Episode 34 - The Moment of the Stars (1)
‘I wonder if I did something unnecessary.’
She thought she had acted with solid reasoning, but it was also true that her emotions had swayed her. Anxious for no reason, she had refused treatment and hurried back to the hotel. Taking a nap under the excuse of fatigue wasn't suspicious at all. And then she immediately logged into Fate Road.
If something major had really gone wrong, Serpina would have warned her somehow, so it seemed like nothing too serious had happened.
··· As expected, the gallery was in a frenzy right now. Posts were piling up so fast that anything uploaded just moments ago would get pushed down in the blink of an eye.
‘If the reaction is this strong, maybe it's a good thing.’
From her quick scan, the mainstream opinion in the gallery was positive. Her declaration of defiance and provocation had given the fan gallery users who fought on her side a huge thrill and satisfaction, and they were cheering her on with strong support. She had gauged what they wanted by monitoring the community all along, so this was within expectations.
Of course, there were some worried voices too. If the clients whose pride she'd hurt or the assassination gallery constellations harbored real hatred and went beyond simple requests to actively sabotage her, it would lead to a string of annoyances.
‘At this point, I'd actually be grateful if they did.’
But as she read those concerns from the gallery users, the corners of her mouth lifted.
Indomitable Arbiter
📍 Unlock Condition: One cloaked in the noble light of glory judges the wicked who seek to tarnish that light with indomitable spirit
🎁 Clear Condition: Defeat 25 powerful foes intent on your demise
⚒ Rewards: Ability - Light of Judgment (S), Fragment of the Heavens (?)
The trial she had unlocked while battling assassins perfectly matched something she wouldn't know about otherwise. Only she could meet its conditions right now—defeating 25 powerful enemies on her level who struck first as 'wicked' foes. The rewards were so immense even she swallowed dryly. An S-grade ability, no less. And an unknown reward with no visible rank.
Even the gallery users knew little about this trial. They couldn't know about new trials or rewards unique to each tower, and this was one of them.
‘Maybe something related to ascension?’
From info she'd gathered watching the gallery, unique trials and rewards per tower were almost always tied to future ascensions challengers would acquire. Tower myths and legends linked directly to them. Jeong Chan-su's conditions for his future ascension as Odin were things even they didn't know.
“No clue.”
After racking her brain, she gave up speculating. This wasn't her expertise.
“...Huh?”
Up to here, things had gone as expected. But contrary to her intentions, the fire wasn't dying down—it was growing. Someone had taken her self-uploaded video, made a post, and it was exploding beyond imagination.
“This reckless fool... she has no idea what she's started.”
Serpina gave a wry smile as she gazed at Reina, sleeping soundly on the bed. Her expression was ambiguously between a smile and a frown.
‘When we first met, I never thought things would blow up this much.’
Becoming Reina's contract constellation, watching over her, and even opening the fan gallery—it stemmed purely from her feelings for Reina. Some constellations sought out contractors from the start to build fandoms and profit from gallery operations, but Serpina had never planned that.
The problem was that her contractors always shone brighter than expected. She'd thought Reina was just another ordinary challenger, but she'd become a ranker. Thought she was a mid-tier ranker outside the top 10, but now she was breaking through walls and growing nonstop. Even Serpina, her contract constellation, no longer dared judge her limits lightly.
“It's only the bottom of the bests, but now every Fate Road user can see Reina's face on the front page. Even her duel with Sylvia didn't make waves like this.”
“The title's provocative. Declaring war on the assassination gallery? She doesn't even know who they are. But... isn't it good? We all want Reina to succeed.”
Perbas chuckled at Serpina, who frowned as if her head ached.
“Until now, the only ones from Tower 3445 to ever appear on the integrated bests are Jeong Chan-su and his faction. It's done—might as well turn it into an opportunity.”
“Gonna need more admins.”
Serpina sighed, thinking of the exploding fandom and gallery users. Inflows were already visible. But as Perbas said, if it was inevitable, turning it into a chance made sense, so she dove into managing the board.
‘Maybe this moment is her brightest yet.’
At the same time, Serpina smirked at the video from the integrated best post, comments flooding in. The rare angle captured Reina's face and body perfectly. Her declaration—won't yield because those who believe in her exist—cloaked in noble light, looked utterly sacred and beautiful. No one could know until ascending, but any challenger would crave this moment before summiting the tower.
‘Inter-gallery war...’
Serpina's face hardened briefly as she scanned the comments—unlike her manageable board, some made her grimace.
Fame and fandom growth meant more than just management woes.
“You came straight to the sanctuary—I'm glad.”
“After such a close call, of course I need advice. You warned me beforehand, after all. Thanks to that, I saved my life.”
“Such warnings are routine for all constellations. You deserve the credit for grasping it precisely and choosing wisely.”
Reina visited the sanctuary first thing upon waking, cooldown ready. Serpina didn't hide her relief. Gallery users were clamoring for answers to their burning questions.
In truth, Reina had rushed over after seeing the gallery sentiment to help Serpina, but Serpina didn't know that.
‘I see... so that's the trial you unlocked.’
Especially upon hearing about Indomitable Arbiter, she nodded unconsciously. Judging wicked foes out to kill you was no easy feat. For an ordinary person, even drawing such enemies was hard.
‘No need to share this on the gallery.’
She cut that part from the recorded video. Just as she and fans infiltrated other galleries for intel, spies lurked here too. No reason to expose potential weaknesses.
“Don't publicize that trial's details to others. Keep it to this sanctuary.”
“...Got it.”
She even cautioned Reina against voicing it aloud. Knowing why, Reina just smiled and nodded without protest.