Chapter 8

I Am Not a Reincarnator Chapter 8

Hyenas (2)

"Son of a bitch!!"

The man, his face flushed red, spat out a coarse curse.

Even if he was a shameless robber who coveted others' prey, it seemed he still had affection for his parents.

It was a pity that his mother had already passed away and couldn't see him like this.

"Die!!!"

Whoosh!

A scar on his armor glowed.

The scar of the Hunting Dog constellation.

The power of the scar, which amplifies physical senses, filled his entire body.

-Whoosh!

A sword swung straight at his head.

It was fast, but the direction was too straightforward.

'This guy is really losing it.'

He calmly pulled his body back to avoid the attack.

The robber, who had accidentally split his companion's head and was mocked for it, was in a state of extreme agitation.

The sword strikes, devoid of reason, cut through the air in a monotonous line.

'This makes it easy.'

Even if he were a 3-star Awakened, in this state, he wouldn't be difficult to handle.

In fact, even if he were in a normal state, he would have been at a disadvantage.

There was a wall that couldn't be overcome with just a one-star difference between the lowly Hunting Dog constellation and the North Star constellation.

-Whoosh!!!

He easily dodged the sword aimed at his head and thrust his spear at the man's right side.

A sharp strike that found its mark.

-Kaang!!

"Ugh!"

The man, who seemed to be a 3-star Awakened, barely managed to block the spear with his sword.

But the attack didn't stop there.

"Isn't the Hunting Dog constellation supposed to amplify physical senses?"

He smirked.

If physical senses are amplified, the pain felt would also be amplified.

Then.

-Crack!!!

"Aaaaaah!!"

Blue lightning flowed from the tip of the spear.

A pained scream erupted from the man's mouth, which was holding the sword.

"Hmm!"

This was a golden opportunity he couldn't miss.

Like a snake climbing a pillar, the spear blade slid up the man's arm and pierced his neck without hesitation.

"Keh! Cough."

The man spat out a mouthful of dark red blood and rolled his eyes.

That was it.

It took less than five minutes for the two 3-star Awakened to fall.

'If they had fought properly, it would have been much harder.'

But there was no need to think about that.

This wasn't a sport, and there was no reason to fight fairly.

"Alright then."

Let's start farming humans.

-Scratch, scratch.

He hummed a tune as he stripped the two men of their armor and searched their pockets.

"Tch, what a waste. What's the point of being a 3-star if this is all you have?"

O Jin frowned as he checked the wallets.

Combined, they had 275,000 won.

For 3-star Awakened, this was a pitiful amount.

"Tch."

Of course, he could get more money if he used their cards, but even then, it would be difficult to use traceable cards freely.

While murders among Awakened inside the Gate are often overlooked, if he made it too obvious, the Association would send investigators.

"The armor... is pretty much ruined, so it's hard to sell."

Maybe he should just take their weapons.

He carefully gathered the two men's swords and attached them to his waist.

Taking their cards and using them would be risky, but such simple loot could be sold without anyone caring.

In a world where people died as easily as bugs on the road.

"...And."

O Jin narrowed his eyes.

He looked down at the left chest of the man whose armor he had removed.

Though hidden by the shirt, the scar of the Hunting Dog constellation should be there.

Even if it was of a low rank, it was still a 'scar.'

'I can probably absorb it with the Black Heaven.'

Actually, it was quite a risky move.

If he absorbed the 'Hunting Dog constellation scar' and Vega noticed, he would be in big trouble.

But.

'I remember the Black Heaven had a characteristic called 'Black Curtain.''

A characteristic that completely hides the aura of the Black Heaven.

'The reason Vega couldn't detect the Black Heaven was probably due to this characteristic.'

And the description mentioned that this characteristic could be applied to the 'owned scars' as well.

'Then,'

Absorbing the Hunting Dog constellation scar wouldn't be detected by Vega.

Since he had already confirmed that she couldn't detect the Black Heaven, there was no need to doubt its ability.

"Alright."

He smiled and placed his hand on the chests of the fallen men.

-Gurgle, gurgle.

Black clouds flowed from his fingertips.

The black clouds moved quickly to the scar as if they were starving.

-Ding!

['Black Heaven' is absorbing the 'Hunting Dog constellation scar.']

['The second blooming condition for 'Black Heaven' has been fully met!']

['Black Heaven' is beginning its second blooming!']

Gurgle, gurgle!!

The black clouds churned.

"Ugh!"

Darkness surged from his entire body.

Black clouds that had escaped from the Seven Holes enveloped his body.

-Crack.

A pain like a red-hot iron rod being inserted into his head.

Along with it,

['Black Heaven' is reading the 'record' contained in the Lyre constellation scar.]

['The blooming stage of 'Black Heaven' is low. The readable records are limited.']

Once again,

Lee Shin-hyuk's memories flooded his mind.

-...Are you awake?

The first thing he saw was the figure of a tall young man.

The young man looked down at Lee Shin-hyuk with a cold gaze.

With a dazed expression, Lee Shin-hyuk slowly raised his head and looked around.

His blurry vision gradually became clear.

'A hospital room?'

In the memory, Lee Shin-hyuk was lying in a spacious private room.

The date on the electronic clock on the wall was visible.

'November 21, 2020.'

Since it was now November 7, this was a memory from exactly two weeks later.

-Where is this...?

-It's a hospital.

-A hospital?

-You were unconscious for two weeks.

Lee Shin-hyuk, with wide eyes, repeated the question.

-Two, two weeks?

-Yes.

The young man, who seemed to be Lee Shin-hyuk's younger brother, nodded indifferently.

There was a cold, angry look in his eyes as he looked down at Lee Shin-hyuk.

-Why did you enter the Gate without permission?

-Well, that...

-I clearly told you to bring at least one of our guild members, didn't I?

-They all seemed busy.

-So you went in alone?

-...I'm sorry, Woo-hyuk. I thought it would be fine since it was a 1-star Gate.

-Hah.

The young man called Woo-hyuk sighed deeply.

Lee Shin-hyuk, looking very meek, bowed his head.

At that moment,

-Knock, knock.

There was a knock on the hospital room door.

Woo-hyuk, who had stood up, opened the door.

Through the gap, a woman wearing glasses was visible.

-Guild Master, do you have a moment?

-What is it?

-A new Gate was created in Mokdong on the 15th, right? This time, Chang-hyun found a holy relic in that Gate.

-Chang-hyun?

-Yes. But from what I heard, it's a bit strange...

Static.

The view flickered as if there was noise.

The voices of the two people gradually faded.

Then,

"Phew!!"

The pain in his head disappeared.

-Ding!

[You have successfully inherited some of the records of the Awakened, Lee Shin-hyuk.]

[The 'Spear Technique of the Compass Constellation Lv4' has been upgraded to 'Spear Technique of the Compass Constellation Lv5'.]

[You have learned 'Poor Excuse Lv2'.]

As the pain disappeared, a blue message box appeared before his eyes.

"Can I get more of Lee Shin-hyuk's memories as the Black Heaven blooms?"

O Jin slowly recalled the memories that had just flashed through his mind.

'Woo-hyuk. A new Gate created in Mokdong on the 15th. And.'

A holy relic (星喩物).

An artifact condensed with the power of the stars.

While the abilities of holy relics vary greatly, some are powerful enough to bridge the gap between 1-star and 2-star.

'So, in summary, a holy relic will appear in the Gate created in Mokdong eight days from now?'

Unexpected high-level information.

"This is..."

O Jin's eyes sharpened.

A golden opportunity to obtain a holy relic.

No, more than that.

"I can use it."

It would be a good lubricant to smoothly continue the 'con'.

'But, can't I read their records?'

O Jin tilted his head and looked down at the two men's bodies.

Since he had absorbed the Hunting Dog constellation scar, their memories should have flowed into him like Lee Shin-hyuk's, but there was no sign of it.

[The absorbed 'Hunting Dog constellation scar' is too faint.]

[Failed to read the records from the scar.]

Ah, that's it.

"Well, they look like they're lacking, so they probably don't have a strong scar."

Even if the Hunting Dog constellation is a low-rank constellation, it wouldn't be foolish enough to give a strong scar to such people.

'Anyway,'

It's a great harvest.

Not only did he reach 2-star, but the Black Heaven is also blooming.

'While I'm not sure if the blooming of the Black Heaven is entirely a good thing,'

He couldn't be sure if it was right to continue growing the Black Heaven.

The Black Heaven was an unknown and mysterious power.

But.

'I have no choice.'

Since he can obtain Lee Shin-hyuk's memories as the Black Heaven blooms, he can't stop now.

The most important thing for him, who is wearing the mask of a reincarnator, is the memories of a real reincarnator.

"Alright then."

O Jin closed his eyes and focused his mind.

A blue light emitted from his left chest.

'Let's see what the Hunting Dog constellation scar is like.'

When he used the scar, his physical senses were amplified several times.

Especially, his sense of smell became extremely sensitive.

"Ugh!"

He clamped his mouth and bent over, overwhelmed by the myriad of smells entering his nose.

The smell of the leaves rustling around him seemed to penetrate his nostrils one by one.

'This will take some getting used to.'

He shook his head and switched back to the Lyre constellation scar as if flipping a switch.

Since he couldn't use two scars simultaneously, his physical senses returned to normal when the Lyre constellation scar was activated.

-Crack! Crack!!

Blue lightning crackled around his body.

"Hmm?"

O Jin opened his eyes wide as he looked at the intense blue lightning crackling around him.

'The lightning has become stronger?'

For some reason, the blue lightning around him had become much more intense.

Crack! Boom!

He shot the lightning at the ground as a test, and it burned through with a heavy explosion.

'The power of the scar has definitely become stronger.'

The feeling was different from when he upgraded from 1-star to 2-star.

Back then, it felt like the 'amount' of the scar's power he could handle had increased, but now it felt like the 'quality' of the scar's power had deepened.

O Jin frowned, puzzled by the sudden change.

"Oh."

It didn't take long to find the answer.

'The power of the scar was adjusted according to the blooming stage of the Black Heaven.'

He had forgotten about it in the heat of the moment.

"...So, the power of the scar has been adjusted all this time?"

A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

'Then, how strong is Vega, the owner of the scar?'

A chill ran down his spine.

He reaffirmed in his mind that he must not be detected by her again.

"Let's get ready to go back."

Leaving the scattered bodies behind, he approached the corpse of the mutated Ant Horn.

When he searched the corpse, a black holy relic stone, about the size of a 500-won coin, appeared.

'A black one?'

Holy relic stones are usually blue.

"Hmm... How much can I sell this for?"

His eyes sparkled as he put the black holy relic stone in his pocket.

The weight of the two swords on his waist and the heavy pocket made him smile.

'If I sell the swords, I can get at least 50,000 won.'

With the mutated holy relic stone added to the regular one, he had made at least 3 million won in a day.

"Insane."

Long live the Awakened.

* * *

-Creak.

The rusty door opened, and a familiar musty smell tickled his nose.

"You're here?"

Haeun, leaning on a crutch, hurriedly approached.

"What's with you not lying in bed?"

O Jin asked, eyes wide.

"Are you kidding? Do I always lie in bed?"

She said this and slowly extended her hand.

Her white fingertips touched his cheek.

-Slowly.

Her hand traced his cheek, head, neck, and shoulders.

It was quite ticklish.

"...What are you doing?"

"..."

She sighed after thoroughly feeling his body without answering.

"You didn't come back beaten like a dog."

Ah, that's what it was.

He smiled.

"Why? Were you worried I might get hurt?"

"Well, if my bread shuttle breaks down, it's a big problem."

"What's a bread shuttle?"

"Hehehe! You've been my bread shuttle since the orphanage, haven't you?"

Haeun giggled and tapped his head.

"Come on~ What did my bread shuttle bring for dinner tonight~?"

"Oh, I forgot."

"Huh?"

"Puhaha! Just kidding. I brought a hamburger."

"A Whopper set?"

"A Guinness Whopper set."

"Will you marry me, sister?"

What is she talking about?

"Sure. Will you catch me, dear?"

"Eh? R, really?"

"No."

Geez.

"This brat, really!"

"Stop talking nonsense and let's go in."

He carried Haeun and moved her to the bed.

He handed her the hamburger set in the bag.

"..."

For some reason, Haeun didn't touch the hamburger.

"Why? Aren't you going to eat?"

"..."

An awkward silence fell.

Haeun, moving her lips, spoke cautiously.

"Are you... really the Apostle of the North Star?"

"Huh?"

"..."

She clenched her fist and continued.

"Just because you're the Apostle of the North Star, don't go into high-level Gates recklessly. Even if you're confident, always form a party before entering."

"Don't worry, I'll take thorough care of my safety."

"...Hmph. You always say that."

Haeun reached out and pinched his cheek.

"Your constellation is... Vega, right?"

"Right."

"...How is it?"

"What?"

She blushed slightly as he tilted his head and looked at her.

"Nothing, just. It's the famous Weaver Star, after all."

"..."

"Hey! Is Vega or something pretty?"

"Oh."

So that's what she was asking.

"Pretty."

She was so beautiful that it made his eyes spin.

-Squish.

"Aaaaah."

His cheek stretched, and a tingling pain spread.

"Why?"

"Just a bit annoyed."

"I feel so wronged."

Haeun pulled the blanket over her head and turned her back.

"Oh, right. I'm going there tomorrow."

"...Where?"

Peek.

Haeun lowered the blanket slightly and turned her head.

She tore open the hamburger wrapper and brought it close to her mouth.

"The Awakened Association."

Hmm.

Her small mouth took a bite of the hamburger.