Declaration Of Extra Strike

I was about to grumble that I had nowhere else to go anyway when the ground suddenly shook so hard that I almost lost my balance. 

 

‘What the hell? An earthquake?’ 

 

I looked down at my feet in confusion, only to hear the earth cracking and splitting apart with a deafening roar. Seong San-ha quickly stepped in front of me, drawing his weapon.

 

“Get down!”

 

“Why? What the hell is going on—”

 

Through the sounds of destruction and crashing, I could hear the terrified screams of people nearby. The usually quiet workshop district was in chaos. Raising my head to see what was happening, I caught sight of meteors raining down from the sky. For a moment, I thought I had somehow ended up inside a dungeon.

 

“W-what the hell is all that?!”

 

Then, one massive meteor hurtled straight for our workshop, growing larger and larger in an instant. The thought of escaping didn’t even cross my mind as I stared, paralyzed with shock.

 

‘Shit. We’re screwed.’

 

I stood there, mouth agape, staring at the surreal sight. Seong San-ha hurled his rod toward the Elf Tree. The white rod embedded itself into the trunk, emitting a brilliant light that radiated upward. 

 

In an instant, a hemispherical dome inscribed with runic symbols formed over the entire workshop, far larger than any I’d seen before. The massive shield collided with the meteor, and the impact reverberated through the air, forcing me to clutch my head and drop to my knees.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Thankfully, the meteor was unable to penetrate Seong San-ha’s shield. Instead, it slid down the surface of the dome, destroying buildings around us before disintegrating into black dust upon hitting the ground. Shaken by the sudden chaos, I frowned and looked around for Seong San-ha.

 

“Seong San-ha! Seong San-ha!” 

 

Despite calling his name, he didn’t turn to me. He stood still, staring up at the sky. I followed his gaze, my own eyes widening in disbelief.

 

“…What the hell is that?”

 

A massive celestial body, several times the size of the moon, filled the sky. The clear, cloudless expanse was dominated by this planet-like object.

 

***

 

The sudden appearance of the massive celestial body alongside falling meteors threw the world into a frenzy. The debate raged: was it even a planet?

 

From the ground, it appeared enormous, yet astronomers couldn’t detect it from space. Even in a world accustomed to dungeons and monsters, this event was unsettling enough to instill fear. The chaos was compounded by the nine other large and small meteors that had appeared alongside it.

 

Apocalyptic theories circulated, but most people dismissed them, joking that they’d more likely be killed by dungeon monsters before the Earth itself ended. 

 

However, for someone like me carrying an EX-grade quest, the doomsday chatter was hard to ignore.

 

Still, normalcy returned surprisingly fast. No more meteors fell after the initial day, and the celestial body remained stationary, showing no signs of activity. With no apparent impact on Earth’s ecosystem, people started to dismiss it as another inexplicable phenomenon. Within a week, society had moved on, driven by the necessity of daily survival.

 

But even as I tried to reassure myself that it couldn’t be related to my quest, a message from Seong San-ha arrived ten days later, shattering any lingering hope.

 

“Another Alpha Star has gone out. It seems to be related to that planet in the sky, so stay at the workshop as much as possible.”

 

A new sense of dread washed over me. Another Constellation had perished, and I hadn’t made any progress—each setback felt like I was inching closer to failing my quest. 

 

It was embarrassing, but I had to admit that even that one meteor had scared me a little—just a bit. 

 

The thought of what would happen if I failed the quest, triggering the Seven Great Calamities, was finally beginning to sink in. The terror of such a possibility felt all too real.

 

“Hey, Cloud, what are we going to do? Do you know anything about the other calamities?” 

 

I asked, gently stroking Cloud, who responded with a soft bleat.

 

“Meeeeh—”

 

I sighed as I turned to look out the window. I could see the ongoing restoration work on neighboring houses that had been damaged by the meteor.

 

Since the Constellations were involved, not only Seong San-ha but also Han Seo-jin and Park Mu-il had become exceptionally busy. Han Seo-jin, who had moved his belongings into the room next to mine, had promised he would come and go from my workshop. Yet, he had already been away on a mission for four days straight.

 

“Can we really just sit and wait, relying on the Center and Cheon Rang…?” 

 

But what else could I do? I couldn’t shake the thought that this quest had somehow mistakenly found its way to me. I’m a crafter, not a fighter.

 

Lost in my worries and staring out the window, I was startled by a knock behind me.

 

“Ho-hyun nim, the experiment preparations are complete.”

 

“I’ll be right there.”

 

At least I had something I could do right now: make the cure. Setting Cloud down, I watched as he obediently disappeared back into his sigil. Shaking off my anxious thoughts, I stepped out of the room, ready to face the task ahead.

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