The Constellation's Game: Laika

The five days I'd set my sights on had come and gone.

And my level was….

Ding—!

Before I knew it, I'd hit 29.

"Whoa, hyung-nim. You really almost pulled it off?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Hitting 30 in five days."

"Ah, that."

"I thought that was just a joke, but you weren't joking at all, were you."

"Of course not."

My vow to hit 30 within five days had been completely, one hundred percent real. The proof? I'd gone and placed a bet on it, hadn't I.

"Did you stake your own money too?" you ask?

Naturally. Just like last time, I'd put a clean 1,000 LP on Down, I said. In other words — once again, I was serious. I wanted it on the record that there wasn't a single grain of intention here to toy with the constellations. Not one.

"The bet closes at eight sharp anyway, hyung-nim……. What difference would it make if I clocked out at midnight?"

Right. That.

So, cutting straight to the conclusion: I had flushed 1,000 LP down the drain in spectacular fashion. No — to be precise, I was one heartbeat away from flushing it, the loss on the verge of being finalized.

But this was genuinely, honestly unfair.

Come on, hyung-nims. Do you really think a cash-farming miser like me would toss 1,000 LP into thin air? I'm on the verge of tears myself, watching my hard-earned money evaporate right in front of me…….

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

And yet, while it was absolutely true that I hadn't done it on purpose, the situation somehow didn't seem to be turning out badly at all. My win rate was structurally bound to stay high no matter what. Throwing a game once in a while is what makes gambling gambling in the first place, isn't it? If the answer is fixed from the start, how is that even a gamble?

"Haa……."

Which meant that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all things considered, I had made an unintentional investment in the future. Unintentionally. That part was the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠truly crucial point, I'd say.

Then, in the middle of these musings, I suddenly found myself curious about one particular constellation's whereabouts. The hyung-nim who'd spouted some strange nonsense a few days ago — I understood you, I pledge you my loyalty, thank you for the money — and who'd cheerfully tossed me a whole 300 LP. I wondered, out of nowhere, whether he'd bet with the flow this time or bet against it.

"Say, is the Gambler Blacksmith hyung-nim here by any chance?"

Huh, he really was here.

"If you followed my bet this time… you lost, didn't you?"

……?!

I was, frankly, flustered. It was startling enough that he'd won again — but donating another 300 LP on top of that?

Um… th-that is to say, I'm all in favor of the 300 LP tip, I am. But still… this felt, somehow, like a question I had never needed to ask. Thanks to this guy, public opinion was starting to turn even uglier.

…?

"Excuse me — is that even possible, system-wise?"

"That's exactly my point."

"I'm sorry — what?"

"Ex-cuse me?"

What on earth were they talking about now….

Constellations truly were not sane in any sense of the word. Or perhaps I was the one who'd turned them all into gambling addicts in the first place. But still….

With support this blazing, what possible reason would I have not to?

"Still, the phrase 'a constellation's curse' sounds terrifying from the very first syllable, so would you kindly retract that, hyung-nim?"

"……."

At any rate, once I'd wrapped up the final dungeon of the day without a hitch, my party member Leo climbed another step up the ladder as well.

"Hoo, hunting with you really does come with insane leveling speed, hyung-nim!"

And so Leo's level had climbed to a mighty 34. For a level-30s user to gain two levels in the aqueduct in just five days was a performance every bit as impressive as my own.

Let's see. Roughly 70 percent of the EXP to next level remaining. Graduation from the aqueduct tomorrow is a lock.

Which was why, 1,000 LP loss and all, my mood wasn't particularly bad. I'd missed the 30 I'd aimed for within the five days, true — but on day six, I'd almost certainly reach it. And this was with a comfortable three days still to spare before the Hunters School 3 résumé screening, no less.

"Once we graduate from here, you said we're heading to the Rumentis Abandoned Mine, right?"

"That's right."

At this pace, we should be sitting at around level 32 or 33 by the screening date, I figured. At the very least, every hunting plan was laid out clean and tidy through next week.

"But isn't that a level 40 zone, hyung-nim?"

"It is."

"With you there, the hunting itself should work, sure… but I'm not sure the efficiency will."

Worry not, my boy. This hyung-nim had already leveled there once before, way back at level 20, I said.

"Bus, you say?"

I had no intention of denying that much. However far I pushed my play, without firepower the hunt simply didn't pay — that was a fact. Which was exactly why I had no plans to go there with just the two of us.

"I've already lined up some solid party members, so get ready to ride the bus this time, Leo."

Who did I recruit? Naturally, the former party members with whom I'd forged bonds of comradeship in Rumentis. Seila Novin and Alicia Lowell, to be exact. I'd already reached out to both of them in advance.

And why wasn't Bellick hyung-nim's name on the list? Well, you see….

Probably because his position overlapped with Leo's?

"Heh."

This week I'd ridden Leo's bus sweet as syrup, so next week it was only right to let Leo lick a little honey for himself.

"Ooh…! Party members? If they're your acquaintances, hyung-nim, they must be incredible people!"

"Er… incredible isn't quite the word… let's call them Rumentis-limited specialists."

Recalling Lowell blasting away with Magney Fire, I suddenly felt a flicker of worry for Leo. Come to think of it, this time the charcoal-grill position might well belong to him…. Well, it was true that Leo was leagues ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beyond Bellick hyung-nim in skill, so….

Somehow, it would work out. Probably.

"I'll look forward to it, then!"

"Okay. Look forward all you like."

And why do I keep going out to hunt nothing but ghosts, you ask? Because leveling up is my entire purpose at the moment, that's why. Ghost-type monsters gave the most EXP of anything within their own weight class. The fatal downside was that their drops were beggarly and field harvesting didn't apply — but that would only hold true through next week. Once I'd milked the Hunters School 3 appearance fee dry, I planned to return to my true calling from around level 40 onward.

"Aww, hyung-nims. Why do you always have to put it that way…."

And so, in this wonderfully heartwarming atmosphere—

Ding—!

And with that, Hunter Lee Gunyul's day came to a clean, uneventful close.

"I beg your pardon?"

'Sound and steady,' you say?

"……."

After settling up with Leo one final time, I stamped out of the gate at a clean 8:15 or so.

"See you tomorrow, hyung-nim!"

"Get home safe!"

As it happened, though, today I couldn't head straight out of the gate after clocking off. Why?

Whew. Finally got the whole lot of it.

Because there was still one task left to complete — one that would push my hunting efficiency even higher, starting tomorrow.