971 Episode 58 Myth-grade Constellation (3)

If I don't want to end up like other Kim Dokjas, choose the stars I'll be with?

I barely managed to maintain a sense of composure as I stared at the 'Goddess of the Morning Star', Vakarine, and the Judge. I couldn't tell how much they knew.

"What do you mean?"

In situations like this, the best response is to squint.

Vakarine stared at my squinted eyes, then tilted her head and muttered.

She activated her detection skills several times, as if trying to gauge my intentions. But with my [Fourth Wall], there was no way that would work.

I guess a seasoned, myth-grade constellation is different. Vakarine, unconcerned with her failed skill, calmly exchanged glances with the Judge, then asked me again.

"The Master of the Erased Margin? Who is that?"

Vakarine calmly responded to my impudent question.

Would you mind waiting for me to check it out for myself?

Perhaps because <Tree of Guardians> and the <Underworld> are somewhat smaller than the previous nebulae, I could definitely feel their consideration for me in small details.

Perhaps that means they desperately need 'mythic' power.

Seeing no reason to refuse such a favor, I followed Vakarine's suggestion and immediately looked up the historical rankings for the skirmishes.

After agreeing to a few information security messages, the historical rankings immediately appeared before my eyes.

The screen changed with a light congratulatory message.

—1st place. The 'Demon King of Salvation' and the Prophet's team, 'Zarathustra', and the 'Veda' team.

This ranking is based on the bet amounts recorded in the 'Hall of Golden Dice'.

The matches I participated in involved tens of millions of D-Coins, so regardless of the match content, it wasn't surprising that I ranked first.

What caught my eye was the match ranked second.

A match with a bet amount only slightly lower than mine.

I carefully observed the participants in that match.

—2nd place. The match between Mitra, the mythical constellation of <Veda>, 'Lord of December 25th', and '■■■'—the 'Lord of the Erased Space That Must Not Be Mentioned'.

Surprisingly, the participant in the match was Mitra, the owner of Valhalla Hall.

As if reading my expression, Vakarine spoke.

"What exactly is this match?"

The fact that Mitra had engaged in a skirmish wasn't surprising. A cataclysmic event like Ragnarok could easily involve even the mythical constellations residing in the highest-level scenarios.

The problem was the outcome of the match.

—Mitra, the myth-grade constellation, defeated.

I remembered the shock of my first sight of Mitra. I vividly recalled the sight of the constellations, unable to resist the gravity of the light he radiated, prostrating themselves. Mitra, even when not in peak condition, was capable of such power.

And Mitra, who had been defeated?

Who were these myth-grade constellations? They were the foundation of a nebula, the ones who established the nebula's core giant story and ushered in the creation of the world.

Riding on the backs of giant stories, they manifested omnipotent power.

Such a great being was defeated in a staggering 85th scenario.

Only after hearing her words did I understand why Mitra remained here instead of participating in the 'main battlefield'.

While it's possible that a constellation at the level of Mitra wasn't designated as a 'Resurrected', in any case, a defeat of that caliber would inflict enormous damage on their stories itself.

Perhaps he received this 'Valhalla Hall' management scenario to minimize the damage.

"Who is the master of the erased space?"

'■■■'—the 'Master of the erased space' that must not be mentioned: he was the mysterious being who defeated Mitra. I had a rough idea of who he was, but I still asked. At the same time, I also expected the constellations wouldn't answer. That's how they always were.

But surprisingly, Vakarine seemed to be pondering it for quite some time.

As the judge uttered a worried incantation, Vakarine raised her head, as if she had made up her mind. A story was slowly starting to speak.

I was honestly impressed. Right now, that narrative-grade constellation was using its power to pronounce just one person's name.

With a tsutsu sound, a strong spark flew through Vakarine's body. Simply saying the name had affected the probability.

It was strange. 'Kim Dokja' was a common name, and when Vakarine pronounced it before, no sparks had flown.

So why was there a backlash now—the reason was simple.

A name that could only be called with precise probability.

I remembered how the beings of the 'New Murim District' had difficulty pronouncing that name.

Perhaps even with the same name, the probability required to pronounce it varied depending on the precision with which it was identified.

And if it was a 'Kim Dokja' that even the 'Goddess of the Morning Star', who had surpassed the late narrative-grade, would struggle to pronounce—

No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one person.

My brother had finally surpassed even the status of a mythical constellation, defeated the fearsome Mitra, and moved on to the next scenario.

And to confront him, the <Tree of Protection> and the Underworld had joined forces and offered me a proposal.

If that were the case, there was only one possible outcome.

"Is he perhaps on the side of 'Calamity'?"

Vakarine didn't answer my question. She simply took a deep breath and continued her speech.

"After all, isn't the upper-level scenario a showdown between <Asgard> and Calamity? Is there a reason you need to go to such lengths to recruit me?"

"Are you going to keep saying only what you want to say?"

"Revelation?"

The judge stopped Vakarine once again, perhaps because the answer was unexpected.

The spark of probability flowing through Vakarine's body intensified. She looked at me with unwavering eyes, speaking clearly.

As soon as she finished speaking, a sliver of wisdom flowed from Vakarine's lips. Revealing that information had a fatal effect on her.

Nevertheless, I couldn't stop asking questions.

"What do you mean? Are you saying that the other nebulae have already recruited 'Kim Dokja' one by one?"

As my anxiety grew, my questions became more rapid.

"And what exactly did you mean by that first statement? If you don't want to become like other Kim Dokjas, choosing a star is—"

Vakarine replied with a bitter smile.

With those words, Vakarine's incarnation body began to disperse. She had finally exhausted all probability.

The Judge looked at Vakarine with a bitter expression, then turned to me and added,

After the Judge and Vakarine disappeared, I gazed at the empty space they had left, lost in thought.

At least, my meeting with the constellations had ended without a hitch.

I should have looked into the Wenny King's records. The thought crossed my mind, but even thinking back, it was the best decision at the time.

Knock.

A knock on the door. I opened it, wondering if any of the constellations that had visited me were still there, and a welcoming face greeted me.

"If you're alive, you should tell me you're alive!"

It was Jung Heewon.

I briefly relayed to Jung Heewon what had happened since the match.

"Have you really become a mythical constellation?"

Jung Heewon seemed to have a hunch that I'd win, but it all seemed unrealistic.

"Did you bet enough D-Coins?"

"Yes. You said it would more than double? It hasn't arrived yet, though…"

I've also bet 10 million D-Coins, so the potential reward will be at least double that.

Now, the next problem is for everyone to safely move on to the 'main battlefield'.

"Heewon-ssi, you'll have to fight your 'outpost' soon, too."

Actually, this was also a concern.

Jung Heewon hadn't fought her 'outpost' yet.

Even if she was a special-level warrior, if the opposing side was swarmed with late-stage constellations of the narrative grade, she wouldn't have a chance.

"Don't worry. I'm confident I can win."

"Of course you would..."

"But who is that person? I think I saw her at the game earlier."

In the direction Jung Heewon pointed, there was a figure waiting for me, standing with an indifferent expression and awkward posture.

"Oh, let me introduce you."

Come to think of it, was this the first time the two of them had met in person? Since they'd be working together from now on anyway, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get to know each other beforehand.

"Heewon-ssi, this is Anna Croft-ssi."

"Anna Croft-ssi? Are you Korean?"

"Anna Croft-ssi, this is Jung Heewon-ssi."

Anna Croft sighed at my hurried introduction and extended her hand to Jung Heewon.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Anna Croft."

Jung Heewon, her eyes wide, grasped Anna's hand, perhaps already aware of her reputation.

"Anna Croft? Are you the 'Anna Croft'?"

"Yes. She's known as the 'Prophet' outside."

"Wow, I never thought I'd see that Las Vegas gambler in person."

"I've heard rumors about you, too. The Light Sword Emperor."

"It's an honor."

It seems I was overly suspicious of their social skills.

While the two were chatting lightly, I checked the ranking records from the skirmish. It was because of Vakarine's last words.

I looked back at the match between 'Snowfield Kim Dokja' and Mitra. I wanted to see the details, but unfortunately, it was banned. It was only natural, since it was a story that exposed the corruption of a myth-grade constellation.

I continued to look through the ranking list. Soon enough, I found a match.

—4th place. The battle between the incarnation of Archangel Yophiel and the incarnation of the Great Heavenly Star against the narrative-grade incarnations of Papyrus.

If it's the incarnation of Archangel Yophiel, then... It must be Killer King. And the incarnation of the Great Heavenly Star... was most likely Ji Eunyu.

I don't know why she, who was supported by King Mihu, was listed as the incarnation of the Great Heavenly Star, but if King Mihu of this round was able to wield the power of the Great Heavenly Star, it wouldn't be entirely surprising.

—Archangel Yophiel, Team Victory.

Heaving a sigh of relief at the fact that the two had safely advanced to the 'Main Battlefield', I continued to check the 'Main Battlefield' records. And soon enough, I discovered another match record.

It was a match ranked 24th in total prize money.

—Baekcheongmunju, the incarnation of 'Sneaking Schemer', and Team Olympus.

Baekcheongmunju and the incarnation of the Sneaking Schemer. I held my breath without realizing it.

Baekcheongmunju must be Master Kyrgios, the 'Paradoxical White Cheong'.

With a strange name like 'Sneaking Schemer'. As far as I know, only one person chose that constellation as their sponsor.

The problem was the result of that match.

—Team 'Olympus' won.

"What?"

I couldn't believe my eyes. I reread it several times, wondering if I'd misread it, but the record remained unchanged. The team that won that match was Olympus.

But how could that be? Even if the opponent was Olympus, they lost while Master was still there?

I continued reading the record.

—Kyrgios Rodgrim, the White Blue Paradox, was chosen as the Resurrected for that match.

If a team loses in the 'Preliminary Match', only one person from the losing team is designated as the 'Resurrected'. That Master had come back to life here...

I felt all the strength drain from my body.

My trembling fingers continued to read the record. I wanted to know every single line about Dansu ahjussi. I wanted to know how he died, what on earth happened in the match.

But while I was looking at the record, I came across a strange line of text.

—'Missing Bush' confirmed to be activated in the match.

Missing Bush.

—Some participants went missing in the 'Missing Bush'.

My heart pounded.

—The following is the list of missing participants.

With a flash of lightning, I found the name I was looking for at the end of the list.

—Incarnation Lee Dansu.