Stigma of Pyxis I

[As expected, so you were the Heaven-defying Star.]

The silver-haired goddess slightly nodded her head, as if she had predicted it.

"Yes, that is correct,"

Ohjin replied with a composed voice.

But of course,

'Holy shit.'

Opposite of his calm expression, his heart was pulsating vigorously.

'She really believed it.'

They were gods born from constellations.

Albeit they weren't 'The one and only almighty God' that Christians referred to, they were transcendent beings with power and authority way beyond the reach of mere humans.

Just now, he ended up deceiving a 'god'.

[Although I would like to have a detailed conversation about the experiences you've had]

The Goddess observed the surroundings.

Grrrrr—

Ferocious growls.

The Ant-horn's were staring at her with eyes full of wariness.

[These insignificant beings are in the way.]

The Goddess let out a short sigh and glanced at Ohjin.

'Is she telling me to eliminate them?'

Her look said, 'I want to confirm the level of skills a Regressor has'.

'Fuck, It's too late to back out now.'

"I'll eliminate them."

[Hmm, I'm looking forward to just how powerful the strength of the Heaven-defying Star will be.]

"I'm currently—"

[Ah, I'm already aware. Even though you've returned from the future, your body should still be the one from this world. Don't feel pressured; fight as you normally would.]

'Damn it. Those are the words that make me feel pressured the most.'

"Huuu."

While letting a large breath out, he raised his body.

Even without turning on the micro-LED hidden inside his clothes, a subtle light started to flow out of his left chest.

An overflowing power.

His body felt light—as if he had put down all the baggage he was carrying over his shoulder.

'This is… the body of an Awakener.'

Although it was just 1-Star, the difference was clear.

A domain one could never reach with ordinary training.

A body of one that was beyond the scope of human beings, the body of a supernatural being.

'However.'

Even with a body like that, Lee Shinhyuk had unseemingly run away from the monsters.

That thought didn't serve to criticize him.

'It just meant that the monsters were that powerful.'

Could he, who had Awakened just a few minutes ago, be the opponent of dozens of Ant-horns?

'This isn't the time to think about things like that.'

Even if he held on to the hem of her dress, begging her to save him, it would be impossible for her to personally eliminate the monsters.

'The celestials called it something along the lines of commandments—it restricted them from directly intervening in this world.'

The reason why they granted stigmas to Awakeners and made them fight with monsters was the same.

'If that's the case…'

There were no methods other than fighting by himself.

Grip—

He grabbed and raised the spear that had fallen on the ground.

The spear Lee Shinhyuk had used.

The spear's blade glowed with a blue hue and started to head towards the monsters.

"GGrrrrrrr!!"

As he aimed his spear towards the Ant-horns, they fiercely howled out.

Two Ant Horns approached him at a fast speed.

"Hmpt!"

Lowering his stance, he jabbed his spear out like a spring.

Crack!—

The shell of the Ant-horn that had remained unfazed by the bullet was easily destroyed, splattering out green blood.

"Krr!"

The Ant-horn from the opposite side tried to aim for the gap that was created.

Ohjin moved his body back naturally, as if he were water, and used the spear's shaft to uppercut its chin.

Spin—

Easily rotating the spear that reached two meters, he pierced through the Ant-horn's belly.

[Oho, not bad.]

The goddess spoke out shortly after seeing him move with no unnecessary movements.

'…Huh?'

Rather, the one who was surprised was Ohjin himself.

'There's no way it's this easy.'

His body moved naturally, as though he had been handling the spear for years.

No matter how easy the spear was to use, to feel 'familiarity' from a weapon he had used for the first time in his life was definitely weird.

-Ring!

[The Black Heaven is reading through the 'Records' contained in the stigma of Pyxis.]

[The Black Heaven's awakening stage is too low. The amount of records that can be read are restricted.]

[Part of Awakener Lee Shinhyuk was successfully inherited.]

[Skill "Spearmanship of Pyxis Lv4" has been acquired.]

As if in answer to his questions, the message window appeared.

And then,

"Agh!"

Hot.

The pain of scorching hot iron skewers pierced his skull.

Alongside this dizzy and intense pain, the scenery changed.

-Pant, Pant!

Inside his head spread an unfamiliar scene.

In an empty space with no one around, the appearance of Lee Shinyuk endlessly jabbing out his spear could be seen.

-Argh!

Even though he was shaking like he would collapse at any moment, he didn't stop jabbing his spear.

-If I stop here… I'll never be able to catch up to Woohyuk.

Roughly chewing his dry lips, Lee Shinhyuk continued to jab his spear.

Over and over again.

He pushed himself to the limit.

'…This is?'

His vision gradually returned to normal.

'Lee Shinhyuk's… memories?'

Even if they were memories, they weren't memories of the past.

'There're scars I haven't seen before.'

On the face of the frantically training Lee Shinhyuk, a distinct scar that ran across from cheek to jaw could be seen.

A scar that couldn't be seen on the Lee Shinhyuk who he had met a few hours ago.

'If that's the case…'

Memories from the future.

To be more accurate, not from the Lee Shinhyuk who had died in vain, but the memories of the Lee Shinhyuk from the '1st Round' started to flow into him.

No.

What flowed into him were not simply memories.

"Gggrrrrrrr!!"

"Aahhhhhh!!"

In unison, all the Ant-horns surrounding the area rushed towards him.

"Hmpf!"

Similarly, he ran towards the Ant-horns that were closing the distance.

Crack!!—

The spear he had explosively jabbed out obliterated an Ant-horn's head.

"Graaaaa!

Another Ant-horn rushed in from the right side.

It was an 'Elder' that was one step larger compared to the other Ant-horns.

In the past, even his eyes wouldn't have been able to follow its movements, but—

"Too slow, you bastard!"

—it was different now.

Boom!—

He launched his body by slamming his spear against the ground.

Like a pole vaulter, his body explosively soared through the air.

Spin—

He rotated his body in midair as he grabbed onto the spear.

While the Elder Ant-horn that had lost its target was in a panic, he accurately pierced through its head.

Craaaack!!—

"That's right!"

An electrifying thrill ran from his spine through his body.

'I can do it!'

The power all over his body was boiling up.

Every single detail of the Ant-horns rushing towards him was engraved onto his retina.

'Slow down. Let's not get too excited.'

Collecting his breath, he kicked off the ground—widening the distance between him and the Ant-horns.

'Even if I inherited Lee Shinhyuk's skills, it doesn't change the fact I'm just a 1-Star awakener; I could die the moment I let my guard down.'

Crack! Crunch!—

He calmly swung his spear around and continued to reduce the number of Ant-horns.

'Were 1-Star Awakeners originally this strong?'

Even while simultaneously facing off against dozens of Ant Horns, he didn't feel tired at all.

It was hard to take in, considering the fact that Lee Shinhyuk was exhausted after taking on 3-4 Ant-horns.

'The dumbasses I saw weren't like this.'

'Your average 1-Star Awakener ran around like a baboon that had his house lit on fire when even two Ant-horns charged them.'

'…But why.'

Just how…

did it feel this 'easy'?.

[Hmm…]

The silver-haired goddess narrowed her eyes and looked towards Ohjin, who was fiercely fighting in the midst of the Ant-horns.

[Are you putting on a show for this lady's entertainment?]

'Show?'

'This is a show?'

'What kind of bullshit is she spouting this time?'

[If that's not the case, why aren't you using your 'stigma'?]

'What?'

Ohjin's eyes naturally headed towards the left side of his chest.

Not towards the fake stigma he had engraved with his knife but towards the stigma of Lyra that was giving off a subtle glow.

That's right.

Until then, it had only given off a subtle light.

Real stigmas would give off a much more brilliant light when used.

'Huh, then until now…'

He had been facing off against dozens of Ant-horns without even using his stigma.

[Ah, I see. Even if you're a Regressor, you wouldn't be able to use the newly established stigma freely.]

After thinking and coming up with her own conclusion, the goddess nodded her head like she had understood.

[For you, it must be the same as entering the body of a baby that's taking its first steps.]

Although it was nothing but the goddess's own misunderstanding, the reason seemed to make some sense.

He couldn't miss this chance, especially when the opposing side presented the opportunity.

He immediately nodded his head and answered.

"Yes, that's right. For me, this body is… exactly the same as a baby's body."

'Waah'

'Me baby Ohjin.'

[I see, then my role will be to help that baby finish its baby steps.]

'…Mama?'

[I'll help you so that you can use this lady's stigma easily.]

-Ring!

[Vega bestows upon you the Star's Blessing.]

[The stigma of Lyra's proficiency temporarily increases!]

Vega.

'Was that her name?'

'Huh?'

'Isn't that a name I've heard befo—?'

Bzzzzzt!!—

"Argh!"

Without room to continue doubting, blue lightning crackled across his entire body.

A blinding blue light explosively scattered out of the stigma on his left chest.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

"Grak, Graaaa!!"

The Ant-horns that were momentarily hesitant started to rush in again.

This time, they were in a formation with three Elders positioned in the middle.

"Huu…"

Inhaling, he lowered his stance.

Bzz, Bzzzzt!!—

The blue lightning that coiled around his body gathered around the spear's tip.

Swiftly straightening his crouched hips, he threw out his spear with blazing blue lightning.

'Now, let's see.'

How incredible the strength of the stigma of Lyra is.

[ "Blue Lightning Lv1" is activated.]

C R A C K L E ! ! ! ! !

The lightning storm spread from the spear's tip, swept the surroundings away, and turned the surrounding Ant-horns into ashes.

'W-What was that?'

One Strike.

With just one attack, the Ant-horns that numbered in the dozens were turned into ashes.

"G-Grr!"

"Kra!"

Within the lightning storm, the only survivors were the elder Ant-horns.

One of the elders that took the lightning head-on had died immediately.

"Grrrrrr! Graa!!"

"Kraaa!!"

Step step step step!—

The Ant-horns that had intuitively realized they were no match simultaneously turned their bodies and started to run away.

"…Hah."

With an overwhelmed expression, Ohjin absentmindedly watched the backs of the fleeing Ant-horns.

'Holy shit, what was that?'

That was not something a mere 1-Star Awakener could do.

2-Star, no, at minimum, you would need to be at least a 3-Star Awakener to even attempt to mimic it.

'Just… what is the stigma of Lyra?'

It was a constellation he had never heard of before.

[Hmm. Indeed, you're quick to learn—as expected of a Regressor.]

Vega looked down upon the earth that was scorched by lightning with a satisfied smile.

Ohjin's eyes headed towards her.

Silver hair that came down to her waist, a goddess with blinding beauty.

'Vega.'

The goddess's name he had confirmed through the system window popped up in his head once again.

'Hmm… Wait, Vega?'

At that moment, the faded memory of her name suddenly came to mind.

'Ve…ga?'

'Vega?'

'It's Vega?'

'No way.'

Ohjin's mouth opened wide.

"Star of the Weaver Girl…?"

[Hmm? Did you call this lady?]

Golden eyes that shined like gems headed towards him.

Shiver—

An electrifying sensation spread across his body.

"No fucking way…"

The celestials that numbered hundreds…

Even amongst those transcendental beings were 'leagues' of weaker and stronger authority.

Furthermore, after the 'league' of the celestial, the Awakeners that followed could be divided accordingly.

The celestials of the 12 Zodiacs were a staple.

Just being granted the stigma of one of the 12 Zodiacs would make one in a different league compared to other Awakeners.

-But even amongst them…

Existences that even the celestials of the 12 Zodiacs wouldn't dare to challenge.

The three stars known as the 'North Stars'.

Polaris, Deneb, Vega.

One of the top-rank celestials with a different 'league' other celestials wouldn't dare raise their heads to… was the identity of the goddess in front of his eyes.

'Huh? What, then am I currently…'

He could now understand why he, a mere 1-Star Awakener, was able to easily wipe out the Ant-horns that numbered dozens.

'Additionally, one more thing…'

'Scamming a top-rank celestial?'

He came to the realization that he was in the middle of an outrageous act.

'Fuck.'

He was screwed.