Chapter 48: Stinkbug (1)

He had killed countless of those weaker than him. He had been openly caught five times, but he had too many sins to name that was committed secretly. Leonard, who had lived such a life, finally met his match.

“Kuu…”

He was hung by his feet and exposed to unrelenting violence. Whips and clubs struck every inch of his body, and when he lost consciousness, a blast of cold water shook him awake. His opponent was a complete stranger.

Leonard, who was beaten down to a pulp, asked himself why he was in such a position. He couldn’t think of an answer, despite his best efforts to squeeze out an explanation. Other than a stroke of misfortune, that is.

“Now, shall we begin our story time?”

Kaz opened his mouth with a wicked smile. There were shiny torture tools in his hand in place of the whip, and Leonard who saw that began to thrash about wildly from his incapacitated position.

“When I first saw you, you had quite a handsome face. It pissed me off. So, choose one: eyes, nose, mouth, or ear. To give up.”

A single blade lingered in front of Leonard’s eyes. He began to scream something unintelligible and thrashed about once again. Kaz, who saw this ridiculous scene, started laughing while holding his belly. He gripped Leonard’s right ear, then sliced it off.

“Uwaaaaak!”

A pitiful scream rang out, but there was no one around to help Leonard. A sound barrier cast around the trees prevented his scream from leaking out any further. He was now facing the same final moments that he had forced on those weaker than him in the midst of this complete isolation. However, Kaz pulled out a medicine and put some on Leonard’s bleeding injuries as though he had something in mind.

“Want to live?”

Leonard endured the pain and forced his head to nod.

“If you tell me what I want to hear, I’ll let you live.”

Kaz made a gesture towards Myra, who was sitting underneath the tree watching the scene silently.

“Myra, lend me that thing.”

Myra extended her hand without a word. When she did, a colorful insect about the size of a plum crawled out of her sleeve. It was a stinkbug shaped like a trapezoid.

Kaz grabbed the bug carefully and tore away Leonard’s shirt revealing his back full of bruises and cuts from the constant beating and whipping. Kaz placed the tail of the bug on his back. The bug’s six legs flailed about as its sharp tail end began to bore itself into Leonard’s back.

“Kwaaaaaak!”

Leonard thrashed about violently. The stinkbug was tearing through his flesh and laying its eggs. One. Two. Three. Kaz smiled with satisfaction as he saw ten eggs, then returned the bug to Myra.

“Thanks, Myra.”

Myra returned the bug to her sleeve and spoke with a frosty voice.

“Father won’t be pleased if he hears of this. You have to take responsibility.”

“I’ll bear it. Don’t worry. Anyways, don’t you think Father’s methods are too old-fashioned? Efficacy drops when we can only lay our hands on those involved.”

Kaz looked over at Leonard, who was shaking like a twig, and made a cruel smile.

“In this era of Calamity where we’re all destined to die anyways, we should use every tool available.”

–

Sungchul continued to confront Altugius. It was Altugius who broke first.

“Do what you want. I won’t take responsibility for whatever misfortune you meet by staying here!”

He let out a loud harrumph before sitting at his designated spot and sucking on his pipe. However, Sungchul was second to none when it came to stubbornness. He didn’t budge an inch as he demanded what he wanted.

“You don’t have to worry about me. Just let me know the Secret.”

Altugius continued to puff his pipe with a displeased expression when he suddenly pulled something out from his Soul Storage. It was a small box marked with the insignia of a comet. Orbs composed of gold, silver, bronze and all other kinds of alloys were revealed when Altugius opened the box with his wrinkled hands.

“Activate.”

When Altugius softly touched an orb, they floated around him on their own as if they were alive.

“These are the training tools used by Cosmomancers to learn their craft. People of the past called them the Stars of the Cosmos, but people of late have taken to calling them as pinballs. Anyways, they are used to gauge the proficiency of that Glare spell you’ve learned.”

Altugius pulled out another item from his Soul Storage. It was a Magic scroll. He lightly tossed over the container with the orbs charged with power along with the scroll towards Sungchul.

“Perseverance is a type of talent. I have accepted that you have quite the talent in it. However, there are many different types of talent. The tool I have given you contains the quest refined by countless ancient masters. The quest will test you on another talent required by Cosmomancers. You want to learn the Secret of Cosmomancy? We’ll talk after you’ve overcome this quest.”

Sungchul held the orbs and Magic scroll separately. The orb contained Magical energies, and the scroll was for a Magic barrier.

“Also, make sure to use the scroll before attempting the quest. I don’t want this sacred structure of Cosmomancy harmed by your crude Magic.”

Altugius spoke these words and puffed on his pipe while looking at Sungchul with a relatively relaxed expression on his face.

‘They had called me a rare genius that hadn’t been seen in hundreds of years, and it still took me fourteen months to complete that pinball quest. Even that Leonard who was praised as a ‘once in a decade Genius’ couldn’t even think it was possible for himself to complete it. No matter how gifted and perseverant this man is, there is a limit to how far one can go with pure talent. This is not something he could solve easily.’

For those that couldn’t be forced away, one must confuse them with an overwhelming assignment. It was a saying handed down from ancient times within Airfruit’s School of Cosmomancy, which held a particularly powerful Secret.

“…”

Sungchul looked over the orb first.

“Activate.”

When he uttered their activation command, the six orbs composed of gold, silver, bronze, steel, tin, and white gold flew into the sky and slowly revolved around Sungchul’s vicinity. A brightly lettered message appeared before him.

[The Stars of Cosmomancy]

[The Stars of Cosmomancy will orbit around your vicinity.]

[As the sovereign of these astral bodies, you must shoot down those that defy you with the Authority of Light.]

[The Stars that are in defiance will be dyed with darkness, so observe carefully with both of your eyes.]

[Please care to observe your surroundings before starting the trial so as to not create casualties.]

It was a ubiquitous type of quest among those he had experienced within Airfruit. It also used vague language that was typical of Airfruit’s quests.

‘What does the light’s authority refer to? Is it talking about Glare?’

Altugius, who had been watching Sungchul, shouted with a loud voice.

“It’s a trial for shooting down the dark orbs with Glare. The Magic barrier was a one-time gift, so buy one at your expense before you reattempt the quest!”

The price of Magic barrier seals was significant. They reached 50 silver coins in price, and their supply was low, so it was hard to get a hold of one. This was well within Altugius’ intentions.

‘This quest takes up more than just a lot of effort. It also digs into the pocketbook of the one being tested. Now, let’s see how this friend’s talent fares in Cosmomancy Magic.’

Altugius reclined to a more comfortable position as he looked over in Sungchul’s direction. Sungchul activated the scroll and deployed the barrier, then turned his attentions to the orbs circling him.

[Shout the phrase ‘Begin’ once you are ready.]

Sungchul calmed the Magical energy in his body and took a shot towards the barrier as a test.

‘Glare.’

A beam of light fired out from his fingertip and struck one part of the barrier before it disappeared. Altugius smiled with his eyes.

‘His Magic Power is still weak. It looks to be around 140, I think.’

Sungchul, who had tested out his Magic, now turned to the orbs circling him and spoke quietly.

“Begin.”

[Level 1]

The path of the orbs circling him began to change. The golden orb suddenly became dyed in darkness and flew past his face. Sungchul didn’t hesitate in using Glare. A beam of light shot out from his finger to strike and peel away its darkness. One of Altugius’ brows shot up.

‘Is it luck…?!’

After striking one orb, Sungchul turned his focus onto the copper orb rushing at him. The orb that had appeared from his blindspot flew past him and approached another blindspot when it began to dye itself in darkness. Sungchul’s eyes had caught it, but his inexperience with Magic caused his aim to waver and strike feebly onto the barrier.

‘As expected, beginner’s luck. It couldn’t have been anything else. For sure.’

Altugius inhaled from his pipe and let out a sigh of relief.

Soon, the first level had finished.

[Your score]

[3/10 (Number of Heavenly Bodies struck / Number of Heavenly Bodies that defied you)]

[Judgement…Failure!]

“…”

It was a shameful result for Sungchul. He could hear Altugius’ laughter.

“Ha ha! It looks as though you’re a bit lacking to be demanding the Secret of Cosmomancy!”

The orbs that had been orbiting Sungchul fell into their container. Sungchul pulled out a Mana Drink from his Soul Storage.

Altugius, who had been laughing, looked on with shock.

‘What? This guy also has a Soul Storage?’

Sungchul drank two bottles of Mana Drink at once, dropped them onto the floor, then rubbed the orb once again.

“Activate.”

It wasn’t just a grudge. The first attempt at the test was nothing more than an attempt to adjust his sights. His perception honed to its limits and decades of combat experience during his time as an absolute warrior wasn’t just for show. During the first test, after missing his second shot, he focused on improving his control over the output of the spell, rather than its accuracy. And by the final shot, he had already commanded complete control over the spell as he scored a hit.

“Begin.”

There was nothing to stop him once he managed to get a feel for it. He looked on at the orbs spinning dizzyingly around him. Altugius felt an unusual aura surrounding him, but he ignored it and continued smoking his pipe.

The first orb soon became dyed in darkness and flew past Sungchul’s face.

‘Glare.’

The beam of light shot out from his finger and accurately struck the center of the orb, peeling away the darkness. The second one with the tricky flight path flew past him from his blindspot to another blindspot as before. Sungchul didn’t flinch as he took a step back and smoothly shot the orb to banish the darkness.

Altugius’ eyes flew open.

‘No…that one?!’

In the first level, the second orb was known to be the most difficult target. It was the quest host’s intention to throw off the tester’s balance with a high difficulty curve ball that would affect his future attempts within the level. However, this mysterious man overcame that second shot with ease. He continued striking every other orb in their tricky flight paths with little difficulty. Altugius ended up dropping his pipe after a short time passed.

[Your score]

[10/10 (Number of Heavenly Bodies struck / Number of Heavenly bodies that defied you)]

[Judgement…Pass!]

Sungchul looked at the score that appeared before him with disinterest and drank another Mana Drink.

[Astounding! You have completed the first level with a perfect score.]

Reward: +3 Magic Power, +3 Intuition, +3 Dexterity

It even raised Dexterity, unlike a typical Mage quest, but the quest wouldn’t be able to raise Sungchul’s Dexterity.

[Error! Your Dexterity is higher than the Dexterity of the quest host, and thus you will not be able to receive the boost in Dexterity.]

Quests gave an opportunity for unspecified people to receive boosts in stats, but unless it was like the Devil in the basement who gave out his own stats, it wouldn’t raise the recipient’s stats beyond that of the quest’s host. There weren’t many who could exceed Sungchul in his physical stats. This was also the reason why Sungchul didn’t bother much with the quests of the remaining Seven Heroes other than the Mage Heroes. He was sure that there was no one among the Seven Heroes who could come close to his physical stats.

[Would you like to begin Level Two?]

Sungchul’s eyes were now focused on the next level. And Altugius couldn’t take his eyes off from the figure of the indescribably amazing man.