[The Serpent Bearer's new teleport zone has been created]
[Capacity: 100,000]
Was it a feast of light swirling into the sky?
The shining hall that appeared before them was unmistakably the light of spatial movement!
It was definitely the light of a teleport zone.
That was why they couldn't help but be flustered.
'That... only the Holy God can do...!'
Countless mages put their heads together and tried, but none succeeded.
'That's why all teleport zones on Earth were made by the Holy God.'
Of course, the Holy Man Heiji could make them too, but they were unstable so he didn't do it himself.
But that.
'He made it?!'
'Just from one hint??'
'That bastard, he was holed up in the Gemini library...!!'
The elite mages of Gemini gathered here were all top-tier.
But because of that, they could tell at a glance just how amazing the thing Cheon Seongjae made was.
'It's certain. With that much power, it can cover over ten thousand.'
No, what's ten thousand!
It might be able to cover everyone in this castle at once.
That was why the mages were in a mental breakdown.
'Even if you can receive the Serpent Bearer's Holy God's power!'
'Can you make a teleport zone just like that in one go?'
'Are you kidding? That can't be! Did you forget we all failed?'
'Right! The only success was an escape teleport zone for ten people!'
'More than that, how much magic power from Serpent Bearer is making that possible?!'
At the same time, the mages realized.
'The Korean Constellation Chief did say not to show Cheon Seongjae any magic recipes above S-rank.'
'So that's why he said not to show him!'
Back then, they just thought it was because Lee Geon was a fanboy with low faith, so he might expose it to the outside.
Thanks to that, people stirred, and Cheon Seongjae let out a hollow laugh.
"What, what amazing technique went into it? You were raking in hundreds at a time with just this?"
At those words, Gote's jaw dropped.
"It... it was simple? According to rumors, you need calculations up to the 12th dimension, so humans would need 1,000 people to pull it off..."
"Hey, it's not that much. 1,000 is too inflated. Anyway, it's strange, why can't they do this easy thing?"
Gote fell silent.
Come to think of it, Seongjae was always a genius like his researcher mother. He was already solving his own high school math problems at age 5.
Well, that's why he probably learned magic on his own at Gemini.
Anyway, there's a saying that all his growth went to his brain and that's why his height is like that.
Actually, what was scarier was not Cheon Seongjae.
'If the Holy Man's power is like this...'
He looked at Lee Geon with bewilderment. At this level, there should be some sign of strain, but Lee Geon didn't even show that.
So naturally, the constellation members stirred.
"I don't know who the Holy God is, but if a new constellation's power is like this..."
"Wouldn't it be better to transfer to Serpent Bearer?"
But as if that wasn't the important thing now, Lee Geon spoke.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and move."
"Huh? Yeah, yeah! Sure! How much is the Serpent Bearer's usage fee?"
"Huh? The usage fee is..."
When Cheon Seongjae looked at Lee Geon, Lee Geon smiled.
"Forget it. Taking anything on the first run would be thug-like."
Honestly, in this situation, Gemini doing business was the thug-like thing.
Of course, from Lee Geon's standpoint, it wasn't completely without compensation.
[Serpent Bearer faith increases]
[Divine power charges]
[Divine rank increases]
But the cheering people were different.
"Lee Geon! Take what you should! You took care of the sea monster too!"
"Right! You designated Drakma as a sanctuary to revive people, too!"
The original culprit behind Drakma's fall was —.
Lee Geon, who dealt with it, was rather a benefactor to those in the castle.
"At least let us repay you this much!"
Lee Geon acted like they could do as they pleased, but the Serpent Bearer Holy Man wasn't one to miss out when people said they'd repay.
So the quick-witted Cheon Seongjae immediately displayed Lee Geon's bank account number with fire magic.
He didn't forget to scatter pre-made business cards into the sky.
[Sponsor Account for Awesome Lee Geon]
[XXXX-XXX-XXXX XX Bank]
"Oh, note that down! Let's go!"
At that pragmatic sight, Gote glanced at Hugo, and Hugo frowned.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing. I just thought that with a constellation lord like that, unlike elsewhere, his subordinates would be well-fed..."
"What do you mean?!"
And then it happened.
As people cheered and headed to the teleport hall, the Gemini mages were scared shitless.
Because it would be trouble if Serpent Bearer succeeded in operating the teleport zone.
Maybe that's why.
"Don't be fooled! A teleport from a new constellation that isn't Gemini?!"
At their shouts, the people became annoyed.
"Why? It seems to be working fine?"
"Don't say such dangerous things! Do you plan on a trial run with your lives as collateral?! We're too scared to board it ourselves!"
"!"
They exchanged glances.
"We'll bring more teleporters. With this, we can solve many problems and transport everyone. So...!"
But that's when it happened.
The mages who said they'd bring more teleporters from outside stiffened.
They couldn't help it.
[Teleport Failed]
"...!"
Actually, saying they couldn't use teleport because of Lee Geon was a lie.
It was just to mess with Lee Geon; they could use teleport freely themselves.
But what's this?
'The teleport skill won't activate!'
But soon they could figure out the reason.
"We're not sure, but it seems because of the portal Cheon Seongjae made!"
"It looks like they've preempted the coordinates so we can't use them! The skill fizzles out...!"
Well, the exact reason would need later analysis, but that wasn't important now.
What was more important.
'Damn. Then even we can't leave here without Cheon Seongjae's teleport!'
Yes. Even they had to rely on Serpent Bearer.
"Uh, what do we do?"
"What do we do? We..."
And did they overhear that?
"Oh. Really? You can't escape?"
"!!"
Lee Geon smiled.
"Why? You want to use that teleport zone too?"
"N-no. Well, that is..."
Eventually, some of the Gemini mages laughed awkwardly.
"Looks like we'll have to use it..."
"Use what! No!"
At the surrounding commotion, Cheon Seongjae and Lee Geon laughed.
"Don't worry. We have no intention of leaving you to die either."
The mages felt relieved.
"Then..."
"But."
"!"
"It won't be free. You guys were saying earlier that you'd need to charge for lives and labor as teleport conditions."
"...!!!"
Soon, Cheon Seongjae's eyes gleamed as if working a calculator.
"Alright then. How much did you have in mind?"
* * *
How much time passed?
[50,000 in Drakma saved by Lee Geon]
[Teleport zone, once exclusive to Gemini, now possible for Serpent Bearer?]
[Bull constellation's authority passes to Serpent Bearer]
[Bull Ten-Star Joseph preparing official statement]
[13 Constellations ▶ 12 Constellations? Constellation merger becoming reality?]
[Drakma enters Serpent Bearer's sanctuary, 'Is this okay?']
The world was not just noisy but shocked.
But regardless of the world, Hugo was sighing while looking somewhere.
"So, is your stomach okay? You ate a bull and now you're eating beef again? Doesn't your stomach hurt?"
At Hugo's question, Lee Geon clicked his tongue.
"Don't underestimate my digestion. My stomach is getting stronger as I level up."
"Oh, is that so?"
Well, if his body is fine, that's that.
Besides, it was clearly felt that Lee Geon had absorbed all the Bull constellation's power.
'With that, he'll probably be able to handle the Bull constellation members too.'
Of course, they'd need to have faith in Serpent Bearer to receive abilities from Geon, but that should be fine.
'I'm using Geon's power too.'
Roughly, if they have around 80% faith like me, they could all use it, right?
That level isn't very hard.
And Yuhara thankfully brought Ivan, whom Yongyong had been chewing.
But.
[Yongyong completely destroyed the dog chew]
[Yongyong is very sad, saying the texture of the dog chew has changed]
Hugo held his face as he recalled the state of that lump of meat.
Well, honestly, since he's an enemy-like bastard, he didn't care whether he became porridge or rice.
"Damn, if Ivan is in that state, Geon, you can't extract data!"
Yes. Of all times, the data that Abundance had from Drakma had gone to Lee Geon.
"Then you can't make armor! I was looking forward to your armor!"
And that's because the Bull constellation's Holy Man had become complete mush.
No matter how much super regeneration was used on him, the limit was pudding, considering how the red guy had crushed him.
"Ivan had developed many unique defense skills...!! Such a waste!"
But at that, Lee Geon chuckled.
"Didn't you say you'd never use things made from grinding Holy Gods and Holy Men?"
"No!! I don't want to use them, but... ack!"
As the saying goes, the one who's tasted meat knows best, Hugo, who'd already tasted an EX-grade bow, despaired.
'The true culprits trying to kill Geon in the Demon Tower are the Holy Gods.'
He still didn't know why they wanted to kill Lee Geon, but anyway, even the monarchs were targeting him.
'Normal equipment won't cut it.'
Moreover, at that level, it wouldn't be a dream to completely drive the unknown civilizations out of Earth.
"But..."
At that, Lee Geon laughed haha.
"Don't worry. I can tear it off now, and I can make you EX-grade armor even without it in the first place."
"What? Really?"
"Yes. Because I obtained the throne. Well, I have to transfer it to Serpent Bearer, but anyway I can grant defensive skills."
The throne stored the history of the constellation.
All the skills the Bull constellation had ever developed, contract info of the affiliated gods, contract info of the members, and everything were contained.
So Lee Geon could also bring out things usable right away in real combat.
And with the Bull guy, if it's skills, even if not human form, he could be roughly regenerated.
'I'll roughly recover that bastard and upgrade him into a living Yongyong dog chew.'
Then the depressed red eyes would probably regain energy.
"Anyway, I didn't know you were so greedy for equipment? You used to nag me subtly even when you were a fish. Are you worried about me?"
At that, Hugo flinched and gave a hollow laugh.
"It's not that. Because of the monarchs' magic, the land where humans can live is shrinking. We have to go reclaim human land. And Geon, you've been saying since long ago that there's something from the unknown civilizations that you're looking for..."
Although he said that, in truth what Hugo was worried about was Lee Geon's ability.
'Because Geon must choose between death and life paths.'
He didn't know what Lee Geon would choose, but he thought the armor might help prevent — from going wild.
Further, he feared Lee Geon might become the god of —.
'He can't become the god of —.'
Hugo caught himself and looked at Lee Geon.
"Come to think of it, what's the thing you're looking for from the unknown civilizations?"
"That is..."
And then it happened.
Boom!
At the sound of the inner room exploding, Hugo screamed.
"Aack! Our house!"
The culprit was someone Hugo knew well.
[ whines to go to stage 4 first like this]
[ says it will transform into a human first and then pounce on its master]
[ says then it can't be helped, it will throw away life and awaken as the god of death]
The one who destroyed the room was none other than with newfound arms and legs.
Eventually, at the sight of the ruined room, Hugo despaired, "The loan... The loan still has a balance..." and Lee Geon furrowed his brows.
"What's that guy dissatisfied about? Is he protesting?"
At that, Death came trotting over and rubbed its face on Lee Geon's foot.
[ asks to be named]
"What, I already named it. ."
[ says it doesn't like such pet names!]
It's a demanding one.
"Then Joon."
As soon as the words fell, 's face brightened.
[ is extremely happy. It boasts that since it received more special treatment than , its master will choose it.]
[ scoffs, saying that name is just the name of a character from a movie the master was watching yesterday.]
[He screams this]
Well, even if it liked its master that much, was essentially a volatile bomb.
Hugo had disliked .
Because it could endanger his friend's life.
And perhaps reading that expression Hugo had tried to hide, Lee Gun smiled.
"Don't worry. After swallowing the Bull, 's level went up too. It's the 'Defense' Sacred Star, so that side must have reacted."
At those words, Hugo sent a relieved glance.
"Then if you swallow another side's Sacred Star, your Life level will go up further?"
"Well, they said I need to reach the highest tier to use the full power of a god."
"The highest tier is how many?"
"Who knows. The Sacred Stars said it's 5th tier...."
That meant both Death and Life capped at the 5th tier.
But upon hearing that, Hugo's eyes lit up.
Only up to 5th tier meant there wasn't much left!
"We need to find side's Sacred Star, fast!"
Lee Gun wondered why he was acting like this, but chuckled.
"A bastard like that, you mean that bastard?"
"That bastard...."
Hugo was surprised by the TV Lee Gun pointed at.
Unexpected news was playing on the TV.
- Please listen. Recently, the prestige of the Capricorn Seat has been falling due to vicious rumors.
- And the Genius Workshop is a historic workshop, having handled the sacred relics of many saints and even Lee Gun's . It is a venerable Divine Throne created by the Sacred Star.
- There have been increasing cases of people undermining our Genius Workshop's prestige and entrusting weapons to Lee Gun, but according to our investigation, Lee Gun takes at least 4 weeks to produce an SS-grade weapon.
- He can't possibly meet demand, and he's an amateur.
- Capricorn Seat, which dedicated itself to humanity, has been deeply wounded. From now on, we will operate a membership system. Those who are not members will not be able to commission work at our workshop.
- Furthermore, Divine Thrones that entrust items to Lee Gun will face restrictions, preventing them from ever using our workshop again.
At that, Hugo, flabbergasted, looked for his phone.
"That bow I used in Drachma this time. I should say you made it."
But Lee Gun stopped him.
"It doesn't matter. It's faster to show them the making process. Then they won't be able to spout such crap."
Hugo was startled by that.
"What's gotten into you? You never show your crafting to anyone but special people."
That's why he had felt frustrated when doubts about the creator arose.
'Well, I've always hoped that Gun would personally crush those bastards' pride.'
Those bastards were always the ones laughing, asking Sagittarius Seat if they even had money to repair weapons.
But why was this guy, Gun, suddenly like this?
And at that question, Lee Gun smiled meaningfully.
"Taek-soo. Actually, when I caught the General and the Bull last time, I smashed all my equipment."
"That's a big problem. You need to fix them quickly."
"Yeah. Of course I fixed them. But since I didn't have money to buy materials, I briefly dismantled and used your guys' gear."
"......?"
By that point, Hugo felt a sense of foreboding.
And as expected, Hugo, who urgently rushed to Sagittarius Seat's armory, screamed.
"Aaagh!! All of Sagittarius Seat's weapons and treasures have turned into scrap metal!!"
Looking at the horrific, shattered corpses of all the weapons, Lee Gun, who had followed him in, smiled brightly.
"You guys wanna just transfer to Taurus Seat? You don't need weapons there."
"#$&#*##$(#(?!"
Hugo grabbed Lee Gun by the collar.
"You bastard! What the hell happened to all the money Steven gave you!"
"What are you talking about? I already spent all of that."
"What? Where!"
Instead of answering, Lee Gun smiled and lifted his hammer.
"Well, don't worry. Capricorn Seat is a Divine Throne that supplies goods worldwide. Naturally, it's piled high with expensive high-grade materials, right?"
"!"
"Just when I had no money and no materials, these bastards are practically offering them up? I needed to upgrade equipment for the monarchs soon anyway, so this is perfect. All the items and materials here are from over 20 years ago, after all."
"?!"
Hugo was dumbfounded.
Could it be, this bastard, under the pretense of a demonstration, was planning to plunder their materials!
'Well, repair materials were originally scavenged from that side anyway.'
And as if he had been aiming for this, Lee Gun chuckled.
"Don't worry. Reinforcement and upgrades are my specialty."
Regardless, he had business with the monarch of himself.
And for that, a Sacred Star was absolutely necessary.
Why?
'I absolutely need that item the Capricorn Seat's Sacred Star possesses.'
And hadn't grown after swallowing Taurus Seat?
Then, if he swallowed Capricorn Seat, which side would rise?
"Well, that one's useless anyway, so let's just merge it, why not."
(Continues in the next episode)