Chapter 35
Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Constellation Gallery EP.34
-----------------------------------------------------------------
BAM!
The impact transmitted through my fingertips was completely different from a sword.
Every time I slammed the hammer down onto the exoskeleton, a heavy vibration traveled up my arm.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The echoes grew louder, and the once-solid carapace began to crack open ever so slightly.
This thing hadn't even flinched no matter how many times I'd stabbed and slashed it with the Grave of Ten Thousand Demons. Finally, cracks were forming.
"Yeah. Crabs aren't meant to be sliced up—they're best smashed and eaten."
I no longer aimed for the gaps in its carapace.
I no longer searched for weak points.
I no longer resorted to fancy tricks.
Just pure, overwhelming force to smash it to pieces.
I raised the hammer high, channeling every muscle in my body.
This was the moment Kang Harin's 'warhammer' would prove its worth.
My entire body tensed up tight.
Like drawing a bowstring to its limit, I gathered all my strength. And then...
"Hand over the gold!"
CRUNCH!
A heavy thudding impact.
The ground shook for a moment.
The blow I'd slammed onto the broad exoskeleton penetrated deep inside, splitting it open with a sharp crack.
Without letting up on the widening fissure, I swung again.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
The carapace shattered in a chain reaction.
From within the chunk that broke off entirely, the creature's soft innards were finally exposed.
Still, I couldn't stop.
I wouldn't stop.
"Hand over the gold, you bastard!"
CRASH!
I clenched my fist tight.
"Yes! Got it!"
And right after, an important alert followed.
The moment I saw that alert, a huge laugh burst out of me.
"Fuck yeah, nice!"
"Uncle, you're the best!"
"Juhan! Amazing! So cool!"
I caught my breath and looked at my companions.
All my fatigue seemed to vanish in an instant.
'This is the taste of victory?'
No, the taste of gold.
I opened my mouth toward them.
"Nah. You guys did most of the work."
The two looked at me with puzzled faces.
"Tulip, who pointed out the weak spot, and Harin, who made the weapon that worked on that bastard. I couldn't have done it alone without you two."
The two glanced at each other, then smiled brightly in unison.
That was the moment.
Another massive sponsorship flew in.
I was momentarily speechless.
I spaced out for a second, then looked up at the sky.
"Thank you."
Next to me, Tulip and Kang Harin tilted their heads.
"What's there to thank?"
These kids were definitely kind and innocent, but if I told them I'd gotten 100,000 Gold, they might feel unnecessarily pressured.
Or envy might creep in without them realizing.
I'd felt the same way.
When Tulip got sponsored, I'd felt jealous like a petty jerk, annoyed, wanting some for myself.
So, I kept it vague.
"Got a sponsorship."
"Oh... Do you have to say thanks for that?"
"Nah, not really necessary."
At the same time, the Constellation Gallery was in an uproar.
[Author: PinkPpojak]
The sponsorship to PerHun was a little kiss as thanks for making the bet win~
I sighed.
How predictably pathetic these guys were.
Then, the man who'd been begging to be saved earlier prostrated himself flat before me.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
...Well, this was predictable too.
Or was it? For not running away and actually giving thanks, maybe he'd exceeded expectations?
"Ah, whatever."
I waved it off casually, brushing past the man's apologies.
"I was trying to help your teacher..."
I started to say no, then paused.
If I helped this guy, would the doctor constellation sponsor again?
I reached to summon a potion, then paused again.
'Nah, better if Tulip does it.'
I turned my head.
"Tulip, this guy's a bit hurt."
"Ah, I'm fine!"
The man waved his hands frantically.
"I can just go home and put on some ointment! Thank you for saving my life!"
"Going home means you're planning to die?"
"Pardon?"
"Ah, just kidding."
Tulip approached with a look of disgust.
"If you make that face, he'll think you're refusing to treat him."
"It's because of your corny joke, Uncle."
"I know. But this guy..."
"Ah, it looked that way to me too."
"..."
Tulip grinned with a 'you heard that, right?' look and stepped forward to the man.
"I'll take care of you. It'll be quick."
"Ah, really, it's okay."
The treatment was, as always, swift.
But there was one difference from usual.
A soft light began to emanate from Tulip's fingertips after the healing.
Soon, a warm energy spread around her like a flower blooming.
An atmosphere as if an invisible halo had descended.
The air itself seemed to purify—an intangible shift.
"...What the?"
I muttered unwittingly.
Kang Harin and the man reacted the same.
"Um, by any chance..."
The man cautiously opened his mouth.
He hesitated a bit, then calmly looked at each of us in turn.
"I don't know if it's okay to ask this..."
Then, after meeting our eyes once more, he carefully asked.
"Are you perhaps the Three Messengers from the Underworld?"
"Pardon?"
Tulip and Kang Harin exclaimed simultaneously.
Unlike them, I put on a very solemn expression and slowly nodded.
"You could say that. We're here to guide this lost soul to hell."
"Pardon?!"
Tulip and Kang Harin stared at me again.
"Kidding, kidding."
Then, glancing at Tulip, I whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
"By the way, any sponsorships?"
"No."
Just as disappointment hit...
"But... something else appeared."
"Something else?"
"Yes. A new active skill called Touch of Holy Light."
"Active?"
Tulip nodded.
"Want me to show you since you fought?"
"No. That's..."
"I know without you saying. It costs mana, so only use when necessary, right?"
"...Huh? Yeah."
I read the post and a question arose in my mind.
I hadn't noticed at first, but thinking back, this was a completely new skill popping up, right?
'Same with the Plague...'
In other words, Incarnations didn't just stick with their initial skills—they could gain new abilities by achieving something.
It made sense if you thought of it like a game.
Like skill trees or level-ups, meeting certain conditions unlocked stronger powers.
'...But this world doesn't run exactly like a game.'
Things I thought were obvious often weren't. So I couldn't be certain of anything, but this case let me be sure of one thing.
Tulip, and Harin too.
They could definitely get stronger.
In the meantime...
Tulip and the man were bickering.
"We'll escort you all the way home."
"Ah, no! Really, I'm fine! You've already done more than enough!"
But this time Kang Harin chimed in.
"You saw it yourself—it's dangerous. Let's do that."
"Right. How dangerous is this area? What if you go alone?"
"W-Well... If it's not too much trouble, please."
The man finally gave in.
And the place we arrived at wasn't his home.