Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 223: Star, the Fog of War (3)

chapter 223: star, the fog of war (3)

nyom, nyom!

really liking the snacks, cadmus had its head inside the bowl that minerva had brought. finding cadmus adorable, minerva quietly laughed and stroked its head, which made it giggle in delight. meanwhile, chang-sun was...

[you have consumed ‘nektar’!]

[your damaged cells are quickly recovering, and your hp and mana are swiftly being replenished.]

[the balance of your soul and body has been restored.]

...

[the level of your authority ‘kalokagathia’ has increased.]

[you have temporarily entered the ‘eternal youth’ state!]

... gulped down minerva’s gift and slowly recovered. chang-sun opened his eyes again, which had become sharp. his fatigue had disappeared, and his stamina had recovered fully—no, it felt as if his class itself had increased.

‘it even solved the imbalance caused by the divinity absorption,’ chang-sun thought.

eternal youth wasn’t just about rejuvenating the elderly or healing one’s chronic illness. it was also the start of immortality, which was equal to gaining divinity. in addition, it also increased one’s class, bringing the person closer to .

‘i didn’t expect her to give me [nektar].’

[nektar] was one of the most valuable treasures in . drinking it gave even an ordinary person eternal youth and pushed a hero closer to achieving . when drank by a celestial, it would increase that celestial’s divine class. [nektar] was often compared to [azure essence[1]], [ten-thousand year tuber fleeceflower[2]], or [golden apple]. it was even sometimes considered as effective as the [forbidden fruit], which was known to be the greatest elixir.

minerva was one of the greatest celestials of , but even she likely didn’t have that many [nektar] in her possession. if she did have a lot, she would have already given them to her subordinates and it wouldn’t have been difficult to win the war against the ‘gemini.’ nevertheless, minerva had given chang-sun [nektar], indicating how grateful she was to chang-sun.

‘i’m in her debt again.’

chang-sun had surely said that he had repaid the debt he had because of [zhan lu sword] by helping minerva in the war against the ‘gemini.’ perhaps minerva also thought she was just repaying her debt by giving chang-sun [nektar], or maybe she simply wished to maintain their good relationship.

‘maybe it’s both.’

it was definitely not bad for chang-sun. after all, he was now enjoying a luxury that he couldn’t even get as the ‘divine twilight.’

‘it wasn’t as tasty as i expected it would be.’

in contrast to the rumors, [nektar] wasn’t as sweet as honey or as fragrant as flowers, but it was really fresh. it felt as if the [nektar] would freshen up both his body and soul.

“how are you feeling?” minerva asked.

“a lot better all thanks to you.”

minerva examined chang-sun. while up against the ‘gemini,’ she was wearing armor, but she was just in her daily clothes now, making her look very benevolent.

“you’re definitely...different,” minerva mumbled.

chang-sun knew the hidden meaning behind minerva’s remark. he had become incomparably stronger than the last time they met. in addition, chang-sun looked like a mortal named lee chang-sun, not the ‘divine twilight,’ who had transcended.

“i sure am,” chang-sun replied.

“can i ask what happened?”

“you have to keep this a secret,” chang-sun continued.

“in the end, your priority is to repel all the celestials of the other planes and stop them from influencing earth.”

thanatos suggested that idea since earth had to stay neutral.

“so i have to get rid of all the and celestials of earth.” chang-sun summarized.

“yes, that is the only way to close all the dungeons and keep your family safe... that way, i’ll finally be able to catch my breath as well. we’ll start our fight afterward.”

“you’re asking me to become a celestial of earth.”

“why? do you not like it?” thanatos asked.

“no, but it’s a bit funny.”

chang-sun found it funny because, from the perspective of earth’s people, a worthless alcoholic was turning into a god in a matter of days. of course, chang-sun didn’t reject thanatos’ idea. chang-sun had never liked the fact that the and celestials were meddling in the affairs of his hometown in the first place, so he wished to close all the dungeons, which were the reason he ended up in arcadia in the past.

his goals were certainly possible to achieve if he could turn earth into his territory, so he readily agreed to thanatos’ plan. what made his plan even better was that it also came with the upside of steadily supplying chang-sun with faith. however, to succeed, chang-sun had to... get rid of or conquer all the existing clans—the celestials’ religious orders—on earth.

“won’t they come to their senses if they are kicked out penniless?” chang-sun smiled, making minerva also smile but bitterly so.

if she didn’t cooperate with chang-sun, the illuminati, her religious order, would end up one of his victims. she thought chang-sun would be more than capable of accomplishing his goal.

“fine. joachim wolff will make a good apostle anyway.” minerva readily nodded.

up until now, she had never interfered with how the illuminati operated because of her principle to not affect the unless she had to. right now, she felt it necessary to interfere. too many people had twisted or stretched her words for their own profit. unlike them, joachim would make for a really good apostle.

‘but he isn’t as good as this child in front of me,’ minerva thought.

finding it even more of a shame that she didn’t get to make chang-sun her apostle, minerva asked, “what’s your second request?”

“can you get me a ticket to by any chance?” chang-sun asked.

“hmm...?” minerva’s eyes widened upon hearing the unexpected request.

* * *

this universe had places collectively known as the or the seven prohibited areas. the history behind how these places were created, their , legends... nothing was known about them, but they still inspired wonder and admiration.

one of the was , which was created from the remains of mysterious stars that had been accumulating for a very long time. eventually, the place became a popular vacation spot for many celestials. since vital forces of stars seeped out from its ground, many wounded celestials visited it to recover.

although the place was charming enough to make many covet it, no one—not even the or the —had ever dared try conquering this place. too many celestials were involved with the due to its exceptional healing ability. moreover, the that managed it couldn’t be taken lightly.

was under the management of and , which were from the absolute good faction and the absolute evil faction respectively. these incarnations of dualism, the absolute truth and the balancing weights that made up the universe, worked together to protect the . hence, no one dared even try invading it.

as a result, the eventually became a neutral zone. it was opened not only to the celestials in the two that managed it but also to celestials from other . and regularly hosted various events to liven up the place, and the , which chang-sun mentioned, was one of those events.

while creating in various locations, celestials naturally accumulated different kinds of treasures, some of which were bound to be unnecessary to them. that was why many celestials wished to make exchanges. since the was a neutral zone, and hosted a large-scale event that allowed celestials to exchange treasures freely and easily. it naturally became a tradition. eventually, a proper auction house was even built.

chang-sun planned to visit that place, but he was currently just a mortal, which meant he would never be allowed to enter. however, he had to participate in the auction no matter what because of the information he had received from the emperor’s seat.

“some of kali’s priests got captured by the other hunting parties and ended up in the house... i was going to buy them all.”

kali’s priests, the elfin root’s siblings, were going to be the lots.

1. the raw is 공청석유. this is the concept of elixir that appears often in korean wuxia novels. although the definition differs depending on the novel, it usually refers to the essence that is created when the energy of nature is accumulated in one place and found deep inside a cave. ☜

2. this is another famous concept of elixir in korean wuxia novels, but tuber fleeceflower is actually used as an herb in real life. ☜