Chapter 361

'An epic quest, it's been a while. But spoils, huh…'

The Graveyard of Stars, in essence, a tomb of Constellations.

The spoils buried here would undoubtedly belong to a Constellation.

'Even if those here were defeated, they once held the title of Constellations, so the spoils should be valuable items.'

And with a hundred thousand fame from Constellations on top of that.

This was a quest that absolutely had to be undertaken.

Had he known there was such an epic quest, he would have been more cautious with sealing his stats.

'But being in a sealed state… Could the epic quest reward be quadrupled too?'

He'll have to find out as he clears it.

Seong Jihan thought as much and accepted the epic quest.

Then,

[You refuse the sponsorship of Constellation ??]

The sponsorship from the Constellation was automatically declined.

-?? Did he just decline the sponsorship?

-Why decline? Wasn't it an entity that was initially refusing to sponsor?

-Just because of that petty reason, he's declining?

-Phew… I thought I was going to have to watch him take first place again, luckily I won't have to.

Alien viewers were perplexed by Seong Jihan's choice.

Declining sponsorship from a Constellation in this map was considered an absurd action.

Yet, Seong Jihan continued to do so.

[Constellation ?? offers to enhance your size to compensate for your weakness.]

[Constellation ??, impressed by your qualification for arrogance, promises full sponsorship.]

Initially declined, Constellations continuously sent overtures of love, all of which were refused by Seong Jihan.

-He's declining all Constellations at the starting point… Really gone mad haha.

-Just wants to quit the game fast, it seems.

-Isn't he being too careless just because he easily defeated one crocodile? The opponents will become significantly stronger as Constellations' sponsorships stack.

-Defeating Little Sun made him too arrogant…

While alien viewers commented, knowing nothing about the epic quest content,

Flash! Flash!

From afar within the map, new pillars of light began erupting.

Some were newly created, while others, previously existing pillars of light, expanded and brightened, showing an enhanced form.

'It seems another round of Constellations' sponsorship has begun.'

And with newly empowered pillars of light moving actively,

Those who received Constellations' sponsorship multiple times began searching for weaker opponents to attack relentlessly.

"There are still players who haven't received any sponsorship…!"

A giant bird resembling an eagle, who had sought out Seong Jihan, was one among them.

An opponent with a much stronger pillar of light than the one Seong Jihan had defeated earlier.

As it spread its wings wide,

Sizzle…

Intense electricity began to emanate from where it stood.

Along with that, the feathers composing its wings converted into electricity.

Half of the giant bird's body was then occupied by blue thunderbolts.

-A Thunderbird. With that level of electric power, it's quite skillful…

-That's why it received so much sponsorship from Constellations.

-Are we finally going to see his downfall?

-With the Thunderbird discharging that power from the sky, it's impossible to counter.

-He's done for hahaha

Alien viewers took Seong Jihan's defeat for granted.

That's how intense the thunder and lightning the Thunderbird summoned from the sky seemed.

Krrr!

Lightning poured down from its wings towards Seong Jihan.

Each strand of electric current was intense enough to pierce the earth.

Whoosh.

Seong Jihan instinctively took out the Phoenix Flag, attempting to exhibit Dragon Thunder, when he remembered,

'Ah, I'm in a sealed state.'

Zzzt…

The current erupting from the spear's tip was distinctly different from the usual Dragon Thunder.

Returning to the white color seen when he first used the Divine Thunder Decree.

'Even so, this seems more than enough.'

Perhaps due to the countless fierce battles with Dongbang Sak,

Seong Jihan's standards were significantly heightened.

The intense electricity unleashed by the Thunderbird seemed fraught with weaknesses from his perspective.

Swoosh.

Seong Jihan aimed his spear towards the sky.

Fundamental Divine Arts,

Divine Thunder Decree:

Striking Thunderbolt

From the ground to the sky, lightning ascended in reverse.

"To use the power of lightning against me…"

Initially, the giant bird sneered at this, but the Striking Thunderbolt rising from the Phoenix Flag moved as if alive, severing the Thunderbird's electric strands from their roots.

"Is it, could it have been hiding sponsorship? How…"

Bewildered by the exquisite movement, the Thunderbird attempted to gather more electric power, but before it could fully harness it, the Eclipse cut across the sky.

The Thunderbird's head flew off, falling to the ground from the sky.

Thump!

And simultaneously, the massive body of the Thunderbird crashed to the ground.

"Constellations' sponsorship, nothing much to it."

Seong Jihan glanced briefly at the vanishing corpse of the Thunderbird and surveyed his surroundings.

Far off, light pillars entangled, fighting each other.

Those must be players under Constellation sponsorship battling each other.

'To take first place, securing kills is paramount, I better hurry up and finish them off myself.'

Having assessed Constellations' sponsorship as not very threatening from facing two players, Seong Jihan decided to go on the offensive.

Whoosh!

His form vanished.

Before long, pillars of light here and there began dimming.

* * *

-Already 20 kills?

-Even without Constellations' sponsorship, to show such overwhelming dominance…

-He beat the Sun King's Little Sun, wouldn't he win here too? We were too hopeful haha.

-No, but with stats sealed, it's natural to assume… does that even make sense? lol

-All the summoned candidates here were promising Constellations, yet they're just getting swept aside;

Alien viewers who had been eager for Seong Jihan's defeat.

But the unfolding game did not align with their wishes.

'Continually challenging Dongbang Sak paid off.'

Zap!

A dragon's head sent flying into the distance.

Seong Jihan, even with only Martial Soul at his disposal, displayed might today that seemed even stronger than before his stats were sealed, easily overpowering his opponents.

[Are you sure only one stat is active? How is this possible? It seems even stronger than usual?]

"My stats are pretty useful. The infinite sparring helped too."

[Even so, still… Sigh…]

Watching Seong Jihan annihilating enemies, the Shadow Queen sighed, seemingly exasperated.

To her common sense, it was incomprehensible that a player with just one stat remaining could so effortlessly sweep aside opponents, even those enhanced by Constellations' sponsorship.

"Krh… Kugh…!"

Zap!

Easily overcoming an opponent enhanced three times, Seong Jihan glanced at the scoreboard.

With 20 kills to his name, and the second place with 8 kills, the gap between him and the second place had become insurmountable.

'At this rate, I could just run away and still win first place.'

Yet,

[Your level increases by 1.]

Due to his stats being sealed, downing 20 players resulted in a level up.

To reach level 500, he couldn't afford to dilly dally.

More opponents had to be eliminated to gain even one more level.

Seong Jihan searched the surrounding light pillars,

'Wonder what spoils I'll receive.'

Considering the mission as good as cleared, he pondered what rewards he would get.

'Or maybe, it'll be a random selection without choice. If it's something mediocre, the hundred thousand fame will be the main reward.'

With a hundred thousand constellation fame, he could upgrade his Constellations traits too.

Maybe compared to the unpredictable spoils from Constellations, this could be considered the main reward.

Meanwhile,

[Constellation ?? presses, really refusing to accept sponsorship?]

[Constellation ?? pleads, begging to at least accept sponsorship, promising immense rewards if you manage to escape the graveyard, offering you additional bonus conditions.]

[Constellation ?? attempts to enlighten you with BattleNet's secrets, claiming that with this knowledge, you could become an administrator, offering unreliable information.]

As Seong Jihan secured 1st place with still no Constellations supporting him, the static Constellations grew increasingly desperate to sponsor him.

Had it not been for the epic quest automatically declining them, he would have been bogged down in responding to each offer instead of progressing in the game.

'Why are these guys so persistent?'

Do they get released if the player they sponsor wins first place?

Seong Jihan frowned at the Constellations bombarding his message box.

Considering their behavior, their spoils didn't seem too promising.

Watching the Constellations' disgraceful acts, he began to worry about the rewards.

Zap!

He approached another player, mechanically separating yet another adversary.

"Damn it… the sponsorship from Constellations was cut off!"

"It's all because of that monster! The Constellations already think he's secured 1st place…"

"We must join forces against that man…! Defeat is inevitable otherwise!"

"Ha. As if that would work. That beast is on a different level… Better to score one more kill instead!"

The remaining players gathered to confront Seong Jihan, but now only 12 were left.

Defeated by his overpowering might, a few resolved instead to sneak in more kills, backstabbing other players.

'Really? They're fighting amongst themselves.'

Why are those I need to defeat for leveling up causing internal strife?

Seeing 12 light pillars entangled in combat, Seong Jihan quickly approached.

Time to conclude this special mission.

Ssshhh…

The shadow cast by the Eclipse Sword greatly expanded.

Just as Seong Jihan was about to end the game with this strike,

[Constellation ?? complains, asking what on earth is going on.]

[Constellation ?? outraged, questions why you're plundering items.]

[Constellation ?? declares this situation utterly intolerable and erupts in fury.]

Suddenly, Constellations that had been trying to curry favor with Seong Jihan now vehemently expressed their rage.

'Because of the spoils?'

Or, was the system already collecting them even before the game had finished?

Seong Jihan, seeing the Constellations' backlash in his message box, decided to swiftly eliminate the remaining players first.

Nameless Divine Art,

Triad of Martial Mastery:

Total Annihilation Horizontal Sweep

Just as the immense Eclipse Sword sliced horizontally,

Flash…!

The light pillars sponsoring the 12 players suddenly shone brilliantly.

Radiant pillars twinkled in a rainbow hue.

"What, what's going on…."

"Why are Constellations suddenly…!"

The fighting players momentarily paused, engulfed in a powerful blessing.

[We endure humiliation here, clinging on in hopes of once again standing alone as Constellations.]

[And you intend to take my weapons? This person…]

[Even if you achieve an overwhelming 1st place in the Graveyard of Stars, this act is unforgivable!]

[My weapon cannot be taken at any cost!]

Echoes of the Constellations' bitter cries resonated from all directions.

Their sponsorship began to pour onto the 12 players indiscriminately.

Clang!

The Eclipse Sword was deflected by the super-enhanced light pillars.

"Oh…"

"Ah, such formidable power."

"The Constellations have truly bestowed their blessings…"

"With this power, we can certainly suppress him!"

"Let's deal with our fight after we take down that monster!"

Seeing the Eclipse Sword deflected, the players' eyes gleamed intensely.

To avoid losing their items, the Constellations showered them with unprecedented sponsorship.

Feeling the might of this power, they believed they could sufficiently challenge the monster.

"I'll take him down!"

A monkey-like monster was the first to charge at Seong Jihan.

An opponent now excessively strengthened by Constellations' amplified sponsorship was indeed different from his previous encounters.

Bang! Bang!

The monkey beast struck the earth with overwhelming force.

'With Eternity sealed, regeneration from such hits is impossible.'

Seong Jihan stepped back, assessing the opponent's strength.

'One on one like this might be manageable, but with all twelve charging, it's too much even for me.'

Had his stats not been sealed, he might have taken them on, but now his power was restricted.

'Is the system doing this on purpose? This is too much meddling.'

Seong Jihan furrowed his brows, deciding to retreat and pick them off one by one.

As he backed away, the overjoyed monkey beast shouted.

"Where do you think you're running? Stop!"

Boom!

His fist pounded the earth, creating cracks that erupted explosively.

Unable to contain its overflowing power, the opponent sought any opportunity to use it.

As Seong Jihan dodged the onslaught, luring the beast further backward,

Crash!

The monkey beast's fist struck the ground near a Constellation's statue.

The statue of the Constellation slightly cracked.

[You…! Where are you throwing your punches!]

"Ah… I couldn't control my strength."

[Do that once more, and I'm withdrawing my sponsorship!]

From the cracked statue, the fuming voice of a Constellation was heard.

Seems like breaking those isn't allowed.

Observing closely, Seong Jihan caught a glimpse of a faint spirit emerging from the cracked statue.

'So inside the statues lie the spirits of the Constellations…'

Spirits, huh…

He had just the technique for dealing with spirits.

'Had you not assisted them and ended it, you would've merely lost an item and the game would be over.'

You started this.

Seong Jihan smiled, ready to proceed.