[I have a question]
[Who killed me?]
The reporters gathered in Korea were buzzing with agitation.
These words had been discovered at the very location where Sophie’s back and the Leo Constellation had fallen.
“Was this message truly written there?”
“Yes, it truly was.”
At the investigation team’s confirmation, the press conference hall erupted in commotion.
The announcement was being made by the Korean government, as they were the ones currently in possession of Lee Geon’s personal effects. Lee Geon’s most famous belongings had largely fallen into the hands of the world’s billionaires, who had absolutely refused to hand them over for handwriting analysis.
And then.
“The Korean handwriting and the signature discovered this time both match those found on his personal effects.”
The reporters buzzed once more.
Unless the government had lost its mind, there was no way it would make a false statement.
But something even more shocking existed.
“The content of the message... What on earth does this mean?”
The reporters were thrown into confusion by the message left on the Drakma.
“‘Who killed me’...?”
“Exactly. It was clearly stated that Lee Geon sacrificed himself to save the Twelve...”
“That’s right. That’s why Lee Geon’s legacy was passed on to the Twelve Saints.”
But if this truly was a message sent by Lee Geon...
‘This is no ordinary matter.’
It was an omen of a storm.
The very foundation of the legend that had been believed for twenty years was beginning to tremble.
***
Meanwhile, around that time.
“Uh, I mean... is there really a need to go this far?”
The simulation training ground.
The officers of the Sagittarius Constellation were flustered by the sight before their eyes.
And how could they not be? What lay before them was an archery range. Of course, it was no ordinary archery range.
[Grand Training Hall]
It was a simulated dungeon raid zone where constellation followers conducted combat training.
And as a virtual simulation ground, the climate and location were perfectly identical to real environments. Cities, seas, forests—any location could be reproduced for simulation. This was the power of a constellation capable of constructing spaces.
Here, one could summon monsters or check combat abilities. There even seemed to be a ranking system by weapon, combat type, and monster category.
And what they saw before them was a rolling sea. Targets placed so far away they were invisible.
To hit them, Lee Geon and Hugo stood holding bows. Hence, the words spoken.
“Lord Constellation, you don’t truly need to compare your skills against Lee Geon-nim’s...”
“The outcome is obvious, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. It’s obvious Lee Geon-nim will win.”
“What?!”
Hugo was dumbfounded, but his direct subordinates just laughed haha hoho. Regardless of anything else, they were fans of Lee Geon.
But they didn’t truly mean it.
Indeed, even Lee Geon, drawing the bowstring, spoke up. “Wow, you’re so cheap. How can you pick what you’re best at as the duel event? Do you have any conscience at all?”
“Shut up. If you knew that, you shouldn’t have said anything in the first place, should you?”
That was it.
The question his son had suddenly brought up. When asked who was better at archery between his father and Lee Geon, Hugo had laughed in disbelief. No matter what, he was the Saint of the Sagittarius constellation. It was true Lee Geon was extraordinary, but still, this was something they could compare.
But what was this?
‘Nephew, no matter what, you should ask questions that make sense. Your father is the Lord of the Sagittarius Constellation.’
‘Right. That’s right. Though Geon-i is indeed amazing...’
‘Of course I shoot better.’
‘Hey!’
In disbelief, he looked at Lee Geon, who smirked in response.
‘Why? Wasn't Sagittarius just the constellation that broadcasts the weather?’
And not even a forecast, just a live broadcast.
And perhaps due to Lee Geon’s provocation, the dormant magic power of the Sagittarius constellation’s astral god flared up violently.
[The Lord of the Blazing Sagittarius has had its pride wounded.]
[The Lord of the Blazing Sagittarius is burning with enthusiasm.]
Simultaneously, an astonishing event occurred.
[The Lord of the Blazing Sagittarius casts a buff upon its contractor.]
[Destructive power increases.]
[It grants this and that.]
[Stamina increases.]
[It continues to grant.]
[Willpower, concentration, aesthetic sense, musical talent, jumping ability, fatigue recovery, health, assassination, agility... virility, sphincter strength, cleaning ability, singing ability, showing off beauty.]
[It commands you to deal with the enemy who insulted the Blazing Sagittarius.]
“…….”
As the buffs accumulated upon Hugo, Lee Geon cackled.
The Lord of the Blazing Sagittarius was a remarkably narcissistic, petty, and demanding god. He could guess its identity based on its abilities, but it was stingy and greedily demanded huge prices. In that sense, it was beneficial for his friend, who was perpetually impoverished.
And for himself, it was greatly beneficial too.
[You have humiliated an opposing constellation.]
[Gained a large amount of constellation experience.]
[You have influenced an opposing constellation (Saint level).]
[Disposition points are being accumulated.]
[Provocation +1]
[Provoking even a god.]
[The future disposition of the Ophiuchus Constellation is determined by the accumulated disposition points.]
[The direction of constellation skills and the sanctuary to be created are determined by the accumulating disposition points.]
Lee Geon found this quite fascinating.
He wasn’t certain, but it likely referred to the attributes of the constellation itself. For example, as an aggressive disposition accumulated, attack-related skills would increase, turning it into a combat constellation. As a moderate disposition accumulated, defense skills would increase, turning it into a defensive constellation.
‘Well, the Twelve Astral Gods seemed to have their dispositions set from the beginning though.’
And it was just then.
“I’ll send up the targets.”
Cheon Seongjae pressed the control button. With a thud, the targets burst up from the coastline at random.
Bang!
What came up were a blue target and a red target. Distance: 100 meters.
But before the words could even fully leave his mouth, they had to cover their ears.
Bang!
“?!”
The blue target was shattered. Even before it had finished rising!
Simultaneously, the score result appeared.
- 10 points.
- Perfect score.
Because of this, the subordinates couldn’t help but be horrified.
‘Lord Constellation! You put in way too much power!’
‘It’s only 100 meters!’
Hugo’s eyes flashed fiercely. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at his son, but his son, who had his arms crossed, looked utterly bewildered. A face like he’d chewed on crap.
“Huh. For an Awakened, making a fuss over just 100 meters...”
However, at that moment.
Bang!
- 10 points.
- Perfect score.
As the red target shattered, Cheon Seongjae’s expression changed as if it had never been otherwise.
“Whoa, as expected of Uncle! Amazing! A whole 100 meters!”
Hugo felt choked up.
And then targets immediately rose again.
- Beginning 200 meters.
But the arrow flew without a moment’s hesitation, shattering the center of the target.
Bang! Bang!
“……!”
Following that, 300 meters. 500 meters! Finally, 1,000 meters!
Bang! Bang!
Cheon Seongjae shed tears of emotion. Before his very eyes, not just anyone, but Lee Geon, was shooting a bow.
“This is a dream. I saw Lee Geon-nim shoot a bow five times!”
At the sight of his son weeping, Hugo’s face was a sight to behold. If the kid saw him catching a fish, he’d probably faint.
Simultaneously, the Sagittarius subordinates were secretly bewildered.
“L-Lee Geon-nim. Didn’t you never use a bow when going on raids?”
“I don’t think I ever heard a single story about you using a bow...!”
Even trained followers of combat constellations usually saw their accuracy rate plummet below 40% once the distance exceeded 500 meters.
‘You’d need a Sagittarius buff just to shoot 1,000 meters.’
But regardless, Lee Geon laughed nonchalantly. This level was within the range of ordinary humans. Child’s play.
And then, finally, a range far exceeding the realm of ordinary humans appeared.
- Beginning 2,000 meters.
The two simultaneously imbued their arrows with magic power and fired.
Bang! Bang!
- 10 points.
- Perfect score.
Hugo’s subordinates couldn’t close their mouths. It was already beyond the point where they could see it with their eyes. Not to mention, the shooting range’s top record had long since been casually surpassed.
“Is that really Lee Geon-nim shooting right now? It’s not the Lord Constellation creating a clone to shoot, right?”
“Can’t you tell by looking?!”
By this point, Cheon Seongjae couldn’t close his mouth for a different reason. It was because he hadn’t expected even this level. How could he have? Lee Geon was known as the weakest among the thirteen original Awakened. It was true he liked Lee Geon, but hadn’t everyone always said Lee Geon’s combat videos were just tricks?
But they weren’t.
Cheon Seongjae even forgot to take pictures.
At that moment, Hugo shouted as if furious. “Ten targets! Set them on random positions!”
“What?! At this distance?”
“Of course!”
His opponent was none other than Lee Geon. Raising them one by one would never settle the match.
Eventually, when his subordinate changed the system, red and blue targets—twenty in total—began to move. They were targets that rose and then disappeared at brutal six-second intervals. Meaning, within one minute, they each had to hit their ten targets.
“No matter what, this is a bit too...”
But before the words could even finish, a terrifying sound echoed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
- 10 points.
- 10 points.
- 10 points.
Perfect 10 points, without a single millimeter of deviation from either side.
“Not bad.”
Hugo glared fiercely and drew his bowstring.
And then eight, nine, ten!
- Perfect score of 100 points.
Hugo’s rapid-fire shooting ended.
But it was at that moment.
Bang!
- 7 points.
“!”
Everyone was startled. The last arrow Lee Geon shot seemed to have slightly missed.
- Total score: 100 points
- Total score: 97 points
At the final result, Hugo clenched his fist.
“Yes, this is only natural.”
No matter what, he wasn’t someone to be ignored with a bow.
In the end, Cheon Seongjae became sullen. Well, it wasn’t an unexpected result, but it seemed he had harbored some inner hope.
“Still, it’s fine. Uncle’s weapon wasn’t even a bow, anyway.”
It was actually amazing. As Cheon Seongjae pouted, Hugo grew triumphant. “Haha. No matter how much of a genius Geon is, even he makes mistakes when it comes to accuracy...”
But it was then.
For some reason, Hugo’s subordinates were trembling. Faces as if they had seen a ghost.
He wondered why they were acting that way.
“...He did.”
“What?”
“Lee Geon-nim! He was shooting with his eyes closed from the middle onwards!”
“?!”
Hugo and Cheon Seongjae’s faces were a sight to behold.
Simultaneously, Lee Geon threw down his bow.
“Ah, I miscalculated at the end.”
“……!?”
Hugo gaped as if struck on the back of the head, and Cheon Seongjae wept uncontrollably, incomparably more than before.
He realized just how pitiful and meager his imagination had been all this time. Even though he’d grown up listening to legends, he’d thought that realistically his father was just exaggerating, that it was all fairy tales told under the influence of alcohol.
“They were all real! Catching a mountain-like monster, beating it up with bare fists—it was all real!”
Cheon Seongjae’s eyes as he looked at Lee Geon had completely changed. From a fresh fan’s admiration to an intense sense of longing.
“Uncle is the best! The Saints are nothing!”
Simultaneously, Lee Geon heard an unexpected sound.
[Condition achieved.]
[Faith of a Worshiper.]
[A new constellation skill has been discovered.]
[[Anonymous]]
[You have become aware of Human Vassals.]
“!”
And it was just then.
“Hey! Let’s go one more round! That’s nothing! I can shoot with my eyes closed too, you know!”
“Lord Constellation!”
The enraged Hugo tried to charge at Lee Geon. Lee Geon had coolly admitted defeat, but Hugo seemed deeply humiliated. Because this match was practically a loss for him. No, he could do it too.
“It’s a scam! The conditions should have been equal from the start! So let’s go one more round! I’m going to do it with my eyes closed too!”
“Yeah, yeah. You do your best alone.”
“Hey!”
Lee Geon grinned infuriatingly, tossing and catching something. It was a box the size of a fist. And what was inside was something Lee Geon had personally created. It was made from Hugo’s data, no less. How could there be no data after getting beaten up that much?
‘I’ve roughly tested this, so I guess it’s done.’
The durability and endurance were still quite lacking, though.
“Uncle is the best! Dad is... crap! Totally crappy!”
“Hey, brat! I said let’s go one more round!”
“Yeah. Good luck.”
He did not know if Hugo was aware of it or not, but Hugo was furious.
***
And early that morning, the sanctuary of the Leo Constellation.
An anxious tension flowed through the sanctuary. It couldn’t be helped.
“We must find the Lord Constellation immediately.”
It was an unprecedented incident where the Constellation Lord had fallen into an unknown civilization. Because of this, the Leo Constellation officers scattered across various nations were all gathered.
And the conference room, filled with individuals of the Sanctuary Commander class, was solemn.
“We must find the culprit immediately and hold them accountable.”
“And to make matters worse, it seems they fell in a location close to a Black Zone...”
But the Sanctuary Commanders were tense. They had to be.
“There’s talk going around that Lee Geon is the culprit...”
“So what if it’s Lee Geon? He’s someone who was knocked flat by our Lord’s fist anyway.”
Well, that was certainly true.
“In any case, whether it’s him or not, they will pay dearly for tarnishing the name of the Leo Constellation...”
But it was then.
- Die, you Leo bastards~♪
- Die, you Leo retard bastards~♪
A ringtone that played nonchalantly within the solemn Leo conference room.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
The faces of the Sanctuary Commanders from various nations, as well as their subordinates, all turned pale. The owner of that ringtone was none other than a core combat asset even within the Leo Constellation, and one of the ten most famous individuals in the world, [[Red Flash]].
Everyone turned to look at her in shock, but the person in question paid no mind and casually opened her phone.
“U-Um, Vice Sanctuary Commander-nim?”
“Ah, what did you just say?”
“We must go search for the Lord of the Leo Constellation!”
“Why search for that bastard?”
“……Pardon?”
As everyone froze, the expressionless woman smiled brightly.
“Ah, my mistake. Where would we even find him? We don’t even know where he fell.”
“…Red Flash-nim!!”
But regardless, the woman continued texting.
However...
[Sis!! That’s not what’s important! Uncle is the best! The absolute best!!!!]
The woman, after reading the text, tilted her head slightly.
‘Uncle?’
(Continues in the next chapter)