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The main character’s younger brother is resurrected as a constellation Episode 3
I kept my mouth shut and breathed as quietly as possible.
I desperately hoped the monster would pass by without noticing us, but the sound grew closer.
Whir, whir.
At some point, the sound faded and then stopped altogether. At the same time, a shadow fell over me.
Following the shadow, I looked up and met the monster’s ashen eyes.
“Above your head…!”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Kim I-gyeol, who had spotted the monster first, grabbed my wrist and started running.
Having been sitting down, I struggled to balance myself as I started to run, but Kim I-gyeol held onto me tightly.
That sight reminded me of Jin Se-hyeok. I wondered if he had awoken safely.
I pushed aside the stray thoughts, focused, and started running properly. Only then did Kim I-gyeol’s hand let go of me.
The monster chased after us as we ran. The winged monster was incredibly fast.
Let me reiterate. It was really, really fast.
The monster blocked our path before we could go elsewhere.
Resembling a wasp, the monster was enormous and grotesque. It had to be at least 2 meters tall, and its legs were covered in sharp spines.
The monster buzzed its wings, as if pleased to see prey appear before it.
The sight of a giant insect’s wings moving was too gruesome to witness. I tried to squeeze my eyes shut but forced them open again.
In survival situations, closing your eyes is a surefire way to die early. No matter how unpleasant, I had to keep my vision.
Seeing the monster threateningly extend its leg towards Kim I-gyeol, I pulled him back behind me.
We couldn’t avoid it completely, and the spiny leg grazed Kim I-gyeol’s arm and the back of my hand, leaving wounds.
Just like when my stomach was pierced in the previous dream, I found it strange again that even in a dream, I could feel pain.
In the meantime, Kim I-gyeol picked up a large rock and threw it straight at the monster. Hitting it in the eye, the monster let out a horrific screech, “Ugh!”
We ran again. We kept running until we found a cave with a small entrance and went inside.
“We barely made it.”
“Tell me about it…”
Kim I-gyeol pressed down on the wound on his arm to stop the bleeding. His method of treating the wound seemed somewhat skillful.
After doing that for a while, staring into space, he suddenly spoke.
“Hey, you know what.”
“Huh?”
“I awakened.”
Awakened from what?
Ding-ding!
As soon as Kim I-gyeol notified me of his awakening, a refreshing sound effect rang out.
System Patch Complete!
I barely managed to stop myself from reading it out loud reflexively.
This is the window that appears when Hunters awaken.
But the color was different from what I knew. Don’t ordinary Hunters use blue windows?
Yet, the one appearing before me was gold.
The title ‘Nobility Returned from Death’ has been granted.
As I was pondering where things had gone wrong, the system dropped another bombshell.
“Ugh.”
“…Jin Se-rin?”
An odd sound involuntarily escaped my lips. A surprised reaction came from beside me, but that wasn’t important to me right now.
A title? That’s something only constellations possess. What are you doing, you crazy system?
The system, which couldn’t possibly understand me, immediately displayed the next window.
Locked skills are being unlocked.
I let out a hollow laugh as I watched the windows scroll by.
Kim I-gyeol, who had witnessed my strange behavior, asked,
“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Did you awaken too?”
“Oh, no! I was just surprised that you suddenly awakened here!”
Better to hide it for now. Even if this is a dream, since I can feel pain, I don’t want to be taken alive and turned into a test subject.
Opening status window.
‘I don’t want to.’
Even as I muttered internally, the system paid no heed. A window that appeared to be my status window materialized before my eyes.
Constellation ‘Nobility Returned from Death’
Contractor: –
Unique Skills: <Sanctuary (S)>, <Nobility (SS)>, <Sanctuary of Justice (SS)>, <Argument of the Elegy (S)>, <Judgment is Righteous (S)>, <Correct Balance (S)>, …, <Salvation is Fair (S)>, <Moving Away from Death (SS)>
Held Star Points: 0 points
I don’t care about this stuff; I just wish it would let me wake up from this dream.
As I grumbled towards the system, it defiantly showed me another message.
Congratulations on your Awakening!
500 points have been awarded as your first awakening bonus.
Current Star Points held: 500 points
What are star points supposed to be? Do I need to write a restaurant review or something?
The system, failing to grasp my confusion, threw another confusing element my way.
<Main Quest 1 – Finding a Contractor>
Find a contractor, proceed with the contract, and then clear the dungeon!
Reward: 100 points, <If You Just Read This, You Too Can Be a Constellation!> book provided.
A quest. Dumbfounded by a status window unlike anything I’d seen even in <Solo Leveling>, I was lost in my own confusion for a long while.
Perhaps, even though it sounds absurd, it seems this has become reality now.
‘Honestly, it’s strange. The fact that I’m still insisting this is a dream.’
I’ve been trying to ignore it, but everything, including my senses, is far too vivid.
Kim I-gyeol was the same. He was too detailed and intricate to dismiss as a mere dream character. As if he were a real person.
The assumption I had been subconsciously denying was gradually becoming more convincing.
It seems my reality has completely changed.
What do I do?
Inside the cave, it was quiet because of me, realizing this was reality and flustered, and Kim I-gyeol, examining his status window after awakening as a Hunter.
As we continued this strange relay of silence, a loud thud sound of something colliding came from the entrance.
As me and Kim I-gyeol turned our gaze toward the entrance, we saw the monster thrusting its head in.
The entrance, significantly smaller compared to its massive body, was barely holding on.
Boom! Thud!
The monster, ramming its head against the entrance, pushed its eye in to look inside the cave.
Our eyes met. Disgusting. I tried my best not to make eye contact, but I failed.
Hornet (E)
Core: Wing
The golden window that had disappeared reappeared, revealing the monster’s name and the location of its core.
It’s useful, but I hope I don’t have to make eye contact with monsters every time to see this from now on, right?
A sense of foreboding enveloped my entire body.
Meanwhile, the monster attempted a full-body ram, as if determined to break down the entrance.
It might withstand a few impacts for now, but the stone entrance seemed like it would shatter soon.
“That’s the only exit.”
Kim I-gyeol pointed to the sole escape route.
While I was having a staring contest with the monster, he had quickly surveyed the interior of the cave and spoken up.
“We need to get out first. It’s narrow in here, there’s nowhere else for us to run.”
He was right. The cave was narrow, and that monster was huge. If we confronted it here, we’d be caught in an instant.
I slowly looked back and forth between the entrance and Kim I-gyeol. I also glanced at the quest window floating in the air.
Since I need to find a contractor anyway, and there’s only me and Kim I-gyeol here, wouldn’t it be better to take that thing out?
“But the monster is right outside? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“We can go out when the monster comes in. The entrance is narrow, so there’s a high chance only its head will get in and its body will get stuck.”
I spoke as if I were scared, but Kim I-gyeol, having calmly finished his assessment, was resolute.
Hearing his words, I compared the entrance and the monster again. It did seem that if only its body got stuck, there would be space between the entrance and its body for us to slip through.
Having nothing left to say, I simply nodded.
Boom!
Not long after, the monster indeed broke through the entrance. And as soon as it stuck its head in trying to enter, just as Kim I-gyeol predicted, its body got lodged in the opening.
“Let’s go quickly.”
With those words, we passed by the monster’s side and escaped the cave.
As we moved elsewhere, only one thought crossed my mind.
‘A contract is the answer.’
I can’t just keep running and hiding forever.
No matter how wide the dungeon space is, it’s limited, and waiting for rescue, who knows when it might come.
To survive, I had to do something.
If Kim I-gyeol had awakened, he must have gained some ability, so it would be better than doing nothing.
The only concern was his grade, but I figured that could be managed somehow if I contracted with him and gave him skills or items.
Above all, right now, I had only one option.
Would you like to request a contract with the Awakened ‘Kim I-gyeol’?
It was a notification sent by the system, as if reading my thoughts.
My answer was already decided.
‘Yes, please just send it.’
The constellation ‘Nobility Returned from Death’ wishes to contract with you.
Instead of disappearing entirely, the window showed me the window as seen from Kim I-gyeol’s perspective.
‘Please, let’s make the contract.’
Instead of clasping my hands together, I subtly pressed my thumb against the side of my index finger. Internally, I ran while desperately praying for the contract with Kim I-gyeol to succeed.
Kim I-gyeol, who was running ahead, stopped after checking the window.
I was running right behind him, and when he suddenly stopped, I ended up bumping my nose into his back, but Kim I-gyeol just stared blankly into space, unresponsive.
Thinking he had seen it and would now accept, I was mentally preparing to relax, but no answer came back.
