Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

I was worried that we might end up leaving today without achieving anything, wasting the opportunity. Fortunately, it seemed that both of them held their positions for good reason, as the conversation grew increasingly serious. The Center started talking about the cult, and then Seong San-ha began discussing the constellations.

 

“There are awakened individuals connected to the alpha stars of the twelve zodiac constellations. Each one of them is exceptionally strong or remarkably talented in their field. But one by one, they started dying off. And whenever an awakened individual died, the alpha star of the corresponding constellation lost its light.”

 

“By that criterion, could an S-class hunter also qualify?” 

 

Park Mu-il muttered, but Seong San-ha shook his head.

 

“They don’t necessarily have to be hunters. Take the awakened of Hamal, for instance—that one was a guide. I’m sure you know who I mean. Ryu Su-yoon. He was the counterpart of Aries’ alpha star. Unfortunately, he was murdered by the Center.”

 

“Ryu… Guide Ryu Su-yoon?” 

 

“As expected, it was Ye Sung-woo who…,” one of the surprised Espers said, glancing at each other in shock. Han Seo-jin, his brows furrowed, asked instead of the jaw-dropped Park Mu-il.

 

“They’re killing these awakened individuals? For what purpose?”

 

“One thing is clear: the more the constellations lose power, the more destabilized dungeon waves become. We’re seeing increasingly unpredictable dungeon breaks, and the monsters are getting stronger, throwing the dungeon ecosystems into chaos. If all twelve are destroyed, we may end up unable to enter dungeons at all.”

 

“So that’s why the dungeon waves have been acting like this….”

 

Han Seo-jin said, turning to look at me. Our eyes met, and I remembered the dungeon behaving abnormally on the day we escaped from the Center. I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

 

“Then how many constellations are left?”

 

“Excluding two that are only half-functioning, we have five intact ones left.”

 

“Only five left?” 

 

The room sank into a heavy silence. I, too, whispered the number five to myself while glancing at my hidden quest window. The “half-functional” ones must refer to Hamal and Castor. That leaves five fully intact constellations. So, as long as we manage to save them all, we should be fine.

 

After that, things progressed smoothly. We exchanged direct contact information, and while the Center and the guild hashed out the details of their cooperation agreement, I, having nothing to do, got bored and stepped outside. 

 

I wandered into the garden and sat among the flower beds, waiting for everything to wrap up. From a distance, Su-cheol was pulling weeds, complaining that he had neglected the garden while everything was so chaotic. 

 

As I absentmindedly watched him work, someone lightly tapped me on the shoulder from behind. I tilted my head back to find Seong San-ha’s upside-down face staring at me.

 

“Are you leaving? Is it all over?”

 

“It’s time to go. It ended up taking longer than expected,” he replied, moving to sit next to me.

 

“When did you figure it out?”

 

“Figure out what?”

 

“That he wasn’t the real Kang Eui-jin.”

 

Seong San-ha fell silent, meeting my gaze before finally turning his head away.

 

I had first found something off when I noticed how Seong San-ha reacted—or rather, didn’t react—while listening to the Center’s account. Considering Kang Eui-jin was central to Nobarion, he was mentioned repeatedly during the discussion about the cult. 

 

Yet, Seong San-ha showed no surprise hearing about Kang Eui-jin’s misdeeds, not even when they talked about him stealing recipes and committing illegal acts. 

 

He even went so far as to kindly advise Park Mu-il and Han Seo-jin, suggesting they investigate since the real Kang Eui-jin had been replaced by an impersonator.

 

“You put on that whole show with flowers and wine, and I actually fell for it,” I grumbled, kicking a rock at my feet. Seong San-ha sat down beside me.

 

“I knew he was a fake the moment I saw him. His acting was hilariously bad.”

 

“Then you could’ve told me! Why keep me in the dark? You made me look like an idiot, for fck’s sake.”

 

“I didn’t think you were paying that much attention. Were you upset?”

 

“Upset, my ass. It was just annoying, seeing how you flipped out like a lunatic over Kang Eui-jin with me but fell for that faker right away. It made me mad how stupid it all looked.”

 

“I’m getting ready to make him pay back in a very pretty way. Want to come watch when it happens?”

 

“What?”

 

“I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to make sure he can’t show his face in public again.”

 

Seong San-ha murmured, his gaze fixed on a random pebble in the garden. Remembering the stone he once clenched in his white-gloved hand, brought close enough to feel its weight and menace, I shivered.

What a madman…

I shook my head and quickly changed the subject.

 

“If you knew he was a fake, then why did you go to Greece with him?”

 

“We had agreed to trade constellations. There’s one called Castor, in a similar situation to Hamal, and I figured they might have it.”

 

I flinched at his words, instinctively pulling my right hand closer. The symbol of Castor was already in my possession. But I couldn’t reveal that to Seong San-ha. 

 

While Hamal’s connection could be justified through Joo Ho-hyun’s history, Castor’s mark had come to me through a quest. If I tried to explain how I ended up with it, I’d have to mention the quests. 

 

And if he probed even a little deeper into those, he’d realize the truth—that I’m not really Joo Ho-hyun, but Kang Eui-jin. I could never let that slip.

 

Still, I couldn’t shake the worry that Seong San-ha might be tricked by the Fake Eui-jin using Castor as bait. 

 

“…That could be a lie too. Don’t trust him.”

 

“It might be. But we can’t afford to overlook even the smallest possibility.”

 

Seong San-ha, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly burst into laughter and asked.

 

“Is this confession time? Feels like there’s something I should be hearing, too.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“I knew our potion maker was talented, but I didn’t expect you to be making guiding potions as well.” 

 

My heart sank, and I averted my eyes to the ground. There’s no way Han Seo-jin would have told him, so he must have found out through some investigation…

Damn it.

 

“…Only realizing now how amazing I am? It’s not like I’m obligated to report everything to you.”

 

“That’s a hurtful thing to say, given our relationship. Also, your hand looks a bit bare.”

 

He lifted my hand, his lips curving into a crooked grin. 

 

“Where did your ring go?”

 

“Who knows. Where did it go?” I forced out a laugh, feeling the corners of my mouth tremble with the effort. Seong San-ha poked my puffed-up cheek, snickering as he pulled me closer.

 

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

 

“Ugh, let go…”

 

“Don’t make me worry. Stay at the workshop.”

  Flo here!

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