Meanwhile, at that time, in the hospital within Scorpio Constellation's sanctuary.
"Ah, I'm seriously going crazy."
Cheon Seong-jae was truly on the verge of losing his mind.
Indeed, he was feeling a threat to his life—because of the pursuers tracking him down.
"Cheon Seong-jae! It's useless, come out!"
"The 13th Divine Throne? Hah, a newborn Divine Throne is just a punching bag."
The men and women combing the forest near the hospital ground their teeth.
"Do you really think we'd acknowledge a 13th Divine Throne? We need to nip this in the bud."
"Exactly. If the Divine Thrones multiply, our share just drops. We have to eliminate a no-name Divine Throne early."
"He couldn't have gone far! Search the area!"
"I just need to avoid Igeon!"
At that, Cheon Seong-jae, hiding in a tree, frowned.
'The 12 Divine Thrones are holding a full assembly, a full assembly.'
The number of people gathered around here already exceeded 100.
Of course, there was a reason they were causing such a ruckus.
[Cheon Seong-jae, the first Saint of the Divine Throne to which Igeon belongs]
[There is a special skill obtainable by eliminating the first Saint]
[An incredible SS-grade skill]
The media was advertising it heavily.
'Well, I suppose being a new Divine Throne makes it understandable, but.'
And he had guessed things would turn out like this ever since he became his uncle's Saint.
Why?
Because Saints' skills rarely appeared anew.
'They don't appear except during the first baptism.'
That was it.
The baptism was an awakening ceremony where a deity or saint awakened a human.
And upon receiving that baptism, humans became superhuman and could unlock their skills at the same time.
That was the awakening.
The characteristics of the deity they served mingled with their individual personalities, each unlocking a unique skill.
For example, a person with a talent for running might awaken a skill upon encountering the Aries Constellation.
That was the ability of Saints, and their value varied according to that skill.
But so what?
"Found him! Over there!"
"!"
Even those with high values had come to capture him.
"Everyone get out of the way! I'll take this!"
"Captain!"
"The Faith Destroyer skill can annihilate a Divine Throne! I must obtain it!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the man raised his weapon.
The weapon he held was none other than a giant axe.
"A mere Saint of Igeon!"
With immense power, the axe struck the tree.
Boom!
Along with the axe blow, a huge tree toppled over Cheon Seong-jae's head.
"Tch."
At that moment, Cheon Seong-jae spread his arms wide. Then his body vanished as if being sucked into somewhere.
It was teleportation.
And the place he appeared was a nearby tree.
Thud!
However, Cheon Seong-jae, having moved to the next tree, covered his mouth as if about to vomit.
"Urgh...!"
He was suffering from space-time motion sickness because the new teleportation magic still wasn’t familiar to him.
Perhaps because he had become the Divine Throne of Igeon, the teleportation magic of the Twin Children Constellation had newly changed.
But the enemy misinterpreted it, grinning sadistically as he raised his axe again.
"You're still a kid, so I'll give you a chance. You may have heard, but two people have obtained special skills in the past—Libra and Pisces!"
Realizing what the bastard was trying to say, Cheon Seong-jae frowned.
Just as expected.
"It's said that one of them obtained the Faith Destroyer skill by accepting surrender! So you, too, deny your deity and saint and beg for your life! Then I'll spare you!"
What kind of nonsense was that idiot spouting?
Cheon Seong-jae scowled.
'A pig mimicking my uncle.'
Well, it was understandable that many coveted special skills.
Years ago.
Was it Taurus and Capricorn?
The first Saints of those two Divine Thrones had been murdered.
Anyway, afterward, the skills were announced to the world, and their power was extraordinary.
But because the risk was equally intense, it was not a skill that even captains would go all out for.
Nevertheless, there was a reason they were attacking.
Why?
'Skills are only created during the baptism ceremony.'
In other words, it meant that afterward, one could not obtain a skill.
Of course, when an awakened person's grade rose, the skill would change, but it was merely an upgrade of the existing skill.
To put it in perspective, if you got the "Poison Coating" skill, even if you rose from C-grade to S-grade, it ultimately remained the "Poison Coating" skill.
Well, the range of application or power might change, but still.
'Well, some really lucky guys have their skill completely transform upon upgrade.'
Still, normally the essence of the skill didn't change.
He himself was the same.
'Anyway, I didn't want the skill to follow my father's bloodline.'
Yes.
Perhaps due to his father's influence, he had fire magic as a skill, and the resulting Saint skill was [Campfire (C)].
Well, when he was a B-grade awakened, it was [Campfire], and upon becoming an A-grade awakened, it evolved into [Witch Pyre], which was fortunate.
Anyway, if a skill evolves well like his own, it's fine, but if you're truly unlucky, there are cases where you curse even after upgrading.
For instance, if Campfire evolved to A-grade and turned into a Heater skill.
So because innate skills were so important, Saints tried to obtain skills by other means.
And that was special skills, the reason this situation had occurred.
'Well, I understand, but.'
Cheon Seong-jae looked at the captain holding an axe similar to Igeon's.
Even a man wearing a mask similar to Igeon's was haughtily holding an axe.
"Now! Your answer?"
"Grow some fur on your head, you pig."
".....!!"
Enraged, the man tried to chop off Cheon Seong-jae's leg.
But at that very moment.
"!"
Flash!
Cheon Seong-jae shot a bullet of light into the sky.
Pop!
[Capricorn Rental Skill]
[Festival Fireworks Display (C)]
Light spread out as fireworks burst in the sky.
Surprisingly, the shape of the fireworks was a phrase.
Then an amazing thing happened.
Boom!
[Found you! Human scum!]
[You were hiding there like a rat!]
The subordinate gods sent by Igeon appeared before Cheon Seong-jae, their eyes blazing.
[You dared to deceive us with the master's voice and run away!]
[But you've been caught! This time we'll really get rid of you!]
But Cheon Seong-jae didn't even glance at the subordinate gods and instead shouted toward the forest.
"Yeah, you idiots! Go ahead and try to kill me! Why, can't you? Well, I guess losers like you came to get a special skill anyway. Loser bastards."
At Cheon Seong-jae's provocation, the pursuers revealed themselves.
They had acted cautiously in case Igeon was nearby, but no matter how they looked, there was no sign of Igeon appearing.
And yet this guy who'd been nothing but whimpering and running away was daring to provoke them.
"The brat who's only been fleeing and sniveling until now!"
"We cut you some slack because you're a kid!"
At that, the hidden assassins rushed at Cheon Seong-jae in swarms.
"Kill him!"
The subordinate gods' eyes widened in disbelief.
That was natural.
[Such lowly humans!]
[Dare to touch the prey of a god?]
Simultaneously, the enraged subordinate gods roared.
First, Yareul, the King of Warriors and the eldest son, stabbed his giant sword into the ground.
Ku-goong!
At the same time, the earth split open, and countless warriors burst out from the fissures.
The warriors mercilessly grabbed the assassins by the hair.
"Aack!"
"Wh-What! Are these subordinate gods?!"
Next, Yotun the Giant, the second son, tore enemies apart with his hands.
"Aaaagh!"
Finally, as Berserk, the third son, roared toward the heavens, heaven and earth resounded.
Ku-gu-gu-gung!
At once, the enemies trying to flee covered their ears and collapsed to the ground.
Vomiting was a bonus.
"Damn, subordinate gods are cheating... urk!"
Cheon Seong-jae breathed a sigh of relief at the melee unfolding beneath the tree.
[Contribution increases]
'As expected of high-ranking Saints, the experience is generous.'
Setting aside the experience he himself received, the contribution and experience going to the deity were also considerable.
'I don't know which deity it is, though.'
Well, having glimpsed the deity of the Twin Children Constellation during the baptism ceremony, maybe he would meet them again at this baptism.
Well, it didn't matter.
Perhaps worried about Cheon Seong-jae, the Fairy King spoke.
[Young contractor. All is well, but calling the subordinate gods was too much of a gamble, was it not?]
"!"
Just as expected.
Flash!
Something flashed from behind his head.
'!'
At this, Cheon Seong-jae muttered a curse and hurriedly jumped down from the tree.
"Damn it!"
Just as expected, something poured from the sky.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
It was Berserk's bombardment.
Along with it, sounds came from all around.
[Kill him! To think a mere human would command all the subordinate gods, it is unbelievable!]
[That brat is our chief? Get rid of him!]
"Aack!"
As Cheon Seong-jae began fleeing again, the Fairy King clicked his tongue.
[Look at that. He's going to die again.]
"Shut up!"
[You've used up all the special rewards and can no longer regenerate, can you?]
"Argh!"
[It's a shame, the young contractor is qualified enough. He truly is going to die.]
"If you think I'm going to die, don't just watch, help me!"
Just as expected.
"Help me! You entered my body and helped me last time!"
At that, the Fairy King clicked his tongue pitifully.
[No, there has to be a skill remaining in your body for me to help in any way.]
".....!"
That was true.
Was it because he had left the Twin Children Constellation? All the magic skills he had learned there had disappeared.
They seemed to be disappearing in the order he first learned them.
That was precisely why he had only been running away from the subordinate gods and the Saints.
It must have been enforced according to the contract from when he joined.
[If you leave a Divine Throne without permission, all skills are automatically deleted.]
'The only things I can use now are a few junk rental skills and teleport.'
That wasn't all.
[Due to not receiving a formal baptism, the supply of magical power is not smooth.]
[Unable to exert full capability.]
Hearing Igeon's voice, Cheon Seong-jae was elated yet slightly troubled.
'At this rate, I'll die.'
The rental skills were mostly for fanboying, and perhaps because his teleport was still low level, the maximum range was only 2 meters, and each use damaged his body, limiting the number of uses.
But that wasn't the issue now.
'The subordinate gods are one thing, but there's another headache...!'
Just as expected, the Fairy King looked toward the forest with displeasure.
[As expected, that one still hasn't revealed himself.]
".....!"
That was it. Among the attackers, there was one particularly unpleasant fellow.
No matter what provocation was made, he hadn't come out.
Furthermore, he was a strange guy who wasn't even noticed by the subordinate gods.
'What is he? He's human, but...'
He was too strange to be an ordinary Saint of the 12 Divine Thrones.
That's why he was thinking:
'After all, I'll have to go to my uncle to unlock my skills.'
But there was no way to go.
He couldn't use the teleport rental skill because he had no money.
But right at that moment.
[First Saint special skill has been generated.]
"!"
Cheon Seong-jae's face lit up.
But at that very moment.
As if sensing his intention to flee, that bizarre attacker poured down attacks.
The one who had not shown himself no matter the provocation.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
"Urk!"
From the bombardment raining from the sky, Cheon Seong-jae's shoulder was dislocated.
The gouged wound was a bonus.
He clutched his shoulder in pain.
"Agh...!"
But then an amazing thing happened.
Flash!
A green light shimmered on Cheon Seong-jae's shoulder.
[Divine Throne Trait]
[Conditional Regeneration]
It was , activated as a trait of the Serpent-Bearer Divine Throne.
Unlike the used individually, it was a skill that could be used communally if belonging to a Divine Throne.
And the Saints of the Serpent-Bearer could probably use regeneration skills, though a condition was attached.
[Cheon Seong-jae's regeneration condition: sincerely praise the Serpent-Bearer deity.]
Because of that, Cheon Seong-jae couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
After all, it wasn't his uncle, but the Serpent-Bearer deity he had to sincerely praise!
'I don't even know who they are, is that even possible...!'
Anyway, it would have to do.
Bang!
From yet another incoming bombardment, Cheon Seong-jae's leg burst apart.
"Kh!"
Eventually, Cheon Seong-jae gritted his teeth.
'Damn, if only I were even as strong as my uncle's toenail!'
But then.
[Conditional Regeneration is activating]
".....?"
Slowly but surely, the wound recovered. Cheon Seong-jae tilted his head.
But that lasted only a moment.
'!'
As if questioning whether he would regenerate even from this, the mysterious opponent launched another bombardment.
Kwa-kwang!
"Kh!"
And this time, the spot that burst open was his flank!
Cheon Seong-jae gritted his teeth.
'Damn it, if it were my uncle, he'd have dodged this with his eyes closed!'
Then.
[Conditional Regeneration is activating]
".....????"
As Cheon Seong-jae's body recovered again, the enemy seemed to fall into a mental breakdown.
But that wasn't all.
'If it were my uncle, he'd blow away a guy like this with a flick of his finger!'
[Conditional Regeneration is activating]
[There is nothing to heal. The count is accumulating.]
"???"
As if enraged, the opponent revealed herself.
'!'
She was a young woman. Then, as if intending to settle things, she raised her hand.
But soon Cheon Seong-jae was surprised.
'What is that...!'
There was no time to be surprised about the conditional regeneration.
Pajik, pajijik!
Everything was disappearing from the woman's hand.
The magic power and skills of the Divine Throne were being erased.
As if she could even erase a Saint's contribution or faith.
Just as expected, the Fairy King was on guard.
[It is the ability of a Scribe.]
"Scribe?"
Finally, the vanished woman appeared right before his nose.
'!'
And at the moment that hand drew near enough to touch Cheon Seong-jae—
Boom!
With a massive explosion, the woman was sent flying.
At that sight, Cheon Seong-jae's face lit up.
Because there was only one thing that could make this possible.
Just as expected.
"Unc...!"
But.
"Who dares to touch my son. You're asking to die."
"Dad?!"
That's right.
The one who appeared was Hugo Otterus.
Cheon Seong-jae looked at him in surprise.
"What? Dad, why are you here?"
At the openly disappointed expression, Hugo was choked up.
"You— your expression when your dad came to rescue you...!"
"What about Uncle?"
"What? If you mean Igeon, he's right next to dad...!"
But as he turned his head, Hugo's expression became strange.
"??"
Igeon, who he thought was beside him, was gone.
"What? When did he disappear again?"
But soon, Cheon Seong-jae turned his head as if sensing something.
"Ah. It's from Mom's hospital room!"
At the same time, Hugo's face distorted.
"Oh, crap, this guy!"
(Continued in next episode)