Haa.

Taking in the pouring rain, he took a moment to catch his breath.

He released his transformation while looking down at Jang Sukhos corpse.

His hand that was reduced to the size of a small childs returned to its original appearance.

Tremble

His right arm shivered like a quaking aspen.

Was it because too many internal injuries had accumulated?

I cant even clench my fists properly.

Despite his injuries being regenerated, intense pain still remained.

I guess it isnt an omnipotent skill.

Nevertheless, just being able to regenerate his body to a good condition when it wouldnt have been strange if he had died right away was amazing.

Water Affinity

A skill he originally thought was useless had potential that far exceeded his imagination.

There are more reasons to gather stigmas now.

Now that he had gotten a proper taste of the effects of a combination skill, he started to consider absorbing stigmas more actively.

Combination skills also start out with Max Lv.

The fact that they had no more potential to develop was unfortunate, but there was also the merit of not needing to pay attention to their proficiency.

Well, thArgh!

A sudden burning pain started to stir up in his body.

The pain wasnt coming from his arm but from the left side of his chest.

If its my chest

Perhaps

Ha.

Ohjin lifted up his tattered clothes and observed his stigma.

Five flicks were shining radiantly next to the stigma of Lyra.

Vegas going to be surprised again once she sees this.

Around two months had passed since he had reached 4-Star during the spar with Riak.

Quite a lot of incidents happened during that time, but even when considering that, it was hard to believe that he had reached 5-Star in just two months.

5-Star, huh.

5-Star was when you started to get regarded as a mid-rank Awakener.

You were able to receive a fair amount of attention wherever you went.

But thats in the case of insignificant stigmas.

The more powerful the strength of the stigma, the harder it was to raise the star.

In the case of the 12 Zodiacs, reaching 5-Star would allow you to take the position of an executive in just about every guild.

If its a North Stars stigma

Would they have to hand over the position of Guild Leader?

Well theres still a long way to go.

Generally, you were able to live a luxurious lifestyle with just being a 5-Star alone, but when he considered the road he would have to walk down in the future, 5-Star was far from enough.

Ohjin looked down at Jang Sukhos corpse while clenching and unclenching his hands.

I need to get stronger.

He needed to grow until there was no one who was able to look down on him

So that he could live whilst telling the truth..

And in order for that

Ill eat everything up.

He held out his hand towards Arshad Khans corpse.

Black Heaven.

The black clouds swallowed up the stigma of the Owl Nebula.

Fuu.

A stunning amount of mana rode the black clouds and flowed into his fingertips.

He was a 7-Star Awakener?

Counting the number of flicks engraved on Arshad Khans chest, his lips curved up.

Ohjin could start to understand why people said there was an immense difference every time the stage of a star went up.

Even the quality itself is different.

If that was the power of a 7-Star, he started to wonder what an 8-Star would be like.

And what about a 9-Star, which was when you started to be recognized as a high-rank Awakener?

Well this bastard was probably considerably stronger than other 7-Stars.

In addition, he had also received a blessing from his celestial.

At that point, it was honestly safe to say that he had won against not a 7-Star, but an 8-Star Awakener.

A 4-Star winning in a fight against an 8-Star.

He forced out a chuckle.

I wont even be able to brag about this.

People that heard would most likely tell him to stop spouting nonsense and cuss him out.

Rumble, rumble

The Black Heavens energy that crawled out of his hand wriggled its tendrils like it had eaten a satisfying meal and returned back inside his body.

And then

Ugh!

Thump

A scorching pain burned the inside of his head.

Visions appeared in front of his eyes.

-Hmm. Are you saying the Lightning Wolf and the Valhalla guild are in a cooperative relationship?

-Yes. Lee Woohyuk will most likely request help from the Lightning Wolf.

A memory of someone sharing a conversation over the phone.

This is?

Ohjin furrowed his brow.

The memories that flowed into his head werent from Lee Shinhyuk.

Arshad Khan.

They were his memories.

* * *

-Just when I thought we were finally going to destroy the Association Chairmans lineup, that guy intervened all of a sudden. Han Joonman has also been poking his nose here and there I was planning to observe a little longer, with him being North Stars apostle and all, but now I think itd be best in several ways to end him here.

Association Chairmans lineup?

Han Joonman?

What is this?

Ohjin furrowed his brow.

Are there factions within the Association? And if so, is one of those factions made of the members from the Black Star Organization?

So thats why my relationship with the Valhalla guild was known to them.

It felt like the puzzle pieces were finally clicking into place.

Argh!

Without a reprieve to mull over his questions, memories continued to push in.

-I understand. Kings Delegate. Following your command, I will eliminate him.

-Hahaha! Indeed, there arent many people as reliable as you. Youre completely different from Yujin.

-Please do not compare me with that fool.

The edge of his lip tilted up as he continued.

-By the way whats going on in Italy?

-Ahh, youre talking about the Queen of Leeches, correct?

A fed-up voice was heard across the phone.

-Dont even mention it. That crazy bitch is doing whatever she wants. The news has even reached the Demon Realm.

-Is there nothing we can do?

-No matter how crazy the Queen of Leeches is, shes still ranked 3rd out of the Executors. Its hard to take measures directly.

-Then

-Well, weve still prepared countermeasures.

-Countermeasures?

-Fufu. Poison should be dealt with by poison.

A voice rang out clearly.

With the faint sounds of an immature childs chatter

Mmmh!

his distorted sight returned back to normal.

-Ring!

[Part of Awakener Arshad Khan was successfully inherited.]

[Black Feather Armor Lv3has been acquired.]

[Black Feather Explosion Lv5has been acquired.]

Blue messages appeared in front of his eyes in succession.

[The acquired skills will transform due to the influence of the stigma of Lyra.]

[Black Feather Armor Lv3has transformed intoLightning Feather Armor Lv3]

[Black Feather Explosion Lv5has transformed intoLightning Feather Explosion Lv5]

So theyll match the stigma and transform automatically.

Ohjin narrowed his eyes as he read the blue message windows.

Now that I think of it, Transmission never said that itd only happen with Lee Shinhyuks memories.

He had obtained Arshad Khans memories this time.

That was quite a lot of information.

Putting aside Italy and the so-called Queen of Leeches for the moment, the fact that members of the Black Star Organization were hiding inside the Association was an issue that couldnt be ignored.

Ill have to talk about this with Joonman.

As he was brought up in the memories, he was highly likely to know something.

So thats everything for now

Rumble!!

Black clouds explosively shot out of Ohjins left chest.

The thick clouds scattered out wide like a blooming flower and slowly permeated into his body.

Or not.

A forced chuckle flowed out of Ohjins mouth.

[The Black Heavens conditions for the fourth awakening have all been accomplished!]

[The Black Heavens fourth awakening is starting!]

Reaching the 5-Star rank followed up by the fourth awakening.

It was tough, but I earned a lot.

Though that didnt mean he would want to experience it once again.

[Quests are now activated due to the fourth awakening!]

Hm?

Quests?

[Quest Star-Devouring Devil of the Sky]

Objective: Absorb starstones to open the Black Heaven. (Completion: 0%)

Reward: Obtain a random Ancient Constellation.

Whats this?

Ohjin tilted his head as he looked at the quest window that appeared in front of his eyes.

Ancient constellation?

He had never heard of that title in his life.

Hm Ill have to ask Vega about this.

It wasnt something he could figure out at the moment anyways.

Fourth awakening, huh

Crack! Crackle!!

Ohjin slightly stirred up his mana and created lightning.

The lightning blazed up with blue lights that were a shade deeper than usual.

As expected.

The stigma of Lyras power increased with the Black Heavens awakening stage.

If the awakening stage continues to increase in the future I cant even imagine how much stronger Ill get.

A deep smile was put on Ohjins face.

By the way

Ohjin narrowed his eyes and looked around.

He stood still and waited for a moment, but nothing changed.

Why isnt it coming?

What could be said to be the most important reward for him

The memories of Lee Shinhyuk didnt flow into his head.

As he looked around with eyes full of question

[The records of Awakener Arshad Khan and Awakener Lee Shinhyuk colliding has caused part of Awakener Lee Shinhyuks records to be lost.]

[The Black Heaven will automatically restore the records needed for Transmission.]

[Transmission will proceed according to the progression of the restoration.]

Ah.

It appeared that their memories had collided when two Transmissions happened simultaneously.

Well it says that itll get recovered automatically.

As long as it didnt disappear forever, there wasnt much reason for him to care.

Then, should I start to head back?

After removing all the message windows, he moved his feet.

Thud!

Argh!

Without even being able to make a proper step, he slipped down onto the ground.

Damn.

The state of his body was so bad that he couldnt even walk properly.

Water Affinity is limited to recovering external wounds, after all.

Though it couldnt be seen, the interior of his body was most likely in a complete mess.

Ohjin put on a bitter smile and put strength into his shaking legs.

Lets go.

Before heading off, he turned back and looked down at Jang Sukhos corpse for the last time.

Shwaaaaaaa

He walked away through the pouring rain.

* * *

Creak

He managed to open the front door and went inside.

Hey! Gwon Ohjin!

A welcoming voice was heard.

His fatigued lips slowly curled up.

Where did you go without te

Ha-euns face severely stiffened as she came out of the adjoining room.

Y-You, what happened to you?

Ha-eun.

Stagger, stagger

Without having the leisure to clean up his rain-drenched body, he approached her.

Raising his hand, he touched her face.

It was warm.

A polar opposite to Jang Sukhos ice-cold hands

It was filled with warmth.

Ohjin?

Her russet eyes looked up at him.

An indescribable sense of relief spread out across his entire body.

Bang!

Kyaa! Wh-What?!

Embracing her body, he collapsed in front of the front door.

Just for a moment.

He didnt expect much.

He didnt want the world.

He simply wanted for the warmth in his embrace

Stay like this for me.

to never get swept away by the rain.