Meanwhile, the onlookers could only doubt their own eyes.
It was because of Lee Geon, who had just sent Min Seong-hun flying.
“N-No way. I-Ice Coffin!”
“He went flying from one punch?!”
It was a scene as if a cannonball had been launched.
On top of that, Min Seong-hun, who had collided with the spider, went crashing through the wall and was nowhere to be seen.
As a result, the people could only be aghast. The Awakened on the scene, especially Han Ji-min, couldn’t close their mouths.
“No way. That invincible S-rank mage?”
But at Han Ji-min’s astonishment, Cheon Seong-jae instead scoffed.
“Invincible S-rank, my ass. He’s just some recently promoted piece of trash.”
“What?”
And yet, on top of that, he dared to look down on Lee Geon.
Die. Get wrecked.
It was a scathing glare worthy of a Lee Geon fanboy, but the rational boy couldn’t understand.
No matter what, S-rank is still S-rank.
Star Ranks went from SS to F.
[SS]-rank were the representatives of the Saints. Of course, they rarely showed themselves, so that was another matter.
But [S-rank] were the Star Order commanders, the heads of each nation’s branch and officers, making them commander-level forces.
And [A-C rank] were combatants qualified to join the Star Order. A-rank was upper-tier combat strength.
Finally, [D-F rank] were rear support, belonging to support organizations, or ordinary citizens called worker ants.
And no matter how recently Min Seong-hun had been promoted, S-rank meant they were already aliens on a different dimensional level in terms of physical structure.
That’s why Min Seong-hun, having been hit and sent flying by Lee Geon, seemed extremely flustered.
‘Don’t tell me… that guy just sent me flying?’
And even shattered the Star God’s ice?
Was that even possible? But soon, he had a thought.
‘He used a rented skill.’
Since he couldn’t feel the energy of a Star God, he was surely a low-rank(E-F), someone who couldn’t properly receive power.
But the fact that he’d sent him flying meant he had undoubtedly used a VIP-grade rented skill.
By paying an astronomical sum, even ordinary citizens could borrow a skill rivaling S-rank on a one-time basis.
In fact, there were wealthy people who protected themselves that way.
It was also possible if you excessively flattered and offered sacrifices to curry favor with the Star Gods.
And although he’d let his guard down, with this level of monstrous strength, it had to be the famous skill of Leo.
‘Those guys and our Gemini have bad compatibility from the start. The infused magic was cut off, so my skill shattered.’
Whatever the case, that was fine.
Min Seong-hun gritted his teeth and stood up.
‘Know your place. How dare a mere civilian raise a hand against an official Star Rank?’
But whether he glared or not, Lee Geon was smiling with satisfaction.
‘Well, thanks to that, the counter’s broken.’
The truth was, that spider was a familiar type of monster. And these guys used a special skill when trying to eat their prey.
Simply put, it was Reflection, a Counter. Raising its rear was the telltale sign.
And to break that counter, you had to take a hit, but getting hit himself was painful and he didn’t want that.
So, just in time, Min Seong-hun’s toughness looked promising, and he’d launched him away.
‘The junior’s got better durability than I thought.’
Lee Geon looked at Min Seong-hun with a smug grin.
The moment he looked at him, the Divine Observing Eye activated automatically.
Min Seong-hun
Awakening Name (Baptismal Name): [One Who Freezes Even the Atmosphere]
- One who freezes everything in the world.
Effect: Ice-type specialization. Can even freeze fire.
Personal Traits
[Baseless Confidence] Attack skill buff 30%
[Tripping Up] Binding-type skill specialization
Traits He Wants to Hide
[As Long As I Do Well] Absorbs allies’ mana
[Negative Speech Sounds] Attracts misfortune
The traits became visible, and Lee Geon was intrigued, but Min Seong-hun, touching his dislocated shoulder, was glaring at Lee Geon.
‘That bastard, I won’t let him off.’
Finally, as Min Seong-hun traced a Star Sign in the shape of 工, the magic power received from the Star God stirred strongly.
And that was the magic of the Gemini Star God.
‘You insolent punk. I’ll kill you.’
But then.
KWAANG!
“Kee-ee-eek!”
“?!”
The spider that had gotten tangled up with Min Seong-hun roared violently and rose.
And as if asking who’d been interfering with it since earlier, it charged at Min Seong-hun.
Bothered by the spider, Min Seong-hun ground his teeth.
“Damn it, that spider bastard is still alive!!”
Flustered, Min Seong-hun quickly cast a spell.
[Binding of Two Faces (S)]
KWA-KWA-KWANG!
A tremendous chill covered the spider. And as the spider froze solid, Min Seong-hun scoffed smugly.
“You surprised me. A mere bug, how dare you interfere…!”
But then.
As if asking what did you just do, the spider burst through the ice.
BANG!
“?!”
Min Seong-hun could only be shocked.
‘Magic doesn’t work…?!’
In the end, ice fragments flew everywhere, and people screamed.
Flustered, Min Seong-hun gestured again. This time, he cast it even stronger.
[Binding of Two Faces (S)]
But.
“Kee-ee-eek!”
Another failure followed.
Min Seong-hun, panicking, spread his hands.
“Damn it, this can’t be happening. Again!”
In the end, he raised his synchronization rate with the Star God to increase accuracy and damage, but again a failure, and another failure!
Finally, when it reached ten times, the pissed-off spider got angry instead, as if telling him to stop.
But Min Seong-hun seemed to have no intention of stopping.
“Damn it, again!”
“Move, you antifreeze bastard.”
PAAK!
“Keok!”
Min Seong-hun, hit by Lee Geon, screamed and collapsed.
The shock ringing through his skull made him dizzy.
“H-Huk…!”
Finally, his mind hazy, Min Seong-hun looked at Lee Geon in bewilderment.
Did he just get hit again?
And by then, Cheon Seong-jae also flinched.
Before, he thought the idiot had let his guard down and got smacked since he wasn’t in a combat state, but now it was completely different.
‘He definitely drew a Star Sign.’
For Awakened, drawing a Star Sign was a ritual signifying they were prepared for death.
That is, a declaration of the start of combat.
In short, it was a ritual showing they were ready to willingly offer their lives to the Star God, and by drawing the Star Sign, they received 100% of the Star God’s protection.
Especially for an S-rank, the synchronization rate with the Star God who granted them power was high, so even the most basic defensive protection should have tremendous power.
But there was something even more shocking.
“Hey, kid. I’m borrowing this for a sec.”
“?!”
Seeing Lee Geon walking while swinging something, Cheon Seong-jae screamed.
‘That guy, when the hell did he take that!’
That was it.
What Lee Geon was swinging was the dagger that had been tucked at Cheon Seong-jae’s waist. But the reason Cheon Seong-jae screamed was different.
“Hey! Wait! You can’t use a blade on that thing!”
That spider species was one they’d definitely faced in a subjugation battle before and suffered heavy casualties.
If you stabbed or cut its body, acidic poison would spray out.
That must be why.
“If you cut its body, poison pours out and your body melts! At least use a protection skill…!”
But then.
TWOKAK!
With a tremendous roar, the spider’s leg was severed.
And every time Lee Geon swung the sword, its legs kept getting chopped off!
The spider lost its balance and collapsed.
And even in that situation, seeing Lee Geon perfectly fine, Cheon Seong-jae could only be dumbfounded.
“…Uh, uh? Why isn’t he hurt? He definitely hit the poison gland…! Even the Saints always say to use a protection skill….”
As if in shock, Cheon Seong-jae couldn’t say a word, and at his look, Lee Geon smiled lightly.
‘Poison, my ass.’
Those guys just lacked finesse and slathered on protection skills. Lee Geon had a thorough understanding of the body structures of monsters.
Cutting without touching the poison gland was nothing to him.
And that wasn’t all.
‘It’s not a form I use often, but having a weapon sure is convenient.’
Of course, when he was trapped in the Tower, he’d bitten into enemies’ necks like a crazed beast, but well.
‘Humans really ought to use tools.’
That was when Lee Geon, eyes flashing, swung the dagger.
CLANG!
“!”
The moment he cut through a leg, a crack appeared in the blade.
[Warning. The Gemini Star God’s relic is losing its light.]
[Durability decreased due to poison.]
- Feature: Summons Two-Faced Soldier (A-rank)
At the voice ringing in his ears, Lee Geon frowned.
‘Just from a few legs?’
It seemed to be a weapon made by one of the 12 Star Gods, but it must have been unable to withstand his technique.
Lee Geon clicked his tongue and flicked the blood off the blade.
‘Incompetents, can’t even make a proper item.’
It was far inferior to the items he roughly threw together himself.
In any case, if it broke this quickly, he couldn’t even exert 100% of his power, let alone use a skill.
Well, he figured he’d just scrounge some decent gear from nearby for now and find his own stuff at his leisure, but at this rate…
‘I’d better hurry up and find my own things first.’
Lee Geon’s eyes flashed as he dove into the spider’s arms.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that moment.
‘No way.’
Cheon Seong-jae, quietly watching Lee Geon’s swordsmanship, was doubting his own eyes.
With good reason—the man’s movements before him were oddly similar to Lee Geon’s.
Exactly like the legendary footage his father would endlessly replay whenever he got drunk, sobbing about how this was Geon, wasn’t it cool.
And though at a glance it looked like strange branch-pruning motions, it was unmistakable.
Swift Annihilation.
It was the technique of Lee Geon that countless Awakened still desperately tried to imitate but failed.
That’s why he couldn’t help but be bewildered.
And how many times had Lee Geon swung his sword?
“KEE-EE-EEK!”
At last, the spider’s scream echoed, and cheers burst from the people.
“He caught it! He caught it!”
“Hey, he’s better than that all-talk S-rank!”
Along with that, a voice rang in Lee Geon’s ears.
[Misfortune processed.]
[Divine Constellation experience increased.]
[Divine Constellation experience increased.]
[Data of a vermin acquired.]
[Mana restored to 60%.]
Lee Geon smiled and headed to where the child was.
And when he cut the tough spider silk wrapping the child, the people cheered.
“It’s the child!”
Lee Geon skillfully scooped the child from the dripping silk.
At the same time, gently stroking the stiffened girl’s back a few times, the relieved child’s cries soon followed.
“Oh my god, she’s alive!”
The child’s mother, her face smeared with tears, was also overjoyed.
“Thank you, thank you! Um, how can I repay you! Your name is…!”
“Lee Geon Gonzalez.”
“…Huh? What?”
The mother’s eyes widened, but Lee Geon casually tossed the child over and left.
At the same time, having firmly obtained testing for his body and materials, Lee Geon smiled.
‘Good. This much is enough.’
They said a 50% penalty, but maybe the standard was based on his regenerated body, not his old one.
At this level, it was roughly his active days.
It even made him wonder how much it would be when the penalty was lifted.
But right then.
Cheon Seong-jae urgently grabbed Lee Geon’s arm.
“E-Excuse me.”
Lee Geon looked at him as if wondering what now, but Cheon Seong-jae had an expression that said he wanted to ask something.
“U-Um.”
“What.”
Just as Cheon Seong-jae, face trembling, was about to ask something.
“You’re that Lee Geon, right?”
“!”
Min Seong-hun laughed hollowly, looking at Lee Geon.
“I knew I’d seen your face somewhere.”
He showed a montage photo taken with his phone and sneered.
Sure enough.
“You’re that fake Lee Geon who trashed our Star Order and stole the S-rank Star God relic, aren’t you? And that swordsmanship you just used is copied from that famous footage of the 12 Saints.”
At that, Cheon Seong-jae looked at his superior in surprise. But Min Seong-hun laughed.
He had to.
The handwork Lee Geon just displayed—it was something anyone who’d seen the famous 13-person raid video would know.
“It’s deleted now, but it was legendary footage that once recorded insane views… Well, I’ll admit it. If it’s that Lee Geon video, most top-rankers probably have a secret copy. It was truly legendary. That swift-annihilation combat technique.”
Of course, that wasn’t a combat technique, but actually a grass-trimming technique.
But whether he knew that or not, Min Seong-hun cast a look of sheer amusement.
“I wondered just how amazing a fake could be, but you really studied it hard. The stance was convincing enough that even I thought it might be the real Lee Geon for a moment.”
But he immediately scoffed.
“Well, the real Lee Geon had much sharper form. Not so clumsy.”
At that, Igeon let out a scoff of disbelief.
‘A stance?’
No, do you need to get into a stance and spray insecticide with all your might just to kill one measly mosquito?
“Anyway, it’s fine.”
Min Seonghun, who had been adorably praising Igeon, immediately wore a menacing expression.
“You. Your stats are all boosted right now because of that S-class relic you stole from us, aren’t they?”
At those words, Cheon Seongjae was startled.
The relic Igeon had supposedly stolen was definitely a buff-type artifact.
Perhaps that was why. Min Seonghun smiled.
“That’s a type of relic that doesn’t pick its user based on ability, so you probably could use it pretty easily.”
The superhuman strength shown here, blowing him away, blowing the spider away—all of it must have been possible thanks to that relic’s power.
“Now I understand the whole situation.”
And at those words, Cheon Seongjae’s face, who had been about to ask Igeon something, visibly fell.
Because the quick-witted boy immediately realized what Min Seonghun meant.
It was a dejected expression that said, ‘As expected, there’s no way my idol is alive.’
But regardless, Min Seonghun drew his sword and approached Igeon with murderous intent.
“Hand it over. What you stole. You’re hiding it now, aren’t you?”
At that, Igeon burst into laughter and revealed something.
“This?”
It was an object shaped like a hand mirror. At the same time, the moment Min Seonghun saw it, his eyes changed.
That was undoubtedly the stolen S-class relic!
In an instant, Min Seonghun fully drew his sword.
“Give it here, right now!”
“Alright, take it.”
As if he held no attachment, Igeon casually tossed the hand mirror. Just as the startled Min Seonghun moved to catch it—
Crash!
Igeon smashed Min Seonghun’s face in, mirror and all.
Crack!
“!?”
It happened truly in the blink of an eye.
And then.
Thud!
[Extracting opponent’s data]
“Huck…!”
In the end, Min Seonghun, knocked down in that single moment, could only gaze at Igeon with a dizzy mind.
He couldn’t comprehend the situation.
‘What the hell? This time he didn’t even use that relic, so why?!’
On the other hand, Igeon laughed as if it were pathetic.
“S-class relic my ass. That twin con artist spun another lie.”
“…W-what?!”
If it were such a great item in the first place, then, well—that pickpocketing bastard wouldn’t have been taken down so easily from the start.
So that’s what he was saying.
“Hey, educate those Gemini guys properly. If they keep scamming like that, they’ll get arrested.”
“What? To insult the Saints…!”
It was the moment the enraged Min Seonghun tried to quickly rise.
‘!’
With skilled swordsmanship, Igeon aimed his sword at Min Seonghun’s neck. It was a gesture that said, ‘Move and you’re dead.’
“Then, I’ll specially ask you two questions, junior.”
“…W-what?”
“First of all. You don’t have any connection to Aries, do you?”
At that, Min Seonghun looked bewildered.
Why suddenly Aries to a Saint who serves Gemini? Yet Igeon smiled.
The reason he asked such a question was simple.
Though he didn’t know what was going on, he could feel that guys with Aries energy were swarming outside.
And that wasn’t all.
‘A familiar energy is drawing very close.’
It was certain.
This energy was one of the Twelve Saints bearing the name of Aries: Yang Wei of China.
That was why Igeon looked at Cheon Seongjae with great satisfaction.
‘They said being with that kid brings great fortune.’
Wasn’t it a very good choice?
Of course, it wasn’t just Yang Wei.
Even this S-class right in front of him was great fortune for Igeon.
Why?
“Then the final question.”
“!”
“I’ve been bothered by it for a while.”
Igeon’s snake-like eyes turned to Min Seonghun.
“You. You have my relic right now, don’t you?”
(To be continued…)