The checking continued.
First.
He carried out the plan he had always thought about while looking at the ‘Stigma’ option embedded in the breastplate Stigma of Corruption. It was to inherit Vincent’s Dark Energy as-is.
【Stigma — Brands a hunter you killed, and allows you to inherit the Holy Power or Dark Energy stat that hunter had while alive. One-time only.】
Someday, he might kill a hunter with even more Dark Energy than Vincent, but it did not seem likely in the short term. So he thought it would be good to stockpile Dark Energy whenever he could.
The process was simple.
The moment he activated the Stigma option, a brand was stamped onto Vincent’s dead body.
Then black energy seeped up in wisps and was absorbed into Kang-hoo immediately.
It felt unpleasant, like inhaling acrid exhaust, but if it increased his Dark Energy…… tolerating that discomfort was nothing.
【* Dark Energy 3750】
The number changed.
Kang-hoo could not take his eyes off it, as if time had stopped.
His Dark Energy had jumped by a staggering 2,530!
Vincent had possessed more than double the total Dark Energy Kang-hoo had scraped together whenever he found the chance.
‘Stigma’s performance is real.’
Adding this much Dark Energy at once was nearly impossible under normal circumstances.
Without a special option, it was not something even Jang Si-hwan could easily experience!
With this much Dark Energy, Kang-hoo figured he would not have to worry about running short even if he obtained one or two higher-tier Dark Energy skills than before. His base stock had increased enormously.
Of course, if he ever obtained a “the more you spend, the stronger it gets” Dark Energy skill, it would be a different story. But at least for this moment, his worries about Dark Energy were over.
Vincent’s gift bundle(?) kept going.
The long-awaited last part was what was written in the list of stolen constellations.
The total number of constellations stolen from him was seven—fewer than expected.
That was because of the trait of Vincent’s main constellation contract: he could only contract with “evil-aligned” constellations.
He had botched the very first button, but Vincent himself did not seem particularly dissatisfied.
In any case, it was time to check the culprit that had forced Vincent into contracting only evil-aligned constellations in the first place.
【Depraved One】
【When you kill a contractor who has contracted with a ‘good-aligned’ constellation, you gain Dark Energy and additional stats at random.
If you kill a contractor in whom the Depraved One’s ‘Aesthetic Indulgence’ is active, you gain greater rewards and incidental privileges.
However, you may only contract with ‘evil-aligned’ constellations affiliated with the Dark Sanctuary, and all other contracts are rejected.】
‘So that’s why he had no choice but to focus on killing hunters contracted with good-aligned constellations—and that must’ve provoked the Angel of the Battlefield.’
From the Angel of the Battlefield’s perspective, constellations within the same Hall of Radiance losing contractors because of Vincent would have been painful.
The fact that she even opened up privileges that used her own divine power and requested Vincent’s hunt meant she truly wanted him dead.
Kang-hoo answered that earnest call and produced a clean result. In every way, he walked away loaded with benefits.
‘If you think of Depraved One as the Dark Sanctuary version of the Angel of the Battlefield, it fits.’
Aesthetic Indulgence was a kind of bounty.
The contractor killed a target the Depraved One wanted dead.
It was the same as how the Angel of the Battlefield told him to kill Ishihara Yuji and Vincent Meyer to grant the fourth and fifth privileges.
The only difference was good or evil. In the sense that it was “contract killing,” the goal was the same.
“Now that Depraved One is just another subordinate constellation, I don’t really need to worry about being bound by his contract, right?”
He did not worry about Depraved One’s influence.
If it were his main constellation, it would be different, but now it was only one among countless subordinate constellations.
【My contractor changing is also X-like, but what the hell is this place? A garbage mix? You gathered nothing but fucking morons here.】
When Kang-hoo reacted as if it were no big deal—referring even to himself directly—Depraved One bristled.
It looked less like anger at Kang-hoo and more like rage at the world of newly incorporated contracted constellations.
But regardless of whom he was talking to or what he was spewing, it was unquestionably unwelcome.
Sure enough, the Dimension Plunderer responded sharply at once.
【If it’s that fucking moronic, walk out of the Grand Cathedral yourself and die. If you don’t have the guts, then don’t even think about opening your mouth again.】
Depraved One went quiet as if by magic.
Had he just been posturing?
Then, even the Seeker of Pure Darkness—who rarely spoke harshly—added a warning this time.
【If your voice, your presence, catches my eye one more time, I’ll kill you even if it causes disorder in the Grand Cathedral.
You are the Dark Sanctuary’s disgrace. You crossed a line you should never have crossed, and you openly smeared the faces of the decent Dark Sanctuary constellations.】
The words were refined, but anger was embedded in every syllable.
Depraved One should have snapped back with at least a word or two, but after that, he became mute, as if he had swallowed honey.
‘Depraved One isn’t useless. Just because a hunter contracted with a good-aligned constellation doesn’t mean that hunter is good.’
A constellation’s alignment and a contractor’s alignment did not always match. It was not the same as a simplistic good-versus-evil dichotomy.
Depraved One’s ‘Aesthetic Indulgence’ was a bounty-like system, and if the target selection was done well, it was perfect as a growth engine.
Just like how the Angel of the Battlefield had intended to “definitely” kill the targets she named for the fourth and fifth privileges.
The target Depraved One pursued through ‘Aesthetic Indulgence’ could align with someone Kang-hoo absolutely wanted removed.
If it aligned, he could accept. If not, he could ignore it. The right to choose remained with Kang-hoo.
“Whew.”
As soon as he saw the next entry on the stolen-constellation list, Kang-hoo let out a half-surprised exclamation.
He saw one whose very name was as unpleasant as Depraved One’s.
【Demon Embryo】
【Kill innocent civilians and supply nourishment to the Demon Embryo.
When the ‘demon’ manifests, it uses the designated civilian as a host and becomes a frenzy-mad murderer.
At that instant, the contractor receives 300 Dark Energy and gains the ability to control the target the ‘demon’ has taken as its host.】
A constellation that became extremely hard to use because its premise required killing innocent civilians.
Its build was ideal for commanding minions, but the condition was rotten.
Unless the constellation itself somehow changed direction, Kang-hoo would likely avoid this one.
【Yin Demon】
【Using the constellation ability ‘Yinization (Yinhwa),’ you temporarily transform your body into a Dark Energy condensate form.
You become temporarily immune to physical attacks, but become highly vulnerable to external variables. Mastery through long-term training is required.】
“Finally.”
A smile formed at the corner of Kang-hoo’s mouth.
An ability to transform into a Dark Energy condensate.
It was not a skill, but a constellation ability. Its name was Yinization. Since it was constellation-based, even if his skills were sealed, he could keep using it.
From the detailed tooltip, it consumed a small amount of Dark Energy, but it was easily manageable.
There were issues of duration and variables, but it seemed like a useful evasive ability in an emergency.
【One-Eyed Murderer】
【Increases Dark Energy by 500.】
【White-Robed Reaper】
【Increases Dark Energy by 250.】
For One-Eyed Murderer and White-Robed Reaper, it seemed there had been prerequisites to gain the Dark Energy.
But since Vincent—the previous contractor—had already met the conditions and activated the abilities, there was nothing Kang-hoo needed to do.
Right.
It was 750 total Dark Energy of pure unearned income. There was nothing else to do, and nothing to inspect further.
【* Dark Energy 4500】
That was how his Dark Energy stat rose to 4500.
‘At this level, I’m closing in hard on Emilia’s Dark Energy stat.’
A satisfied expression came naturally.
Since he had to handle both Dark Energy and Holy Power, both stats were better the higher they were.
The only “downside” to high stats was that it might be harder to fine-tune his firepower(?).
Kang-hoo continued checking the other constellations.
system
【Crimson Gourmand】
【If you are within a 25m radius of a monster or hunter corpse, your Dark Energy recovery speed increases by 5x.】
system_end
A constellation that massively supported recovery for Dark Energy owners and users. A solid insurance policy.
【Adventurer of the Underground】
【Shares information on three arbitrary dungeons located underground.
When you complete a boss-monster clear, the shared information for that dungeon disappears and new information is shared.
Afterward, the cleared dungeon emits a separate waveform that announces its existence to the world.
Meanwhile,
the three shared dungeons are dungeons completely unknown to the outside world and receive first-clear benefits.】
“……This is insane.”
He had been surprised and impressed at each one, but nothing like Adventurer of the Underground.
Kang-hoo lacked personal dungeon ownership more than anything, so securing dungeons in any form was always urgent.
But if, thanks to Adventurer of the Underground, he could learn about dungeons “unknown” to the world?
At the very least, as the tooltip said, he could reap substantial first-clear benefits.
Not only could he steal middle-boss and main-boss monster skills, but clearing would bring even greater gains.
Because it kept sharing information on three dungeons. The more he cleared, the more new information he would obtain.
“I think I understand why Vincent had no choice but to grow so fast in such a short time.”
He was not the only one in this world sucking honey.
He had assumed as much, but seeing it directly through a constellation ability snapped his mind awake.
Hunters secretly repeating explosive growth like this would not be just one or two.
Even Jung Yuri and Lee Ye-rin were building their own “routes” and stacking growth upon growth, weren’t they?
“Haa…… now the settlement’s done.”
Thud—he flopped onto the bed.
The fight with Vincent had been short, but he was tired, perhaps because every moment had kept his entire body tense and his nerves on edge.
Thanks to constellation effects, he could stay awake if he wanted, but he did not particularly want to.
Somehow. To gain even a brief peace for his exhausted mind, he desperately wanted to sleep deeply.
He shoved himself under the blanket and fell into deep sleep.
A sweet, satisfying sleep that came in less than a second after closing his eyes.
When he opened his eyes.
Outside the window, the time was unmistakably the peak of deep dawn.
His blinking smartphone indicated a message had arrived.
Thinking it might be a missed contact from Jang Si-hwan, he opened it—only to find it was from O Yu-jin of the Groo Guild.
It was a long apology message saying that negotiations kept being delayed due to local conditions.
In truth, it was not her fault.
Especially since the South Africa and China sides she was negotiating with had unusually many variables from local conflicts.
They were places where countless minor factions were locked in struggle, so it had been the picture from the start.
Completing the Corruption-series set effect.
Only two more pieces and it would be done, but he did not want to push himself trying to force the impossible.
A natural course was called natural for a reason.
If he let things flow, opportunities would come naturally someday. Kang-hoo decided to trust O Yu-jin’s skill.
In bed, too lazy to get up.
Just as he was about to turn off his phone, Kang-hoo did not feel like he would fall right back asleep, so he opened Huntergram.
He turned on a live broadcast from a subscribed channel, and the news was being aired right on time.
Next, we have an update on the bloodshed that has recently been intensifying in the Kimcheon Liberation Area.
“It wasn’t a one-off?”
He had heard this news before.
It was when he rode a premium bus up to Seoul—the very time he had saved the bus attacked by Eclipse.
Back then, he brushed it off as a small-scale dispute between hunters, something common in liberation areas.
But if it was still being covered now, it did not seem like a minor issue.
Hunter-related topics were updated daily, so trivial news got buried quickly.
He raised the volume.
In our previous report, we informed you that Ebony Bone leader Shin Jun-ho and all of his executives were killed.
The ‘mysterious woman’ believed to have killed them still remains unidentified.
The problem is that, alongside the near-annihilation of the Ebony Bone force, as if they had been waiting, clashes between forces that advanced into the Kimcheon Liberation Area have escalated into full-scale warfare.
At present, more than fifteen nearby criminal organizations and mid-sized guilds are fighting within the liberation area.
In particular, in front of the mana-stone mine located inside the liberation area, deaths of over a hundred people have been occurring daily.
“It’s a slaughterhouse.”
When Kimcheon Liberation Area was run under Ebony Bone, it had been better in terms of order.
At least everyone watched Ebony Bone and did not do anything that stood out.
There had still been conflicts among hunters, but they had not spilled into large-scale bloodshed.
But now, scenes resembling wartime were unfolding across the entire Kimcheon Liberation Area.
“……”
A thought struck him, and Kang-hoo narrowed his eyes.
No matter how he thought about it, this incident too—much like the executive massacre Shinto Guild had experienced last time— felt like something that had been caused “intentionally” through someone’s intervention.
The similarity was that only the core of Ebony Bone had been killed, while the entity that killed them had hidden itself.
If it was not deliberately plotting chaos in the liberation area, there was no reason to do only good for others.
Something was off.
