abcnovels
Chapter 125
Chapter 125
Chapter 125
Rather than just one, he had a contract with two constellations!
‘This shouldn’t come from a constellation pretending to be a mortal, but isn’t he a really strange yet amazing person?’
Choi Yeonseung was amazed. No law forbade mortals from trusting and following more than one constellation. If a person was good enough, they could believe and be strengthened by multiple constellations.
-Since God and Buddha are both good gods, won’t believing in both double your strength?
?Constellations are so narrow-minded that doing that will split you in half.
… The problem was that the constellations didn’t tolerate it.
The constellations wanted the souls of their household members and minions to belong exclusively to them. An insignificant, ant-like mortal alternating between them and another constellation was unforgivable. Hence, it was rare for people to believe in two constellations at once, especially if those were violent evil god constellations!
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ is amazed because the human isn’t scared.]
[Jerry Kuber (Unawakened)]
[Strengthening the Contract]
[Rank: C+
Bestowed by the Demon of Contract and Order, this power will strengthen the powers obtained through a contract.]
[Mask of a Traitor]
[Rank: D+.
Hides your true feelings using the Traitor with a Poisoned Dagger’s power.]
Despite not being a hunter, an unawakened person had signed a contract with the Demon of Contract and Order and the Traitor with a Poisoned Dagger! Looking at his skills made it clear he hadn’t only signed a contract with the Demon of Contract and Order. Rather, he was also hiding his inner feelings with the skill he received from Traitor with a Poisoned Dagger.
The traitor constellation probably didn’t know either that his minion would deceive him and make a deal with another evil god constellation. Human greed sometimes surprised even the evil god constellation.
‘Wait. How did I see through it?’
Choi Yeonseung’s ‘Constellation Eyes’ wasn’t that powerful. Examining a hunter only allowed him to grasp a few superficial stats or skills. It was impossible to see anything deeper than that, yet he could now somehow see through someone hiding such skills.
-That is my strength.
“!”
The Goddess of Defeat and Sloth suddenly spoke.
-That mortal is exhausted from many recent defeats, and he has lost the diligence he had and become lazy.
-It doesn’t look like that to me.
-That’s because you haven’t opened your eyes to the power of defeat and sloth yet. Try harder to lose.
-... Don’t say something so horrible.
Regardless, her power allowed him to see through his current opponent. The more someone indulged in defeat and sloth, the harder it was to hide their identity from Choi Yeonseung, who had inherited the power of the goddess.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says in admiration that it is a good power to use against people whose lives have been ruined!]
-It is a bit strange to say it like that.
“Aine. Has that person ruined anything lately?”
“Well, have you heard that Pask Food has been shaky lately? Their performance has been poor, and they keep getting incidents…”
‘Is that why he gave into the evil god constellations’ temptations?’
Once a person had become weak, the evil god constellations would dig into their cracks. From what he had heard, Alex Parker was a cold-blooded, heartless human. The bosses working under him probably felt as if their blood was drying up.
“Well? Sit down.”
“Thank you.”
Choi Yeonseung casually pulled out a chair and sat down. His cocky attitude made the subordinates around him frown.
“Aine. You sit down as well.”
“... I’d feel uncomfortable doing so, so I’ll remain standing.”
Aine stood behind Choi Yeonseung. She was composed, but she didn’t want to sit in front of the Parker family’s chairman when everyone else in this large room was staring at them.
“Choi Yeonseung. They say you are called Fist Hero.”
The secretary next to him whispered softly, “Chairman, Korea’s Fist Hero.”
“Ah. Yes. I left out Korea. Korea...”
“I don’t want you to call me that.” Choi Yeonseung cut straight to the point. The Americans’ naming sense was so tacky that it made him cringe.
“I see. Do you know why I called you?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I wanted to thank you,” Alex Parker said with a smile so kind it gave Aine got goosebumps.
‘Isn’t this old man crazy?’
“Well, I deserve to be thanked.”
“......”
“......”
Choi Yeonseung’s shamelessness made the air freeze. Aine seemed to hear someone murmuring, ‘This bastard...’ from behind.
“I prevented the evil god constellation from attacking and saved the hunters. Isn’t that right?”
“That’s right!” Alex Parker confirmed without blinking an eye.
Aine, who was watching from the side, was dumbfounded. ‘Is this really their first meeting?’
“Carl Kreger, that young friend of ours, credited you for making sure everyone was safe.”
Hunter Carl Kreger, who was in charge of the research park, witnessed Choi Yeonseung’s martial arts from up close. He had a strong personality, so instead of stealing credit for what Choi Yeonseung did, he reported only the truth.
“Yes, you’ve got a good eye.”
“Do you know how much it costs to raise a useful hunter? You saved me a lot of money. A few people did disappear, but...”
“Hah. Have you found them?”
“Upon further investigation, I found out that they are now in another research institute. I don’t mean to blame you, though.”
“Of course, you can’t blame me. Can you still call yourself human if you do? Wouldn’t that make you a selfish bastard?”
‘Oh no. Please stop...’ Aine thought. She didn’t think there would be a fight, but wasn’t he provoking Alex Parker too much?
However, Alex Parker, whose benevolent and generous expression didn’t change despite what he had heard, was even scarier.
“Bring it in,” Alex Parker said while looking behind him. On his order, one of his subordinates entered with a well-packed display box that emitted powerful magical energy. It was an artifact.
[Heaven Reliant Sword]
Durability: 380/380 Attack Power: 360
Contains the skill ‘Path of Relying on the Heavens.’ Keeps the skill ‘Seamless Heavenly Clothes’ perpetually active.
Following the will of the sword recovers magic power.
Level Requirement: 290.]
‘A high-grade artifact!’
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ becomes interested because it is a pretty good sword.]
It was weaker than the Sword of Goujian, China’s national treasure that Hwang Gyeongryong had given Choi Yeonseung, but it was still quite powerful. Any martial artist wouldn’t be able to stop themselves from coveting it!
'Isn’t that a Chinese national treasure as well?’
How many national treasures had China lost in the past 30 years...?
“Are you familiar with this sword?”
“I know a Chinese hunter used it in the past.”
“You’re right. It is a luxury even among luxury items. I thought a martial artist would recognize it. I’ll give this to you as a reward for your dedication.”
Aine’s expression grew serious.
‘He has to refuse!’ Aine exclaimed to herself. She hoped Choi Yeonseung would hear her. No matter how much he coveted that gift, he had to refuse it. It was just too much. Accepting it would be no different from playing in the hands of Alex Parker! What would Hwang Gyeongryong think?
-You got that artifact from Alex Parker? Does that make sense to you?
… Similar doubts would rise.
Alex Parker was trying to drive a wedge using that artifact. He could boldly use artifacts worth tens of millions of dollars if he could get the talent he was aiming for.
‘I’ve already won him over.’ Alex Parker inwardly laughed in triumph.
He had long ruled the political and business world, but there had never been a happier time than when he used the power of money to get his hands on an arrogant hunter who thought he was the best! Nothing was more pleasurable than this moment.
“Thank you for giving this to me.”
‘It’s over.’
‘No!’
Choi Yeonseung accepted it, paying no heed to what others were thinking. Once he had received it, he could sell it at the auction house or give it to anyone...
The people here were under one illusion. Choi Yeonseung and Hwang Gyeongryong’s relationship differed slightly from what they thought. Choi Yeonseung wasn’t under Hwang Gyeongryong. He was Hwang Gyeongryong’s master!
What did it matter what they saw, though? All he did was accept it.
“Is that all? You’re giving me just this one?”
“......”
Alex Parker’s eyes shook when Choi Yeonseung asked for more. When receiving something like this, people would usually act shy and say something like, ‘I can’t accept this,’ or bow a bit and flatter him...
Choi Yeonseung behaved differently from everyone. Alex Parker’s long experience warned him. The person in front of him was a bit different!
“Now that I have given you a present, I would like to give you a piece of advice to match it.”
“Don’t use it in front of the Chinese? Don’t worry. I will never tell them where I got it from if ever anyone asks.”
Of course, he was going to answer immediately if asked.
“... Dragon Hwang is deceiving you.”
“!”
Choi Yeonseung pretended to be surprised.
Aine was angry but held back. Intervening here wasn’t ideal.
“Think about it carefully. I won’t deny that Dragon Hwang is an outstanding person. Few people can rise from being a hunter to running a company like that. However, when it comes to your future, you have to put aside your past acquaintances and relationships and think about it from a more sober perspective.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Now, look.”
Alex Parker pulled out a core—a crystal that came out from monsters. With a bit of refinement, it could become a powerful energy source that exceeded existing energy sources tenfold. The core that Alex Parker took out now was already refined. It was well-polished and clear in color.
“We used an innovative refinement technology that came out around 20 years ago on this. Its purity is 88%. The company that invented this technology had record sales that year.”
The higher the purity of the core’s refinement, the more energy-efficient it was. Even if they could raise the purity by just 1% or even 0.1%, the profit they could get from it exceeded imagination. That was why hunters always complained, ‘Hunters do the hard work and companies get the profits.’
“The company had several acquisition offers. However, the company refused and decided to go its own way. What do you think happened to them?”
“I don’t know.”
“89% pure refinement technology came out the next year, 90% the next month, and 91% the month after that. The company went bankrupt in an instant.”
Every day was new in this industry so many companies were jumping in and struggling. The new technology that came out today would be outdated tomorrow.
“You are this core right now. Everyone is looking at you now, but you don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”
Nobody practiced martial arts now and most martial artists had retired. Choi Yeonseung, a martial artist who appeared out of nowhere, was a refreshing shock. It didn’t matter how useful martial arts would be or if it could really surpass magic. What was important was that countless people started to take interest in martial arts again.
Fortunately, Choi Yeonseung resurfaced in this period wherein hunter services were extremely expensive!
“You never know when other martial artists will threaten your place, so you have to put a high price on yourself right now!”
“Hmm. Dragon Hwang certainly likes saving money.”
Hwang Gyeongryong would’ve shed tears if he heard those words because of how unfair they were. He didn’t give Choi Yeonseung any money, but he had given him a black card that he could use as much as he wanted!
Choi Yeonseung’s words were so different from what really happened!