Chapter 8 – Transcendence

When Lee Hanseong opened his eyes again, he was in Yu Sehee’s room.

A point in time not even an instant after he had activated Historical Alteration.

[Feat ‘Historical Alteration’ has been achieved.]

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

A message announcing the achievement of the feat appeared before his eyes, but he had no time to leisurely examine it.

Right now, Yu Sehee was more urgent.

Hum.

He immediately activated <Empathy>. Then, synchronizing with her, who was dying from Synchronization Rate Overload, he used Overmind to regulate her synchronization rate.

The synchronization rate with the Spirit, which had been wildly fluctuating, instantly stabilized and fixed at 10%.

Thanks to that, the nosebleed that had been pouring non-stop finally stopped.

With a sigh of relief, he observed her internal state through synchronization.

‘For a body that hasn’t Awakened yet, 10% of a 5-Star Spirit is the best it can accept.’

10% was the minimum synchronization rate required to unlock a Spirit’s First Awakening Skill.

The reason Yu Sehee was in danger earlier was because an external shock had suddenly caused her synchronization rate to soar beyond her body’s limits.

As the synchronization rate increases, the intensity of the Starlight naturally strengthens, so she had suffered internal injuries from the excessive Starlight.

It was proof that the overflowing power bestowed by a Transcendent does not always benefit humans like them. As they say, too much of a good thing.

“Haa, still, it’s fortunate we weren’t too late.”

Thanks to stabilizing before the internal injuries reached an irreversible state, the Starlight Baptism, now reduced to an appropriate level, was rapidly healing her internal injuries.

The problem was only the excess; Starlight itself was a beneficial power.

After all, the source of the superhuman power Awakened wield was precisely Starlight.

The power of Awakened is often classified into many types like magic, force, internal energy, mana, ether, etc., but in reality, they are all just variations of Starlight.

As he had that thought, he suddenly noticed something strange.

‘…Huh? How did I know this?’

The correlation between Starlight and other energies was something not even precisely revealed in the future ten years later, just before his Regression, yet now he was certain that Starlight was the source of all power.

This… wasn’t Lee Hanseong’s thought.

Nor was it the knowledge of the Spirits.

‘…Lord of the Throne?’

By process of elimination, what remained was the knowledge of the Constellation.

Why suddenly?

Until now, even when he had properly invoked the Constellation, there had been no instances of the Constellation’s knowledge flowing into him.

What had changed…

‘Ah!’

When he finished the Historical Alteration and came out, the message he hadn’t properly checked came to mind.

Only then did the message that the Constellation’s Grade had been restored catch his eye.

But a question arose.

‘Why was the Lord of the Throne’s Grade restored?’

He knew Historical Alteration was the cause, but he couldn’t figure out the exact reason.

A Constellation’s Grade is proportional to its Authority and prestige.

For a Constellation that had lost all its past prestige after losing its name, Lee Hanseong was its only remaining Devotee.

‘Because Henrietta completed her Two-star promotion?’

He didn’t think that was it.

Henrietta was a Spirit under the Clay Constellation, so her becoming stronger was no reason for the Constellation he served to become stronger.

Unless Henrietta had changed her affiliation to the Lord of the Throne…

“Oh, could it really be that?”

He observed the star of Henrietta residing within him.

She was still affiliated with the Clay Constellation.

But at the same time, she was also affiliated with the Nameless Constellation.

As if straddling both sides, the stake in the Spirit named Henrietta was split half and half between the two Constellations.

In other words, the second star of Henrietta, completed through Historical Alteration, serves the Nameless Constellation, not the Clay Constellation.

“…Hehe.”

Is this even possible?

He let out an involuntary hollow laugh at the newly learned fact.

Until now, he thought the only way to restore the Constellation that had lost its name was for himself, the only one connected to the Constellation, to become stronger, but now another method had appeared.

‘By promoting a Spirit affiliated with another Constellation and completing the promotion through Historical Alteration, I can restore the Lord of the Throne faster.’

What needed to be done hadn’t changed.

After all, for him to become stronger, he needed to utilize Spirit promotion.

“Ung…”

At that moment, Yu Sehee groaned as if trying to open her eyes.

The Starlight Baptism had ended.

Perhaps because he had held onto the synchronization rate with Overmind, it finished faster than it originally would have taken.

Yu Sehee, with her eyes open, made a suspicious face.

“Hey, Lee Hanseong. You, in the middle of that…”

As she was about to question him about the gaze of the Twelve Constellations that caused the Synchronization Rate Overload, she closed her mouth upon seeing the Dire Wolf that had fainted in the middle of the room.

Looking out the broken window with surprised eyes, she confirmed the Sudden Rift hanging in the air and let out a hollow laugh.

“…Wow, the Sudden Rift was real?”

“Right, that’s why I need your help.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m thinking of stopping the Sudden Rift. Will you help?”

“…Ha. Sorry, but even if you hadn’t said that, I was originally planning to do that anyway? Did you think I was trash who would run away pretending not to know about a Sudden Rift?”

Having realized that what Lee Hanseong had said all along was true and that her own thoughts were the misconception, Yu Sehee retorted in a coy tone as if embarrassed, but the content itself was positive.

“Thank you.”

“Save the thanks. So, what’s the plan?”

She asked for the plan.

“Park Seongcheol and Jin Yuseong are probably fighting monsters over at the male dormitory. I plan to join up with them.”

“After joining up. Do we have a chance?”

Yu Sehee looked at the rift outside the window.

The rift, having finished expanding, was gradually concentrating its randomly falling branches into one place, forming a massive passage.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

From the branches of the rift gathered in one place, a wolf and rider about 1.5 times larger than a normal Dire Wolf and Goblin Rider revealed themselves.

As expected, they were the 2-Star Monster Alpha Dire Wolf and the 3-Star Monster Hobgoblin Rider.

Because the two were unified, strictly speaking, they were monsters positioned between 3-Star and 4-Star.

―Awooooooo!

The Alpha Dire Wolf howled.

Goblin Wolf Riders swarming around them as the center.

Whether they had already performed Unification or not, each pair emitted a presence at the 2.5-Star level, similar to the Berserk state Goblin Champion seen in Henrietta’s records.

Over twenty such Wolf Rider pairs had already gathered and were lined up in a row before the Hobgoblin Rider.

Groooooo!!

There, the Hobgoblin Rider activated Colonization, binding them into one.

In that moment, their Grade soared another level.

Because of that, the Hobgoblin Rider group’s danger level rose to 4-Star Rank.

But the real problem wasn’t that.

Crackle-crackle—

The bigger problem was that the Sudden Rift that had sent out the Hobgoblin Rider still showed no sign of disappearing. If more 3-Star monsters came out here, even if the Promising Candidates on this side used Colonization, there could be casualties.

―Grrr?

Moreover, it seemed the Dire Wolf that had fainted in Yu Sehee’s room had also woken up at the Alpha’s howl.

Lee Hanseong activated Henrietta’s Awakening Skill before the creature could be registered under the Alpha’s Leadership.

《Monster Taming》.

Slap.

He could have killed it, but he judged that taming it and using it as a means of transportation would be more useful for stopping the Sudden Rift.

“Sit.”

Making the wolf lie down, he activated <Mounting> and climbed onto it.

Then, looking at Yu Sehee, he stretched out his hand.

“You asked if we have a chance. A chance? Yes. But if we don’t move right now, that chance will disappear too.”

There was no time to persuade Yu Sehee.

If she didn’t grab this hand here, he would have to take her by force.

“Got it. Let’s go.”

But fortunately, that wasn’t necessary.

Surprisingly, she obediently grabbed Lee Hanseong’s hand and climbed onto the wolf.

Thud.

Lee Hanseong signaled the wolf with his thigh to move.

Crash!

On the wolf that leaped outside the dormitory by breaking through the remaining window, he activated the <Empathy> Skill.

Hum.

The <Empathy> Skill was like a kind of wave.

A skill that communicates by emitting waves tuned to the frequency of the target to empathize with.

Originally, only one type of wave could be emitted, but when linked with Overmind, the number of wave types emitted at once could be increased.

‘Park Seongcheol, Jin Yuseong, Yu Sehee, Dire Wolf.’

As the waves of Empathy spread toward the three Promising Candidates and the tamed Dire Wolf resonated with the targets, Lee Hanseong activated Henrietta’s new Vocation Awakening Skill.

《Colonization》.

Whoosh!

The five connected through Empathy, the twelve Spirits already included in Overmind, and even the Constellation that had descended upon him became tightly connected as one Swarm.

Remaining lives from Narrow Escape from Death: seven.

Not stopping there, he consumed another life and linked a new Vocation Awakening Skill.

《Transcendence》.

‘Now the remaining lives are six.’

The Vocation Awakening Skill Lee Hanseong obtained when he Awakened as a 1-Star.

《Transcendence》 unfolds into the world for the first time.

Fwoosh!

Originally, the target Transcendence applies to is only a single individual.

But a Swarm, though many, is treated as one.

The effect of Transcendence applies to all connected through Colonization.

‘Since Transcendence is an Awakening Skill derived from Spirit promotion.’

Its effect was also promotion.

Though not permanent but only temporary, the effect was unparalleled simply because it allowed the use of the next stage’s power in advance.

Lee Hanseong and the Spirits, who were 1-Star, and the Dire Wolf became 2-Star.

The three Promising Candidates who had not yet Awakened became 1-Star Awakened.

Everyone’s Grade rose by one stage.

Of course, since only their Grade rose without any Feats, they didn’t gain new Skills or Vocation Awakening Skills, but that alone was enough.

[The Courier ‘Pheidippides’ temporarily reaches 2-Star, and the Vocation Awakening Skill 《Shrinking Earth》 changes to a General Awakening Skill.]

[The Swordsman ‘Duren Spirit’ temporarily reaches 2-Star, and the Vocation Awakening Skill 《Sky Splitter》 changes to a General Awakening Skill.]

.

.

.

[The Herbalist ‘Blundell Violet’ temporarily reaches 2-Star, and the Vocation Awakening Skill 《Deadly Poison Zone》 changes to a General Awakening Skill.]

The Vocation Awakening Skills, which could only be used by consuming lives, changed to General Awakening Skills while Transcendence was maintained.

Excluding the already activated Colonization or Transcendence itself, the number of Awakening Skills that could now be used without the life burden had effectively increased by ten.

And the new Awakening Skills weren’t just Lee Hanseong’s story.

―Awooooo!

The Dire Wolf, which had become the new Alpha, gained the ability to use the Awakening Skill 《Moon Spirit Dash》.

Hummmmm!

Though temporary, the Promising Candidates who became 1-Star Awakened had their synchronization rate limits expanded and, with the aid of Overmind, instantly reached a 20% synchronization rate.

They unlocked their contracted Spirit’s Second Awakening Skill.

‘……!’

All these changes occurred in an instant after Transcendence was activated.

At this moment, everyone included in the Swarm was no different from Devotees of the Constellation.

[The descent of the Nameless Constellation expands to the Swarm.]

[The Constellation’s influence begins to manifest externally.]

[A faint Constellation’s Blessing is added to all actions of the Swarm.]

‘The most urgent thing is to close the Sudden Rift.’

Among the newly unlocked Awakening Skills, there was a suitable one.

Shing!

On the running wolf, he drew his demonic sword and aimed it at the rift in the sky.

The swordsman Duren, who trained nothing but Slashes every single day without fail for 1 Gapja (60 years). Just before his death, with the great feat of slashing lightning, he received the Golden Constellation’s Blessing and obtained the Vocation Awakening Skill capable of splitting the sky, becoming a Spirit.

《Sky Splitter》.

The extreme that can be achieved with a vertical slash. Of course, he had no intention of trying to close the rift with just a First Awakening Skill.

Still, with the added Constellation’s Blessing, he held a faint hope.

Swoosh!

As the demonic sword vertically split the sky, a dark sword mark was engraved at the center of the rift covering the sky.

However, the slash that severed space and was swung still lacked the power to close the Sudden Rift.

‘Too shallow…!’

He was about to be disappointed, but then a smile formed on his lips at the sight that followed.

At a glance, the sword mark, which looked like a new branch of the rift, possessed a strange suction force, perhaps due to the influence of the life-seeking demonic sword or thanks to the Constellation’s Blessing.

Probably, the Constellation’s Blessing acted by imparting the demonic sword’s characteristics to the slash.

Shooooop!

The branches of the Sudden Rift, which had spread wide, were being drawn toward the sword mark’s suction force as if being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, shrinking to a single point.

The disappearance of the Sudden Rift was instantaneous.

A moment later, only the sword mark caused by Single Flash remained in the sky.

Slither.

Even that sword mark, as if satisfied with devouring the rift, disappeared not long after.

“That stops more monsters from appearing.”

Now all that remained was to deal with the monsters that had already appeared.

“…If this was possible, wouldn’t it have been better to just close the rift before the monsters came out?”

Yu Sehee, who had been blankly staring at the scene of the rift disappearing, muttered.

“No, being able to close the rift now is because the rift’s instability had increased.”

If he had launched Sky Splitter as soon as the Sudden Rift first appeared, then Sky Splitter, blessed by the Constellation, would likely have played the same role as the gaze of the Twelve Constellations, actually expanding the Sudden Rift.

Of course, it wasn’t that there was absolutely no chance to close the rift before the Hobgoblin Rider appeared.

“Anyway, isn’t what’s important now quickly dealing with those guys rather than what’s already passed?”

Lee Hanseong shifted the topic by pointing at the Hobgoblin Rider’s Swarm.

While the rift disappeared, it seemed all the Goblin Wolf Riders had gathered, as the riders lined up on the training ground now numbered over thirty pairs.

Their intimidating appearance, staring with ferocious Killing Intent as if knowing he was the culprit who closed the rift, was oppressive.

“We haven’t joined up with Park Seongcheol or Jin Yuseong yet.”

“Join up? We can do that now.”

For the two people from the male dormitory side to join, they would have to break through the group of Goblin Riders occupying the training ground, but Lee Hanseong said it simply.

Following the Command of the Constellation that had Grasped the Swarm, he activated Pheidippides’s Awakening Skill.

《Shrinking Earth》.

Fwoosh!

The feat of the courier Pheidippides, famous as the legend of the marathon, transformed into a teleportation Skill that transcends space upon receiving the Sun Constellation’s Blessing.

Originally, it would have been limited to himself alone teleporting through space, but now, with the added Blessing of the Nameless Constellation, it had become a teleportation Skill targeting the entire Swarm.

In that state, when Shrinking Earth is deployed, naturally everyone connected through Colonization gathers at the targeted point.

‘Just as the Lord of the Throne predicted.’

The next moment, seeing the two people who should have been on the opposite side of the training ground summoned beside him, Lee Hanseong nodded as if it were an obvious result.

This application of Shrinking Earth was a method suggested by the Constellation connected to him, so his attitude was that it couldn’t possibly be wrong.

It was the moment Lee Hanseong’s Swarm, opposing the Hobgoblin Rider’s Swarm, achieved its complete form.