Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Constellation Gallery EP.3
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It really appeared.
This is straight-up suicide no matter how I look at it.
My palms were slick with sweat.
I gripped the frying pan tightly, afraid I might drop it, and took a ragged breath.
And soon enough, I spotted the ghoul.
The ghoul that had fallen not far away must have sensed my presence too—our eyes met.
The grotesque thing started staggering toward me.
'Fuck...'
It was humanoid, but that was no person.
Its skin was rotting and festering, cracked in places, and a damp sewage stench assaulted my nose.
Every time it opened its mouth, dark blue drool oozed between its sharp teeth.
In the ghoul's hand was one of those rusty daggers I'd seen earlier.
According to what I'd seen in the gallery, it was supposed to be weak...
But honestly, it was fucking terrifying.
'Do I really have to do this?'
'Should I just run back home right now?'
'Lock the windows, barricade the door, and just hunker down no matter what happens outside?'
But before those thoughts could take hold, the constellations' words flashed in my mind.
They'd said hiding was the best option, but even that wouldn't last long.
What if that was true?
What if leveling up was really possible?
I had to seize this easiest opportunity now.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Whatever was going down at the time they mentioned, running then would just lead to something worse.
I needed to get used to the feel of fighting with my body and facing down a monster—right now.
"Come on, you fucking bastard!"
I yelled to psych myself up and stomped my foot.
The ghoul approaching with creaking knees was suddenly just a few steps away.
I gripped my weapon tight and stared straight ahead.
'They said it's doable if you tank the hits. Get it together.'
As that thought crossed my mind, the ghoul swung its dagger.
The blade sliced through the air.
Up close, it was even more horrifying. A weird, raspy sound escaped its rotting maw.
'Fuck... am I freezing up because it's so damn scary?'
The ghoul's movements weren't all that threatening—kinda sluggish—but it still felt hard to react to quickly.
"Die!"
I swung the frying pan in a surprise attack.
It connected with the thing's head.
'Got it...!'
But the bastard didn't seem to feel pain—it just staggered, then immediately counterattacked.
'What the fuck! They said smashing the head ends it!'
No time to panic.
I dodged its slow attack and struck again.
The sensation of bone crunching traveled up my arm.
A dull thud, and my arm went numb.
No, not just numb—something more...
'B-blood? I'm bleeding?'
Did that shitty rusty dagger nick me? When?
What if it gets infected?
Tetanus or some shit?
'They said it was easy! You fucking assholes!'
But retreat wasn't an option.
I mustered my strength for one final blow.
The weapon smashed into the ghoul's head.
Bam!
The ghoul staggered back a step, lost its balance, and collapsed to the floor.
It twitched a few more times, then went still.
"...Hah, hah. So it does have some vitality?"
I panted, hands on the ground.
'Fucking hell. This isn't some game...'
That was when it happened. A translucent window popped up in front of me.
I swallowed hard.
'This must be that perk or whatever—proof I did it.'
Good. I'm the first.
Then, a new line appeared right below.
Wait, 10 Gold?
I checked in bewilderment.
10 Gold for one ghoul, but the first-kill reward is 10,000 Gold? Does that even make sense?
'Jackpot?'
I didn't know what Gold was for, but I'd earned in one go what would've taken killing a thousand ghouls.
And a Random Skill?
Like a skill that fires off randomly?
Kind of like Pokémon's Metronome?
More importantly, I got the perk, right?
So why are these bastards so quiet?
It was scrolling too fast to read properly.
Was this worth getting the constellations this hyped?
Is a perk that big a deal?
Well, probably.
I didn't know the details, but being the first to kill a monster wasn't nothing.
And the rewards felt pretty substantial.
'...Huh?'
A chill ran down my spine.
Thinking about it, the constellations were all tuned in right now.
They said I couldn't let them catch me using the Constellation Gallery—what a close call.
'Looks like they can't see what I'm doing, though.'
But if I kept staring intently into empty space, wouldn't they get suspicious eventually?
Couldn't give up gallery-skimming either—it was tied to survival. A real dilemma.
My lips were parched.
Seemed like they were buying it for now.
'Lucky they don't even dream I'm spying on their gallery.'
More importantly, contracts?
They said constellations send contracts automatically?
Nothing had come yet?
I wasn't reading a contract like they thought, but maybe I could leverage this somehow?
'They talked like contracts would flood in... but nothing?'
Like they said, did I need to open the reward skill first?
Was Random Skill not a randomly activating skill? Am I an idiot?
'Just open it quick.'
Status Window.
Saying the word out loud—something I'd only seen in fiction—felt awkward.
But unreal shit was already happening right in front of me.
To survive this mess, adaptation came first.
I whispered quietly.
"...Status Window."
A blue window materialized in the air.
It always felt this way, but less like an electronic screen and more mystical.
Like a concept from another reality forcibly injected into this one—eerie dissonance.
But no time for that.
What? You can open/close it mentally too?
Ha, total chaos.
Anyway, what mattered now was my reward.
I checked the reward list in the Status Window.
[Random Skill Acquired (Unused)]
I inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly.
Then I reached out and clicked the Random Skill.
The window shifted, and in place of Random Skill, a single skill appeared clearly.
At that moment, the Constellation Gallery exploded.
I was dumbfounded.
What the hell.
Contracts started flooding in all at once.