D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 186

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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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Side Story 3-2
All this time, Se-um had given Ha Gyuhyuk a lap pillow while jokingly saying things.
‘I never imagined I’d still be agonizing over the internet even after becoming a Constellation.’
She spoke sorrowfully about the tremendous hardships she had overcome just to meet Ha Gyuhyuk.
Her chattering lips were endearing, and her secretly proud voice was adorable—so much so that I barely heard the content, but those memories remained vivid.
When the connection failed, I’d suddenly disappear for weeks or months, then abruptly resurface—my Constellation who loved to observe and care for me.
‘There won’t be any more of that from now on. I’m always by your side now, Se-um.’
‘Right. But it seems the Divine Officials sometimes experience things like that. I haven’t gone down to the depths where they work, though.’
I let it pass back then.
It was an era when I never imagined I’d voluntarily work in the High Priest Layer.
I should have asked more details then.
When something like this happens, how long does it actually last? How do the Constellations manage in the meantime?
Is there truly no way to contact them…?
The frustration was literally driving me mad.
“High Priest Ha Gyuhyuk?”
“Yes, yes….”
The one who had been showing reluctance rose to his feet with concern as the young Divine Official before him seemed to lose focus.
Those here hadn’t accumulated Constellation-level karma, but they were all century-defining heroes who had achieved great Achievements in life.
Regardless of whether that direction was positive or negative, it meant they all responded keenly to abnormal reactions in others.
“It’s not such a grave emergency. Galaxy collisions happen at most once every tens of billions of years, and the System Team will handle server collisions on their own.”
“Ah, yes…. I, I just showed an unseemly side of myself. I have a Constellation I serve, and I was overcome with worry.”
He hadn’t been a Divine Official for long, but he was once a man who led a guild called Touch One.
And hadn’t he crawled through the depths of social life enough to become seasoned in it?
Managing his expression was not difficult.
Fortunately, the other Divine Official seemed to judge that Ha Gyuhyuk had calmed down somewhat and appeared relieved.
“Even if the connection to the High Priest Layer is severed, it shouldn’t cause major problems for the Constellations’ lives. Even if there are errors in the server connection, the automatic system will provide some compensation….”
However, the team handling customer service requests directly raised by the Constellations and benefits distributed through client cultivation would be suffering headaches.
With every second of delay, a hundred customer service requests pile up.
This situation wasn’t simply a case of Divine Officials unable to communicate with Constellations—Constellations also couldn’t contact Divine Officials.
The Constellation System had strictly divided the realms of Constellations and Divine Officials according to karma levels, so when the connection was severed like this, there was no means of contacting them through workarounds.
“So the Constellations can only wait?”
“Since our intervention has been cut off entirely, the internal system should have sent out warning windows by now.”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s expression darkened.
Then I couldn’t see Se-um until this problem was resolved.
Until this morning, Se-um didn’t seem to have any intention of entering a new server.
‘Have a good trip. I’ll just be here playing Franson’s boring card game.’
‘Se-um, boring game! This is a traditional rule passed down through our royal family for generations! It’s on a completely different level from poker or whatever you know!’
‘Exactly, that’s why it’s boring! Who finds a game fun when they only ever lose!’
Watching them bicker back and forth, I had come down somewhat reassured.
Thinking that while I worked hard, Se-um wouldn’t create another client.
I know intellectually that I must consistently earn Karma.
I’m a High Priest, so I can’t earn Karma myself, and even as Se-um’s client, I can’t accumulate any meaningful Achievements.
Yet my heart kept stirring with petty jealousy.
Every time I expressed those feelings honestly, Se-um would laugh as if watching the cutest small animal in the world.
‘Fine then, I won’t choose other clients when you’re not looking. You can sit beside me with your eyes wide open and supervise.’
‘…Isn’t that being too obsessive?’
‘Well, obsessive men aren’t attractive. It seems like you’re trying to control things.’
‘….’
I remember clearly the words Se-um added with evident pleasure, savoring my quickly deflating expression.
‘But since I’m the one controlling you, I can let you have the obsession. Just remember that I hold the initiative.’
‘…Yes.’
‘You don’t need to make such a moved expression. I’m always an incredibly benevolent Constellation to you.’
I don’t know how sacred Se-um’s face looked in that moment.
Where in this world could there be a god who so generously embraced even my obsession and jealousy?
If someone nearby had witnessed this scene, they would have called me insane, but that hardly mattered.
But now Se-um herself, the very person I could show my jealousy to and share my anxiety with, was nowhere to be seen.
There was no way to contact her, and above all.
Above all!
[ Se-um: Should I come pick you up? ]
Se-um had made such a gracious offer, and I had left her on read like some fool of a High Priest.
Despair flooded my heart. Ha Gyuhyuk turned to face the High Priest beside him with a contemplative expression.
“How long until the system is restored?”
“Well, that depends on how much impact it had on the Constellation System. Given the timing, it probably won’t be a galactic collision, so it shouldn’t take more than 10 years.”
He spoke of 10 years as casually as if it were 5 minutes.
Just when I thought I was getting used to it, whenever I heard about the vast time concepts of this place, I had no idea what expression to make.
Then?
If he came out with something like “it won’t take 10 years, maybe 9 years and 364 days,” I was on the verge of blurting out that I’d reincarnate right now and cycle through rebirth until I became a Constellation again.
“At fastest, 72 hours in Earth time?”
“Ah….”
“At slowest, 1 year?”
“Isn’t that gap too large?”
“Is it?”
This was hopeless.
None of these High Priests had any proper sense of time installed in them.
Ha Gyuhyuk sat down in front of the darkened monitor, his face full of anxiety and despair.
“Se-um….”
* * *
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean? Se-um isn’t playing her card right now.”
I waved my hand to stop Franson from complaining.
What matters right now isn’t whether I’m a spade or a heart.
Franson finally noticed my expression wasn’t normal and stopped his grumbling, leaning toward me.
I shared the window and showed him the message screen.
“Why this?”
“Ha Gyuhyuk isn’t responding.”
“What do you mean?”
Seeing his face, which seemed to completely fail to grasp the gravity of the situation, made my chest tighten.
Even though he’d been observing Ha Gyuhyuk alongside me all this time, he didn’t understand what the problem was.
“My client read my message but hasn’t replied.”
“Kim Gyuwun does that all the time. That’s why I check the screen directly every day to confirm he’s alive. He doesn’t even read them. So when I ask why he didn’t read it, he says he glanced at the top and thought it didn’t need a response, so he didn’t read it!”
Looking at that carefree, oblivious, bright face, I couldn’t even bring myself to say anything.
Yes, it’s probably a blessing that he doesn’t understand…
Ha Gyuhyuk not responding to my contact meant either something serious had happened to him or he was in a situation where he couldn’t respond.
He was the one who prioritized me above everything else in this world.
But for such a situation to occur within Sungdo where he couldn’t respond to my contact—that wasn’t ordinary.
I threw the cards in my hand down onto the table entirely.
“You’re suddenly revealing your whole hand? Are you surrendering?”
“Yes, yes, I surrender.”
“Really, 367 losses out of 367 games—you’re okay with that?”
“Ah, I’m fine with it! That’s not what matters! Where’s Tasha! Tasha!”
“Here.”
My Constellation, understanding that this was the moment I needed her, entered the room with composure.
Before I could even complain about what had happened, Tasha thrust a portable device in front of my eyes.
“I think the answer to the problem you’re worrying about is probably here.”
“Huh?”
My eyes slowly turned toward the screen.
[ Currently experiencing connection errors due to network issues in the High Priest Layer. ]
[ We will restore the system quickly. We apologize for the inconvenience. ]
[ From Zeus, High Priest ]
“What… does this mean?”
“In other words.”
“In other words?”
Tasha’s tentacle tapped my head.
“Ha Gyuhyuk’s internet went down.”

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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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