Chapter 35
Inside a temple lined with pillars...
Uji paced back and forth nervously.
There was one reason.
Lee Suhyeok had suddenly died.
“Haah.”
Uji grabbed his hair.
“Where the hell did he die?”
His face twisted.
“And how did he avoid my eyes this entire time...?”
He remembered something.
The day Suhyeok destroyed the Death Knight...
Someone had visited Uji.
......!
Uji immediately dropped to the ground and bowed.
The being standing before him was...
The highest-floor Administrator.
“H-How did you come all the way here...?”
Memories rushed through Uji’s mind.
He wondered whether he was about to be punished for Jang Geonho’s actions.
His body trembled.
But the Administrator spoke calmly.
I’ve been watching everything.
His red eyes looked down.
Lower Administrator Uji.
Then he smiled.
This scenario exceeded my expectations.
He continued,
Quite a few Constellations were satisfied.
Uji pressed his forehead against the floor.
“Th-Thank you...!”
He slowly lifted his head.
Then...
He saw the Administrator’s red eyes.
A chill ran through his body.
Uji immediately lowered his gaze again.
Facing this being felt completely different from facing Taeo.
Relief.
Powerlessness.
Both emotions filled him at once.
The Administrator smiled.
Ah.
He tilted his head.
You must be wondering why I’m here instead of Taeo.
His eyes curved.
Where should I begin...?
Then came the shocking answer.
“He has been demoted.”
Uji froze.
The Administrator continued.
You probably won’t see him for a while.
His smile remained calm.
The price for losing our wager was rather severe.
Uji could not respond.
If even an Upper Administrator had been demoted...
Then he assumed he was next.
But the Administrator spoke again.
“Let me get to the point.”
He looked down at Uji.
“This time, I’m giving you an opportunity.”
Uji flinched.
“O-Opportunity...?”
He swallowed.
“What would you like me to do...?”
The opportunity given by the highest-floor Administrator...
Was to create a game overwhelmingly disadvantageous to Suhyeok.
Uji could not refuse.
The Administrator smiled.
“If Lee Suhyeok loses...”
He paused.
“I’ll promote you to Intermediate Administrator.”
Uji’s eyes widened.
Then came the real temptation.
“And if you want...”
The Administrator smiled.
“I’ll give you authority over Leon’s punishment.”
“......!!”
Uji had wanted that promotion for a long time.
And more importantly...
He would finally be able to personally punish Leon, who had been acting above his station.
There was no way he could refuse.
“I-I accept!”
He bowed repeatedly.
“Yes!”
The Administrator’s smile disappeared slightly.
“However...”
His red eyes opened.
“If Lee Suhyeok wins...”
The pressure in the room increased.
“You will also be held responsible.”
Then he added,
“A simple demotion will not be enough.”
Now...
Lee Suhyeok had suddenly died.
Uji knew that did not mean things had ended well.
He looked at the red warning messages.
[Warning! Multiple Constellations have filed objections against ‘Lower Administrator Uji’.]
[Due to accumulated reports, this broadcast has been temporarily suspended.]
“Damn it!”
Uji clenched his fists.
“I can’t undo it now!!”
Broadcast suspension.
If Players had killed Suhyeok...
This would not have happened.
As long as the process was entertaining, the Constellations would not care much about the result.
But Suhyeok’s death had no known cause.
No known killer.
No explanation.
Uji’s head throbbed.
Then...
A new message appeared.
[‘Lower Administrator Leon’ has started a broadcast.]
[Broadcast Title: Hurry up and get in here right now, nya! You have to see this live!]
“......!!”
Uji froze.
“What?”
Leon had not broadcast even once during these past days.
And Suhyeok was supposedly dead.
Why would Leon suddenly start now?
Then...
Uji stopped breathing.
“H-How...?”
He staggered backward.
Then he fell.
He did not even notice the pain.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
Lee Suhyeok appeared there.
But that was not the most shocking part.
Uji’s face went pale.
“D-Don’t tell me...”
His voice trembled.
“That place is...”
The surroundings were eerie.
The ground was covered in sticky slime.
A dark river stretched endlessly into the distance.
A message appeared.
[You are dead.]
Suhyeok had died.
More accurately...
He was temporarily dead.
[Using ‘Necklace of Immortality (Mythic)’.]
[You have been invited into the domain of Constellation ‘Thanatos’.]
[‘It’ has killed himself.]
[Due to improper conduct, some rewards have been adjusted.]
[Obtained 400,000 Coins.]
The moment Suhyeok died...
He had arrived here.
Thanatos’s domain.
It looked exactly like what one might expect from someone called the God of Death.
Everything was ominous and unpleasant.
Leon shuddered.
[I’ve lived a long time, but this is my first time entering a Constellation’s domain, nya.]
He covered his eyes.
[But it’s so disgusting I can barely look, nya... Ugh.]
The Constellations flooded into Leon’s broadcast.
[Wait, how is he alive? Didn’t he die??]
[I knew he’d figure something out, but I never imagined he’d literally kill himself lol.]
[Agreed lol.]
[That monkey bastard’s broadcast got suspended. Serves him right lol.]
[I’ve been waiting for this!!!]
[But where is this place?]
Sponsorships appeared.
[‘God of Tricks’ has sponsored 3,000 Coins.]
[‘One Who Overcomes Adversity’ has sponsored 4,000 Coins.]
[‘Miracle of Three Days’ has sponsored 4,000 Coins.]
More and more appeared.
Then...
[‘God of Death’ has sponsored 5,000 Coins.]
[Message: See the river next to you? Just follow it all the way.]
The owner of this place.
And the one who had called Suhyeok here.
Suhyeok followed the river as instructed.
Eventually...
He reached the end.
“This place?”
A solid wall blocked his path.
Only one old wooden door stood there.
Creeeak.
Suhyeok opened it.
A narrow, dark hallway stretched endlessly forward.
Leon shuddered.
[Ugh. It’s way too dark, nya.]
He looked around.
[Why would anyone decorate a place like this?]
Leon grimaced.
[What a terrible hobby, nya.]
They followed a faint light.
Then...
A voice reached them.
“Ah, failed again.”
Someone sounded annoyed.
“I knew they said this game was hard, but this is ridiculous...”
Then the voice stopped.
“Oh?”
A young-looking man sat inside a room-like space.
He appeared around eighteen years old.
A game device was in his hands.
He smiled.
“Haha.”
“You found your way here properly.”
Suhyeok stared at him.
The mysterious being standing before him...
Was a Constellation.
“...Is that your real appearance?”
The young man looked at himself.
“This?”
He laughed.
“No.”
He shrugged.
“Think of it as an avatar.”
Then he smiled.
“I can change if you want.”
His appearance changed instantly.
Woman.
Man.
Different ages.
Different forms.
Then...
