CHAPTER 334: ENHANCEMENT (1)

【Fourth, it assists in the complete healing and full recovery of a total of three people, including yourself.

Complete healing means the total eradication of all malignant elements in the body, including incurable and chronic diseases, while complete recovery means restoring someone to their maximum health.

It is also possible to revive a person who has died only a short while ago, but there are variables caused by post-mortem changes due to the delay in time.】

‘So, it’s essentially three lives? Or rather, three opportunities to grant a new life.’

Kang-hoo’s eyes gleamed.

The fact that it could even influence parts of the body that are medically difficult to treat, like incurable diseases and chronic illnesses…

That meant it could eradicate things like cancer cells. Without a doubt, this was a transcendent power.

‘As expected of a Constellation’s ability.’

If it were a hunter’s ability, it would seem strange, but for a power wielded by a Constellation, it made sense.

Come to think of it, this was the same miracle that Saintess of Salvation Elizabeth had performed in the original story.

However, she had saved a significant number of people with her touch, likely related to special privileges she received afterward.

‘I have a feeling I’ll end up using this for something meaningful. If there’s someone precious I desperately want to save, I could use it without hesitation.’

Kang-hoo once again engraved the fourth privilege of the Angel of the Battlefield into his mind. Its meaning was extremely profound.

At the same time, he hoped he would never have to use it.

Because that would mean someone dear to him was suffering.

He especially wished he would never need to use it on himself.

Next, Kang-hoo checked the information on the Constellations he had plundered.

The limousine was running smoothly toward Seoul Station, and thanks to that, the aftermath of Mad Solarkium had also passed without issue.

Although he had felt as if his body would sink into the ground and had slipped into a semi-exhausted state, the soft seat had endured him well.

The first plundered Constellation he checked:

The name didn’t seem particularly impressive, but the contents were completely different.

【Sage】

【Provides a large amount of experience points to the contractor all at once. The lower the level, the greater the impact.】

‘Ah, so that’s why?’

Kang-hoo finally realized why his status window had been blinking since earlier.

The Sage Constellation required a confirmation step to acquire the experience points it provided.

It seemed that the contractor could adjust when to receive the experience points based on their will.

There was no reason to delay it.

Whether he received it now or later, the total amount of experience points would be the same anyway.

If he was going to enjoy the thrill, it was better to do it at a lower level. Kang-hoo immediately pressed the accept button.

【Your level has skyrocketed to 320!】

“302? No… 320?”

Kang-hoo was startled when he saw the massive jump in his level. His level had increased by a whopping 28 levels!

He thought it had only gone up by about 10 levels from 292, but he had misread the numbers. He needed to swap the positions of the 0 and 2.

Because of that, the Constellation that gave Kang-hoo the spinning wheel at every 100-level interval suddenly appeared.

【The Constellation ‘Master of Shell Games’ stresses that the opportunity to choose a reward to give you has arrived.】

“Wait. Just wait. I’ll spin it after I check everything else first. There’s no rush.”

【The Master of Shell Games urges you to spin the wheel immediately. He insists he has a good feeling.】

“Stand by for now.”

He silenced the nagging Master of Shell Games and checked his level again. It was definitely 320.

He allocated all the points earned from leveling up into Agility. It felt strange to raise it by 28 just from bonus points.

At the same time, he thought this Constellation must have helped Yuji quite a bit as well.

Levels were like betting money: the higher they were, the more challenges you could take on and the more growth paths would open.

He could not deny that the Sage Constellation had been a great help in Yuji reaching the level he had. Of course, now he was dead.

Enjoying the pleasure of his skyrocketing level, Kang-hoo looked at the next Constellation list with satisfaction.

【Technician of the Abyss】

【Consume 2 of your stats to convert them into 1 distribution point.】

“This could be useful if my Mana pointlessly goes up, or if I need to clear out unnecessary stats.”

Although the conversion efficiency was poor at 50%, it seemed acceptable when stat adjustments were necessary.

Especially for Kang-hoo, who always needed to maintain the condition of having less than 50 Mana, it was a useful adjustment tool.

【Falling Leaves in the Autumn Wind】

【Leaves a special mark on all contracted hunters of Wind of the God or any Constellations subordinate to it.

You can choose the shape of the mark from the symbols below, and the target will not be aware that they are marked.】

‘This is…’

This was no ordinary Constellation.

He had never expected to plunder from Yuji a Constellation that was extraordinary by nature.

It was the first time there had been such a specific mention of the Wind of the God in relation to a Constellation’s abilities.

As expected…

【It seems we’ll have a lot to discuss.】

【I must absolutely deal with that one.】

【Is it affiliated with the Dark Sanctuary?】

【No. It’s likely neutral.】

【How does it know about the Wind of the God? Even I am an existence who does not know about it.】

【It is showing extremely hostile reactions toward us. It says the Dark Sanctuary cannot be trusted either?】

【It’s one of those that cannot lie.】

The main Constellations all began to speak up one after another, especially Cataclysm – Darkness and Seeker of Pure Darkness.

For now, Kang-hoo chose the sword-shaped mark dripping with blood as the symbol.

The fact that it was connected to the Wind of the God meant it also had a connection with the Demon King.

Such a being would inevitably lead to conflict, and there would rarely be room for compromise.

He wouldn’t be able to learn anything from the Falling Leaves in the Autumn Wind Constellation right away.

Before he could even pressure it, the Constellations had already clung to it. For the time being, he would have to leave it alone.

【Eccentric】

【Increases the cost of using the same skill threefold, but creates effects twice as powerful as the original.】

【Mischievous Betrayer】

【Provides all internal information on five dungeons for which there is no prior data.

To acquire the internal information, you must have been within a 9m radius of the dungeon at least once.】

The last two Constellations had also been checked.

The Eccentric Constellation seemed useful if one sought maximum damage without regard to efficiency.

As for the Mischievous Betrayer Constellation, it was extremely appealing. When attempting to clear a dungeon without internal data—a scenario feared by most hunters—it would prove invaluable.

After all, there were numerous dungeons that hunters hesitated to clear, even when it was certain that the rewards inside were abundant.

The presence or absence of internal data determined success or failure, and the gap in possibilities was vast.

Being able to hand over that information in its entirety was an enormous advantage.

It would have been better if the opportunities were unlimited, but even five was by no means few. It would undoubtedly be helpful at a decisive moment.

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About ten minutes away from Seoul Station.

Beyond the limousine, which had stopped at a crosswalk, countless electronic billboards stretched endlessly.

It was said to be a recently established billboard street.

If the billboards displayed diverse images, he might have understood the intent, but upon checking, all of them featured the Jeonghwa Guild.

In particular, there was a notice recruiting hunters to participate in the righteous battle against The Abyss.

Practically every popular celebrity was appearing, imploring viewers to make a righteous choice.

Though they were nothing more than paid spokespersons, the aftertaste was bitter.

At this point, the city could just as well be called “Jeonghwa” instead of “Seoul,” for everything was one-sided.

The increase in support for The Abyss was only reflected on social media; the reality of Seoul remained unchanged.

If anything, the frequency and intensity of propaganda had increased. The demonization of The Abyss was still ongoing.

‘Still, thanks to the reward from the Shell Game wheel, my mood isn’t all that bad.’

Kang-hoo’s gaze dropped downward.

In his palm was a cube-shaped space whose transparency could be adjusted at will.

When Kang-hoo focused his mind, the space disappeared from view.

To anyone else, it would appear as nothing but empty air, but Kang-hoo nonchalantly pulled something from it: a small vial containing Each God Pill.

He pushed the small vial back into the space, and when he focused again, it vanished as if it had never existed.

This was, broadly speaking, a rare item, and one that Kang-hoo absolutely needed.

【Subspace – Stage 1】

【A 50cm x 50cm x 50cm subspace. No one but the user can activate it.】

【Consume one red magic stone to expand it into ‘Subspace – Stage 2’.

The required materials for each stage differ, and any materials used for expansion are consumed.】

‘To think I’d obtain Subspace like this…’

He had never imagined it.

In novel terms, this was a fortuitous encounter.

Of course, it wasn’t completely nonsensical.

In the original story, there had been a tale of a low-level hunter unexpectedly acquiring Subspace by finding a twisted rift in a dungeon.

However, Kang-hoo had used the Shell Game wheel to obtain the reward legitimately(?).

At level 100, he had gotten Skill Copy.

At level 200, a random skill book that granted him Flame of Death.

He had already profited greatly from the wheel before, but this 300-level reward was the crowning jewel.

‘If I recall correctly, the maximum stage of Subspace was quite high.’

Retracing his memories of the original story, the maximum stage mentioned for tiered Subspace was 35.

He even remembered it being said to be large enough to hold an entire small city.

At that level, it would be possible to isolate someone inside Subspace forever, completely severing them from the world, or simply kill them outright.

The issue of obtaining Subspace, which he had planned to go through a complicated process for, had been resolved in one go, and he felt relieved.

For now, the current size of his Subspace would only function as a storage space for Mad Solarkium at best.

At least Stage 3 would be necessary for it to be truly useful, and to upgrade to Stage 2, a red magic stone was required.

In other words, the baseline cost was one trillion won.

“Guess I won’t have to worry about running out of ways to spend money.”

Kang-hoo let out a dry laugh.

As expected.

No matter how much money one made, it was never enough.

A trillion won?

That money would vanish with a single click to expand Subspace. At this rate, one’s sense of economy was bound to grow dull.

Still, he was in a good mood.

Because even on a global scale, he was now among the fewer than twenty owners of Subspace.

There would be countless opportunities to use it in the future.

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Ten minutes later.

Kang-hoo met Yu Cheonghwa in front of Seoul Station.

Though the market she managed under the direct operation of the Shinto Guild was quite a distance away, she had come out to greet him.

She had been in a good mood from this special treatment, and as soon as she saw Kang-hoo, Yu Cheonghwa showed him the tablet PC she was holding.

It was a real-time breaking news video.

On the broadcast, employees from the Public Safety Bureau were shown recovering the body of Ishihara Yuji.

“This is amazing, isn’t it? You took down the serial killer that the joint cooperation of the Public Safety Bureau from Korea, China, and Japan couldn’t catch?”

Her eyes sparkled.

She had known since the first time they met that Kang-hoo was no ordinary hunter, but this time he had caused a truly major incident.

Wasn’t that the case?

He had achieved a feat that made everyone at the Public Safety Bureau, who had been desperately chasing Yuji’s trail, look like fools in an instant.

With this, it was inevitable that interest in Kang-hoo would skyrocket.

The reason she had taken the time to come out and meet Kang-hoo was because orders had just come down from above.

Shinto Guild Master Go Cheon-yeong. He had personally instructed Yu Cheonghwa to recruit Kang-hoo.

Even Go Cheon-yeong—who was notorious for his bias and prejudice toward hunters who weren’t Chinese—

…could not resist the temptation of Kang-hoo’s recent exploits.