Chapter 149

In an instant, the darkness consumed the surrounding objects, expanding its reach before finally disappearing with a massive explosion that wiped out a portion of the forest.

“Gasp…”

When the explosion subsided, Jun-sang found himself naked and slumped on the ground a short distance from the blast’s epicenter. To think someone would self-destruct like that right in front of him… Considering that the opponents he had faced before had clung to life until the very last moment, this was truly hard to predict. And the absurd power of the blast!

There was no time to evade the sudden turn of events, but Jun-sang quickly remembered a new card he had recently acquired and tried to equip it. The card was called ‘Iron Wall.’ It was a defensive card that not only enhanced his defense but also increased his resistance to all attributes. When equipped, Jun-sang gained a whopping 89% physical resistance, yet even with that, he couldn’t completely block the damage from the self-destruction. If it had been any other Returnee, they would have been torn to shreds without a trace.

“Phew…”

First, he opened his inventory to check if his cloak and boots were safe. Thanks to his quick reflexes in putting them away, the two items were not damaged. Jun-sang let out a sigh of relief. If those two items had been damaged, he wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night.

He looked ridiculous, but he put on the cloak and boots again and was about to leave in a hurry when he noticed a dark seed on the ground. Perhaps due to the explosion, the black haze emanating from it was very faint, but when he picked it up and examined it, it was in perfect condition without a single scratch.

What on earth was this thing?

But before he could ponder the question, the dark seed vanished from his hand, and the quest information was updated with a completion message.

Reclaim the Dark Seed.

: This evil seed of darkness is an object that should not exist in this world. Sanction the user and reclaim the Dark Seed.

[This is a solo quest.]

-> Complete!

Reward: A little bit of experience, Special Mission Reward Box.

-> Would you like to receive the reward now? (Y/n) _(Warning) Unclaimed rewards will be automatically deleted after 7 days.

“…”

He didn’t know if it was because there was no significant fight or because his opponent was weak, but unlike all the previous dark seed reclamation quests, the experience was listed as “a little bit.” He clicked his tongue, thinking he had just wasted his clothes, and quickly concealed himself before anyone could see him.

He was about to leave the spot in a hurry when he heard the sound of large wings flapping in the sky. He quickly looked up and saw two bizarre-looking figures with human bodies and large bird wings flying toward him. They, too, were without a doubt emitting a black haze from their heads like a halo.

[You have met the conditions to activate a special mission.]

[You have met the conditions to activate a special mission.]

The same message popped up twice in a row, followed by the dark seed reclamation quest activating twice in a row. Jun-sang frowned. It was annoying enough to face them one by one, but two at once?

Jun-sang first moved away from the blast center and into the forest. He watched as they descended from the sky.

“Did… he self-destruct?”

The short-haired woman, who was the first to land, transformed her wings back into arms and spoke. The long-haired woman who followed transformed her body in the same way and replied, “You saw that black explosion just now. That’s a phenomenon that can’t happen without self-destruction.”

“That’s true… but I just can’t believe that cricket bastard would self-destruct.”

“I know.”

He ignored the fact that they were walking around in tank tops in the cold weather; what stood out the most was their ominous appearance even from a distance. They looked around for a moment and then transformed their arms back into wings.

“He’s definitely dead, right?”

“That’s what self-destruction is for.”

“He was a decent one at running away, even if he was a pain. It’s a little bittersweet.”

“Let’s go. Before people show up.”

“Right.”

The two women took to the air and began to move, gliding low over the forest. Jun-sang, who didn’t even have time to get dressed, followed them with Phase Shift. Perhaps conscious of other people’s eyes, they moved quickly, hiding among the trees, but they were slower than the self-destructing man, and even if he lost sight of them, their markers remained on the minimap, so tracking them was not a problem.

After a long time, the two women flew down onto a small house in the forest. It was an old house that looked like it had been built a long time ago, and it was so poorly maintained that it felt more like an abandoned building.

When the markers of the two women stopped inside the house, Jun-sang stopped his pursuit and took out his cabinet to get dressed first. He felt a sense of déjà vu. He felt like he had been in a situation like this before. Jun-sang shook his head at the thought and returned the cabinet with his clothes to his inventory. The explosion that had gone off right in front of his face had literally made his head feel like it had been hit by a bomb, and there was some soot on his body, but he didn’t have time to worry about it.

After getting dressed, Jun-sang infiltrated the abandoned house using Phase Shift. He quietly passed through the overgrown yard and saw a few people talking in the living room, where all the windows were broken.

“The cricket self-destructed? Are you sure about that?”

“If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself.”

Jun-sang frowned. The moment he saw them, a message appeared before his eyes again.

[You have met the conditions to activate a special mission.]

[You have met the conditions to activate a special mission.]

This time, there was a man who looked a bit slick and a man with a small stature who was sitting hunched over with a gloomy expression. When he checked their abilities with ‘Insight,’ they, like the man who had self-destructed, were all marked with green flags. But, even if their abilities were lower than Jun-sang’s, four of them at once?

In addition, from their conversation, it seemed that the previous man had been acting with them.

“What happened? He’s not the type to do that, is he?” The man with the slick appearance spoke, and the man with the gloomy expression stammered in response, “Besides… if he’s determined to run… no one can catch him…”

Then, the short-haired woman who had been listening to the men’s words cautiously spoke. “Maybe… he came, didn’t he?”

“…”

At her words, the expressions of the four men and women in the living room hardened all at once. There was a moment of silence, and then the long-haired woman said with an anxious expression, “No way. Even if he broke the taboo…”

Then the slick-looking man started swearing. “Damn it! I told you to stop pigging out!”

The long-haired woman was immediately furious at his words. “You son of a b****! Who are you to swear at me? And was it just me who ate? Huh? Was it just me? Who was the one who happily laughed and ate the female police officers and caused this to happen in the first place? Huh? Say something!”

“Damn it…”

Jun-sang, hiding quietly in the shadows, listened to their conversation and began to ponder what to do. It would be too dangerous for him, even Jun-sang, to charge out and face all of them at once. So, he had to wait for them to split up… but from what he heard, they seemed to be a group that had been together for a while, so waiting for one of them to be alone was not going to be an easy task.

While he was contemplating what to do, the gloomy-looking man who had been sitting quietly suddenly sniffed his nose and stood up abruptly.

“Wh… Who’s there!”

Jun-sang frowned. The weakness of invisibility was that it was useless against senses other than sight, and it seemed that this man’s ability included such a detection capability. Should he charge out now?

But right then.

The gloomy-looking man sniffed his nose again and said with a surprised expression, “Th-this is… the cricket’s scent?”

“What?”

At the man’s words, the expressions of the other three men and women, who had been cautiously raising their power in preparation for a possible situation, hardened terribly.

“N-no way… Is he…”

The man mumbled to himself, then shook his head and said again, “No. This scent isn’t his… But if so…”

As long as that man had the sense of smell, a surprise attack using invisibility wouldn’t work. So what should he do?

After thinking for a moment, Jun-sang had an idea. He had been found out anyway. Jun-sang concluded that he needed to take a risk to get more information.

“…”

Once he made a decision, Jun-sang’s actions were fast. He immediately unleashed ‘Gaze of Fear,’ ‘Evil Eye,’ and ‘Mad Dog’s Dignity’ at the same time and revealed himself in front of them.

“Gasp!”

“Wh-what is this…”

The four men and women gasped as a man with a cloak draped over his body, hair soaring like a lion’s mane, and dark skin appeared out of nowhere as if by magic, emitting a crimson aura from his eyes. Thanks to the power of the dark seeds, they didn’t fall into a status effect immediately like ordinary people. However, they couldn’t help but feel fear invading their minds, paralyzing their limbs, and a disgusting aura emanating from Jun-sang’s body that made them want to run away at a moment’s notice.

Who could possess such incredible power?

A Returnee?

Not even close. At least as far as they knew, Returnees didn’t have that much power yet. There had been a rumor that one of their kind had been hunted down by Returnees in Seoul a while ago, but it was known that it was not a single person but a group of them who had done it.

So who was this man?

Who was he that his mere presence could make them tremble in fear?

The four men and women came to the same conclusion at the same time, and they found the answer within their own knowledge.

“F-forgive our rudeness, Seven Stars.”

The gloomy-looking man shouted this and bowed his head, and the other three men and women quickly bowed their heads and shouted.

“W-we’re sorry we didn’t recognize you.”

“We greet the Seven Stars.”

“It is an honor to meet the master of the seven stars.”

Jun-sang frowned at the four men and women who were all shouting the same thing. Of all the things to be mistaken for, it had to be a name as embarrassing as that.

The Seven Stars.

The Master of the Seven Stars.

Wasn’t that a nickname that would make a person kick their blanket in the middle of the night and get up to do gymnastics in the moonlight?

But as Jun-sang’s expression soured with that thought, the four men and women immediately prostrated themselves on the floor. They thought that the cricket must have gotten on this man’s nerves. They didn’t know why he had killed himself with the worst possible method, self-destruction, but his end was definitely related to this man.

They thought that, and at the same time, they were frantically trying to find a way to avoid the sanctions that would be placed on them.