Chapter 493: Chapter 493

On second thoughts, it really wouldn’t make sense for someone to suspect that Choi Yeonseung was a constellation. What madman would have such suspicions?

‘Still, I wonder what race they mistook me for.’

-They probably think you’re a unique race that specializes in martial arts.

It was plausible. After all, Choi Yeonseung’s proficiency in martial arts was on a different level from that of the humans on Earth...

Choi Yeonseung went up to the fourth floor, which seemed almost deserted. Not even the household members of the chef constellation were there.

It seemed that this floor wasn’t designated to specific races. There were just a few mortals here, and they jumped up the moment they saw Choi Yeonseung.

“Finally!”

“Catch him!”

“!”

Choi Yeonseung was taken aback when one of the mortals charged at him...

...Not really. He just fought back calmly.

‘What’s up with this guy?’

His opponent belonged to a peculiar race he had never encountered before. As expected of the fourth floor...

The creature had hard marble instead of skin and white shiny jewels instead of eyes. It was like a golem or a statue that had come to life.

“Ugh! Help me! He uses strange skills!”

[The power of the ‘Sculptor of Art and Patronage’ protects Rained.]

[A veil of beauty...]

[...]

The opponent’s tolerance to pain was certainly outstanding. He wasn’t a living being, so Choi Yeonseung couldn’t use the Internal Heavy Strike Technique or stop his blood flow. Above all, the creature’s body was extremely sturdy.

-The constellation created him personally! He was brought to life with the power of existence!

-What? Is that possible?

-Yes. You humans also create life.

-No... That’s true, but—

In that case, was this creature called Rained a member of the household of the Sculptor of Art and Patronage? That sounded like something out of a fairy tale, but...

‘Well, I shouldn’t say this...’

The opponent’s origin was ridiculous, but his defense was even more ridiculous.

Rained’s body was made out of solid rock, and his constellation had directly infused power of existence into him, so his defense was off the charts.

Even without Origin of the Celestial Fist, Choi Yeonseung was strong enough to shatter bones and make his opponents vomit blood with a single blow. However, Rained just tanked his hits like they were nothing.

‘Alright, I’ll use concentrated energy.’

A white light hovered over Choi Yeonseung’s fingertips. Rained didn’t know much about martial arts, but he instinctively knew that the light flashing in front of him was bad news.

[The power of the ‘Sculptor of Art and Patronage’ protects Rained.]

[A veil of beauty obscures Rained.]

Then, Rained suddenly vanished, but Choi Yeonseung didn’t panic. He had dealt with quite a few enemies that used stealth.

‘I’ll focus on his scent.’

[The power of the ‘Sculptor of Art and Patronage’ protects Rained.]

[The scent of praise covers Rained.]

‘How much is that constellation babysitting him...?’

Choi Yeonseung was taken aback. It was rare for a constellation to protect a household member to this degree. However, there was no one like the goddess of balance, who watched everything twenty-four hours a day...

-Future Sight.

Choi Yeonseung activated the power of Future Sight. It seemed that he had gotten used to it, as the vision seemed more clear and easy to interpret than before.

‘Left.’

Choi Yeonseung turned to his left and fired his Origin of the Celestial Fist with concentrated energy where he felt Rained was.

With a loud crack, Rained fell on his back.

[The ‘Sculptor of Art and Patronage’ shouts at you to stop!]

[I will pay anything you want, so please don’t destroy my masterpiece!]

“...”

Choi Yeonseung felt like he was seen as the villain in this exchange...

‘But I’m the one who was attacked...’

***

The reason everyone on the fourth floor had tried to subdue Choi Yeonseung was simple.

“You’re the captain! You have to be!”

“...”

These household members were also desperate to find the captain of the ship. Their reasoning was quite simple. There were many mortals on this ship, but would the captain just hide among them? There was no way.

The captain would definitely stay in an area that would suit their position and exhibit their dignity.

“And that would be the fourth floor?”

“While else would the entire ship be divided like this?

The household members on the fourth floor were convinced.

The Chef of Endless Gluttony had divided his ship in order to give them a hint. If they wanted to find the captain, they had to look on the fourth floor!

“That’s precisely what the Chef of Endless Gluttony wants to tell us.”

They were absolutely sure that the captain had to be among those on the fourth floor, not among the mortals from below.

‘They do have a point, but... Their arguments are poor.’

The overall idea of the household members made sense. After all, would the chef constellation have divided his ship for no reason? It had to mean something. The captain had to be hiding on the floor that was the hardest to reach!

However, Choi Yeonseung was a constellation himself, so he understood constellations to some extent. They...

‘They’re eccentric and live in their own world. There’s no point in trying to guess what they’re thinking.’

Moreover, the Chef of Endless Gluttony wasn’t a normal constellation to begin with, his last rampage being proof of that...

Choi Yeonseung shook his head.

“Be honest. Aren’t you the captain?”

“I can prove my identity,” Choi Yeonseung replied. “I serve the Undefeated Incarnation of Training.”

“What...?”

“That’s ridiculous!”

The household members were disappointed. If Choi Yeonseung wasn’t the captain, then who was?

“Isn’t the captain hiding on the third floor? That giant from earlier looked suspicious.”

“Giants don’t talk much. I asked around and confirmed his identity. Someone saw him with the Obsidian tribe.”

[The ship of the ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ has stopped.]

[The enemy has boarded!]

“...?!”

“What?!”

The conversation between the household members was cut short by a sudden assault on the ship!

***

‘A kraken.’

In a way, Choi Yeonseung was glad to see this familiar figure.

The kraken was a monster that looked like an octopus or a squid, and it was quite common in the Abyssal seas.

Its rating wasn’t very high on Earth, but that didn’t matter in the current situation. A kraken that had lived in an Abyssal sea for a long time was ten times more powerful!

Over time, this terrifying monster would continue to grow bigger and more powerful, learning more and more skills!

‘It’s also pretty tasty.’

-...

The goddess of sloth was slightly embarrassed. This wasn’t the time to think about cuisine!

‘Aren’t there many other people on this ship that can kill it?’

-That’s true.

Unlike on Earth, there were many powerful mortals on this ship. In fact, some heroes had already come out to attack the kraken.

“Hey, is the Chef of Endless Gluttony behind this? What is he up to?!”

“I couldn’t tell you.”

“That bastard...”

“Forget the chef constellation and focus on the monster!”

The elf archers gathered in one place and raised their bows. A massive surge of magic energy gathered at a single point, generating a fierce gust of wind that tore through the surroundings.

The kraken was trying to wrap itself around the ship when one of its legs was blown off.

“Why are the elves fighting like that?”

“The Chef of Endless Gluttony will give a hint to the one who kills that kraken!”

“What?! Then we can’t lose! Get ready to attack!”

The dwarves took out their shields and placed them in front of themselves. Then, magic power erupted from their shields to form a magic barrier around them.

The hunters waiting on the first floor were flustered when they realized that a bunch of Abyssal races from various areas started fighting.

When Choi Yeonseung came down, one of the hunters asked him, “Shall we join the battle?”

“Why bother?” Choi Yeonseung shook his head.

Everyone was saying that the constellation would give special treatment to whoever managed to kill the kraken, but Choi Yeonseung didn’t believe it.

After all, there was no basis for it.

‘It’s just a rumor.’

The household members of the chef constellation didn’t answer any questions, so there was no need to waste their energy. It was better to find out who was acting suspiciously in the current situation.

‘But I really don’t know... Maybe elimination is a better approach than control? Do I have to send everyone overboard?’

Choi Yeonseung wondered if the solution wasn’t controlling and exploring the ship, but eliminating everyone. Indeed, doing things like the Chef of Endless Gluttony might be the right way...

“Human warrior! Human warrior!”

“?”

“I need your help!”

Suddenly, the elves rushed down from upstairs.

“Well, we don’t have permission to go up,” one of the hunters said with a frown.

“...You can go!”

The elves quickly grabbed their clipboard, read it, checked it, and signed it. They did all of that in the blink of an eye.

“Our comrade has been taken away by the monster!”

“I see.”

“I’ve heard that you can swim in this sea with no issues. If you save my comrade, I’ll give you a proper reward!”

“!”

“!!”

The hunters were even more surprised. The wealth of rich elves from the Abyss was incomparable to that of human hunters. They possessed ancient and priceless artifacts!

“And what would that reward consist of?”

In response to Choi Yeonseung’s question, the elves searched their pockets and pulled out a bunch of coins. They had a variety of coins, including coins of a hundred won and twenty-five cents.

“I heard that you humans covet this money. We will give you these!”

“...Should we throw them overboard?”

“!?”

The elves were taken aback by the fierce glares of the hunters. Why did they react like that?

“I don’t need a reward like that.”

The elves were surprised by Choi Yeonseung’s words.

“We’re in this together, so I’ll save your buddy. Instead of money, I want you elves to obey my orders as long as we’re here.”

“Orders? Is that all? Wait, don’t tell me you’ll give out ridiculous orders...”

“On the honor of my constellation, I will not issue any dishonorable orders. You don’t have to worry.”

The elves murmured and exchanged looks among themselves, and they eventually turned to Choi Yeonseung and nodded.

“If you can save him... We accept your proposal.”

***

Tangol, the elf hero, managed to avoid the kraken, but returning to the ship was a real struggle. Last time, he had somehow managed to get back on board after being thrown into the sea. However, he was in a completely different situation now.

A ferocious monster was hunting next to him!

Tangol couldn’t even use his magic or skills properly. He could only try to stay on the surface and avoid the monster.

“For the honor of the elves, I won’t die like this! You damn monster!”

Tangol was shouting and preparing to fight, only to be startled by a silhouette flying above him. The human household member he had seen on the ship had just jumped into the sea.

‘Is he going to save me?’

“I don’t need any help! As an honorable elf, I don’t need help from other races...”

“Okay, then get out on your own.”

Choi Yeonseung grabbed Tangol by the collar and threw him back toward the kraken.

The elves on the ship screamed, “The contract! We signed a contract!”

“What if he doesn’t like it?”

“Tangol, don’t be stupid! Accept help from the human!”

The elves kept shouting at Tangol, but he most likely couldn’t hear them because the kraken had caught him with its tentacles and was flinging him in all directions.

Seeing that, the elves started shouting at Choi Yeonseung.

“Tangol is short-sighted and arrogant, and he always says things he doesn’t actually mean! We’ll apologize on his behalf!”

“Yes! Just ignore what Tangol is saying!”

The other Abyssal creatures that were close by heard the elves and were puzzled.

“I guess that Tangol guy isn’t that great.”

“I’ve heard that he’s an outstanding hero. Was it just a rumor?”