Chapter 284
-...That would make sense, but there seems to be some other reason.
Choi Yeonseung pondered on it. What reason did a constellation have to do something against their inclinations?
‘An alliance!’
At that moment, a thought passed through Choi Yeonseung’s mind.
Just as working hard went against the nature of the goddess of sloth, the allied constellations were sometimes forced to do things they didn’t want to do.
-Why bring me up...
-Doesn’t it sound reasonable?
-It certainly makes sense. It’s possible that a constellation allied with the Demon of Contract and Order requested him to target you.
The goddess of sloth agreed.
Moreover, there was an advantage in asking another constellation to do this. It was easy for the constellation that made the request to remain undetected!
-By the way... The Demon of Contract and Order doesn’t have any constellations he’s allied with, right? The evil god constellations were friendly with each other, but not to the point where you could call it an alliance.
-It’s also common to form secret alliances in the Abyss...
-That’s true.
If the Demon of Contract and Order had secretly formed an alliance with other constellations, there was almost no way for Choi Yeonseung to find out who the allies were.
“So? Lich, didn’t you say you would reveal your master’s weakness on top of his identity?”
-Ah. Yes. There is a treasure that the Demon of Contract and Order holds very dear.
“!”
Choi Yeonseung’s expression changed upon hearing something surprisingly enticing. Odaigon, who was listening next to Choi Yeonseung, was also intrigued.
‘Ohu...’
If a constellation treasured that item, then it had to be something special. At the very least, it had to be a holy relic that contained the existence of a constellation. It was hard to say how valuable it would turn out to be!
“What kind of treasure is it?”
-It’s a contract book containing the record of contracts written by the Demon of Contract and Order.
“...”
Disappointment washed over Choi Yeonseung’s expression. It wasn’t as great as he had imagined.
“How can I use that?”
-N-no… Think carefully! It might be useless to you, but the Demon of Contract and Order values that treasure just as much as he values his life. Really!
‘He isn’t lying, is he?’
Choi Yeonseung had a hard time believing it. How could a constellation cherish a contract book so much?
-No. It doesn’t make any sense, but there might be constellations like that.
-Really?
-Wasn’t there a constellation that made a holy relic with his own power of existence? You can look at the contract book as something similar.
The goddess of sloth mentioned something that had happened before.
There was a blacksmith constellation, and it was said that he had created such an amazing sword that he treasured it tremendously. He had taken his own power of existence, made it into a holy relic, and kept it by his side, never separating himself from it.
Of course, it hadn’t ended up well for the blacksmith constellation. Other constellations had found out about his weakness and persistently targeted his sword.
-You could deal a really heavy blow to him if you actually manage to get your hands on that contract book.
-If that’s true, it could work.
It was easy to think of constellations as almighty beings due to the rumors about them, but they weren’t invincible. Just as Choi Yeonseung had the power of existence but rarely used magic, constellations couldn’t learn or employ things that didn’t suit them well.
Therefore, this aspect made constellations rather vulnerable. They were susceptible to growing a deep attachment to these kinds of treasures!
-I’ve been searching for a long time for that contract book. I’ll tell you where it’s located if you make a promise to me.
“What promise?’
-You have to accept me as your household member.
Ganonvial’s words were firm.
The moment he revealed his master’s identity and the location of the book, Ganonvial would become the enemy of the Demon of Contract and Order. A lich was generally not afraid of anything, but nothing good would come out of incurring the wrath of a constellation. It was best to serve another constellation in order to avoid the resentment of his original master.
Hwang Gyeongryong said angrily, “What type of clan does this cheeky undead guy belong to?”
“Well said, human! We don’t need an undead in our household! Start as a minion, or even a slave!”
-...
Ganonvial regretted his decision for a moment. Would he really be able to get along with such exasperating individuals?
***
“Does it look okay?”
“Of course.”
Odaigon was very impressed when seeing Choi Yeonseung transformed into an orc.
“You look like an orc. As expected of Master.”
“I don’t think that’s a very good compliment...”
The reason why Choi Yeonseung disguised himself as an orc was simple. He was currently preparing to infiltrate the realm of the Demon of Contract and Order.
A constellation couldn’t detect every single intruder that infiltrated their realm, especially if their kingdom was vast. That was exactly the case with the demon constellation. Therefore, it was unlikely that Choi Yeonseung and Odaigon wouldn’t get noticed after they sneaked in.
Of course, the realm was teeming with minions from other races, so it was better to be a race that was less conspicuous. The orcs were as common as stones in the Abyss.
“In any case, Odaigon, try your best to hide your identity. It’ll be troublesome if the demon constellation finds out who we are.”
“I’ll even risk my life to conceal my identity.”
“No... Don’t risk your life.”
[You have entered the ‘Forest Filled with Harsh Order’.]
The kingdom of the Demon of Contract and Order wasn’t deep in the Abyss. The entrance to the forest was wide open, as if inviting intruders to enter.
Choi Yeonseung cleared his mind.
‘I can’t show any nervousness.’
It might’ve been different if he had been by himself, but he couldn’t help paying attention to Odaigon when moving with him. Even though Odaigon was skilled with magic, he lacked a lot of common sense.
He was the king of the goblins for a reason!
-An orc and a goblin? What are you doing here?
A creature from one of the tribe races was passing by when it spotted Choi Yeonseung and Odaigon. It was a centaur, a creature that had the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a human! In the Abyss, they were infamous for their excellent archery skills and their physical strength.
-What should we do? Kill him?
-No. We naturally can’t do that because there are a lot of eyes on us. Let’s put up with it and see what happens.
Choi Yeonseung stopped Odaigon and apologized to the centaur.
“Oh my… I’m sorry. I’ve heard rumors that we can find all types of treasures here in the Forest Filled with Harsh Order... Would you like a carrot?”
-Who are you teasing?
The centaur became even angrier and slapped the hand that Choi Yeonseung had extended to him. He sounded like he couldn’t care less about carrots or anything else.
‘Uh... He must really dislike carrots.’
-Centaurs don’t always like carrots.
The goddess of sloth was dumbfounded. Not that they had hit this bump, how were they going to advance?
“Hah. When someone makes a gesture of goodwill, you should bow your head appropriately...”
Crunch!
Choi Yeonseung grabbed the centaur’s wrist and spun him around to beat him. The centaur was struck with immense power and couldn’t even scream. He just writhed in a confused manner.
-Arghh!
“Why can’t an orc and goblin walk around together? And why is a centaur here in the first place? Besides, you seem like you’re the one lacking common sense here, not us.”
-Ghaaa! Aaahh!
The centaur screamed in pain as he was completely overpowered.
Odaigon carefully asked something from the side.
-By the way, Master. Shouldn’t we be quiet?
-Sometimes, you need to be flexible with your plans.
The centaur once again let out a scream of pain, and only then did Choi Yeonseung nod in satisfaction.
“Now, you know why we came here, right?”
-Yes...
The centaur responded in a dejected manner. He had wanted to pick a fight for no particular reason because he had seen an orc and a goblin, but they turned out to be stronger than he had thought.
“I needed a guide anyway, so this works perfectly. You’ll show us around.”
-If you need a guide, I’ll bring another weak bastard from the tribe...
"Whoa!”
“How can someone be so wicked?”
Odaigon and Choi Yeonseung instantly cut off the centaur’s words. They didn’t know about anything else, but they could guess that the centaur was trying to run away without paying for his impudence. It was absolutely unacceptable!
“Now, describe the area. I need to get used to it before I obtain the treasure.”
The centaur was taken aback by the orc’s confident words. It was rather amusing that this orc was putting the cart before the horse.
-No... The treasures here aren’t in some kind of treasure chest, so they aren’t that easy to obtain.
“Then how do you obtain them?”
‘He has such a nasty temper for an orc.’
The centaur inwardly cursed at Choi Yeonseung. It hadn’t been long since Choi Yeonseung subdued the centaur, and he was already pushing his patience to the limit.
-You have to meet with the person who has the treasure and negotiate a contract with them. That’s the rule.
“I have to go through all that?”
-Isn’t it a given?
The centaur had come to this Forest Filled with Harsh Order before, which meant that he was comfortable navigating through it.
“Now that I know this, tell me something else. What’s up with the elf pushing the boulder up the slope over there?” asked Choi Yeonseung while pointing toward a forest slope.
The centaur saw it and proceeded to explain with a pitying voice.
-He seems to have gone against the wishes of the Demon of Contract and Order and is being punished severely.
“Is that a punishment?”
-Yes.
‘It doesn’t really look like punishment...’
In Choi Yeonseung’s opinion, pushing the boulder up the slope seemed like good training. That kind of training honed the foundation of martial arts!
Of course, that was just Choi Yeonseung’s opinion. If anyone else saw that, they would think something like ‘You shouldn’t have disobeyed the constellation.’
“What is that deer waiting in the spring? Is a constellation raising that deer?”
-That poor deer has sworn to the Demon of Contract and Order that it would only drink water with a funnel. I don’t know how long it’s been doing this.
‘...Isn’t that guy insane?’
At most, he was just tormenting a poor deer.
Choi Yeonseung’s evaluation of the Demon of Contract and Order went down one level. What kind of a fool would lay out such a trap in a contract?
Since then, bizarre things kept happening.
Quite befittingly for the name of the Demon of Contract and Order, many minions in his realm had contracts with him. Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded every time he saw such bizarre contracts.
This constellation was basically doing nothing!
‘Why is he wasting his time like this?’
-I agree.
‘...In any case, the location that Ganonvial gave us is much deeper into the forest, right?’
Choi Yeonseung had roughly circled around the outskirts of the forest and was now thinking about entering the forest. According to the lich, the treasure was located in the heart of the forest.
The centaur hesitated as he looked at Choi Yeonseung.
-I think I’ve explained everything to you. Can I go now, great orc warrior?
“Uhh, not a chance. Guide me inside as well.”
-...
The centaur looked utterly dejected. Still, he had no choice but to comply.
‘Rather than going around with orcs and goblins, it’s better to have a skilled centaur from here to avoid raising suspicion.’
If there were just Choi Yeonseung and Odaigon, they would easily attract attention, but what if there was also a centaur with them? They would clearly have a better disguise that way.
‘Ugh, these two crazy bastards…,’ the centaur complained to himself. He didn’t know from which realm they had come from, but they were awfully arrogant for an orc and a goblin. He would never forgive them!
“What? Why are all the paths blocked here?”
-The Forest Filled with Harsh Order is a place where the demon constellation sets the rules. You have to follow the rules if you want to go through this path and get inside. It’s a riddle that blocks this path.
The centaur sneered along with those words. The orc warrior was strong and powerful, but there was no way he was smart enough to solve this riddle.
“I solved it. Not a big deal. Isn’t the path open now?”
-?!?!?!
“Is this path really managed by the demon constellation?”
At the sight of the orc warrior, or rather, Choi Yeonseung, solving the puzzle instantly and moving forward, the centaur was speechless and could only blink in astonishment.
Was he really an orc???
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