500 (3)

In the end, he did not add another constellation contract. Thanks to that, there were still two empty seats without owners.

Even after applying the filter, he thought quite a few constellations would show interest, but it was actually the opposite.

Perhaps because he had targeted only the upper-tier constellations, they were cautious and did not approach easily.

Was it because Kang-hoo was not good enough? No.

They were cautious because he was extraordinary.

Because constellations with high pride wanted their own share to be large in every part of their contractor’s life.

In other words, they wanted to feel the sense of superiority that this contractor could not do without them.

However, there were already far too many outstanding constellations beside Kang-hoo.

So a scene unfolded where constellations who had tried to show interest in Kang-hoo were instead intimidated.

Great constellations had already taken their places early, so they were probably wondering how much they themselves could shine among them.

Therefore, they had no choice but to become cautious, and because they did not want to lower their own value, they had no choice but to step back.

‘There’s no need to rush anyway. A main constellation isn’t some trivial item I can impulse-buy. Leaving it empty if it’s empty isn’t bad either.’

He decided not to hurry.

Being empty meant the possibility that it could be filled.

A suggestion of the possibility that a contract could be made at any time! Kang-hoo intended to describe the meaning of the empty seat that way.

‘I can proceed with this after securing hematite in England. Any dungeon will do.’

Skill fusion, one of the privileges of level 500, could not be carried out immediately.

The initiation had to be completed through a quest, and since fusion necessarily consumed hematite, preparation was needed.

Right then.

Dimension Plunderer started a private conversation with Kang-hoo.

It was a kind of secure one-on-one conversation that required quite a lot of divine power, so even constellations rarely used it.

However, the fact that she had opened a secure channel despite that probably meant she did not want these words to leak outside.

Kang-hoo immediately answered.

‘What is it?’

‘Let’s hear it.’

‘I don’t think all constellations are noble. Constellations probably divide into factions like humans, and hate and despise each other too.’

‘…….’

Just from the content of the question, it was clear what answer she wanted and what her true intention was.

Of course, regardless of that, Kang-hoo’s thoughts were the same as Dimension Plunderer’s. Naturally, it was the former.

‘I want to find them. It’s not as if turning away will solve anything, and I’m already caught up in the storm all the same.’

Kang-hoo answered calmly.

Up to this point, he had spoken while hiding a certain amount of secrets from Dimension Plunderer, but his true thoughts were slightly different.

What he had told her was part of the reason, but the more certain reason was that such beings were the trigger of the Demon King ending.

The beings Dimension Plunderer was talking about now seemed, in Kang-hoo’s eyes, to refer to the Demon King or related constellations.

Of course, Dimension Plunderer did not know the original story itself, so naturally, she could not know the expression “Demon King” or the ending.

However, it was certain that she clearly recognized that there was some major problem even in the world of the Grand Temple.

‘I agree.’

A noble war conducted with formality and etiquette was nothing more than the delusion of theorists who had never experienced devastation.

Reality was miserable and cold.

Life and death, results and achievements ended with that. The process was not important. The dead had no voice.

‘I agree again. Everything is proven only by the result.’

‘Neutral…….’

Except for the awkwardly added laugh, Kang-hoo thought her words were plausible and smiled.

Dimension Plunderer had always been like that.

She did not favor them just because they were the Hall of Radiance, nor did she look down on them just because they were the Dark Sanctuary.

She always evaluated them as they were.

She only thought about whether they could help Kang-hoo or not, and had never made an issue of their affiliation.

With this, it seemed highly likely that he would give the sixth seat to the constellation Dimension Plunderer brought.

No, that was right.

Dimension Plunderer could be rough and blunt with her words, but she had always spared no investment in Kang-hoo.

Then this constellation too must be someone she intended to bring because she judged that they would give him many benefits.

If she was willing to go through the trouble of personally searching, he could not ignore her goodwill.

‘I’ll leave it to you.’

‘I humbly leave it to you, noona.’

He did not see her face directly, but he imagined Dimension Plunderer’s face as if she had somehow chuckled.

Come to think of it, he also felt he wanted to see Dimension Plunderer’s face in person at least once.

What did a constellation look like?

In the original story, he had described that each had a special appearance, but he had not written what form that took.

It might be a sparkling light, or it might look like an alien commonly seen in science fiction films.

Or perhaps it might be a spiritual being with no form at all. Everything was in the realm of imagination.

However, since she was a cherished constellation who had been with him through every moment after he began living Shin Kang-hoo’s life…….

He wanted to see her face at least once. There would be an opportunity someday.

After day broke.

After getting enough rest, Kang-hoo’s group immediately entered the main boss monster’s area.

Because it was a new area whose environment had changed due to the Extreme Period north of Ground Zero, there were truly many variables.

So right before moving, Kang-hoo repeatedly emphasized the points Ayane and Park Dong-jae had to be careful about.

He had already talked about it several times before entering the dungeon, but because deep caution was needed, he earnestly reminded them again.

“Hyung, we just need to stick to this, right?”

“That’s right. That’s the Purple-Nourishing Tree I mentioned. The purple tree. You have to move within the area touched by its breath to be safe.”

Unlike his worries, Park Dong-jae and Ayane, who had perfectly understood everything, continued moving while finding a safe route.

The Purple-Nourishing Tree prevented the sudden drowsiness phenomenon that was triggered in various terrains during the Extreme Period.

If compared to a game, it could be called a safe buff area.

The moment one went outside, it became a situation where one could suddenly fall asleep anytime and anywhere.

Usually, after falling asleep like that, what one faced upon opening one’s eyes would be King Yeomra. Or perhaps a grim reaper.

And one more thing.

They had to move along the places reached by the Purple-Nourishing Tree’s breath, but they must never touch the corpses of dead monsters.

Even passing over them was dangerous. Unintentional stimulation could be transmitted to the corpse, and then there was a risk of explosion.

But the problem was…… there were cases where a monster corpse lay on the only available movement route.

Someone might ask whether Ayane could simply handle it with her magic bullet.

If that were possible, Ground Zero’s Extreme Period would not have been so notorious. The solution would be easy.

However, if a monster corpse was removed by external force in that way, a massive explosion occurred.

It was not a blast on the level of a small grenade exploding.

An explosion on the level of a ballistic missile crashing down would occur.

That was precisely why monster corpses during the Extreme Period were called by the nickname “Calamity of Death.”

However, if it was a natural explosion with the ignition point inside, not external force, the scale was minimal.

And Kang-hoo had a skill that could induce the corpse’s natural explosion.

Corpse Explosion, a skill he had obtained from clearing the labyrinth with the Takashi Family.

Even from a fairly long distance, it could be used as much as he wanted simply by guiding the movement path of Dark Energy well.

Moreover, because he could also determine the moment of explosion, he blew up monster corpses immediately as soon as the work was complete.

Since the purpose was not to damage someone, he suppressed the firepower as much as possible.

The method of corpse disposal that ordinary hunters would have had to agonize over was simple for Kang-hoo’s group.

Thanks to that, they continued encountering monster corpses throughout the movement, but no accident occurred.

Rather, it only became a rare time where they rested midway and watched untimely corpse fireworks(?).

Afterward, troublesome monsters such as self-destructing dragonflies in the air and self-destructing earthworms underground appeared from time to time.

But before Kang-hoo’s Black Cross Flame Lotus skill, they could not avoid being knocked up into the air or slammed into the ground.

If he used Dark Energy Ignition to burn them in that state, they had no choice but to die suddenly before they could even attempt self-destruction.

Meanwhile, Ayane sniped and removed the “hostile plants” that Kang-hoo had identified from afar.

No matter how deeply and far their roots stretched through the ground, they could not offset Ayane’s long range.

It was a one-sided massacre.

The hostile plants, which had been ready to target uninvited guests at any time, died without even knowing who had killed them.

Magic Bullet - Break shattered trees that had nothing more than thick bark in one blow.

Unstoppable momentum.

In the strange environment of the Extreme Period, which people easily avoided challenging because they feared it, the three charged forward without hesitation.

Kang-hoo and Ayane safely secured the path by removing obstructive monsters in advance.

The flood of experience was too obvious to even mention, and in an instant, Kang-hoo’s level reached 501.

However, from the moment they entered the Extreme Period area, there was someone much more excited than the other two. It was Park Dong-jae.

Park Dong-jae was wildly firing all kinds of buff and debuff skills at every plant monster he could see.

Like a madman, he was busy handing out buffs and debuffs to plant monsters, even drooling as he did so.

It was a “rampage” containing a very special reason that no one else could even begin to guess.