Return of the Shattered Constellation

“…I see she doesn’t need my help,” Baek Gyeo-Ul remarked, awkwardly putting away the long spear that he had been holding so he could help Shin Eun-Seo at any moment.

Indeed, Eun-Seo was teaching Lim Joo-Hwan a lesson. No matter how much Joo-Han attempted to counterattack, every swing of his sword was blocked by Eun-Seo’s tower shield. Afterward, Eun-Seo skillfully began to retaliate, swinging her halberd with admirable skill. In other words, she was a tank-type Player who could both inflict a great deal of damage and withstand her enemies' attacks for a long time.

In the end, Joo-Hwan tried to escape, unable to withstand Eun-Seo’s attacks. However, his attempts soon became futile, as Eun-Seo knocked him out by throwing her halberd at his back. Eun-Seo and Joo-Hwan both looked powerful—no, Joo-Hwan was technically stronger, but he was forced to his knees, unable to inflict significant damage on Eun-Seo.

‘The gap in their innate talent is greater than I thought,’ Chang-Sun thought, summarizing the reason very concisely.

It was true that Joo-Hwan was more skilled than most people, but Eun-Seo had so much more talent that she could easily overwhelm him. She was what people called a ‘genius’. There was a reason why Chang-Sun had taken an interest in her as soon as he met her.

Although her talent had not been noticed until now, she would definitely have found great success someday. If Chang-Sun had not been in the White Tiger Clan, she might have become one of the rising stars within the Clan—no, she had almost become a Gildal precisely because the Clan already thought so.

‘And her talent became even greater after going through Gildalization,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Eun-Seo’s greatest talent was her unwavering judgment in unexpected situations—such as the times when she had doubted Chang-Sun, encountered Joo-Hwan, and realized her mysterious power. Without revealing her uncertainty, she had rationally analyzed the situations and made decisions accordingly. Above all, she trusted her own decisions and remained determined to carry out her plans. Due to her frivolous behavior, few people expected that side of her.

On top of that, she had obtained outrageous strength after Gildalization; potentially, she could also have gained sharp senses, giving wings to someone who was already talented.

The Ghost Soldiers alone were incredible, but a Gildal would be at a much higher level than them. However, Executive Director Oh was the only one who had control over them.

Silently clicking his tongue, Chang-Sun thought, ‘I don’t know what he’s aiming for, but Executive Director Oh is certainly ambitious.’

It looked as if the key would be to find out how many ‘cards’ such as the Ghost Soldiers and the Gildal were up Executive Director Oh’s sleeves.

‘I’ll have to inspect what I obtained from the altar in detail.’

Recalling the scroll he had found with Eun-Seo, Chang-Sun organized his thoughts and moved in Eun-Seo and Geum-Gyu’s direction, with Gyeo-Ul at his back.

“What happened to you?” Geum-Gyu asked, looking at Eun-Seo with confusion. However, he still checked to see if his sister had sustained any injuries. It was understandable, as she had become a totally different person after disappearing into thin air for fifteen days.

When he sensed the approaching Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul, he flinched as he looked at them, staying on guard. As he had suffered because of Joo-Hwan, he wanted to verify their intentions. Chang-Sun in particular was someone to watch out for as far as the trainees were concerned, but…

“It’s okay. They saved me,” Eun-Seo reassured him.

“That bast… no, Mr. Lee Chang-Sun did?” Geum-Gyu asked in surprise. Although he knew little about Chang-Sun because he was uninterested in games, he had heard a thing or two that told him what kind of person Chang-Sun was. On top of that, the Chang-Sun whom Geum-Gyu had initially met seemed to be an arrogant man who thought he was better than everyone else. However, it appeared Geum-Gyu’s first impression was wrong.

‘But who’s next to him? I’ve never met him, but he doesn’t look like an instructor. Is he one of the trainees?’ Geum-Gyu wondered, not recognizing Gyeo-Ul’s changed appearance.

It seemed as if he would have to ask them countless questions.

* * *

“What are you going to do, sir?” Gyeo-Ul asked Chang-Sun, trying to get an idea of their next move after Geum-Gyu received a brief explanation of what had happened. Gyeo-Ul felt that Chang-Sun would naturally have a plan in mind. Eun-Seo and Geum-Gyu likewise fixed their gazes on Chang-Sun.

Eun-Seo thought the mysterious power she had suddenly been granted was ‘a bonus reward from Heoju or an unknown deity, granted while she was unconscious’. Although it only happened on rare occasions, Players sometimes gained sudden strength through the bonus rewards they received.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ delightedly says that he likes the claw who is as talented as she is, laughing.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ says that the power may have originated from an evil source, but she can put it to good use.]

However, Geum-Gyu and Eun-Seo had nowhere to return to because of Eun-Seo's newfound power. Even if they returned to their original team, the other team members would have an awkward relationship with them, so the two had to follow Chang-Sun… Fortunately, Chang-Sun had not explicitly rejected them, implicitly agreeing to work together as a team. Thus, they were bound to be curious about Chang-Sun’s plans.

There could be nothing more exciting than watching the genius who had set a new record in action. With sparkling eyes, Eun-Seo especially looked forward to Chang-Sun’s answer. However…

“What am I going to do?” Chang-Sun replied nonchalantly, as if Gyeo-Ul had asked a redundant question. “Isn’t it obvious, seeing as we’re in a Dungeon?”

“Then are you planning to clear the Dungeon…?” Gyeo-Ul asked, his expression brightening..

In contrast to Geum-Gyu, who screamed silently as if he could not believe what he was hearing, Eun-Seo’s eyes sparkled as brightly as a galaxy.

The ‘Black Blood Mountain Range’ had existed for a very long time, but it had not been cleared even once. The Dungeon itself was very large, and the difficulty level varied in every sector, making it difficult to clear. There was a reason why the White Tiger Clan had given up on clearing the Dungeon and instead used it as their training institute.

However, the Clan instructors always played things up, urging new trainees to clear the Dungeon if they could, because they thought it would be impossible for the trainees to clear the Dungeon within one hundred days. Thus, it was understandable that Geum-Gyu could not believe they would be trying to finish the Dungeon. Regardless, the plan had been formulated by Chang-Sun, the genius SSS+++ Grade novice who had achieved many unbelievable goals.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ wonders if it is possible to do that.]

As he had been watching the Black Blood Mountain Range for a long time, even Heoju could not believe Chang-Sun’s big talk.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ cheers you on, saying you will be able to accomplish it.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ asks how anyone can still doubt such a sly snake, clicking his tongue.]

Paying little heed to how the deities were reacting, Chang-Sun nodded quietly as he looked at Gyeo-Ul.

“I knew it…! Then how long do you think it’ll take to clear the Dungeon?” Gyeo-Ul asked with sparkling eyes. Meanwhile, Eun-Seo and Geum-Gyu showed completely different reactions from one another.

As Gyeo-Ul’s half-spirit curse was completely cured, all his attention was focused on challenging the unfinished Dungeon that was considered impossible to clear. As he was a martial artist, he was bound to be excited about the challenge.

“What are you talking about?” Chang-Sun asked, tilting his head.

“Well, we have to make several preparations to clear the Dungeon…!” Gyeo-Ul excitedly continued.

“We don’t need to make preparations,” Chang-Sun said, snorting lightly and crossing his arms. “A day will be enough.”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

This time, Gyeo-Ul and Eun-Seo silently screamed along with Geum-Gyu.

* * *

“Urgh!” Joo-Han opened his eyes, clutching his aching head. Had he fainted? Everything around him was confusing.

However, he abruptly came back to reality as all the humiliating events that had happened to him flashed before his eyes like afterimages: He had been beaten by Eun-Seo like a dog. No matter how hard he resisted, Eun-Seo had followed him relentlessly and beat him with her halberd. Even right now, he felt as if Eun-Seo would smack his head again with the halberd.

“…!” Joo-Han instinctively raised his sword high into the air.

Whoosh!

However, nothing smacked his head. The only thing he could feel was a breeze. Joo-Hwan gradually looked around at his surroundings and realized what was going on, as Eun-Seo and Geum-Gyu were nowhere to be found and the only people he could see were his team members, who had fainted before him.

‘How dare…! How dare she…!’ Joo-Hwan thought as he gritted his teeth angrily, unable to hold in his boiling anger. He trembled with a sense of humiliation he had never felt before in his entire life.

‘What did she do? How can a bitch whose rank is much lower than mine…?!’ Joo-Han thought, but suddenly, a possibility came to his mind. ‘Yes, she must have cheated by drinking a potion, fooled my eyes, or something like that. That must be it. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. She might be a demonic being.’

He could not be more wrong, but he had a hard time accepting the fact that Eun-Seo had beaten him, as he was confident he could even beat Chang-Sun in his current state.

‘I’ll get to the bottom of the cheat she used. If she’s truly a demonic being, I’ll never let her walk in daylight again,’ Joo-Han thought as he gritted his teeth.

“Team Leader!”

“Where are you, Team Leader?”

Coming from the hunting ground, his team members who had been hunting together looked for him. They had likely begun to search for him because he had not returned for a long time. How could Joo-Han explain the situation? Although he wanted to say everything was fine, his surroundings did not lookfine. No matter how Eun-Seo had cheated, it would be embarrassing if his team members found out she had beaten him.

‘Maybe I’ll silence them for good so they won’t talk about what happened…?’ Joo-Han briefly thought about killing his two unconscious team members, but he could not due to the instructors watching him. ‘Or maybe I’ll tell them she ambushed us, but my team and I ambushed her in turn.’

Joo-Han quickly analyzed the situation and concluded that ambushing Eun-Seo was a good idea. Everyone in the Dungeon was supposed to believe he was invincible, and thus could not lose unless he had been ambushed by a demonic being. However, he could still look invincible if he caught the demonic being in the end—no, more than that, he would leave a strong impression on his team members and fellow trainees while turning the table on the enemy.

‘A trainee who caught the demonic being that infiltrated the training institute in a life-and-death battle’ would definitely become a headline in the media. Joo-Han had already concluded that Eun-Seo and Geum-Gyu were demonic beings, and thus fixated on the plan of receiving the spotlight by subduing them.

‘Yes, that Lee Chang-Sun bastard must also be a demonic being, or else it would be impossible to have such a record. After I tell the world what that Eun-Seo bitch is, I’ll be going after you, Lee Chang-Sun,’ Joo-Han thought, finalizing his plans. He slowly stood up, acting as if he had received a grave injury. In truth, however, he was meticulously(?) picturing his shining future.

“I’m here…!” Joo-Hwan shouted.

However, that shining future would dim soon after.

[The Dungeon Mission has concluded!]

[Compiling the final ranking.]

[Dungeon Ranking]

First Place: Lee Chang-Sun (810,320 Points)

Second Place: Munseong (390,000 Points)

…

[Different rewards will be given out based on performance.]

[Different rewards will be given out based on rank.]

“…Huh?” Joo-Han murmured, dumbfounded, after seeing a message he had never expected to see in the Black Blood Mountain Range.

Joo-Han, his team members who had been running in his direction after hearing his voice, the nearby instructors, the people who had been training in the Safe Zone… All the people in the Dungeon were screaming.

“What in the world happened…?”

“The Dungeon has been cleared? Un-Unbelievable!”

“What the hell happened? Who was monitoring Lee Chang-Sun? Quickly find out what happened!”

However, they had to accept what had happened, because they could not continue to stay in the Dungeon if the Dungeon Mission had concluded.

[The Dungeon is closing.]

[Everyone, please brace for impact.]

[10.]

[9.]

…

[1.]

[The Dungeon is now completely closed.]

[Great work, everyone.]

It had been twenty-five days since the probationary training had begun, and the Dungeon had been closed in less than a month.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ enjoys the chaos!]