Park Geon-woo, frozen with his eyes wide open.
‘No.’
To be precise.
It wasn't a complete 'stop'.
It was extremely slow, but it was moving little by little.
‘Ah, so that's what it is.’
Now he understood exactly what ability the Stigma of the Hourglass possessed.
‘It slows down the perception of time.’
In other words.
An ability that made everything except his own 'thought' move slowly, as if watching a slow-motion video.
‘This is insane.’
Oh-jin's jaw dropped at the absurdly overpowered ability.
To slow down everything but his thoughts.
Did that mean while others spent a minute thinking, he could continue his thoughts for an hour, or even more than a day?
"—did you do!!!"
Just then.
Park Geon-woo's voice returned to normal.
The frozen world began to move again.
‘It's not quite at that level yet.’
Oh-jin clicked his tongue in disappointment.
At its current stage, he could slow his perception of time for about five seconds.
‘So I can experience five seconds as if it were roughly twenty-five.’
A five-fold increase in perceived time.
-*Tiring!*
[You have acquired the 'Stigma of the Hourglass' as a quest reward.]
[The 'Stigma of the Hourglass' can be used up to 3 times a day. The usage limit and performance may change according to the Stigma's proficiency.]
And a limit of three uses.
‘This is the best Stigma for emergencies.’
The five-fold increase in perceived time would act as a variable in combat.
A decisive variable capable of turning the tide of a disadvantageous battle in an instant.
“You… did you receive Vega's blessing?”
Park Geon-woo glared at him, his expression tense.
His mana, which had been faint enough to flicker out at any moment, had suddenly surged explosively, so it was only natural for him to be on guard.
“Phuhu! I told you. I don't need to borrow my goddess's hand.”
“Then where in the world did you get such immense mana…?”
“Who knows?”
He couldn't just go on and on about the Black Heaven.
Oh-jin shrugged and readjusted his grip on the spear.
“…Kuh.”
Park Geon-woo bit his lip with an anxious expression, then his eyes flashed fiercely.
“I don't know what trick you used to replenish your mana.”
*Chwaaaaaak!*
The black feathers covering his body rose in unison and wrapped around his spear.
Mana concentrated at the spear's tip.
“—The fact that you will die here does not change.”
He kicked off the ground and charged.
A fierce gust of wind raged as the spear tip, imbued with dizzying power, aimed for Oh-jin at a blinding speed.
‘Stigma of the Hourglass.’
One more time.
Stop the world.
-*Fwoooosh!*
He effortlessly dodged Park Geon-woo's all-out spear strike.
Though Oh-jin's own movements were also restricted in the slowed time.
It wasn't difficult to evade an attack when he could leisurely observe where the spear tip was headed and how close it was.
“Heup!”
Had he not expected his attack to be dodged so easily?
Park Geon-woo's eyes widened as he turned his head with a look of astonishment.
“Kuh!”
He let out a groan and hastily swung his spear.
-*Fwoosh! Whoosh!*
The attacks were so slow they were yawn-inducing; there was no way he couldn't dodge them.
“Dammit!! W-Why?!”
Park Geon-woo, frustrated that his attacks were suddenly completely ineffective, thrust his spear anxiously.
-*Kaaaaang!*
Oh-jin swung his spear upward, deflecting Park Geon-woo's, then kicked him in the stomach.
“Keoheok!”
*Thwack!*
With a dull thud, Park Geon-woo's body was sent flying backward.
‘Lightning Wings.’
*Tududududu!!*
He unleashed a shower of lightning feathers toward the fallen Park Geon-woo.
“Eek!”
Park Geon-woo desperately rolled on the ground to avoid the lightning feathers.
For him, who prided himself on being a martial artist, it was an incredibly humiliating method, but he had no choice if he wanted to live.
“Phuhu! Yeah, stop spouting nonsense about the universe and the principles of yin and yang.”
Oh-jin kicked off the ground toward the rolling Park Geon-woo.
Like a pole vaulter, he slammed the spear shaft down to launch himself into the air, then spun and brought the spear tip down like a lightning strike.
“Fight for real.”
The righteousness or chivalry often seen in martial arts novels is nothing but a delusion.
You roll on the ground to avoid the tip of a sword, you crawl on your belly to avoid the tip of a spear.
Real combat is this unsightly and pathetic.
“There's no need for bravado or vanity.”
To win, you do whatever it takes.
You don't care about the means or the methods.
That's how I've lived.
That's how I'm living.
“If you want to kill me—then bet everything you have, you bastard.”
Oh-jin's lips twisted into a fierce smirk as he thrust his spear down at the fallen Park Geon-woo.
-*Kwaaaaaang!!*
“Heok! Heok!”
Park Geon-woo desperately rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack, then crawled away to create distance.
“D-Dammit!”
He staggered to his feet, his face contorted with humiliation.
To look so pathetic even after receiving the grace of the Black Stars.
“…I'll kill you.”
An indelible humiliation and insult for a martial artist.
Park Geon-woo bit his lip and readjusted his grip on his spear.
He glared at Oh-jin with eyes filled with menacing killing intent.
“You of all people! I will definitely!!!”
He roared fiercely and charged.
“Tsk, tsk. Fucking hell, you people never listen.”
Then again.
What in this world can be solved with words?
No one listens to others anyway.
They see what they want to see.
Hear what they want to hear.
They just struggle to survive, trapped within the narrow walls of their own minds.
‘Stigma of the Hourglass.’
One last time.
Stop the world.
In the time that flowed slowly like a slow-motion video, he calmly observed the direction of Park Geon-woo's spear tip.
‘Right side of the chest.’
After confirming the spearhead's direction, he counted in his head.
‘Three seconds.’
He leaned back, sliding away to create distance.
‘Two seconds.’
He slowly raised his left arm and aimed at the spearhead.
And.
‘Now!’
*Twang!!*
Oh-jin's eyes gleamed as he fired his wire shooter at the incoming spearhead.
Struck by the weight at the end of the wire, the spearhead's trajectory was altered.
Accurately hitting the spear of an 8-star Awakened lunging with all his might was harder than shooting the wings off a swiftly flying fly.
-*Kaaaaang!!*
But now, using the Stigma of the Hourglass, he could pull off such an acrobatic feat with ease.
“Wh-Wha?”
Before Park Geon-woo could correct the path of his deflected spear.
‘Back to the Stigma of Lyra.’
Oh-jin gripped his spear with his right hand, switching Stigmas as naturally as flowing water.
Time returned to its normal speed, and blue lightning flared fiercely.
“The one who's going to die here isn't me.”
*Chak!*
He tucked the spear shaft against his side.
And pulled his right foot far back.
Pivoting on his left foot, he twisted his body and violently thrust the spear he was gripping toward Park Geon-woo's exposed side.
“It's you, you punk.”
*Puuuk!!*
The spearhead, a perfect counter, tore through Park Geon-woo's body, ripping a long gash from his side up to his neck.
“Keoheok! Keok! Kgh!”
Park Geon-woo spewed bloody foam from his mouth, his body trembling violently.
“Hup!”
*Kwaduk!*
He savagely twisted the spear that had pierced Park Geon-woo's body.
He could see the light fading from the eyes of the man with a single sword scar.
“Hoo.”
He caught his slightly ragged breath and raised the corner of his mouth into a grin.
He recalled the sensation of the world stopping.
‘This is even better than I imagined.’
He'd had high hopes from the start, given the grand name "ancient constellation."
But this was honestly a bigger jackpot than he'd ever expected.
‘Well, the three-use limit is a bit of a shame.’
Still, they said it would change as his proficiency increased, so considering its growth potential, it was a huge gain.
“Good.”
Oh-jin approached Park Geon-woo's corpse with a satisfied smile.
Now that he had won the battle, it was time to claim his reward.
‘Black Heaven.’
A black cloud enveloped Park Geon-woo's body.
“Phuhu! As expected of an 8-star, the amount of mana is on another level.”
An immense amount of mana flowed into his body through the Black Heaven.
In the past, he wouldn't have been this happy, as he already had more than enough mana.
But recently, with the addition of skills like Exceed and Lightning Flame that consumed excessive amounts of mana, he had been suffering from a mana shortage, so a smile naturally formed on his lips.
-*Jijik.*
“…Hm?”
In the middle of absorbing the mana.
His vision inverted with a familiar sensation.
‘An inheritance?’
Oh-jin's eyes glinted sharply as he focused his mind on the memories flowing into his head.