D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 2

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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 2
“I always believed that constellations were omnipotent at all times.”
The familiar landscape of South Korea, the familiar lights.
A beautiful peninsula that sparkled with countless artificial lights even as night fell.
And the massive Hunter Association building constructed on the coast overlooking the East Sea. It was exactly as I remembered it.
Everything else—the restaurants I used to frequent, the convenience stores, the schools—nothing remained as it had been.
Yet still, the world continued to exhaust itself fighting against Gates.
“Se-um, your expression doesn’t look good.”
“It’s because of this world.”
“This world?”
“Yes. A place so oblivious, so unchangingly monotonous, that not a single sign of impending ruin appears.”
It was a beautiful night view.
I usually enjoyed observing landscapes, so under normal circumstances I would have smiled brightly.
But now I couldn’t help but wear an expression far more horrified than when my client had suddenly dropped dead.
As I groaned and cursed, curious constellations began gathering here one by one.
“Hunters getting tedious already, aren’t they?”
“Ah, please make some noise when you arrive. You startled me.”
“What’s there to be startled about? Is this Se-um’s world of origin? If it’s lasted over 300 years, that’s quite ancient.”
“Indeed.”
It was different from when I had awakened.
Now, being a Hunter was a common profession, and except for the top 1%, there wasn’t much merit to it.
For lower-tier Hunters, the pay wasn’t even that good, so risking one’s life entering Gates hardly seemed worthwhile.
Now that only 15% of the domestic population were non-awakened, they had become the rarer commodity instead.
Ah, this wasn’t information I had gathered myself—I was simply reading directly from the information window displayed beside me.
Another constellation peering at the screen beside me laughed.
“It doesn’t look like it’s about to collapse anytime soon. Are you thinking of creating a client?”
“No, I should file an inquiry first.”
“Why…?”
“Because I don’t understand it.”
Could you comprehend it if you were me?
In this age of great constellations, the internet doesn’t work.
Constellations exist in a dimension above the very universe where humans live.
The structure of this place itself is a colossal building that extends infinitely without a first floor or a rooftop level.
A place where the client observation system runs ceaselessly for constellations who fundamentally have no need for sleep, meals, or other such activities.
‘Sungdo’
Most of the space, including private chambers for constellations, is composed of the client observation system and the devices necessary to maintain it.
Other divine entities beneath the constellations are mobilized to maintain and repair it.
Centered on the Sungdo building, a network extends across multiple universes, allowing us to observe the worlds.
I’ve heard that if a world hasn’t had visitors for a long time, the connection sometimes stutters.
However, most worlds had collapsed before the connection became completely sluggish, so the probability of a constellation experiencing lag was extremely low.
‘And I’m the one who got hit with this ridiculously low probability.’
One day and eighteen hours by constellation real-time standards.
Naturally, the flow of time differs from that of other worlds.
Usually accustomed to speeds like “connection in progress” or “connection complete,” I couldn’t make sense of the current situation at all.
“I’ll go check with the management team.”
I shot to my feet and moved forward, and the other constellations surrounding me parted ways with a rustling sound.
A small humanoid constellation with honey-colored hair at the very back looked up at me.
“Se-um, can I come with you…?”
“Of course, Tasha.”
Tasha’s face brightened immediately as she grasped the hem of my robe and began walking.
This one became a constellation long before I did, hailing from some distant universe.
If I had to pick the most similar race in Earth’s terms, it would be something like a tentacled creature or an alien.
‘Could it be from the same universe as my first client…?’
‘Ah…! Similar-looking beings do appear there too, but it’s a different universe….’
‘My apologies.’
A grateful mentor who guided me well from the very beginning—from how to sponsor my first client to the means of managing resources.
Some constellations would grow quite displeased if you assumed their origin world based solely on similar appearances.
But Tasha not only gracefully overlooked such assumptions, she even willingly selected a client from the same world and traveled that realm with me.
A good friend.
From my first day as a constellation, she seemed eager to become close.
After about five years, she even transformed her entire appearance into human form to meet me.
The form of a short-haired woman with honey-colored hair and crimson eyes is familiar now, but her original form was quite charming too.
“A constellation visiting the management team for the first time in eighty years…. I never expected it to be you, Se-um! You’re the type who stays composed and lets things slide, no matter what problems arise.”
“I was planning to overlook most errors myself. But does it make sense for a constellation to have slow internet? I’m from a world with internet speeds among the fastest even among constellations.”
There was no way I could accept a number like eighteen hours a day coming from someone of my origin.
It was like experiencing 400kb speeds when installing a sixty-gigabyte game on a machine I’d been using for seven years.
I strode forward and abruptly pushed open the red door at the end of the corridor.
The one who had been gnawing on deer antlers while gazing at tens of thousands of screens startled and turned to look at me.
Ten pairs of eyes examined my expression with confusion.
“Constellations? What brings you here?”
“I have some questions.”
“According to the screens, your device and station show no problems, but…!”
Tasha, who had been following behind me, quietly stepped forward to block the way.
I couldn’t tell what expression someone a head shorter than me was making.
But seeing the employee beyond turn pale, it seemed she had issued a threat.
I had clearly stated I came with a simple inquiry.
I grasped Tasha’s robe and pulled her back, then approached the employee’s side.
“I was trying to access a certain world, and it took eighteen hours just to connect. Is that even possible? I’m certain there must be some kind of error.”
“Yes? Ah, that.”
“…This is not a complaint. I swear it by all my karma and formulas.”
To think I’d have to swear such an oath just to answer a single inquiry.
Only after hearing the highest-tier promise did the employee’s terrified expression finally ease.
He glanced nervously at Tasha before opening his mouth.
“Is the world you’re accessing the 34R7h World?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, this is… the first channel a Constellation has accessed in 317 years. You see, as more Constellations enter a world, the passage expands, and conversely, it contracts when fewer do.”
“I see.”
His explanation went like this.
Sungdo’s channels operate differently from the internet managed by living beings, so there’s no obligation to maintain connection points with unused worlds.
Worlds that go without a Constellation’s access for extended periods gradually lose their connections, and eventually they’re severed entirely, becoming “world lines without a Constellation until their destruction.”
And the 34R7h World had already suffered considerable server reduction in this manner.
If I’d logged in even a few decades later, it would have become inaccessible.
“Is there no way to expand it again?”
“It would naturally expand if many Constellations accessed it again, but currently even a single Constellation’s access is… problematic.”
“So I need to enter frequently and expand it even slightly so other Constellations can access it too…”
I felt my voice sink with melancholy, and the employee’s face went pale in an instant.
Instead of twenty constantly rolling eyes, I stared at tens of thousands of monitors.
There weren’t worlds there—there were countless Constellations observing worlds.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”
“No, how could I blame anyone for my homeland being unpopular?”
I’ve spent far more time as a Constellation than anything else.
So I could simply stop caring and give up.
But this was a matter of pride.
“Understood. Since it’s not an error, I’ll be on my way.”
“Y-yes…!”
The moment I turned away from that office and began walking, Tasha hurried after me as if she’d been waiting.
“Se-um, d-don’t worry about it. When the c-channel expands, I’ll m-make sure to access your world and k-keep it from being severed.”
“Thank you.”
But the real problem right now was that I’d have to be there day and night until you could access it.
I swallowed the words rising to my throat and parted ways with Tasha.
When I returned to my seat, the other Constellations had already lost interest and scattered.
‘I’m connected.’
Before, I’d merely entered the world’s threshold—what they called the access standby state—forced to watch the screen change against my will.
Now I could finally switch screens freely and explore at my leisure.
“Let’s see…”

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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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