D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 12
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12
I rubbed my eyes at the unfamiliar number displayed before me.
So this was saying that a soul who should have died inside the Dungeon yesterday had somehow survived because I gritted my teeth and brought them back to life—and this absurd statistic was the result?
Was this causality interference?
I couldn’t decide whether to be delighted or bewildered.
Rather than letting them pass on naturally, I had no idea what to do with the situation.
‘Is it possible that simply descending to this world as a Constellation and choosing a client was such a massive upheaval in this world that it altered someone’s lifespan?’
I splashed water on my face lightly and laughed bitterly.
I had brought back to life a child who should have already been dead.
So I had no way of knowing what crisis might befall them next or what would happen.
The difficulty had suddenly spiked.
To recalculate expected lifespan, I would need sufficient data.
For instance, I’d have to account for the average number of Constellations entering this place, the level of sponsorship they provided, the nation’s development status—all of it.
Which meant that by human standards, I wouldn’t know anything for years.
“Ah, I’m really going to lose my mind.”
– Constellation, um, I…
[ Yes, what is it. ]
When I turned my gaze toward the screen, he was looking around the house, examining this and that.
The money I’d sent him seemed to be more than he expected, because it was genuinely a livable place.
Looking through his life report, I could see this house was one of the spaces he’d been living in alone for some time.
He was muttering to the empty air about how even if he put the house on the real estate market, it would be difficult to buy a new one—and he seemed like a warmer child than I’d anticipated.
Thinking that someone so bright, warm, and likable had endured such painful times because life was difficult for him…
I felt a pang of sympathy.
[ This house is spacious, but it might feel too empty if you live alone. ]
[ And there’s a meat restaurant building next to it. The smell will drift in and bother you. ]
[ The streets are dangerous at night, so it won’t do. ]
It seemed like he was delighted simply by the fact that someone was answering him.
To others, it would just look like he was muttering to himself.
Since he didn’t seem to mind that at all, I told him to buy an earpiece and wear it.
When he talked to the empty air while wearing the earpiece, people naturally assumed he was on a phone call or using a radio and passed by without a second thought.
– “This place came up really cheap because the tenant suddenly said they were moving out.”
[ The tenant left because dungeons burst periodically in that area. It’s a C-rank Dungeon, so factor that in before deciding. ]
I even offered unsolicited advice from beside him like this.
Normally, if I was beside him, even if an A-rank or S-rank Dungeon appeared, there shouldn’t have been any problem.
But since the server wasn’t running smoothly enough for me to help right now, it was crucial to create the safest situation possible.
Ha Gyuhyuk didn’t even question my words and diligently searched for different houses according to my standards.
It would have been understandable if he’d gotten annoyed by my constant backseat driving, but instead I found him both admirable and remarkable.
– What about this place…?
After running around to so many houses that our feet were practically on fire, we finally found a place that suited both his taste and mine.
He insisted on a place with one large additional room besides his bedroom and closet, so we settled on somewhere with plenty of space even though he’d be living alone.
And yet he said he wouldn’t use the master bedroom himself.
I could see the joy on his face as he said the money I’d given him was more than enough—he didn’t even need to take out a loan.
‘If you’re happy, then I’m happy too.’
Once I verified with the landlord and real estate agent whether they were scammers or not and informed him, everything proceeded without a hitch.
He put down the deposit right there, agreed on a moving date and contract signing date, and headed home.
– Thank you so much….
[ Taking public transportation every time must be tedious. ]
[ Get yourself a car. ]
[ Or I could buy you a teleportation skill instead—use that. ]
If the server were just a bit more stable, I would’ve manifested an avatar and gone around with him to look at things and have fun together.
Of course, there are Constellations who only watch from beyond the monitor.
But there are also those like me who want to manifest avatars and follow their clients around, experiencing both their hardships and joys firsthand.
Among them, I’m a Constellation who uses avatars very actively—I often send one down to scout before even choosing a client.
But this time, I’m terrified it might take six months just to manifest an avatar, so I can’t do it.
Even in the normally smooth Sungdo network, manifesting an avatar takes about twenty-four hours.
Earth could easily take six years instead of six months.
[ But if you’re not going to stay in the master bedroom, why do you need such a large room at all? ]
[ Is there someone you want to live with? ]
Perhaps a beloved person you couldn’t live with until now due to circumstances.
Or a friend you chose to part with temporarily to pursue each other’s dreams.
I stared at the screen, imagining the sort of cheap narratives that would barely qualify as F-grade if Earth’s humans heard them—not even B-grade.
‘But from our previous conversations and the life he’s lived, it doesn’t seem like there’s someone he’d bring in like that. And if there were, he would’ve contacted them when disposing of his house.’
Whenever my messages appeared before, he’d answer so quickly he’d risk crashing his head into a streetlight while walking.
But this time, Ha Gyuhyuk, who’d been glued to the chat, suddenly fell silent.
More precisely, it seemed he’d read my message right away, but he was squirming awkwardly as if embarrassed to respond.
– It’s just that, I heard that if enough intimacy builds up, you can come to Earth, Constellation.
[ An avatar? I can manifest one. ]
[ The problem is your world is still too reluctant to accept me. ]
Reluctant—or should I say petty?
I could see his face flush with embarrassment.
What is he trying to say?
[ You have to speak for me to understand. ]
[ What’s going on? ]
My patience is already wearing thin just from this slow server.
If he makes me wait for words too, I might just rage-quit.
In fact, my hands were already trembling as I gripped the monitor.
I was clenching my teeth, afraid that if I rushed him three times, he’d start crying.
Ha Gyuhyuk took on a serious expression as if making a grand declaration, and finally opened his mouth.
His voice was trembling.
– But if you come down, well, you’d need a place to sleep, wouldn’t you.
“….”
I stared at the screen for a long moment.
He didn’t seem to realize I’d been left speechless, so he hesitated before adding a few more sentences at the end.
– You’ll come see me, won’t you…?
* * *
“Access Server 34Rh7? Wait a moment…. It won’t work, it just won’t?”
“Why won’t it work?”
“We’ve exceeded the maximum concurrent users.”
“Buy another machine and keep trying to access!”
Without even looking back at the bewildered Franson, I broke into a run.
Over the past few hours, I’d received such absurd requests from more than one Constellation.
From close acquaintances to Constellations I’d only glimpsed in passing, from those who’d just ascended to those who’d become Constellations ages ago.
‘There are limits to what one can do alone. So if I have to, I’ll push multiple of them in at once.’
For now, I’m rejecting every Constellation trying to enter, but if the access attempts keep coming endlessly, the server will inevitably have to expand.
I’m resorting to the crude method of forcibly widening the pathway.
If I try to carefully widen this gap through steady effort, I’ll be dead of old age before our child grows up.
“I’m not asking you to find a Client here. Just try to access once, just access.”
“Ah, just access…?”
“If you can’t access, you can disconnect. Just try, please.”
Perhaps sensing my desperation, the Constellation I’d just met nodded awkwardly.
He was using a device he carried around like a smartphone.
Constellations who were greedy for devices or who spanned multiple worlds often purchased several portable devices like this.
“How much do these cost these days?”
“Ah, these days about a million each….”
“Goodness, why is it so expensive? These people have less morality than short-lived species.”
“Prices have climbed quite a bit. Even Sungdo has inflation.”
We select those with accumulated karma and remake them into Constellations, then scrape together karma again through their Clients.
We take enormous commissions, yet we still manage to extract karma through device sales like this.
I know this space couldn’t exist without the karma payments from Constellations, but it’s too much.
“But I’ve heard stories about this world, and you said there’s no major problem with you accessing it yourself. Why are you so desperate to bring in other Constellations?”
“Because my Client wants to see me.”
“What?”
“They want to see my avatar. But the server can’t handle it.”
Even if I send down my avatar right now, I have no idea how long it would take.
As I spouted such things with an expression full of frustration, the Constellation before me looked somewhat flustered.
“But couldn’t you just refuse something like that….”
“No, when that small, innocent, kind child makes that puppy-dog expression and asks if I’ll come see them—when they say something like that, I suddenly get angry. Or rather, something churns inside me?”
“Huh?”
“I can’t become a powerless Constellation who can’t even grant such a simple wish from such a cute child, trembling through loading screens even in death.”
I poured out my words all at once, then left him behind and started running toward the offline shop to purchase equipment.
Just today alone, I’ve had dozens of requests from Constellations.
As I rushed madly through the corridor, I caught Franson glancing at me before pulling up another screen, and I even saw Tasha abandoning her own world to attempt a connection to Earth.
I swore to myself that I would repay the friendship of these two Constellations someday.
“I’ve come to pay for additional devices.”
Unless someone new had arrived, it was rare for a Constellation to burst into this place.
Perhaps because of this, the seated staff members jumped up in surprise.
They were simply called employees, but their official title was Divine Official.
Everyone working in the Customer Management Team and other departments was a Divine Official.
They held no chance of becoming a Constellation, yet they had accumulated too much karma to remain mere clients.
“Divine Officials, I need spare devices. Several of them.”
“Ah, well… if you need them to access multiple worlds…”
“No, I’ll be accessing a single world with multiple devices.”
“Pardon?”
The Divine Official, as if they’d never heard or seen such a thing, hastily clamped their mouth shut.
Unlike Constellations, these Divine Officials were all former clients.
Which meant they understood better than anyone what power a Constellation possessed.
Moreover, there were Constellations who vented their frustrations on Divine Officials.
“I’ll be accessing a single world with multiple devices. Either way, it doesn’t matter how the devices are used, does it?”
“Ah, yes, well then… we could provide the standard models.”
“No, give me the latest models. And also, that server speed checker that was released before but nobody bought? Give me that too.”
“…Ah, yes, um, yes.”
They immediately paid the karma and rushed to the room.
By the time I arrived, the devices were already there waiting for me.
I activated the server speed checker first, then mobilized all my devices to connect to Earth.
[ Connection capacity exceeded. ]
[ Connection capacity exceeded. ]
On Earth, another two weeks had passed.
Reviewing the recent scenes, I saw that Ha Gyuhyuk had even moved and completed the interior renovation in that time.
Now he seemed to be waiting for me endlessly.
Countless wish requests still accumulated. Among them, a sentence tinged in crimson stood out vividly.
A wish sent by my client.
– I miss you.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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