“Did you wrap up the conversation well?”
Lee Myung-won asked as he poured tea. After sending Baek Tae-beom off first, I visited Lee Myung-won’s office, which was as simple and unchanged as ever. I accepted the cup he offered and replied.
“Of course.”
“How did you know that Ahn Ki-yoon was being threatened by Red Apple?”
“I just figured. They’re exactly the kind of people who would. And, he’s got crafting skills that would definitely draw their attention.”
“You say that, but really, this was something you already knew from the future, wasn’t it?”
“I won’t deny it.”
I responded briefly and took a sip of tea. The bitter taste clung to the roof of my mouth before sliding down my throat.
“Setting everything else aside, there’s a reason I called only you, Choi Ga-hyeon, and not Baek Tae-beom.”
“Is this about the guild?”
I figured it was about time he’d officially ask me to join a guild again. That thought had crossed my mind already. Lee Myung-won chuckled quietly at my words and set down his cup.
“That’s part of it, but there’s someone who specifically asked to meet you.”
“Me?”
“She’s just returned to Korea, but she’s always been the impatient type.”
And no sooner had he finished speaking than someone banged on the door—thud, thud—then flung it open.
The first thing I saw was short, snow-white hair. It wasn’t bleached or dyed, but naturally turned white with age—hair grayed by time. And eyes that shone golden. Her shoulders were slightly stooped, but she held her back upright with pride. Her gaze, sharp and unflinching, was like that of a tiger. As the corners of her mouth lifted, fine wrinkles formed. I noticed the massive battle axe strapped to her back a moment later.
Instinctively, I scanned for information.
[Accessing subject information.]
[Park Gil-seon, One Who Weaves Truths]
[Titles: One Who Weaves Truths, Opposed the Azure Light, Explorer of Perilous Places, Beneath the Sun…
Rank: S
Status: Cannot be confirmed.
Contracted Constellation: One with Two Forms
Coin Holdings: Cannot be confirmed.
Skills: [Form Alteration] [Intoxication] [Euphoria of the Heart] [Punishment] [Proxy] [Intuition] [Berserker]…
This Awakened is contracted to a higher-grade Constellation. Caution advised.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: I had a bad feeling about this the moment I sensed her from a distance.]
[CH. Private / One Who Guides the Dead: Are you two not on good terms?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Just my personal opinion. She rubs me the wrong way.]
The old woman slowly swept her gaze across the room until her eyes met mine exactly. Then she gave a short, impressed hum.
“Oh.”
“You’ve arrived, Guildmaster.”
Park Gil-seon. The Guildmaster of Hansung and the only S-Rank Hunter in the guild before Baek Tae-beom joined. I reflexively stood up from the sofa. She laughed heartily and waved her hand dismissively as if to say there was no need.
“So this is the brat I heard about? The one they sat down here all prim and proper?”
She stomped over in her boots and plopped herself down on the chair Lee Myung-won had been sitting in. Spinning in place once, she crossed her legs and looked intently at me while Lee and another woman who had followed her in stood beside her.
“I’ve heard everything. From Myung-won.”
That feeling from the first time I faced Baek Tae-beom after returning from the dead came rushing back. Like I was tossed unprotected before a dangerous beast. Maybe this was just how all S-Ranks felt. Without realizing it, my hands tensed into fists.
“They say the world’s going to end?”
“…Yes.”
“If it weren’t Myung-won who told me, I would’ve dismissed your words as utter nonsense. That’s how ridiculous it sounds.”
“I understand.”
Her gaze slowly scanned me up and down. I carefully sat back down.
“I just returned from resolving an S-Rank dungeon that appeared in Virginia. It was a strange dungeon, unlike anything I’d ever seen.”
“……”
“It felt like a labyrinth.”
“A labyrinth?”
“Yeah. The only way out was to follow the thread I’d unraveled on the way in.”
Then it really was structured like the Labyrinth of Crete?
The Labyrinth of Crete was where the Minotaur—a monster born between a human and a bull—was imprisoned, an intricate maze no one could escape from. But what she said next didn’t align with my expectations.
“The dungeon boss, the Minotaur, claimed he was a real god.”
“…A real god?”
“He said he would take revenge by burning down this false world, then build a world of their own. At first, I thought it was just nonsense—until I heard more from Myung-won.”
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Yeah. Hermes told me that part too.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Because you’d just end up worrying more, obviously.]
Park Gil-seon leaned back into the chair and continued.
“There are rumors the same thing happened in Germany and Hungary. Creatures from mythology claiming to be actual ‘gods,’ declaring they’ll take over the world. It all started making sense.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. This situation seems a lot more dangerous than we thought. Was it Angrboda? It seems she’s not the only one acting like that.”
So it wasn’t just happening in Korea. But that wasn’t surprising—it was something I had expected. If the entire world was on the verge of collapse, there was no way it would only happen here.
“It hasn’t been long since the Second Monster Calamity. We managed to avoid major damage, but I still remember that day—and the one before it. Even if this so-called world-ending event you mentioned doesn’t happen, I’m expecting something big.”
“So, what exactly is it that you want from me?”
“Join Hansung.”
Park Gil-seon pulled a cigarette pack from her coat, only to get smacked on the back of the hand by her secretary, causing her face to scrunch into a grimace. But she didn’t try again and just shoved the pack back into her coat.
“I heard you’re still hesitating on your decision to join. Personally, I’d really like to see you cooperate as much as you can. You can talk to your Constellation, can’t you?”
“…Not whenever I want.”
“That alone is enough. I don’t want to lose someone like you. Especially considering that you’re the one who managed to drag that foul-mouthed mutt into the guild in the first place—I’d say that alone deserves major recognition.”
By foul-mouthed mutt, she must’ve meant Baek Tae-beom. From the way they referred to each other, it didn’t sound like they got along very well.
So that’s why she passed on dealing with him directly. She probably figured he’d just bark beside her the whole time.
Still, I had planned to join Hansung anyway, so I nodded. At this point, it was better to move under the protection of a guild.
“I’ll do that.”
“Good. Myung-won, get the paperwork ready.”
Park Gil-seon rose from her chair and walked over toward me before settling down on the sofa across from me.
“Now let’s have a more detailed talk.”
“Detailed?”
“First of all… why does your soul look like that?”
I instinctively swallowed at her words.
Can Park Gil-seon see souls?
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Just say anything! Bluff if you have to!]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: See? Told you she was bad news.]
I tried to mentally retrace the plot of The Apocalypse Chronicles of Another World, but I was jolted out of my thoughts when Park Gil-seon suddenly slammed the table with the back of her hand—thud.
“I can hear you scheming. Look me in the eye and speak properly.”
“……”
Ironically, what flashed through my mind at that moment was: I think I understand now why Baek Tae-beom doesn’t like her.
“It’s Angrboda’s doing.”
“What did that Constellation do to you?”
“She… did something terrible to my soul. I don’t even know the full extent of it myself.”
I couldn’t exactly say, Angrboda planted an egg in my soul. If things go wrong, she could steal my body. That would be grounds for immediate isolation, if not worse.
Not to mention, I hadn’t even told Baek Tae-beom about it.
Park Gil-seon narrowed her eyes at my response—then chuckled, deep wrinkles forming around her gaze.
“So that’s why you brought that little brat who makes armor? Clever move.”
“……”
How did she know?
She had completely taken control of the conversation. And although I knew in my head that there was no beating someone with a lifetime of experience, I couldn’t help but feel a stubborn spark rising in me.
“Second question, then.”
“Are you conducting an interview or something?”
“More or less. Who’s your Constellation?”
I had always expected that someone would ask this eventually. But I never imagined it would come from the Guildmaster of Hansung.
I didn’t bother hiding my discomfort. Instead, I leaned into it, bowing my head outright.
“Do I have to say?”
“We can’t build trust otherwise. My Constellation is ‘One with Two Forms’—Sekhmet.”
Sekhmet. A name I’d heard not only in The Apocalypse Chronicles of Another World, but in many other texts. A goddess from Egyptian mythology—one who could shift between the form of a cow and a lioness. When she took on the lion’s head, she became the most terrifying embodiment of rage in the world.
But the issue wasn’t that her Constellation was Sekhmet.
The issue was that she, as Hansung’s Guildmaster, had willingly revealed her Constellation to me with complete sincerity. As if daring me to lay down my own cards—if you’ve got nothing to hide, show your hand.
Now that she had gone this far, retreating wasn’t an option. I took a slow breath and answered.
“My Constellation is…”
So, forgive me for borrowing a name.
“…‘Magician Who Seeks Knowledge.’”
“Magician?”
With a brazen face, I nodded and continued.
“A magician and the All-Father himself—Odin.”
