"Glacis! If you hear my voice, answer me!!"
In a remote corner of Ark, Seol Harin's voice echoed hollowly.
"Glacis! I brought treats! Come out!"
By her side was Kang Juhyeok.
A rare hero chosen by three constellations.
That fact alone made him a notable rookie and the true protagonist of the
But he didn't have an impressive appearance.
An average face, an average build.
He looked so kind that he came off as almost naïve.
"Glacis…"
Exhausted, Seol Harin stopped in her tracks.
Her shoulders slumped.
"Where did you go…?"
Not long after arriving on Ark Island, her constellation, Glacis, had disappeared.
It was a huge shock to her.
Glacis was a loyal constellation.
A friend she'd been with for years.
A bond so close she considered it part of the Seol family.
She couldn't imagine life without Glacis.
When she ate, Glacis ate too.
When she trained, Glacis trained with her.
When she slept, Glacis slept by her side.
Every memory, joyful or sorrowful, had Glacis in it.
"Harin, don't worry too much. Glacis will come back soon."
"…Thanks."
Kang Juhyeok, her childhood friend.
His presence was the only thing keeping her calm.
"It's probably just startled by the new environment."
"Yeah…"
They weren't lovers.
Not even a kiss, nor had they ever held hands.
They'd been in a platonic "almost something" for over a decade.
Now that she noticed, they were standing a bit close.
Their eyes met in the middle.
The atmosphere felt… strange.
"Juhyeok, thanks for helping."
"It's only natural. We're friends, aren't we?"
Seol Harin lowered her head.
Then she muttered softly.
"…Just friends?"
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"Nothing…"
He definitely should've heard that.
Kang Juhyeok must have bad hearing.
Seol Harin wasn't head-over-heels in love with him.
But she'd always assumed she'd end up marrying him someday.
The reason was simple.
'Because Juhyeok is probably the only guy who can handle me…'
Seol Harin wasn't an ordinary woman.
The daughter of a chaebol family, a genius hailed as the next swordmaster.
Her strong personality meant most men couldn't approach her, despite her stunning looks.
There were moments when it seemed like something might happen, but she'd never met a man who truly appealed to her.
Men who lacked confidence, Men who showed weakness in front of her—she despised them.
But Kang Juhyeok was different.
He'd been her friend since childhood.
No man treated her as comfortably as he did.
He wasn't the best choice, but she thought he could be the next best thing as a partner.
That's when it happened.
"Hey!!"
A rough voice rang out.
A voice overflowing with confidence.
A voice so grating it made her skin crawl.
"Found you! I've been looking all over, you know? Heh heh heh."
Kim Taeyang.
The trashy delinquent who'd sat next to her on the plane.
He appeared, sneering vilely.
"…What are you doing here?"
"Huh? I said I came looking for you, didn't I?!"
"I have no business with you."
"Hey, hold up. Is that guy next to you your boyfriend? Heh heh heh. You act all high and mighty, so I was expecting some stud, but he's kinda pathetic-looking!"
Seol Harin waited for Kang Juhyeok's reaction.
She hoped he'd stand up for himself like a man.
But Kang Juhyeok was a gentleman.
"Harin, who's this guy?"
"…Nobody. I'll handle this, so stay out of it."
The fact that he treated her so comfortably already made Kang Juhyeok special.
With that thought, Seol Harin stepped forward.
"Stop causing a scene and leave. I don't have any patience left for you."
"Hey, is that any way to treat someone who came to help?"
"…"
Seol Harin's eyebrow twitched.
Something about this delinquent's demeanor was suspicious.
That smirk—it was like he knew everything.
'Could this guy have kidnapped Glacis…?'
She suddenly recalled the look he gave her on the plane.
Those filthy eyes coveting her constellation.
"Tch, if you're not interested, I'll drop it."
"Wait… Do you know where Glacis is?"
"Yeah. It was wandering around without its master, so I came to find you. Heh heh heh. Loyal constellation, huh? What a joke."
Kim Taeyang grinned smugly.
His straight teeth were on full display.
Even his teeth looked as healthy as his hulking physique.
Which made it all the more infuriating.
"…Where did you see Glacis?"
"Over there. At the food waste dump."
"Food waste… dump?"
"Yeah! You didn't feed it treats on time, so it's scarfing down trash out of hunger!!"
"Stop spouting nonsense!!"
Glacis, eating trash?
Her noble constellation?
Utterly absurd.
She could no longer tolerate this guy's antics.
So, she decided she'd make sure she'd never have to see him again.
And there was a way.
A perfectly legal way to get this guy kicked out of Ark.
"You… Do you know how the entrance exam works?"
"Huh? Why would I care about that? This body's gonna pass anyway!!"
"It's a one-on-one sparring match. The top scorers in the first exam get to choose their opponents."
A one-on-one duel.
Losing doesn't automatically mean failing the exam.
But if you get crushed without showing anything, your chances of failing skyrocket.
Seol Harin was confident.
Even without Glacis, she could take down a delinquent like this in a heartbeat.
She could dominate so thoroughly he wouldn't even have a chance to breathe.
"I'll choose you."
Whoosh────!!
A razor-sharp killing intent enveloped the area.
Even Kang Juhyeok, standing nearby, flinched and stepped back.
But Kim Taeyang didn't budge.
"Hahaha! The thought of a stuck-up chick like you groveling beneath me is already hilarious!!!!"
"…"
Seol Harin couldn't help but tilt her head.
She'd brought countless strong opponents to their knees.
Even active S-rank heroes would shrink back under her killing intent.
But this guy?
'He's this fearless?'
He wasn't intimidated at all.
He acted like he was the top alpha in the world.
Almost impressively so.
'Is he just too dumb to feel the killing intent?'
Whatever. It was just bravado.
Kim Taeyang's boldness was real, but if he were stronger than Seol Harin, his name would've been known by now.
'All that awaits a fool is a crushing defeat.'
The outcome was obvious.
No need to deal with this guy any longer.
"Juhyeok, let's go."
"Okay."
Seol Harin and Kang Juhyeok walked past Kim Taeyang.
From behind, his mocking "Heh heh heh" kept ringing out.
***
Having just one 9-star constellation would make you a top-tier rookie in Korea.
But what if you had three, four, five… or even ten?
You'd be insanely, ridiculously strong.
The problem is me.
Kim Taeyang.
This guy isn't the protagonist.
He's not even a main character.
Can Kim Taeyang really handle the power of multiple 9-star constellations?
I'm not sure yet.
Ideally, I'd save the world on my own, but if that's not possible, I'll have to rely on allies.
The best allies are, of course, the protagonist and the heroines.
But this is an adult game, so their heads are full of loose screws.
Left alone, they'd just bang, have a tacky harem wedding in cheap dresses, and then all die together when the world ends.
These idiots need to get their act together.
Hey, now's not the time to be flirting!
If you don't train until your brains are empty and you're nothing but idiots, this world will fall apart~!
Stealing constellations is step one of the plan.
After that, the goal is to train the protagonist and heroines, turning them into brain-dead training maniacs.
In that sense, having Seol Harin as my opponent for the entrance exam duel is great news.
"The Ark entrance exam will now begin. Candidates, please take your seats in the waiting area."
The Ark training ground.
Well, more like a massive Olympic stadium.
It was packed with Ark students and professors.
"Opponents will be chosen based on the first exam's rankings. Candidate Seol Harin, step forward and name your opponent."
Seol Harin walked to the center.
The chaotic crowd fell silent.
"…"
And for good reason.
The opponent would be Seol Harin, Korea's most celebrated rookie.
Being chosen by her meant most would lose without even putting up a fight.
In other words, it was a guaranteed ticket to failure.
"Kim Taeyang. I choose you."
That's me.
"Who's Kim Taeyang?"
"No idea. First time hearing the name."
"Kim Taeyang? Wait, isn't that… Kim Taegun's son?"
"What? Kim Taegun? For real?"
"No way…"
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
I think I heard something about Kim Taegun, but I couldn't exactly ask about it with the duel looming, so I stepped forward.
In the arena, hundreds of eyes were on us.
Seol Harin and I stood face-to-face.
"…"
"…"
The crowd's intense interest surrounded us.
From Seol Harin came a killing intent sharp as a dagger.
It was so overwhelming I wanted to run away, but—
"Huh?! You weren't joking about choosing me?! You think a lowly chick like you can handle this body?!!!"
My mouth was as brazen as ever.
"Don't try too hard. I might end up killing you if you miss."
"Hey, hey!! You're the one who better not faint from shock!!!"
The verbal sparring ended there.
With so many candidates' duels to get through, the matches moved quickly.
"Live weapons are permitted. Constellation intervention is allowed. Victory is declared when the opponent's mana shield drops below 50%."
Beep—
The signal for the duel sounded.
At that moment, Seol Harin charged at me.
Her weapon: a long, curved sword.
My weapon: bare hands.
I thrust out my palm.
As if I were firing an energy blast.
Controlling my breath with my chiseled chocolate abs,
I roared with the air drawn from my core.
"YAMERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"…?"
Seol Harin froze, caught off guard by my ferocious shout.
"…What's your trick this time?"
"I'm telling you to wait until my constellation is ready!!"
"Constellation? As if a delinquent like you would have a—"
Woof!
Right on cue, Glacis bounded in, barking energetically.
"G-Glacis!"
Seol Harin's gaze followed Glacis.
She spread her arms to welcome it.
But.
Glacis ran past her and leaped into my arms.
"Heh heh heh. Took you long enough, buddy. Almost got me in trouble."
Woof woof!
I petted Glacis vigorously.
It immediately rolled over, fawning over me.
And Seol Harin, seeing this…
"G-Glacis…?"
Her eyes trembled uncontrollably.
"W-What… What is this…?"
"Huh? Still not getting it?! This guy isn't your constellation anymore!!!"
"No way, this is a joke, right, Glacis…?"
Seol Harin strode toward us.
Glacis didn't even glance at her.
Because I'd already ordered it to ignore her.
I gave Glacis another command.
Though I wasn't even calling it "Glacis" anymore.
"Pomi! Stop that clueless chick!!"
"P-Pomi…?"
Pomi instantly went into guard mode.
Grrrrrrrr—
Facing its former master, now a stranger, It bared its ferocious teeth.
Just hours ago, they were like family. Now, they met as enemies.
Seol Harin, who'd been approaching, froze in place.
"Glacis…? What are you doing…? I'm your master…! I'm your bound hero!!"
Woof! Woof woof woof!!
I patted Pomi's head and answered for it.
"Oh, you said you two were together for 10 years, right?"
"…"
"Seems like 10 years with you didn't measure up to 10 minutes with me. Heh heh heh."
Thud—
A crack appeared in Seol Harin's expression.
Her face looked like shattered glass.
"10 minutes… you said?"
"Yeah. It took just 10 minutes for Pomi to roll over for me."
Clang.
Her sword fell to the ground.
In that moment, 10 years of friendship were trampled in just 10 minutes.