Obtaining the Star

The Old King, Dramut.

Guardian of the mountain that protected the Star, a colossal giant of a divine beast. His origin was that of a spiritual creature whose body had swollen to enormous size and whose wisdom had blossomed under the Star's spiritual energy.

His name—his True Name—had likewise been inherited from the Star.

Naturally, no one but the Star itself should have known it.

Only one who possessed the Star and became its master could know that creature's True Name.

Wilhelm. Only I, who had once been the strongest character of all.

"W-where did you hear my True Name? Did Wilhelm tell you?"

Dramut shook his head once, rose from where he lay, and asked in alarm.

"You fool. Have you forgotten the terms of the contract as well?"

But mention of the True Name was bound by contract.

Speaking it to another was itself impossible.

Of course, I was no longer bound by that contract, so I had spoken it freely.

It's true. It's real.

Dramut's scales rattled and hummed.

The mountain guardian could distinguish truth from falsehood as well.

If it had been a lie, he could have freely broken the contract, roamed free, and simply eaten this human.

But it was the truth. Not a shred of falsehood.

Even the claim that his master had returned.

A human I've never seen before knows my True Name and even the terms of the contract. He even mentioned Wilhelm's name.

The iron law of the contract. The moment any related content was so much as mentioned to another, the subject would die and the contract would be voided.

Moreover, Wilhelm was a five-Star Transcendent. A central figure whose every word and gesture carried weight would have no reason to break a contract just to tell someone a secret.

If it had been voided that way, Dramut would have known.

But Wilhelm is dead. The Stars fell.

Yet even if the contract's subject died, the contract would still be voided.

Wilhelm was dead. All five of his Stars had fallen. That meant he had met a perfect, absolute death, and every binding upon him had been released.

Naturally, no contract currently existed between Dramut and this human. Knowing the True Name was merely a mild surprise.

"Show me the way. The Star will prove who I am."

How could such a frail human—one he could swallow whole without even noticing—speak with such arrogance?

And what? The Star would prove it?

"You? Approach the Star? You'll burn the moment you get near it."

Dramut sneered.

He fell short. This human was nowhere near the standard required to claim a Star.

Dramut was the Star's guardian. Instinctively, he could sense the level suitable for a Star. But this human didn't even meet the basics, let alone the standard.

How he remained unaffected by Dramut's divine domain was a mystery—but surely he was relying on some special equipment or tool.

"Perhaps you've mistaken things—is it the female human beside you who's challenging it?"

The female human next to him was at least somewhat better. Of course, she still fell short. One who would claim a Star had to be equal to Dramut or stronger still.

She would burn before even approaching the Star.

The Star was endlessly generous to those who met its standard, but showed not a shred of mercy to those who did not.

"I am the one challenging it."

Challenge? Challeeeeenge?

"Kyahahaha!"

Dramut twisted his body into coils as he roared with laughter. He simply could not hold it in.

After thrashing about and laughing for a long while, Dramut finally recovered his senses.

How many centuries had it been since he'd laughed like this?

Better he burns on the Star than I deal with him myself.

This was for the best. A strange fellow who knew both his True Name and Wilhelm—thoroughly unsettling. The Star would handle him on its own.

No matter how special or unique the equipment and tools aiding him, they would be useless before the Star. The Star looked only at the abilities the subject themselves possessed.

"Very well. Follow me, whelp."

Sssss.

Dramut readily began guiding the way toward the Star.

The Star.

The cornerstone of the boundary required when transcending the limits of one's species and achieving a transcendence of cognition.

To put it more precisely... it was a corpse.

We called the fragmented body of the dead twin goddess Rhea a Star.

There were a total of thirty-two Stars across the continents of Pangenia.

Broken down by body part, they were as follows:

Ten fingers, two pieces spanning from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the back of the hand to the shoulder, one torso, one head, two eyeballs, one nose, one lower jaw including the mouth, two ears, one neck, one lower body, and ten toes.

Thirty-two kinds of body parts belonging to the goddess Rhea.

Possess a Star, pass the trial, and only then could one Transcend.

Naturally, the nature of Transcendence granted differed subtly depending on the body part.

And the body part of the goddess Rhea resting here, at the Mountain Where the Nameless Star is Buried, was...

"Th-that's... a Star?"

Isabella recoiled in horror. Her eyes looked ready to pop from her skull as she stared at the Star resting upon the altar in utter shock.

She could hardly be blamed.

She had heard stories of Stars, but this was her first time seeing one in the flesh.

No—nowhere in any talk of Constellations or Stars had anyone ever mentioned that they were corpses.

"That... skull...?"

A skull with its lower jaw severed.

"Say hello. This is the face of the goddess Rhea."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ah—"

Her legs buckled.

Isabella's knees gave out. Shock was part of it, but all manner of strange phenomena tended to occur before a Star.

"Don't come any closer. It's dangerous."

Dramut was watching from a distance as well. He seemed to be looking forward to seeing how I would die.

Holding Isabella back, I walked forward.

From here on, it was fifty-fifty.

This hidden sky island of the sacred domain allowed one to obtain skills and classes in every region.

That meant this mountain and this Star should be no different.

Previously, I had already possessed a class, so I had simply claimed the Star and Transcended. But now...

Letters floated into view.

It almost felt as though a voice were speaking.

But there was too much noise. This was not a proper process of communication.

Even so, I thought I knew who was sending me these messages.

The dead twin goddess Rhea. She who had become Stars and been scattered across the continents.

As I took another step, the voice grew clearer.

With every step I took, more words were added.

The thirteen Hidden Traits I possessed.

The goddess had read them all.

And then—

I slowly lifted the goddess's skull—the Star—with both hands.

Fwaaaaaah!

In that instant, a radiant flood of light poured from the Star into my body.

......

Text kept flooding in without end.

The sheer volume was too vast to take in at a glance.

Constellations of the Hall of One Hundred Constellations?

The idea that they were already paying attention to me left me speechless.

Those high-nosed types never took notice of a beginner who had only just started walking.

Even when I had played as Wilhelm, they had barely begun to show interest after I'd claimed three Stars.

Is it because of Star's Heir?

That was a class even I had never seen before.

Of course, having the Constellations of the Hall of One Hundred Constellations pay attention was no bad thing.

They upgraded the rewards, after all.

I turned my attention more carefully to the rewards that would follow.

And after reading every last line related to the rewards, I couldn't help but let a single phrase slip out.

"...Holy shit."