Chapter 497  

‘It hit.’

Choi Yeonseung hadn’t felt this sensation in his hands in a long time. Given his extensive experience of fighting in the Abyss, Choi Yeonseung had come to know whether he was inflicting significant damage onto his opponent just by how the hits themselves felt.

The sensation he felt in his fingers after pushing the ship into the monster told him that he had struck in the right place.

‘Pretty good for something I came up with on the spot.’

Indeed, Choi Yeonseung didn’t have to use only his fists, feet, and sword as weapons. Having mastered the art of combat, he could use everything at his disposal as a weapon. In fact, during his time in the Abyss, he would barge into the houses of demons and beat them up with their own furniture.

In that sense, the cruise ship of the Chef of Endless Gluttony was quite a useful weapon. For one thing, it was huge, which made it quite effective against a giant monster like Kiriathan.

Moreover, this wasn’t an ordinary cruise ship. Since it was protected by its owner, the chef constellation, it contained his power of existence.

Overall, it was definitely a useful weapon, although difficult to control!

“He’s falling!” the elves cheered.

The giant monster was staggering and sinking sideways as though he had lost his mind. The blow from the cruise ship had been more severe than expected.

The impact of the power of existence had shaken Kiriathan to his core. No matter how powerful a monster was, attacks infused with power of existence were bound to be devastating.

-What are you doing?

The goddess of sloth was confused. This was the perfect opportunity for Choi Yeonseung to jump in and overwhelm the monster with various skills, but he wasn’t moving.

‘Something’s wrong.’

-??

‘Why isn’t the ship damaged?’

Choi Yeonseung was taken aback by the condition of the cruise ship. He had pushed it into Kiriathan as hard as he could, thinking, ‘Alright, let’s see how the chef constellation reacts.’ Given the impact of the collision, it wouldn’t have been strange if the ship had been completely wrecked.

But surprisingly, the ship seemed undamaged.

Meanwhile, the battered Kiriathan was finally coming to his senses, just barely.

-Indeed, it does seem strange.

‘Huh...’

Choi Yeonseung examined the cruise ship up and down. His main objective hadn’t been to destroy the ship itself, but now he was puzzled.

Baaang!

He suddenly attacked the ship, his concentrated energy hitting the hull like a thunderbolt. He managed to split apart the hull, but it quickly regenerated as though the ship was alive.

Seeing this, Choi Yeonseung realized something.

‘This isn’t just a ship.’

-Then what is it?

‘It’s... a clone of the Chef of Endless Gluttony.’

***

The goddess of sloth fell silent at this nonsense.

‘That’s ridiculous... But there have been many things recently that didn’t make sense, so I don’t even know anymore...’

After all, Choi Yeonseung was a constellation pretending to be human. Moreover, the woman next to him that was sweating profusely while freezing the sea was also a constellation pretending to be human.

Thus, having a constellation pretending to be a ship wasn’t that absurd. Besides, it was actually somewhat plausible that the chef constellation had turned a clone of himself into a ship.

-Could it be that he just used his power of existence along with some other power?

-Maybe, but the ship regenerated way too fast. Besides, this whole situation is very strange and suspicious.

In the end, this challenge wasn’t about skilfully navigating the ship or deductive skills; the chef constellation wanted all the mortals to stab each other on the back.

Then, what was the best way to keep mortals fighting?

‘I can forget about the captain.’

On second thoughts, if there was actually a captain on that ship, then some lucky mortal could just discover them randomly. Would the chef constellation really risk something like that? It was more likely that there wasn’t actually a captain.

Or rather, what if the captain was the ship itself? If the ship was a clone of the Chef of Endless Gluttony, then that theory wouldn’t be that absurd.

-But... What if you’re wrong?

-You’re right. I’ll have to check the ship some more in order to get confirmation.

Choi Yeonseung saw Kiriathan staggering and approached the cruise ship. How could he confirm that the ship was a clone of the constellation?

He had to keep wrecking the cruise ship until the Chef of Endless Gluttony responded. If it was truly his clone, the chef constellation wouldn’t just sit still and watch it get destroyed.

“Everybody, out of the way!”

At Choi Yeonseung’s command, the Abyss mortals fighting around Kiriathan withdrew at once. They cheered when they realized that Choi Yeonseung was about to steer the cruise ship again. “He’s coming again!”

“Master of the great ship!”

However, the hunters, who weren’t carried away by the fight, looked embarrassed.

‘Shouldn’t we stop it??’

‘The ship barely took any damage. Does he really intend to destroy it?’

They couldn’t believe that Choi Yeonseung was trying once again to steer the cruise ship. But perhaps more absurd was the fact that all the Abyssal races were cheering for him.

How would they complete the challenge if the cruise ship was destroyed?

“!”

As he excitedly tried to cruise it, Choi Yeonseung felt the ship shake and change directions on its own as though it was alive.

‘I knew it!’

There was only one explanation as to how the ship could move on its own.

Bang!

This time, it was the cruise ship that fell on its side, not Kiriathan. The ice formed on the water shattered, and the cruise got stuck in place.

“Chef of Endless Gluttony!” Choi Yeonseung shouted. “What you’re doing right now is at the level of the Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood!”

[The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ is protesting and wondering why you are insulting him.]

‘Wha... Was he watching?’

Choi Yeonseung was surprised. He genuinely hadn’t expected the constellation to be watching.

[The ‘Undefeated Incarnation of Training’ apologizes instead.]

[The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ says he will accept it.]

After making a hasty apology, Choi Yeonseung continued, “Setting up a trap like this in such a despicable manner...”

[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ says he doesn’t understand what you are talking about.]

“!”

The response of the chef constellation was cold and emotionless, but it was enough to convince Choi Yeonseung. If his hypothesis were wrong, the chef constellation would’ve just ignored him.

The Future Sight received from the goddess of balance had completely fused with Choi Yeonseung and gave him premonitions as precise as his intuition.

“You are the captain, Chef of Endless Gluttony! Reveal yourself!”

...Truly outstanding!

[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ expands his territory.]

***

The Abyssal sea that stretched into the horizon disappeared, and the palace where the Chef of Endless Gluttony dwelled emerged.

Choi Yeonseung had seen it before.

How did you know?

“I had my doubts from the beginning.”

-Uh...

-Be quiet.

The goddess of sloth was puzzled, but Choi Yeonseung quickly silenced her. He had to act strong in order to sway the Chef of Endless Gluttony to his side.

Impressive... So you picked up on it, huh? Is that why you arranged so many strange things on my ship?

“That’s right.”

I thought you were crazy, but you were actually giving me a false sense of confidence so I would let my guard down.

“...”

Choi Yeonseing wondered if he seemed that crazy.

‘That’s a bit harsh... I merely persuaded those on the ship. Well, that’s a constellation for you...’

So do you really intend to fight the Master of Slowness and Silence?

“Did you get scared in the meantime?”

If I were scared, I wouldn’t be doing this.

The Chef of Endless Gluttony chuckled like it was ridiculous. He wouldn’t fall for Choi Yeonseung’s blatant provocation.

Why do you think I called not only humans, but also mortals of the Abyss to this realm? I did that simply to gather as many skilful household members as possible. You need strong warriors in order to stand up to the Master of Slowness and Silence. Of course, your interference slowed me down, but...

‘What are his intentions?’

Choi Yeonseung was surprised.

He had been wondering why the chef constellation had called so many mortals in his realm. It was hard to believe that this was his reasoning.

As much as you were suspicious at the beginning, you also must’ve felt the need for many household members. You need strong comrades in order to stand up to the Master of Slowness and Silence! Isn’t that why you made the mortals on the ship serve the Undefeated Incarnation of Training?

“That’s right. It was something like that.”

-...

The goddess of sloth no longer wanted to dissuade Choi Yeonseung, whose audacity had reached the skies. She would see har far he would go!

My intention to fight the Master of Slowness and Silence hasn’t changed. I will fulfill my oath and join forces with you. But before that, there is one thing you need to know.

“What?”

There aren’t many constellations who are hostile against the Master of Slowness and Silence. Most of them know how strong he is, so they try to avoid fighting him. Is your master, the Undefeated Incarnation of Training, ready for that?

“Of course.”

As expected. I heard rumors that he is as aggressive as the Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood. I guess those rumors were true.

“...”

Ah, I apologize. It is a rude thing to say. As an apology, I will let you in on the hidden truth. However, you need to make an oath. Swear on your existence and in the name of the constellation you serve that you won’t reveal to anyone else the secrets and contracts shared here. Of course, I shall make the same oath.

“Okay. In fact, I am a constellation.”

Yes. What I want to say is that from now on, Earth is still in the Abyss... Wait... Wait, what?

The Chef of Endless Gluttony paused. He must’ve misheard it, surely...

What did you say?

“I am a constellation.”

...

For a moment, the Chef of Endless Gluttony thought that Choi Yeonseung had lost his mind. But there was no way he would suddenly go crazy and say something like that out loud...

Are you the clone of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training? Throwing away a household member and sending down a clone...

The Chef of Endless Gluttony was in disbelief. Getting rid of a household member for such a reason was cruel... In any case, this constellation had actually sent his clone on Earth to pretend he was human?

It was ridiculous even for the Chef of Endless Gluttony, who had turned his clone into a cruise ship for this raid. No matter what, a constellation wouldn’t do something like that!

“I’m not a clone. I’m actually a constellation.”

...You are the Undefeated Incarnation of Training?

“Yes.”

Didn’t you participate in the constellation battle with other constellations last time?

“I did.”

If I remember correctly, there was a time when you were making money directly on Earth and hanging out with humans.”

“Yes.”

...Aren’t you embarrassed?

“Why would I be? I’m proud of those things. ”

...

It took the Chef of Endless Gluttony quite some time to come to terms with this revelation.

So the incarnation constellation had hidden his power and come to Earth disguised as a human, doing business, achieving fame, and hanging out with hunters...

‘Isn’t this guy really crazy?’

It was rare, but some constellations actually fell in love with humans and were ridiculed for it, but this was just too much... It was hard to believe that this constellation had assumed a mortal form and hung out with other mortals.

Choi Yeonseung seemed like a complete madman in the eyes of the chef constellation.

‘But...’

Looking at it from the other side, the chef constellation realized that only this kind of madness could defeat the Master of Slowness and Silence. After all, no constellation had ever managed to oppose the Master of Slowness and Silence through regular means.

In order for the weak to deal with the strong, they had to do whatever they could.

From that perspective, the Undefeated Incarnation of Training really used everything at his disposal, every conceivable strategy. He had even hidden on Earth, disguised as a mortal... Moreover, he hadn’t been caught!

This is great... Wait, didn’t you take part in the invasion of my territory last time?

“Is that so? I don’t remember doing something like that.”

...