While Lee Gun was in Belgium, Yoon Taewoo was trying to kill Chun Sungjae’s family in Canada.
“Don’t break your back for nothing, idiot.”
“…!”
Chun Sungjae was trying to protect his mom and Lee Jaewon. His back was against the bed.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but do you really think they’ll open their eyes? Even the Gemini Saint and the Aquarius Saint couldn’t do it.”
At that moment, Chun Sungjae, who had his eyes clenched shut, got a shock. It was understandable.
Squeeze!
Someone had grabbed his hand. Sungjae was sure it was Lee Jaewon. That man was hooked up to the respirator, yet he had grabbed Chun Sungjae’s hand.
“…!”
The sensation was faint, but Chun Sungjae could feel the hand grip his hand. He almost cried. He could feel Lee Jaewon’s gaze.
The man was mumbling something as he looked at Chun Sungjae.
“…!”
Yoon Taewoo was oblivious to this exchange since his skill was quite loud. He approached Chun Sungjae. “The Archer Saint is quite foolish. For the past ten years, he spent his money to put everyone on life support. He should’ve been humane and let everyone die in peace.”
Chun Sungjae bit hard on his lips. Yoon Taewoo laughed as if there was no hope for the young man in front of him. However, Chun Sungjae was acting this way because he had heard something clearly.
“Sungjae. Are you unhurt?”
He was choked up as his throat felt like it was burning.
Ten years ago, in that incident, Lee Jaewon had told Sungjae that his father would be there soon. Lee Jaewon had soothed Sungjae until the end, until the monster ate him instead of Sungjae.
And when he woke up after ten years, the first words out of his mouth were words of concern about Chun Sungjae. It seemed Lee Jaewon wasn’t aware that ten years had passed.
As if to make matters worse, Lee Jaewon had been at that place only because Chun Sungjae had wanted to see his mother.
It was all his fault. Chun Sungjae couldn’t speak as he could barely swallow his saliva. That wasn’t all.
‘!’
His mother’s fingers started twitching as well.
When the young man saw this, strength entered his hands. ‘I have to protect them.’
Yoon Taewoo scoffed when he saw the look in Sungjae’s eyes. His fist flew toward Chun Sungjae’s face.
Bbah-gahk!
The restrained Archer disciples turned pale.
“Sungjae!”
They were sure of it. The noise sounded like a head being cracked open. Since the fist was infused with magic, anyone taking a hit from it would feel like a truck had hit them.
As proof, blood flowed out of Chun Sungjae’s head, nose, and mouth. However, it didn’t end there.
Bbuh-uhk!
After taking a punch in the stomach, Chun Sungjae threw up. “Oohk…!” His ribs were shattered.
Yoon Taewoo didn’t care. He let out a cold laugh. “You little shit! I’m your god-like senior, yet you glare at me like that?” His voice rang out as if he were enjoying this. “You little chiwawa bastard!”
Bbah-gahk! Bbah-gahk!
Killing intent oozed out of him as he sent forward a kick.
Chun Sungjae, who was already small in stature, felt his bones break everywhere.
“Your balls haven’t even dropped, yet you tried to come at me? You are only an A rank!”
His face was crushed, and his head was split open.
Kwahk!
“Idiot!”
The floor was stained with blood. In the end, the youngest Archer disciple couldn’t stand it. He yelled, “I’ll give you an S-rank holy item of the Archer Saint! That’s enough!”
Yoon Taewoo laughed as if he wanted that disciple to fuck off. “I don’t want an item from that terrible Zodiac. Kids like these don’t listen to words. He’ll only learn when he is beaten like a dog!”
The Archer disciples shuddered at what they saw.
‘There is too much difference between an A-rank and an S-rank.’
It didn’t matter what Chun Sungjae wanted to do. There was no way he could win against Yoon Taewoo.
At that moment…
Dae-goo-roo-roo!
“!”
A coin rolled out of Chun Sungjae’s body.
It made Yoon Taewoo tilt his head in puzzlement. “What the hell is this?”
The coin felt like a holy item, but it contained the energy of an unknown Zodiac. In fact, he had never seen this symbol before. However, Yoon Taewoo laughed as if he didn’t care. Then…
Poohk!
“Huhk!”
Chun Sungjae threw up blood as his magical energy suddenly exited his body.
[Equivalent Exchange—Magical Energy Absorption]
It was a Libra skill. Yoon Taewoo had taken away magical energy in exchange for passing on his pain.
Chun Sungjae had never been able to receive much magical energy from the Gemini, yet it was all stolen from him. He vomited blood.
Yoon Taewoo enjoyed himself as he heard Chun Sungjae groan. “Your vessel for storing magic is trash even for an A-rank. This coin is trash too. Looks like you didn’t buy it. I don’t know who the original owner of this coin was, but I bet he’s trash like you.”
When Chun Sungjae heard those words, he became madder than ever. He ground his teeth. The young man didn’t care if Yoon Taewoo disparaged him, but he wouldn’t allow Yoon Taewoo to disparage his uncle.
“You son of a bitch…!”
However, he was a mere A-rank; he had no chance of winning against the other man. It wasn’t as if he could just become an S-rank either. Why?
‘I’ll be honest regarding your test result. The limit of your talent is C rank.’
‘!’
‘This isn’t a problem about your faith. Even if your faith were a 100%, you could never reach the S-rank. You have no talent.’
The Korean Gemini general Choi Sunghyuk and the Gemini Saint Heiji had told him so.
‘At most, the Gemini temple can raise you to the A rank.’
The fact that he had somehow risen to A rank was good news, but…
‘It won’t be enough!’ Chun Sungjae wouldn’t be able to protect his family, who had barely woken up. Moreover, he won’t be of any help to Lee Gun.
At that moment of despair…
[Congratulations! The Serpent Bearer’s Mission has started.]
Surprised, Chun Sungjae looked at his surroundings. The voice continued.
[Destroy all the enemies in front of you!]
[If you agree to the mission, a provisional contract will be formed. You will receive the protection of the Serpent Bearer!]
[Do you want to take on the mission? You don’t? You want to die?]
Chun Sungjae was taken aback, his reaction completely normal.
‘Uncle?’ He was sure of it. The manner of speaking was different from normal, but it was the voice of Lee Gun.
From the nonreaction in his surroundings, Chun Sungjae realized he was the only one who could hear the voice.
While Chun Sungjae was confused, Yoon Taewoo grabbed him by the neck and said, “Why the fuck do you keep grinning, you creepy little bastard? Do you need more of a beating?”
Chun Sungjae heard the voice once again.
[Hey! Do you want to get hit and do the mission? Or do you want to get hit and not do the mission?]
It was unclear if that was an attempt to convert him or a threat. However, he didn’t care.
‘I’ll do it.’ Chun Sungjae laughed as he grabbed Yoon Taewoo’s arms.
Yoo Taewoo sensed magical energy through his hands. It surprised him. “Huh? You have magical energy left? Whatever. I’ll just eat it all…”
However…
“!?” Yoon Taewoo turned pale. The magical energy he had just tried to absorb struck fear in him. ‘What… what the hell is this?’
This magical energy was hideous. The more terrifying fact was that it wasn’t the magical energy of the Gemini. In his knowledge, no Zodiac possessed this magical energy.
In the end, Yoon Taewoo quickly retreated. “Which Zodiac’s magical energy did you—”
Poo-hahk!
“Ahhhk!”
An agonizing scream ran out. One of Yoon Taewoo’s eyes leaked blood. Chun Sungjae had used his magic to slash at him.
“You bastard!” Yoon Taewoo glared as he cut off Chun Sungjae’s arm.
Kwah-jeek!
“Koohk!”
“Sungjae!”
“Idiot! If you had done nothing, I wouldn’t have cut you at the very least—” Yoon Taewoo couldn’t talk any further.
Puhng!
“Kuh-huhk!”
His arms swelled and then exploded.
“Ahhhk!”
Boom!
This frightened the Archer disciples, who had been watching the fight.
‘Who the hell did that?’
Yoon Taewoo looked up, shock all over his face.
[You have accepted the Serpent Bearer’s mission.]
[The provisional contract has come into effect.]
[I’ll lend you my magical energy. If you do not win, you are dead!]
As Lee Gun’s voice rang, Chun Sungjae made a fist.
[Hundred Strike]
When Chun Sungjae moved his hands, powerful balls of magical energy flew toward Yoon Taewoo.
Kwahng! Kwahng! Kwahng!
“Ahhhk!”
Ten straight shots! Twenty! Hundred!
“Huh-uhk…!”
The mouths of the Archer disciples fell open. Chun Sungjae had destroyed the body protection magic of the S-rank Yoon Taewoo.
“S-Sungjae! How…”
At that moment…
“That’s as far as you go!”
The air distorted as a group of magicians appeared at the scene. It was a teleportation spell.
“Where is Yoon Taewoo?”
These people were none other than the Gemini generals and their underlings. Twenty of them, including Korea’s Gemini general Choi Sunghyuk, had come here. They had come to reclaim the magic tomes Chun Sungjae had taken away.
However, all of them had grim looks on their faces. It was to be expected.
‘Chun Sungjae would’ve probably lost the magic tome by now.’
Yoon Taewoo, who was related to the Libra Saint, had probably gone on a rampage against Chun Sungjae. That was why they were tense.
“Yoon Tae—”
However, their eyes soon turned round.
Kwhang!!!
Something hit the wall as if it were trying to paint the wall with blood.
The magicians reared back in fright when they realized who it was.
“Yoo-Yoon Taewoo?!”
Both of his arms had been blown off, and various parts of his body had suffered the same fate. At this point, Yoon Taewoo was almost a corpse.
“Wh-what the hell! Who did this to an S-rank magician?”
Soon, they realized who was the culprit.
“G-General-nim! O-over there!”
The generals looked in the direction a subordinate pointed out. The next moment, they reared back in fright.
“Chu-Chun Sungjae?”
That was right. Chun Sungjae stood there, balls of magical energy floating around him. One of his arms was missing, but it was clearly him.
Of course, this shocked the group.
“No way! Did Chun Sungjae do that to Yoon Taewoo?”
“Hey! That makes no sense! Chun Sungjae is only an A-rank! How could he do that to a general-rank….”
Their disbelief lasted only a moment, then they gasped.
Kwah-jeek! Kwah-jeek!
Needles made of rock ruthlessly pierced Yoon Taewoo.
The Gemini generals, including Choi Sunghyuk, shuddered as blood erupted into the air. They were sure of it. The skill’s attack power and the pressure created by his magical energy were enough to tell them.
‘S rank…!’
Yes, Chun Sungjae, who had been their subordinate, was showing powers equivalent to that of a general!
“Did… did he rank up!”
“What? He’s an S-rank now?”
They all shuddered. For some reason, they felt an odd sensation. It felt as if Chun Sungjae wasn’t a simple S-rank. He seemed to be above them. However, something was even more surprising.
[Your faith toward the Serpent Bearer is very high! (300%)!]
[As a bonus, you can use the Serpent Bearer’s bible during the mission. You can use it 3 times.]
Chun Sungjae flinched as if he had heard something. Then he suddenly started reciting something while looking into the air. “Zero, one, two!”
He wondered what those numbers meant, but it didn’t take long for him to find out.
Boom!!
All the Gemini magicians fell to their knees.
“Koohk…!”
Some unknown force was pressing down on them. At the same time, they heard an odd sound.
[Achievement No. 1]
– Killed the devil from the ocean. Brought down the divine beast to its knees.
They had no idea what those nonsensical words meant, but the power pressing down on the Gemini disciples got much stronger.
Koo-goo–goo-goong!
“Koohk…! What kind of skill is this?”
However, that wasn’t the biggest surprise.
“General-nim! This is odd! Sungjae isn’t using the magical energy of the Gemini!”
“?!”
Choi Sunghyuk was also taken aback. Chun Sungjae was using magical energy that didn’t belong to the twelve Zodiacs. Moreover, the Korean Gemini general knew where he had felt this magical energy before. He knew it well.
‘This is what I felt from Lee Gun…!’ Choi Sunghyuk was sure of it. It felt like Lee Gun’s magical energy. Moreover, he knew what this implied.
Chun Sungjae was not using the magical energy of the Gemini, and Lee Gun was currently being called the thirteenth Saint!
‘Did he change allegiance to a different Zodiac?’ In the end, Choi Sunghyuk yelled in desperation, “Sungjae! You’re a good boy, right? Don’t get this twisted. We are only here to recover an item. There is a divine magic tome amongst Yoon Taewoo’s magic tomes that you took….”
Boom!
Flames flew toward Choi Sunghyuk’s face, surprising everyone.
“General-nim!”
“Chun Sungjae! What’s the meaning of this?”
Chun Sungjae coldly spoke as he looked at his mirror-shaped badge. “Why did you lie to me?”
“What?”
“You said I’ll max out at the A rank.”
Choi Sunghyuk flinched. ‘Shit!’ It was as he had assumed. Chun Sungjae had awakened as an S-rank.
As someone that had ranked up too, Choi Sunghyuk recognized the signs. There was a big difference in power between the two ranks. Moreover, he knew it by looking at the badge. The badge checked the owner’s rank in real-time. As expected, Chun Sungjae’s badge showed the sign of an S-rank.
Choi Sunghyuk let out a bright smile. “I didn’t know. Congratulations on becoming an S-rank!”
Chun Sungjae furrowed his brows. He was under the Serpent Bearer’s provisional contract, and it had unlocked a special ability in him.
[Eyes that Distinguish Lies]
Therefore, he knew. It was all a lie. He had known, and the words of congratulations were false as well.
Crack!
Chun Sungjae crushed the Gemini badge in his hand.
“…!”
The meaning behind the gesture was clear. All the generals glared at him.
“Take it from him!”
“Hurry up and take the magic tome from him!”
“Even if he is an S-rank, he’s a novice who has just awakened!”
All of them went into battle mode.
[Soul Invocation!]
The Gemini magicians brought out their second characters. Depending on their talent, awakened beings could summon an infinite variety of spirits.
Koo-goo-goo-goong!!
When they invoked the skill, their expressions and the color of their eyes changed.
“Chun Sungjae can’t use Soul Invocation!”
“He’s a magician, but he can’t go into battle mode!”
Even if it was the same spell, going into Soul Invocation state created a power difference. Moreover, the generals could summon high-rank spirits. These spirits were at least of the noble rank.
On the other hand, Chun Sungjae was a failure who couldn’t even call forth a spirit. It was the reason everyone made fun of him.
‘Chun Sungjae doesn’t have a spirit.’
However, at that moment…
[You finally are worthy of calling me out]
“?!”
Along with a voice, light exploded forth.
