Chapter 54
Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Constellation Gallery EP.53
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tulip snatched the knife from the man who had been about to stab her own throat, then swiftly slashed across his forearm.
“Kuaaaack!”
The reaction was overly dramatic for what seemed like a shallow wound.
That was my initial thought.
‘What the hell is that….’
Thick smoke billowed from the gash.
As if it were corroding.
“Was that bastard’s knife coated in poison or something?”
Tulip shook her head at my question.
“No. I put it there. It’s still too hard for me to do it like you do, old man, so this is the best I can manage.”
“You put it there?”
“I told you before. I can absorb any poison, convert it into my own, and store it. I can draw it out and use it whenever I need to.”
Right. She was a reserve poison demon.
But I hadn’t realized she could use it so casually.
What? Was there something wrong with what I did?
More importantly, those guys handled it pretty calmly.
“Well done. If you’d tried to subdue him rashly without knowing his stats, the damage could’ve been worse.”
“It’s the opposite, actually.”
“Opposite?”
“Yeah. I could feel his stats were ridiculously low, so I just let him be.”
Kang Harin nodded at Tulip’s words.
“That’s right. I was confident I wouldn’t take any damage either.”
My head tilted involuntarily.
“How could you tell?”
“Instinct?”
They answered in unison.
‘……Instinct?’
Judging by the aura emanating from him, maybe.
I hadn’t sensed any presence from the guy at all.
Beyond presence—no threat whatsoever.
‘Looking at his stats, it’s more accurate to say it wasn’t skill at concealing his presence, but that his energy was just too weak.’
But the problem is… if they can distinguish the weak like that, it means they might not notice someone with weak energy tailing them.
Shouldn’t it be easier to detect those who can’t hide their presence properly?
‘Well, it’s like noticing a person following you but not an ant… something like that.’
I just couldn’t figure it out.
This damn unfriendly world still didn’t explain a single thing clearly.
Meanwhile, the guy who’d been hit by Tulip’s attack started trembling in his arm, then his whole body stiffened.
As his breathing stopped and his eyes slowly dried up, I clicked my tongue.
“You would’ve been better off getting killed by me instead.”
With that excuse, I severed his neck in one clean stroke.
Thud.
His head rolled across the floor, and dark red blood, hardening from the poison, oozed stickily from the stump.
He really would’ve been better off against me.
That said, I had no intention of pitying him.
‘He reaped what he sowed by messing with Tulip.’
Are these guys really Constellations?
Meanwhile, Tulip covered her mouth with one hand and spoke.
“You’re always so thorough with the kill confirmation, old man.”
Her expression was calm, but there was a subtle flicker in her eyes.
“That’s how this world works.”
On the other hand, Kang Harin looked particularly queasy.
She was covering her mouth and looking away.
Tulip seemed to have grown somewhat accustomed to dealing with monsters.
This was probably her first time harming a human, but she appeared to be gradually adapting to decapitated corpses.
Harin… would need more time.
That was when it happened.
Shuuuk-!
A sharp sound tearing through the air.
I reflexively swung my knife to deflect the ice shard.
Turning my head immediately, I spotted them at the edge of my vision.
A pack of launcher goblins beyond the narrow path.
And among them, one elder goblin.
“Perfect.”
My lips curled up involuntarily.
“I’ve been wanting to test something out.”
*
“Old man, are you really gonna keep this thing around?”
Tulip, sitting in the back seat, wrinkled her nose and glanced sideways.
At the end of her gaze, an elder goblin sat blankly in the seat next to her.
“Yeah, to see how long the incitement lasts. Plus, it’s summer, so it’s nice and cool.”
The cold air from the upper-grade elder goblin surpassed the car’s AC.
“It’s cool and all… but what if it suddenly turns on us?”
“It’s fine. That thing’s a superconductor.”
“Huh?”
“Its resistance to incitement is basically zero.”
“I don’t get what that means.”
I smiled at Tulip’s pout.
“You don’t need to. Besides, you could handle one like that easily now, right?”
“Well… true, but……”
Then, Kang Harin, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“I… want to get stronger too.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“When you and Tulip fight… you have to protect me. I feel like I’m just a burden……”
I glanced at her in the passenger seat.
Her face was serious.
“Burden? If it weren’t for the armor you made, Tulip and I would’ve taken a lot more damage. You’re already a core pillar of the team.”
“But……”
“Don’t rush it. You’re fulfilling your role as a porter perfectly, and as a blacksmith, you’re pulling your weight. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“……Still.”
Harin bit her lip.
“Fine, if you’re that frustrated, make yourself a weapon that suits you and go bash some monsters.”
I said with a light laugh.
“Of course, only the easy ones, not the dangerous stuff.”
Harin’s eyes widened as she looked at me.
And then she slowly nodded.
“Yes! I’ll make one! A weapon that fits me!”
A short while later, we arrived in Daegu.
But this was no longer a city.
It was a battlefield.
Buildings all ablaze.
Cracked roads.
Heavy stench of blood hanging over it all.
‘This isn’t just monsters spreading across Daegu. Something more’s going on.’
I drove slowly, scanning the surroundings.
Was there a riot?
Even then, the air felt different just one block away.
“Everyone out.”
“Here?”
“Tires might melt if we go further.”
I got out and looked at the ground.
Kneeling slightly, I touched the surface with my fingertips.
Hot.
Not just the asphalt—the heat was surging from below.
‘Geothermal activity spiking abnormally?’
No, it was like someone had lit a furnace inside the earth.
Harin grimaced.
“It’s…… really hot here.”
“Doesn’t the elder goblin look like a fairy now?”
“Huh? Why would it look like a fairy?”
“Never mind.”
Looking back, the elder goblin was still quietly emitting cold air.
“Should’ve slept in Gwangju and come tomorrow if I knew it’d be like this.”
“Think the opposite. It’ll be even hotter during the day. Good thing we came at night.”
Tulip opened her mouth with a look of realization.
“I get it! You brought the elder goblin because you predicted this!”
“Nah.”
“You really are godlike, old man.”
“If I were a god, why would I be suffering like this?”
“For me and sis?”
I ignored Tulip and looked at the elder goblin.
The incitement was lasting longer than expected.
Maybe because I raised my Intelligence, or perhaps it used less mana since it had zero resistance.
“If I knew it’d be like this, I would’ve said to bring more. How about grabbing some more now?”
“Can’t.”
Aside from having to go back and forth, there was a limit to how many we could fit in the car.
And dragging a bunch around would draw too much attention.
‘It’d be like advertising we’re Awakened.’
Well, even now, having a goblin with us was advertising it.
But setting that aside, hauling them without space was a problem.
Suppose we found a place to stay.
The more space they took, the less room for me, Tulip, or Harin.
And that wasn’t the end.
I didn’t even have enough mana to sustain a large number continuously.
If it wore off midway, combat would break out immediately.
Plenty more to consider.
‘Maybe if a time comes when I don’t have to worry about any of that.’
For now, at least keep the elder goblin safe and alive.
Partly because it’s hot… yeah.
And either way, I needed to test its limits soon.
“Juhan, look over there.”
The direction Harin pointed.
With each step, the street melted.
As if a massive soldering iron were pressing into the ground.
I narrowed my eyes.
A bizarre shape walking on four legs, like flowing lava.
And it was huge.
‘If it stood on two legs, it’d be my height.’
Each step made the ground heave, heat surging instantly.
From afar, it just looked big, but up close, the perceived temperature was insane.
‘Shit, this doesn’t feel like early zones anymore.’
My breath caught.
Meanwhile, Tulip and Kang Harin were holding up better than expected.
“Harin, it’s a good thing your armor holds up in this heat.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So stop thinking you’re not helping.”
I peered through the shimmering heat haze, focusing ahead.
The thing slowly turned its body, fixing its head on us.
“Elder.”
“Keruk!”
“Blast that bastard with an ice bolt.”
At that moment, the elder goblin began to move.