Chapter 77: Star, The Changgwi Cave (2)

Chapter 77: Star, The Changgwi Cave (2)

[Commencing the Dungeon Quest!]

[Quest theme: Survival and Conquest.]

[You are currently under Hohwan Mama’s severe curse. The curse will be activated every 24 hours and invite you to the hidden plane ‘Changgwi’s Cave’. ]

[The ‘Changgwi Cave’ is a complicated labyrinth consisting of nine floors. Each floor is made up of different environments and cities, and the various kinds of Changgwis that are detained by the Howhan Mama reside within.]

[All the Changgwis instinctively hate humans, and will kill humans using any means necessary and turn them into allies. Survive the incoming wave of Changgwi attacks.]

[In order to completely undo the Hohwan Mama’s curse, you must conquer all nine floors.]

[The <Inventory>, <Status Window>, <Skill Window>, <Time Limit>, and <Performance Achievement> will be shown, so check them regularly.]

[Good luck to all participants.]

[Day 1 of the Dungeon Quest has begun.]

[Survive for six hours, starting now.]

[06:00:00]

[05:59:59:99]

[05:59:59:98]

...

[Current Location: The First Sector of the First Floor.]

‘The curse will be activated every 24 hours?’ Chang-Sun noticed.

He could vaguely tell what the Hidden Quest [The Hidden Path in the Starlight] was about. Some curses were designed for hunting a target with unyielding willpower, repeating the same curse at a set time every day. No matter how strong one’s willpower was, nobody could endure suffering from the curse that confused and deranged one’s mind every day. In the end, those under the curse would be killed.

During his ‘Divine Twilight’ years, Chang-Sun had seen similar curses many times. The Celestials he killed had put their final curses on him with the last of their strength. It was not easy to undo such curses due to their strong grudges. The Hidden Quest was one such curse.

‘Hohwan Mama is the residual energy of the scroll’s original owner... In other words, the residual energy is the starlight. So were Changgwis bewitched by the starlight, making them lose their souls?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

It was commonly known that Changgwis were spirits killed by a Hohwan Mama. When they found tigers, they would guide them to humans to create more victims like itself. Judging from the Dungeon Quest explanation, the Dungeon was full of such Changgwis, and Chang-Sun had to survive their attacks... Since there was a time limit, it seemed to be a time-attack type of quest.

‘If I get killed here, the Hohwan Mama will get a complete hold of my soul and turn it into a Changgwi, and my body will be tainted and become a Ghost Soldier or a Gildal.’ Chang-Sun thought.

If he lasted until the end of the set time, pre-selected gifts would be given to him, potentially the purified Hohwan Mama or starlight.

Chang-Sun’s eyes shone bright. ‘The Sword Sky Tiger acquired his power through this kind of Dungeon Quest.’

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ wonders how you will escape the Dungeon!]

People’s minds would ordinarily become exhausted if they went through life-and-death battles again and again for several hours, but Chang-Sun thought it might be fun. He had led this kind of life for so long that he rather enjoyed moments like these.

‘I’m a bit different.’

Tap!

Tap!

Chang-Sun walked toward the center of the first sector, which was a round, vacant space connected by three or four mine shafts. On the ceiling, a magic light illuminated the inside. When he went a little further inside, something walked out from a mine shaft opposite him.

“Kikiki... It’s a human...! A human!”

It was a Changgwi. They didn’t look so different from humans, but their skin and face were typically pale and blue like a corpse, with big dark bags under their eyes that made them look even more dead.

Corpse Toxin dripped from its sagging skin, scattering through the air like smoke and spreading the stench of rot everywhere.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ advises you to get rid of the smelly and ugly monster and get to somewhere else.]

Its overall appearance looked like a zombie or a ghoul, but unlike those monsters that functioned off of instincts alone, the Changgwi seemed to have some ability to think rationally. As Chang-Sun looked at the Changgwi, he could sense various feelings in its shining eyes—namely greed and hunger. He could also tell that it carried a considerable amount of magic. It wanted to ‘devour’ Chang-Sun because it knew he was a living person.

‘Is the attack starting with just one Changgwi?’ Chang-Sun thought.

Despite his combat experience, Chang-Sun had never seen a Changgwi before. Since it seemed to be an immortal or ghost-type monster, he had to check its ability first.

‘But before I do any of that...’

Before starting the Hidden Quest, Chang-Sun checked Minerva’s reward first. From what he remembered, Minerva had definitely gifted him an Authority.

[Kalokagathia]

An Authority created by combining the ‘Unyielding Spirit’ and ‘Composed Spirit’, the previous bonus rewards from the Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’.

Only an ascetic that has mastered physical Kalos and mental Agathos can acquire the authority. During times of hardship, your mind will become the symbol of an iron will that never yields, and your body will become the symbol of the veteran that overcomes all.

“An ideal does not exist independently, so when everything harmonizes, you will be closer to divine greatness.”

· Skill Level: 1

Slash!

Tumble―!

The Changgwi’s head fell and rolled pathetically along the ground. Soon, the amputated head and its body both corroded, and the remaining particles scattered in the wind, forming a whirlpool in the air. The particles spun around for a moment before flying into Chang-Sun.

[Eliminated the Low-Ranking Changgwi ‘Sa’!]

[Acquired the Changgwi’s Hohwan Mama.]

[Your physical constitution has changed very slightly.]

[The change is minuscule right now. Eliminate more Changgwis, and acquire more Hohwan Mama.]

Click―!

Click―!

As the particles settled down inside Chang-Sun’s body, he could hear something being united within him. Although the change was very small, he could feel his muscles toughen up, and his magic increase.

Chang-Sun nodded. ‘So this is how it works.’

His guess had turned out to be correct. If he got devoured by the Hohwan Mama, he would become a Ghost Soldier or a Gildal, but when he dominated the Hohwan Mama, he was going to walk down a different path, like the Sword Sky Tiger had done.

‘But I can’t be satisfied with just that.’ Chang-Sun smiled coldly.

Even though he was happy to become stronger through the Hohwan Mama, he didn’t want to be dragged into a situation he had no control over. The Hohwan Mama made one’s body and soul stronger, but it also turned one into an Inhuman. He didn’t wish to go down that path.

Feeling the Hohwan Mama settling inside his body, Chang-Sun quickly started [The Eon Fire of the Eight Trigrams Brazier]. This power could destroy and recover anything, and it would be able to turn the Hohwan Mama into anything Chang-Sun wanted. Above all else...

‘If the Hohwan Mama is a type of ghost energy, then I'll be able to control it however I want.’

Chang-Sun was the Underworld-certified reaper.

[The Effect ‘Single Eon Fire’ has been activated!]

[The absorbed Hohwan Mama and the fire are mixing with each other, and the Hohwan Mama is slowly being purified.]

[The Hohwan Mama is resisting hard!]

Kiyaaaah!

The Hohwan Mama that had been clinging onto Chang-Sun writhed around upon encountering this unexpected situation. If it was purified, it would lose its identity as Hohwan Mama, so it attempted to fight off the approaching fire. However, it was futile to try when even a Jigwi couldn’t resist the effect.

[The Effect ‘Single Eon Fire’ flares up more intensely!]

[The Hohwan Mama is crumbling apart, unable to withstand the fire.]

[The Hohwan Mama is going through purification.]

[The Hohwan Mama is mutating.]

...

[A new kind of ‘Mama’ has been created!]

[Achievement unlocked!]

“The Mama that devours Hohwan Mama.”

Reward: Intelligence +5. Willpower +3.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ opens his eyes wide in shock upon seeing such an unexpected outcome!]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ quietly rolls her eyes, unable to tell what is going on.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ observes the new starlight that has transformed from the starlight left by the <Forgotten Star> with interest.]

Paaah!

The black energy that settled down within Chang-Sun turned to ash and united with his body.

[Successfully absorbed the new purified Mama!]

...

[Your mana now has the ‘Biwi’ attribute, along with the ‘Jigwi’ attribute!]

[Found the forgotten starlight.]

A Biwi was a cryptid that was known to eat tiger monsters, and sometimes, it was classified as a divine creature. Chang-Sun had never expected his magic to gain the Biwi attribute. In other words, he had now become a natural enemy of anything related to Heoju, like the Hohwan Mama...

‘Things are starting to get interesting.’

Chang-Sun was beginning to think that he would be able to have a similar, but ultimately different result than the Sword Sky Tiger. Smiling enigmatically, he slowly headed towards Sector 2.