Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Watcher I: Shin Noah
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1
The café where I often meet Old Man Show... no, let me correct that.
The café where I often meet Old Man Show's "corpse" has small aquariums placed here and there. Probably the barista's taste, I suppose.
They're not particularly rare species, but just staring at the fish tails has a magical way of calming the mind.
Perhaps because the flow of time seems to slow down as it clings to those fins.
Or maybe it's simply because the fish eyes look like the blank, idiotic stares of fools with nothing on their minds.
While sipping Old Man Show's café au lait and watching that blue tropical fish over there dancing its underwater ballet, tail swishing in the river of time, one person always comes to mind.
The Saintess.
Today, I think I'll talk about her.
2
When gates broke out worldwide, Korea surprisingly held its own.
Not because of the government, though.
To begin with, half of Seoul was reduced to rubble, and that included the National Assembly Building in Yeouido. Over a hundred golden badges vanished that day.
Whether that was misfortune or fortune depends on who you ask, but at least Korea's top political brass was temporarily paralyzed in the early days.
Even so, Korea's Awakeners somehow navigated the crisis because a translucent hologram-like "message" appeared before their eyes.
['The Saintess of National Salvation' takes interest in your heroic deeds.]
In my case, when I led the charge in subjugating the Busan Station Gate, a message like that popped up.
I wasn't the only one experiencing this.
"Huh? What's this?"
"...The Prime Minister in the Red Cape? Says he's interested in me?"
Awakeners who started making their mark across the country all received these "messages" without fail.
The sender's name varied from Awakener to Awakener. But the common thread was that someone was paying attention to their actions.
"It's the Constellations!"
Someone dubbed the phenomenon "Constellations."
It seemed familiar to Awakeners who regularly read web novels.
Those of us far removed from web novels—like me—were left baffled. In the end, I approached someone reeking of "I know what this is! I've seen it!" vibes and asked directly.
"Excuse me, sir. Sorry to bother you out of the blue, but what are Constellations?"
"Oh, you haven't heard of Constellation stories!"
The Awakener excitedly explained.
"It's these transcendent beings spectating us Awakeners, showing interest, and sponsoring us! You know internet streams, right? It's like that! We're the streamers, and the Constellations are the viewers dropping donations!"
"Huh."
"Constellations are insanely powerful. Some are terrifying like Cthulhu, others are god-like figures friendly to humans like us... Anyway, it's a good thing! Always try to impress the Constellations. Hmm, which one should I pick? Is [Abstain] still the meta?"
The Awakener went on rambling for a while after that.
At first, I just nodded along like, "If you say so."
With monsters roaming gates, the idea of transcendent beings munching popcorn while watching the human world wasn't that shocking.
['The Conqueror of the Alps' is awestruck by your exploits!]
['The Prime Minister in the Red Cape' expresses admiration for your schemes.]
As cycles repeated, I grew accustomed to the Constellations.
They seemed to follow my every move, praising or encouraging me whenever I did something unique.
['The Saintess of National Salvation' praises your great feat.]
Especially flattering was that the Constellation supporting me most was the Saintess of National Salvation.
She was famous for cherishing good-aligned Awakeners, and she clearly favored me above all.
Without the Constellations, my Awakener life might've felt a lot rougher.
Their true nature was a mystery, but most Awakeners—and I—grew fond of them.
"...This is weird."
Old Man Show thought differently.
Even before his long "vacation"—around Cycle 10—he'd grown suspicious of the Constellations.
"Pardon? What's weird?"
"I chatted with some friends abroad recently. Most died, but one survived. And get this—they say nothing like that shows up in their country."
"Like what?"
"Argh, the Constellation messages! Messages! My German buddies have never seen or heard of them."
Old Man Show wrinkled his nose.
"I asked a few others just in case, and they said the same—no messages ever."
"......"
"So this bizarre phenomenon only happens in Korea? Doesn't that strike you as odd? Why would Constellations only operate here? They're transcendent beings. What's so special about Korea?"
"Uh... They like K-pop?"
"Bullshit, Doc."
That was the moment.
['The Saintess of National Salvation' overhears your conversation and feels dejected.]
['The Conqueror of the Alps' asks you to drop your suspicions.]
['The Prime Minister in the Red Cape' mocks your shallow insight.]
Messages popped up as if on cue.
By then, Old Man Show and I were under heavy Constellation scrutiny. Rightly so. He was the undisputed top Swordmaster, and I... well, I was irreplaceable.
I glanced sideways. Old Man Show was squinting, clearly seeing something too.
"You too, old timer?"
"Yeah. They're watching our every move."
Old Man Show grumbled, swatting the air like shooing a pesky fly.
"Anyway, it's not just one or two suspicious things. They never messaged me before I learned Korean. But soon as I start speaking it, bam—messages like clockwork."
"......"
"Unless they're chugging K-nationalism Kool-Aid like you said, there's no explanation. Don't trust these Constellation whatevers too much, Doc."
Sadly, Old Man Show never uncovered their secret.
Cycle 26, he left on that long vacation with his wife. No time to dig deeper.
But I did.
Infinite Regressors are time billionaires. Time is all I have.
'Why do Constellations only appear in Korea?'
I rested my chin on my hand.
An intriguing riddle worth investing a cycle or two.
First off, Old Man Show was right.
Not just foreign Awakeners—even domestic ones who hadn't learned Korean got no messages.
'That's why Korea's Awakeners have decent quality—or at least awareness.'
Other countries saw Awakeners committing terrorism, massacring civilians, crimes pouring in daily.
Korea's Awakener crime rate was uniquely low.
Why?
Two answers, in my view.
One: Constellations are addicted to K-nationalism and only care about Korean Awakeners.
Two—.
'The Constellations only speak Korean...?'
If true, it'd cause a massive uproar.
Think about it. Even that stubborn Old Man Show mastered foreign languages in a few cycles.
Yet these so-called transcendent Constellations only know Korean?
What kind of transcendence is that?
'In other words, Constellations aren't transcendent.'
Hypothesis formed.
'But non-transcendents couldn't monitor every Korean Awakener and spam messages. There must be some secret.'
From Cycle 35, I dove into "Constellation research."
Time to uncover who these friends praising and gasping at my exploits really were.
'First, draw their attention.'
Simple: Constellations flock to exceptional Awakeners.
Cycle 35 began—I pushed my limits, unleashing everything. Cleared the Busan Station Gate in 20 minutes.
Cycle 1: Died without closing it.
Cycle 3: Took a week.
Now, under 20 minutes. And out of 399 humans summoned to the concourse, only one casualty.
Farmed just a silver bell from the souvenir shop—no time wasted.
A pure speedrun.
Constellation-baiting record.
['The Saintess of National Salvation' is aghast at your exploits!]
['The Lord of the Red Horse' feels competitive against your power.]
['The Conqueror of the Alps' takes note of your actions.]
['The Prime Minister in the Red Cape' grows wary of your skills.]
Sure enough, they bit.
4, then 7, then 11 Constellations—messages nonstop.
I ignored them.
Only after reaching an empty parking lot outside Busan Station did I speak.
"Dear Constellations. I know you're Korean."
Silence.
The messages—flying like Hogwarts acceptance letters—halted abruptly.
My vision cleared of spam; the sky turned blue. I looked up.
"I also know you're not transcendent. I could announce this to all Awakeners... but I'm more curious about your true nature. Tell me what you are."
-......
No reply.
Truth be told, I was tense.
Slim chance, but what if they really were transcendent beings scarfing kimchi-wrapped rice at every meal, jamming K-pop at tea time, and bingeing Korean pride TV at night?
If they showered Korean-speaking Awakeners with nationalist favoritism for that reason?
'They might rage at my insolence and attack en masse.'
I assumed combat stance.
My ability wasn't combat-oriented, but rolling with the greatest Swordmaster ever—Old Man Show—even a dog learns to recite poetry after three years of school. My skills had grown decent.
Steel myself: Die here, respawn next cycle.
That's when it appeared.
['The Saintess of National Salvation' invites you.]
No punishment for this rude mortal.
Dozens of Constellations fell silent; only one responded.
Coincidentally—or not—the first who'd noticed me: the Saintess of National Salvation.
I asked cautiously.
"An invitation? To what?"
A moment later:
['The Saintess of National Salvation' invites you to Jamsu Bridge on the Han River.]
Seoul.
Where Old Man Show lost his wife, countless golden badges buried in worldly hell.
'Ah.'
...That's when I realized Constellations never used dialects. Not once.
3
Gangnam's heart got gated, turning the area to wastelands—I’ve mentioned that plenty.
But untouched spots remained surprisingly intact. Jamsu Bridge looked just as it did before the world went mad.
The Saintess of National Salvation chose a sky-blue convenience store near the bridge for our meetup. For a Constellation invite, it was disarmingly plebeian.
Under the store's parasol sat a woman with her hair tied back.
Plain-looking. Her water-blue hair was unusual, but Awakeners' locks changing post-ability awakening was common.
She didn't feel like a transcendent being.
"Hello. Are you the Saintess of National Salvation?"
"......"
She eyed me. Her gaze scanned my body in an instant.
Her eyes resembled a fish's—submerged in water, not lost in thought.
"Busan Station Gate?"
"Yes, that's right."
"...To think you'd really make it from Busan to here in under a day."
Half of Seoul gone—most transport to the capital crippled. Roads, rails, all wrecked.
Conversely, some routes still worked, barely.
Old Man Show desperately wanted to reach Seoul before losing his wife, so we'd researched "fastest Busan-to-Seoul routes" endlessly.
...Useless in the end—no way to arrive in 1 minute. But hey, it let me meet the Saintess this quick.
"I'm Codename Undertaker. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, sure... Undertaker?"
"It's a nickname with a story. Feel free to call me Doc."
We shook hands; I sat opposite.
Far off, Seoul's skyscraper—aka "Sauron's Tower"—loomed shadowy.
"But first, I have to ask."
"......"
"Are you the Saintess of National Salvation? Or her proxy? What are Constellations? Truly transcendent?"
She fell silent. Countless worries flickered in her eyes.
Then she licked her lips, clenched her fist.
Let out a small sigh.
"...Yes. I'm the Saintess of National Salvation."
As expected.
I started to nod—knew it—when she stared straight at me.
"And you? Aren't you a Regressor?"