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Kiyaaaaaaak!
Dakdakdakdak
Right after the Constellations’ sponsored-skill messages streamed past, the monsters in front of them all changed at once.
“W-what was that just now?”
“Those things… their aura suddenly….”
The Baengnyeong Forest people spoke in panicked voices.
‘How did they change?’
Hyeonseong immediately checked the monsters’ info.
‘Their species didn’t change. But… that one is A, that one is A, that one too….’
The Interstellar Network’s default monster readout could not tell her much, so she skimmed quickly.
Even so, the change was obvious. Every monster whose info could be viewed was now rated A.
‘The ones that were B-rank all got bumped up.’
She could not see any that had jumped to S-rank, but that did not mean it was safe.
‘Even if they didn’t change ranks, they probably rose to high-A level. That many skill sponsorships dropped in.’
Ppeo-eong!
While Hyeonseong was still checking, someone launched a preemptive strike. A flash of white light—holy-element attack.
“H-huh?”
The caster sounded utterly shocked. She did not need an explanation.
Hihihihihihihi!
The ghost, hit head-on by the holy attack, darted around as if it had taken no damage at all. Bursting into laughter, it soon shifted into the form of a grudge ghost.
And it was not just the ghost—skeletons and zombies inside the skill’s area also looked barely affected.
‘If it was just stats increasing, they wouldn’t look that clean. That means…’
Hyeonseong recalled the skills she had seen in the messages.
‘Blasphemy. That one massively boosts holy resistance, right? And two other defense-boosting skills went by too…’
“Damn it, I can’t get any output!”
“These bastards—holy power just…!”
Even the Baengnyeong Forest people seemed to realize what had been added to the undead.
Uu… ueoeeoeeo
Kihihihi!
The undead, transformed into grudge-aligned species, charged the flustered group.
‘Ah…!’
Seeing the grudge ghosts sprinting in, Hyeonseong shouted.
“Ghosts! Watch the ghosts!”
She remembered the “Obsession with Life” skill listed in the messages.
‘That’s the one that strengthens possession traits for ghost-type monsters!’
Even before, the dungeon’s ghosts had consistently tried to cling to people. Looking back, that was not just an attack—it was an attempt at possession.
“Even if you say that…!”
“Everyone, group up for a second!”
As someone was about to complain out loud, Kwon Seojin raised his voice. The team hurried into a tight cluster.
“What are you trying to…?”
“Buff application!”
Kwon Seojin answered, then threw something into the air. The crystal-sphere-like object burst, scattering radiance over their heads.
Within the radiance, the team received a buff that amplified holy-skill effectiveness and boosted resistance to undead and dark magic.
Heuk… hehihihihik
Right after, several grudge ghosts—making a sound that was neither quite crying nor laughing—rushed them. Two or three managed to latch onto someone’s body.
“Damn it!”
“Peel them off, now!”
“This bastard—its grip…!”
People grabbed by the arms or shoulders struggled to tear the grudge ghosts away.
‘…Either way, we blocked the possession itself.’
It was not a good situation, but they had still defended against the strengthened “Obsession with Life.”
‘Good. Possession would’ve been the most dangerous. Now we know we don’t have to worry about that.’
They had avoided the worst-case scenario. That alone was fortunate.
Kyaaaaaaak!
“O-okay, it’s off!”
While Hyeonseong grappled with a skeleton that had closed in, someone succeeded in removing the grudge ghost clinging to them.
Unlike earlier grudge ghosts, the one that vanished screamed as if it were wronged—apparently furious that possession had failed.
“These guys are more manageable than I thought!”
A person who had just taken down two revenants at once shouted.
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
“Sure, they’re more aggressive than earlier, but….”
“For how scary they look, they’re not as bad as…!”
As they started killing a few, the raid team’s mood shifted.
The monsters had strengthened, yes—but not to the point of being unmanageable.
“Good. Everyone stay calm!”
Their tempo returned to what it had been in earlier fights. They did not get thrown off by tougher bones or flashier movements.
As the team recovered their composure quickly, the Constellations sent disappointed reactions by message.
Some Constellations blamed the person who had contributed most to stabilizing the situation.
‘…That was a huge buff, though.’
As she drove her pickaxe into a skeleton’s skull, Hyeonseong thought.
A wide-area buff item that boosted two effects at once, at high intensity—at minimum, it had to be A-rank.
Even if it was single-use, it was not something you could easily get.
‘And he popped it like he’d been waiting for this exact moment… like he predicted this would happen.’
If there had been a scouting party and advance intel, she could understand.
But this dungeon—both Hyeonseong and Kwon Seojin had charged in almost immediately after the entrance formed. There was no way they could have known the inside beforehand.
‘He just happened to be carrying an item that rare, by coincidence?’
She swung again. The skeleton, already critically damaged by the skull hit, shattered and collapsed.
‘Still feels off.’
Hyeonseong glanced at Kwon Seojin. She had ruled out prophetic traits based on typical cases, but the way Kwon Seojin used the buff item brought suspicion back.
‘…For now, clearing these is the priority.’
She pulled her gaze away and swung at a revenant still standing. Before suspicion, they had to get out alive.
Kwaduk
The pickaxe struck squarely into the golden circle revealed by ‘Mad Collector’s Eye.’ The revenant—fast for a zombie-type—slowed instantly.
Hyeonseong finished it off quickly while it was slowed by the weak-point hit.
‘Either way, I can kill them somehow—probably because my gear is good.’
She scanned the area again. The monsters that had been rampaging were already more than half cleared. Even now, they were dropping in real time.
Confirming there was no major problem, Hyeonseong raised her pickaxe again.
Kyaaaaaaak!
It was not long after she refocused on the fight. The last remaining grudge ghost vanished with a scream, and the battle ended.
“Grab what you need fast, and hurry.”
Someone, still not lowering their guard, spoke up—worried another sudden abnormality might strike like before.
It was a reasonable caution, and they had to keep moving deeper anyway. They quickly gathered what they needed from the dead undead and moved.
“What was that earlier, anyway?”
As they hurried forward, someone asked in a sharp voice.
“After that talk about ‘sponsorship,’ the undead got weird.”
“Wasn’t sponsorship something you could only do to people?”
“No. It isn’t limited to people.”
Hyeonseong answered the Baengnyeong Forest people, who still looked baffled.
“Sponsorship can be done to locations and monsters too. Like what happened just now.”
“To locations, too?”
Someone asked again.
“Yeah. You alter a designated location. Make a sealed-off zone… or build a dungeon.”
She did not like saying it out loud, but she had to explain. After finishing, she clicked her tongue inwardly.
“What do they gain by doing something like that?”
One person frowned as if they could not understand.
“Do you have something like a colosseum over there?”
“What’s that?”
“Gladiator matches. Making slaves fight each other, or forcing them to face beasts.”
“Oh. That.”
“If you do, it’s easier to explain. Among the ones who enjoy watching that kind of thing, aren’t there people who supply weapons for the gladiators, or provide the beasts to be thrown in?”
“Those kinds of scum… exist. Plenty.”
The Baengnyeong Forest resident answering her creased their brow.
“Then I think you understand what I’m getting at.”
“So… you’re saying the divine beings who sponsor monsters or dungeons are like the pigs who bankroll gladiator games.”
“…See?”
Hyeonseong asked the Baengnyeong Forest people. Those who had been about to protest only nodded silently.
“Anyway, yes. That’s exactly it. They sponsor here, sponsor there, just for their own entertainment. Not all Constellations are like that, but Constellations that sponsor monsters and dungeons do have that intention.”
“From how surprised you are, this is your first time experiencing it.”
“Of course. I told you, didn’t I? It hasn’t been long since divine beings appeared in our world.”
“I think I’ve heard rumors, maybe….”
“But it’s our first time actually seeing it.”
“Until now, all the sponsorship we’ve seen was sponsorship given to us.”
The Baengnyeong Forest people responded in uneasy voices.
“And there’s no way that one would do something that could harm us.”
The moment someone voiced faith in the creator, messages arrived immediately. A few people’s eyes twitched when they saw them.
“…”
But once again, no one reacted clearly to the messages—aside from wearing unpleasant expressions.
“…Either way, we learned something useful.”
“Yeah. It means any divine being besides that one can threaten us at any time.”
The Baengnyeong Forest people spoke again.
“That’s enough about that.”
At that moment, Ivan’s voice came from the front.
‘Another group, I guess.’
By now, Hyeonseong could tell just from everyone’s reactions. She tightened her grip on the pickaxe.
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