***
The Old King, Dramuth.
He was the guardian of the stars, a colossus with a massive body. The legend of Dramuth was that he was a divine being whose body grew larger and gained wisdom from the spiritual energy of the stars.
His name. His true name was also inherited from the stars.
Naturally, it was normal for no one other than the stars to know it.
Only the one who possessed the stars and became their master could know his true name.
Wilhelm. Only I, who was the strongest character.
"Y-you heard my true name from where? Did Wilhelm tell you?"
Dramuth, shaking his head once and standing up, asked in confusion.
"You fool. Have you forgotten the contract terms?"
However, the mention of his true name was bound by contract.
This meant that uttering it to another person was impossible.
Of course, I was no longer bound by that contract, so I could speak it freely.
'Right. It's real.'
Dramuth's scales vibrated.
The guardian could distinguish between truth and falsehood.
If it were false, he could freely break the contract and roam freely, devouring this human.
But it was true. There was not an iota of falsehood.
Even the words that his master had returned.
'A human I've never seen before knows my true name and even the contract terms. He even mentioned Wilhelm's name.'
An unspoken rule of contracts. The moment you mention anything related to the other party, the subject dies, and the contract is void.
Moreover, Wilhelm was a 5-star transcendent. A protagonist whose every word and gesture carried a distinct class, he had no reason to break the contract and reveal a secret to someone.
If it had been broken in such a way, Dramuth would have known.
'But Wilhelm is dead. The stars have fallen.'
However, the contract would be void even if the subject of the contract died.
Wilhelm was dead. All five stars had fallen. This meant he had met a perfect death, and all the curses bound to him had been released.
Naturally, the contract between Dramuth and this human was no longer in effect. Even if he knew the true name, he was only slightly surprised.
"Show me the way. The stars will vouch for me."
How could such a frail human, who could be swallowed whole in one bite, be so confident?
And what? The stars will prove it?
"You? You claim to have the stars? You'd be incinerated just by getting near them."
Dramuth sneered.
He was insufficient. This human was far below the standard for consuming stars.
Dramuth was a being that guarded the stars. He could instinctively discern the appropriate level for the stars. But this human not only failed to meet the criteria but didn't even meet the basics.
I don't know why he's unaffected by my divine realm, but he must be receiving help from special equipment or tools.
"Are you perhaps mistaking the female human next to you for the one who is challenging?"
The female human next to him was relatively better, though still insufficient. Anyone who was to consume the stars had to be an equal or superior to him.
They would be incinerated before they could even approach the stars.
The stars were infinitely generous to those who met the criteria, but showed no mercy whatsoever to those who did not.
"I will challenge it."
Challenge? Chaaaaaallenge?
"Hahahaha!"
Dramuth writhed and laughed. He couldn't contain his laughter.
After rolling around for a long time, Dramuth finally regained his composure.
It had been hundreds of years since he had laughed like this.
'It's better for me to be incinerated by the stars than for me to deal with him.'
It was for the best. This strange fellow who knew his true name and even Wilhelm's name was a great annoyance. The stars would deal with him.
Even with special equipment or tools, they were useless before the stars. The stars only looked at the abilities possessed by the subject.
"Fine. Follow me, brat."
Swoosh.
Dramuth readily began to guide the way to the stars.
✺✺✺
Stars.
They were the 'Cornerstone of Boundary' needed to transcend the limits of species and achieve the pinnacle of cognition.
To be more precise... they were corpses.
We called the fragmented bodies of the deceased twin goddesses, Lea, 'Stars.'
There were a total of 32 Stars on the Pangenia continent.
Their locations were as follows.
Ten fingers, two parts from the back of the hand to the shoulder, one torso, one head, two eyeballs, one nose, one lower jaw including the mouth, two ears, one neck, one lower body, ten toes.
Thirty-two types of Leah, the goddess's bodily parts.
With those Stars, if you passed the test, you could finally transcend.
Naturally, the transcendence granted varied subtly depending on the part.
And the bodily part of the goddess Lea located here, on the 'Mountain Where an Unknown Star Lies Buried,' was...
"Th-that... is a Star?"
Isabella was aghast. Her eyes bulged as she stared at the 'Star' placed on the altar in astonishment.
It was only natural.
She had heard stories about Stars, but this was the first time she had seen one in person.
Moreover, there was nowhere in the stories about Star-Awakened or Stars that mentioned they were corpses.
"That... skull...?"
A skull with its lower jaw missing.
"Say hello. This is the face of the goddess Lea."
"Ah."
Wobble.
Isabella's knees buckled. It might have been due to shock, but strange phenomena always occurred before the Stars.
"Don't come any closer. It's dangerous."
Dramuth was also observing from afar, as if anticipating how I would die.
I walked forward, dissuading Isabella.
This was a fifty-fifty situation.
The hidden sky island within the sanctuary could grant skills and classes in all domains.
Therefore, this mountain and the Stars should be no different.
Before, I had already obtained a class and only managed to obtain the Stars and transcend.
《......》
Text appeared.
It sounded like a voice was speaking.
However, there was a lot of noise. It was not a process of proper communication.
But I knew who was sending me these messages.
It was the deceased twin goddess Lea. The one who had become a Star and scattered across the continent.
《Oblivion.》
With each step I took, a clearer voice was heard.
《Dexterity, All Master, Weapon Master, Giant’s Magic Resistance, Druid’s Affinity with Nature, Heart of the Iron-Blooded Lord, Beast Lord, Heavenly Being, Golden Grace, Mutant, Glutton, Great Sage.》
My thirteen hidden traits.
The goddess read them.
And.
《You who have faced ‘Destruction’.》
I slowly lifted the goddess's skull, the Star, with both hands.
Fwoosh!
At that moment, a brilliant stream of light from the Star began to pour into my body.
<You have obtained the ‘Star Successor’ class.>
<Your ‘Magic’ is converted to ‘Holy Power (Star Power)’.>
<Primary Skill ‘Star Scratch (Lv1)’ and Sub-Skill ‘Blessing of the Stars (Lv1)’ have been added.>
<Star Possession Effect (All Stats +5) has been added.>
<The Successor wields greater power depending on the type and number of Stars possessed. The Star Possession Effect does not disappear even upon transcendence.>
......
The text continued to appear endlessly.
The sheer volume was so vast that it was impossible to take it all in at a glance.
<‘Main Quest 2: Obtain a Class’ has been completed.>
<Calculating results.>
<Unique! A result that would make everyone tremble.>
<Total Score: 230 points. Main Quest - Updated on the ‘Hall of Fame’.>
<Beginner's Luck! The ‘Constellation of Fortune’ smiled even brighter. Reward content has been significantly upgraded.>
<The ‘Constellation of Adventure’ applauds your recklessness. Reward content has been significantly upgraded.>
<Several constellations of the ‘Commoner’s War’ have begun to take notice of your footsteps.>
Constellations of the Commoner's War?
I was taken aback that they were already paying attention to me.
Those proud beings rarely paid attention to beginners who had just started.
Even when playing as Wilhelm, they only began to show interest after I had consumed three stars.
'Is it because of the Star Successor?'
That was a class I had never seen before.
Of course, there was no harm in the constellations of the Commoner's War paying attention.
This was because they upgraded the rewards.
I focused more on the details of the upcoming rewards.
<You have obtained ‘Fragment of Broken Golden Rule’.>
<You have rolled two stages higher dice. You can choose two items from the following ten rewards.>
<‘Michaela's Armor’>, <‘Michaela's Helmet’>, <‘Amulet of Protection’>, <‘Anvil of the Adversary’>, <‘Gill of the Sea Beast’>, <‘Banner of the Red Knight’>, <‘Crimson Steed’>, <‘Armor of Palam’>, <‘Tear of the Fairy Queen’>, <‘Shadow Cloak’>
And after reading all the text related to the rewards, I couldn't help but utter a single word.
"......It's fucking awesome."