From Which Star Have You Come?
"...Just which star did you come from?"
Kraken would awaken soon.
The time was 'the day the sun changes'.
Most likely, it would reveal itself after the Cataclysm update, the 4th-anniversary patch.
"...Can I actually beat it?"
As things stood, there was no hope at all.
The gap between me and Kraken was severe enough to be called a chasm, and as long as I'd decided against wearing the Crown of Succession, I had no real answer.
'Even if I did wear it...'
Could I really take down Kraken with only fifteen percent of its power and a time limit of about one minute?
If it were the Kraken I remembered, I might manage to subdue it somehow by going all-out.
But the 'light source' that had Gazed back at me was something else entirely.
Not all six eyes — a mere two had been enough to stop me dead.
An ability enhanced to a considerably more threatening degree than in the past.
'Could it have grown, like Pharaoh or Rasty?'
Whatever the reason, the situation had just gotten more complicated.
The Crown of Succession wasn't even fully stable — there was no telling what would happen to me if I used it — so I couldn't reach for it recklessly.
And if I wore the crown and still failed to kill it, then things would become truly dire.
"Hoo-hah..."
Flop.
I collapsed onto the bed.
My home in the real world, not Deo En.
I had received Kraken's trial and then woken up, and Yena said I'd sat perfectly still for all of five minutes. The time difference hadn't been much.
I hadn't passed the trial, per se — Kraken had simply avoided fighting within the trial's space and spat me back out instead.
The Multicolored Successor was a necklace that subjected its bearer to the trial of one of the countless monsters of the Mythic Era.
No overlaps were allowed — only a single monster could issue a trial at a time, and since Kraken's trial was still unfinished, no other monster could test me.
'Oh. So gathering the rest is on hold, then?'
'That's right. We'll only be able to collect or combine them once Kraken's trial is over.'
'Ah, I see. Ahaha. Of course.'
'You seem pleased?'
'Not at all. I'm worried. Something like this... it's a very big deal. I'll have to put the port cities on alert. Such a huge deal, heehee...'
When she heard the news of Kraken's revival, Yena was rather delighted that I wouldn't be completing the Masterpiece set.
'Without ever factoring in the greatest danger of all.'
It might have been a natural reaction from people who knew nothing of Kraken's true menace — but that wasn't the case.
On the contrary, the rankers, Yena included, knew Kraken all too well.
"...It's already appeared more than once."
Kraken had appeared as a World Boss before.
Twice, no less.
Not the Kraken I knew, but a mass-production model — a far weaker thing.
A World Boss from a year or two back, recorded as a boss monster that wielded considerable power at sea and inflicted massive damage.
The rankers and the kingdom had joined forces and, after heavy casualties, felled the World Boss Kraken — and it had sunk into the deep sea.
The 'Spear of Kraken' mentioned long ago was likewise one of the chance-drop items listed on the official site after that Kraken was defeated.
"They really ought to stay on alert, though."
The players had already killed Kraken twice, so even if I told them I was in danger, they wouldn't give it much thought.
If anything, they were thrilled that a World Boss was appearing again, treating it as a golden opportunity to gear up.
It had been barely a day since the news broke, and already land prices in the port cities were climbing.
A bizarre state of affairs.
Prices should be crashing — instead, they were soaring.
"...Hmm."
Well, I suppose it doesn't matter.
I rolled over on the bed.
The me of right now is not Lily Elbrit, wandering the world to end a war.
Not a former saintess throwing her life on the line, running herself ragged to protect someone, either.
Just a streamer and broadcaster who plays a game called Devil of Angel.
"They'll prepare. They have to."
If the people are in danger, the rankers will step up.
If the rankers are in danger, the continent will step up.
If the continent is in danger, Hwangyeolgong will step up.
And if Hwangyeolgong is in danger...
"......"
I turned my gaze.
Beyond the window, the Han River stretched out at a glance, and far in the distance, a tower rose against the sky.
Nutri Company.
"I'd rather not wreck it, I imagine."
Assuming they wanted to keep this game running.
Time slipped by quickly.
There had been the whole affair with the World Tree, and then the trial that brought me face to face with Kraken.
Nearly four or five days straight of fighting and streaming without a moment's rest.
So for the first time in my streaming life, I declared a full five-day broadcast hiatus.
The world convulsed as if it were ending, people trembled at the sudden ice age and waited for me and me alone — but what could I do?
'I need some rest.'
I wasn't living in the old days anymore, and I was sick of the compulsive wandering.
The me in Deo En might survive months of ceaseless travel, but the real me was just a plain civilian.
Coming out after four or five days away, the exhaustion hit hard.
Of course, the Deo En access capsule kept my body in peak condition at all times, so nothing was physically wrong — but it didn't fully restore the mind.
All it did was repair the mental changes caused by penalties.
And since what I go through isn't a penalty, my mind doesn't get repaired.
"Hwaaam..."
And so, day four of the hiatus.
I was living like I'd been thrown back to my first week after returning.
Wake up, have some simple tea and bread bought from the shop downstairs, cook something light for lunch.
Most of the ingredients came by delivery, and thanks to my cooking skills, my palate never got bored.
After lunch, I'd occasionally call my editors and managers to manage the NewTube channel, watch Deo En-related videos, or put on a movie or a drama.
'Boss, want to watch this one? It's so good!'
'Oh... it is pretty fun.'
'Right?! Especially since a new series drops next week — I've been waiting for nothing else! God, it's going to be insane—'
'Have you finished your work, though?'
'...Ah.'
White Autumn occasionally fed me some bizarre anime, but it was entertaining enough that I watched a few.
Had I watched things like this in the past?
I couldn't quite remember.
For dinner, I'd order in or eat with Yena, who had been invading my place constantly these days.
After the World Tree incident, she'd been on hiatus too and showed up unannounced on the pretext that I must be bored out of my mind.
It felt wrong to just chase her off, and she brought food besides, so I happily opened the door.
"Why doesn't it taste right?"
"Because it's the Heavenly Skewer. You can't recreate that heavenly flavor here."
And so, day four of the hiatus.
Yena barged in at dinnertime and thrust chicken skewers, lamb skewers, and an assortment of other skewered meats with a medley of sauces at me.
The request was for me to recreate the Heavenly Skewer in the real world, but no amount of effort could capture the taste.
It was just a delicious skewer, nothing more.
Still, it tasted good, so Yena and I devoured the lot.
"...But Lily, how do you eat that much and not gain any weight?"
Yena asked, mid-skewer, with a beer in hand.
She'd been watching me for a while now, hiatus and all.
Relative to my body weight, I ate an enormous amount of food.
Roughly double what Yena ate.
And no, it wasn't because I exercised.
In Deo En, sure, I moved with brutal intensity, but the real-world me just shuffled back and forth between the capsule and the computer all day.
Think of it as zero exercise whatsoever.
Admittedly, I'd told Yena in the past that I did work out, but from her point of view, clearly I did not.
I tilted my beer can and smirked.
"Beats me. Constitution?"
"...Wow. You just got super annoying."
"Heh heh."
My body had dropped to civilian levels, but the scent remained.
If the Deo En version of me is a Heaven-Scented Human, then the real-world me is a 'Heaven-Scented Human's Scent Human'.
Though my physical level had fallen to that of a trained adult male, the celestial trait of always maintaining the 'optimal body' still lingered.
'Though it can't ward off hangovers or illness.'
"I told you. I'm an alien."
"...Just which star did you come from?"
"No idea. Never caught the name of it."
"What kind of alien doesn't even know the name of their home planet?"
"I really don't."
But it was the truth — I really didn't know.
That being never mentioned its planet's name, and it hardly seemed like an important detail, so I'd simply let it pass.
Civilization there had barely reached the medieval era, so the planet's name itself was seldom spoken.
And when it was spoken, everyone called it something different.
"Maybe it wasn't a home planet?"
"Then what was it?"
"Honestly? I'm a returnee. I got summoned to another world, wandered it for a while, and when I finally came back, the real world had changed in all sorts of strange ways."
"Ooh. Fascinating."
Clap clap clap. Yena applauded with a flushed face.
I smirked and raised my beer can, and Yena clinked hers against it with glee.
"Heehee... this is great..."
"What is?"
"I've lived all these years and now I'm drinking with an actual alien. Is this that metaverse thing? Is this it?"
"Close enough, I'd say."
"Is... it, though."
Gulp. Gulp.
Ahh~
"...Lily?"
"Yes, Yena?"
"Um... ah. What was it again..."
"?"
Yena, scratching her head furiously, suddenly shot up and started rummaging through her handbag.
Maybe it was the alcohol, but after digging around for ages, she pulled out her phone and showed me the screen.
A seat assignment page.
At the top of the display, where a row of little boxes lined up one after another, the words read: DCK Finals — Ticket Confirmation.
DCK FINALS — TICKET CONFIRMATION
Reserved Seat: [Assigned] — Guest Pass × 2
"You know Choco and I were on the same team for the Mock Siege, right?"
"I do."
"Well, I got spectator passes... um. Two of them? And Choco's made it to the finals anyway, so..."
Hmm... hmm... Even as she spoke, Yena hesitated a little, the booze warm in her cheeks.
Watching her, I could tell these weren't in-game spectator passes.
She meant for us to watch in person, offline.
'Which comes with the risk of my face getting out there.'
"How about we go, watch quietly, and come back?"
"......Hmm."
"I-if it's too much pressure, you don't have to come! Watching the broadcast is plenty for me. ...No, wait, no! Lily, you can't—"
"Let's go. I was curious anyway."
I couldn't stay cooped up in the house forever, after all.