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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Love and War
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Of course, that wasn’t it.
Ha-ra knew full well that what she was saying was absurd. Outside, the carnivorous rabbit was still ramming against the rock, trying to get to them.
In a situation like this, what did a name matter?
Of course, it mattered.
[New Quest: A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step]
…
Ha-ra glanced back and forth between the handsome man with the dumbfounded expression and the quest window hovering above his head. Since she couldn't turn her head, she just shifted her eyes.
You see, Ha-ra had her reasons for suddenly bringing up her name in a situation like this.
The quest window flickered dizzyingly.
[You have met a charming man. My goodness! The number one journalist in South Korea that people most want to marry is right before your eyes.]
The flickering seemed to mock her.
[But as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The beginning of any romance is an introduction! How about you introduce yourselves to each other?]
…
Ha-ra wanted to die.
＊ ＊ ＊
The story goes back a mere thirty minutes. To when Kang Ha-ra had woken up alone, bickered with the Constellation, and was giddy with the fantasy of, “Am I an S-rank now?!”
[Constellation Contract Quest]
The Constellation ‘???’ proposes a contract with you.
Conditions: ??? (To be revealed upon signing the contract)
[Will you accept the contract? Y/Y]
The moment she accepted the contract, her vision went white. The flashing light forced her to shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she was baffled by the message that appeared.
[Congratulations. You have contracted with the Constellation ‘Cupid’.]
Cupid.
At the familiar yet surprising name, Ha-ra fell silent. It almost, but not quite, explained why it had been acting like someone obsessed with matchmaking.
So, the god of love… that's him, right?
[Cupid is a god who has symbolized love since ancient times…]
The system window proudly began to write out anecdotes about Cupid. Meanwhile, a Constellation message also flickered.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ asks if you have a problem.]
No, it's not that I have a problem…
“Why you…?”
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ grumbles that this is why humans can't be trusted.]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ belittles you, saying you have the memory of a goldfish for asking "why" after calling for him.]
“When did I…”
Ha-ra, who was about to ask when she had ever called for him, snapped her mouth shut. She *had* called for someone. In the studio.
The memory of her shouting for God, Buddha, Allah, the Greek and Roman gods, or any god whatsoever to save her, came flooding back.
But that counted as calling him?
It works just by calling out like that?
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ finds you pathetic.]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ asks back if you really think it would work just by calling out like that.]
“No, of course it wouldn't… That's… obvious…”
She couldn't hide her bewilderment. Amidst the confusion, Ha-ra had a belated thought. So, the stories about Constellations being god-like beings weren't wrong after all.
A lot of information had been released about Hunters who met Constellations and underwent a second awakening, but the identities of their Constellations were shrouded in mystery.
The reason was simple.
Overseas, Hunters fought amongst themselves over various interests, so revealing information about oneself would inevitably put one at a disadvantage in those fights.
This wasn't much different in Korea, where all Hunters were public officials. Even for Kwon Wook, only the general name of his Constellation was known. Kwon Wook, a former idol, had the Constellation ‘Shining Fairy’.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ yawns, saying that's just an alias anyway.]
An alias…
“Urgh.”
Just as Ha-ra was about to get lost in thought, she flinched. The man lying beside her had stirred. It looked like he was about to wake up.
And Ha-ra realized this was no time to be leisurely thinking about Kwon Wook's Constellation or whatever. Wasn't she inside a dungeon right now?
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ urges you on, saying it doesn't want to see you die right after signing the contract.]
“Right. I need to escape first…”
Ha-ra muttered, quickly rummaging through the system windows. Unlike usual, when only her unremarkable status window was open, there were now about seven windows in her vision. Amidst the chaos, she quickly scanned her status window first.
[User: Kang Ha-ra (Trait: Idol Fan)]
[Status: Undergoing 2nd Awakening Quest…]
*Nice.* Ha-ra clenched her fists without realizing it. But she groaned at the next line.
“What is this?”
[Rank: E(S)]
“What does this mean?”
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ irritably tells you to think carefully. Weren't you first in your school?]
“That was ten years ago! Does this mean my rank is E or S?”
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ yawns.]
*Could this be the rumored failure of a second awakening? No way…* As Ha-ra scanned the status window with unwittingly reddened eyes, her gaze stopped elsewhere.
[Constellation Contract Quest in progress]
Looking at the quest window, she saw the words 'in progress' written in letters so small she had to rub her eyes and peer closely to read them.
“In progress?!”
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ snickers.]
Ha-ra could tell something was wrong. She quickly scrolled down.
[Cupid has been known as the god who protects love since ancient times. However, as Aphrodite's only son, he is also a very mischievous god. As the best friend of Hermes, the protector of lies, love is always accompanied by mischief and lies.]
“No way.”
[Love rarely happens all at once. But what can you do? Once you've caught Cupid's eye, you can't escape him. There is no love without passing Cupid's test! This means you can only become an S-rank after completing Cupid's trial!]
“Are you insane?!”
[Love can drive people mad.]
“Hey, are you kidding me?”
The system window displayed the message again, as if to mock her.
[As Aphrodite's only son, he is also a very mischievous god…]
*Get out of the way, that's enough.* Ha-ra frantically scrolled down with her hand again.
“So what do I have to do!”
[User ‘Kang Ha-ra’, who has accepted the contract, must perform a joint quest with a designated user.]
[The quest cannot be performed with anyone other than the designated user. Solo completion is impossible, and the completion period is a lifetime.]
A lifetime?
Ha-ra frowned. A quest that could only be completed with one specific person. For a lifetime.
“This doesn't mean I have to marry him, does it?”
For a moment, the system window went dark and fell silent. Silence means consent… who said that again…? Fortunately, the system window displayed a message again.
[Upon completing the designated quest with the designated user, user ‘Kang Ha-ra’ will automatically awaken as an S-rank.]
“I thought I'd become an S-rank as soon as I signed the contract?!”
[Nope, not happening.]
Ha-ra did a double take, pulling her chin back. *Did the system window just use informal language with me?*
[For the user's convenience, descriptions of available skills will be replaced with this output. Considering the user's nationality, skill names will be displayed in alphabetical order.]
[Skills are assigned based on the user's traits.]
[As a special contract reward, the user's existing skill will be upgraded to S-rank.]
[User: Kang Ha-ra (Trait: Idol Fan)
[Status: Undergoing 2nd Awakening Quest…]
[Rank: E(S)]
[Skill List]
- Multiply (Locked)
Activation Condition: ???
- Just Thinking of You Makes Me Stronger S (Unlocking)
Usage Condition: Contact with designated user ‘Yoon Se-heon’
- Flight (Locked)
Activation Condition : ???
- We'll Be Moving Now (Locked)
Activation Condition: ???
- It’s Only Candlelight, But I Can Do It! S
- #HAPPYYOURDAY C(S)
Usage Condition: Acknowledging the target's birthday
- Other obtainable skills: To be updated later.
The output was so fast it was as if to give her no time to spout any nonsense.
Ha-ra's original skill, ‘It’s Only Candlelight, But I Can Do It!’, was upgraded to S-rank as a special reward. But she had no time to rejoice at the message before she was examining the five new skills.
Multiply, Just Thinking of You Makes Me Stronger, Flight, We'll Be Moving Now, #HAPPYYOURDAY…?
“What is all this…”
At least two of them seemed to be movement-related skills.
“Wait, two movement skills?”
Although she was only an E-rank, Ha-ra had been a Hunter for a long time and watched a lot of Hunter-Tube, so she knew the basics. It wasn't uncommon for Hunters to receive overlapping skills of a similar type upon awakening.
However, while overlapping combat or defense skills could often create synergy, movement skills were a little different.
“Are you trash…?”
The system window flickered as if in warning.
[Your Constellation is the fickle type. Be careful.]
Ha-ra quickly covered her mouth and watched its reaction.
“No, not the skills, me. Me, yes. Me.”
The system window flickered again.
[Hurry up and complete the quest to feel the thrill of being an S-rank Hunter. If you're lucky, you might even go from trash to ranker, right?]
Dumbfounded, Ha-ra sighed, “Ha…” took off her glasses, and rubbed her dry face.
“So, what is this joint quest… The designated user seems to be Yoon Se-heon…”
As she said that, Ha-ra shivered. It was a bad feeling. *Don't tell me…*
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ asks what kind of god you think it is.]
As if to mock Ha-ra, a new quest window suddenly expanded.
[Constellation Contract Quest: Love and War]
[Objective: Date the designated user, ‘Yoon Se-heon’]
*Insane.*
*Insane.*
“This is insane!”
The system window flickered again.
[Love can drive people mad.]
