Chapter 43. Entering Cheonan (1)
"Lee Jukheon, if you're not eating that meat, I'll take it."
"I was saving that! Don't touch it!"
"By the way, Joo Minha, what did you decide to do about the people from the church?"
"It seems difficult for them to return anytime soon, so I asked someone trustworthy from the Hoseo Faction to look after them."
After wiping out the remnants of the White Banner Order and gaining complete control of the highway...
Kang Yujin, Seok Taejun, Lee Jukheon, and Joo Minha were eating together at a restaurant.
"Kang Yujin, now we can finally enter Cheonan."
"Looks like it."
"If we'd managed to ride the train properly, we would've passed through Cheonan on the first day."
Seok Taejun laughed.
"It took us a ridiculously long time."
"Still..."
Kang Yujin put down his spoon.
"Because of everything that happened, I gained some good companions."
"So I think it worked out for the best."
"W-Why are you suddenly saying something embarrassing?"
Lee Jukheon quickly looked away.
Joo Minha closed her eyes and nodded.
"It should be considered a meeting brought about by fate."
"Did you enjoy the meal?"
Ma Taesu entered the restaurant just as they were finishing.
"I'm about to enter Cheonan."
He looked at them.
"Would you like to come with me?"
"Of course."
Kang Yujin stood first.
The others followed.
Cheonan was far more developed than the regions Kang Yujin had passed through until now.
It wasn't very different from the city scenery he remembered from the past.
"Cheonan is basically the gateway to the Capital Region."
Ma Taesu explained as they walked through the streets.
"The terrain here wasn't affected much by the changes, so most of the old transportation network still survives."
"Because of that, most people traveling north from the south toward the Capital Region pass through Cheonan."
"If we take a train here, can we reach the Capital Region?"
"Yes."
Ma Taesu pointed ahead.
"If you wanted, you could buy tickets at Cheonan Station right now."
Then he glanced at Kang Yujin.
"Of course, you have business with the Church of the Morning Star."
"So you'll probably want to deal with that before leaving."
"..."
"But if you start fighting recklessly in a peaceful city like Cheonan, it'll cause problems later."
"That's why..."
Ma Taesu looked ahead.
"We need to speak with the Contractors who control Cheonan first."
Ma Taesu's business today was visiting the Cheonan branch of the Contractor Association.
He planned to inform them that the Black Dragon Society had taken control of the entire highway.
Afterward, he intended to negotiate friendly relations with the local powers in Cheonan.
"Once I'm done with the Black Dragon Society's business, I'll mention your situation too."
"Is that okay?"
"Plenty of people dislike the Church of the Morning Star."
Ma Taesu smiled.
"They might welcome us dealing with them."
While talking, they arrived at the Association branch building.
"I'll meet some people on the second floor."
Ma Taesu began walking away with his close aides.
"You four can take care of whatever you need while you wait."
Ma Taesu went upstairs.
Kang Yujin, Seok Taejun, Lee Jukheon, and Joo Minha remained behind.
"This might take a while."
Seok Taejun looked around.
"Should we get our Enhancement Engravings done while we're here?"
"Sure."
"Oh, right."
Lee Jukheon suddenly remembered.
"We still have Enhancement Crystals."
They had obtained Enhancement Crystals as event-clear rewards from the battles against Baphomet and Taotie.
Each event had rewarded four crystals.
The people who participated had divided them among themselves.
"The Baphomet rewards were split between Kang Yujin and me."
Seok Taejun counted them.
"And the Taotie rewards were divided among all four of us."
"So Kang Yujin and I have three each, while Lee Jukheon and Joo Minha each have one."
"This is my first time creating an Enhancement Engraving after contracting with a new Constellation."
Lee Jukheon looked uncertain.
"I wonder what I'll get."
Enhancement Engravings were created by refining Enhancement Crystals.
Their ranks ranged from S to D.
The higher the rank of the Contractor's Constellation, the greater their chances of receiving a higher-ranked Enhancement Engraving.
The last time...
Kang Yujin had received an S-rank Strength Enhancement Engraving.
Seok Taejun had received an S-rank Stamina Enhancement Engraving.
"Let's just register and do it."
The four went to the counter and submitted their applications.
Then they approached an employee possessing the Engraving Skill and handed over their Enhancement Crystals.
To avoid the same argument as before about their Constellation having no name, they gave the name of a different Constellation from the start.
"Please submit your Enhancement Crystals."
Following the employee's instructions, Kang Yujin submitted three crystals.
And the result was...
"S-rank Strength Enhancement, A-rank Stamina Enhancement, and A-rank Magic Power Enhancement...?!"
"Finish quickly."
Kang Yujin urged the stunned employee.
"The others need to do theirs too."
Kang Yujin already possessed an S-rank Strength Enhancement Engraving from before.
So after completing the procedure, his current Enhancement status became:
Strength Enhancement S+
Stamina Enhancement A
Magic Power Enhancement A
"Please proceed."
"This is strange..."
Seok Taejun also submitted three Enhancement Crystals.
This time, the results were:
S-rank Stamina Enhancement.
A-rank Strength Enhancement.
A-rank Agility Enhancement.
Seok Taejun had already received an S-rank Stamina Enhancement before.
So his Stamina Enhancement became S+.
"H-How is this happening?"
The employee looked completely confused.
"You said you're contracted with a D-rank Constellation, so why..."
"Ah! Lee Jukheon, hurry up!"
Seok Taejun quickly dragged Lee Jukheon forward.
"It's your turn!"
"I have a bad feeling that I'll be the only one who gets something terrible."
The employee checked his information.
"Lee Jukheon... Your Constellation is different from theirs."
"D-rank, 'General Who Guards the Precious Sword.'"
"If you're contracted with an ordinary D-rank Constellation, there's more than a ninety percent chance of receiving a D-rank Enhancement Engraving."
"Just do it."
"All right..."
And then...
Lee Jukheon immediately received an S-rank Agility Enhancement Engraving.
"W-W-Whoa...!"
Lee Jukheon looked genuinely moved.
It was the first high-rank Enhancement Engraving he had ever received.
Then Joo Minha underwent the procedure.
She received an S-rank Magic Power Enhancement Engraving.
"Hmm."
Joo Minha looked thoughtful.
"An impressive result."
"Maybe I had some hidden ability?"
Seok Taejun casually tried to distract the completely shocked employee.
"An Awakening Skill that makes S-rank Enhancement Engravings appear more often?"
After throwing out a random excuse, the four quickly left.
They avoided the other Contractors who were beginning to show too much interest and exited the Association building.
Once outside, they opened their status windows and checked their Enhancement ranks.
[Kang Yujin]
Strength Enhancement: S+
Stamina Enhancement: A
Magic Power Enhancement: A
[Seok Taejun]
Strength Enhancement: A
Stamina Enhancement: S+
Agility Enhancement: A
[Lee Jukheon]
Strength Enhancement: C
Stamina Enhancement: D+++++
Agility Enhancement: S
Magic Power Enhancement: D+++
[Joo Minha]
Strength Enhancement: B+
Stamina Enhancement: B++++
Agility Enhancement: B++
Magic Power Enhancement: S
Lee Jukheon explained that until now, he had constantly received D-rank Enhancement Engravings.
He had gotten lucky once and received C-rank Strength Enhancement.
Joo Minha, meanwhile, had previously been contracted with a B-rank Constellation.
Most of her Enhancement ranks were therefore B-rank.
She had once received an A-rank Magic Power Enhancement Engraving.
But the new S-rank Engraving had overwritten it.
"If I'd known this would happen, I would've given my Enhancement Crystals to Lee Jukheon and Joo Minha."
Kang Yujin looked at their status windows.
"Same here."
Seok Taejun nodded.
"N-No, it's fine."
Lee Jukheon still looked overwhelmed.
"Getting an S-rank Agility Enhancement alone is already shocking enough."
"It's fine."
Joo Minha calmly answered.
"There will be many opportunities to obtain Enhancement Crystals in the future."
Kang Yujin tilted his head.
"It also looks like each person has certain kinds of Enhancement Engravings they're more likely to receive."
"Does everyone have a natural tendency?"
"That's correct."
Joo Minha nodded.
"For example, I often received Magic Power Enhancement Engravings even before."
"It seems to depend on each person's aptitude."
Judging from their current results...
Kang Yujin specialized in Strength.
Seok Taejun in Stamina.
Lee Jukheon in Agility.
Joo Minha in Magic Power.
"Since we're already doing this..."
Joo Minha looked around.
"Why don't we exchange information about the skills each of us possesses?"
"Sure."
At Joo Minha's suggestion, they checked one another's skill lists.
[Kang Yujin]
Awakening Skill: [Shatter Everything]
[Seok Taejun]
C-rank Skill: [Extreme Concentration]
Awakening Skill: [Hidden Insight]
[Lee Jukheon]
D-rank Skill: [Eye for the Sword]
Awakening Skill: [Shrinking Distance]
[Joo Minha]
B-rank Skill: [Magic Bullet-Type Magic]
C-rank Skill: [Increased Magic Efficiency]
Awakening Skill: [Disruption Barrier]
"Hmm..."
Seok Taejun scratched his head.
"Except for Joo Minha, the rest of us have pretty poor skill lists if we exclude Awakening Skills."
"It can't be helped."
Lee Jukheon shrugged.
"Skills aren't easy to obtain."
