Who the Hell Are You? (1)
Valhalla basically allowed students to go out once a month.
But there were two other cases where outings were permitted: special outings for exceptional circumstances, and post-exam outings granted to any student who wanted them after midterms or finals.
Thanks to this outing system, pretty much every student had headed out for the weekend right after midterms wrapped up.
Why bother going outside when Valhalla has everything?
“What’s the point if it’s all inside Valhalla? Doesn’t feel like real fun, right?”
“Totally agree~”
“Let’s hit up a PC bang outside.”
Kim Joo-hyuk couldn’t quite grasp why the students were so eager to leave, but overhearing the conversation of a group brushing past him gave him a rough idea of their mindset.
Well, for me, inside or outside Valhalla, it’s all the same.
He glanced back at Valhalla’s entrance.
Though he said that, he’d applied for a post-exam outing just like everyone else and stepped out.
Of course, his reason wasn’t the same as theirs—no boredom with Valhalla’s facilities.
“……Shall we get started, then.”
The reason Kim Joo-hyuk used his post-exam outing.
To roughly scout the locations of the secret storehouses he’d buried outside Valhalla.
Of course, most of the ones he’d hidden 300 years ago were probably smashed to bits by now.
But some haven’t been found yet.
Like the one still intact on Valhalla’s grounds even after 300 years, there might be others untouched. He wanted to check them out.
And there’s a lot of stuff inside them.
Before entering the Tower of Destruction, Kim Joo-hyuk had scattered his possessions across various secret storehouses for all sorts of reasons.
The one on Valhalla’s grounds alone had held tribute items and a Storage Stone.
Honestly, finding that one had already fulfilled his initial goal of seeking out funds and a Storage Stone.
That had been his first priority.
But this time, money and Storage Stones weren’t why he was hunting them down.
……I wonder if that is still there.
Even though he barely had time for training, the reason he dragged himself out here was one item lingering in his memories.
Back then, climbing the Tower had been so urgent, and he hadn’t really needed it anyway, so he’d shoved it somewhere random and forgotten about it.
If it’s still there now, it’d be a huge help.
Whatever he’d carelessly stashed in one of those storehouses—if he could find it now, it would give him a massive boost. That’s why he’d bothered with the hassle.
Plus, I can grab some retirement funds on the side.
Grinning at the thought of the jewels and rings scattered in those storehouses, he soon raised his smartphone.
First stop: Suwon, I guess.
He’d marked three points on an app back in the dorm before heading out. Confirming the closest was in Suwon, Kim Joo-hyuk set off.
A short while later, when he arrived at a remote mountain in Suwon—
“Nice to meet you.”
“What the hell are you?”
The Market was basically divided into various districts.
Starting with the auction district for auctions, there was the Market district run directly by the Market itself, merchant zones for buying and selling goods, and even barter districts.
But among them, the 7th district was a zone even employees couldn’t enter—permitted only to one person.
The 7th district, right at the Market’s heart.
In its center stood a bizarrely tall skyscraper that clashed with this oddly punk world.
A strange building with windows only on the top floor.
And on that top floor—
“Haa……”
The Market’s owner, Black Cat, lounged with an utterly exhausted expression, gazing down at the sprawling Market below.
He slipped a hand under his mask to rub his eyes, now ringed with dark circles, then opened them.
[The Ruler Behind the Scenes asks when the ring is coming.]
Staring at the blatant message floating before him, Black Cat sighed inwardly and replied.
“Constellation, just a bit longer. Once the normal procedures are done, it’ll teleport right over.”
[The Ruler Behind the Scenes asks when the ring is coming.]
“……”
As the message popped up again, Black Cat closed his eyes once more.
This damn ring is killing me.
Honestly, Black Cat found himself resenting the ring from who-knows-where.
And why not? For the past few weeks, that ring had him dancing to the whims of his constellation, barely sleeping.
What the hell is so special about that ring?
Recalling the ring he’d seen at Morris’s shop and earlier at the auction house, Black Cat’s face twisted in confusion.
What kind of ring is that thing??
Black Cat knew relics of destruction inside and out.
He also knew constellations sometimes reacted to specific relics.
But he’d never once seen his constellation, the Ruler Behind the Scenes, show interest in a relic of destruction.
Sure, someone might say “you’ve only seen a few relics,” but unfortunately, Black Cat had seen tons.
This was the Market, after all—every valuable item in the world traded here.
So at some point, he’d concluded the Ruler Behind the Scenes had no favorite relics.
Yeah, that’s what he’d thought.
Until he went to check a relic circulating on the market—following his predecessors’ rule of “always inspect relics of destruction at least once”—and the Ruler Behind the Scenes flipped out.
The constellation, who never spoke more than twice a month no matter how much he reported or chatted, had spammed his vision like wallpaper.
After that, Black Cat was amazed his constellation wanted a relic.
……Should’ve just skipped it.
Now, he regretted ever going to look.
Because from the moment that ring caught the Ruler Behind the Scenes’ eye, it had hounded him nonstop, threatening to hand it over.
“……Ugh.”
Remembering the ordeal, Black Cat shuddered involuntarily, but soon smiled.
He’d finally gotten the ring. Just hand it over, and it’d be back to normal.
Things will go back to how they were.
Thinking that, he watched a portal for items shimmer into existence before him like it’d been waiting. Smiling in satisfaction, he pulled out a small case from within.
[The Ruler Behind the Scenes urges you to open it quick!]
“Understood, Constellation.”
Black Cat replied and immediately untied the string carefully wrapped around the case, popping the lid open.
He was desperate to escape the nagging.
But—
[It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.]
[It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.]
[It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.] [It's here.]
─────────────
“……”
Black Cat stared at the barrage of alerts exploding across his vision at insane speed.
……Wh-what the hell is this……
For the first time, he felt not awe or fear toward his constellation—but pure terror.
Kim Joo-hyuk marveled once again at this world’s transportation.
Portals are pretty damn convenient.
He’d used one near Valhalla for the first time and crossed to Suwon in under two minutes.
Sure, there were restrictions—only designated spots domestically.
Overseas still required vehicles, and portals cost a fortune per use.
But shrugging off all that, the sheer speed thrilled him as he hopped to his marked points.
Yeah.
He was en route—
“Nice to meet you.”
When the man appeared before him, just stepping into a mountainous area likely hiding a storehouse, Kim Joo-hyuk scowled.
“What the hell are you?”
“Wanna know?”
The man spoke leisurely, utterly relaxed—like an adult eyeing a kid—no tension whatsoever.
Striding forward, he loomed with his bulky frame.
Kim Joo-hyuk eyed him, thought a moment, then spoke.
“You here ‘cause you got business with me?”
“Obviously. Why else would I come to this backwater dump?”
“And that business is beating my ass?”
“You get it.”
“Not hard to get. Your face and those eyes scream it.”
“What……?”
The man froze at Kim Joo-hyuk’s words, glaring.
But the man—
Disera, sent by Rockdil Ventrek to deal with Kim Joo-hyuk—soon grinned and shot back.
“Look at this punk, running his mouth. Valhalla’s top dog, huh? Got some balls?”
“How could I not?”
“Oh yeah? You’re not banking on backup out here in the sticks, are ya?”
“A sucker like you came to take me down? How could I not have confidence?”
“……The fuck did you say?”
“And nah, I’m not thinking that. Would suck for me if it happened.”
Disera’s face hardened, but Kim Joo-hyuk just grinned and kept going.
“If someone else shows to save you, I can’t go all out. Right?”
Grinning wider, before Disera could retort, Kim Joo-hyuk let out a short “Ah” and asked.
“One thing: you here to beat me or kill me?”
“Ha…… You know words can shorten your lifespan?”
“Know it too well. You’re proving it right now. So—”
Thud!
Closing the gap to Disera in an instant.
“!”
“—think hard before you answer. Unless you wanna smell incense in some back room tomorrow.”
Crack!
He slammed a fist into his face.