Carter had never thought he would feel this sense of loss after becoming an A-grade hunter. He currently led a life of debauchery because of his addiction to games and gambling, but in the past, he had been desperately doing raids in order to become A-rank.
Carter wasn’t very talented to begin with, so before he awakened, he couldn’t even dream of starting at C-grade. He climbed his way from the lowest rank by constantly killing monsters. Even now, he felt bitter when thinking of all those sorrowful experiences he had gone through. So…
“No. You can’t have more.”
“...”
Regardless of Carter’s sob story, Choi Yeonseung flat out refused. Despite its size, the iron scorpion didn’t actually have much meat. A large portion of its body consisted of a metal shell which barely contained any meat.
It was only thanks to Choi Yeonseung’s culinary skills that they could eat such a thing. Choi Yeonseung had extracted the lean mean with an ability that couldn’t be matched in the Abyss, and he cooked it with ingredients from his own territory.
Afterwards, he put the meat in boiling water along with the marinade and additional ingredients such as scallions, onions, peppers, and radishes. However…
The plants grown in the realm of a constellation inherited their power and had a strong flavor, and the hunters who were sensitive to magic were especially prone to feeling the rich taste of magic power.
Choi Yeonseung wondered, “Didn’t you tell me to make those hunters stronger?”
“Yeah, but... Still...”While Carter was at a loss for words, the hunters, who had worked hard to clear the dungeon, completely devoured their meals, leaving no trace of food in their bowls.
“Do you want to do one more dungeon?”
Choi Yeonseung shook his head at Carter’s hopeful question.
“Fatigue can lead to injuries. We have to take a break.”
“...Since when do you care so much?!”
“???”
***
The household member that the Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place had sent as an errand boy was a cold spirit. The clan members fell flat to the ground when they saw the spirit floating in the air, spraying out cold, chilling energy.
“Welcome!”
“I’ve been waiting!”
“...Do they have to go that far?”
Choi Yeonseung was speechless at the reaction of the clan members, thinking that they were being overly servile.
“Please understand. This spirit is sort of... It’s the financier.”
The reason why the Black Steelers clan managed to survive was because of the rewards given by the constellation. The household member of such a constellation had to feel like the executive of a large company.
-...?
The cold spirit paused when it saw Choi Yeonseung and Morales. It seemed surprised by the presence of the two hunters it had never seen before. Moreover, they were both A-grade hunters...
“Oh, these two are here to help with the upcoming match. They’re famous hunters here on Earth. Of course, you probably haven’t heard of them, but...”
The cold spirit shook its head, signifying that it wasn’t the case.
“Oh, you do know them?”
The clan employee was surprised. Of course, A-grade hunters were famous around the world, but who would’ve thought that a cold spirit from the Abyss would also know about them?
“Since you know about them, the conversation will proceed quickly. The reason why we invited these two people here is because we want to do our best to satisfy the constellation...”
The cold spirit remained silent, which caused the clan people to panic a bit. Had they done something wrong?
“What’s wrong?”
“Is it furious that we brought in A-grade hunters without telling the constellation?”
“No… It’s absurd to get upset just because we did that...”
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ is happy to see you here!]
They received a reply from the constellation, not from the cold spirit.
“Gasp...!”
“The observer!”
The people of the clan quickly bowed down.
This was enough for Morales to finally speak. “...Nicholas. Is this really okay?”
“Well, what do you think? Everyone on Earth is a bit of a slave in this day and age.”
“...” Morales gazed at the clan hunters with a perplexed expression.
It was often said that humans had their souls taken away by constellations. They either offered their faith to the constellation or were dominated by the fear of that constellation...
Even if someone didn’t explicitly swear obedience to the constellation, it was surprisingly common for their soul to be taken over at some point. That was how extraordinary a constellation’s presence was on Earth.
As for the Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place, she had essentially enslaved the Black Steelers clan without resorting to violence or trickery. Other constellations rarely used such methods of constantly tempting and corrupting people, mainly because they didn’t really understand human beings.
However, the Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place seemed to have used a frighteningly subtle and cunning method to make the hunters obey her like that, although it wasn’t clear whether it had been intentional or not.
It didn’t really make a difference whether this was just the result of the constellation trying to have fun, but if it was intentional...
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ is amazed by this situation.]
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ says she was just sharing this little pastime with several other constellations.]
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ was thinking of inviting the ‘Undefeated Incarnation of Training’...]
“No. I’m afraid my master isn’t very fond of such entertainment.”
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ says she didn’t send the invitation because she thought this would be the case.]
The observer constellation wasn’t too offended by the refusal and continued.
[It is due to that relationship that she came here. The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ is asking if the hunter would like to participate in the match.]
“...?!”
Choi Yeonseung was slightly flustered when she unexpectedly brought him into this. What was she up to?
-It seems like pure curiosity or interest.
The goddess of sloth offered a cautious explanation. Apparently, the observer constellation was one of the neutral constellations on Earth, and she had no intention of taking over Earth. She just cared about her small pleasures. It felt like she had a rather hedonistic personality based on the way she roasted and boiled a hunter clan like this while hosting the matches.
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, please do us a favor! Participate with us!”
“Please!”
“I don’t want to.” Choi Yeonseung immediately refused.
One of the clan employees tried to cling to his leg, but Choi Yeonseung kicked him away. He had said he would help, but that didn’t mean he would act like a clown with them.
“Mr. Carter!”
Seeing that they couldn’t convince Choi Yeonseung, the hunters proceeded to beg Carter. However, this wasn’t something that Carter could help them with.
“I’m sorry, it won’t work. Think about it well. You can’t have an A-grade hunter do something like this for free, and I’m not paying for it out of my own pockets.”
Carter didn’t downplay the value of being an A-grade hunter. In exchange for his participation in the S-grade dungeon raid, the Black Steelers hunters received martial arts lessons.
That was it. If they asked for Choi Yeonseung to play with them in the upcoming match, Carter would have to pay for it, and evidently, he had no intention of doing so.
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ says she has no intention of making an offer without giving anything in return.]
[If you accept the proposal and win, the ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ says she will grant whatever you want.]
-!
“!”
Both Choi Yeonseung and the goddess of sloth were surprised. They hadn’t expected such generous terms.
[Of course, not everything is possible, so the ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ asks you to state in advance what you want.]
“Is an alliance possible?”
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ says it is possible.]
“...”
-Why is she doing this?
-No. It feels weird. It’s like... Didn’t she answer too quickly? Was she waiting for us to ask that?
-Now that you say it, this is definitely...
The goddess of sloth agreed with Choi Yeonseung. Normally, an alliance between constellations wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Siding with a constellation also meant siding against the enemies of that constellation. Thus, a constellation obviously had to take that into account and think carefully about it...
-Successor, maybe she already knew about you.
-It’s possible.
As a constellation, Choi Yeonseung had recently grown at a rapid rate, so it was no wonder that other constellations were deeply interested in him. If the observer constellation had already known about Choi Yeonseung, then her quick reply was explicable.
-What are you worried about?
The goddess of sloth wondered about what Choi Yeonseung was thinking about.
There was nothing to worry about right now. Unlike Choi Yeonseung, the observer constellation didn’t have many enemies. Since she was in a neutral position, there would be no grudges if they formed an alliance...
Forming this alliance was unconditionally beneficial to Choi Yeonseung. Moreover, he was the one who had brought it up first.
-It’s just a bit odd because she seemed like she had been waiting for this...
-I told you. It looks like the other party is interested in you.
-...Alright, let’s pretend for a second that this makes sense. In that case, how should I seduce her?
-Successor, I think you know that well.
-......
Choi Yeonseung thought about it with a bitter look on his face.
In terms of power, the Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place was like a huge frost giant or an elemental queen. She was essentially a huge natural disaster; the cold she emanated wrapped around her, making her a walking blizzard. To seduce such a being...
...Maybe he could offer her ice cream?
“Okay. I will accept.”
Choi Yeonseung was still a bit skeptical, but he couldn’t refuse an alliance that seemed objectively beneficial. He ultimately decided to lead the Black Steelers hunters and fight against the opponents brought by the observer constellation.
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ is very happy!]
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ feels remorseful about your colleagues and says it would be better if they were more skilled.]
“...?”
At the words of the constellation, Choi Yeonseung looked back at the hunters of the Black Steelers clan. Come to think of it, the alliance was only possible if he could lead these people to victory one time.
“Well... You’ve done it many times, so you must be confident, right?”
“...”
“...”
The hunters of Black Steelers averted their gazes, and they looked like a huge burden had just been placed on their shoulders.
***
“We have a twenty-five percent chance of winning.”
“Oh… Isn’t that decent?”
Choi Yeonseung was impressed. According to those odds, they could win one game out of four, which was pretty good. It meant it wasn’t impossible for Choi Yeonseung to fight and win...
“But lately, it’s been almost zero percent...”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung had a look of shock on his face.
“Why?”
“The recent opponents brought in by the constellation are stronger, so...”
There was no way that this constellation, who was trying to get rid of boredom, would keep bringing the same opponents. The more matches the hunters won, and the more they improved, the stronger their next opponents became.
Choi Yeonseung clicked his tongue as he heard how dire the situation was.
A hunter asked Choi Yeonseung, “How much experience do you have in playing the game?”
“Don’t expect much from me. I only know how to deal with those in front of me.”
“...”
The hunters groaned at Choi Yeonseung’s words.
This was typical of high-ranking hunters, who only occasionally played a game for an event. Evidently, such hunters were usually annoyed by the rules of the game because they were different from real life situations.
The hunters were worried that Hunter Choi Yeonseung would be the same.
"Don't worry.”
“!”
Choi Yeonseung evidently noticed their apprehensions. “I’ll do whatever you tell me to do. Feel free to give instructions.”
“Can... Can I really do that?”
“Yes. We can’t afford to lose this thing.”
Of course, it would be very disappointing if they lost, and he didn’t know what he would do to the hunters here, but Choi Yeonseung didn’t say this.
“Then... I’ll do my best! Which position do you prefer, Hunter Choi Yeonseung?”
“I’ve only ever played in the top lane.”
“...”
“What’s with that expression?”
“It’s nothing!”
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