Chapter 152
“By the way, Mackenzie.”
“Yes?”
“Your master doesn’t hate you, does he?”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing...”
Choi Yeonseung looked at what Mackenzie was riding with a strange expression. No matter how he looked at it, Mackenzie was riding… a giant pig. The giant pig grunted and stomped on the ground.
‘What is the Fighter of Sweat and Flesh doing? Why did he give Mackenzie something like that?’
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says one of the contestants doesn’t even have a mount.]
Choi Yeonseung didn’t care much about appearance, but this seemed a bit disadvantageous. One was riding a giant pig, and the other had no mount. In comparison, the opponent was riding...
‘An ice dragon!’
A beautiful dragon with a body made out of ice silently flapped its wings as it looked down at Choi Yeonseung. Ice dragons were rare monsters in the Abyss. They were strong, and they were popular because of their beautiful appearance and loyalty to those they recognized as their master. Ice dragons could only be found in certain Abyss realms. Quite a few people wanted to get their eggs and offer them to their constellation.
‘That mount has to be from the Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place.’
The being riding and patting the dragon looked like an ice elemental. After all, he released cold, white air every time he breathed.
Meanwhile, the Endless Linked Explosions showed a different form of intensity. A mechanical being, perhaps a cyborg, sat on the mount. Even the slightest movements reverberated faint sounds of steel colliding and lubricant oil pouring. The artificial life form had oil flowing within it instead of blood!
‘Abyss realms that are more technologically advanced than Earth are rare.’
Earth was behind in magic, but it had considerably advanced technology. The Abyss was a space full of magic power. In most areas, magic and technology developed together. A place where technology developed without any magic like Earth was quite unusual. Thanks to this, technology?had?advanced a lot, but...
Earth had never created artificial life forms.
-Weak flesh, bones, and fatigue can’t defeat me, human.
The emotionless and inorganic mechanical man dryly spoke to Choi Yeonseung. He was riding a bipedal mechanical dinosaur made of steel, brass, and springs.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ thinks the Endless Linked Explosions is quite the engineer.]
‘I was thinking that too.’
-This match is just entertainment for my master, but I do not intend to lose.
This constellation battle wasn’t a serious fight for the life and territory of the constellations involved. It was more like a game to soothe their boredom. If it were a proper fight, it would’ve taken a lot more preparation, and the atmosphere now would’ve been different. Nevertheless, the stakes and the seriousness of the household members—including the constellation pretending to be one—participating in it was real.
‘I’ll be fine, but I don’t know if Mackenzie will be okay.’
However, contrary to Choi Yeonseung’s expectations, Mackenzie and the pig took the lead as soon as they started.
***
“!!”
The pig’s leaping power surpassed Choi Yeonseung’s imagination. It shot forward, having launched itself off the ground with a kick from its thick legs.
‘No?!’
Unlike Choi Yeonseung, their enemies weren’t surprised. They calmly chased after Mackenzie using the ice dragon and mechanical dinosaur. One of them left a trail of ice, and the other a trail of fire. It wasn’t as explosive as the pig, but they showed formidable paces.
‘This is just a three-person match,’ the mechanical human calmly judged.
He didn’t know what the Undefeated Incarnation of Training was thinking, but letting his household member participate without any mount was a mistake. Choi Yeonseung had to have disgraced the household. If not, then the Undefeated Incarnation of Training likely had a problem with the Fighter of Sweat and Flesh.
‘I will do my best.’ The mechanical man erased the human who had already fallen behind from his mind and focused on the task ahead.
This wasn’t just a race on a mount. It was about how well they could hold on in a randomly selected realm of the Abyss. This difference would determine the winner of the match. Not even the household members participating in the race knew what lay ahead of them.
‘Rock showers!’
Rocks suddenly started to rain down on the empty wasteland. Rock showers were a specialty of the Abyss. Losing strength, the rock clouds from other areas fell down like raindrops.
“Ohhhh!” Mackenzie screamed as he held onto the pig tightly. In this situation, all he could rely on was the mount his master had given him.
-Listen, Mackenzie. This pig is wiser than any sage. Trust in it and stand on it. It will bring you victory.
-Thank you! I will do my best!
The type of mount they got was important, but it wouldn’t mean anything if the one riding it couldn’t hold on. Mackenzie held on tightly on top of the pig, and the pig avoided the rocks as if responding to his faith.
-Start the interception.
At the mechanical man’s words, the dinosaur rattled and soon fired a missile that blew away any rocks in their path. Choi Yeonseung was impressed. Such technology!
-......
Thinking something was strange, the mechanical man looked behind him and found the human he ignored sitting with him on the dinosaur.
-W-w-what are you doing?
“I’ll ride with you. This thing has a lot of space,” Choi Yeonseung confidently said.
That was right. The moment the race started, Choi Yeonseung performed a new technique to grab onto the mechanical dinosaur’s tail and climb on its back. The others would’ve noticed it if he used magic, but he used martial arts to stealthily get on the ride. Hence, the other racers thought they had left Choi Yeonseung behind. Since then, he had been hiding his presence and sitting comfortably on top of the dinosaur.
-Successor. This is a really good strategy.
Even the goddess was impressed. She was worried about how he would catch up to them with nothing but his feet, but she didn’t expect he would use such a plan.
-Get off. My master gave me this ride!
“Uhuh. No violence is allowed.”
Unfortunately, direct attacks on each other were prohibited.
[The ’Endless Linked Explosions’ finds it very absurd!]
[The ’Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ bursts out laughing.]
[The ’Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ pretends not to know anything.]
The Fighter of Sweat and Flesh, who had a fair personality, pretended not to see anything.
-... Drop this bastard!
In response to the mechanical man’s order, the mechanical dinosaur started rampaging wildly. Unlike the mechanical man, who had fixed himself on his mount so he wouldn’t fall, Choi Yeonseung rodeo on top of the rampaging dinosaur! His situation looked so precarious that it seemed he could fall at any moment, but Choi Yeonseung held on.
“You sure you don’t want to focus on the road? The gap is getting wider.”
-... Fine. Stop trying to drop him and just charge forward!
Choi Yeonseung’s logical reasoning convinced the mechanical man. It was annoying, but if he kept this up, he would lose in this competition. The race between the mechanical man and Choi Yeonseung began.
‘This is nice.’ Choi Yeonseung focused on the mechanical dinosaur.
He climbed onto the dinosaur in the beginning to save strength, but to win, he actually had to move. Hence, he decided to hit the dinosaur as soon as he got the opportunity!
-Warning. Warning.
The mechanical dinosaur let out warning sounds as its eyes flashed red. A huge green mist was up ahead. Mackenzie had little Abyss experience, so he didn’t know anything about it, but the others immediately knew what it was. The Abyss’ poisonous fog! The Abyss’ poison contained many nasty things. It could melt flesh and burn bones upon contact.
-Testing the poison. Testing the poison. Assessment complete. Result: harmless.
Using the lens attached to its eyes to identify the components of the poisonous mist, the mechanical dinosaur determined that it was not life-threatening. The poison just made it impossible for those who inhaled it to breathe, so it didn’t really matter to the two of them.
-It can eliminate the unwanted passenger.
-Go in!
As Mackenzie and the pig went around to avoid the fog and the ice elemental and the ice dragon shot out ice to create a path, the mechanical man and mechanical dinosaur rushed in. Such boldness was only possible because they had a body of steel!
The two were confident that the poison mist would get rid of Choi Yeonseung.
… But Choi Yeonseung didn’t even try to leave.
-......
-... Analysis complete. The unwanted passenger possesses poison-resistance skills.
Choi Yeonseung was used to swimming in a sea of poison in the Abyss. This level of poison had no effect on him. Rather, he even comfortably straightened his posture on top of the mechanical dinosaur. The poisonous fog had reversed the situation. Choi Yeonseung saw this as a good opportunity to get rid of them.
Thump!
… But his plan was immediately foiled. The mechanical dinosaur suddenly stopped.
-Trap alert. Trap alert.
As it warned them, the mechanical dinosaur sank downward. It was as if the ground had caved in.
‘A swamp!’
“You idiot. You didn’t even notice the swamp?”
The terrain of the Abyss was so terrible that stepping on it could turn it into a swamp. The mechanical dinosaur monotonously protested.
-Insufficient functionality. Blaming me is unreasonable.
-Booster rush! Accelerate explosion!
At the mechanical man’s command, the mechanical dinosaur struggled to get out of the swamp.
Clicking his tongue, Choi Yeonseung jumped off the mechanical dinosaur. His feet had submerged into the swamp, which attempted to pull him down, but he just struck the swamp with internal energy. Using light footwork, he then made himself as light as he could and began to run ahead.
Tak, tak, tak, tak.
As he charged forth, he released internal energy. He then retrieved it to preserve as much internal energy as possible. Choi Yeonseung had mastered the tricks required for a being made of flesh to run for a long time.
The moment the distance widened, the mechanical man looked at Choi Yeonseung incredulously.
-That’s impossible. How can he do that with such fragile flesh and bones?
Choi Yeonseung didn’t use any magic, but he could keep running like this without getting tired.
[The ’Endless Linked Explosions’ acknowledges your ability!]
***
As Mackenzie was going around, the ice dragon broke through the fog and flew as fast as it could. Choi Yeonseung was putting a limit on himself to maintain his internal energy, but he also paid keen attention to the momentum of the ice dragon following closely behind him. If it caught up and reversed the situation…
‘I’d have to speed up even if it means running out of internal energy.’
Choi Yeonseung didn’t know what the ice dragon had up its sleeves, but he didn’t intend to lose.
[The ’Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ gives you a proposal.]
Choi Yeonseung was puzzled. He had just received a message from a constellation out of nowhere.
‘...What?’
[The ’Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ says that considering the current situation, one of you is bound to win.]
[If you accept his offer, he promises to let you win.]
‘... What is he up to?’
This constellation gave him an offer despite being allied with the explosives constellation.
Choi Yeonseung was puzzled. Was this psychological warfare?
‘Wouldn’t it be bad to ally with a constellation, then betray them?’
-You would be treated like a complete dog.
‘Is that so?’
There were also rules between constellations. If a constellation joined a two-on-two battle only to stab their ally from the back, nobody would trust them anymore. Nevertheless, the constellation Choi Yeonseung was up against just offered to betray his ally.
‘Goddess. What do you think of this?’
-I think you should be the one to decide on this, Successor. I don’t understand what he’s trying to do either.
Even the goddess couldn’t fathom the meaning behind this proposal.
What was he thinking?
The worried Choi Yeonseung made a decision.
-... I refuse.
[The ’Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ is disappointed.]
[He says that his household?member isn’t?slow.]
-I know, but I’m confident that I will win.
Choi Yeonseung raised his head and looked straight ahead.
A magical storm was gathering in front of him.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m