Nikilen, a centaur who served the Monk Pursuing Glory, was flustered when he saw Choi Yeonseung. The human was leading a group of mortals who had nothing to do with him, and no one seemed to be complaining.
What was this?
âSuparat! Do you know anything about that human being?â
âHuh? I mean, he...â
Nadeet Suparat, a B+ grade hunter from the Philippines who also served the Monk Pursuing Glory, was taken back by the centaurâs question. Of course, he knew that Choi Yeonseung was famous on Earth, but...
He didnât know what to say in this situation. What should he say?
âHeâs a great man, but...â
âWhy is he commanding the mortals? How is he doing that?â
âWell... Uh...â
How could Suparat explain that as a fellow human being? He was at a loss.
âI-I know he has a lot of money...â
âHe bought the mortals in such a short period of time? He offered a price that satisfied everyone? Thatâs amazing! Not even the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House can do something like that!â
***
âHeâs a strange guy.â
Choi Yeonseung immediately felt something unusual about the King of Brambles.
His opponent was one and yet no one. With each blow, Choi Yeonseung could feel dozens of souls stirring inside this body. It was as if countless souls had been forcibly combined.
Even in the Abyss, monsters like this were rare, and being rare was a strength in itself.
[The power âCrown of Bramblesâ of the âNoble Crown Collectorâ has been activated!]
[A new soul has been revealed in the flames!]
It was ridiculous to see this monster regenerate after being struck by a bullet of concentrated energy that tore through the hard shell on his body and through his muscles.
This wasnât a regeneration skill; rather, every time the monster wouldâve died, the constellation infused another soul in him. Because of that, the traits and skills of the King of Brambles kept changing, making him a fearsome opponent.
[The âExplorer of the Starsâ advises you not to give up.]
[It definitely has a weakness. Donât rush into it but wait patiently and see where it goes...]
â...Why is a constellation advising me?â
Choi Yeonseung was a bit embarrassed. Of course, giving advice wasnât a bad thing, but the explorer constellation wasnât particularly close to Choi Yeonseung.
It was a bit ridiculous...
âThe best thing is to raise my power of existence and blow him up with sheer force, but I canât do that.â
In his heart, Choi Yeonseung wanted to use his newly acquired strength as a constellation and obliterate his opponent in an instant. With his power of existence, he could annihilate a monster with one stroke.
It didnât matter if the Noble Crown Collector kept replacing the monsterâs soul. The stronger power of existence would always erase the weaker one.
But using his power of existence in this situation would mean self-destruction for Choi Yeonseung...
âYeah, I shouldnât rush it. Iâll just get rid of them one by one.
Choi Yeonseung looked at the flaming King of Brambles and changed the nature of his internal energy. The air around him became cold; it was a cold air that seeped into one very existence. This wasnât just about changing the nature of his internal energy to extreme yin.
Choi Yeonseung had fused the powers received from various constellations into his martial arts. Thus, even though he wasnât intentionally trying to use his power of existence, his martial arts contained power of existence.
The cold air emitted by Choi Yeonseung was similar in nature to the cold air used by the Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place.
âThose who can use frost skills, come forward!â
Choi Yeonseung unleashed a storm of cold energy, and in an instant, frost engulfed the entire area, making it extremely difficult for the King of Brambles to move.
The other morals rushed over and launched their own skills as if they didnât want to be outdone by Choi Yeonseung. All sorts of frost skills surged forward, striking and shaking the King of Brambles to his core.
[The power âCrown of Bramblesâ of the âNoble Crown Collectorâ has been activated!]
[A new soul has been revealed in the poison!]
âNow itâs poison. Those who donât have poison-related skills, get out of the way!â
***
The most anxious constellation at the moment wasnât the Undefeated Incarnation of Training or the Explorer of the Stars. It wasnât even the Monk Pursuing Glory, whose realm had transformed into a battleground.
It was the Noble Crown Collector that was the most worried. He had paid a great price to summon the King of Brambles, but he wasnât performing as well as he had expected.
Of course, the mortals still couldnât defeat the King of Brambles, given that his soul kept changing, but the battle itself was by no means a great achievement.
The Noble Crown Collector had intended for the King of Brambles to swiftly absorb all the mortals at the temple. However, the mortals kept adapting, and they werenât fazed by the fact that the monsterâs soul kept being replaced. They were getting more and more aggressive with their attacks.
[The âNoble Crown Collectorâ pours out hatred toward mortals!]
The usual arrogant and noble attitude of the collector constellation was gone. His hatred toward Choi Yeonseung was about to erupt. It was utterly shameful for a constellation to be enraged because they couldnât deal with a mere mortal.
However, the situation was too dire for the collector constellation to worry about his image.
-W-we apologize, Master. We will sort it out soon!
-I will put my life on the line and take him down!
The constellationâs household members were frightened by their masterâs anger, but fear wouldnât miraculously give them new abilities.
The Noble Crown Collector shifted his gaze in another direction.
There was no mistake about it; the household member of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training was in charge of this raid. The collector constellation just needed to cut off this household member for his plan to work.
Explorer of the Stars, letâs compromise. What do you want?
!
The explorer constellation was surprised by the sudden request. He hadnât expected the collector constellation to desperately request negotiations.
That arrogant constellation...
The household member you summoned attacked my followers. How dare you ask for a compromise? If you were willing to compromise, you wouldâve told me about your plans in advance!
There was a reason the evil god constellations were on bad terms with each other.
Of course, they ought to have some sort of mutual understanding when executing their plans and avoid collateral damage.
However, most evil god constellations were like, âOh, the minions of that constellation got hurt? Haha, nice! Itâs their problem if they canât stay out of the way!â They all had the same mindset.
There was considerably more internal conflict and self-destruction among the evil god constellation than among the good god constellations.
...I apologize for that.
âHah.â
The explorer constellation was even more surprised by the collector constellationâs reaction. Besides asking for negotiations, he was even apologizing. Seeing him like this was quite satisfying.
However, as an evil god constellation, the Explorer of the Stars couldnât just accept it without any conditions. After all, he had the upper hand.
What can you offer me?
The explorer constellation was excited. Given that the collector constellation had once been very powerful, he still possessed many treasures and a lot of valuable knowledge. It was only natural that the explorer constellation wanted such things for himself.
Wait!
?
??
Suddenly, someone interrupted the negotiation between the two constellations.
It was the Chef of Endless Gluttony.
[The âChef of Endless Gluttonyâ declares that the negotiations will stop!]
Explorer of the Stars, stop it right now. Negotiations with the collector constellation will be poisonous to you.
I am aware that the Noble Crown Collector is a venomous snake, but what is so bad about negotiating for the right price?
It simply is bad.
?
For a moment, the explorer constellation thought that the chef constellation would offer something instead of blocking the negotiations, which wouldnât be too bad either. The skills possessed by the chef constellation had a long history in the Abyss...
If you negotiate with the collector constellation, I will obliterate you.
...
The explorer constellation was speechless. What kind of hooligan...?
What did you just say to me? Do you think I will give in to this kind of threat? Chef of Endless Gluttony, it is you, not me, who has many enemies!
What do you know? Just keep one thing in mind. If you negotiate, you will die. Donât think I wonât be able to break you. I will crush you the moment you negotiate.
...
The explorer constellation was overwhelmed by the sheer madness of the chef constellation, which was different from the madness exhibited by constellations like the Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood.
The explorer constellation was convinced that the chef constellation would blindly attack him even if he was at a disadvantage and would suffer damage himself.
Ignore him, Explorer of the Stars! That chef has many enemies, and heâs already in hiding! Donât buy into his bluff!
If you negotiate, you will die. I will smash you!
...
As the explorer constellation was agonizing over what to do, the situation suddenly took a sharp turn.
The King of Brambles was falling down.
[The âExplorer of the Starsâ says to pretend this never happened.]
[The âNoble Crown Collectorâ shouts angrily!]
***
âHunter Choi Yeonseung, thank you for your help so far. Weâll take care of it!â shouted the household members of the Monk Pursuing Glory after arriving at the temple.
Choi Yeonseung nodded. âGreat, then I can take it easy.â
In the Abyss, it was generally more advantageous for one to fight in their own area. Those mortals were fighting in their masterâs temple, so they were bound to be strong.
[The âSteel Meditationâ power of the âMonk Pursuing Gloryâ is activated.]
[His image is laid over his household members.]
Iron armor forged with power of existence enveloped the household members. With that, they charged furiously...
...But quickly bounced back.
â...â
Choi Yeonseung was speechless. Fortunately, they werenât hurt thanks to the power of their constellation. Still, Choi Yeonseung found it ridiculous.
âBecause of their advantage, they didnât even bother to figure out the enemy before attacking.â
âWh-what...?â
âWhat just happened?â
The absurd attacks of the household members baffled the other mortals gathered at the scene. For a moment, their attack was disrupted.
[The âMonk Pursuing Gloryâ apologizes.]
[The âMonk Pursuing Gloryâ gives you the âPower of Meditationâ.]
The monk constellation couldnât bear to see this happen and used his power of existence directly on Choi Yeonseung.
This power felt totally different to Choi Yeonseung from the one he normally used. If he could use this power with martial arts...
âThis is quite useful!â
The monk constellation wasnât aware that his power would eventually be copied by this mortal.
[The âMonk Pursuing Gloryâ expresses gratitude for your dedication.]
âI just did what I had to do.â
Choi Yeonseung meant that. The power he had just received made this fight worth it.
[The âMonk Pursuing Gloryâ gives you âPiercing Meditationâ.]
â...â
Choi Yeonseung stopped as he was about to charge forward.
...Perhaps he would receive more things if he dragged out the fight!
[The âChef of Endless Gluttonyâ shouts that if the fight drags out any longer, other constellations might interfere. You should finish it quickly!]
-Alright, alright. Stop nagging me...
Choi Yeonseung attacked the staggering King of Brambles.
The King of Brambles had already consumed so many souls that his strength was drained, and he could no longer keep fighting. To make matters worse, Choi Yeonseung was currently being enhanced by various constellation powers.
The collector constellation tried to use other powers. They were too good to be used on an abomination like the King of Brambles, but...
[The âCrown of the Arrogantâ power of the âNoble Crown Collectorâ...]
[The âChef of Endless Gluttonyâ steals the âCrown of the Arrogantâ and puts it on Choi Yeonseung!]
Choi Yeonseung could vividly sense the collector constellation hurling insults from across the Abyss.