The light falling from the sky instantly passed through Chun Sungjae.
Kwah-jeek!
Watching this was like seeing a spear pierce through his body. Chun Sungjae’s back bent backward as he started to fall.
Koohng!
When his son fell over as if his soul had left his body, Hugo got scared out of his wits. “Sungjae!”
Then, he looked at Lee Gun.
Lee Gun laughed. “Why are you so surprised? It’s merely a baptism.”
The words left Hugo appalled. “Baptism? This is a sacred baptism? Who the hell does it this carelessly? Hey! Listen to me! If you want to conduct a baptism, you have to do the first step! You have to pour water on yourselves at a holy location! The second step is where the disciple repents for their past deeds! In the third step, the disciple wears clothes infused with divine power…”
Just listening to these words annoyed Lee Gun, so he tossed an item toward his friend. “Be quiet! I don’t have to do all that nonsense. The fact that you guys observe such formalities is the problem. Doing it quickly is the most effective method.”
“Ah-oh!” Hugo pounded his chest as if Lee Gun were talking nonsense.
Lee Gun ignored Hugo as he wagged his finger.
[You have activated the <Baptism> skill.]
[It’s a ceremony that uses divine power to awaken a human.]
[You have decided to forgo step 1 through step 5.]
[You will immediately enter the 6th step of the Soul Imprint.]
[You will be moved to the Zodiac’s Evaluation Space.]
[You have activated your divine power.]
At that moment, Lee Gun’s eyes changed into that of a snake. Then, an incredible light washed over his vision.
While this was happening, the subject of the baptism, Chun Sungjae, was surprised at the change of scenery that took place when the light hit him.
‘This place is…’
It was dark everywhere as if he was in outer space. The darkness was endless.
When Chun Sungjae looked down, he saw lights that looked like galaxies and gray-white nebulas.
The young man had a realization. ‘This is where I’ll meet the Zodiac!’
Yes, this was the <Imaginative Space> a disciple entered at the end of the baptism. It was the place where the Zodiac evaluated the disciple and their latent abilities. The disciple received their skills here.
That meant…
‘The Zodiac is here.’ Chun Sungjae gulped.
The Imaginative Space differed depending on the Zodiac. When the Gemini had baptized him, Chun Sungjae had been inside a beautiful mansion. He had to answer quiz questions from the god and the goddess, the twins.
His father’s Zodiac had boasted about himself inside the burning garden of the sun.
‘The Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac…’ Chun Sungjae quickly turned his head. However, he didn’t see the Zodiac anywhere.
‘What the hell? Why isn’t it here?’
He became uneasy. His reaction was normal. Whenever Chun Sungjae looked at Lee Gun, he never felt any divine energy. The only thing he could ever feel was his uncle’s energy.
‘Is it a neglectful Zodiac?’
Some Zodiacs were uninterested in their disciples. In turn, the disciples of their temples were weak; they couldn’t even receive proper protection from their Zodiacs. And that wasn’t all.
‘Normally, those Zodiacs are weak.’
These were the types of Zodiacs that went into hiding after letting the Zodiac Saints handle everything. It was common for these Zodiacs to not appear during the baptism.
Therefore, Chun Sungjae was a bit worried.
‘Since it’s a Zodiac Uncle follows, I thought it would be a powerful one…’
Of course, Chun Sungjae didn’t care what kind of Zodiac he followed. His uncle had been the reason he had joined the Serpent Bearer’s temple. He didn’t do it because he wanted to follow a powerful Zodiac. The young man just wanted his uncle to serve the strongest Zodiac amongst the thirteen Zodiacs.
‘At this rate…’
Suddenly…
“…?!!” Chun Sungjae couldn’t breathe. He felt a chilling energy behind him. Something large and oppressive stood there. This oppressive sensation had made him forget how to breathe.
Chun Sungjae was sure of it. ‘Zodiac!’
The Serpent Bearer stood behind him. Moreover, he was sure this Zodiac wasn’t the size of a human. It was something large.
The young man felt fear. It was as if he would be eaten if he breathed the wrong way, as if a monster were staring down at him from the heavens.
‘This is the Serpent Bearer.’ Chun Sungjae gulped.
The sound felt very loud. The young man was that afraid. He regretted having those earlier thoughts. ‘It’s not a weak Zodiac.’
It wasn’t like he had encountered many Zodiacs, but at the very least, the Gemini couldn’t be compared to this Zodiac.
[Are you the one who presumes to become the Serpent Bearer’s servant?]
“…!”
A savage voice brought Chun Sungjae back to reality. ‘Yes! I’m in the middle of my baptism.’
He mustered up the courage to turn his head. “Yes! That’s correct. I am Chun Sungjae. I’m ready to be your servant.”
[Turn your head.]
“I will honor—” Immediately after turning his head, Chun Sungjae clenched his eyes shut.
‘Mommy!’
A fierce pair of eyes was flashing within the darkness. The overall shape couldn’t be seen, but they were the eyes of a serpent! However, Chun Sungjae’s fear lasted only a moment.
‘Uh?’
He realized something was not quite right. Chun Sungjae peeked open one eye. Until a moment ago, he had been too afraid to think. However…
‘What the hell? That voice right now…’
He was sure of it. Although it sounded like the roar of a beast, he found it familiar.
The surprised Chun Sungjae fully opened his eyes and quickly turned his head!
Flash!
A blinding flash erupted in front of him. A light swept up the entirety of the outer space that he was in. The light was a cluster of galaxies. It spread as if it would swallow up space itself. That wasn’t all.
As the light swept him too, his body and hands started to disappear.
‘!’
The light that had been rising from below reached his face. Chun Sungjae felt his mind break into pieces as though he were becoming a part of the light. However, inside the light in the heavens, Chun Sungjae saw something clearly.
A monster was leisurely swimming through space. It was a serpent, a serpent that looked like it would swallow all the stars. No, it looked like it could swallow space itself.
Chun Sungjae instinctively realized it. ‘That’s the Serpent Bearer.’
This terrified him. He felt infinitesimally small in front of this being. However, the serpent soon changed into a familiar shape.
‘Human?’
It started to take on the shape of a man, and finally…
‘!’
This new form shocked Chun Sungjae! It was to be expected.
‘Uncle?’
Chun Sungjae fell unconscious.
* * *
“Huhk!”
Chun Sungjae woke up as if he was about to exhale all the air from his body. He looked like a person who had regained consciousness after drowning.
“Huhk… Huhk!”
“Sungjae!”
“Young master!”
The anxious Archer disciples looked at Chun Sungjae.
“Are you ok?”
Goat and Lee Jaewon were worried about him. It was to be expected. Chun Sungjae hadn’t breathed for a minute after the baptism had started. They had wondered if something had gone wrong because Chun Sungjae had betrayed and exited the Gemini temple.
“I’m glad you’re fine!” Hugo sounded both relieved and annoyed.
“Hey! I said he’d be fine,” Lee Gun said. Chun Sungjae had been out for only a minute or two. “Do you not trust me?”
These words angered the Archer Saint. “You left out all the processes in the baptism! How dare you say that?”
Even if they were annoying, the steps to the baptism had to be observed.
“It’s a ceremony where one encounters a Zodiac! Do you realize how dangerous that is? I’m afraid an accident will happen, you asshole!”
“Whatever! It’s because you guys are lousy.”
“Ah-oh!” Hugo pounded at his chest. In truth, that was all he could do.
‘The Serpent Bearer is the thirteenth Zodiac, which hadn’t existed until now.’
This Zodiac’s identity, disposition, and taste were unknown. Normally, one had to go through an exploratory phase. One had to work to please the Zodiac so that no accidents occurred.
Of course, an accident rarely occurred if a Zodiac Saint was present next to the disciple. Still, no one knew anything about this Zodiac; it could be a heinous monster.
Therefore, one had to be more careful than usual!
“If you’re a Zodiac Saint, you should act more responsibly! I don’t know what kind of Zodiac you serve, but there is a chance that your Zodiac is not friendly toward humans! If that’s the case—”
Hugo couldn’t finish his words.
“Wow! Amazing!”
“!”
Chun Sungjae couldn’t shut his mouth after waking up.
“Sungjae?”
In a daze, he mumbled, “Uncle was the Zodiac itself.”
“What?”
The young man suddenly stood up and grabbed his father. “This is huge! This is huge, Dad! Uncle is a Zodiac!”
“???” Hugo’s expression was a sight to behold.
The nearby people looked at Chun Sungjae as if he were being absurd. Was he still half asleep?
“Sungjae, what are you talking about?”
“Jeez! I’m saying Uncle is a Zodiac!”
Hugo couldn’t hold back when he heard those words. He scolded Lee Gun. “Look at him! This is why I said you have to make iron-clad preparations for a baptism! He has completely lost his mind!”
This left Lee Gun dumbfounded. “What the hell are you saying?”
Well, it didn’t matter.
[The baptism has ended.]
[Chun Sungjae(Rare) has awakened as a person of the Serpent Bearer.]
[Chun Sungjae(Rare) has received a new baptized name.]
[Chun Sungjae(Rare) has gained a new bonus skill.]
[The reward from the Missionary(Special) has granted Chun Sungjae special stats.]
The outcome satisfied Lee Gun.
‘He properly awakened.’ Chun Sungjae’s awakened skills looked excellent.
As for the person in question, he screamed when he saw his baptized name. “My god! What are these skills?”
It seemed the baptism wasn’t beneficial to only Chun Sungjae.
[You have gained a massive amount of EXP for awakening a disciple.]
[Your <Baptism> skill has leveled up.]
[The probability of developing good skills has gone up.]
Lee Gun gained EXP by killing monsters. However, he now realized awakening a disciple brought a lot of EXP since it was a rare event. This was a boon for him.
‘Why did Sungjae shake so much when he saw me?’
When Lee Gun had used the baptism skill, he had seen Sungjae tremble from being trapped in space. So, Lee Gun had merely called out to the young man from behind him.
He had proceeded by following the direction spoken to him by the voice. It didn’t matter in the end.
[Penalty: 50% Reduction in Physical Ability (Remaining Time: 69hrs 40m 58s)]
The penalty would go away in about three days.
Lee Gun turned his gaze. His gaze landed on the Secretary, who was discreetly trying to run away.
The Secretary was climbing over the wall, grumbling, “Shit! Why the hell did I have to get caught by a Saint like him?”
Hugo’s wife had been the easiest target. The Secretary had planned on using her as a hostage to run away, but he had already given up on that idea. For some odd reason, his abilities didn’t work against that strange woman.
“Still, that crazy bastard won’t be able to follow me if I go there— Ahk!”
Lee Gun grabbed the Secretary by the head. Then, with a bright smile on his lips, he asked, “Are you planning on running away to the Scorpio Saint?”
“!?”
“Guide me to your boss.” Lee Gun’s lips curled up in a contemptible manner. ‘She still hasn’t sent that paper, and there has been no news for a couple of weeks.’
* * *
Around that time.
“What? You received an official baptism from Uncle?”
Chun Yooha was surprised to receive a call from her brother. Her brother was speaking in an excited manner. However, the baptism was of secondary importance to him.
- Sis! Uncle is a Zodiac! He’s a Zodiac!
A realist, Chun Yooha ignored him. “What is your baptized name? What about your skills? Did you get any fighting skills?”
- Jeez! You’re a battle-crazed otaku! The only thing in your head is Uncle and the thoughts of getting stronger! You didn’t even listen to me! I’ll show you my skills when I meet you! My skills are to die for!
Chun Yooha’s cheek puffed up. She was jealous of her brother. ‘I want to join Uncle’s temple too.’
It wouldn’t be proper to beg her uncle to let her into his temple. Several weeks had passed since she had sent an official application form, and she had been impatiently waiting for an answer all this time.
Since her uncle still hadn’t answered her, Chun Yooha was close to giving up. ‘Well, he might not be in a rush to expand the number of his disciples.’
The sullen Chun Yooha wiggled her fingers. However…
- Ah! That’s right. Uncle has a second disciple now.
“I know. Puffin, right? It’s fine. Puffin will be helpful to Uncle…”
- Eh? No. The second disciple is a Secretary named Park Guisoon!
Chun Yooha’s eyes rarely turned round like this. What? Guisoon? “Is the person a woman?”
- What? The person is a male. Male.
Chun Yooha was relieved.
- Ah. He’s pretty though.
“?!” Chun Yooha froze as she held the phone. Pretty? She tilted her head with an odd expression. However, that wasn’t important right now.
“What about you, Sungjae? Did anything happen to you?”
- What? Why would anything happen to me?
“Was your life threatened…”
- Ah-oh! Five teams came after me today!
“I see! If something happens, be sure to tell your sister.” She ended the call like that.
Even after she ended the call, Chun Yooha’s expression remained serious. ‘Oliver.’
Chun Yooha clutched at her arms. The SS-rank disciple of the Leo temple held a grudge against her for stealing his spot on the Ten Stars.
While Yooha found the Leo Saint annoying, she did have a debt toward Stevens. She didn’t like him, but her dislike didn’t reach hate status. For some reason, the Leo Saint turned into a freak when the matter involved her uncle. She blamed it on the Leo Saint’s fandom(?) of Lee Gun.
Oliver was different.
‘He’s greedy. He’s the worst type of human.’
In the recent incident, when he had dragged her uncle into the fighting arena, the matter had ended up greatly benefiting her uncle.
Now, Oliver was aiming for her uncle and her brother. Moreover, he had killed her senior five years ago. That senior had been a mentor to Yooha, and at the time, she had to hold herself back. However, since Oliver was aiming for her uncle and her brother, the story had changed.
It was a rare sight to see killing intent appear in Chun Yooha’s eyes.
Flash!
A familiar coin appeared in front of her, a coin shaped like a serpent. Suddenly…
‘!’
Her arms reacted to the coin.
