Chapter 15: Astral Relic of the Black Stars (2)

Along with the squelching sound of slime, a dark shape shot out toward Kwon Oh-Jin.

Whoosh!

With a sharp inhale, Kwon Oh-Jin slid backward and dodged it. He then thrust his spear forward.

“

Hmph

!”

He squinted, identifying the object that had darted out from between the stalagmites.

A tentacle?

It was a black tendril dripping with sticky slime, connected to a monster lurking among the stalagmites. The creature had an amorphous, slimy body that looked like a mass of tar, writhing slowly as it extended more tentacles.

“... What is that?”

It was a monster he had never seen before.

“What an unpleasant creature,” said Vega.

“It doesn’t seem particularly strong, though.”

Despite its grotesque appearance, its movements and general presence weren't all that threatening.

The Stigma on Kwon Oh-Jin's chest glowed, and blue lightning sparked.

Crackle, crackle!

He easily dodged the incoming tentacles and thrust his spear toward the black slime.

Boom!

The slime suddenly exploded, sending sticky gunk flying in all directions.

“Shit!”

He quickly stepped back, but some of it splattered onto the edge of his clothes.

Sizzle!

The slime started to eat away at the fabric like acid, releasing a harsh smoke.

This monster's a bigger pain in the ass when it's dead.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t hard to deal with as long as he was careful enough.

Gurgle, gurgle!

There’s more than just one, though.

More black slimes began squirming toward him from all sides.

Kwon Oh-Jin twirled his spear and lowered his stance.

Since they burst when they die, I should keep my distance.

Instead of stabbing the slimes, he threw bolts of lightning from afar and killed them one by one. As he dodged their attacks, he was struck with an idea and his eyes lit up.

Maybe I should try using

that

now?

He had an attack in his arsenal that could be used from a distance and still cover a wide area.

Azure Lightning.

He could only use this skill through Vega's blessing before, but he wanted to activate it with his own power this time.

“

Haaa

.”

He took a deep breath, lowering his center of gravity and pulling the spear in his right hand as far back as possible. He concentrated his overflowing mana into his Stigma, which glowed bright blue.

Wooong!

Vega’s eyes widened as she observed the battle.

"What the...?”

Crackle, crackle!

Blue lightning swirled around Kwon Oh-Jin, and he appeared to be caught on fire. His mana was quickly burning up, but it didn't bother him.

I have more than enough mana. Efficiency isn't all that important right now.

An overwhelming amount of mana could make up for a lack of skill.

He stomped the ground fiercely and swung his right arm forward with all his might.

Boom!

[Azure Lightning Lv1 has been activated.]

The lightning concentrated at the tip of his spear was set free all at once, like releasing the leash on a wild beast.

Ptzzzz!

The blue lightning surged forward in bursts like the spinning blades of a fan, sweeping through everything in its path.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Parts of slime sprayed everywhere as the monsters exploded all at once.

“Huff, huff!”

Kwon Oh-Jin planted his spear into the ground like a staff to steady his trembling legs.

It worked.

It was clumsy and somewhat forced, but he had successfully used the skill on his own.

“

Ha

... This is hard to take in,” Vega admired. “I knew you’d master it quickly, but I didn’t expect it to be this fast.”

She knew better than anyone how difficult it was to control the Stigma of Lyra. In the first place, she wasn't able to have an apostle until now because no human could handle her Stigma

But in just a few days...

Kwon Oh-Jin had manifested a technique that could only be used with her blessing, and at an unbelievable speed at that. Azure Lightning was considered an intermediate skill within the Stigma of Lyra. Even though he was a Regressor, it was a challenging technique for someone who had just awakened.

“It was half-forced, anyway.”

“

Hmm

, there's indeed some refining to be done.”

Though he had succeeded in manifesting Azure Lightning, its execution was far from perfect. He'd used a hundred percent of his force to achieve what could’ve been done with just ten percent. The inefficiency aside, he hadn't even gotten the skill close to its full potential.

“But for now, managing to use Azure Lightning is plenty enough.”

“

Haha

, I'm glad you think that way.”

“I’ll teach you other skills later as well.

Oh

, wait, I suppose you already know them all, don't you?”

“No, I don’t,” Oh-Jin said, shaking his head. “A few memories got hazy after I regressed. The Stigma of Lyra’s skills are among them.”

“Hazy, you say?”

“I’m not sure why, but those parts of my memory just faded away, like scenes cut from a film.”

He disliked using lame excuses, but this wasn't something he could easily get out of.

I'm better off making this up than being suddenly asked to use a skill I have no clue about.

“

Hmm

, regression using the Star Oath shouldn’t have resulted in any memory loss. How strange.”

Despite her suspicious look, Kwon Oh-Jin calmly continued without the slightest hint of panic.

“I believe it might be some sort of restriction.”

“What kind of restriction?”

“Even Celestials are bound by the restriction of laws, aren’t they? It could be a similar principle where some transcendental force is interfering with my memories.”

This might have sounded like nonsense to anyone else, but Vega, who was bound by the restrictions of a transcendent force herself, simply nodded.

“That... actually isn’t impossible,” she said, placing a finger on her lips.

“I haven’t forgotten anything important though, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Important, as in?”

“Like my memories of you, Vega.” Kwon Oh-Jin smiled brightly as he looked her in the eyes.

Vega flinched and flushed red as she quivered.

“Y-You’re always saying such embarrassing things!”

It was a surprisingly adorable reaction for a goddess.

She then cleared her throat and floated up.

“Anyway...”

Flying toward the spot where the black slime's corpse lay, she squinted and observed the stalagmites covered in sticky goo.

“Hmm... I can feel a disturbing aura here.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to put into words. I just have a bad feeling about this.”

Kwon Oh-Jin cautiously approached the shredded remains of the black slimes. If Vega sensed a disturbing aura here, there was bound to be more to this place. As he searched through the remains of the monster, he frowned.

That’s... a mutant's Starstone?

He spotted small black gems, each the size of a fingernail. They were identical to the Starstones he had discovered not long ago, except this time, there were several of them.

What’s going on? These things shouldn’t be this easy to find.

A mutant’s Starstones were far rarer than normal Startones and had considerably more value.

"Vega, do you know anything about these black Starstones?"

"I’m not sure," Vega replied, shaking her head. "Did your memories of them disappear too?"

"Yes, I think so..." Kwon Oh-Jin said, pausing briefly before adding, "I have an idea, but I'm not certain yet."

It was better to leave room for doubt by implying he had some inkling, rather than admitting complete ignorance.

It wouldn’t make sense for a Regressor to know nothing at all.

However, one thing was clear—Vega didn’t know why all these mutants were suddenly appearing either.

Guess I’ll have to dig deeper.

He shook off the black slime on his spear and headed further into the cave. However, he eventually felt as if he were walking in circles.

I didn't want to use this in front of Vega, but it looks like I have no other choice.

He activated the heightened senses of the Stigma of Canes Venatici, and an overwhelming flood of smells hit him like a truck.

“

Ugh

!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head and focused.

Those slimes smell disgusting.

He followed the trail of the foul odor and navigated through the maze-like cave, soon entering a large, open chamber.

“

Haa

.”

He deactivated the Stigma of Canes Venatici, and the overwhelming stench disappeared.

“The disturbing aura I sensed earlier is even stronger here,” Vega conveyed as she scanned the cavern.

“The Astral Relic should be around here somewhere.”

His heart raced like a child arriving at their treasure map’s final destination.

Kwon Oh-Jin stepped into the chamber, scanning the room with anticipation. His heart raced like that of a kid finally reaching the spot marked X on a treasure map.

Now, where could it be?

At the far end of the chamber stood an enormous statue, hands pressed together in prayer. Kwon Oh-Jin’s gaze fixed on a glimmer at its forehead—a black chalice, about the size of a fist, embedded between the statue’s brows and radiating a dark, almost menacing aura.

There it is!

It looked nothing like the Astral Relics he had heard of before, but the mysterious object pulsed with undeniable power. An electric thrill ran through him as he gazed at the legendary artifact he’d only heard about in stories.

Hell yeah! I can’t believe it’s a real Astral Relic! How much could this thing be worth?!

He trembled intensely from head to toe as if every nerve was sparking to life. His heart pounded as if it might break free from his chest.

If its powers are useful to me, I’ll keep it. If not, I’ll sell it.

Either way, it was a win.

“Hehehe!”

Ah, crap. I can’t stop laughing.

“Is that the Astral Relic?”

“That’s right.”

With a big smile, he walked toward the statue. Just then, the sticky sound of something slimy echoed through the chamber.

Squelch, squelch.

“There's more of those disgusting creatures here,” Vega said, frowning as she floated in the air before landing on Kwon Oh-Jin's shoulder.

“

Chuckle

, I was already expecting them. Don’t worry.”

Gripping his spear, he walked toward the black slimes gathering in the chamber. He knew about their presence since he had tracked their scent to get here.

Are they some kind of guardians, protecting the Astral Relic?

The thought of such weaklings as guardians made him laugh.

I’ll wipe them out quickly and grab the relic.

With a smirk, he advanced toward the horde of black slimes gathering from all sides.

Squelch.

An overwhelming count of around fifty slimes gathered in the center of the chamber, but he wasn’t worried; these things were weaker than Anthorns.

I’ll just have to be careful when they explode.

Squelch, squelch, squelch!

“

Hmm

?”

Why aren't they coming at me?

Kwon Oh-Jin suddenly stopped walking toward them.

“... Huh?”

The fifty or so slimes that had gathered in the center were extending their tentacles and rubbing against one another, tangling together.

Squelch!

With a grotesque sound, the slimes burst open and started to merge.

“Wait a minute.”

Kwon Oh-Jin's expression turned somber, and an ominous feeling swept over him.

Squelch, squelch! Squelch, squelch! Squeeeelch!

The dozens of black slimes became one.

“H-Hey, wait a second.”

A massive being over five meters tall pounded on its chest.

Thump! Thump!

“

Kraaaa

!”

Its terrifying roar echoed throughout the chamber.

Oh, shit. That thing looks OP.

“

Aha

, so you knew all along that this would happen.”

Uh... No, actually. I didn’t. What now?

“Like you said, I’ll just watch without worrying!”

“

Haha!

Leave it to me, Vega!”

I’m so fucked.