Chapter 36 : Part-Time Job with the Constellation

“Stop adding one point every time, you damn woman!”

I lowered my head, trying to hold back the string of curses that nearly slipped out.

But I didn’t really need to manage my expression.

My body, like some kind of master coat from a tire company, was just a lump of white, making it impossible to show any facial expressions even if I wanted to.

“Then, the final question. How many wings do you see on me?”

“Uh… six, I think?”

It was a random question, but I didn’t have to think much—I just said what I saw.

Ashakariel briefly showed a disappointed expression, then spoke again in a calm voice.

“Then let’s make the contract right away.

Your aptitude for faith is worse than a rock on the roadside, but since your Stigma capacity is large, I’ll grant you the power to use minor healing 24 times a month, intermediate healing 6 times, and major healing once.

You won’t find a deal like this with other constellations.

If you keep spreading the faith and accumulating merits, the number of uses may increase.

Shall we sign the contract right away?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just… I’m not mentally ready yet. Could I think about it a bit more?”

“Hmph.”

Ashakariel puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction as she held the contract out right in front of me.

Then she suddenly spat out a vulgar line that didn’t suit her pure image at all.

“Damn it, then you should’ve said that from the start! Don’t waste my time for nothing. If you’re not signing, then get the hell out of here!”

Thwack!

Ashakariel’s kick sent me plummeting beneath the clouds, and I once again felt like I was riding a 360-degree rollercoaster—until I opened my eyes in a completely different space.

This time, instead of clouds, I was surrounded by piles of bones in a gloomy atmosphere.

My vessel had also changed—now it was a skeleton with not a shred of flesh, which gave me a really bad feeling.

“Oh my, long time no see. What was your name again? Was it Kim Sunghoon?”

“Ugh! This lowly mortal humbly greets the great Witch of the Netherworld.”

“Oho? Am I really that great? Wouldn’t Headmaster Lyn Dragos be greater than me? Just thinking about getting overwhelmed during that power struggle at the Martial Arts Tournament still makes my hands and feet tremble, you know.”

Despite her flawless, youthful face, the Witch of the Netherworld had hands and feet that looked like they belonged to a hundred-year-old, and I trembled like a leaf before her.

Ashakariel was the kind of Constellation who recruited followers with a network-marketing, multi-level scheme kind of vibe, but the Witch of the Netherworld felt like she was approaching me with an entirely different purpose.

I hadn’t really done anything wrong during the Martial Arts Tournament, but in situations like this, the best course of action was to lay flat like a frog and hope for the best.

“It would be more accurate to say that the esteemed Witch of the Netherworld didn’t lose, but rather generously yielded out of her ocean-like kindness.

Both of you are transcendent beings far beyond someone like me, so I wouldn’t dare to judge either of you.”

“Kehehe!

Thanks for the flattery, even if it’s just words.

You don’t have talent, but at least you know your manners.

Unlike that Belimond bastard—he keeps crossing the line.

Our contract’s over, but he still begs to form another one three times a day, saying he’ll even offer his soul.

Like his soul is some priceless gem or something.

And since I owe a favor to the Deathdoor family, I can’t outright ignore him either.

Honestly, I’m so done with it.

If only someone would quietly assassinate Belimond for me… I’d really come to adore them.”

“I… I’m terribly sorry to say this, but I’m just an ordinary guy with no backing.

If I get on the bad side of the Deathdoor family, I’m as good as dead.

Actually, I’m already kind of on their bad side…”

“Ah, of course I know.

I practically raised that family myself—how could I not know?

That’s exactly why I want it to be a discreet assassination.

Something like an ‘accidental death,’ or a poisoning made to look like a natural illness.

You know, things like that.

And I’m not asking you to do it for free.

If you succeed, I might even give you this.”

As the Witch of the Netherworld pulled a certain magical tome from within her robes, I couldn’t help but gasp.

Because that tome was none other than the Necronomicon, considered the highest-tier among necromancy grimoires.

I had once refused a necromancy grimoire offered by Cain, the head of the Deathdoor family, as a token of apology, citing my lack of talent—but the Necronomicon was a whole different story.

Even someone like me, a total outsider with an F-rank in necromancy talent, could use this book to perform at a master-level, as long as I paid the proper price.

It was a bit of an extreme case, but I once played a necromancer character in a game, and the moment I obtained the Necronomicon, I immediately stormed Pandemonium and cleared the game in record time.

“If it’s about using the Necronomicon to fight the Devil Doll, I might even be a step ahead of the Witch of the Netherworld. But…”

That was only possible in a game where I could rely on save & load.

In reality, if I delayed the price even a little, the book would take my body and soul as collateral.

Fighting with a cursed grimoire like that was simply impossible.

In fact, it’s said that the number of necromancers who were consumed by the Necronomicon after recklessly abusing its power matched the number of its pages.

To be honest, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted—but discreetly assassinating someone like Belimond, a damn corpse vulture, was already a hell-difficulty task.

So I bowed my head even lower and declined.

“I truly apologize.

I’m far too unworthy to carry out the will of the great Witch of the Netherworld.

I’ll have to pretend I didn’t hear your suggestion.

However, if you wish to monitor Belimond’s activities, I will observe his every move and offer you a report in the form of a daily log.”

“Hmph, forget it!

You’re a much less ambitious person than you look.

Your Stigma is almost wasted on you.

Well, if you don’t want to do it, I won’t force you.

But remember one thing—no matter how quietly you try to live in hiding, Belimond is sharpening his blade for you.

Now, begone.”

At the Witch of the Netherworld’s dismissal, the skeletal body that made up my vessel lost strength and crumbled apart.

And when I opened my eyes again, I was in the body of a jointed puppet, buried under a mountain of books.

Just as I wondered which Constellation I’d be interviewing with this time, a mysterious woman—easily over two meters tall, with hair so long it swept the floor—gazed down at me and said:

“Organize.”

“Huh? What…? These books? How should I organize them, and where?”

“On the shelf. By element. By rank.”

Thud!

As the towering woman gestured with her hand, two massive bookshelves suddenly fell from the sky, surrounding me.

The moment I saw that, I instinctively realized—like the Witch of the Netherworld—she was another Constellation from the magical domain: the Projection of Wisdom.

Without another word, I started sorting the books as instructed.

The floor was scattered with magical tomes I had never even heard of, like a trash heap—but many of them were clearly rare, to the point where any elemental mage would’ve gone crazy at the sight.

As I was finishing up the task, I stumbled upon a tome that would make any elemental mage not just go crazy—but foam at the mouth.

It was none other than Empedocles’ Four Elements Theory, written by the great archmage himself.

Though it wasn’t a sentient grimoire like the Necronomicon, it was a high-level magical tome containing 9th-rank elemental spells of fire, water, earth, and wind.

If it were released in the human world, it would bring a literal storm of blood.

But for someone like me—with all talents rated F—it was like bread beyond the shelf: beautiful, but utterly unreachable.

So without much thought, I tried to place the book on the highest shelf… but the Projection of Wisdom silently appeared beside me, snatched the book from my hands, and said:

“So this is where the book was. I thought I’d lost it since I haven’t organized things in so long. But why didn’t you open it?”

“Because you told me to organize the books—not to open them. And honestly, I’m so untalented in magic that even if I did open it, I doubt I’d understand anything.”

“Is that so? Well then, you’re hired. I won’t make you sign any formal contract—just drop by whenever and help organize the shelves. In return, I’ll teach you one 0th-tier spell each time.”

“A 0th-tier spell? Isn’t that just basic elemental magic used to measure elemental affinity? I thought it wasn’t something you actually needed to learn.”

“Is that really what you think? Then take a look at this.”

The Projection of Wisdom extended her ten fingers—each one as long as her towering height.

And with a gentle breath, each finger released a different basic elemental spell: fire, water, earth, wind, ice, lightning, light, darkness, metal, and wood.

Even though these were low-tier spells, the act of simultaneously casting ten different elements—multi-casting with multi-attribute transformation—was an overwhelming feat that drove home just how transcendental a Constellation truly was.

But that wasn’t the end of the astonishment.

As each element clashed, complemented, and interacted with the others, a brilliant rainbow light began to shine.

Still, the Projection of Wisdom seemed to believe she’d shown enough.

With a single clap, she dispelled the entire phenomenon.

Clap!

“That’s all for today. If you want to see more, come by regularly and organize the bookshelves. There are still way too many books left to sort.”