Otherworld Constellation Gallery Chapter 45

Otherworld Constellation Gallery

Chapter 45.

Lee Dae-ju narrows his eyes.

“Subordinate? Are you certain about your tone?”

He throws his gaze behind me and continues speaking.

“It’s not like you bought them with money in these times, so did you persuade them with those bitches behind you?”

A vulgar smile spreads across his face.

“Half and half, huh? Sounds tasty. If I join you, do I get a taste too?”

“What are you saying, you crazy bastard?”

I scowled and gave a casual wave of my hand.

Immediately, the instigated men charged at Lee Dae-ju at once.

“Only come at me if you can handle it.”

His eyes flared wide, and he unleashed a wave of killing intent.

In that instant, the men froze in their tracks.

“B-Brother Dae-ju…”

The guys start looking around, trembling.

“W-What is this…?”

 “I-I think we went crazy for a moment…” 

“Well, look at you making a fuss.”

What’s going on? Did they suddenly come to their senses? While I was thinking that.

POOK!

“AAAARGH!”

Lee Dae-ju thrust his weapon into the neck of the one who’d gotten closest, without a moment’s hesitation.

“Are you all joking with me now?” He seemed to not understand the situation either.

In other words, it probably wasn’t because of him that they were freed. 

‘Strange. I was definitely controlling their minds too.’ 

I spoke again. 

“What are you doing? I told you he’s just a bad guy? If you don’t kill him, you’ll die, don’t you understand?”

“This son of a bitch! What did you do to us?”

“Did we just get played by that worthless tongue of his?” 

They’re really back to normal.

What could be the reason? 

‘Don’t tell me…’ 

Does magic power get consumed while using Instgation?

If my thinking is correct, the difference between the one who had it as a passive skill and me who acquired it actively is ridiculously large.

 ‘Damn, can there be such a gap with the same skill?’ 

And that assumption was confirmed when I looked at the Constellation Gallery.

[Title: Damn, his magic power already ran out~]

He should have invested in intelligence regularly

Right? Right? 

ㄴ Get that dumb hick dialect outta here.

ㄴ I said from the start that Manyō’s Tomb was trash.

ᄂ Honestly, even passive Instigation isn’t his own strength, so he can’t manipulate idiots well.

ᄂᄂ Even with a slight gap it gets neutralized, right?

ᄂᄂᄂ That’s not true, you can still use what you incited before growing.

ᄂᄂᄂUpper comment, what’s the use? You can’t grow your faction and when you meet tougher guys, you’ll die when Instigation doesn’t work.

ᄂᄂ That’s why he lost to First hunter. 

There’s no need to use Instigation again now.

At this point, it’d just be a waste of magic power.

Boosting Intelligence can wait.

“What a shame. You looked cute, all dumb like that.”

I smiled—

And the mob lunged at me.

“You piece of shit!!”

“Die, bastard!!”

“Now that I don’t need to waste magic power on Instigation… I’m not the one dying. You are.”

I lightly gripped Manyō’s Tomb.

“Still, good hustle. I’ll honor your effort by slitting your throats—so don’t bother dodging.”

“Go fuck yourself!”

They were already right in front of me. But I didn’t dodge. 

I didn’t move a foot.

I simply stood still—just moved my sword.

“You guys.”

Swish.

“What can you even—”

Swish, swish.

“—do to me?”

Swish, swish, swish.

They were like LEGO toys.

Heads sliced cleanly off—

Only, this was a tragedy with no way to rebuild.

Behind me, I could feel Tulip and Kang Ha-rin trembling.

Understandable. 

It’s their first time seeing human heads fall—monsters are different.

This horror was on another level from bullets in the brain.

“Don’t tremble. Get used to it. This is the world we face.”

Meanwhile, Lee Dae-ju’s eyes turned vicious.
His twitching lips barely managed a twisted grin.

“Your hands are fast, huh? I’m pretty confident in my speed too.”

“Yeah? I’m looking forward to it.”

“Don’t run your mouth. I’m serious.”

And then—he vanished.

I widened my eyes, scanning my surroundings.

‘What the hell? Stealth?’

That’s when it hit—

CRACK—!

“Graaagh!”

A crushing sound rang out, and I saw his twisted face.
He had dropped his sword and was clutching his right wrist.

“…What are you doing?” 

“You sneaky bastard. You wearing some kinda armor plate on your gut?”

“What the hell, you idiot.”

My inner astonishment quickly turned to laughter. 

If you handle a knife carelessly, your wrist will give out. 

He probably didn’t end up like that just for that reason.

‘This bastard didn’t level up his Stamina.’

Does he not have gold to level up? No, he might not even know how to level up.

While I was mocking him, he created distance again. 

He’s fucking fast. But that’s all he’s got.

‘In that state, no matter how fast he is, he’s not a threat.’

He is an egg. Meanwhile, I’m a rock. 

No matter how quickly he attacks, he’ll end up taking far more damage than me.

‘But it seems certain that it’s a skill…’

This isn’t just about raising agility. He’s faster than me, even though I’ve maxed out my agility level and even received party stat bonuses.

‘It’s not invisibility either. I saw the afterimage.’

At that moment, He picked up a weapon leaning against the pool table. And then he puts it on his left hand.

“This time it’s going to hurt a bit.”

The weapon was brass knuckles. 

As soon as I identified it, he disappeared again. No, this time I saw him. But by the time I saw him, it was already…

BBUCK!

“KUHAK!”

A clearly different impact hit me compared to before. 

Strong destructive power transmitted from my abdomen.

It was a warning signal beyond simple pain.

Still, I can withstand it so far. 

Compared to Pimuk, it was infinitely lighter, and though heavy, it was a realistic pain like getting hit while practicing martial arts.

‘But it’s dangerous to keep getting hit.’

It’s only natural that I would quickly collapse if I kept taking effective hits from someone who can deliver this level of impact.

“What’s this? You were acting tough but can’t even react.”

BBUCK! BBUCK!

“KUHUP! KUP…!”

I was hit and couldn’t breathe.

[Title: Is First hunter losing?] Yeah, he’s done for~

ㄴ Thank you for loving First hunter until now. 

ㄴ Finally I can sleep peacefully.

ㄴ First hunter, if I can’t have you, then no one can!

ㄴ PinkuPojjak) First hunter doesn’t lose~.

ㄴ Can’t you see he can’t counter at all? 

ㄴ One or two more hits and he’ll be groggy RIP.

I can’t counter? 

Fuck that shit. I’ve already figured this guy out.

‘There’s no way that kind of speed is a passive skill…’

Can he infinitely use a speed that even I, with maxed out agility level, can’t chase? 

That’s bullshit. It’s definitely an active skill. That means it either has a time limit or is affected by magic power consumption.

‘If I endure, I’ll win…’

But it’s not certain. What if it’s a passive skill? Just enduring won’t give me a winning chance.

“Are you thinking ‘I just need to endure’? What will happen first, me running out of stamina or you dying?” 

“…You crazy bastard.”

This guy is dangerous.

‘Should I ask Tulip for covering fire?’

No, if he changes his target, it would be a disaster. I have to end this myself.

But Tulip moved first.

WHICK!

An arrow that didn’t reach the guy.

WHICK WHICK WHICK!

Tulip had already reached a level where she could rapid-fire. But the arrows still couldn’t reach him.

“Well, pretty ladies shouldn’t interfere. I don’t want to damage the merchandise. Just wait quietly, and I’ll play with you after killing your brother.”

My teeth grind together.

“The one who’s going to die is you.” 

“Oho~ Still got enough breath to talk? Tough little bastard.”

Even at that moment, Tulip kept firing arrows. 

He chuckled and lightly dodged them, again and again. 

Just like how I would dodge attacks from archers or goblins.

‘This is insane.’

Just one hit, just one hit would be enough! Tulip can’t hit him? And this is archery with a constellation’s power.

‘Can’t she make a prediction shot?’

It’s almost certain that Lee Dae-ju is an incarnation. So this guy must also be…

‘Using a constellation’s skill.’

Looking at it that way, does an active skill really have an advantage over a passive skill?

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

He’s light voice, without any sense of pressure, digs into my head. 

Along with it comes a monstrous speed cutting through the air, approaching me.

BBUCK! PUCK! BBUCK!

Tremendous punches continue to stab into my body, again and again. 

All I could do was take and endure those attacks without a moment to breathe.

‘If I endure… it will end eventually…’

Then, sobbing voices pierced my ears.

“Mister!” 

“Ju-han!”

But this isn’t a manga or a movie. This isn’t a problem that can be miraculously reversed by my teammates’ cries.

“Why are you crying already? Wait a little, you’ll die soon enough.”

Despite the guy’s mockery, I just endured. At the same time, I focused, and focused again, hoping for a moment when I could counter his attacks.

‘He needs to keep attacking if he wants to kill me anyway.’

That means if I swing my sword when he attacks, I can win without just enduring.

It’s a matter of doing what I did when catching those guys riding motorcycles.

‘I just need to catch the timing once.’

Even if my body twists and loses strength, my mental strength is still alive. So I can focus no matter how much I get hit.

‘It’s laughable compared to Pimuk.’

It’s hard to believe that his speed is faster than mine, but his attack power is far inferior. Just once, just one time is all I need.

“Well, your mental strength is tough.”

When the guy throws out that annoying compliment.

‘I see it, now!’

The moment I’ve been waiting for became clear.

SOOK!

I swung my sword. But the trajectory cuts through the air. There was nothing at the end of the blade except air.

‘Fuck…’

It was definitely perfect timing, but Lee Dae-ju stopped his attack just before the blade touched him. 

The sight of his arm stopping in place. If it weren’t for ‘Constellation’s Spirit,’ I would have panicked.

“Oh my, looks like your eyes are gradually getting used to it.”

The guy is right. 

Pimuk was also just a hair’s breadth difference, but now this guy and Pimuk feel like they’re also just a hair’s breadth apart. 

The guy’s speed is gradually becoming familiar to my eyes.

The problem is that my hands can’t keep up. I’ve already maxed out agility as much as possible.

‘If only… if only I could react just a little bit faster… I could kill a bastard like this… damn it…’

While hiding my feelings of lamentation, the guy added with a somewhat serious face.

“I shouldn’t play around. I need to kill you quickly.”

The guy was no longer hitting my abdomen.

His fists began to crash down towards my face.

BBUCK! PUCK! BBUCK!

Even with my jaw turning, my mind remained clear. This is completely like being a living punching bag. 

“KUHAK…!” 

The moment blood burst from my mouth.

DING!

[‘Yu Ju-han’s ‘Blood Oath’ has been activated!]

[Stamina and strength increase by 3%!] 

‘…Huh?’

A few seconds after seeing the alert. A smile spread across my face. A smile filled with confidence that I could catch this guy. 

‘It’s a shame agility doesn’t increase, but it’s okay.’ 

I changed direction. Using Manyō’s Tomb, I slash my forearm. 

DING! 

[Stamina and strength increase by 3%!] 

“Oh my, are you trying to commit suicide now? If so, you should cut your belly or wrist.” 

“Got it. I’ll make sure to cut you exactly like that.” 

I slash, and slash, and slash again. 

DING! DING! DING! 

[Stamina and strength increase by 3%!]

[Stamina and strength increase by 3%!]

[Stamina and strength increase by 3%!]

15% should be enough for this guy.