Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 77: Star, The Changgwi Cave (2)

[Commencing the Dungeon Quest!]

[Quest theme: Survival and Conquest.]

[You are currently under Hohwan Mama’s severe curse. The curse will be activated every 24 hours and invite you to the hidden plane ‘Changgwi’s Cave’. ]

[The ‘Changgwi Cave’ is a complicated labyrinth consisting of nine floors. Each floor is made up of different environments and cities, and the various kinds of Changgwis that are detained by the Howhan Mama reside within.]

[All the Changgwis instinctively hate humans, and will kill humans using any means necessary and turn them into allies. Survive the incoming wave of Changgwi attacks.]

[In order to completely undo the Hohwan Mama’s curse, you must conquer all nine floors.]

[The <Inventory>, <Status Window>, <Skill Window>, <Time Limit>, and <Performance Achievement> will be shown, so check them regularly.]

[Good luck to all participants.]

[Day 1 of the Dungeon Quest has begun.]

[Survive for six hours, starting now.]

[06:00:00]

[05:59:59:99]

[05:59:59:98]

…

[Current Location: The First Sector of the First Floor.]

‘The curse will be activated every 24 hours?’ Chang-Sun noticed.

He could vaguely tell what the Hidden Quest [The Hidden Path in the Starlight] was about. Some curses were designed for hunting a target with unyielding willpower, repeating the same curse at a set time every day. No matter how strong one’s willpower was, nobody could endure suffering from the curse that confused and deranged one’s mind every day. In the end, those under the curse would be killed.

During his ‘Divine Twilight’ years, Chang-Sun had seen similar curses many times. The Celestials he killed had put their final curses on him with the last of their strength. It was not easy to undo such curses due to their strong grudges. The Hidden Quest was one such curse.

‘Hohwan Mama is the residual energy of the scroll’s original owner… In other words, the residual energy is the starlight. So were Changgwis bewitched by the starlight, making them lose their souls?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

It was commonly known that Changgwis were spirits killed by a Hohwan Mama. When they found tigers, they would guide them to humans to create more victims like itself. Judging from the Dungeon Quest explanation, the Dungeon was full of such Changgwis, and Chang-Sun had to survive their attacks... Since there was a time limit, it seemed to be a time-attack type of quest.

‘If I get killed here, the Hohwan Mama will get a complete hold of my soul and turn it into a Changgwi, and my body will be tainted and become a Ghost Soldier or a Gildal.’ Chang-Sun thought.

If he lasted until the end of the set time, pre-selected gifts would be given to him, potentially the purified Hohwan Mama or starlight.

Chang-Sun’s eyes shone bright. ‘The Sword Sky Tiger acquired his power through this kind of Dungeon Quest.’

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ wonders how you will escape the Dungeon!]

People’s minds would ordinarily become exhausted if they went through life-and-death battles again and again for several hours, but Chang-Sun thought it might be fun. He had led this kind of life for so long that he rather enjoyed moments like these.

‘I’m a bit different.’

Tap!

Tap!

Chang-Sun walked toward the center of the first sector, which was a round, vacant space connected by three or four mine shafts. On the ceiling, a magic light illuminated the inside. When he went a little further inside, something walked out from a mine shaft opposite him.

“Kikiki… It’s a human…! A human!”

It was a Changgwi. They didn’t look so different from humans, but their skin and face were typically pale and blue like a corpse, with big dark bags under their eyes that made them look even more dead.

Corpse Toxin dripped from its sagging skin, scattering through the air like smoke and spreading the stench of rot everywhere.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ advises you to get rid of the smelly and ugly monster and get to somewhere else.]

Its overall appearance looked like a zombie or a ghoul, but unlike those monsters that functioned off of instincts alone, the Changgwi seemed to have some ability to think rationally. As Chang-Sun looked at the Changgwi, he could sense various feelings in its shining eyes—namely greed and hunger. He could also tell that it carried a considerable amount of magic. It wanted to ‘devour’ Chang-Sun because it knew he was a living person.

‘Is the attack starting with just one Changgwi?’ Chang-Sun thought.

Despite his combat experience, Chang-Sun had never seen a Changgwi before. Since it seemed to be an immortal or ghost-type monster, he had to check its ability first.

‘But before I do any of that…’

Before starting the Hidden Quest, Chang-Sun checked Minerva’s reward first. From what he remembered, Minerva had definitely gifted him an Authority.

[Kalokagathia]

An Authority created by combining the ‘Unyielding Spirit’ and ‘Composed Spirit’, the previous bonus rewards from the Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’.

Only an ascetic that has mastered physical Kalos and mental Agathos can acquire the authority. During times of hardship, your mind will become the symbol of an iron will that never yields, and your body will become the symbol of the veteran that overcomes all.

“An ideal does not exist independently, so when everything harmonizes, you will be closer to divine greatness.”

· Skill Level: 1

· Type: Authority. Blessing. Protection.

· Effect: Immunity to mental debuffs. Indomitable bravery. Ability to overcome hardships.

‘…Well, I thought [Insightful Eyes] or [Goddess Sword] would be enough, but it seems Minerva adores me a lot.’

[Kalokagathia] ordinarily referred to the best level of enlightenment within the Illuminati, the Clan that worshiped Minerva. The Illuminati members worked very hard so Minerva would recognize them. However, she had given the seal of recognition to Chang-Sun, who wasn’t one of her followers. There was a high chance that the Illuminati members would fall into chaos once they found out.

However, regardless of its value, the effects of [Kalokagathia] were quite good. He already had [Immunity to Mental Debuffs], the effect that undid all mental curses, from [Unyielding Spirit] and [Composed Spirit], but [Overcome Hardships] was the true cherry on top that [Kalokagathia] provided.

‘During long battles, it’s difficult to stay composed due to depleted stamina and mental fatigue, but [Kalokagathia] solves that problem.’

The greater the fatigue, the energy consumption, or the risk was, the more his abilities would increase. In other words, the more enemies Chang-Sun fought against, the stronger he became. The stronger the enemies were, the more Chang-Sun could overcome his limit, enabling him to become as powerful as his past self. Therefore, there was no better authority than [Kalokagathia].

With this authority, Minerva had unwittingly put wings on Chang-Sun’s back.

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ sends you blessings as you head off on a dangerous journey!]

‘It’ll be fun.’ Chang-Sun thought as he smiled coldly, thinking he would be able to fight more Changgwis than he had expected. He pulled out [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] from his waist pocket and held it in a reverse grip.

“Human…! I’ll eat you…!” The Changgwi slowly spoke.

[Sa]

A low-rank Changgwi, the most common one found in the Changgwi Cave.

Paah―

[The attack has been initiated!]

Kiyahhh!

The Changgwi couldn’t stay still anymore, so it pounced at Chang-Sun, drooling.

[The Skill ‘Viper Eyes’ has been activated, tracking the opponent’s weaknesses!]

[The Skill ‘Beast Senses’ has been activated, heightening all your senses!]

[The Authority ‘Kalokagathia’ has been activated, adjusting your ability!]

Clash!

The Changgwi’s sword and [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] clashed together.

“You’re pretty good..! But you’ll still end up in my stomach…!” the Changgwi broke into manic laughter and swiped its long nails at Chang-Sun, closing in on him. Its voice was mixed with ghostly wails, so the ends of its sentences seemed to trail off, making it sound more ominous.

Clash! Clang, clash!

Every time the Changgwi attacked, it spread Corpse Toxin everywhere. The further it spread, the louder the Changgwi’s manic laughter grew. “You may be able to stop my attacks now…! But my toxin is slowly corroding your body…! Your body will become so heavy that you’ll fall…!”

Clang, clash, clang!

“Then you’ll become a Changgwi, just like me…!” The Changgwi said with a twisted grin.

Schwing! Clash, clash!

“You should become…!” The Changgwi trailed off.

Swoosh, swoosh―!

“You should have become…!” The Changgwi frowned.

Slash! Slash!

“…Why aren’t you becoming a Changgwi…?” The Changgwi asked.

Boom!

Regardless of what the Changgwi said, Chang-Sun didn’t answer and swung [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] over and over, slicing through the Changgwi’s flesh and limbs. In the end, he stabbed through its heart, and with the sound of an explosion, a head-sized hole formed in its chest. The Changgwi’s eyes lost focus.

“H-How…?” the Changgwi stuttered.

He was bound to be perplexed. The Corpse Toxin was classified as a high-ranking lethal toxin, and Changgwi’s Corpse Toxin was even more lethal than the ordinary one, even containing acid. A drop of its Corpse Toxin would have been enough to kill an elephant, but Chang-Sun wasn’t even affected, let alone killed.

[The Effect ‘Ten Toxin Immunity’ has neutralized all the toxins!]

The Changgwi didn’t know that Chang-Sun was already immune to all the Corpse Toxin-related toxins.

“Are all the monsters the same level as you?” Chang-Sun asked, clicking his tongue.

“Wh-what…?” The Changgwi asked back.

“That would be disappointing.” said Chang-Sun.

“Hold on…!” The Changgwi exclaimed, believing something was wrong, but Chang-Sun cut its head off with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] before it could speak.

Slash!

Tumble―!

The Changgwi’s head fell and rolled pathetically along the ground. Soon, the amputated head and its body both corroded, and the remaining particles scattered in the wind, forming a whirlpool in the air. The particles spun around for a moment before flying into Chang-Sun.

[Eliminated the Low-Ranking Changgwi ‘Sa’!]

[Acquired the Changgwi’s Hohwan Mama.]

[Your physical constitution has changed very slightly.]

[The change is minuscule right now. Eliminate more Changgwis, and acquire more Hohwan Mama.]

Click―!

Click―!

As the particles settled down inside Chang-Sun’s body, he could hear something being united within him. Although the change was very small, he could feel his muscles toughen up, and his magic increase.

Chang-Sun nodded. ‘So this is how it works.’

His guess had turned out to be correct. If he got devoured by the Hohwan Mama, he would become a Ghost Soldier or a Gildal, but when he dominated the Hohwan Mama, he was going to walk down a different path, like the Sword Sky Tiger had done.

‘But I can’t be satisfied with just that.’ Chang-Sun smiled coldly.

Even though he was happy to become stronger through the Hohwan Mama, he didn’t want to be dragged into a situation he had no control over. The Hohwan Mama made one’s body and soul stronger, but it also turned one into an Inhuman. He didn’t wish to go down that path.

Feeling the Hohwan Mama settling inside his body, Chang-Sun quickly started [The Eon Fire of the Eight Trigrams Brazier]. This power could destroy and recover anything, and it would be able to turn the Hohwan Mama into anything Chang-Sun wanted. Above all else…

‘If the Hohwan Mama is a type of ghost energy, then I'll be able to control it however I want.’

Chang-Sun was the Underworld-certified reaper.

[The Effect ‘Single Eon Fire’ has been activated!]

[The absorbed Hohwan Mama and the fire are mixing with each other, and the Hohwan Mama is slowly being purified.]

[The Hohwan Mama is resisting hard!]

Kiyaaaah!

The Hohwan Mama that had been clinging onto Chang-Sun writhed around upon encountering this unexpected situation. If it was purified, it would lose its identity as Hohwan Mama, so it attempted to fight off the approaching fire. However, it was futile to try when even a Jigwi couldn’t resist the effect.

[The Effect ‘Single Eon Fire’ flares up more intensely!]

[The Hohwan Mama is crumbling apart, unable to withstand the fire.]

[The Hohwan Mama is going through purification.]

[The Hohwan Mama is mutating.]

…

[A new kind of ‘Mama’ has been created!]

[Achievement unlocked!]

“The Mama that devours Hohwan Mama.”

Reward: Intelligence +5. Willpower +3.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ opens his eyes wide in shock upon seeing such an unexpected outcome!]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ quietly rolls her eyes, unable to tell what is going on.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ observes the new starlight that has transformed from the starlight left by the <Forgotten Star> with interest.]

Paaah!

The black energy that settled down within Chang-Sun turned to ash and united with his body.

[Successfully absorbed the new purified Mama!]

…

[Your mana now has the ‘Biwi’ attribute, along with the ‘Jigwi’ attribute!]

[Found the forgotten starlight.]

A Biwi was a cryptid that was known to eat tiger monsters, and sometimes, it was classified as a divine creature. Chang-Sun had never expected his magic to gain the Biwi attribute. In other words, he had now become a natural enemy of anything related to Heoju, like the Hohwan Mama…

‘Things are starting to get interesting.’

Chang-Sun was beginning to think that he would be able to have a similar, but ultimately different result than the Sword Sky Tiger. Smiling enigmatically, he slowly headed towards Sector 2.