The World Created by the Constellations (11)
In any fantasy tale spun by the constellations, certain professions always appear: court mages, priests, royal knights, and the like. Characters standing beside the king often shatter the balance with sheer style. And the man now facing me one-on-one, Von Gregory, was the textbook example of a royal knight.
Whoosh.
I stayed on guard. I hadn’t fought many people, but I knew enough to keep my eyes on the opponent—if you watch closely, you can read where they’ll move and what attack they’ll launch. Yet this was something beyond my expectations, something outside common sense.
CLANG!
“What the—!”
His movement was invisible. One moment he stood in front of me; the next, his blade was swinging right at my face. The only saving grace was that Quick Comprehension (C-) had activated in that split second, letting me predict the knight’s attack path.
Quick Comprehension (C-)
His right shoulder pulled back. The sword veered right, then flowed forward in a thrust. I parried the horizontal slash. Before I could recover, the blade rose from below toward my chin. As my eyes tracked it, a kick followed.
‘The same swordsmanship the soldiers used.’
That was why I could dodge Von’s strikes at all. Every soldier I’d fought in the training ground had learned from him; their techniques were identical—horizontal cuts, upward slashes, kicks, charging thrusts. But while the patterns matched, the difference in mastery was overwhelming. Von Gregory was on an entirely different level.
‘Still…!’
It wasn’t impossible to avoid. His movements, once a blur, slowly became visible. He wasn’t tiring—I was simply adapting to his swordplay at an alarming rate.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Sparks danced wherever our blades met.
Quick Comprehension (C-)
My sword followed his. I watched his shoulder, his footwork. Once his lines and angles registered in my eyes, I finally understood.
‘This man… his stats are lower than mine.’
Strength, agility, stamina—everything. The first floor wasn’t a difficult section, and the godlike speed he’d shown at the start had devolved into predictable, repetitive fundamentals. I stepped back, analyzing every thrust. When my calculations reached their limit, I launched my first real counterattack.
“Kyaaah!”
Han Gamin screamed from the side, watching our duel. My sword had left me completely exposed for the finishing blow. Von’s blade shot toward my throat. I tilted my head just enough to let it pass, then struck.
Understanding his pattern had won me the fight. After dozens of exchanges where I only defended, a single opening turned the tide. My victory came from nullifying his final attack.
Slash!
My blade carved a long wound across his arm and bit deep into his shoulder. It didn’t sever the limb, but no human could keep holding a sword with that injury.
“Ugh…!”
He dropped his weapon, unable to endure the pain. I kicked the falling sword far away. Von stared at me in stunned disbelief.
“That’s enough. I don’t want to kill you.”
“Nonsense! How dare a regicide speak of mercy!”
“I know you’re not in your right mind, but I didn’t kill your king. You jumped to conclusions on your own. Consider that wound on your arm the price for nearly murdering an innocent.”
Von’s expression hardened at my words. Yet he had lost all will to fight; the knight collapsed where he stood and didn’t rise again.
“So there’s definitely something beyond this,” Namgung Cheonho said, approaching after witnessing the end of the duel. I nodded in agreement. Given his combat ability and the current situation, Von Gregory was clearly a key figure on the first floor. But since the quest wasn’t complete, he wasn’t the final target either.
“Let’s move quickly.”
I calmed my tense body from the fight and headed toward the laboratory.
Creak.
“Ugh… what’s that smell?”
As the door opened, Han Gamin covered her nose with her sleeve. The room reeked of stale chemicals. Unidentifiable magical tools lay scattered everywhere, and rows of potion bottles lined the corners.
“Is this the right place?” Namgung Cheonho asked, coughing dryly as if he couldn’t believe the highest-ranking person in the palace had lived in such a mess.
“It is.”
At the very back, in the deepest corner, sat a large blue gemstone. It proved this was the mage’s laboratory I had seen in the illusion. I left the three of them by the door and carefully took out the Memorial Piece I’d obtained from the staff.
‘Now…’
Once I placed this against the gem, the first floor’s story would end. A strange sense of anticipation rose within me. All the hardships so far—being brainwashed, chased, jumping from windows, fighting—were nothing like the tutorial. I had endured far more.
The gem’s blue light shimmered, reflecting in everyone’s eyes. As I drew closer—
‘Wait… a second……’
A sense of wrongness flashed through my mind.
‘The Watcher Behind the Veil’ smiles faintly.
‘The One Who Knows Only War and Battle’ complains of a headache.
‘Star Who Likes to Adventure’ watches the situation with interest.
The situation had changed. A new quest had been issued, and the people here were desperately searching for us. Yet in all that time, we hadn’t encountered a single child.
‘How is that possible?’
In the illusion, I had seen countless children being brought to this castle. But that was the past; those children would have grown up and become adults by now.
‘Back then……’
The image of the children I’d seen upon entering the castle resurfaced. Red eyes and golden hair. Every single one of them looked identical as they led the people. And by the time I noticed, I too had been led by one of them toward the lodging.
After destroying the curse’s medium and escaping the room, I had gone to Han Gamin’s room and naturally blended in. The idea of capturing a child for information—my usual self would never have accepted such a risky plan involving a mere ten-year-old.
‘It was the same after that…’
I had occasionally stared at the child’s red eyes. Somehow, I never felt this child would cause harm. So I released them without a shred of doubt. Following the child felt right, so I headed to the training ground. That was when I saw the second illusion. When everyone fell asleep, it was the red-eyed child who woke us.
“Tsk.”
Quick Comprehension (C-)
I clicked my tongue without realizing it and turned my head. Between Han Gamin and Namgung Cheonho stood the golden-haired child with red eyes—Laurent Sagard—watching us.
The one who had led us here. An existence so lacking in presence that we sometimes forgot about them, yet they had played a crucial role in guiding us to the mage’s laboratory.
Due to mental overload, Quick Comprehension (C-) has temporarily evolved.
Status ailment ‘Illusion (B+)’ has been nullified.
The musty smell of the shabby room gradually faded. The potions and magical tools lining the walls grew hazy.
“Cheonho, could you come over here for a moment? Gamin too.”
I called them to my side as naturally as possible. Confusion filled their faces. Once they were beside me, I dropped the Memorial Piece to the floor and drew my sword.
Shing.
Without hesitation, I swung at Laurent Sagard, who had been watching us from behind.
CLAAAAANG!
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the laboratory. The being who had blocked my blade bare-handed wore a mocking smile. The child’s appearance from moments ago was gone. Now standing eye-level with me, the once-short golden hair had grown to waist length, radiating an otherworldly aura.
— So you figured it out? Impressive.
Her voice rang in my ears—familiar, yet deeply unpleasant.
“You’re the plague, aren’t you?”
— Oh my, calling me a plague? The red-eyed woman replied playfully, her smile unsettling.
— You should call me a constellation, little one.
The first constellation I had met in person. But I shook my head.
“I’ve seen a few constellations before. With your level of status, calling yourself one feels… insufficient.”
When I had climbed alone to the 20th floor of Sky Games, I had felt the gaze of constellations beside the rabbit. An oppressive presence that made breathing difficult, an existence that could drive one mad just by looking. But the being before me lacked that kind of status.
“So,” I said, opening my status window to check my coins. Exactly 10,000. “I think I can beat you.”
The confidence of someone with deep pockets. For the first time since the tutorial, I decided to spend big.