Chapter 495: Chapter 495

However, it was still too early to be sure.

The challenges of this realm prepared by the chef constellation couldn’t be overcome with just a few unconventional strategies.

No matter how strong Choi Yeonseung was or how he impressed the constellation, what mattered in the end was the results.

At the end of the day, it didn’t matter how well a mortal fought. The Abyss was a merciless place where the defeated would always be forgotten.

The Chef of Endless Gluttony was going to judge Choi Yeonseung’s performance solely based on the results he achieved.

If this human succeeded in this raid, he would try his best to work together to deal with the Master of Slowness and Silence. However, they had a deal, and if the human failed, the chef constellations would no longer expect the human to help him against the slowness constellation.

When will Kiriathan, the Master of the Deep Sea, arrive?

-I heard he has just passed through the Goldaran Trench.

I see.

Having a name as a monster was a testament to how powerful it was. A mere monster that wasn’t especially strong couldn’t have a name. It had to be strong enough for a constellation to remember it before its name was acknowledged by everyone else.

In this regard, Kiriathan, the Master of the Deep Sea, was a powerful monster that even the nearby constellations were reluctant to go against.

Instead of making him cooperate by force, the Chef of Endless Gluttony had paid him a price.

‘Kiriathan will do a good job.’

The chef constellation hadn’t sent Kiriathan thinking that the mortals would hunt him down. After all, he was powerful enough for some constellations to avoid going against him, and this sea was like his front yard.

No matter how powerful a mortal was, they couldn’t kill Kiriathan.

In any case, it was enough for the monster to spread fear and despair on the ship. All the mortals would simply collapse after realizing that Kiriathan was targeting them.

-That human is expelling the household members of other constellations. Master, is this really okay?

...The chef constellation was certain it would be fine.

***

Rained, a household member of the sculptor constellation, looked around the ship in disbelief.

The rare species glaring at each other on the fourth floor, trying to find a loophole to discover the captain, were shocked when they came down.

How could the Abyssal races on the ship line up in such an orderly manner to report what happened to Choi Yeonseung while expelling new challengers who didn’t listen? n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“This is unbelievable,” said Glenen, the slime chimera next to Rained.

Just like Rained, Glenen had managed to reach the fourth floor because of how rare his species was. Rumor had it that he wasn’t only a slime, but also a mixture of demons and a few other rare Abyssal races.

However, in the current situation, the only thing he could do was to look around himself in disbelief.

“Shouldn’t we do something?”

“Like what?”

“If that human being was to kick us out...”

The mortals who had reached the fourth floor considered themselves to be the closest to reaching the end of the trial. As such, they had to be wary of new competitors, especially if one of them controlled the entire ship and reigned like a king!

[The ‘Beast of Swords and Spears’ tempts you to join forces.]

“I can’t get away from it! How dare an evil god constellation try to tempt me?!”

Rained was furious. No matter how unfavorable or urgent the situation, he had no intention of joining forces with an evil god constellation.

[The ‘Beast of Swords and Spears’ warns that you will regret it.]

-There’s a household member of the Beast of Swords and Spears out there! How dare you try to deceive an elf?

-Expel him!

“...”

Rained was puzzled when he saw another mortal being apprehended and taken away. What was this human really planning?

“I’ll go and ask.”

Rained decided to take matters into his own hands. If that human had a sinister plan, he would find its gaps and weaknesses and shut it down!

***

“That...”

“Why are you shamelessly trying to break the order?!” a dwarf bellowed.

Then, another elf shouted back, “Even your manners are wrong! Are you really being rude to Hunter Choi Yeonseung, the master of this ship, the one who drove away the kraken, the one who brought food from the sea, and the one who leads the humans to defeat the household members of the evil god constellations? Let’s hear it again! What did you say?!”

“...”

Rained was shocked. He knew that the other races were pledging allegiance and following orders, regardless of whether they liked it or not, but he hadn’t expected them to be this servile.

At first, he thought they were doing it because the humans were threatening them, but now it seemed that these mortals were genuinely loyal.

Rained couldn’t wrap his head around it.

[The ‘Sculptor of Art and Patronage’ says it is hard to believe that this human persuaded them.]

The other household members and constellations were just as baffled. Who would’ve thought that rescuing someone and feeding them some food would garner unwavering loyalty?

Of course, it wasn’t just that.

The Sculptor of Art and Patronage and Rained didn’t know it, but Choi Yeonseung’s presence as a constellation automatically induced the Abyssal races to be loyal to him.

A constellation could rule over mortals simply with their presence!

In the end, Rained had to comply with the etiquette and wait in line to talk to Choi Yeonseung, since he couldn’t beat up the other mortals to get in front.

When it was finally his turn, Rained asked, “I’m here to ask what you’re planning...”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you’re controlling all the races here, but those on the fourth floor... Are you going to kick us out?”

“I’m not going to put my hands on anyone unless they’re a household member of an evil god constellation.”

Contrary to Reined’s worries, Choi Yeonseung wasn’t really interested in the mortals on the fourth floor.

Indeed, the Abyssal races on the fourth floor were very rare, but no matter how he thought about it, Choi Yeonseung felt it was unlikely that the captain was among them.

If someone served an evil god constellation, they were here with nefarious intentions. Thus, the correct course of action was to weed them out in advance. Otherwise...

‘In addition, there are just a few mortals on the fourth floor. There’s no reason to control them.’

The ones who bothered him more than the mortals on the fourth floor were the other human hunters.

Now that the household members of the evil god constellation had been taken out of the equation, hunters from other countries were starting to show more interest in this raid.

***

-Hunter Choi Yeonseung has secretly joined the Abyss raid!

-Secretly joining the Abyss raid?! How confident is he?

-Apart from that, isn’t that realm highly valuable?

-It seems that the US is confident in this raid’s success, since they’ve been preparing for a long time.

-Hunter Choi Yeonseung was involved in every successful Abyss raid. Is it possible that this time will be any different?

-Let’s find a way to participate! If we insist on our rights, they won’t be able to stop us.

Choi Yeonseung was proceeding with this Abyss raid purely to compete with the chef constellation. He wasn’t doing this for the sake of glory or profit, but...

There were always people who misunderstood his intentions.

An S-grade hunter had joined the Abyssal raid out of nowhere. Would he do that without any concrete plans?

High-level hunters from various countries hurriedly prepared for the raid and tried to board the ship with smug faces. However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t stop them. Instead, he thoroughly checked their backgrounds and managed them together.

At first, these hunters came in thinking, ‘How did Hunter Choi Yeonseung prepare to clear the Abyss Raid?’ and ‘What’s hidden in this Abyss Raid?’

But after they realized what was actually going on, they started walking around the ship with devastated expressions.

-...I don’t think there are any secrets?

-Those crazy analysts need to conduct a proper investigation, not just say that there’s one hundred percent something fishy here just because Hunter Choi Yeonseung is involved.

-Should we get off? Can we even do that? Ah, but what if we get off and then a secret is revealed?

Unlike other Abyss Raids, there were no rewards for this voyage. The hunters just had to wait in a designated area and fight against the sea monsters that kept attacking the ship.

Instead of having a proper meal, they had to eat a monster that Choi Yeonseung was cooking on a spit—which tasted better than it looked—and they had to join forces with the arrogant Abyssal races...

For valuable high-ranking hunters, being this patient felt meaningless.

The hunters Choi Yeonseung brought with him were not only loyal but also kept their mouths shut because they trusted him. But even so, they were also sick of standing around and not doing anything.

-Seeing this, I don’t think anyone else will be sent.

Choi Yeonseung was relieved, thinking that no more hunters would join this raid. However, he was mistaken.

Hunters didn’t believe the rumors coming from within and kept joining the raid. Thanks to this, the power to fight the sea monsters increased instead. But even so, Choi Yeonseung was still rather skeptical.

‘Those are the kinds of hunters who never take part in a raid for a good cause, but now they’re participating without complaining at all...’

***

In any case, Choi Yeonseung was most worried about potential traitors among the hunters around him, not the rare Abyssal races on the fourth floor.

Rained looked stunned after hearing the explanation. To his surprise, he could sense that this human was being honest.

‘I didn’t know he cares about us so much...’

It was a relief that Choi Yeonseung wasn’t keeping them in check, but Rained still felt awkward.

[The ‘Sculptor of Art and Patronage’ says that this human has quite extraordinary abilities.]

[You should help him with his work and get hints to deal with this challenge.]

-I understand, Master.

Rained readily complied with his master’s order. He was sure that cooperating with this human would give him a hint to this seemingly unsolvable puzzle.

“Thanks to you, this voyage and ship are being protected. I’d like to do something to help, even if just a little bit.”

“Such brazen words...!”

“Do you think this is a place where you can step in? You blue no-name bastard!”

The other races were upset with Rained’s attitude. His arrogance reached the sky just because he was favored by the Sculptor of Art and Patronage!

Of course, this was rather frustrating for Rained.

‘Should I not have said that?’

“Choi Yeonseung, monsters have appeared.”

A few hunters came running from the deck and whispered to Choi Yeonseung, and he nodded with a serious expression after hearing their status report.

“Let me deal with the monsters!” Rained offered. “I can deal with them. Actually, it won’t be just me. The others on the fourth floor will join me, so we’ll be able to take them down effortlessly.”

“Really?” Choi Yeonseung looked at Rained with a strange expression, and this infuriated Rained.

“Listen, you might be a household member, but so am I! There is no challenge that I can’t overcome with my master’s power!”

“I see. Then I’ll give you a chance. Go and try it.”

***

“...”

Rained and the other rare races on the fourth floor were stunned as they stood on the deck and stared at the monster emerging from the sea.

They had never seen such a giant monster in their lives. This one made all the others that had attacked the ship seem like insects.

Some mortals cast Rained resentful looks. It seemed like they were cursing him for bringing them here.

[The ‘Sculptor of Art and Patronage’ warns everyone not to think about backing off now.]

Sensing that the other mortals were about to abandon Rained, the sculptor constellation spoke emphatically to them and their constellations.

Usually, constellations didn’t go out of their way to offer advice during a crisis, but in this case, the sculptor constellation was adamant.

[The ‘Sculptor of Art and Patronage’ advises you to lighten the ship as much as possible, throw away the bait, and run away.]

-I... I understand, Master.

The order of the sculptor constellation was both resolute and cruel. However, Rained didn’t think there was any other way.

“Choi Yeonseung, we should...” Rained paused before finishing his sentence.

All the other mortals, including Choi Yeonseung, were getting ready for battle.

“Didn’t he say he was going first?”

“We can’t trust that guy. He’s just a smooth talker.”

The elves whispered enviously to each other.