Chapter 48 – Baekto's Ordeal

Right after fleeing to the Kyoto Three Caves, Baekto fell into deep thought.

‘Is it right to keep holding onto the Heavenly Demon Medallion?’

Treasures that exceed one’s station are a surefire way to invite disaster.

Tomb Tiger and Waryong were just the beginning; as long as he possessed the Heavenly Demon Medallion, he would continue to be sought out by powerful beings he couldn’t possibly contend with.

Yet, the thought of simply giving it up felt like a waste.

‘There must be some reason why Fortune made me hold onto the Heavenly Demon Medallion, right? Last time, it seemed dangerous too, but it ultimately led to my 1-Star Awakening.’

As someone with the Fortune Skill, he had countless experiences of narrowly escaping perilous situations through sheer luck.

He couldn’t help but feel that somehow, things would work out this time too.

Though in reality, it was Lee Hanseong, who was using Insight to find a suitable actor, who had chosen him as the protagonist for Fate Direction.

Well, in a sense, that was also a form of fortune.

As long as the story wasn’t over, Lee Hanseong would do his utmost to ensure he didn’t die.

It was because he sensed this fact through his <Intuition> Skill that Baekto, who normally would have thrown away the Heavenly Demon Medallion long ago, was still agonizing over it.

Before contracting with a Spirit, Baekto had been so thoroughly self-preserving that people around him mocked him as a coward.

It was only after contracting with the 2-Star Spirit Feng Xuan and obtaining the Fortune Skill and the escape-type Awakening Skill Kyoto Three Caves that he became a bit more proactive. But if things felt truly dangerous, Baekto was the type to retreat immediately.

‘Run away? Or not?’

After wandering various Hunting Grounds and eventually Awakening to 1-Star thanks to multiple strokes of Fortune overlapping, he had gained a certain degree of confidence.

Having luckily obtained a Black Market entry pass, he had even snooped around the Heavenly Demon Medallion Battle that happened to occur.

But after encountering Seven-Star Contractors one after another, his confidence vanished.

“First, let’s just hide for now.”

As was typical for Contractors of low-rank Spirits, Baekto had Bloomed a Skill other than his Spirit’s Skill upon his 1-Star Awakening.

The Skills that Bloomed from the entanglement of his pre-contract activities and his Spirit’s Awakening Skill were, naturally, <Rabbit Hole> and <Concealment> for safety.

They were General Skills for creating a hideout and hiding one’s form, respectively.

Swish, swish, swish!

As if possessed by a ghost, he dug a hole under the trunk of a withered, emaciated tree.

He hid his body by covering the entrance with branches and undergrowth.

Crouched inside, holding his breath, he kept listening to sounds from outside, maintaining his vigilance.

Eventually, he dozed off.

“……!”

Startled awake, Baekto looked around frantically, then noticed the surroundings were quiet and felt relieved.

‘Luckily, it seems I haven’t been found out.’

In truth, even with <Concealment> layered over <Rabbit Hole>, which had hideout characteristics, there was always a chance of being detected if someone had a unique grade-piercing Skill.

Of course, with <Fortune> on top of that, the probability of those with such Skills coming in his direction was significantly reduced.

‘Hmm?’

Having judged it was still safe, Baekto tried to revisit the subject he was pondering before falling asleep, but felt puzzled.

While he was asleep, the <Intuition> that had been causing him such worry had now shifted towards keeping the Heavenly Demon Medallion.

It felt as if he had received a revelation from somewhere, giving him a premonition that it would be okay to continue like this.

“I have a feeling everything will work out just fine!”

However, there was something Baekto failed to notice.

His shadow, which had grown darker than before he fell asleep, had attached an almost invisible, thread-like filament to him.

And the fact that it was channeling some sort of revelation to him through that.

* * *

After resting a bit more in the Rabbit Hole, Baekto suddenly felt a premonition that he could no longer stay still in that spot and immediately sprang into action.

It was precisely the moment the real Heavenly Demon Medallion’s location was publicly revealed on the Dark Web.

During that brief moment when the medallion’s divination-interference effect vanished, the spiritual gazes of Spirit Contractors belonging to the Diviner lineage, who had divined towards the Heavenly Demon Medallion, fixed upon the face of Baekto hiding in the Rabbit Hole.

As if sensing those gazes instinctively, Baekto looked into the empty air, then his body began to tremble.

“Ugh… Something feels ominous…?”

The nature of this ominous feeling was that Baekto’s description was spreading across the Dark Web.

Spirit Contractors of the Diviner lineage often ran information shops as a side job, so once something was caught by divination, information spread in an instant.

If he had encountered others in this situation, Baekto would have immediately started being chased.

But even without knowing the circumstances, Baekto instinctively moved along paths that avoided meeting people.

Thanks to that, he could postpone the moment of being pursued.

Grrr…

Then, a sound that shouldn’t be audible in his ghost state came from his stomach.

This wasn’t an actual sound but a warning created by Baekto’s Intuition.

In a ghost state, one doesn’t normally feel hunger or thirst, making it easy to mistakenly think sustenance isn’t needed. However, the essence inside the ghostly form is that of a living being, so food is necessary.

Otherwise, one would become a real ghost.

Of course, higher-grade Awakened can substitute starlight for calories, extending the time they can endure without sustenance.

But that’s only when they’re holding still.

For a 1-Star Awakened like Baekto to continuously consume starlight on Skills and Awakening Skills while also not eating?

It wouldn’t be strange if he became a real ghost at any moment.

So he couldn’t run forever like this.

To get food, he would inevitably have to encounter other people.

“What should I do?”

Food is sold in the Black Market too, but that couldn’t be trusted.

Eating the food of the Underworld and becoming a resident of the Underworld is a kind of Law.

If one mistakenly ate Underworld food sold by real Underworld ghosts who came to the Black Market, they could end up in a state where they could never return to the world of the living.

Even if one luckily found food from the world of the living, prolonged exposure to the Underworld’s air would transform it into Underworld food, making it impossible to buy in bulk and store for long-term consumption.

Ultimately, to obtain safe food, one had to either go outside the Black Market or find a restaurant that brought in food from the world of the living daily.

‘Going outside the Black Market is absolutely out of the question!’

If he went out, he would instantly be captured by a Seven-Star Contractor like Waryong and would only face a future where the Heavenly Demon Medallion would be forcibly taken once their restrictions were lifted.

But finding a safe restaurant from the world of the living inside the Black Market was equally dangerous.

‘Surveillance gazes are probably already fixed on such places.’

Once his movements were exposed, the pursuit would begin in no time.

Actually, thirst was more severe than hunger.

Though it was a false sensation created by Intuition, to Baekto, it felt just as real.

Thirsty… Hungry…

At that moment, a Constellation’s message appeared before Baekto’s eyes.

[The Nameless Constellation bestows water and food upon your earnest wish.]

Plop.

After reading the message, a bottle of water and a pack of combat rations dropped right before his eyes.

“Huh…? A Constellation?!”

Baekto hadn’t chosen any Constellation yet.

In fact, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t.

Unless they were geniuses who were at least Promising Candidates, ordinary Awakened could only choose a Constellation after first joining a Guild and then, by chance, catching the eye of a Constellation.

Although he had joined the Gale Guild because the Spirit he contracted with, Feng Xuan, belonged to the Wind Constellation, he hadn’t yet received any call from a Constellation.

It was in this situation that the first Constellation’s message arrived.

“Nameless Constellation… Is it one of the Twelve Constellations hiding its identity? Or an unknown Thirteenth Constellation?”

Whatever the other’s identity, since they seemed to be trying to help him, he first examined the food that had suddenly appeared.

His Intuition told him the food wasn’t dangerous, but Baekto deployed a method for distinguishing Underworld food, just in case.

“They say Underworld food carries Yin energy and gives off a chilling cold like ice.”

The water was slightly lukewarm, feeling like it had been stored at room temperature in the world of the living.

It was warmer than the slightly cool temperature of the Black Market, which overlapped with the Underworld.

Before the water got colder, he opened the cap and drank.

First, he took a sip into his mouth, waited a moment, then swallowed.

“Hmm. It’s fine.”

If this had been Underworld water, his head would have felt dazed the moment it entered his mouth.

Next, he touched the combat rations.

Instant-heat combat rations containing a heating element inside.

The heating process itself had the effect of washing away Underworld Yin energy, so eating it while warm should be no problem.

Following the instructions, he added water, took out the heating element, and prepared it.

Bubble, bubble.

Listening to the sound of boiling water, he waited the specified time, then quickly ate the warmed combat rations before they cooled.

‘But what about the trash?’

If he just left it, it could become a Medium for Tracking if found by pursuers, so he was worried about disposal.

Swoosh.

Just as the food had appeared, the trash also disappeared on its own.

“Oh. Thank you, nameless Lord of the Throne.”

Thinking this too was the Constellation’s grace, Baekto offered words of gratitude and began moving again.

With rabbit ears perked up, he sneaked around, sticking only to the quietest paths.

Tap, tap, tap.

“He should definitely be around here?”

“Where on earth is he hiding that we still can’t find him?”

However, as time passed, ghosts searching for Baekto were gathering nearby.

Because he had been captured by divination once, the pursuit continued relentlessly.

If he hadn’t kept moving while maintaining Concealment, he would have been caught by the pursuers long ago.

‘But even running away is reaching its limit.’

The escape routes were gradually diminishing.

He had fled as much as possible, even using the <Leap> Skill to take paths that weren’t paths, but the encirclement kept tightening.

‘In the end, is it only the Kyoto Three Caves?’

But the Kyoto Three Caves weren’t omnipotent either.

Unless prepared in advance, the three Spatial Passages created by the Kyoto Three Caves connected to randomly determined locations.

Of course, with Fortune and Intuition, he could filter out passages connected to dangerous places.

But for some reason, he had a bad feeling.

Ziiing.

Sure enough, Baekto’s expression hardened as he deployed the Kyoto Three Caves.

His Intuition told him that all three passages led to dangerous locations.

‘Why now, of all times…!’

Unable to do this or that, Baekto deactivated the Kyoto Three Caves to conserve stamina.

Just in case, he prayed to the Constellation that had bestowed food upon him earlier.

He thought the Constellation was the reason for his premonition of remaining unharmed until the end.

“Please help me escape safely, nameless Lord of the Throne.”

Baekto’s thinking wasn’t wrong.

[The Nameless Constellation recommends a contract with a new Spirit.]

[However, to do so, you must first choose the Nameless Constellation.]

The Constellation’s answer came immediately.

The message stated that to receive help, he must first complete the Constellation selection.

There was no hesitation.

To increase the probability of contracting with a High-Rank Spirit, gathering twelve Empty Stars for the contract was correct, but for a slow-witted person like him, born with a 2-Star Vessel, that was just a dream-like story.

“I choose you.”

As the encirclement tightened, there was no room for choice.

Whoosh!

[The Nameless Constellation mediates between you and a new Spirit.]

A path with the Constellation was created, and soon a new Spirit began to dwell within him.

Resonance connecting contract and Synchronization simultaneously.

Whether the Constellation was helping or not, the Synchronization Rate was rising quickly and stably.

The Spirit’s memories flowed into his mind, engraving Skills and Awakening Skills.

‘2-Star Spirit of the Wind Constellation, Jester Rough.’

The fact that it mediated a Spirit belonging to the Wind Constellation… did that mean the Nameless Constellation’s identity was the Wind Constellation?

For some reason, he felt that wasn’t it, but there was no time to think more about the Constellation.

The pursuers were already at close range.

“He’s over there!”

The new Spirit’s Skills were Disguise, Acrobatics, Fortune, Travel.

Among them, the Fortune Skill Resonated with the Fortune Skill obtained from Feng Xuan.

Whoom.

An external intervention, similar to when his Synchronization Rate was raised, was connecting the two Skills into one.

Integration of same-type Skills.

The two Fortune Skills evolved into the Rare Skill <Strong Fortune>.

Strong Fortune, capable of turning even crisis into opportunity, dwelled within Baekto.

His Intuition was speaking.

‘Now, even if I deploy the Kyoto Three Caves again, it will be fine.’

Ziiing.

He deployed the Kyoto Three Caves once more.

Three newly opened holes.

Yet, the places connected beyond the holes were no different from before.

“He’s escaping!”

“Stop him!”

But his Intuition had changed.

Leaving behind the pursuers trying to grab his feet, Baekto thought,

‘It’s not dangerous anymore.’

Whoosh.

He threw his body into one of the holes.

While deploying the <Travel> Skill.

* * *

The gap between space and space.

The passage between entrance and exit.

In the Reverse Side of space, filled entirely with nothingness, Baekto opened his eyes.

“This place… is it the process of passing through the passage?”

Originally, passing through a Spatial Passage created by the Kyoto Three Caves was instantaneous.

But the Travel Skill stretched that instant into several minutes, postponing the moment of emerging on the other side for a while.

He realized this given time was the moment to turn crisis into opportunity.

‘Disguise!’

And the method for that also came to mind immediately.

If he disguised himself here, where no one could observe him, then even if he appeared in a place full of those searching for Baekto, he wouldn’t be chased immediately.

Swish, swish, swish.

As he ran his hands over his head with the <Disguise> Skill, the form of the rabbit-headed ghost he wore changed.

Pop.

The next moment, Baekto, who arrived on the other side of the hole, was in a form that could no longer be called Baekto.

Transformed into the form of a ghost wearing a jester’s mask, Baekto smiled and melted into the crowd of pursuers.

Those only looking for a rabbit head quickly averted their eyes upon seeing the jester mask, allowing him to easily shake off the pursuers.

‘I won’t forget this grace, Lord of the Throne.’

Baekto expressed his gratitude in his heart to the nameless Lord of the Throne, who was now his Constellation.

But in truth, there was another party he should have been thanking.

All the things he thought were the Constellation’s grace were actually Lee Hanseong’s interventions, mediated through the Puppet hidden within his shadow.

Of course, unaware of this fact, Baekto could only think that the Constellation was bestowing many things upon him.