Chapter 5: Even in a Dream, I Can’t Let Them Die

In the middle of combat, it seemed best to prioritize boosting the stats he already had.

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, activates a Triple Stat Enhancement skill.
Awakener Joo Ji-chan’s movement speed increases by 3×.
Awakener Joo Ji-chan’s physical power increases by 3×.>

As soon as the stat buff was applied, the distance between Joo Ji-chan and the bird widened dramatically.

Holding the child in one arm, Joo Ji-chan charged forward, while continuously attacking the pursuing monster with his free arm.

Bang, bang!

A massive fireball traced an arc through the air and pierced straight through the bird’s chest.

“Krrrhhh…….”

Is it a boss-class monster?

If it escaped before the dungeon closed, the boss should have already been defeated…

How is it still moving after taking a direct hit from a three-times-enhanced S-rank fire skill?

Sensing something was off, Joo-an quickly checked the stats.

<Awakener: Joo Ji-chan
Current Rank: S-rank (Fire-type)

Skill Ranks:
Lament of the Fire Demon (S)
Cursed Explosion (SS)
Flame Inferno (S)>

There was nothing strange about the skills.

Then what on earth was the problem?

―What the f*ck. Who asked you to help?
―That bird-brain piece of shit would’ve been done with one blast of fire!

<System Error!>
<System Error!>
<System Error!>

Beeeeeeep!

A piercing alarm rang out as warning messages flooded the screen.

A system error?

Why now…?

<Awakener Joo Ji-chan rejects the buff from the Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice.>

You’ve got to be kidding me!

So the reason question marks appeared earlier when I buffed him was because he accepted it, then rejected it mid-way?

Does that mean he used the temporary boost to widen the distance, then canceled it again?

Is that even sane when a kid’s life is on the line?

Forget affinity, at this point, I seriously wanted to log out.

But saving the child came first.

―I begged for help back then… and you didn’t lift a finger.
―f*ck it. I don’t need help from filthy constellations anyway. Get lost.

Joo Ji-chan glared at the connection window, his face twisted in fury.

It looked like he’d gone through hell trying to save people.

Even without seeing everything, a dungeon monster appearing in a crowded area meant he must have been scrambling to save more than just this child.

Joo Ji-chan, a fire-skill user, was the most hot-tempered among the S-rank incarnations and notoriously foul-mouthed.

But despite his rough tongue, he was also the one with the strongest sense of humanity.

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, says it was for the child.>
<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, worries about the child’s condition.>

―Bullshit!
―Since when did any constellation actually care about humans?!

…This is strange.

This game was supposed to be about constellations forming parties with incarnations to save the world.

Yet every incarnation I met spoke as if constellations had no interest in protecting it at all.

“Kreeee!”

At that moment, the bird spread its massive wings and took to the air.

It was clearly preparing an aerial attack.

If buffs could be rejected, I wondered whether sponsorships could be rejected too.

<You donate 1,000 Coins.>

―What the hell is this?

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, asks if this is really the time for that.>

―f*ck.

Ah.

So his weapon was broken.

He ran in without a usable weapon?

He couldn’t even afford 2 Coins to repair it?

And the other constellations just watched that happen without helping?

I get that, unlike me with a developer account, their coins are limited.

But hoarding them even in situations like this was beyond comprehension.

Joo Ji-chan raised the flamethrower vertically and unleashed Cursed Explosion.

Rooooar-BOOM!

The sky seemed to tear apart.

It didn’t take long before the gigantic bird was roasted into a charred husk.

“Wow… I did set that skill myself, but it really is strong.”

After stowing the flamethrower back into his inventory, Joo Ji-chan sprinted off with the child.

The scene looked straight out of an action movie.

Seriously, if there’s ever a time to sponsor, isn’t it exactly moments like this?

If I just threw coins at him, he’d hate it, so I should explain myself first.

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, is happy that the child was saved.>
<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, says Joo Ji-chan seems to need treatment too.>
<You donate 1,000 Coins.>

Joo Ji-chan suddenly came to a halt while running toward the hospital.

―Creator of Sacrifice?
―Never heard of you. Pretty grand name.
―Looks like you’ve got plenty of coins too.
―You think that means I’ll contract with you?

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, says they do not want a contract.>

The red glow in his eyes wavered violently before settling down.

Judging by his expression, he still wasn’t convinced.

Of all people, I never expected Joo Ji-chan, the most straightforward one, to be the hardest to win over.

Joo-an sighed, wondering how he was supposed to gain Joo Ji-chan’s favor.

At that moment, a message appeared.

<Congratulations. You have completed the Affinity-Building Quest with the Awakeners.
You have obtained the Summoning Skill and the Log-Out Skill.>

Huh?

Just like that?

Even after double-checking, Joo Ji-chan was still glaring at someone ahead of him like he was about to burn them alive.

And yet I’d gained affinity?

What the hell.

Should I thank him or something?

―I don’t want to contract with greedy constellations…
―But who’d ever contract with the likes of you?
―I’ll do it out of pity.

That wasn’t him giving a contract, he clearly wanted it.

If I could, I’d smack those irritating lips of his.

With the quest done and the log-out skill acquired, I was about to close the system window, then hesitated.

Affinity was just a quest condition.

If I had to actually contract with Joo Ji-chan later, it’d be better to stay polite.

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, is happy.>
<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, tells him to treat his wounds first.>
<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, worries that the child should be taken to the hospital quickly.>

―Hmph. Nice excuse.

Despite his words, Joo Ji-chan started running again.

He didn’t look seriously injured, and I’d given him enough coins.

The rest was up to him.

I lifted my gaze, looking for the X button.

But the button that should’ve been there was nowhere to be found.

What?

You said I could log out whenever I wanted.

So I can’t log out now?

Ha… figures.

Things were going too smoothly.

On the screen, Joo Ji-chan was still running, while Joo-an could only stare at the unclosing window and sigh repeatedly.

When Joo Ji-chan reached the hospital, he shouted from the entrance.

―Doctor! Get out here! The kid’s dying!

Yet strangely enough, no one reacted.

There didn’t seem to be more critical patients around either.

―f*ck. I knew this would happen.

Muttering curses, Joo Ji-chan pulled two coins from his inventory and tossed them onto the floor.

―How about now? Still not coming?

As if by magic, doctors and nurses rushed over and began examining the child.

Even if it’s just a game, what kind of world is this turning into?

Money really is the cure-all…

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, sighs.>

―What? Don’t pretend to pity me.
―You don’t actually care anyway.

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, is angry.>

―…Whatever.
―The world’s been fucked for a while now. I’m used to it.

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, comforts him, saying he must’ve had it rough.>
<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, briefly grips Awakener Joo Ji-chan’s shoulder before letting go.>

―Seriously. Ridiculous.

As the doctors wheeled the child into the emergency room, the screen began to shake.

<The hospital doors close. 10 seconds remaining. Logging out. 8 seconds remaining.>

―What? Already? We’re disconnecting?

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, asks if he’s disappointed.>

―Disappointed my ass.
―Say something that makes sense.
―You think I’d be sad about disconnecting from a filthy constellation?

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, lightly punches his shoulder.>
<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, praises him for being cool today.>

―I am pretty cool.
―Guess we’ll meet agai-
―No, f*ck it. Forget it.

With that, the window closed.

If you like it, just say you like it.

Why express it like that?

He’s not even a tsundere, more like a damn sweardere.

It’s obvious how he feels.

After confirming the window was gone, Juan went to the potion shop to claim his quest rewards.

It was a skill that allowed him to summon any incarnation when needed and claim rewards at any time.

The dazzling potions on the shelves looked tempting, but to save time, he left without buying anything.

With enough coins, he could purchase them anytime, anywhere anyway.

The moment he got home, he flopped onto his bed and forced himself to sleep.

Maybe when he woke up, he’d be back in reality.

But even after counting 1,432 sheep, sleep never came.

“Seriously, I’m going to lose it. How long is this stupid dream supposed to last?”

<Awakener Baek Eun-hoo summons the Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice.>

If I can summon whoever I want, shouldn’t I be able to refuse too?

Sure enough, the system window now had a Reject button that hadn’t been there before.

Feeling uneasy but curious, I pressed the X.

<The Constellation, Creator of Sacrifice, does not respond to the summon.>

I rejected it, and he immediately asked for help again…

Is it urgent?

What if it’s another life-or-death situation like before?

If this were just a simple game test, incarnations could be revived after death.

But judging by how the constellations reacted whenever the word “game” came up, this didn’t feel like a game at all.

Even in a dream, I can’t just let someone die.

“Agh, whatever. Just accept it.”