The Constellations' Game [Laika]

The first day of filming for Hunters School.

A massive crowd had gathered around the special studio in Sangam-dong.

And for good reason — inside that studio right now were heavyweights so colossal that no one would believe they'd all been assembled in one place.

There was the Sword Princess, who'd become a world-class ranker with nothing but a single blade, and Ma Gwang-chul, master of Taesan, one of Korea's top ten guilds. Then there was Seo Ji-hyuk — an executive director of Eclipse, another top-ten guild, and a ten-million-subscriber influencer to boot.

With legendary first-generation hunter Choi Jae-min and Han So-eun, Korea's number-one healer famous for the title 'Holy Maiden', all gathered in the same room, it was only natural that thousands had flooded into Sangam.

"Ugh, the traffic nearly did me in."

"Tell me about it. I had no idea this many people would show up…"

But the Sword Princess, one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the biggest draws of the whole event, was not the type to enjoy any of it.

This is going to be a pain, even from day one.

She'd only agreed to appear because of her history with the HBC director, but having herself exposed so directly on broadcast was uncomfortable for someone with her temperament.

Worse, the nature of the show meant her real name would be mentioned — another thing she didn't like. Chae Yoo-hyun, the Sword Princess Elise, was not fond of revealing her real identity.

Of course, anyone could find out her name was Chae Yoo-hyun with a quick search of the Awakened Wiki… but that was a separate matter entirely.

"Whew."

Chae Yoo-hyun, the Sword Princess, lifted the chin of her mask slightly with her index finger. For some reason, the hard mask felt heavier and more stifling than usual today.

"Hey, Yoo-hyun! You're looking even more prickly than usual today?"

Just then, a deep, weighty voice grated on her nerves.

The Sword Princess narrowed her eyes behind the mask and looked ahead. A man so massive that the sofa looked cramped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beneath him, holding a dainty little espresso cup in forearms that looked ready to burst with muscle.

Ma Gwang-chul, master of the Taesan Guild.

Good grief, that oblivious oaf.

Chae Yoo-hyun smirked as she met his gaze. Honestly, of everyone in this studio, Ma Gwang-chul was the person she felt most at ease with.

She'd run quite a few life-or-death raids alongside him, and every single time, he'd been the sturdiest companion anyone could ask for. Their first impression of each other aside, she knew better than anyone that that rough slab of muscle was the most reliable shield on any battlefield.

Which meant Ma Gwang-chul was… one of the very few comrades — and drinking buddies — she could turn her back on in an industry crawling with hypocrites.

"Can't breathe, that's all. Must be nice for you, hyung-nim, walking around with a steel plate for a face."

"What? Look at the way you talk. That's pure worry coming out of me, you know."

Clicking his tongue, Ma Gwang-chul tossed a jar of vitamins onto the table.

"There. Take them."

"Why, thank you. Anyone watching would think you bought them for me."

"You just came back from the Ashen Citadel, didn't you?"

"I did?"

"Aren't you pushing yourself too hard lately? Your skin's looking rough as sandpaper."

"And here I thought your eyesight was the amazing part, hyung-nim, considering I'm wearing a mask."

"My eyes see everything, kid. That complexion is begging for muscle loss."

A faint smile crept across Chae Yoo-hyun's lips again.

And at that very moment—

Click—

The waiting room door opened, and a familiar face stepped inside.

"Haha, you two are as lively as ever. Every time you meet, it's bickering, bickering, bickering."

A smooth voice slipped in between them.

Both pairs of eyes turned naturally toward it, and there stood a man in a crisp suit, waving a tablet PC.

A genius mage who'd climbed all the way to an executive directorship at Eclipse before even turning thirty.

Seo Ji-hyuk — sometimes called the idol of the hunter world.

The fox of Eclipse.

Chae Yoo-hyun's eyes narrowed slightly as they met his. Always smiling, but with a calculator running in his head twenty-four hours a day. His sly streak made him her polar opposite, and yet he was one of the very few rankers whose ability she couldn't deny.

"Now, now, no fighting — take a look at this. This season's lineup is genuinely the best ever, I'm telling you."

Seo Ji-hyuk casually tossed the tablet onto the table, and the screen on the waiting room wall, wirelessly connected to it, lit up at once.

Piiiing—

There on the screen was Kang Min-woo, holding his infamous money-devouring mana cannon.

"Tch. I can't stand that kid."

Ma Gwang-chul scrunched up his face without a shred of subtlety.

"A man should trust his fists, not go leeching off gear bonuses."

"Come on, hyung-nim, don't be so rigid. Being able to pour billions into a single weapon is a skill in its own right, and if he kills monsters well with it, well, that's talent, isn't it?"

At Seo Ji-hyuk's easygoing defense, Ma Gwang-chul's expression scrunched up even further, but he didn't press the point.

After all, now that they'd signed on as mentors for Hunters School, they were all obliged to look at every mentee with as few preconceptions as possible — which meant Seo Ji-hyuk had a point.

"Hmm."

In that same spirit, Chae Yoo-hyun held her tongue as well. Privately, she agreed with Ma Gwang-chul, but there was no need to dump cold water on a perfectly pleasant mood.

"Well… Seo Ji-hyuk does have a point. Equipment is a form of power, after all."

"See, hyung-nim? The Sword Princess and I speak the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same language."

And there was one more thing.

The details of the first mission, shared with them by the production team, surfaced in her mind.

"Besides, it's the first entrance mission anyway. Won't everyone's true colors come out there regardless?"

At her words, Seo Ji-hyuk flashed an easy grin.

"Ah, right. The entrance mission dungeon is a 'farming dungeon' type, isn't it?"

"Correct. So if someone really is all gear and no substance, they'll start the season with an F-grade stigma stamped right onto their first mission results."

Seo Ji-hyuk swiped the screen with a little flourish.

"So then, how about this one? What do you think of him?"

The next face on the screen was Lee Seong-hwan.

Royal family of the Silver Knights and this season's presumptive champion. Judging by the order, it was probably the most recent profile Seo Ji-hyuk had looked up.

"Hmm."

Just then, a middle-aged man leaning against the window with his arms crossed spoke up, his voice heavy.

Gray-streaked hair, deeply etched wrinkles. And yet his eyes burned as sharp and alive as a bird of prey's.

Choi Jae-min — guild master of the Blue Dragon Society and a first-generation hunter of Korea.

"Blood will tell after all, it seems."

"You mean Master Lee Hyun-moo, hyung-nim?"

Choi Jae-min nodded at Ma Gwang-chul's question.

"Yes. Something about him smells like Lee Hyun-moo, somehow. Though I can't be certain until I confirm it with these two eyes of mine."

Whenever Choi Jae-min opened his mouth, even the talkative Seo Ji-hyuk fell quiet and listened.

And for good reason — Choi Jae-min was one of the legendary first-generation hunters of Korea.

The early days of the gate crisis… the chaos that had nearly swallowed Korea whole, held together by the Initial 5.

Choi Jae-min had written that legend alongside Lee Hyun-moo, head of the Silver Knights. He was living history itself.

I never expected to meet him in person like this.

Chae Yoo-hyun straightened in her seat. With the mentors now almost all assembled, it was time to start taking this place a little more seriously.

From here on, whatever was said in this waiting room could well end up spliced into some corner of the Hunters School 3 broadcast, one way or another.

"Ah, sorry I'm late! The traffic was absolutely jammed."

And finally, the last ranker appeared in the waiting room — Han So-eun, bearing the alias 'Holy Maiden'.

She was the guild master of Halo, another of the top ten guilds, and Korea's number-one ranked healer.

The public might adore her beautiful looks and angelic image, but Yoo-hyun knew her true nature better than most.

A woman who put her own safety and benefit first in nearly every conceivable situation.

Well, I don't hold any personal grudge against her, but…

Frankly, she was about as far from a 'Holy Maiden' as it was possible to get.

While Yoo-hyun was mulling that over, several more mentee profiles slid across the screen.

But none of them sparked any particular interest.

Not until a completely unfamiliar face appeared under the name 'Park Ha-jun'.

"Oh? Everyone, look at this. We've got another level 49 here?"

At Seo Ji-hyuk's words, Ma Gwang-chul's eyes widened slightly.

"What? There's another 49?"

Among the profiles provided to the mentors in advance, Lee Seong-hwan had been the one and only level 49.

Setting everything else aside, that alone made for a profile worth being startled over.

No proper profile photo — just a boy with unkempt hair and a sharp, feral gaze.

Han So-eun's eyes glinted with interest.

"Park Ha-jun? Does anyone here know the name?"

The Sword Princess wondered if her eyes had deceived her and examined the screen closely, but there it was, plain as day: the mentee Park Ha-jun's level was listed as 49.

She had never once imagined that a monster reaching level 49 within 200 days of first connecting to a gate might exist besides Lee Seong-hwan.

And this kid… it doesn't look like he has any support behind him either.

It had been so long ago that her memory was hazy, but a record of level 49 at the 200-day mark was considerably ahead of even her own.

Granted, the early days of the gates and the present day were hard to compare, and Lee Seong-hwan was a rookie backed by the enormous shadow of the Silver Knights besides.

But 49 alone, in the wild? That's genuinely intriguing.

This participant, 'Park Ha-jun', felt different in every way. At nineteen, he was among the youngest of all the applicants, too.

"Interesting."

For the first time, genuine interest stirred in the eyes behind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mask.

"A greenhouse flower like Lee Seong-hwan, up against a wild weed like Park Ha-jun…"

"Aw, come on, Sword Princess, that's a bit unfair to Lee Seong-hwan. The kid's gotten basically nothing from the Silver Knights as it is."

"Well, either way."

"This is shaping up nicely, isn't it?"

A curious undercurrent of anticipation rippled among the mentors — not just for the Sword Princess. With unpredictable variables popping up like this, one after another, the program itself was bound to get interesting.

So while the Sword Princess and Seo Ji-hyuk chatted idly for a while…

Han So-eun quietly swiped to the next page and took note of yet another target.

"And here we have Aesculap's youngest daughter, too. Kang So-hee, was it?"

Seo Ji-hyuk looked up at her murmured remark, mildly surprised.

"Do you know her personally, Holy Maiden?"

"Oh, nothing quite like that… Aesculap, you see. They have a partnership with our guild."

"Ah, I see."

"So it's a bit of a pleasant surprise. I really ought to look after her properly, shouldn't I?"

Han So-eun flashed her signature radiant white smile, and the Sword Princess lobbed a remark her way.

"None of that, Holy Maiden. If we play favorites with people we know, the show won't be any fun."

"Hehe, perish the thought. In fact, I'll have to take care of her all the more specially. Go ahead and cut me plenty of footage."

Once the survey of the top-tier participants was over, Chae Yoo-hyun checked the time.

About ten minutes left, is it?

Roughly twelve minutes remained until filming began in earnest. The mentors in the waiting room had gone quiet, each occupied with their own preparations, and the Sword Princess quietly settled back into the sofa, slowly flipping through the tablet pages.

After all, if she could unearth promising talent this season of Hunters School, it would benefit her guild. Consider it one last pass to put faces to names before the cameras rolled.

And then, as she turned yet another page—

"……?"

One name caught her eye.

Dave…?

It didn't come to her immediately, but it was a nickname she had definitely seen somewhere before.

Oh!

Chae Yoo-hyun's memory rewound to a few days earlier. And there it was.

The very player who had sold the Flag of Zerathus on the exchange. The peculiar man who had, out of nowhere, proposed a trade to her.

No way — that Dave? I think it really is him.

The corner of Chae Yoo-hyun's mouth, hidden behind the mask, curled up slightly.

She'd never imagined they'd get tangled up together like this again. Her curiosity swelling, the Sword Princess read slowly down Dave's résumé.

And the next moment—

She was so startled she nearly shot up out of her seat.

Level 33 in thirty days?

That was a pace that defied common sense. Neither she herself nor any ranker she knew had ever — not once — reached the level 30s within a single month.

Even reaching level 30 inside 40 days should be practically impossible…

No matter how she looked at it, the numbers didn't add up. Which left the Sword Princess with exactly one possible conclusion.

It's a typo.

130 days, mistakenly written as 30. Probably a slip by the production writers.

Well, even 33 in 130 days isn't bad. At that pace, another two months of grinding would've put him close to level 40.

And as the Sword Princess was scratching the back of her head over that thought — right on cue, the waiting room door swung open and the FD walked in.

"Mentors! Please stand by!"