Chapter 2: Scammer (1)

Heaven-Defying Star? Regressor?

What was she talking about?

A Regressor... As in someone who returned from the future?

If that was what she meant, she was seriously mistaken.

He didn’t come from the future, and he wasn’t even sure if he would survive to see tomorrow. No, was there even a need to think about tomorrow? At this rate, he would be torn to shreds by the monsters surrounding him in less than five minutes.

Let’s not panic.

As someone who wasn’t an Awakener, he had to think, comprehend, and make decisions faster than anyone else to survive in this horrible world.

Gulp.

He nervously swallowed and started to think about what he needed to do first.

I need to figure out what the hell is going on.

Kwon Oh-Jin stared at Lee Shin-Hyuk’s corpse, which had been burnt to a crisp.

He recalled the first time he met Lee Shin-Hyuk just a few hours ago.

***

“Now, let’s go find a good pushover for today.”

On an afternoon like any other, Kwon Oh-Jin stretched his sore body and pushed himself to his feet. He looked around as he headed toward a gate favored by novice Awakeners.

“Oh wow.”

Many Awakeners were standing around the gate, looking for a party to join. Among them, someone in particular caught his eye.

He’s perfect.

He was wearing thigh protectors and leather armor that were cluttered with useless ornaments. In his hand was a two-meter-long spear that looked quite expensive due to the faint blue glow that covered the blade.

Kwon Oh-Jin leisurely walked toward a young man who seemed to insist that he was not one of the novice Awakeners around.

Has it already been eight years since I started doing this crap?

Eight years ago, Kwon Oh-Jin left his hellish orphanage and searched for a job to pay the bills. However, as if the heavens were playing a cruel joke on him, the entire world became his new hell instead.

This world sure did become fucked up.

After the first crack was observed in the North Pole, gates connected to another world appeared all over the planet as if a dam had broken. Monsters poured out of them and swept away humanity.

Fortunately, just when the monsters had conquered more than half the planet, transcendent beings called the Celestials appeared. They bestowed Stigmas upon humans, granting them the power to fight monsters. Thus were born the Star Enlightened—superhumans commonly known as Awakeners.

I never became an Awakener, though.

In a world of endless chaos and hardships, an orphan who hadn’t yet become an Awakener only had a few ways to survive.

Nevertheless, he survived—even if it meant having to feed on the blood of others like a leech.

“Oh, my! You obviously don’t belong in a place like this!”

“You are...?”

“My name is Kwon Oh-Jin, a one-star apostle of Aquarius.”

“A-Aquarius?!”

The young man’s eyes widened.

His surprise was well-warranted. The constellation of Aquarius, one of the twelve Zodiacs, was considered one of the highest-ranked among the hundreds of constellations.

“I can’t believe you’re an apostle affiliated with the twelve Zodiacs... I’ve never seen one before.”

“I’m still only a one-star, though,” said Kwon Oh-Jin with a friendly smile. “Oh, and you are...?”

“Ah! I’m Lee Shin-Hyuk, a two-star apostle of Pyxis.”

“An apostle of Pyxis!” Kwon Oh-Jin shouted and clapped for no reason. “That’s amazing! A Stigma that can control all directions and orientations! I heard that Awakeners of Pyxis can wield even the most difficult weapons as if they were their own limbs.”

“

Haha

, I’m not that good. It’s nothing compared to the Stigma of the twelve Zodiacs.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk tried to play it cool, but Kwon Oh-Jin could see the corners of his mouth rise.

I sure have a good eye for people.

Seeing Lee Shin-Hyuk react exactly as he had expected made him grin.

Now that he had chosen his prey, it was time to get to work.

“

Haha

! Fate must have brought us together. Why don’t we party up?”

“Party up...?”

Lee Shin-Hyuk looked puzzled. He had never expected an Awakener associated with the twelve Zodiacs to suggest partying up first.

“I’d be delighted to, but Jin-Oh...”

Kwon Oh-Jin came up with his fake name Jin-Oh by simply saying his name backward. Although some would likely think of it as a flimsy disguise, it was precisely these kinds of fake names that were harder to recognize.

It’s harder to find something that’s been right under your nose the entire time.

When committing fraud, who would ever think to use a fake name as poorly made as spelling their real name backward?

I need to get as much out of him as I can without getting caught.

Most of his victims never even realized that he was scamming them.

He was like a mosquito to Awakeners. He was incredibly weak and could be easily killed if caught sucking blood.

I’ll have to make up an excuse here.

Lee Shin-Hyuk looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“

Um

... I didn’t want to say it out loud, but to be honest, I’m not very good at manipulating the power of my Stigma,” said Kwon Oh-Jin as he scratched his head, looking embarrassed. “It’s a bit difficult for me to fit into other parties.”

“Ah,” Lee Shin-Hyuk responded with a nod.

For Awakeners, it was not only important how powerful the Celestial that gave them the Stigma was but also how well they handled the Stigma itself.

“That’s why I’m still at one star even though it’s been over a year since my awakening...” Kwon Oh-Jin sighed as if he was frustrated.

Stars were what ranked the Awakeners. In other words, it was kind of like a level.

Ranging from one to twelve stars, the ranks were based on how well Awakeners could control their Stigmas.

“A year... That’s definitely a long time,” Lee Shin-Hyuk murmured to himself.

On average, it took about six months to go from one star to two stars.

“It’s all because I’m not competent enough.”

“Don’t say that, Jin-Oh. It’s only been a year, hasn’t it? They say that people might struggle at first, but once you get past that, you’ll have no problem climbing up,” Lee Shin-Hyuk replied in an attempt to comfort him.

“

Haha

, thank you,” Kwon Oh-Jin smiled brightly. He then hung his head, concealing his glinting eyes.

That should be a good enough excuse. Now, shall I dig a little deeper?

Now that he had said this much, he could probably get some leeway even if he didn’t help the party too much.

“I had a feeling when I first saw you, Shin-Hyuk.”

“

Ahem

. What kind of feeling?”

“That you... have an extraordinary talent that makes you different from other Awakeners.”

“A talent...?”

“Yes. You see, I have a good eye for people.”

“

Haha

. Well, I did rise to two stars slightly faster than other Awakeners.”

“I knew it! What did I tell you!”

Lee Shin-Hyuk smiled every time Kwon Oh-Jin clapped his hands and overreacted. Even though he was a transcendent being upon whom a Celestial had bestowed a Stigma upon, he was still just a human at heart. Compliments naturally made him happy and excited.

“So what do you say? Want to party up?”

“

Umm

, before that...” Lee Shin-Hyuk turned away with a slightly awkward expression.

Before partying up, Awakeners meeting for the first time had to do a ceremony-like procedure that was a bit embarrassing for grown men to do.

“Shall we check each other’s Stigmas?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked, removing the armor he wore over his chest.

It was an unspoken rule that Awakeners checked each other's Stigmas on their left chest before partying up.

“Of course.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk removed his leather armor and pulled his shirt down, revealing the Stigma of Pyxis below his left collarbone.

“Confirmed.”

Afterward, Kwon Oh-Jin pulled his own shirt down his shoulders, putting the Stigma of Aquarius on his left chest in clear view.

“

Woah

... So that’s a Stigma of the twelve Zodiacs...” Lee Shin-Hyuk muttered in amazement.

Seeing him in awe, Kwon Oh-Jin smirked.

Considering how long and painful it was to carve this out, there’s no way you’ll notice.

Back when he decided to push through with this idea, he dug into his flesh with a knife to create a fake Stigma. Based on looks alone, it would be impossible for others to tell it wasn’t real.

Lee Shin-Hyuk laughed bitterly as he fixed his clothes. ”

Hahaha!

It’s kind of funny that we have to check each other’s Stigma even though we’re entering such a low-level gate.”

Kwon Oh-Jin shrugged. “Even so, we don’t know what’ll happen to us if we let our guard down.”

They were just trying to get into a low-level gate inhabited mostly by one-star and occasionally two-star monsters. Nevertheless, it still had a rather high fatality rate.

New Awakeners often run around cluelessly inside and get themselves killed.

At least Lee Shin-Hyuk wasn’t an inexperienced Awakener.

“Let’s head in.”

“Sure.”

With their party formed, they stepped through the gate, causing their vision to blur. A moment later, they found themselves in a dark, gloomy forest densely populated with strange trees that were not from Earth.

They walked deeper into the forest, avoiding the other Awakeners gathered around the entrance.

“

Grrr

.”

Along with bushes rustling, a monster’s yellow eyes peeked through the grass.

Lee Shin-Hyuk lowered his stance and gripped his spear tightly. However, just before he could lunge at the monster, Kwon Oh-Jin grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Wait,” Kwon Oh-Jin interrupted, making Lee Shin-Hyuk look at him in confusion. “I’ll cast a buff before you start fighting.”

Awakeners with the Stigma of Aqaurius had little combat power, but they were great support specialists due to their heals and buffs.

“Ah, right. I’ll leave it to you,” Lee Shin-Hyuk answered, his expression seemingly saying “oops.”

Kwon Oh-Jin closed his eyes. With a serious expression, he muttered, “Celestial of Aquarius, answer my call.”

Woong!

A faint glow emanated from his left chest.

I just turned on a tiny LED light hidden in my clothes.

At least from the outside, it would look as if mana was flowing out of his Stigma.

“Please brighten up this dark path for this lowly apostle.”

He unclasped his hands and spread his arms wide, sending sparkling light toward Lee Shin-Hyuk.

“Lake’s Gleam.”

It really is just powdered glass mixed with fluorescent powder.

The dark forest made the blue fluorescent powder glow even brighter.

“This is...”

“It’s a very basic buff. What do you think?”

“

Hmm

.”

“You may not feel a big change right now, but—”

“No,” Lee Shin-Hyuk looked down at himself with a serious expression. He unfolded his fingers gripping the spear and folded them again. “I do feel a change.”

Huh? Really?

“It started as a tingling sensation in my throat, but now I’m feeling a bit hot.”

He must’ve swallowed the powdered glass. That’s not good for his health.

“I’m getting this mysterious sensation, like my cells are coming to life.”

Is he sick?

“This has to be the power of the Stigma of Aquarius that I’ve only heard about!”

No, it’s not.

“Thank you for the buff, Jin-Oh! Now it’s my turn to show you my power!”

Good luck!