D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 99

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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 99
“Se-um.”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s voice called out from behind me, layered with a complex tapestry of emotions.
But the most overwhelming of them all was, naturally, admiration.
I’d simply done what I wanted to do, yet here I was receiving praise—it felt genuinely strange.
Almost embarrassing, even.
“Look, you said you wanted to save the living, right? So logically, shouldn’t I be the one handling the dead?”
Of course, no one had asked me to do it.
I was aware that this attitude differed from my usual self.
Perhaps it was the awkwardness, but my words kept spilling out longer than necessary. Before I knew it, I’d walked straight past Dan Yibum.
“Your clothes—why are they like this?”
“They were torn during combat.”
“We’re rated for all ages, so be more careful.”
The moment I touched his clothes with my hand, all his equipment and garments were restored.
Dan Yibum stared directly at me.
That gaze was rather burdensome, to be honest.
“You did well. Tell me if there’s any reward you’d like.”
I’ll grant it, as long as it’s not something like wanting to become the world’s number one.
I couldn’t deny that today had been harsh on him.
Not only did I push him alive into hell itself, but I also made him search for corpses.
Hmm.
I suppose I was trying to cultivate him in my own way, but I was far too merciless about it. I’ll admit that.
As I acknowledged my mistake and looked at him, Dan Yibum’s lips moved slightly.
“…May I tell you next time? Is this a reward with a time limit?”
“What? No—just tell me before you die. I’ll definitely outlive you anyway.”
Even if the world were to split in two, I would live longer than him, so there was no need to worry.
Well, I’d taken care of his clothes too.
“Come on, get up. We’ve found both the dead and the living, so now we need to close this Dungeon.”
My voice echoed through the Corridor.
Guild Members from other locations came rushing over, carrying and shouldering survivors they’d found elsewhere.
They were all high-ranked Hunters, so their strength was impressive.
“But taking survivors into direct combat with the boss is far too dangerous.”
Was her name Venus?
A member from that Guild cautiously offered her opinion.
“Wouldn’t it be better if a few of us stayed here to protect the survivors while the rest of us engage the boss?”
“Yes, we’ve never encountered monsters like these before, and some of our Guild Members have suffered psychological trauma.”
Certainly.
Though they were carrying survivors, there were those with pallid faces, looking lost and helpless.
They hadn’t received my mental barrier, so their suffering would be even greater.
Yet they’d endured the entire ordeal and brought the survivors here without a single scratch.
Meanwhile, their bodies were in terrible condition, covered in wounds.
“Didn’t you have a healer? Why is everyone in such bad shape?”
“We prioritized treating the survivors with the healer. Since these individuals are non-awakened, even minor wounds could be fatal.”
“We can take a hit or two more without any problem!”
Without problem, my foot. If they took any more damage here, they’d be corpses waiting to be cleaned up.
Their eyes gleamed with the sense of duty that they naturally had to save the weak.
Considering that aspect, they were certainly worthy of recognition.
“So these are Korea’s Hunters…”
Everyone turned to look at me at the words that spilled from my lips unbidden.
I’d meant it as a mutter, but it came out too loud. Did they all hear it?
I awkwardly rolled my eyes and finished what I was trying to say.
“They might be more impressive than I thought.”
Perhaps I’d been looking at Hunters through tinted glasses all this time without realizing it.
I admit it honestly.
I had no good memories of Hunters, and I had little attachment to this land.
A world that left only painful memories in my life and ultimately erased my very existence.
I thought it was a society teeming with people like Jang Deuk-sung.
But maybe I was a little wrong.
“D-did you just say we’re impressive?”
One of the Hunters I’d met for the first time today flushed red.
I’d only said it might be so, but not just him—all of them were openly delighted.
What is this?
[ Franson: Se-um is embarrassed ]
[ Franson: Looks like she’s embarrassed, her face is all red ]
[ Se-um: Please be quiet, seriously ]
[ Se-um: I said be quiet seriously ]
Just because I acknowledged them a little wouldn’t drastically change their day or their future.
Yet they were delighted as if they’d heard that what they’d been doing all this time wasn’t wrong.
I thought the large guilds were all materialistic and had climbed to that position because of it.
Maybe I should start practicing looking at people in a new light from today on.
Everyone was staring at me like I was some kind of magician who boosted morale, which made me uncomfortable.
“Alright, I’m done here. I need to go do what I came for. We still have a boss to defeat.”
“Yes!”
“Roger!”
Dealing with humans is really difficult.
* * *
“Tasha.”
“Yeah, Se-um?”
“Why did we end up being the ones protecting the survivors?”
“That’s because you lost the dice game against Franson.”
That’s right.
Except for those exhausted, most of them hoped to go hunt the boss.
So those who appeared to have little to do were simply assigned the role of protecting the survivors.
“Um, could one of you two Constellations perhaps protect the survivors?”
A woman from the Hanseong Guild mustered the courage to make the proposal to me.
She was referring to Franson and me, since Tasha was hiding the fact that she was a Constellation.
So we played a dice game with fate on the line, and I lost.
“No, that’s card manipulation.”
“Se-um, I don’t cheat, okay? You just lost in a fair game of pure luck.”
“How is that fair? How can Franson roll a six while I roll a one?”
And so I ended up protecting the survivors, and perhaps because I looked too lonely, Tasha stayed behind with me.
Sitting side by side watching the sleeping humans, I found myself with nothing but boredom.
“Se-um, I have something I want to ask you.”
“About what.”
“I have a question.”
“Oh, go ahead.”
Tasha, who had been glancing at me as if I were some strange creature, continued in her familiar way.
“Have you come to like this land a little?”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
Tasha, who had been absorbing the painful memories from the sleeping survivors, shrugged.
It was probably out of curiosity rather than any genuine concern.
A pure question born from wanting to understand in what situations humans felt fear and couldn’t endure.
“Sungho the Constellation said it himself—that he came to like that land because he fell in love with his clients.”
“Ah….”
Now that I thought about it, I did seem to recall hearing something like that.
I blinked slowly and rested my chin in my hand.
But I still couldn’t give a definite answer to whether I actually liked the world.
It was just that if before it had been unbearably loathsome and painful, now it didn’t seem quite that bad.
“I don’t like it. How should I describe this feeling….”
“Ambiguous?”
“Yeah, there were definitely reasons I hated it before, but it seems like what I hated isn’t the same anymore.”
I had thought I was isolated because the strong didn’t save the weak.
Since I saw Taemyeon first upon entering Earth, I had believed that the powerful Guilds never changed.
But seeing more humans here and observing their attitudes, I feel differently about it.
Maybe they didn’t rise to those positions simply because they craved honor and power.
“So it’s a bit ambiguous. Just changing my impression won’t let me change my feelings toward what I hated, but still.”
“I wasn’t asking you to like this land anyway, so don’t worry.”
“Even if you asked me to like it, Tasha, I still wouldn’t.”
Tasha let out a small laugh.
No matter how many times I heard it, Tasha’s laughter always sounded pleasant.
I tilted my body halfway and rested my head against her small shoulder.
“But it’s true that it’s still difficult for me to attach my heart to this land. Who knows when they’ll fear us again.”
Not small arms, but her true tentacles wrapped around me.
It was a sensation infinitely familiar to me.
She felt like a god protecting me.
“Se-um hates it when people touch things she likes.”
“Even if all the humans and lifeforms on this land were favorable to me, if they were hostile to Tasha, Franson, or Ha Gyuhyuk, I would turn this entire land into my enemy.”
“I know.”
I had clear priorities after all.
I blinked and pulled up the window showing those who had gone to subjugate the current boss.
The remaining three guilds were fiercely assisting the people of Touch One, who still had limited experience with cooperative raids.
This would be entertaining.
“I’m bored.”
“Should we tell some old stories for a change?”
I glanced at Tasha.
“Once upon a time….”

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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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