What the Hell Is This?!
“What the hell is this?! Why is it acting up?!”
“……!”
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ is flustered!
A ferocious current of electricity suddenly whipped over the Divine Living Armor, out of nowhere. It was enough to make not just me and Mom, but even Rebecca—the master of the poker face—go wide-eyed in shock.
Was there something wrong with the armor? No way. Mom, a constellation, had handmade it herself. It couldn't possibly break down like that…!
‘Igor’s Necklace’ detects the rampage of a suspicious entity!
Remove the cause of the issue within 10 seconds, or ‘Igor’s Necklace’ will be damaged due to overload!
“What the hell does that mean?”
Looking closer now, the sparks were bursting from right around the spot where Igor’s Necklace hung on my chest. No time for observation. Three seconds must've already passed by now. I had to pinpoint the cause of the overload within the remaining seven.
Or rather, the system had already tipped me off about the cause.
“Rampage of a suspicious entity…? Oh!”
I racked my brain at full speed, quickly recalling the inventory list stored in Igor’s Necklace. There was only one thing inside that could be called an “entity.”
“The Disaster Egg!”
I hurriedly yanked the Disaster Egg out of Igor’s Necklace. The egg, which had been pinhead-sized in the subspace, returned to its full size the moment it emerged fully.
It floated in midair for a brief moment, huge like a dinosaur egg. Then—
Thud!
It plummeted straight down due to gravity, slamming into the ground. But the impact sounded like a damn artillery shell had hit, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
“Kuhk! Kuhk!”
The dust stung her eyes, making Rebecca squeeze them shut and cough. Hey, if you're gonna spit while coughing, at least turn your head the other way.
…This thing was insanely heavy.
Igor’s Necklace could hold up to 2 tons, and even it had sent a warning. …Anyway, thankfully, the wild sparks crackling over the armor finally died down completely.
Whew. One crisis averted.
“Phew.”
Rebecca fanned away the last traces of dust and approached. Her face was as fresh as if she hadn't coughed at all, but her eyes were blatantly misty.
“Is this the Disaster Egg?”
“You know about it too, Rebecca?”
“I've been watching Hwang Jae-min's exploits alongside Messiah the whole time.”
“Then you know how insanely dangerous this thing is.”
“Yes. Though why this insanely dangerous thing is acting like a bomb about to blow…”
Rumble…!
From the egg, mixed gray and red like granite flowing with magma, an ominous aura poured out without restraint—enough to make your hair stand on end.
“…like it's on the verge of exploding right now, well, that's a mystery.”
“Guess we'll have to figure that out from here on…”
…Could it be a sign of hatching? No, that couldn't be. As far as I knew, hatching the Disaster Egg required “that” specific process. And I had no memory of doing it to this egg.
Or did the Mad Dog bastards already…?
I considered the possibility for a second but dismissed it. No way they'd know how to hatch it, and performing that specific process leaves a “mark” on the eggshell. But the shell was still pristine, so hypothesis dismissed.
Then why?
“This is driving me nuts.”
It had been sitting quietly, and now it was throwing a fit out of nowhere. I wanted to know the reason, but I had no clue how to even approach it.
Then.
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ suggests: How about checking it with Throw Eye?
“Whoa, is my mom a genius or what?”
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ seriously agonizes: Maybe ‘my son♡’ isn’t actually dumb?
“You just had to add that one line to shatter your son’s respect.”
Anyway, let’s go with Mom’s idea. But Throw Eye only works on living creatures, right? An egg counts as life, I suppose?
You strongly recognize the existence of the target in your sight!
‘Throw Eye - First Form’ activates!
Oh, it works.
Rebecca stroked her chin and said, “Seeing ‘hunger,’ it looks like the tantrum was because it was starving.”
“Yeah. And ‘desperation’ and ‘grief’ mean it’s not just a little hungry.”
Desperate enough to feel grief? That meant it was on the verge of starvation.
…Well, yeah. It hadn't gotten any nutrients in the lab. I thought it was a meteor, not an egg. It was a miracle it had lasted this long.
Rebecca stared at the egg with curious eyes, then groaned awkwardly.
“Hmm… So what do we do? Unfortunately, there's no hatching device here—”
“We don't need a hatching device.”
There was a specific way to hatch the Disaster Egg—the “specific process” I mentioned earlier.
Might as well kick the hatching process into gear now.
The method to feed it nutrients and promote hatching was ridiculously simple. A Player Association member infiltrating the Demon Legion had barely figured it out from afar, so I knew it well. I was tight with the chairman, after all.
Just drip blood on it.
The Disaster Egg fed on blood. Considering what was gestating inside that shell, it made perfect sense.
“So how do we feed it nutrients?”
“Blood. Precisely, blood droplets. Just a few drops, like dew.”
No sooner had I said it than I chomped down on my thumb—crunch!
“Ow.”
No, I straight-up bit it. That shit hurt like hell. And the kicker? Not a single drop of blood came out.
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ narrows her eyes coldly!
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ asks: What the hell are you doing right now?
“Weird. In manga, blood always squirts out when you do this.”
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ scolds: Stop screwing around and use a normal method!
Unable to watch my antics anymore, Rebecca sighed and gripped her halberd.
“…Give me your hand.”
“Okay…”
The halberd's blade lightly grazed the first joint of my thumb. It stung like hell, but thankfully, a drop of blood welled up this time. I quickly extended my hand over the Disaster Egg and tilted my thumb to let the blood drip.
Plip.
The round droplet hit the eggshell, and at that moment—
Riiip.
With a sound like tearing paper, a pattern slowly engraved itself on the shell's surface. Up close, it vaguely resembled a bat. As it etched in, the uncontrollable aura finally settled.
This was also the signal that the egg would now hurry toward hatching.
Final check with Throw Eye done. This should keep it fed for two days. The legion commander—or rather, that ‘Blade’ guy—fed it his blood every two days.
“Oh, right.”
There was one more way to speed up the hatching.
“Rebecca, is there a place here that gets zero sunlight?”
This thing loved the dark.
“There's an underground weapons vault. Shall I move it there?”
“Yeah, I'd appreciate that… but the problem is, this thing's crazy heavy. How are we gonna—”
Floosh.
Rebecca waved her hand, and the egg floated up on its own.
…How the hell does she do that?
“Hmph. I'll take it and come back.”
Rebecca smirked, clearly enjoying my awed stare, and snorted.
Fine, your shit's the thickest.
She said familiars could enter the sanctuary too, so I asked Mom if I could bring Gift, and she said yes. I just felt better with my baby in the same nest as me.
Kyaaang!
Gift entered the coliseum and grinned wide, like it was amazed. Seeing that smile filled my heart, and I stroked his head.
“You're in charge of my mental care for a while, got it?”
Kyaang! Kyaang!
He bobbed his head energetically, like he was saying, Yes, I got it, Master! He definitely knew how murderously cute he was.
I was busy enjoying some quality time with Gift when Rebecca interrupted.
“I'll guide you to your quarters for the family training period.”
“There's something like that here?”
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ complains: Do you know how annoying it is to open and close the sanctuary entrance every time?
…Got it, calm down, Mom.
Just as Rebecca stepped forward to lead the way—
Kweeng…
Gift sneaked up to her and started rubbing his head against her body. Looks like Rebecca had won him over. Lucky girl.
Rebecca sighed helplessly and tickled Gift's chin with her slender fingers.
“…Haa. What a nuisance.”
What? Nuisance? What kinda talk is that to my kid—
“……”
Kyaang…
Three minutes passed, then five, and she was still silently obsessed with tickling his chin. I backed off. Her face pretended to be indifferent, but her cheeks were faintly flushed.
“Rebecca?”
“…Ah. Sorry. I got distracted for a moment.”
Most people wouldn't call five minutes “a moment,” but whatever.
Ahem.
Rebecca cleared her throat super awkwardly and finally took the lead. But we were heading toward the exit from the circular arena. I figured we'd stay somewhere underground like gladiator quarters from medieval times, but nope.
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ is baffled: What kinda shitty parent puts their kid in a cold basement?
“Guess I had Mom pegged too much as a lioness.”
As we chatted and left the coliseum, a vast barren plain greeted me. Not a single blade of grass anywhere—literally barren.
But instead of grass…
“Am I dreaming right now?”
“It's reality, not a dream.”
“……”
A massive mansion stood alone in the expansive wasteland. To a third party, it would've looked like a crude photoshop job, it was so out of place.
But the reason I couldn't close my mouth in shock was different.
“That's our old house…?”
Yeah. From ten years ago… no, screw regression—thirteen years ago, honestly. The house I'd lived in with Mom and Dad.
But it had been demolished by demon hands during the Great Destruction, a place I'd never see again.
And there it was.
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ smiles warmly: I put in some effort for my son.
“Mom…”
My mom's sense was top-tier. This one hit me right in the feels.
Inside, the layout was exactly as I remembered. Kitchen, living room, bathroom… Holy shit. Even the appliances were replicated perfectly.
“My room was definitely on the second floor.”
I left Gift in the living room and headed upstairs. Thirteen years later, and it felt as vivid as if I'd lived here yesterday. Opening the door revealed an interior that was anything but unfamiliar—too familiar, even.
“I slept in that bed and did homework at that desk.”
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ smiles contentedly!
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ asks: Like the lodging?
“Like it? It's perfect.”
I could live here forever. Plenty of space to raise Gift too.
“Phase 1 of the curriculum begins in three days.”
I was soaking in nostalgia when Rebecca's voice ruined the mood. Come on, read the room. Three days, huh?
“Why specifically three days from now?”
“To be precise, you could say class has already started.”
“…?”
What? I looked up at the air quizzically, and—
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ slyly averts her gaze!
Why's everyone dodging me? Screw it. I flopped onto the huge bed and said,
“Anyway, it starts in three days? Noted.”
“Yes.”
“Then I'm gonna take a nap in this bed for the first time in thirteen years, so leave me alone.”
“No.”
“Huh?”
Did I hear that wrong? No?
“No? What do you mean…?”
“You can't sleep.”
“The nap?”
“Sleep at all. For three days.”
What kinda Gift-walking-on-two-legs bullshit was this? I almost called it a joke, but no—she didn't do jokes. A goblin doing a comedy show seemed more plausible.
“Why can't I sleep?!”
“It's part of Messiah's curriculum design. Don't take it up with me.”
“Mom?!”
I glared at the air resentfully, but sadly, no message came.
What the. So I really couldn't sleep for three days? At this point, wasn't family training just straight-up abuse?
And three days passed. Finally, the three days were up.
Was this any way to live? It was hell.
“I… hate… Mom…”
“You've endured the demon of sleep for three days. Well done.”
“I hate… you… most…”
I glared at Rebecca with hollow zombie eyes, like I'd just crawled out of hell. No doubt about it—her species wasn't homunculus; it was demon.
“How can you stay by my side 24/7 for 72 hours straight, except bathroom breaks…?!”
Exhausted out of my mind, my speech mixed polite and casual like a freak hybrid.
“I had to monitor whether Hwang Jae-min was sleeping or not. It's my duty as instructor.”
“Mom! This girl's torment—wait, no, you're the mastermind. Damn it!”
Perky after 72 sleepless hours? That's because I'm a Player holding on by a thread. A normal person would've been hallucinating by now.
Constellation ‘Sung Hyun-sook’ brags: Back in my day, I held out ten days in a monster nest without sleep or rest!
“My mom's such a boomer.”
Normally, I'd never say that out loud for fear of a back-smack, but it spilled out now. That's how fried my brain was—no room for rational thought.
Kwooong…
Did I look that pitiful, like a corpse? Gift whimpered sadly and licked my face with his tongue.
“Even when I'm about to drop dead from exhaustion, you're so lovable…”
Kying…
If only I could collapse into his soft body and drift off to dreamland. But reality was a shithole.
“Enough of that. Follow me.”
“Where to now…?”
“Don't play dumb. Time for the first curriculum.”
Felt like a tsunami and tornado raging inside me.
“Wasn't three sleepless days the first curriculum?!”
“Correct. You've completed half of the first curriculum. Now just finish the other half.”
“This is all wrong…”
What the hell was Mom planning to make her sleep-deprived son—who could barely stand—do next? Was my mom actually a witch after all?
Clinging to that reasonable suspicion, I followed Rebecca to the coliseum. As we passed the entrance into the arena—
“Guess I'll just be the delinquent who skipped family training.”
A sight so ridiculous all I could do was laugh dryly awaited me.