D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 128

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 128
When I returned to that place, Black Darkness Hell was no longer as it had been before.
It could no longer even be called Black Darkness Hell.
Since Kim Young-won, its original master, had died, it would have to accept a new master and transform to reflect his psyche and all.
“Ha Gyuhyuk.”
“Se-um, you’ve arrived?”
Ha Gyuhyuk turned to face me, then embraced me without giving me a chance to speak.
He was a child who enjoyed being held or holding me, but it was rare for him to cling to me so readily.
Startled, I blinked slowly.
Even when the Server was acting strange, his emotions had never wavered to this degree.
I brushed aside my confusion and patted his back.
“…Have I really been away that long? I’ve heard that time doesn’t flow properly inside here.”
“No, that’s not it… Kim Young-won has passed away.”
“Ah, well. I suppose he would.”
There were no signs of a violent struggle.
It seemed he had initially considered testing Ha Gyuhyuk’s combat abilities, but then abandoned the idea.
After all, what was the point of confirming such things when death was inevitable anyway?
I knew from the moment I saw his eyes. The gaze of one who yearns for death.
“It’s not as though you’re seeing someone die for the first time. So why grieve like this?”
“Even if it’s not the first time seeing someone die, that doesn’t make it meaningless.”
“What did you talk about?”
I could have observed that moment if I wished.
But giving Ha Gyuhyuk the opportunity to speak had become a habit now. He would tell me the truth anyway.
I ask despite knowing, and he answers despite knowing I know.
As if proving that he never lies to me.
“He said that if I wanted to become a Constellation, I should hasten the annihilation…”
“For his age, he certainly has ambition.”
For me, who knew what that annihilation was, the words felt strangely unsettling.
If there was anything capable of dragging this Earth toward annihilation, honestly, it could only be Landquake.
If he had resolved to take root in this land and lived here, he would have felt the traces of annihilation and known of Landquake’s existence.
But he likely didn’t know that was the reason a Constellation was born on this land.
Or what he would need to do to hasten it.
He might have wondered: ‘Landquake has disappeared, so why does the aura of annihilation still linger?’
“You know what that annihilation is, don’t you, Se-um?”
My silence had stretched too long from my thoughts.
Ha Gyuhyuk opened his mouth as if whispering toward me.
“You’ve already guessed, haven’t you?”
“It’s Landquake.”
He gazed into empty space as if recalling the Gate of Landquake he had seen inside the Dungeon.
I deliberated whether to tell him about the time limit of fifty-four years, then simply closed my mouth.
Now is not the time.
He’s still only an A-rank Hunter, so no matter how hard the Constellation tries, he’ll just vanish like dust before Landquake—that much is obvious.
I can’t bear to see that happen again.
“But I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier. It doesn’t look like you fought anyone, so why are your hands so covered in dirt?”
“Oh, you didn’t see outside?”
“Huh? Dan Yibum just sent me out and I came straight here?”
Since Ha Gyuhyuk is human, he’s been climbing and crossing the mountain properly all this time.
When I’m alone, there’s no need to do all that. What a hassle.
Seeing my confused expression, Ha Gyuhyuk smiled softly.
As if he’d momentarily forgotten that the person before him was a Constellation.
“Ah, so when you were leaving, it seemed like you wanted to be buried next to your wife….”
“You buried her yourself next to that Ancient Zelkova Tree? And looking at your hands, you dug it with your own hands? Hey! You’re just an A-rank human! What, do you think you’re an excavator?”
Flabbergasted, I took his hand and examined it.
As expected of a Hunter, his hands were sturdy enough that his nails hadn’t broken or gotten wounded.
It was truly foolish behavior.
“You don’t even lack a skill to dig earth, and besides, she wouldn’t be bones anyway.”
“She was like a jewel.”
“Then you could’ve just made a small hole with a skill and placed her there—are you an idiot?”
On top of that, throwing just one rock would’ve been enough to create a sufficient hole to bury her.
Does he still think he’s D-rank?
Seeing me at a loss for words, Ha Gyuhyuk wore an embarrassed expression.
It seemed he had his own reasons.
“Look, even before I became a Constellation, I was a Korean who got dragged around every holiday, fried pancakes with my whole body, moved from five in the morning, and performed ancestral rites—but what kind of era is this?”
These days, they probably use machines even when burying people, I was about to lecture.
Ha Gyuhyuk hesitated before speaking.
“Still, this person endured until the very end to prevent this land’s annihilation.”
“That’s just an excuse.”
“Even so, the fact that he solemnly guarded this place in loneliness until his successor came to prevent annihilation—I just….”
It seemed he wanted to express his own form of respect.
Looking at the bottle rolling around nearby, it appeared he’d even gone into town to buy soju and poured it as an offering.
Kim Young-won, born from another planet, even ate Korean ancestral rites food and lived well.
Seeing his tender expression, I momentarily wondered if I should mourn as well.
“But is this mountain ownerless? Can you just bury people like that?”
“…Wouldn’t it be?”
The sorrowful atmosphere shattered.
…
[ Karma is consumed. ]
[ ‘Tae-hae Village South Mountain’ is now under your dominion. ]
“Now it’s our mountain….”
Kim Young-won, you should be grateful you’re dead.
You became a High Priest or a Constellation, didn’t you?
I killed them.
You hateful bastard.
* * *
By the time I returned home, night had already passed and it was broad daylight.
No matter how much of a Hunter one is, sending them to work without sleep is a cruel thing to do.
So that day, I suspended all of Touch One’s operations.
Who in this world wouldn’t welcome an unexpected paid vacation?
They didn’t know what had happened, but they were grinning ear to ear, saying they’d be fine with same-day notices like this as many times as it happened.
Besides, getting today off and then the weekend right after would be even better.
However, not everyone at Touch One could rest.
After getting as much rest as we could, we all gathered at the building except for Ha Gyuhyuk.
“Wow, is this really a bruise?”
“Yes.”
How should I describe the situation unfolding before our eyes right now?
[ Franson: Isn’t anyone going to stop her? ]
[ Franson: What if she dies doing this? ]
[ Se-um: Come on, would Tasha really let her die? ]
[ Tasha: She probably won’t die. And isn’t that why I stripped away her abilities? ]
[ Se-um: I didn’t intend for her to get beaten this badly, though ]
Ji Chae-ah, who had just recently contracted with Tasha as a client, was pounding on Dan Yibum.
After dodging a few times, Dan Yibum seemed to accept that there was nothing he could do, and he simply took the incoming fists.
“Did you really have all your Hunter abilities stripped away? Then you’ll need to turn in your Hunter license now, won’t you?”
“It’s temporary, they said. If I handle the situation well, they promised to return them to me.”
Dan Yibum answered while covered in bruises and cuts, his head hanging low.
As if suppressing some emotion.
Since he was born as an S-rank Hunter, this was probably the first time he’d been injured so easily.
Moreover, even though Ji Chae-ah is a mage with inferior physical abilities, she’s still A-rank.
“Are you okay? You must be in pain.”
“Yes.”
It was an answer that could mean either that he was fine or that he was hurting.
Dan Yibum sighed as he drank the elixir that Kim Gyuwun had given him.
The wounds covering his entire body healed in an instant.
She could’ve gone easier on him, but the kid’s been absolutely pulverized.
“Looking at Hunter Dan’s usual attitude, I knew something like this would happen someday. You really don’t care who your opponent is and just mess around.”
“Mess around…”
“Not everything in this world can be solved just because your rank is high, but your obsession with rank supremacy and ability supremacy has been really severe.”
Ji Chae-ah was thoroughly lecturing Dan Yibum without my involvement.
It didn’t seem like Tasha had instructed her to do this.
With multiple circumstances converging, she seemed to be pouring out everything she’d wanted to say.
Yes, do whatever you want.
Your Constellation will take responsibility for it.
“Then what should I do?”
And suddenly Dan Yibum lifted his head, staring at Chae-ah and then at me as I watched him.
When I tilted my head in confusion, he opened his mouth.
“If we don’t prioritize ability, then what else should we prioritize?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————