Chapter 176: Star, Laevateinn (1)

Chapter 176: Star, Laevateinn (1)

Mephistopheles descended as a slender young man with relatively short black hair and impressive sharp, cold eyes. He looked like a Northeast Asian.

‘I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere...’ Chang-Sun tilted his head in confusion.

For some reason, Mephistopheles looked familiar to Chang-Sun, although this was definitely their first time meeting. To be precise, he reminded Chang-Sun of someone.

‘Cha Ye-Eun?’ Chang-Sun thought.

He suddenly wondered why he was suddenly recalling Ye-Eun, the Saintess and Iron Witch, but he stopped thinking about it when Mephistopheles began to talk.

“You really have a tendency to ask for my attention in every little matter,” Mephistopheles grumbled as he crossed his arms. His cold eyes made him look really cool, and his low voice made Chang-Sun straighten his posture.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ holds her breath...!]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ wonders why he is reminded of someone...!]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ is petrified...!]

...

[Many deities want to see the famous great devil who does not come out of the abyss...!]

[A few stars wish to see the great devil’s disciple...!]

...

“They’re too loud.” Uncrossing his arms, Mephistopheles irritatedly looked up to the pitch-black ceiling and lightly waved in the air.

[The Channeling has been disconnected.]

[The Channeling has been disconnected.]

...

[The connection to the Dungeon Channel system has been temporarily disconnected. The connection to the <Management Bureau> has been terminated.]

Looking at Mephistopheles, Chang-Sun silently clicked his tongue. He could tell how high Mephstopheles’ divine class was just from him blocking the Celestials’ eyes and preventing the <Management Bureau> from interfering.

Even if the ‘Divine Twilight’ returned in his prime, he wouldn’t be able to beat Mephistopheles. Moreover, having finished his Giant awakening, Chang-Sun’s senses had heightened. Hence, he could feel Mephistopheles’ pressuring aura more clearly.

“Isn’t it better for your disciple to not act pathetic, teacher?” Chang-Sun emphasized the word teacher in a nonchalant yet cunning tone.

Noticing what Chang-Sun was trying to do, Mephistopheles shook his head, but he didn’t say anything since Chang-Sun did uphold his promise much quicker than he had expected.The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.

Since Mephistopheles was already trying hard and going through troubles to study the <Abyss>, he had to put a lot of effort into taking care of Chang-Sun. That was why he had no intention of being a gentle teacher. Although he was still going to give lessons from time to time, he would abandon Chang-Sun if he couldn’t keep up with the lesson. It would be Chang-Sun’s fault anyway.

Fortunately, Chang-Sun was a student good enough for Mephistopheles to put in the effort. Depending on how much he progressed, he could be a big help to Mephistopheles in chasing down the <Abyss>.

‘You better keep up. If you can’t, I’ll just abandon you out of sheer disappointment.’

Chang-Sun could clearly tell what Mephistopheles was thinking, and it was also what he wanted his great teacher to do.

‘Nothing good will come out of an affectionate teacher-student relationship,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Wouldn’t it be better for them to just establish a relationship where they could exchange what they needed?

‘I feel a little bit annoyed because he didn’t show any reaction when I called him teacher, though.’ Chang-Sun slightly narrowed his eyes, noticing his capricious heart.

“I won’t explain twice, so pay attention.” Mephistopheles waved his hand lightly in the air again to begin his lesson.

Woosh!

A navy-blue will o’ wisp that resembled the Inferno Sights was created, but Chang-Sun could tell the fire was the mutated version of it, and that Mephistopheles created it using <Darkness>.

“<Darkness>, also known as nihil, is a power that swallows and turns everything into nothing. It’s also the power that filled the empty universe prior to the Big Bang,” Mephistopheles explained.

Chang-Sun quietly nodded as Mephistopheles told him basic knowledge that he only vaguely knew about. The main challenge came in the next lesson—controlling <Darkness>.

“You can create a little bit of <Darkness> using the [Ferocious Heart], but making it obey you now is impossible.” Mephistopheles shook his head.

‘It’s similar to the Retribution Fire.’ Chang-Sun nodded again.

“It’s impossible even for me since <Darkness> tends to return to its past or primal state. How can you stop a wheel from spinning in the opposite direction?” Mephistopheles asked.

‘Return to its past, wheel spinning in the opposite direction...’ Chang-Sun repeated.

Those phrases sounded familiar to Chang-Sun. Back in the Underworld, Thanatos and the others had to spin the small wheel of time in the opposite direction a little bit to send Chang-Sun back to Earth, and now Mephistopheles was telling him that <Darkness> had the same tendency.

“Using <Darkness> is all about leading, not controlling it. Well, I guess it’s better to show you.” Mephistopheles lightly flicked his fingers.

Flick!

The blackness surrounding the two disappeared, revealing the world Chang-Sun was originally at. However, something had changed. Unlike before, everything in it had been paused, including his intense battle against Gustaf. The spear Gustaf thrust was just right next to Chang-Sun’s right cheek.

‘If I can’t make the Retribution Fire stay in one place, then I can keep leading it until it naturally transforms into a spearhead,’ Chang-Sun thought.

He called it Spiral Aura, and he was sure that it was stronger than ordinary Aura Blades. Since it kept spiraling, the damage of his attacks would increase severalfold if they were executed using a Spiral-Aura-covered weapon. It could even be quickly restored to its original form after the external shock had deformed it.

Chang-Sun could shape the Spiral Aura not only into a spearhead but also into a blade, arrow, or sphere. However, although it was versatile, he had to constantly make it spiral. Doing so required nonstop focus and a significant amount of mana infused into the Aura. Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about it since he already had the [Integrated Magic Circuit].

『Twist it in helix form...? Outrageous...!』

The eyes of Gustaf, who had been going on and on about how Chang-Sun should grow muscles, widened when he noticed how dangerous Chang-Sun’s Spiral Aura was. He hurriedly pulled his spear away, but...

[The State ‘Fierce Tiger’ has been changed into the State ’Jackal Tiger,’ activating the Additional Skill ‘Jackal Tiger Hacks’!]

Chang-Sun fiercely swung his Nameless Spear, brilliantly initiating his spear attacks. Gustaf was well aware of what technique Chang-Sun was using. After all, it was the same technique that he used.

『Ho-how can you also use Sarmatia...?!』

Woosh, woosh, woosh!

[You have successfully imitated ‘Sarmatia,’ the spear technique of <Muspelheim>!]

...

[The Skill ‘Spear Mastery’ has been activated, increasing the damage of your spear attacks!]

[Skill level has increased.]

[Skill level has increased.]

...

[The Skill ‘Spear Mastery’ has reached its maximum level. You have acquired the new Trait ‘Spear Ocean.’]

[The Title ‘Spear Expert’ has been created!]

[From now on, your enemies will no longer challenge you with a spear.]

...

Chang-Sun acquired the first Trait that made up the [King of Weapons], the proud Trait of the ‘Divine Twilight.’ As soon as he did, his offensive using the Nameless Spear became more fierce and destructive.

‘Gustaf, showing me Sarmatia was a mistake.’ Chang-Sun faintly grinned.

Despite the fact that he had just acquired the title of expert, Chang-Sun didn’t look thrilled at all. After all, to him, it was a given.

‘No matter how I try to control the Retribution Fire, I’ll eventually reach my limit, but it’s different for you Giants. You’ve all been handling the <Muspelheim> fire for so long that you have likely been upgrading your methods of controlling it.’ Chang-Sun assumed.

In the end, the Giants’ fighting technique depended on how well and effectively they utilized the flames of <Muspelheim>. If so, then Chang-Sun should just keep ‘taking’ what was in front of him. Having acquired [Spear Ocean], it was no longer difficult for him to imitate—no, improve Sarmatia.

Rumble―!

Boom!

Chang-Sun thrust the Nameless Spear as hard as he could, making it clash against the tip of Gustaf’s stone spear. A huge explosion ensued that made Gustaf shake noticeably hard and start to think that his stone spear could really break unless he tried harder to win the battle. Hence, he hurriedly moved his left arm and grabbed the spear with both hands.

Rumble―!

Even then, Gustaf still got pushed far back, creating two deep furrows. A cloud of dust rose above them.

Pzzzz!

When the cloud of dust subsided...

『... Oh, no.』

Gustaf was bewildered. His initial plan of fighting Chang-Sun with only one hand and without moving from his spot had been ruined. Not only did he use both hands, he even got unexpectedly pushed quite a distance away. On top of that...

‘... My spearhead cracked.’ Gustaf narrowed his eyes.

His favorite weapon, which was also a treasure of the great ‘Rhaegaren,’ had slightly cracked, serving as an indication of how great Chang-Sun’s strength was. In disbelief, Gustaf raised his head and saw Chang-Sun faintly smiling in contentment as he made the cloud of dust go away.

“What’s the end result?” Chang-Sun asked.

Gustaf couldn’t help smiling bitterly. A warrior spoke with honor and pride, which meant they should never lie. And even if he could lie, Chang-Sun’s skills and the speed of how quickly he became stronger were enough to enthrall him.

‘Maybe this man can grant our greatest wish...!’ Gustaf thought as he loosened up and slammed the end of his spear against the ground, making the Dungeon shake.

Thump!

Gustaf yelled.

『As the first gatekeeper of the ‘Rhaegaren,’ I, Gustaf, announce the contender Lee Chang-Sun’s victory.』

[You have defeated the first gatekeeper!]