Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Constellation Gallery EP.47
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Constellation Gallery EP.47
The moment I heard Tulip's words, I realized.
'Ah, it's because of Jahil.'
The damage wasn't severe, but I could feel my condition improving in real time.
That's when Kang Harin approached cautiously.
"Juhan, are you okay?"
Her eyes were filled with worry.
Their reactions hit me more bitterly than expected.
Instead of being a reliable ally and earning their trust, here I was receiving pity.
"I'm fine."
Only then did Kang Harin let out a sigh of relief and suddenly thrust something toward me.
"Here... I should've given it to you sooner, but I kept putting it off..."
What she pulled out was a suit of armor.
It was vastly different from what she'd given to the orphanage kids.
A refined yet sturdy design, like something a medieval knight commander would wear.
"Oh! So this is it! But why is it so light?"
"Isn't it because you boosted your Strength?"
Tulip, who answered instead, widened her eyes.
"No, it's not? Sis, why is it really so light?"
"No need to worry about the durability, right?"
"Why worry about durability?"
"Well, it feels too light, like it might not be sturdy..."
"Durability is a jerk."
"......"
Kang Harin and I silently stared at Tulip.
"Tulip, you've really picked up Juhan's habits."
"She's just growing old alongside him."
"It's not that. I tailored it to match the old man."
"Everyone denies it at first."
Tulip pulled out her bow.
"Old man, can I test the armor's durability?"
"No need to worry about durability."
"Harin, that's not it—she's saying she wants to hit me in that roundabout way."
"Ah......"
More importantly, would this show info like shop items?
Check info.
[Kang Harin's Handmade Armor]
My eyes widened slightly.
Vitality level up by 3?
This wasn't just simple armor?
"...You added these properties yourself?"
"No. They were already there automatically."
Hm, random then?
"Well, not bad. No, it's excellent."
As I inspected the armor, running my hands over it, Kang Harin blushed and fidgeted.
"Really? Th-then... try it on."
She urged me to put it on.
As I did, I marveled at how comfortable it felt.
'It feels like regular clothes, not armor?'
As expected of a shop item equivalent—no discomfort at all.
As I nodded unconsciously.
"Right! It can turn transparent too!"
Kang Harin, finally proving her worth, raised her voice excitedly like she'd become a god.
"Transparent?"
"Yes. Like this."
As she spoke, Kang Harin made her own armor go transparent.
The armor vanished smoothly before my eyes.
"Not storing it in your inventory and messing around?"
"No. Try it once."
"I'm kidding. But the transparency is your ability too?"
"...I'm not sure about that."
Even the person herself didn't know.
This place was fucking unfriendly, as always.
"Anyway, now that I've got the armor, let's go clear some achievements."
"Yes! Oh, by the way, earlier I felt that weird sensation again. I thought I should tell you."
"Weird sensation?"
"Y-yeah, that feeling of being tailed. I felt it when you were in the middle of fighting."
"One of those guys' underlings must've come scouting and bailed after seeing the situation."
More importantly, my next steps were clear.
I couldn't just farm gold anymore.
I had no idea when this damn leveling would unlock, and with dangerous foes popping up, grinding pure stats wasn't enough.
'But I can't rush into contracts either.'
It wasn't even curiosity about the Grave of Ten Thousand Demons achievement anymore.
From what those guys said, contracts might be poison or a holy grail for human survival.
'Even those called vicious constellations...'
Could I really trust the 'good' ones just because they were labeled benevolent?
They were all spectators enjoying this spectacle as entertainment, same as the rest.
The devil comes disguised as an angel, after all.
Kang Harin's question about whether it was a 'devil's contract' might be spot on.
Angels or demons, they were all the same to me.
'So until safety is guaranteed, focus on achievements and rune stone acquisition.'
I'd gotten rune stones from both monsters and humans.
Achievements also granted items.
'I can get plenty strong without contracts.'
But I had no info on who dropped rune stones.
So the clearest path was Slayer achievements.
There had to be more achievements out there, though...
"But old man, aren't you gonna make your armor transparent?"
"Huh?"
"Armor transparency."
"Ah, yeah, no."
"Why?"
"So they don't freak out seeing it."
"Ah......"
As I tapped the bulky armor while answering, Tulip and Kang Harin's faces matched perfectly.
They probably didn't write it knowing I'd see, but it scratched an itch anyway.
And it made sense.
"You two don't go transparent either."
"Huh?"
"You'd look like easy prey."
This much was just coincidence in thinking, right?
Yoo Juhan dashed through the goblin horde.
His armor was already soaked in blood, but he showed no sign of resting, just kept moving and moving.
On the battlefield shrouded in death, his clear eyes seemed to prove he was alive.
He looked like a battle maniac who enjoyed combat itself.
Lee Tulip watched from afar, bow at the ready.
Yoo Juhan's back looked bigger and heavier than before. It wasn't just the armor.
'...He seems chased by something.'
That's how she felt.
Like a warrior driving himself relentlessly, he plunged into the goblin horde without pause.
Shoosh-shoosh-shoosh-!
Four or five javelins flew at him simultaneously.
He tilted his head back slightly, stepped one pace rearward, and deflected their paths with a single longsword.
Squeak! Thunk! Clang!
The spears bounced harmlessly away.
The goblins' javelins shattered like debris upon hitting the ground and scattered.
And in that gap dove a single shadow.
'Fast...!'
Was he always this fast?
Lee Tulip thought so inwardly, but instinctively sensed it.
He wasn't just killing goblins—he was consuming himself.
'Even someone as strong as the old man keeps pushing.'
'I can't keep being a burden like this.'
'I need to get stronger too.'
She narrowed her eyes and drew her bowstring.
Pyu-byeung!
As Lee Tulip took down three goblins at once.
Yoo Juhan dominated the battlefield.
Yoo Juhan's eyes narrowed.
'What does this mean...'
A slayer born for the first time now?
Even when he cleared First Archer Slayer, the rank didn't rise twice.
Meaning no one else in this area had claimed a Slayer title.
'What... Launcher goblins were the first mob...?'
To max Agility at 10, he'd have needed over 100 at least, right?
Or did they get sponsorship?
Makes sense—20,000 Gold tops.
As he thought that, the final alert appeared.
"Fuck, what the hell is this now..."
"Old man! Some weird alert just..."
Yoo Juhan squeezed his eyes shut.
It showed for the others too.
Meaning every awakened human saw this message.
'Busan too, huh.'
No, it wasn't just expanding to Busan.
The specifics like "Incheon's somewhere" were gone.
In short, tiny neighborhoods expanded to entire regions.
'Ha... fuck. We're screwed.'
Monster spawn zones had been super narrow till now.
Thus, few encounters, even fewer awakenings.
'The board flipped.'
Those shitty bastards.
Dragging us to hell.
Yoo Juhan clenched his fist tight.
Then laughed instead.
"Let's do this. See who wins."