Chapter 8: The Creator of Sacrifice Asks for Food

“W-What is this?”

I’m not a Constellation?

Then why can’t I sponsor when I clearly have coins?

As if to prove the Constellations’ words were true, there was no Sponsor button to be found, neither in the inventory window nor in the skill window.

It was unbelievable.

A Constellation who couldn’t sponsor coins?

I stared blankly at the screen when a message popped up.

<The Constellations roll around on the ground, laughing with delight.>

Not even an Awakener, just a civilian?

Being told I wasn’t a Constellation was absurd enough, but now a civilian…?

This had to be a prank pulled by Constellations who disliked me.

<The Constellations laugh, saying it’s a shame they can’t converse with civilians any further.>

I tried closing my eyes again, wondering if I still hadn’t woken up from a dream within a dream, but overwhelming hunger and thirst washed over me.

This… isn’t a dream?

After that, no window would open at all.

The menu that had always sat at the bottom of my vision vanished as well.

I was so shocked I didn’t even have time to panic.

But what was far harder to endure was the extreme hunger and thirst, sensations I’d barely felt when I had no physical body.

Looking around for something, anything, to drink, I spotted a convenience store in the distance.

Licking my cracked lips, I staggered over, only to realize something once I reached the entrance.

“I… don’t have any money at all?”

Coins were overflowing, but since I couldn’t use them, they were completely useless.

“Am I going to die like this? If I die… will I go back to reality?”

At that desperate moment, as I lifted my gaze to the sky, praying for a sliver of salvation, a sign caught my eye, like a miracle.

The place where Mo Jun-young worked.

****

I went straight inside to find Mo Jun-young, but meeting the director of the center as a mere civilian was far from easy.

The Awakener Management Center was larger than I’d expected, and someone of Mo Jun-young’s rank, the highest-tier official, would surely require formal procedures to see.

The first thing I noticed upon entering was a water dispenser.

Driven by unbearable thirst, I gulped down water from a paper cup.

After refilling and drinking three times, my head finally began to clear.

“At times like this, don’t panic. Stay calm.”

I carefully read the directory posted on the wall.

Awakener Registration Office, Awakening Side-Effect Treatment Center, Monster Report Division, Administrative Affairs, Civil Complaints Desk…

The Civil Complaints Desk seemed like my best bet.

Feeling tense, it was my first time interacting with people in this world while having a physical body, I headed to the complaints desk at the far end of the first floor.

After taking a deep breath, I told the nearest staff member that I was here to see Mo Jun-young.

They snorted and said I couldn’t meet him without an appointment.

“I’m not a civilian. I’m a Constellation. A Constellation.”

Without even looking away from the monitor, the staff member replied.

“Yes, yes. This is the Awakener Management Center. Civilians aren’t allowed to enter.”

The attitude screamed crazy person.

But thinking about it calmly, if someone with a physical body showed up claiming to be a Constellation, I wouldn’t believe them either.

Until I met Mo Jun-young, I shouldn’t mention being a Constellation.

Having decided that, I tried another approach.

“Um, that was just a joke. I am a civilian, but I have a situation. Could I meet Mo Jun-young’s avatar-no, Awakener Mo Jun-young?”

The eyes that had been glued to the monitor finally turned toward me.

The look clearly said, Who do you think you are to ask for him?

“Well, um… he told me to come find him.”

That statement must not have been something they could ignore, because their half-lidded eyes widened.

“The director told you to come?”

He hadn’t said that exactly, but he had told me to prepare a contract next time we met, so it wasn’t a complete lie.

At this point, I felt like I could contract with even the unhinged Gong Se-yoon if it meant escaping this starvation.

“Yes. It’s true. Please tell him the Creator of Sacrifice has come.”

The staff member’s eyes, which had briefly shown doubt, narrowed again.

Yeah.

I know.

Creator of Sacrifice, it sounds like some edgy middle-school fantasy.

But what choice did I have?

It was all I had to offer.

Swallowing my frustration, I spoke again in a calm tone.

“If you don’t believe me, just contact him.”

The staff member stared at me with folded arms, then sighed and picked up the phone.

“Um, Director… there’s someone here claiming to be the C-Creator of Sacrifice. Yes, I know it sounds strange. I thought so too, but- …Pardon?”

See?

He told you to let me come.

You really shouldn’t treat people like lunatics.

As I waited anxiously for the call to end,

“Creator of Sacrifice?”

A deep voice came from the entrance.

Judging by the fact that he’d come down personally after hearing that title, it seemed his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

I, on the other hand, felt nothing in particular, but the people around me certainly did.

“Why is the director at the complaints desk?”

“Yeah… isn’t this the first time?”

“That person… maybe they’re not a civilian?”

The murmurs made me shrink involuntarily.

Hesitating, I turned my gaze toward Mo Jun-young.

He was far more massive than he’d appeared on screen.

I knew his build was the most imposing, given his focus on physical attack power, but seeing him in person, even craning my neck, it was hard to meet his eyes.

“Aren’t Constellations supposed to speak only through the system?”

At his words, the staff member trembled as they replied.

“I thought so too, sir, but this person suddenly claimed to be a Constellation. I didn’t expect you to come in person.”

Mo Jun-young’s gaze shifted slowly.

It felt as though he could see straight through me, making my breath catch.

The moment our eyes met, my head bowed instinctively.

“A Constellation… That’s an interesting thing to say.”

“Haha, right? I’m honestly just as surprised myself.”

I thought the mood had lightened when he said interesting, but Mo Jun-young’s expression remained cold.

So cold that I nearly forgot the hunger that had been killing me moments ago.

What if he just tells me to leave?

Then I’m completely screwed…

His gaze swept over my entire body.

I stiffened, holding my breath.

After a long silence, Mo Jun-young finally spoke.

“Follow me.”

That was all.

He didn’t ask how a Constellation had obtained a physical body, nor how I knew the name Creator of Sacrifice if I wasn’t one.

Which, if anything, made it even more terrifying.

We stopped in front of a door labeled in large letters:

<Director — Mo Jun-young>

He brought me this far without even confirming whether I was truly a Constellation.

Wow… truly a model public servant who cares for civilians…

As I was admiring Mo Jun-young’s character, the door opened.

The room beyond was luxurious at a glance.

One wall was made entirely of glass, offering a clear view of the city.

A desk, a sofa, and a table were all neatly arranged.

“Have a seat. I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s hear it first.”

Mo Jun-young sat down on the sofa.

I hesitantly took the seat opposite him, but the sheer force of his presence left my body rigid.

I should say something to ease the tension…

But no matter how long I waited, Mo Jun-young merely watched me, showing no sign of speaking first.

“Um…”

The words slipped out without passing through my thoughts.

“Do you… have anything to eat?”

Mo Jun-young let out a quiet snort.

Showing up claiming to be a Constellation and then asking for food, it had to be bewildering.

“Well, it’s just that I haven’t had a body for very long. I didn’t know when I was a Constellation, but now that I’m human-ah… Constellations are human too, but not here?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

I should have organized my thoughts first.

I’d been treating everything like a dream, just going with the flow, and now it was impossible to explain everything coherently.

“Anyway… I’m starving. I feel like I’m going to die.”

Asking for food first thing, how pathetic.

I felt a wave of self-loathing, but instinct overpowered shame, and I didn’t even want to take the words back.

Mo Jun-young sighed, took out his phone, and told someone to bring food before ending the call.

“You seem too hungry to speak properly. Eat first.”

“…Yes. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

Honestly, I felt more grateful than apologetic.

Without Mo Jun-young, I might’ve starved to death.

I bowed deeply, then looked up to find him staring intently at me.

“This is my first time dealing with something like this too. But… strangely, you feel familiar. Even though I’ve never seen the Creator of Sacrifice’s face or heard their voice.”

“…Pardon?”

His sunken gaze wavered slightly, then stopped on my face.

“Have we met before? I’m certain this is our first meeting.”

What kind of old drama cliché was this?

I was startled, but knowing Mo Jun-young’s personality, it didn’t seem like a line meant to flirt.

Which meant he was serious…

I recalled the reflection I’d seen in the convenience store glass earlier.

I hadn’t felt any sense of dissonance because it looked exactly like me.

My appearance wasn’t something to be ashamed of, but it wasn’t particularly handsome either.

Not ugly, not striking, just painfully average.

“M-Maybe because I look… common?”

Mo Jun-young shook his head gravely.

“Do I look like someone who can’t remember faces?”

Someone as sharp as him wouldn’t be.

But then where had he seen me?

Even if I was the one who created his character, in reality I’d only ever imagined him, his graphics weren’t even complete.

This should have been our first meeting.

Could someone really feel familiarity just from being imagined?

That didn’t make sense either.

“Well, in any case, that’s not what matters right now.”

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.