D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 22

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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 22
Hackneyed malice, a villain’s narrative drawn by rote.
Stories that would have been mocked three hundred years ago on television for having that same tired design.
But humans overlook one crucial fact.
In the end, all the common human archetypes found in fiction are merely reflections of reality.
For an immensely long time, humanity has battled against these stereotypical “bad people” throughout the accumulation of history.
‘If I were human, I would have been enraged.’
But when you think about it, the story is quite simple.
In this current generation, being a Hunter is no longer a promising profession.
Those awakened from birth are not few in number, and as if in response, the higher-tier Dungeons require even S-rank Hunters to scrape together their efforts for years before meaningful conquest becomes possible.
Guild Taemyeon, which includes Kim Gyuwun.
A guild that possesses multiple S-rank Hunters and, above all, is where the strategist Kim Gyuwun—coveted by the highest-tier guilds—has been from the very beginning.
But now the guild lacked the finances to pay its members appropriate compensation.
“If the S-ranks and Kim Gyuwun leave, it’s immediate bankruptcy. The Guild Master is just a washed-up support-type S-rank….”
Investors want to reach toward promising guilds, not help one being propped up by a handful like young breadwinners.
The S-rank remaining here out of loyalty and Kim Gyuwun himself receive scout offers from other guilds multiple times a day.
To capture people’s attention, one needed an Achievement of that caliber.
So he pushed his exceptional guild members into the SA-17 Dungeon despite the risk.
If they made significant contributions there, the reputation of the Hunters and guild members would rise.
The result was.
‘A Constellation descended with its very epithet revealed to save helpless Hunters.’
‘The Constellation’s interest lies not in Kim Gyuwun or the S-rank Hunters, but in a D-rank Hunter whose presence there is inexplicable.’
‘Now that I think about it, that D-rank came out alive alone from a B-rank dungeon not long ago. And they say he went in as a substitute for Kim Gyuwun—didn’t he meet the Constellation there?’
The Guild Master’s decision to force significant involvement from his guild in the large-scale subjugation ultimately became a futile waste.
A human hanging from the cliff’s edge because of the Constellation that appeared unexpectedly.
He had already done many things he shouldn’t have done for the protection and preservation of his guild members.
But he couldn’t do such things toward a Constellation. If I were to sigh even once, all of Seoul might be swept away.
I tapped the table with my fingers a few times.
That room was already filled with silence.
‘What should I do….’
Even if I were to eliminate everyone here, the karma I would incur would be trivial.
For the life of a being unique in this world, it’s quite cheap.
It would be worth less than one hundred-millionth of the incarnate body I forcibly manifested to save them.
I chewed on the snack Franson had left behind. These people are less meaningful to me than such refreshments.
They might amount to nothing more than ants interfering with a snack I’m trying to savor.
But whether it’s fortunate for them or not, I fortunately have no hobby of crushing such insignificant creatures to death.
– …Wouldn’t it be good for you to become the Constellation of a strong person? According to past documents, if a human saves more people and accumulates virtue, the rank of the Constellation rises, I’ve heard.
The last documents about Constellations were probably left around the time I died.
From that point onward, the footsteps of Constellations became sparse on Earth.
Back then, everywhere you looked, stories about being chosen by a Constellation were teeming.
Now that I had actually become a Constellation, I could see just how deeply they had researched this existence.
They must have collected every scrap of information about Constellations the moment I accessed this world.
And the one analyzing it all was probably Kim Gyuwun over there, who had just stopped foaming at the mouth and was now staring at the screen with reddened eyes.
Now I understood.
– I heard you were interested in D-rank Hunters. But our people could accomplish far more socially beneficial work than that.
‘To me, D-rank or S-rank makes no difference.’
Both fail to transcribe sixty thousand sentences, both require separate protection in safe places to avoid my breath, and both go mad at the sight of otherworldly things.
Being slightly stronger among humans is ultimately just the human domain.
What advantage does choosing S-rank have over D-rank anyway?
Ha Gyuhyuk has the better face, Ha Gyuhyuk is more charming, and developing him seems far more entertaining.
Perhaps he interpreted my silence as contemplation, because he suddenly began stammering out more words in panic.
His face was twisted in a pitiful expression.
[ Wretched human. ]
[ I clawed my way up from the very bottom to reach this place. ]
Did he know?
That the Constellation he dared speak of was originally a C-rank Awakener who never even became a Hunter.
Those I once revered most now stood beneath my feet, awaiting my choice.
It was hardly amusing.
Had they proposed a deal with even a modicum of intelligence, I might have considered it.
[ I shall spare you punishment this time out of mercy, but next time, think more carefully before you act. ]
[ Gods have no interest in human hierarchies. Find a way to capture my interest instead. ]
My clemency simply meant I would overlook the insult to myself.
My hand had not yet reached Ha Gyuhyuk, after all.
There was no amusement in claiming the lives of creatures who would barely last another fifty years anyway.
It was far more satisfying to tempt them with sweet candy and warm clothes, to seduce them gradually.
I was about to switch screens when I suddenly looked at Kim Gyuwun.
Despite my curse, he showed not the slightest displeasure, simply gazing at the window.
His blue eyes behind his glasses glimmered with interest.
‘Interesting one, this.’
[ You have sponsored ‘Origin Currency’ to the designated target. (Quantity specified: 15,000 Karma exchanged) ]
Suddenly, the information about Kim Gyuwun I had seen before came to mind.
‘P.S. He harbors admiration for Se-um, the only person called missing 330 years ago.’
I gave it because I was grateful he even remembered a delusion.
His quiet eyes suddenly filled with shock at the screen that materialized before him.
As if checking whether others could see it too, his pupils darted rapidly across the surroundings.
But the others were too busy attending to their Guild Master, who was drowning in despair over his failure.
His lips trembled slightly.
[ Use that money to rebuild your Guild, or use it as a foundation to establish your own. Do as you see fit. ]
[ I’m giving it to you because I like your eyes. ]
And without waiting for a response, I switched screens.
There are Constellations who, upon witnessing eyes that endure by perfectly compartmentalizing all manner of negative emotions—whether despair, rage, or resentment—often call them the seeds of heroes.
I have no intention of cultivating some hero of a turbulent age.
When the server expands, someone will fill those roles eventually.
I thought I’d returned quickly, but Ha Gyuhyuk was so exhausted he’d fallen asleep on the bed, clutching a reflection paper to his chest.
What was that about? Why was he sleeping while holding onto it?
He looked like a child who’d been scolded by an adult and dozed off while writing in his diary.
With nothing else to do, I enlarged the screen and leisurely observed his sleeping face.
Whatever dream he was having, he occasionally furrowed his brow.
He needs good sleep to grow taller… Wait, isn’t he past the age for growth now?
I tilted my head slightly to one side.
[ #####_Driver_Installer_34R7h Installation in Progress… (16.43%) ]
“This is going to kill me. I’m going to die from this.”
Unlike a System Enhancement Token, this installation couldn’t be manually accelerated, and my frustration was reaching a breaking point.
I knew that to speed up the installation, I couldn’t do anything—no chatting, no donations, nothing.
I could turn off every screen, display only this driver installation page, and perform a ritual in front of it, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
But my client was waiting, and if I gripped it any harder, it would shatter—what was I supposed to do?
While I was lost in serious contemplation, a broadcast echoed from somewhere.
From the tone, it was a system-wide broadcast across the entire Constellation System—something that rarely happened unless it was a significant event.
Usually, system-wide broadcasts were only used when there was money to be made.
[ Attention all Constellations of the Constellation System. We are now commencing the Apocalypse Client Competition. All interested Constellations are requested to gather at the center of the Constellation System. ]

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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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