D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 60

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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 60
“Pardon?”
He stared at me with bewilderment written across his face.
He couldn’t have anticipated this. That I would suddenly escalate the training difficulty so drastically.
“How am I supposed to fight against Ulrim?”
Of course, he would get thoroughly beaten—so thoroughly that he’d be no match at all—but there was no need for that expression as if he were about to cry.
Did he truly believe I would kill him?
I was about to say something when Ha Gyuhyuk spoke first.
“What if Ulrim gets hurt in the process?”
“That’s what you were worried about?”
If he was trying to exploit my moment of surprise to attack me, he’d nearly succeeded.
The fact that he was concerned because he thought he might actually injure me was… surprising.
I was already on the verge of sustaining considerable wounds, and I couldn’t afford to soften my resolve with my own words.
“I’m capable of self-healing, so don’t worry. Besides, even if my avatar body takes damage, I don’t feel pain from it.”
For a moment, I was genuinely caught off guard and nearly let my guard slip.
Upon hearing that I wouldn’t be hurt, his expression softened with relief.
Though he had no right to feel reassured by such words.
I infused mana into my blade, and violet sword energy bloomed forth from it.
“So stop worrying and focus on landing even a single blow against me.”
“Even a single blow…”
Those words served as his signal.
Only then did he seem to truly comprehend that the being before him was a Constellation—someone he could neither harm nor oppose.
Pulling my lips into a thin smile, I lunged forward.
With the sound of air being torn asunder, Ha Gyuhyuk’s body was violently hurled backward.
“Do you enjoy stories? Do you read books often?”
I observed him lying on the ground, unable to even moan from the pain that overwhelmed him.
Focus. I mustn’t feel pity watching him like this.
I needed to make him strong. I couldn’t keep cradling him in my arms forever.
You said it yourself.
You said you wanted to become stronger through your own power.
“Then what about something like a romantic fantasy? That sort of thing was popular when I was human.”
I sent a powerful gust of wind toward him as he barely managed to rise.
The moment he stood, Ha Gyuhyuk’s body staggered once more.
His shoulder had taken the brunt of the impact, and one hand pressed against it.
“Ah…”
“The knights in those stories wield their blades like this. Get up.”
After spinning once in mid-air, I unleashed sword energy directly past his face.
What they commonly called an aura.
The energy merely grazed past his cheek.
Yet blood streamed down his face as if he’d been slashed by a sharp blade.
At this point, most would be terrified enough to flee.
“You need to answer me.”
“I… I didn’t see anything like that…”
He managed to respond, suppressing the groans of pain that threatened to escape.
Even if I had restrained my power to its absolute limit, that was by my standards.
I deliberately didn’t control the unconscious overflow of force.
“What about martial arts novels then? Do you enjoy those? Or do you only read self-help books about becoming stronger as a Hunter?”
“That’s…”
I didn’t give him time to answer.
This space was governed by my Sacred Domain, and without my permission, he could do nothing. Not even lose consciousness.
Even if his bones felt like they were shattering, they would recover immediately.
I concentrated my power at the blade’s tip and slashed rapidly through the empty air.
To him, it might have seemed instantaneous, but in that span, my sword carved through the void dozens, hundreds of times, creating a massive gale.
Only after falling and rising several times did Ha Gyuhyuk finally take action.
He created a shield toward the empty air that looked ready to shatter at any moment and held his ground.
“I have directly witnessed every fictional world you can imagine. Sometimes, I even raised those characters myself.”
“Ugh…”
He wouldn’t even have the leisure to properly hear my words.
The barely-formed shield shattered in an instant.
The fragments scattered, and the traces of my blade mercilessly tore through him in multiple places, blood spraying.
Unlike the Training Ground, this place offered no pain relief.
“And you are the weakest among them, Ha Gyuhyuk.”
He fell again, and again he rose.
As if determined to endure no matter how many times I struck him down or what attacks I unleashed.
For him, this battle was never about whether he could land a single blow.
It was about whether he could avoid fleeing.
Whether he could stand firm in the face of this overwhelming difference in power.
It was a test of his will—whether he could endure, no matter how many times he fell.
“…”
I gazed at him expressionlessly.
Even without me attacking further, his condition was already a complete mess.
Anyone who saw him would demand he be taken to the Hospital immediately.
“Get your head straight. My blade hasn’t even touched your body yet. You’ve ended up like this simply from the wind my sword created and the traces it left behind.”
I extended my hand, letting pale light flow from it.
Realizing no more attacks would come, his body, which had been standing rigid, collapsed very slowly.
I watched him fall to the ground unable to rise, then closed the distance.
The light moved rapidly across Ha Gyuhyuk’s body, beginning to heal his wounds.
“Ha Gyuhyuk.”
I drove my blade into the ground right beside his face with a sharp thud.
Using it as a support, I leaned forward and stared directly at his face.
He still wore an expression of pain, cold sweat beading on his skin as he gazed up at me.
“Ulrim….”
“So, how does it feel? Growing stronger by walking the righteous path means facing opponents like me every single time.”
I had unleashed only the strength of a powerful human against him.
Had I truly exercised the authority of a Constellation, he would have been reduced to dust in the blink of an eye.
What I had demonstrated was merely the power of an S-rank Hunter.
Looking down at him from above, my hair cascaded to one side.
Its strands brushed perilously close to Ha Gyuhyuk’s cheek.
“I am——”
“If you’re afraid, it’s okay to say so. The fact that you didn’t run away in this situation is already impressive.”
Even if he had improved, he was still a C-rank Hunter.
The mere fact that he had endured with all his might in such circumstances showed tremendous potential for growth.
Talent mattered little.
If he harbored the desire to grow stronger, I possessed the ability to make it happen.
“Ulrim.”
But his reaction defied my expectations.
With trembling hands, he reached out and gently arranged my hair with careful fingers.
It was a tender touch, as though he were handling something infinitely precious.
“Tell me.”
“I’m weak. I always have been, ever since I awakened as a Hunter. Even before that, I was just an ordinary person of no consequence.”
Who in the world would call a face like his unremarkable?
I listened silently to his words, which seemed to lack any objective self-awareness.
“But you found me, Ulrim.”
Even though his wounds had healed, pain still lingered quietly in his mind, making his voice slower than usual.
“So I just want to become someone you can be proud of. Now that the other Constellations have come… I don’t want you to hear unnecessary words questioning why you chose me.”
“You’re going to be this devoted just because I found you? I just beat you to a pulp.”
He smiled softly.
In the darkness where no light burned, his face came into sharp focus.
“You might not realize it, Ulrim, but that moment when you found me… was the loneliest time of my life.”
“Lonely….”
“They say humans never forget the one who reaches out to them during their darkest, most solitary moments.”
His voice cut softly through the empty air.
“And so?”
“So I want to do anything for you, Ulrim. Since I can’t do that yet, I want to grow stronger.”
That’s why I want to become stronger, his voice seemed to say.
When was I ever most lonely?
In truth, I am always a solitary being—there’s no need to ponder it. It is the very essence that forms Constellation Se-um.
And it is why human Se-um was granted the power of stars.
I reached out and cradled Ha Gyuhyuk’s cheek in my palm.
He leaned naturally into my touch, his face settling against my hand.
“Ulrim, I want to become stronger. It would be fitting of your name.”
What did I truly wish for from him?
What could he possibly give me….
My lips moved of their own accord.
“I’m Se-um.”
“Pardon?”
“My name is Se-um.”

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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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