I completed the quest?

Ohjins eyes opened wide as he looked at the blue message that appeared in front of his eyes.

All he did was absorb the starstones of demon beasts in order to refill his depleted mana, but he had ended up completing the quest he hadnt even thought of.

I thought the completion rate wouldnt rise due to their low quality.

There was a shocking number of demon beasts, but each and every one of them was just around the 4~5-Star rank.

Of course, that didnt mean that they were weak. The reason he thought it wouldnt complete the quest was that he had failed to complete the quest before using the starstones of Murlocs, which were at the same rank.

Quality adjustment

He had thought of the possibility of the Black Heaven and Black Stars being linked in some kind of way a couple of times before.

Lets think about this later.

Ohjin stopped his thoughts before they dug deeper and fixed his eyes on the blue message.

[ Completion Rate 100%. ]

With the message that he would obtain a random Ancient Constellation, lines of text quickly moved around in the blue message box.

-Ring!

[You have obtained Stigma of Clepsydra as the quests reward.]

Clepsydra?

It was the first time Ohjin had heard of that constellation.

Well, its probably a given to have never heard of it.

Ancient Constellations were constellations that existed before the world had met its end due to the Black Heaven in the far-away past.

There was no way a constellation he was familiar with would have appeared.

I wonder what kind of ability itll have.

Ohjin activated the stigma of Clepsydra with eyes full of expectation.

The stigma blazed up brightly as blue rays of light covered the area.

And then

What?

the world stopped.

The scattering ashes and smoke.

The thick blood dripping down to the ground.

The maggots gathered around crushed flesh.

Everything

It stopped like the pause button was pressed on a video.

Whats going on?

Ohjin opened his eyes wide inside the frozen world.

He tried to move his arm, but not even that would move properly.

Wwwwwwhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

At that moment, a voice that seemed to be replaying in slow motion was heard.

As he looked at where the voice was coming from, he saw that Park Gunwoo was standing still with widened eyes.

No.

To be more accurate, he wasnt completely still.

It was extremely slow, but he was moving little by little.

Ah, so its something like that.

Ohjin was then able to understand what kind of ability the stigma of Clepsydra possessed.

Its making time feel like its going slow.

In other words, it was an ability that made everything look like a slow-motion video, excluding his own cognition.

Holy shit.

Ohjin was shocked by the outrageously overpowered ability.

Making everything slow, excluding his own cognition?

Then while others thought for a minute, could he think for an hour or even days?

have you done!!!

Then Park Gunwoos voice returned back to normal.

The frozen world started to move once again.

So its not to that extent yet.

Ohjin clicked his tongue in shame.

He was currently able to slow down his perception of time for around five real-time seconds.

So I can roughly make five seconds feel like twenty-five seconds.

His perception of time was about five times slower.

-Ring!

[You can use the Stigma of Clepsydra up to three times a day. The number of limited uses and effects may change according to the stigmas proficiency.]

Three limited uses

Its the best stigma to use in danger.

The slowed perception of time could apply as a variable in a fight.

A variable so decisive that it could completely turn a disadvantageous situation around.

* * *

You did you receive the Star of the Weaver Girls blessing?

Park Gunwoo looked at him with an extremely nervous expression.

Being that anxious was only natural, as Ohjins faint mana that looked like itd extinguish at any moment had suddenly risen up explosively.

I told you, didnt I? I dont need my goddess to lend a hand.

Then just where did you get that enormous amount of mana from?

I dunno.

He couldnt chatter about the Black Heaven. Ohjin shrugged his shoulders and fixed his grip on the spear.

Kugh.

Park Gunwoo chewed his lips, and soon, his eyes shone fiercely.

I dont know what you did to replenish your mana

Flutter!

The black feathers that covered his body rose up and wrapped around his spear.

Mana concentrated at the tip of the blade.

but the fact you will die here on this spot doesnt change.

He kicked off towards Ohjin.

Ferocious bursts of wind surged as the tip of the spear containing frightening power aimed at Ohjin in a blink of an eye.

Clepsydra.

Once more

The world stopped.

Fwooong!

He easily avoided Park Gunwoos spear that contained all of his power.

Ohjins movements were also restricted inside the slowed time, but it wasnt hard to avoid the attack when he could take time to observe where the spear was aimed and how close it was.

Wh-What!

Was it because Park Gunwoo couldnt imagine that he would avoid the attack that easily? His eyes filled with astonishment as he turned around to face him.

Kugh!

He quickly swung his spear once again

Fwooong! Fwoong!

but there was no way Ohjin wouldnt be able to avoid it when he could see the attacks so slowly that he could yawn.

Goddammit!! J-Just why?!

Park Gunwoo anxiously thrusted his spear as his attacks stopped working all of a sudden.

Claang!

Ohjin deflected the spear upwards and then kicked his stomach.

Kugk!

Thunk!

Park Gunwoo was sent flying back with a dull sound.

Lightning Feather.

Ttutututu!!

Feathers made of lightning shot towards Park Gunwoo, who had collapsed on the ground.

Eek!

He urgently rolled on the ground and avoided the feathers of lightning.

Rolling on the ground to avoid an attack() an act recognized as the most embarrassing thing a martial artist could do.

It was a method that couldnt be more disgraceful for one who had pride as a martial artist, but he had no choice, as it was in order to live.

Yeah, after your preaching of the spear, this is what it comes to in the end.

Ohjin rushed to where Park Gunwoo was rolling on the ground.

Getting high into the air by using the shaft of his spear like he was pole vaulting, he struck down, his spear like lightning.

Seriously, try fighting me properly.

The commonplace customs and laws in Murims were nothing but a delusion.

You would roll on the ground to avoid a blade and crawl in order to avoid a spear.

Real fights were that ugly and disgraceful.

You dont need bravado or vanity.

Doing everything it took in order to win

The method and means didnt matter.

That was how he had lived.

And that was how he was living.

If you want to kill me, put everything you have on the line.

Ohjin smirked and struck his spear down at Park Gunwoo.

Booooooom!!

Huff! Huff!

After Park Gunwoo desperately rolled on the ground to narrowly avoid the attack, he crawled on the ground to create distance.

D-Damn it!

Park Gunwoo got back on his feet with a distorted expression. His pride had been hurt.

He had displayed such a pathetic appearance even after receiving the blessing of a Black Star.

Ill kill you.

The humiliation and insult that a martial artist couldnt wash off

Park Gunwoo chewed his lip and grasped his spear.

He stared at Ohjin with eyes containing killing intent.

I will make sure to kill you!!!

He roared out and charged at Ohjin.

Tch, tch. You really arent getting what Im saying.

Well, there werent many things in the world that could be solved with words.

No one would lend their ears to what others said.

They viewed things as they wanted.

They heard things as they wanted.

They simply made an effort to live inside their own little bubble.

Clepsydra.

For the last time

The world stopped.

Ohjin calmly looked at where the tip of Park Gunwoos spear was heading inside the world where time flowed slowly.

Right chest.

After confirming the direction, he started counting down in his head.

Three.

Crouching his body, he slipped away and created distance.

Two.

Slowly raising his left arm, he aimed it at the spears blade.

And then

Now!

Bang!!

Ohjins eyes shone as he shot the wire shooter at the spears blade.

The weight attached to the end of the wire clashed with the spear, causing it to go off course.

Precisely hitting a spear that was thrusted by an 8-Star Awakener with all of their strength was harder than using a gun and hitting the wing of a fly buzzing around

Clang!!

but with the stigma of Clepsydra, he could do such a stunt without much difficulty.

H-Huh?

Before Park Gunwoo was able to readjust his spear

Back to the stigma of Lyra.

Ohjin grasped his spear with his right hand and smoothly changed his stigma.

The slowed time returned back to normal as blue lightning threateningly blazed up.

The one dying here isnt me

Sticking the spears shaft to his flank, he slid back his right foot.

Twisting his body while using his left leg as a pivot, he swung his spear at Park Gunwoos completely exposed flank.

but you, dumbass.

Pshk!!

The perfect counterattack dug deep, starting from Park Gunwoos flank and up to his neck.

Kugk! Kuk! Kru!

Blood gushed out of his mouth as his body shivered.

Hmpf!

Ohiin twisted out the spear that pierced through Park Gunwoos body

He could see that the light in his eye with a sword scar engraved on it was slowly darkening.

Phew.

Catching his slightly ragged breathing, he smirked.

He reminisced on the sensation of when the world came to a halt.

This is better than I imagined.

Ohjin had been looking forward to the Ancient Constellation quite a lot from the start, but it was honestly greater than he expected.

Well, the three times restriction is a bit of a shame.

Still, when taking into account its potential in the future, as it would change according to its proficiency, it was an incredible harvest.

Alright.

Ohjin approached Park Gunwoos corpse with a satisfied smile.

As he had won the battle, it was time to take his reward.

Black Heaven.

Black clouds covered Park Gunwoos body.

Indeed, the quantity of mana in an 8-Star Awakener is different.

An enormous amount of mana flowed into his body through the Black Heaven.

He wouldnt have been that happy in the past, as he already had an overflowing amount of mana, but in the present, his lips couldnt help but curve into a smile, as he had started to lack mana with the increase of skills that drained mana like Exceed and Lightning Flames.

-Zzt.

Hm?

In the middle of absorbing mana, the scene changed with a familiar sensation.

Is it Transmission?

Ohjins eyes shone keenly as he focused his mind on the memories that flowed into his head.

T/N: Normally Id use the name of the constellation that exists in real life, but this one isnt a real constellation. The literal translation of the stigma is Hourglass Constellation but to follow the theme of stigma of XX and using it as a skill, it has been changed to Clepsydra which is a time-measuring device using water in Latin. The vast majority of constellations are in Latin so I thought this would be the most fitting.