The sounds echoing through the hallway were a mixture of screams, murmuring voices, and the faint noise of something repeatedly crashing into something else. I couldn’t help but straighten my back, craning my neck toward the door, thinking maybe Baek Tae-beom had caused trouble again. Just as I tried to look more closely, Lee Myung-won sighed and stopped me.
“I’ll go check it out.”
Saying so, Lee Myung-won was about to leave the room when he stumbled back, bumping into a figure rushing down the hallway.
“Lee Myung-won!”
“What the… Who comes running like that in a hallway… Hold on.”
“Huh?”
“What are you doing here?”
Lee Myung-won spoke in disbelief. I couldn’t help but mirror his expression when I caught a glimpse of the unexpected visitor.
Long, flowing sky-blue hair. A flashy outfit that looked like it had been styled head to toe. A clear, resonant voice.
And behind them, a flurry of commotion as a manager and several people hurried after them.
“Blue Star-nim!”
Why was Blue Star, the Guild Master of the Wanderers and a famous idol, here of all places?
“Wow, Lee Myung-won! You’ve gotten big!”
“It’s you who’s gotten small!”
“Ugh, still so uptight, huh?”
Smiling brightly, Blue Star—who now appeared as a child half Lee Myung-won’s height—ran straight into the hospital room. Caught off guard, Lee Myung-won tried to stop him in a panic, but before Blue Star could rush up to me, Oh Kwon-hyuk grabbed him firmly by the scruff of his neck.
“Ack. What the—why are you here?”
“What business do you have here, Son Dong-chan? There’s no reason for you to be here.”
“Mind your own business! What do you care what I’m here for? And I told you not to call me that!”
Blue Star snapped irritably, trying to wriggle free from Oh Kwon-hyuk’s grip. When it didn’t work, he activated his ability. With a light snap of his fingers, the childlike form disappeared, replaced by a man so stunningly attractive he could only be described as beautiful.
‘Information Overview.’
[Everyone, Look at Me! Son Dong-chan]
[Title: Everyone, Look at Me! Radiant, Dazzling, Global Star…
Grade: A
Status: Cannot be confirmed
Contracted Constellation: The Seven Brothers Who Became Stars
Owned Coins: Cannot be confirmed
Skills: [Lucky Pouch], [Clenched Power], [Golden Armor], [Beneath the One Who Governs]…
This Awakened is contracted to a higher-tier Constellation. Caution is advised.]
Son Dong-chan, also known as Blue Star. He was currently the idol most often seen on subway station advertisements. After debuting as a Hunter with a high-grade ranking, Blue Star quickly gained attention not only for his exceptional combat abilities but also for his dazzling performances as an idol.
But that wasn’t the only reason he garnered so much attention. Many pre-existing idols had been forced to halt their activities or had their careers disrupted due to the aftermath of dungeon outbreaks. In contrast, a powerful Hunter—especially an A-grade one—was seen as capable of handling any situation. As a result, fans no longer had to worry about their favorite idol getting hurt. They could love him in peace, without anxiety.
For those reasons, Blue Star had become the most famous idol in South Korea.
Even knowing that, it was hard not to be flustered by the person standing right in front of me. Whether he was dominating a stage, clearing a dungeon, or managing a guild, why was a man like that standing here now, staring at me so intensely? His androgynous beauty was undeniable—so much so it was hard to tell whether he was male or female—but as a fellow man, it wasn’t like I’d be swayed by that kind of thing.
Had I done something wrong? Did I screw something up? As I mentally retraced my past actions, a number of regrettable things came to mind. Before I could think further, he slipped free from Oh Kwon-hyuk’s grip and casually plopped down in the spot Baek Tae-beom had been sitting. Then he grabbed my hand.
What came out of his mouth next was completely unexpected.
“So you’re that bastard Beom’s tamer!”
…What?
“Mind sharing your secrets—UWAH!”
Just as he was about to say more, Lee Myung-won, having regained his composure, yanked on Blue Star’s hair and spoke in a calm voice.
“This is a hospital room. Please leave.”
“Ow, wait! That hurts! Was that really necessary?!”
“What do you think you’re doing to a patient?”
“What did I even do? I only touched his hand! I didn’t grab his ass or anything!”
“Watch your language!”
Blue Star exaggerated his pain, groaning dramatically as he stood up from the edge of the bed. I looked up at him in a daze. Our eyes met, and Blue Star gave me a playful wink before slipping away from Lee Myung-won’s grip and tossing out another comment.
“I came here to see Lee Myung-won. Not that interested in this guy.”
“Don’t lie.”
“No, I did come to see Lee Myung-won originally, but this guy was right here in front of me. How’s that my fault? It’s his. What was his name again… Choi Ga-hyeon, right?”
“…That’s right, but…”
“See? He’s admitting it’s his fault.”
“Excuse me?”
“Just kidding. But seriously, I did come to see Myung-won. And you—uh, what’s your name again… Oh, whatever. You too, come along.”
Blue Star let out a loud laugh and pointed at Oh Kwon-hyuk. Oh Kwon-hyuk’s eyebrow twitched. He had forgotten Oh Kwon-hyuk’s name.
It felt almost intentional.
“Did you come here to talk about the Tower?”
“Tower?”
I echoed the word, unfamiliar with it, and Lee Myung-won went quiet for a moment before speaking.
“Do you remember the last dungeon you went into before you… died—no, were seriously injured?”
“Ah… If you mean that place.”
The dungeon covered in question marks. A scenario-type dungeon that, during the completion process, swallowed the surrounding field-type dungeon, rendering its difficulty impossible to assess.
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Wait, Ga-hyeon was there too?”
Never mind how casually he was using my name—it was the surprise in his voice about me being there at all that left me speechless.
“You were there too?”
“Hmm, I guess I was? But why didn’t I see you?”
Then maybe the other Constellation present back then was Blue Star’s?
“We were split into separate groups, so you wouldn’t have seen each other. And you didn’t have that hair color at the time either.”
“Ahaha, true enough.”
Blue Star chuckled.
“Well, I guess it’s fine to talk about it here, then?”
Ignoring the angry mutters from the manager and Wanderers members outside, Blue Star shut the door and this time sat down on a chair.
“If you were here to deliver something important, a phone call would’ve sufficed.”
Oh Kwon-hyuk used a skill, effectively saying, Is your phone just for decoration? But Blue Star nonchalantly swept his hair back and replied,
“Something like this? You’ve gotta say it in person to prevent leaks.”
“Leaks?”
“Ah… am I allowed to say this? Well, it’s internal stuff, but… turns out we had a spy in our guild.”
Spy.
The word made everyone instinctively glance at one another.
“A spy, huh.”
“Yeah. Of course, it was one of those rotten apple bastards who sent them. What really gets me is that I had no idea until the guild was practically falling apart. So I came looking for Myung-won, and they said he was in the hospital? And look at that, Mr. Oh’s here too?”
“My name is Oh Kwon—”
“So here I am, personally bringing important intel all the way here. Feel honored, will you?”
But Lee Myung-won merely stood there, thoughtful, and Oh Kwon-hyuk said nothing either. Which meant the only person who could react was me—and Blue Star clearly knew it, staring at me with sparkling eyes.
‘Utterly unbearable.’
“…So what exactly is this intel?”
“Curious?”
“You went that far, of course I’m curious.”
“Wanna guess?”
I stayed silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.
“You called that place the Tower. What I last saw… it looked like a fusion of two dungeons. A forest littered with fallen gears, crawling with what looked like modified monsters.”
“And?”
“And there was a huge door.”
I paused, recalling that moment clearly.
“But no matter how I looked at it, there wasn’t anything that could be called a Tower. So that must mean… there was another dungeon inside—something worthy of being called the Tower. A nested structure.”
It was an idea I could accept, given my understanding of basic dungeon ecology. Blue Star grinned like he was amused and nodded.
“Exactly. You’re right, Ga-hyeon.”
‘Stop acting like we’re close.’
“What was inside that dungeon was the Tower. A crumbling, barely-standing structure. But that didn’t matter. It was filled with Mana Stones. So our guild, Hansung, and Goblin all agreed to split them equally.”
“So you took control of the whole Tower?”
“Nah. We only reached the first floor. No matter what we tried, we couldn’t find a way further up.”
Blue Star laughed. Lee Myung-won’s expression turned to one of realization.
“Then the important intel… is that you found the way up.”
“Ding ding ding~ That’s right~ Ga-hyeon got most of it, but since Myung-won swept in and nailed it, he gets a gold star—actually, maybe I should give one to both of you?”
“I don’t need it.”
“Neither do I.”
Blue Star looked deflated. Then, with a calm face, Oh Kwon-hyuk interjected.
“If that’s all, couldn’t it have been relayed over the phone? Is this truly that important?”
“Of course it is~ We found this at the entrance to the second floor.”
Playfully, Blue Star opened his inventory and pulled something out. I couldn’t help but gape at the object that appeared. I wasn’t the only one—Oh Kwon-hyuk, who rarely showed emotion, widened his eyes in surprise.
In Blue Star’s hand was a Mana Stone, easily the size of a human face.
“Ta-da.”
“That’s…”
“Yep. Mana Stone. How much do you think something this big is worth?”
With a meaningful smile, Blue Star tapped it lightly with a fingertip.
“Minimum… ten billion won.”
