The reason I was so sure that Kang Si-hoo would be in this dungeon was because this very dungeon marked the beginning of the original story. Kang Si-hoo, swept up as a civilian, loses his parents and awakens here—then saves Lee Myung-won.
That’s how he forges a connection with Hansung, and from there, the protagonist Kang Si-hoo begins to overcome his trials.
But I couldn’t control my expression. Kang Si-hoo was wearing a mask, pretending to be someone else with such casual ease.
Could he just be someone else with the same name? I tried to consider the possibility, but that brown hair and that large build made it impossible. No matter how well he tried to hide, his sheer presence drew the eye.
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Apollo.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Apollo!]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Do you feel it?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Feel what?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Remember what you said last time about Baek Tae-beom—my contractor.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: That just his existence made you feel revulsion.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: What about this guy? Don’t you feel anything?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Huh? No?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: I don’t feel anything at all.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: You always fixate on the weirdest things. What does any of that have to do with Destruction?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Is it because you’re single that you talk so damn much?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Hey! Where’d that attack come from all of a sudden?!]
Leaving Apollo babbling behind, I glared at Kang Si-hoo. Under my gaze, the man shrank back even further, grunting as he tried—and failed—to conceal his hulking frame.
So fucking suspicious.
Kang Si-hoo should’ve been inside, calling for help. Why was he out here? And why in that getup? Even judging by his listed titles, he seemed to have accomplished quite a bit—so why was he hiding?
At what point did the original storyline go off track?
“What’s wrong, Hunter Choi Ga-hyeon? Is there a problem with our guy?”
“I was just curious what his name was.”
“What was it again… Kang something?”
“Kang, Kang… Kang Cheol-su.”
“Yeah, that’s what he said.”
That’s got to be the laziest fake name I’ve ever heard.
I was about to say something, completely dumbfounded, when Lee Myung-won stepped in.
“Let’s just focus on preparing to enter first. You can talk afterward. There are civilians inside.”
Then, Lee Myung-won called me over, along with Baek Tae-beom.
“What the hell’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“You were staring at that Hunter like you wanted to kill him.”
I countered quickly.
“I wasn’t looking at him like I wanted to kill him.”
“You were. Is there some kind of issue?”
“He’s just… really suspicious.”
“Who is?”
“Kang Si… I mean, that Hunter who says his name is Kang Cheol-su.”
Lee Myung-won’s face twisted like I’d just told him a stray dog on the street was doing a handstand.
“Are you serious?”
“Would I lie about something like this?”
“What exactly about that Hunter seems suspicious to you?”
Baek Tae-beom chimed in, agreeing with Lee Myung-won.
“I don’t get the problem, Hyung. That bastard Kim Ki-won is way sketchier if you ask me…”
Could it be the mask he’s wearing? That had to be it.
Kang Si-hoo, true to his role as the protagonist, grows at a terrifying pace. Unlike Baek Tae-beom, he has innate talent, and no matter how hopeless things get, he doesn’t crumble like Baek Tae-beom—he recovers quickly, brushes it off, and moves forward. That was the reason Baek Tae-beom hated and loved him in equal measure in The Apocalypse Chronicles of Another World.
So if Baek Tae-beom doesn’t end up destroying the world, but this world is still on a path toward ruin because it’s following the novel’s script, then I’d thought maybe Kang Si-hoo could use his power to stop it somehow. That’s why I’d wanted to steer the story in a different direction this time around.
‘But it’s already gone off course?’
My mind raced. In that case, the likeliest cause was the First Monster Calamity.
‘Could it have been… because of me?’
If Kang Si-hoo’s parents were put in danger far earlier than they were supposed to be, and that led to his awakening, then it all adds up. But then, if Kang Si-hoo grew up without Lee Myung-won’s help, why the hell is he like that?
‘Have his parents already died? Or… did he come here to try and save them?’
I couldn’t tell. And the fact that I was calculating all of this made me feel utterly disgusting.
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction’, syncs with the Holy Vessel.]
I glared at the notification window that popped up, though there was no real reason to. No matter what I thought, this body—now a Constellation—would never help me think like a “human” again.
Lee Myung-won said he’d go talk to them and check if anything was suspicious, then headed over. Baek Tae-beom looked at me with concern, and before I could say anything, he opened his inventory and pulled something out to hand to me.
I didn’t need a closer look—it was a staff. Embedded with a golden, amber-like gem and adorned with white wings encircling the jewel, it looked undeniably expensive.
[Staff of Condemnation A]
[I see your end. That end shall repeat forever. But if you have the will to break through, you may escape the shackles of fate. Grants a new skill upon use. (Cannot be used more than once.)]
“What is this? And how much did this one cost?”
“That’s a secret.”
This sort of thing was becoming far too normal. Baek Tae-beom casually placed it into my hand and bowed his head. His breath, suddenly closer than expected, brushed against me.
“You have to stay right next to me, Hyung.”
“…Got it.”
That was my plan anyway. Having confirmed that the original plotline had gone off the rails—and that Kang Si-hoo’s situation was far from normal—if I wanted to preserve my own life, I had to stick to Baek Tae-beom like glue.
First, I needed to check my skills.
‘Skill window.’
As the panel appeared in front of me, I scrolled all the way down.
[Skill: Sponsorship
Designate a specific Awakened individual to receive sponsorship. Minimum 1 Coin required.]
[Skill: Sanctuary of the Soul
Transports you to your personal space.]
[Skill: Thorn of Sin
Bind your target with a thorn burdened by sin. The impact inflicted varies depending on the target type. (Usable only with the proper weapon equipped.)]
Since Thorn of Sin was no longer usable, I removed it from the skill list entirely.
[Skill: Hand of Sunlight
Borrow the power of the sun to fire an arrow. The strength depends on the Constellation’s abilities.]
[Skill: Eye of the Dead
Borrow the power of the dead to perceive another’s condition with clarity. The strength depends on the Constellation’s abilities.]
Then I checked my currently equipped gloves.
[Gloves of the Aquarius Star A]
[Gloves for the guide of a new star. Increases defense and destructive power. Grants a new skill upon use. (Cannot be used more than once.)]
It already had a passive boost to defense, so I hoped that using it would give me a defensive skill. With that wish in mind, I activated the item.
[You have obtained a new skill.]
[Skill: Falling Stars
Summon a shower of stars to block incoming attacks. Cannot be used consecutively. (Usable only with appropriate defensive gear equipped.)]
‘Nice.’
This was even better than I expected. An A-grade piece of gear that could block attacks—this would definitely hold up against most threats.
Then I planted the staff Baek Tae-beom gave me on the ground. It was long yet fit perfectly in my grip, like it had been made just for me.
‘A crafted weapon… Right, I’ll have to recruit that guy somehow too, and soon.’
With that thought, I activated the item and checked the status window for the newly acquired skill.
[You have obtained a new skill.]
[Skill: Condemnation
Deliver judgment upon your enemies. (Usable only with the proper weapon equipped.)]
‘That’s it? That’s all the explanation?’
There was nothing else? I tilted the staff around in my hand and looked at it suspiciously. Not that I thought Baek Tae-beom had given me something sketchy, but still…
“Tae-beom-ah.”
“Yes, Hyung?”
“Where did you get this?”
Baek Tae-beom blinked at me. That ever-innocent face.
“Did something go wrong?”
“It’s not that something’s wrong…”
It was just that it seemed far too unusual, and that was the problem. My expression must’ve turned serious, because Baek Tae-beom confessed.
“It came out of a box… that Lee Myung-won gave me.”
“A box?”
“Yeah. He said it was a useless gift from his Constellation—something that spits out a random item… so, a box.”
Wait a sec.
“When something good came out of it, I thought I’d give it to you someday, Hyung. So I just stashed it in my inventory.”
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Hold on.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Apollo?]
[The Constellation, ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun’, says nothing and gazes into the distant mountains.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Did you open a kit?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: No, wait, have you been gacha-pulling kits? Even making your contractor do it? How many times did you roll?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Well…]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Is that really important?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Do you not realize that’s a marketing ploy?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Sometimes, even when people know it’s marketing, they can’t help but give in.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: You’re not a person. You’re a Constellation.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: You must be rolling in money, huh? Throwing it around like confetti? Living the good life, are we? Why don’t you donate some of that to your kid, huh?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: I don’t have a kid.]
[CH. Private / One Who Guides the Dead: Sometimes.]
[CH. Private / One Who Guides the Dead: One must walk the path that has already been laid.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: How many rolls did you do?]
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Guides the Dead’, does not respond. 404 Not Found.]
Stop sending these weird-ass messages.
“Why? Is that bad?”
“No, no, it’s not that. I was just wondering where it came from.”
I quickly offered that half-hearted excuse with a sigh, then patted Baek Tae-beom’s shoulder, who still looked worried. Lee Myung-won gave a subtle nod in my direction, signaling me to come over.
“Preparation is complete. We’ll begin entering now.”
