Chapter 11 – Settlement

While Lee Hanseong was contemplating whether to save the wolf or not.

A system message appeared before the promising candidates and Lee Hanseong.

[Feat, ‘Goblin Wolf Cavalry Slayer’ has been achieved.]

[Feat, ‘Sudden Rift Closer’ has been achieved.]

Fwoosh!

As the effect of Transcendence vanished, the three promising candidates who had reverted to 0-Star Awakened simultaneously to 1-Star.

The feat of resolving the Sudden Rift Incident was indeed worthy of rising to 1-Star. However, perhaps it was insufficient for an already 1-Star Awakened to ascend to 2-Star, as Lee Hanseong remained at 1-Star for now.

The problem was that as the three promising candidates Awakened, the blessings of other Twelve Constellations cast upon them smeared over our Constellation’s influence.

The plan to make them devotees of the Constellation during this opportunity went awry.

It couldn’t be helped, as the Constellation’s Grade was still insufficient.

Thud thud thud thud!

Belatedly, soldiers from the Training Center, clad in combat gear, were seen rushing towards the Training Ground.

Jin Yuseong looked at them and chuckled, then said one thing.

“Isn’t this exactly like a hero movie? In movies, the police or military always show up after everything’s over.”

“It’s not that they were late. It’s just that we moved quickly.”

Park Seongcheol’s words were correct.

It only felt long because we went into the records in the middle for History Alteration and were immersed in the urgency of the battle.

It hadn’t even been 10 minutes since the rift detection siren sounded.

Considering the time it took for those who woke up to grasp the situation, change into combat uniforms, retrieve firearms, stop by the armory which was some distance from the barracks to fill magazines, and return, they were actually quite fast.

However, it was clearly strange that the sentries who should have already been out armed were nowhere to be seen while we fought.

‘Could they have been taken out by the monsters that appeared randomly at first?’

When I looked towards the direction of the guard post, my eyes met those of a sentry who had been secretly watching us.

Seeing the soldier hurriedly duck his head inside the guard post upon eye contact, I realized nothing had happened to them.

‘What. They were just scared.’

Well, it was highly likely that just two sentries stepping out would have meant certain death.

They probably just relayed the situation via radio and laid low until support arrived.

For them, that was the right call.

While I reached that conclusion, the soldiers approached us with puzzled expressions, looking around.

“Where are the remaining monsters? Those corpses over there can’t be all of them.”

The officer in charge of the Training Center’s highest command pointed to the remaining corpses on the hill path leading to the men’s dormitory and asked.

“I handled them all. By any chance, did you see the Blood Dragon on your way? That’s Chungmugong’s Second Awakening Skill.”

“You used ‘One Swing Sweeps’? Don’t tell me you Awakened?”

At Park Seongcheol’s explanation, the officer muttered with surprised eyes.

Since there were several other Awakened besides Park Seongcheol who had contracted with Chungmugong, he knew about Chungmugong’s Awakening Skills to some extent.

“Body Reformation followed by Awakening! The promising candidates of this Session are going to become legends.”

“Over there! There’s one still alive.”

Then, one of the soldiers discovered that Lee Hanseong’s fallen wolf was still alive and aimed his rifle.

“Don’t shoot!”

Lee Hanseong shouted, blocking the rifle barrel.

“Trainee Lee Hanseong. Are you trying to protect a monster?”

“This guy is one I tamed. Don’t try to kill him arbitrarily.”

“It seems like it’s already dying anyway, wouldn’t it be better to send it off peacefully?”

“I can save it.”

“Even if you save it, there will be many problems.”

The officer raised several issues.

For an Awakened of the tamer lineage, commonly called Tamers, to keep a monster with them, two prerequisites were needed.

One was an Awakened License.

“You, still a trainee, don’t have the authority to employ a monster.”

The other was that you needed a monster-specific tool like a sealing card or a Subspace to separately store the monster.

“So, killing that thing is the principle. If it’s true that you tamed it, you can tame another one later anyway. It probably hasn’t been tamed for long either.”

Certainly, as the officer said, this wolf wasn’t much different from the other wolves that Jin Yuseong had used as meat shields with his Assassination Directive.

From the moment of taming, I thought it wouldn’t matter if it died, so I didn’t even give it a name.

But perhaps because I deeply empathized with it through Colonization.

Or perhaps because it was the only remaining prospective devotee in the Swarm, the Constellation was refusing its death.

[The Nameless Constellation requests that the prospective devotee be saved.]

“Now step aside if you understand.”

The officer, as if he could wait no longer, pulled Lee Hanseong, forcing him to step away from the wolf’s front.

The wolf’s eyes, calm as if accepting death, turned towards Lee Hanseong.

-Whimper.

There was no more hesitation.

If the Constellation desired it, he, as a devotee, had only to follow.

“Stop.”

According to the Constellation’s will, the wolf must live.

Even if it meant offering one life for it.

Snap.

I grabbed the rifle barrel aimed at the wolf.

“What are you…!”

Ignoring the flustered soldier, I severed the Colonization connection with the promising candidates.

Leaving only the wolf, the Spirits, and the Constellation in the Swarm, I unfolded Transcendence once more.

Fwooosh!

As the Life Stacks dropped from 6 to 5, the Swarm’s Grade rose again.

[The nun ‘Hanna’ has temporarily reached 2-Star, and her Vocation Awakening Skill 《Healing》 transforms into a General Awakening Skill.]

[The petty thief ‘Hyoo Guild’ has temporarily reached 2-Star, and his Vocation Awakening Skill 《Subspace》 transforms into a General Awakening Skill.]

.

.

.

[The doctor ‘Alter Goulds’ has temporarily reached 2-Star, and his Vocation Awakening Skill 《Law Revision》 transforms into a General Awakening Skill.]

As the Life Stack was consumed, stamina was fully restored again.

As soon as the Spirits’ Vocation Awakening Skills changed back to General Awakening Skills, I activated Hanna’s Awakening Skill.

The Awakening Skill born from the miracle of a nun, who first Bloomed divine power through a Vow made by sacrificing her life, receiving the Blessing of the Constellation of Radiance.

《Healing》.

Shoooaaah-

Golden divine power gushing from her fingertips caressed the wolf’s wounds, accelerating recovery.

Sssssiiii-

Smoke rose as the wounds closed rapidly.

The dying wolf regained vitality.

“Your name is ‘Lycan’.”

Upon giving it a new name, I felt the connection with Lycan become even closer.

Not the relationship between a Tamer and a monster, but the feeling of being fellow devotees.

With the opportunity of naming it while synchronized with the Constellation, Lycan became the second formal devotee of the Nameless Constellation, following him.

Even if Colonization and Transcendence are released, the connection between the wolf and the Constellation will not disappear now.

[The presence of the Nameless Constellation becomes more distinct.]

Thanks to that, the Constellation’s Grade also rose from gaining a new devotee, so the Life consumed this time wasn’t a loss either.

After all, even these Life Stacks increased thanks to the Stigma received from the Constellation.

“You really… saved it.”

The officer placed a hand on his forehead as if Lee Hanseong’s sudden action gave him a headache.

“How on earth do you plan to handle the aftermath?”

“…I’m sorry. I’ll handle it myself.”

Next, I unfolded Hyu’s Awakening Skill.

Though his actual stealing skills were clumsy, his hiding skills were abnormally exceptional, creating a secret vault no one could find. His feat, sublimated by receiving the Blessing of the Lunar Constellation.

《Subspace》.

Literally, the ability to create a Subspace attributed to oneself.

Zzzeeok- As if a small rift appeared, the entrance to the Subspace manifested in the air.

‘But only inanimate objects can be stored in a Subspace.’

There was a reason why monster-specific Subspaces existed separately.

That’s why Alter’s 《Law Revision》 was needed.

His feat of visiting a remote village with cannibalistic customs, identifying the cause of the incurable disease prevalent there, which later became the impetus for the disappearance of cannibalism, gave birth to an Awakening Skill blessed by the Wheel Constellation.

Its effect was the revision of systemically determined Laws.

Kiiing.

As Law Revision activated, Lee Hanseong’s eyes turned blue.

In that state, looking at the Subspace, the system code constituting the Awakening Skill Subspace was perceived.

Characters that didn’t match any earthly script, yet their meaning was understood automatically.

Swish-

Bringing a finger to the visible code, a blue light swirled at the fingertip.

Instinctively, I realized that light served as ink.

However, the light dwelling in the fingertip was barely enough to modify even one code.

Without the Constellation’s Blessing, modification itself might have been impossible.

‘Even the ability to modify system code has limitations.’

Scritch scratch scritch.

Rubbing my finger over the front part of the code stating ‘stores inanimate objects’, I modified the ‘inanimate object’ part of the code to mean ‘living being’.

Thanks to that, Hyu’s Subspace now changed into a Subspace that could only store living beings, but that was sufficient for now.

“Go in.”

-Woof.

Lycan, without any hesitation at Lee Hanseong’s Command, leaped into the Subspace.

“See, isn’t it fine now? I just won’t take it out until I get my Awakened License.”

While this was also technically illegal, fortunately, the officer was quite flexible.

The officer shook his head with a sigh.

“Fine. You’ll be under the Training Center’s control for the remaining period anyway, so I’ll let it slide. But if that wolf is seen even once before you get your license, it will be disposed of immediately.”

“Understood.”

“Naturally, using the wolf in the Practical Evaluation is also not allowed.”

“Of course not.”

* * *

With the Lycan issue resolved, the cleanup of the Training Ground proceeded.

Meanwhile, the effect of the second Transcendence Lee Hanseong unfolded also ended.

The soldiers piled the monsters’ corpses in the center of the Training Ground and collected the Byproducts separately.

“12 Dire Wolf fangs. 6 Goblin Rider whips. Three each of longswords and bows at general equipment level. These will fetch about 3 million won. According to your statements, Trainees Jin Yuseong and Park Seongcheol caught them, so 1.5 million won each will be paid later.”

“Yes.”

Since lower-tier Byproducts that could grant General Skills or general-grade equipment didn’t catch the promising candidates’ eyes, both decided to sell them.

But the greatsword left by the Hobgoblin Rider was different.

[Appraised <Greatsword of Tenacity>.]

The result of Appraisal using the <Appraisal> Skill showed that its greatsword was a rare equipment containing a Rare Skill.

The equipment’s modifier indicated the equipment’s Skill, so the Skill contained in the greatsword was <Tenacity>.

The higher-tier Skill of the General Skill <Obsession> possessed by most Goblins.

It seemed the Skill evolved when it became a Hobgoblin and was contained in the greatsword.

Its effect was the concentration of Starlight.

The phenomenon of Sword Qi concentrating on the blade before it released Sword Qi was precisely the greatsword’s power.

The ability to release Sword Qi even before reaching 4-Star level was due to gear advantage.

“Since all four of you caught this together, you each have a 25% share… Will you dispose of it via Auction and split the proceeds? Or will you take direct ownership?”

“What do you want to do? I’d rather use it myself than sell it. But I’ll pay you back separately for your shares later.”

At the Instructor’s explanation, Lee Hanseong asked for the promising candidates’ opinions.

“We don’t mind. We have Spirit Treasures anyway.”

“Well, I could use it if I had to, but is it necessary?”

Yu Sehee and Jin Yuseong readily nodded.

“But that share, does it have to be received only as money? I’d like to receive it by forming a party together after leaving the Training Center.”

Park Seongcheol made a counter-proposal.

It was the second party proposal after Jin Yuseong.

Jin Yuseong made a flustered expression at that.

An anxious expression, worried about having a promising candidate he preemptively marked taken away.

“Hey! What party already? You probably haven’t even decided on a Guild yet. We must be tired from today’s big event, let’s talk about that later.”

Jin Yuseong forcibly intervened and stopped the conversation.

“Right. We have plenty of time to talk anyway.”

Park Seongcheol also didn’t seem to expect an answer immediately and didn’t say more.

“Then, I’ll take the greatsword?”

“Sure.”

Finally seeking agreement, I received the greatsword from the Instructor.

“Note that possessing weapons inside the dormitory is prohibited. That applies to the greatsword too, and that sword also needs to be stored separately when entering.”

Nodding at the Instructor’s warning while pointing at the demon sword.

* * *

On the way back to the men’s dormitory after receiving the greatsword.

By chance, the demon sword and the greatsword touched.

Oooong!

The demon sword’s will reacted to the greatsword.

“…Huh?”

The pitch-black Killing Intent pouring from the demon sword, which suddenly began to tremble, engulfed the greatsword.

I was taken aback, but it was too instantaneous to block.

Crrrrrunch!

The demon sword gnawing at the Greatsword of Tenacity using the Killing Intent as teeth.

[<Predatory Demon Sword> has Predated <Greatsword of Tenacity>.]

[Rare Skill <Tenacity> has been absorbed.]

When the greatsword was completely swallowed, the demon sword, which had been in dagger form, had now grown to the length of a longsword.

Fzzzt- Crack!

But suddenly, black sparks began to flash from the demon sword.

Originally, only one Skill could be contained in a single piece of equipment, but it seemed a conflict arose because <Predation> and <Tenacity> were now both contained in the demon sword.

If one side’s Grade was lower, it would have ended with that side disappearing, but both Skills were Rare-grade.

Tssssssssst!

At this rate, the demon sword exploding was only a matter of time.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

I couldn’t lose the demon sword made by sacrificing a life like this.

The <Empathy> Skill was unfolded targeting the demon sword.

Oooong!

The Overmind Synchronized the two conflicting Skills.

Gradually, the demon sword’s trembling decreased.

And finally, the moment the trembling completely ceased.

[Conditions met, <Predation> and <Tenacity> are integrated.]

[<Predatory Demon Sword> Blooms the Unique Skill <Gluttony: Gluttony>.]

[<Predatory Demon Sword> evolves into <Gluttonous Demon Sword>.]

The demon sword didn’t explode but instead became stronger.

‘From Predation to Gluttony.’

I examined the evolved demon sword with the <Appraisal> Skill.

“…I like it.”

A smile formed at the corner of Lee Hanseong’s mouth as he confirmed the demon sword’s new power.

While the Rare Skill <Predation> had a set limit to the energy it could absorb, the Unique Skill <Gluttony: Gluttony> had no limit.

When it reached the limit, the demon sword would grow and expand its own limit.

In other words, the Gluttonous Demon Sword was a growth-type weapon that could reach beyond Unique-grade to Legendary, no, even Mythical equipment.