Chapter 6
The Protagonist’s Younger Sibling is Reborn as a Constellation
Skill <Immovable Calm> activates.
After a brief bout of huffing and puffing, I calmed myself and headed to the shop to buy a healing potion first.
I bought it preemptively, fearing he might get hit by a monster.
A monster swung its leg at Kim Igyul from behind.
“Ugh!”
He instinctively twisted his body, so the blow landed on his arm instead of his back.
Constellation ‘Nobility Returned from Death’ scolds you to focus only on the monsters in front of you.
Kim Igyul killed the nearby monster first and then returned to the battlefield. His skill in cleanly cutting off the wings—the weak spot I had pointed out—was impressive.
When he returned to me, he muttered seriously,
“This won’t do. It’s better if you stay behind me.”
From that moment, Kim Igyul had me stay behind him as he fought.
Protecting me inevitably led to more injuries on his body.
I quickly opened the skill window, chose an appropriate skill, and bestowed it upon him.
Constellation ‘Nobility Returned from Death’ grants you the skill <Sanctuary Proclamation (S)>.
<Sanctuary Proclamation> declares an area within 1 km as a sanctuary for a set time, preventing ‘evil’ from invading it. Most importantly, what counts as ‘evil’ depends on the skill owner and the Constellation’s will.
Honestly, it was a little funny that I was given this skill just to use on him, but there was no choice. Otherwise, the Constellation might become one that blocks the growth of its own contractor.
Constellation ‘Nobility Returned from Death’ instructs you to focus on the monsters while it protects that boy using the skill just granted.
After reading my message, he immediately activated the skill.
As it activated, a golden light rose around Kim Igyul. From beneath his feet, a large pattern appeared on the ground. It depicted a large scale wrapped in cloth.
The golden glow gradually rose, forming a dome-shaped roof.
“This should be fine here.”
He poured a potion to reorganize himself.
His sudden change in behavior puzzled me.
Even before, I had felt like he was protecting me as a civilian, but now it felt as though he was treating me like a loved one.
Why was he overprotective? The change seemed to start after he saw my bracelet…
I fidgeted with my fingers and cautiously asked,
“Wouldn’t it be better to find the boss and go after it?”
“How would you know where it is?”
His question caught me off guard. I wondered if the Constellation had no way to detect dungeon bosses.
“We could just look around…”
“You don’t know what’s near the boss. No.”
“Hmm, then should we wait for someone to come? A person or a monster?”
I asked as he shook his head decisively, rejecting the idea.
Since my rank was low, waiting seemed wiser than moving recklessly.
Kim Igyul, after pondering my question, shook his head again.
“Stay here for now. I’ll go check it out.”
He then stepped outside the dome to fight again.
I hurriedly grabbed his sleeve, and he turned to me with a puzzled expression.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take down the boss.”
Oh right. There’s no one else in the dungeon right now.
Since I had told him to fight the monsters, he would have to go outside.
But if he was far away, I wouldn’t be able to see him.
“Then I’ll go too. It’s a little scary alone.”
Feigning fear, I tagged along.
“You’re still D-rank.”
“Huh?”
I blinked at his sudden confession of rank.
He glanced at me briefly and then looked at the monster corpses, honestly expressing his thoughts.
“I just awakened. I can barely kill E-rank monsters. I can’t fight a boss while protecting you at the same time.”
For someone just awakened, he was already skilled. As someone who had never seen a hunter before, I thought he might have real talent.
Clenching and unclenching his fists, he looked at me again. Anxiety was evident in his eyes.
Meeting his gaze made my heart sink. It was just a novel to me, but it was reality to Kim Igyul.
Suddenly trapped in a dungeon and awakened, fighting monsters while protecting companions would be incredibly difficult.
It was understandable for him to be scared.
Yet the words he uttered next were unexpected:
“If the boss is higher rank than me, and I lose… what will you do if you’re left alone?”
Me?
I was stunned. He wasn’t afraid of the boss or death—it was that he genuinely worried about me.
We had only just met today. Yet he was willing to risk his life for me.
Is he a little naive? Why is he unnecessarily kind? How does he plan to survive in this harsh world? I, as the Constellation, should protect him well.
“No argument, right? Stay here. I’ll go.”
I couldn’t respond because of the seriousness of his determination, but he interpreted my silence on his own.
I nodded absentmindedly, and he smiled as if pleased.
After a brief pause to catch our breath, more monsters slowly approached.
Kim Igyul left me inside the dome and went outside alone. My job was simply to watch quietly.
It seemed he adopted a strategy of targeting the core more aggressively.
Unlike before, staying low to the ground, he now jumped onto monsters, cutting off their wings.
Since I was inside the sanctuary, he could act freely.
Unfortunately, his movements weren’t perfect. Considering this was real combat, they weren’t bad.
Offensive skill hit rate 60% or higher (157/10,000)
The hit rate was gradually increasing. However, evasion remained a concern.
Evade three times in a row or more (24/1,500)
He could dodge two attacks consecutively, but the third or fourth was always tricky.
Many legs attacked him simultaneously, but his sharp, persistent gaze suggested he was aiming for a single decisive strike, a strategy of taking flesh and gaining bone.
“You like that one-hit strategy… you might get taken down by one hit…”
Constellation ‘Nobility Returned from Death’ scolds me to avoid focusing only on the core and to dodge attacks.
Muttering to myself, I sent the message.
Kim Igyul seemed to ignore it, sticking to his original aggressive fighting style.
Ugh, that stubborn guy!
Then, a massive monster appeared—the obvious boss.
The King of Bees, Giant Hornet (D)
Core: the gap on its back
Luckily, it was a boss monster.
Even the lower-rank monsters were large, but the boss seemed twice as big.
Kim Igyul was a newly awakened novice hunter—was this okay?
I watched him with concern.
He continued fighting without wavering, showing impressive mental strength.
Constellation ‘Nobility Returned from Death’ hits my chest, scolding him for targeting only the wings.
Knowing the precise location but only being able to communicate indirectly was inefficient.
This time, he glanced into the air, read the message, and changed his approach. He cut off incoming legs and used lower-rank monsters as stepping stones to leap onto the boss’s back.
Once on its back, he swung his sword.
Clang! The sword missed. The shell must be quite tough.
After repeatedly pushing the sword into the shell, he finally found a gap and stabbed it through.
[Kuwweeeeek!]
The Giant Hornet’s shell was hard, but the gap was weak.
Kim Igyul’s sword slid through the gap and pierced the core in one strike.
The Giant Hornet fell to the ground with a thud.
Dungeon ‘Bees’ Rest (D)’ cleared.
The dungeon will close in 10 minutes.
With the boss defeated, a clear message appeared, and the lower monsters disappeared.
Kim Igyul came near the dome and deactivated the sanctuary, looking slightly tired.
“Let’s go.”
He led the way to the exit.
As I followed, I noticed the fallen boss’s body glowing bright yellow.
The light felt warm, as if touching it would give a gentle heat.
Compelled, I reached out, and the glow absorbed into me, filling my body with a soothing warmth.
