Chapter 334: The Constellation Auction (1)

Right after cutting down a Constellation, my mind wandered for a moment. I wasn’t sure if this was the right moment for this, but who cared? I had the right to do whatever I wanted.

Long, long ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, a cigarette business apparently thrived[1]. Anyway, back then, every stationery store had a one-hundred-won

gacha

machine. At that time, these

gacha

machines were all the rage among children. Of course, I wasn’t even born at the time, so I knew little about the

gacha

craze from the past.

However, I did have a perfectly reasonable suspicion that the older generations had remained obsessed with those

gacha

machines. That was probably why, after some time had passed and the dinosaurs had finally gone extinct, they started playing

gacha

games on their phones. Why was I suddenly talking about

gacha

machines? Of course, I had a perfectly reasonable reason.

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye’s existence has weakened.]

“

Kieeeeeek!

”

The moment I cut down the giant snake, a very small snake, as tiny as a worm, slithered out from inside the giant snake’s body with an actual

pop

. At that very moment, I was reminded of the contents of

gacha

capsules that popped out when the capsules were opened. Why was I reminded of this? No reason.

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye has appeared.]

The snake that crawled out of the serpent’s corpse was small enough to fit in my palm. I felt bad for continuing to compare them to a worm, but they looked like they would get bullied by a slightly larger worm. However, their scales resembled the waves of the ocean. Their eyes, with the colors of the sclerae and pupils reversed compared to a human’s, glowed vividly.

In the end, I reached a reasonable conclusion and asked, “

Umm...

Is this your true form, Hishimit Kritz?”

“

Kieeeeee—!

” the worm-sized snake cried sadly.

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye cannot help but cry in indignation.]

The snake bent down, repeatedly hitting my palm with their snout. It seemed they were trying to express their indignation with their utmost might. If I had been the only one witnessing this scene, I probably would have felt a touch of pity. However, sitting on my neck was a fox born with the innate ability to aggro the Constellations.

My fox god said, “What? Is this real? Is this worm really the Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye? Wow. What should we do, Mr. Gong-Ja? If they walk out in front of their believers like this and shout, ‘I am the Constellation that controls all secrets! I am the Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye!’, not only will no Faith gather, but all the Faith that they’ve gathered so far will fly away like birds.”

“You bastard!”

“Bastard? Is that what you called me? You haven’t come to your senses yet! Mr. Gong-Ja, we should probably summon their apostles and order them to tend to their Constellation’s well-being properly. Summoning their apostles shouldn’t be too difficult.

Hmmmmm...

If I press this, the alert system should activate and the communication line should open...”

The snake on my palm shed tears, looking quite distressed. “You! Don’t reveal this to my followers... Please, I beg you!”

I scratched my cheek. “

Hmm.

”

—Hey, Kim Zombie. Calm down.”

What are you talking about? I’m acting like my normal self.

—Normal self, my ass. Your friend was insulted, so you’re boiling with rage. You have a better chance of lying to the ghosts than fooling me

[2]

. Well, I’m a ghost, after all.

The Guardian sighed.

—Gosh, there’s no one more emotional than you. Seriously. You just live and die by your emotions.

I didn’t want to admit it, but the talk with the Guardian had an effect on me—a strong one.

“

Hmm.

”

I stroked my handkerchief once. The fire of emotions that the fight had stirred up, the desire for revenge, and various other ill feelings instantly subsided. Just like that, I was completely back to normal.

Thank you. I’m calm now.

—Alright.

Yes. I’m really fine. Hmm. Let’s see.

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse peeks at the scene and bursts into laughter!]

[The Lonely Seeker is shocked by the scene before them and is pounding the desk in laughter.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust says that it has been ten years since she last laughed like this.]

I needed to deal with them first. I looked up and said, “I’m sorry, but I want to speak with Hishimit Kriz privately from now on. We may still discuss confidential secrets such as floor-clear strategies. I’m deeply grateful that all of you have shown up, but I respectfully request that you give us privacy for now.”

Fortunately, the Constellations immediately agreed to my polite request.

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse has left.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust requests before departing to take a picture of the Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye.]

[The Lonely Seeker disappears, unable to stop laughing.]

Alright. The outsiders were dealt with. It was time to get down to business.

I could bow with genuine respect toward the small snake in my palm, my voice devoid of any emotion. “Hishimit Kritz.”

The snake seemed a little taken aback by my actions. They almost seemed... embarrassed.

The snake said, “Y-yes, I’m Hi-Hishimit Kritz... My power is all about secrecy and exposure. And I’m also the Constellation of labyrinths, Death King. I mean, Scream-Gathering Sky.”

“Yes. As you said, I’m Kim Gong-Ja, and I just became a Constellation. I have a few questions. Do you have some time?”

Hishimit Kritz cowered on the palm of my right hand, clearly tense. “Of course. Speak.”

I sighed. “Why did you try to attack me? And why did you have to team up with Mutia and ambush me?”

“For the same reason as that bastard Mutia. Because of you, she can no longer grant humans their wishes for regression. Her power has been weakened so much that it’s laughable. She requires your permission for every use of her power. That’s not even a Constellation anymore.”

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Of course, the serpent god’s sorrow was also directed at themselves.

“The two wishes that my followers pray for the most to me are ‘Please let me know that bastard’s secret,’ and ‘Please don’t let anyone know my secret.’ From my perspective, both are equally important wishes. Ninety-nine percent of the reason my followers rely on me and send me their Faith has to do with these two wishes.”

“But there is a problem now?”

“Indeed, there is. It’s all because of you!” the snake screamed.

I had said this before, but the snake was the size of a worm. Their screams had no power whatsoever, producing nothing more than a gentle breeze that brushed against my hair.

Realizing this, the snake looked sad and quietly muttered, “

Ugh.

I provided the best security for my followers. Except for me, Hishimit Kritz, no one else could access their secrets, but...”

“

Ah.

The trauma penalty? Is that why you have a breach in your security?”

The snake buried their head in my palm. “

Eeek...

Yes... That’s right...”

The Constellation wasn’t apologizing to me, but punishing themselves for their foolish decision.

“Because of it, you can now uncover the past of virtually everyone! For you, no secret is more than a treasure chest that requires a little effort to open. And you have the golden key that can open any chest!”

“I see,” I said.

“I can no longer guarantee perfect secrecy... While my apostle was on the fiftieth floor, having her entire past exposed to you, the mental security barriers and systems I had put in place didn’t work at all. They were completely useless!”

I nodded. “It’s an irreversible damage to your power.”

“Yes! I said it before, but this is all your doing!”

“I said the same thing to Mutia, but you were the ones who designed the

Returner’s Clockwork

like this from the start. You two lightheartedly thought it would be fun, didn’t you? ”

The snake groaned.

“This is karma. You two were arrogant and careless, living without realizing how your actions would come back to haunt you. The arrow has come back and pierced the back of your heads now.“

It was an ancient cliche.

I shrugged. “A divine cliche got you, so you should be relieved, actually. This was always meant to be your destiny.“

They gasped for air.

As I was stroking the Constellation with my fingers, the Primordial Staff appeared.

“Have you guys wrapped things up? It’s been quite some time since I last saw the God of Serpents’ egg. The inside of it, to be exact. So the inside of the completely sealed Exuviae Gu is like this now,

huh?

”

I turned my head toward her. “Lady Mage.”

“Yes. As the judge of this duel, it’s my duty to determine the winner and loser. Congratulations! The winner is the Death King, and the loser is the Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye. The result is irreversible and has been engraved in the Tower’s record. I, as one of the Pillars, will vouch for the outcome of the battle between you two.” The Primordial Staff closed one eye. “But I’m also the Pillar responsible for the floors up to the seventieth floor. Until then, I have some freedom in arranging the floors.”

I had a slightly ominous feeling. “Wait. If you have freedom in arranging floors, then...”

“It’s simple. The tenants can leave with the deposit or without paying an extra fee, and the landlord won’t stop them from leaving or force them to stay.”

Tap.

The Primordial Staff struck the air with her staff, and a hologram unfolded, showcasing a cartoonish map of the sixty-first to the seventieth floors. My face was drawn on the sixty-first, sixty-second, and sixty-third floors.

As a bonus, the fox god wrapped around my neck was also present. Our faces were depicted in a slightly comical caricature style. The sixty-fourth, sixty-fifth, sixty-sixth, sixty-seventh, sixty-eighth, sixty-ninth, and seventieth floors were all different. Faces of people I had never seen before were reigning the floors.

The Primordial Staff’s shoulders moved as if she were dancing. She hummed. “Alright. From now on, free trade is permitted from the sixty-fourth to the seventieth floors for exactly six minutes~”

Her voice was tinged with a hint of playfulness. The emotion was filtered through an emotionless message and echoed throughout the Tower.

[Free trade is now available from the sixty-fourth floor to the seventieth floor.]

[Remaining time: 00:06:00]

[The tenants and prospective tenants are free to conduct transactions.]

What in the world was going on? Unable to comprehend the situation, I simply stared at the hologram.

[The sixty-fourth floor is up for sale.]

[The Fair and Square Nine-Tailed Fox, the manager of the sixty-fourth floor, promises to transfer the floor management right to anyone who desires it, without requiring a deposit or monthly rent!]

I didn’t know how transactions between Constellations worked, but even from my perspective, that was an utterly unreasonable offer. However, the very next moment, I realized the cause of this anomaly.

[The Fair and Square Honest Nine-Tailed Fox freaks out, saying that they’re willing to give away the floor management right to escape from the Death King’s path!]

[The sixty-fifth floor is listed for sale.]

[Goose Flipped Backward Is Esoog, the manager of the sixty-fifth floor, flies away!]

[The sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh floors are up for sale.]

[The Ruling Rubber Duck of the Great Ocean, the manager of the sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh floors, has deflated and sunk deep into the ocean!]

The cause of this unprecedented estate auction race was none other than me, Kim Gong-Ja.

1. It's an old Korean joke originating from the expression 호랑이 담배피던 시절 (the time when a tiger used to smoke). It just means that it happened such a long time ago that fantasy-like elements were possible. ☜

2. It is usually said in Korea that you can't fool a ghost because ghosts are always around and can see everything. ☜