abcnovels
Chapter 378
Chapter 378
Chapter 378
‘Aren’t these household members too careless?’
Not all the members of a constellation’s household were loyal. If the constellation recruited mortals as its household members, those mortals would be heroes with incredible powers, leagues above their fellow mortals.
Great power came with great ambition, and there were definitely humans out there who would dare to betray their masters in order to pursue even more power... So Illingars was rather flustered by the overly-friendly attitude of these household members.
“You are very furry and fluffy. There was a panda in my mansion... You know what a panda is? It’s an animal on Earth.”
“The fur of the animals I have at my palace doesn’t even compare to yours, which is much fluffier.”
-......
Hwang Gyeongryong and Odaigon gleefully chatted with the wise tiger as they shared around the wine made by the orcs. However, Illingars got increasingly more uncomfortable and quietly slipped away from Hwang Gyeongryong and Odaigon. No matter how much he thought about it, they were...
Illingars cleared his throat and approached Ganonvial, the lich.
-Are they okay?
“They’re the leaders within the household of the incarnation constellation.”
-......
Illingars’ face twisted in disbelief, and seeing him like this, Ganonvial thought to himself, ‘He must be thinking that he picked the wrong constellation to serve.’
Household members were generally considered a reflection of the constellation they were serving. If their behavior was embarrassing or generally unpleasant, the dignity of the constellation would be questioned.
Ganonvial thought he had to do everything in his power to keep Illingars in, even if it was only for his own sake.
‘Illingars is the ruler of that huge forest. His strength must be extraordinary, so I must draw him in.’
Ganonvial was technically under the Demon of Contract and Order. However, he had suddenly been taken prisoner here. Despite that, he still had a reputation in the Abyss. He had demonstrated his powerful abilities and established himself as one of the most powerful creatures in this realm... That was what he wished he had done, but he still hadn’t found an opportunity to show off...
-Hey... Isn’t there anything to do here? Magic perhaps?
-There is, lich.
-Oh, what is it?
-You can set up a scarecrow there and cast an alarm spell.
-...Alright, I did it...
-Ooh! The lich is great!
-Lich, you are really a great magician! I thought you were a pathetic, miserable, filthy undead!
‘These bastards are going to drive me crazy’
Ganonvial was sullen; it was the first time a compliment actually insulted him. And come to think of it, hadn’t the orcs tied him up and planted him in the ground as a scarecrow after capturing him?
Ganonvial tried to ask someone else besides the orcs if there was anything for him to do.
-Actually, there is.
-Oh, what is it?
-Supervise those prisoners in my place and whip them when necessary.
-...That... Do we need a household member to do that?
-You have nothing to do anyway, right?
Indeed, the realm of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training was very peaceful, which made it impossible for Ganonvial to do something worthwhile here!
...In this situation, Illingars was a ray of hope, and Ganonvial would do anything in his power to get him to stay.
“Don’t worry. Contrary to their appearance, they possess tremendous wisdom and power.”
-Do you really think so?
“Yes. That human-born magician was like a king on his planet, and that goblin also has a kingdom that he rules.”
-Isn’t everyone a king in their own land?
Illingars wasn’t convinced by Ganonvial. The Abyss was practically endless, so anyone could come out and boast that they were a king or a queen.
“Uh... It’s the goblin king who built this huge farm, and the factory over there is run by the frozen human.”
-......
Illingars’s expression became even more complicated. First of all, why was there a farm?!
“Look, these are freshly picked grapes from the farm. Try them.”
-No, I’m fine...
“Try them.”
-!
Illingars reluctantly tried a grape and his eyes suddenly widened. They tasted way better than he had expected.
-I see, so this farm is meant to produce offerings for the constellation?
“No, we just grow fruits and vegetables and eat them with the orcs.”
-......
Illingars made a vow. Now that he was here, he would strive to achieve many great things and enhance the reputation of the incarnation constellation in the Abyss.
***
[The countdown until Dragon Industry’s M&A with Raiden and Klein... What is the specific process?]
[Will Peleza raise the white flag and withdraw from the market? The collaborative project has practically disappeared...]
[A great dragon is born in the materials market.]
[Contacting the major clans behind the scenes, when will the new armor be released?]
-Who are the bastards who said that Dragon Solution would fail and withdraw from the market?!
-Is... Is there a chance for Peleza’s stock prices to rebound? Please tell me there's a chance... Tell me there’s a chance for it to rebound!!!
-What...? I thought this was supposed to be bad news for the Korean clans! Their stocks have to go down! Why aren’t they going down?!
People were shocked and horrified by these unexpected results. They had naturally assumed that Peleza, Raiden, and Klein would join forces and do well together. However, their presentation in the Abyss had suddenly turned into a disaster and a monster had wreaked havoc in their city.
In the end, the three companies had a fall-out and broke the partnership! It was an absurd situation for those who had bet everything on this alliance.
-Raiden is crazy! Why hand over their shares to a Korean? Don’t they have any pride?
-If they’d stayed still, the companies would’ve merged. Who are they trying to fool? They ended up grabbing a rotten rope.
-Weren’t... Weren’t the Korean clans ruined?
-Huh, but the chairman of Dragon Industry is Korean, so this could actually be good for Korean clans.
-Amazing! I didn’t expect Dragon Industry to do so well. I thought it would collapse without Hwang Gyeongryong.
It wasn’t just the general public; the experts were surprised as well. It had been Hwang Gyeongryong’s charisma holding Dragon Industry together, and now that he was gone, they thought that the company would collapse like a house of cards.
However, Choi Yeonseung had inherited the company and actually managed to elevate it, even hitting the jackpot a few times.
At this point, anyone who questioned his ability as a chairman was either an idiot or insane.
“...Uhm, I’m glad they acknowledge my performance, but isn’t that last bit rather harsh?”
Choi Yeonseung was taken aback by some of these articles.
[Hunter Choi Yeonseung visits the Six-Eyed Turtle clan... The possibility of a strategic alliance with the Six-Eyed Turtle clan...]
[The stock prices of the Six-Eyed Turtle clan skyrocket!]
[The promising talents are in South Korea. A big analysis of Korean clans...]
Choi Yeonseung had merely trained the Six-Eyed Turtle clan a bit, so these articles that speculated on his next goal and talked about the rise of their stock prices were ridiculous.
“Adaquaniel, don’t you think this is ridiculous?”
“...I’m sorry, Hunter Choi Yeonseung,” said Adaquaniel as she averted her gaze.
“?”
“Well, I made a profit from this incident...”
“...N-no, don’t feel bad. It happens,” said Choi Yeonseung, trying to comfort Adaquaniel. He hadn’t expected her to take advantage and make a fortune out of this.
-It’s good to have a reputation, but you should be more careful in the future.
-I know.
Choi Yeonseung nodded. As he grew more popular both as a constellation and as a human, there would be more and more hostile forces against him. Even the constellations who had looked down on the Undefeated Incarnation of Training wouldn’t dare to look down on him any longer. Similarly, those who had laughed when he had taken over Dragon Industry would never laugh at him again.
An ordinary constellation would’ve become drunk on power and fame and made a mistake, but not Choi Yeonseung.
‘I have to be more careful from now on.’
There were several things Choi Yeonseung could do. He could accumulate more profits from raids, grow the affiliates under Dragon Industry, expand his kingdom in the Abyss, recruit and raise clans, engage in constellation battles...
‘Those things are all important, but I have to decide which to prioritize.’
What was the best course of action?
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ tells you to predict the future.]
‘...Ah, Future Sight.’
Certainly, he had to train his Future Sight. He had actually tried to use this power several times during the previous corporate war.
‘The problem is that the margin of error is too high’
Adaquaniel was skilled at predicting the future, but Choi Yeonseung would always get unclear and fragmented visions.
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ comforts you that it’s okay. This is what it means to see the future.]
‘...’
It was certainly reassuring to hear the goddess of balance say this, but the goddess of sloth found it absurd.
-But the one who’s already mastered the power shouldn’t say this, right...?
-Shh. Be quiet.
Choi Yeonseung quickly silenced the goddess of sloth so that the goddess of balance wouldn’t get hurt.
[’Future Sight’ has been used.]
[’Future Sight’ has been used.]
[’Future Sight’ has been used.]
-The goddess of balance just took off her clothes?
-Be quiet.
Choi Yeonseung concentrated. A glimpse of the future emerged in the blurred images. He could see... a world full of metal.
‘...The Second Realm of the Abyss?’
***
The Second Realm had passed through the hands of many constellations. Last time, the explosion constellation had turned it into a bizarre labyrinth, which the hunters hadn’t managed to clear. Ultimately, Choi Yeonseung had called off the operation and banned everyone from entering.
This was the realm Choi Yeonseung had seen with Future Sight, but it was different from when he had entered with the hunters. It was no longer full of bizarre traps; it was much more spacious and its environment felt more natural.
There were also hunters there.
‘Golems?’
Giant metal monsters of different sizes and shapes walked around with eerie metallic sounds. The hunters seemed to be fighting them off...
‘Wait... What?’
Surprisingly, the hunters weren’t just fighting back; they were actually using some of the golems to help them fend off the other golems.
-Didn’t you say not to use Chinese products?
-You agreed at that time, so don’t backpedal now...
‘Was there something like this?’
Hunters didn’t just use magic and martial arts, but also the most recent cutting-edge technology. They were using AI to help them with magic and targeting monsters, as well as various drones for raids.
However, Choi Yeonseung had never seen hunters use golems. But still, this didn’t mean anything.
‘!’
A constellation suddenly appeared in front of the numerous hunters.
[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ has appeared.]
That was when the vision ended. Choi Yeonseung, puzzled, asked, “Wa-wasn’t the Chef of Endless Gluttony a weak evil god constellation?”
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ says that this constellation hasn’t even made it to the top one hundred.]
‘So then why did he appear in front of the hunters?’
Many of those hunters were probably serving a constellation already. Thus, for the Chef of Endless Gluttony to approach those hunters so carelessly meant that he was confident in dealing with their masters.
This constellation didn’t seem to have a high combat power or a great power of existence. Moreover, in terms of reputation, he was essentially a nobody, making his sudden appearance all the more perplexing.
However, more perplexing than that was...
‘Didn’t the explosion constellation say to beware of gluttony before he died?’
Indeed, the explosion constellation had given Choi Yeonseung a hint about the secret alliance of the evil god constellations before passing away. Back then, Choi Yeonseung had thought that gluttony was associated with a powerful evil god constellation, but...?
-Isn’t this guy really weak?
-I thought so too.
If a constellation was below the top one hundred, they were essentially nothing more than a spectator. Newborn constellations in the desolate areas of the Abyss were almost as strong as them!
“Uh, I’ll have to look into it.”
Choi Yeonseung frowned as he made a call. Worrying about an unclear future was meaningless.
It was better to go there in person!
[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ welcomes you!]
[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ asks what you came to buy!]
‘...’
-...
Choi Yeonseung had thought that the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House was the most pitiful constellation, but he was mistaken...
There was always someone more pitiful...