Chapter 50
Meanwhile...
The Constellations had already gathered.
It had been hundreds of years since the last banquet.
Everyone was excited.
This was a place for exchanging information.
Naturally...
Most conversations centered around Suhyeok.
“He should arrive soon.”
“Oh.”
“That guy?”
One Constellation smiled.
“We’ve only seen him through broadcasts.”
“I’m actually looking forward to meeting him.”
That reaction was natural.
A Player had never been invited to the Constellations’ Banquet before.
And this Player...
Was Lee Suhyeok.
The man currently monopolizing nearly every Constellation’s attention.
Creeeeeak.
The banquet hall doors opened.
Silence fell instantly.
Only the music continued.
Every Constellation looked toward the entrance.
Step. Step.
Suhyeok descended the stairs.
Then calmly walked through the center of the banquet hall.
He sat at an empty table.
An awkward silence remained.
Then...
Someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Oh?”
A familiar voice.
“You look completely different dressed like this.”
Then the speaker glanced sideways.
“Although maybe the one beside you dressed up even more.”
Leon immediately bowed.
“T-Thank you for the compliment, nya...!”
He looked overwhelmed.
The man touching Suhyeok’s shoulder...
Was Thanatos.
Thanatos smiled.
“Hmm.”
“A compliment...”
Then his grin became mischievous.
“I’m not sure whether a person with ‘terrible taste’ can give proper compliments.”
Leon froze.
“T-That...”
His ears lowered.
“It was a m-mistake, nya...”
Leon looked around nervously.
“Please forget about it already, nya...”
Sweat covered his face.
Thanatos continued teasing him until Leon looked close to tears.
Then he laughed.
“Hehe.”
“Fine.”
Thanatos shrugged.
“I probably won’t actually forget.”
“But I’ll try.”
Leon bowed repeatedly.
“S-Sniff.”
“T-Thank you, nya...”
Thanatos suddenly pointed at Leon’s hand.
“By the way...”
“What’s that?”
Leon looked down.
“You’ve had it a few times before.”
Thanatos leaned closer.
“Can Constellations eat it too?”
He was pointing at Leon’s Churu.
Silence.
Leon quietly moved the Churu behind his back.
“N-No.”
He shook his head.
“Not this.”
“Even if you’re a Constellation...”
“You probably have plenty of money.”
Leon narrowed his eyes.
“Buy your own, nya.”
Thanatos stared.
“It looks good.”
“Can’t I just try one bite?”
Leon immediately hugged it protectively.
“N-No, nya!”
He became serious.
“I will never give this up, nya!”
Thanatos looked amused.
“Isn’t that a little stingy?”
“I saw you had plenty earlier.”
He held up one finger.
“Just one bite.”
Leon panicked.
Thanatos kept asking.
Finally...
Leon squeezed the entire Churu into his mouth at once.
Thanatos’s eyes widened.
“Hey!”
He grabbed Leon’s cheeks.
“Why would you eat all of it?!”
Leon struggled.
“Mmph!”
His cheeks stretched.
“I’m never sharing, nya!”
While the two fought...
Suhyeok calmly drank wine from the table.
He observed the banquet hall.
Everyone had returned to acting normally.
They talked.
Drank.
Laughed.
But...
Their eyes repeatedly returned to Suhyeok’s table.
They’re not even trying to hide it.
Suhyeok understood.
He was the only human here.
Their interest...
Was like people watching a strange animal at a zoo.
Exactly like the day Suhyeok decided to regress.
Nothing has changed from my previous life.
His eyes became cold.
But this time...
“I’ll use their interest too.”
Thanatos noticed him staring around.
“What are you looking at?”
He tilted his head.
“Is there a problem?”
Suhyeok lowered his empty glass.
“No.”
Then he looked at Thanatos.
“By the way...”
“Did you stop transforming into other people?”
Thanatos sighed.
“Haah.”
He shrugged.
“I got too many complaints.”
Then he looked upward.
“Especially from the old people above.”
His eyes moved toward the second and third floors.
Suhyeok followed his gaze.
Instantly...
He felt it.
Same space.
Same banquet hall.
But the pressure coming from above...
Belonged to an entirely different level.
Ding!
[‘God of Casanovas’ and ‘Goddess of Marriage and Family’ warmly greet you.]
[Several Constellations on the second and third floors wave in greeting.]
More messages continued.
Constellations who had sponsored him before.
New Constellations he had never seen.
The chat he had hidden also exploded.
[Hey, can’t you see this side? I wanted to talk.]
[Same. What was the point of sponsoring?]
[Constellations and none of you have the courage to speak first? Tsk tsk.]
[If it were me, I’d already be talking to him.]
[Then where are you? lol.]
[Me? I’m in the corner. Where are you?]
[Directly diagonal from you lol.]
[Anyway, look at those Olympus bastards.]
[They’re already trying to make moves.]
Olympus...
Before coming to the banquet...
Suhyeok had asked Leon for a basic explanation of the major Constellation factions.
There were four main groups present.
Olympus.
The Greek and Roman gods.
Asgard.
The Norse gods.
Paradise.
The angels appearing in biblical traditions.
And finally...
Constellations who belonged to no faction.
Suhyeok had asked,
What are the unaffiliated Constellations?
Leon had answered,
[Exactly what it sounds like, nya.]
[They belong to no faction.]
[They possess their own individual myths.]
Then he explained,
[You can usually guess who they are from the titles that appear in sponsorship messages.]
That made sense.
A Constellation’s title indirectly represented their myth.
The unfamiliar titles Suhyeok had seen...
Probably belonged to many of the Constellations on the first floor.
The first.
Second.
Third floors.
Naturally...
Not every Constellation was equal.
The different floors represented hierarchy.
Leon had warned him,
[But don’t misunderstand, nya.]
[A Constellation without a faction isn’t necessarily weak.]
Then he added,
[There are several on the first floor who are comparable to those upstairs.]
That seemed true.
Suhyeok looked toward a corner of the banquet hall.
He had been feeling a powerful presence from there for some time.
“Ahh.”
A man gulped alcohol from a gourd.
He looked completely drunk.
“Good stuff.”
Then he hiccuped.
“Hm?”
His eyes found Suhyeok.
“Oh.”
“What a familiar face.”
The man tried standing.
Then fell directly onto his backside.
Still...
He happily waved the bottle toward Suhyeok.
A lotus symbol covered his chest.
His earlobes were unusually long.
A message appeared.
[‘One Who Bloomed from the Lotus’ apologizes for being too drunk to stand properly.]
After a short greeting...
Buddha immediately returned to drinking.
Thanatos looked at Suhyeok.
“Surprising, right?”
He chuckled.
“In your world...”
“You probably imagine Buddha as gentle and saintly.”
Suhyeok could not deny it.
A completely drunk Buddha...
Was very different from the image he knew.
But...
Buddha was not the only one.
Several Constellations looked nothing like the stories Suhyeok knew.
Thanatos noticed his expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Then he pointed at himself.
“Am I different too?”
He laughed.
“Constellations have all kinds of personalities.”
Thanatos gestured toward Buddha.
“He actually has plenty of followers.”
“But because his personality is like that...”
“Most of them left.”
Thanatos shrugged.
“That’s also why he doesn’t get along with Paradise.”
Suhyeok remembered the sponsorship messages when he first saw the Church.
They had openly argued.
Then...
Another message proved it.
[The Constellations of Paradise look displeased at the screen.]
[‘Miracle of Three Days’ snorts and strongly demands that the camera be turned away.]
Across the hall...
On the third floor...
Winged figures could barely be seen.
Their dissatisfaction kept growing.
Leon hurriedly turned the camera away.
[W-Whew.]
He wiped his forehead.
[That was close, nya...]
Then...
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed.
A man wearing a formal suit walked onto the banquet hall stage.
The moment Suhyeok saw his back...
His shoulder twitched.
“......”
His expression became cold.
His teeth clenched.
Before regression.
After regression.
There was no way he could ever forget that face.
It’s him.
The man turned.
“I hope I haven’t made the Constellations wait too long.”
His voice was soft.
“Especially considering...”
He smiled.
“We have a very special guest this time.”
His eyes were thin like threads.
Between them...
Red eyes opened.
They stared directly at Suhyeok.
The highest-rank Administrator.
Finally.
Suhyeok’s eyes became cold.
I finally get to see that face again.
The Administrator watched him calmly.
Almost as though...
He was excited about what would happen next.
He smiled.
“I imagine many of you were looking forward to this banquet.”
He spread his hands.
“After all...”
“This is the first time a Player has ever been invited.”
He tilted his head.
“Isn’t that right?”
His voice remained smooth.
Soft.
But Suhyeok could feel something sinister hidden underneath.
That was why...
He immediately knew.
The Administrator was planning something.
[Most Constellations focus on the highest-rank Administrator’s words.]
[Several impatient Constellations beg him to reveal the surprise quickly.]
The Administrator smiled.
“As expected.”
“Many of you seem excited.”
Then he continued,
“So...”
“I prepared something special for this banquet.”
The room became noisy.
Even the Constellations on the upper floors began showing interest.
Then...
Snap.
The Administrator snapped his fingers.
A message appeared before Suhyeok.
[A Special Event has begun.]
[Player Lee Suhyeok must choose the ‘Constellation he likes most’.]
[Reward: Private meeting with the highest-rank Administrator.]
The Administrator smiled.
“Of course...”
He looked around.
“The Constellations should also receive something.”
Then...
Messages appeared before them.
[The Constellation chosen by Player Lee Suhyeok will make him their ‘Incarnation’.]
The Administrator continued.
“Tomorrow...”
His smile remained gentle.
“When the 21st Floor opens...”
“One thousand Players within the Tower will be randomly selected for a Death Game.”
“......!”
Suhyeok’s eyes widened.
He had never heard of this.
A variable.
The Constellations also seemed unaware.
The chat exploded.
[Wait, there’s an event like this? Why didn’t I know?]
[Who would know?]
[But one thousand Players? That sounds entertaining.]
[What game is it?]
[Wait, forget that.]
[What does ‘Incarnation’ mean? Anyone know?]
[Just listen. He’ll explain.]
The highest-rank Administrator watched their reactions.
Then continued.
“The Constellation whose chosen Incarnation wins the game...”
He raised one hand.
“Wins.”
Then he smiled.
“And you may help your Incarnation however you wish.”
The room became even more excited.
The Administrator continued.
“As for the winning Constellation...”
His voice lowered.
“I will prepare a stage upon which they may unfold their own myth.”
That final statement caught everyone’s attention.
Every gaze in the banquet hall...
Turned toward Suhyeok.
The Administrator smiled.
“A chance to be chosen by the most outstanding Player currently in the Tower.”
He gestured toward Suhyeok.
“Lee Suhyeok.”
Then he chuckled.
“I wonder which one of you he will choose.”
The atmosphere became competitive.
“Perhaps...”
The Administrator smiled wider.
“The competition will be fierce.”
Then...
Sponsorship messages flooded Suhyeok’s vision.
[‘One Who Overcomes Adversity’ has sponsored 5,000 Coins.]
[‘God of Casanovas’ has sponsored 10,000 Coins.]
[‘Miracle of Three Days’ has sponsored 20,000 Coins.]
[‘One-Eyed White-Haired Elder’ has sponsored 30,000 Coins.]
The amounts rose rapidly.
Before long...
They exceeded 200,000 Coins.
Leon stared blankly.
He had never seen numbers like that.
Then...
A system message appeared.
[Player Lee Suhyeok.]
[Choose a Constellation.]
The highest-rank Administrator silently watched him.
His hidden red eyes slowly opened.
Then...
In a voice so quiet no one else could hear...
He whispered,
“Now...”
His smile deepened.
“I wonder what choice you’ll make ‘this time’.”
His gaze locked onto Suhyeok.
“Player... Lee Suhyeok.”
