Chapter 248: Hidden Soul

Had the Age of Apocalypse already appeared at that time? Or had this world always possessed some kind of mysterious power?

After thinking about it for a while, Joo Joowon could not come up with an answer. If supernatural powers had truly already existed in the world before the game’s arrival, then why had he been the one to obtain the First Kill? To supernatural beings, a boss that had only just been born should not have been particularly difficult to deal with.

On the other hand, if the game had already begun infiltrating Gaia at that time, then it meant that his previous guess about Closed Beta Players might actually have been correct.

However, even if there had been Closed Beta Players, there was no place for him among them. Other people were even less likely to share their Closed Beta information with him, so Joo Joowon did not pay attention to it either and instead began examining Byeol’s skills.

...

[ Skill: Celestial Fiend (Legendary) ]

[ Basic Damage ]: 1~320

[ Description ]: "When Heaven’s killing intent arises, stars and constellations are shifted; when one’s fortune is unfavorable, great disaster approaches." A curse-type skill that temporarily causes the enemy’s fate to take on an extremely evil aspect. Each use consumes Star Fiend Energy. If the enemy turns danger into safety, the user’s own fortune will suffer backlash. If the enemy dies under the influence of the skill, it absorbs the enemy’s fortune.

...

[ Skill: Forsaken Star (Legendary) ]

[ Basic Bonus ]: 1~320

[ Description ]: "All fiends rise, only to retreat once more." An enhancement-type skill that temporarily grants an ally the fortune of a Forsaken Star. When traveling alone, they are extremely likely to encounter setbacks, but they can turn misfortune into good fortune, causing all fiends to stay far away. Each use consumes Star Fortune, and the consumed Star Fortune can only be replenished through [Celestial Fiend]. ]

...

[ Skill: Shared Burden (Rare) ]

[ Basic Healing ]: 1~40

[ Description ]: A healing-type skill that can transfer damage between the Pet Owner and the Pet Companion, or transfer damage to a person afflicted by [Celestial Fiend] or [Forsaken Star].

...

[ Talent: Astral Fate ]

[ Description ]: Blessed by Heavenly Fate, one’s fortune and misfortune are influenced by Astral Fate, granting an extremely high degree of compatibility with certain professions, equipment, and items.

...

[ Talent: Twin Souls ]

[ Description ]: Heaven has no two suns, and a household has no two masters. After defying Heaven and changing one’s fate, a sub-soul is unexpectedly born. The two souls merge and complement each other, giving rise to and opposing one another. When the primary and secondary souls are present together, all abilities are increased.

...

[ Favorability: Sharing Life and Death ]

[ Description ]: The target is willing to live and die together with you, and will absolutely never live on alone.

...

It actually had two Legendary-grade skills!

Joo Joowon was genuinely somewhat surprised. He had not expected Byeol to bring him such a huge surprise.

If nothing unexpected happened, these might not only be the highest-grade skills he could obtain at the current stage, but could also be skills that would not become obsolete even during the middle and later stages.

Although there were still two qualities above Legendary, Mythic and Divine, anyone could imagine how difficult it would be to obtain those god-level skills. He might not even have any hope of getting one in his entire lifetime. Legendary was already the limit that the vast majority of players could come into contact with.

However, thinking about the reason these skills had appeared, having this quality was actually quite normal.

Joo Joowon’s gaze moved downward. He had not expected Byeol to be unable to grow by absorbing experience. If that was the case, then what did he need to rely on in order to grow?

Looking at the two legendary skills, Joo Joowon understood. It seemed that Byeol’s "cultivation" required Star Fortune and Star Fiend?

However, why was Byeol’s race "Calamity Born"? Even if he was a Celestial Fiend and Forsaken Star, shouldn’t Byeol still be a cat? Why had even his species changed?

It could not possibly be because Byeol was originally not a creature from Gaia, right? If he really were an extraterrestrial creature, there was no way he would have lived such a miserable life before meeting Joo Joowon. Moreover, Joo Joowon had taken Byeol to the hospital for a physical examination every year. If his bodily structure were different from that of an ordinary cat, it should have been discovered long ago.

Then there was a possibility that it was because of the Zombie Core she had fed Byeol back then?

The equipment dropped by the chimera that Joo Joowon had initially mistaken for an Elite Monster made it very obvious that it was definitely not an ordinary small monster. However, aside from bosses, the skills of Elite Monsters had only appeared after the black rain, so she could not determine exactly what kind of skills the cat-type chimera that she had killed before it could rise would eventually evolve.

Joo Joowon felt that when ordinary animals evolved into extraordinary creature through Zombie Cores, they should be affected by the Zombie Core they dropped, causing the direction of their evolution to lean toward the original host of the Zombie Core. Therefore, this change in race might have appeared because of that Zombie Core.

Another possibility was that it was because of Byeol’s fate.

After all, in order to stay together with Joo Joowon, Byeol’s Astral Fate had undergone a change. Perhaps this had caused some irreversible changes to occur within him.

The fact that he would die the moment he left the "Main Star" clearly showed that this change in fate had a great impact on him.

Although Joo Joowon did not understand these things, the "Main Star" mentioned by the system should be Joo Joowon himself.

But why did two people with the same Astral Fate have to end up with one dead and the other injured the moment they met? Were there any such claims in the ancient knowledge of astrology?