abcnovels
Chapter 153
Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Bewildered, the three constellations looked at Choi Yeonseung. Even the Fighter of Sweat and Flesh, who was on his side, did the same. What was this bullshit?
[The ‘Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ is becoming angry!]
[He says letting a household member die like this is too much!]
‘He’s quite nice, isn’t he?’ Choi Yeonseung thought. He didn’t expect the Fighter of Sweat and Flesh to respond in such a way. To a constellation, members of their household were no different from useful chess pieces. It was rare for a constellation to show such affection for a household member.
A roar echoed as the magical storm swept up Choi Yeonseung. The magical storm was such a powerful force that even the constellations were afraid of it, but Choi Yeonseung just relaxed and gave in to its flow. When he got used to it, he then turned and changed directions as if he was swimming.
‘I can keep moving like this.’
The constellations were now more curious about Choi Yeonseung’s survival than the results of the race. The incarnation of training wouldn’t have thrown away his household member without thinking.
[The ’Endless Linked Explosions’ is interested to see how you will pass through the storm of the Abyss.]
[The ’Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ says that no matter how he thinks about it, this is too much.]
No matter how good the plan was, there was no guarantee that it would work, especially when it involved jumping into a magical storm. Hence, the constellations felt truly surprised when someone emerged from the magical storm.
[The ’Endless Linked Explosions’ is very surprised!]
[The ‘Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ is very surprised!]
[The ’Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ is very surprised!]
Choi Yeonseung broke through and appeared on the path on the other side with more magic power than when he entered the magical storm.
Bang!
Choi Yeonseung shot forward like a bullet, reaching speeds that surprised those going around the magical storm and chasing after him.
[The ’Endless Linked Explosions’ asks why you climbed onto someone else’s mount when you could’ve just done that.]
‘... I’m sorry about that.’
Choi Yeonseung had nothing to say about this. Unlike the mechanical dinosaur, Choi Yeonseung had limited internal energy, so he tried to pace himself! Those who had fallen behind tried to catch up to Choi Yeonseung by using hidden skills, but the magical storm created so much distance between them that it couldn’t be easily narrowed.
Eventually, Choi Yeonseung crossed the finish line first.
[The constellation battle is over!]
[The ’Endless Linked Explosions’ acknowledges you.]
[He suggests joining the terrorism done on Earth.]
‘Isn’t this bastard crazy?’
[The ’Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ tells you not to forget his offer.]
[He will be waiting if you ever change your mind.]
‘... What?’
Choi Yeonseung refused the offer from the observer constellation out of reluctance. It was suspicious for a stranger to suddenly present such an offer. Yet despite being rejected, the observer constellation just made the offer again.
Choi Yeonseung couldn’t figure out what this being was thinking.
‘When a constellation is rejected... they usually wouldn’t make the same offer again, would they?’
-That’s correct.
No matter how weak, constellations were extremely prideful. It was hard to believe one such being would offer something they had already been rejected for.
-However, not all constellations insist on pride, Successor. Just take that push—the goddess who can see the future, for example.
-Were you just about to say pushover?
-No. Anyway, isn’t that goddess crawling around shamelessly and without pride?
-......
The goddess’ words were so harsh that it would’ve been better to just call her a pushover. Constellations who had lived for a long time no longer cared about what they said.
-The goddess constellation is a special case, though. Unlike her, there is no reason for the observer constellation to favor me.
-That is also true, but don’t think about this too deeply. Maybe he just wants to induce confusion. You don’t even need it now, do you?
Choi Yeonseung nodded. There was no need to ponder too deeply about the observer’s proposal. The situation wasn’t that bad.
‘I should be paying attention to who summoned the Argo to Jeju Island instead.’
***
[You have received soul stones!]
[You have received soul stones!]
…
[The ’Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ apologizes for the misunderstanding.]
-Ah! I’m sorry! I misunderstood you!
The Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’s shout sounded low and heavy.
Choi Yeonseung replied as a constellation.
-It doesn’t matter for as long as I win in the end.
-The planning is really great! Thank you for the victory! I didn’t want to lose to those two! I don’t have a lot of money since I have to manage my inventory, so I didn’t bet a lot. Still, I hope my soul stones will be a fair reward for you!
Choi Yeonseung checked his soul stones without much thought. Considering what the constellation said, he probably didn’t give more than a few hundred soul stones. At most, it would be a few thousand…
‘If he has a conscience, he should give me at least a thousand.’
[Soul Stone Points: 50,000 P.]
‘......!!!’
-I'm sorry. I will definitely repay you with something else when I’m in a better spot!
‘Crazy...!’
Choi Yeonseung was shocked.
Constellations famous on Earth spent more soul stones than what he could imagine. Giving tens of thousands at once? Choi Yeonseung had to work so hard just to earn a few thousand...
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says it is about to cry due to the gap between rich and poor constellations.]
‘I feel the same way!’
Joy and bitterness rose at the same time! Wasn’t it because the constellations monopolized the soul stones? How happy would Choi Yeonseung be if all the constellations who weren’t human were removed from Earth?
… Not knowing what Choi Yeonseung was thinking, the Fighter of Sweat and Flesh just continued.
-I guess I should tell you that the Noble Crown Collector is the one who summoned the Argo to Jeju Island! He’s a famous constellation on Earth.
[Noble Crown Collector].
Putting aside his unusual name, his combat power was the real deal. After all, that evil god constellation had taken over England. He smashed Europe’s prominent hunters and captured Britain, showing just how brutally powerful he was.
-Ah. That constellation!
-Do you know him?
-He has a unique personality in the Abyss. He is a collector.
True to his name, the constellation focused on hoarding valuable things. He didn’t collect objects or artifacts, however. As a hobby, the collector constellation caught noble creatures and carefully locked them up in a safe place in his kingdom!
‘That guy’s crazy,’ Choi Yeonseung immediately concluded.
‘It isn’t strange for an evil god constellation to make a disturbance, but... is there any reason why a constellation in Britain would harm Jeju Island?’
-It is definitely suspicious.
As the two contemplated about it, the Fighter of Sweat and Flesh spoke again.
-One more thing.
-?
-Glenn Douglas, the champion your household member is about to fight. He’s the Noble Crown Collector’s household member.
-......!!
Choi Yeonseung’s eyes widened. The B-grade League’s champion signed with an evil god constellation? If that was true, then this was no ordinary matter.
-I’ve been arguing with the Noble Crown Collector for quite a while now.
The Fighter of Sweat and Flesh had a longstanding bad relationship with the collector constellation. One who liked living and breathing beings, and one who liked such beings neatly caged and confined in his kingdom. Having gone against each other several times, their relationship was now in a terrible state.
-I thought I should tell you this before your fight. You should be careful! He is evil and powerful!
-... Thank you for letting me know.
***
“Hmm.”
Choi Yeonseung was in such a bad mood when he returned from the constellation battle that he didn’t feel like using the soul stones to buy what his realm needed. He planned to fight Glen Douglass as soon as he could so he could win the championship and say things like, ‘Fear martial arts, everyone!’
However, Douglas signing a contract with an evil god constellation was by no means an ordinary matter. Competing with the household member of the elf constellation showed him how fraudulent the power of a constellation was. In a fight within the confines of B-grade’s limitations, It was like cheating.
‘Maybe he hasn’t lost yet because of the evil god constellation’s power.’
Choi Yeonseung immediately asked Hwang Gyeongryong for advice since he had the most familiarity with matters like this.
“What? That guy?! I knew it! He seemed unpleasantly nice and clean for an American!”
“... No, Hyung.”
Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. That was his reason?
Hwang Gyeongryong was serious, though.
“Douglas has always been overly polite and gentle. In a raid, he would say things like, ‘I didn’t do much.’ Whenever his opponents in UHC matches provoked him, he would just say, ‘I’ll do my best,’ instead of becoming angry. People like him are the ones who usually go crazy and go on a shooting spree.”
Sometimes, people with no dirt on them could seem suspicious. That was how Hwang Gyeongryong felt about Douglas. Thinking hard about it, Hwang Gyeongryong suggested, “Why don’t you postpone the match?”
“......”
“You currently have great momentum, so you might just reach A-grade if you kill three or four more A-grade monsters. You’re progressing several times faster than I expected.”
“That is true.”
From C+ to B-, then B- to B. Right now, it was pretty much confirmed that he’d be promoted to B+. He could definitely aim for grade A if he built up a few more major achievements. The UHC match was an opportunity to show and imprint Choi Yeonseung’s power on many people, but it also posed a formidable risk.
“You’re ranked twenty right now. If you beat him, it’ll just be another special case, but if you lose, you’ll definitely be cursed at.”
The champion had such privileges. People wanted the champion’s challenger to have a legitimate claim rather than just popping out of nowhere.
“Do you think I will lose?”
“I don’t know. However, all sorts of strange people pop up out of nowhere in the UHC.”
In this industry, the hunters struggling in the bad alleys could suddenly go crazy after meeting a constellation.
This was the UHC.
“Even if you think it’s unfair, you’re not allowed to say anything if a bastard who has signed a contract with a constellation defeats you. Besides, the fact that Douglas hasn’t been detected so far means he is extremely good.”
Considering the many people watching him still hadn’t noticed he had signed with an evil god constellation, he had to have been using his powers skillfully. In truth, he was a monster in the B-grade League.
[The skill ‘Overcome Oneself to Become Strong’ has been activated. Fighting Douglas will increase the power of your existence.]
“It doesn’t matter. We are going to fight anyway.”
“!”
If Choi Yeonseung was just a regular hunter, he would have likely avoided this. However, Choi Yeonseung was a constellation. He wouldn’t be worthy of being a constellation if he was so scared of his opponent that he avoided fighting them. If the opponent used the power of the constellation to cheat, then Choi Yeonseung intended to overwhelm them with powerful combat abilities that would be pushing near his limits.
He would give it a try!
“... Yes! If you want to, then I will believe in you! If I don’t, then who will?”
Hwang Gyeongryong cheered him on, having given up on stopping him. Now that Choi Yeonseung had come to a decision, pouring cold water on him wasn’t Hwang Gyeongryong’s job as an older brother.
“By the way, Hyung. I didn’t get to ask you about this last time, but do you remember Jeong Yeonju?”
“Who’s that?”
“My ex. I dated her for quite some time.”
“Huh? There was a girl who stuck with you for that long?”
“We did a raid together.”
“... Oh, that Jeong Yeonju? No, wait a minute. You were dating her?!”
Hwang Gyeongryong looked at Choi Yeonseung with a shocked expression. He had only learned about it thirty years later!