Chapter 4 : The Jellyfish

[…Will…?]
[Con…Will…you?]
[Will you make a contract?]
An emotionless mechanical sound rang in his buzzing ears.
Han Sion opened his eyes.
From what he could feel, his internal organs were ruptured, several ribs were broken, and he likely had a concussion.
One leg was twisted in a strange direction.
It hurt.
It hurt like crazy.
But his physical condition wasn’t the issue right now.
The important thing was the golden system window in front of him.

[The Constellation, Silent Calamity, requests a contract.]
[Will you make a contract?]
A golden system window that only appears when a Constellation contract is offered.
It had arrived for him, who was lying there, helplessly beaten by a monster.
‘Is this some low-quality Constellation’s trick?’
What could he do even if he made a contract in this state?
He heard a loud banging.
The monster must be destroying the city.
Even if he was chosen by a Constellation now, he didn’t think he could get up and do anything.
But.
‘Still.’
Nevertheless.
He had no intention of refusing.
‘What I’ve waited for my whole life…’
Even if he made the contract and died right after.
He had wanted to be an Awakener since he was old enough to understand.
There was nothing he hadn’t tried to catch the eyes of the Constellations.
He wanted to be an Awakener so badly that he even abandoned his mother’s last wish, which was not to become one.
Even when he was living in a shabby basement apartment as a Scavenger, eating only ramen, he wanted to be an Awakener.
Han Sion really wanted to be an Awakener.
‘A chance… has come.’
The golden window shimmered.
Han Sion reached out and touched the window.
‘I want to be an Awakener.’
It was a once-in-a-lifetime choice from a Constellation.
‘I can be an Awakener!’
He seized the opportunity.

[Congratulations!]
[First Contract Special Benefit!]
[The first contractor’s injuries and permanent damage will be completely healed.]
[Contractor Han Sion acquires ‘Unique Skill: Stardust’!]
Dismissing the fanfare-filled system window, I cried for help.
‘Somebody save me!’
It was a relief that the minimal mode I had agreed to in the heat of the moment was surprisingly useful.
From the monster’s perspective, it must feel like a hard-to-catch mosquito is flying around.
But it didn’t help at all in resolving the situation!
I’m about to get squashed like a mosquito!
‘Why isn’t this contractor getting up!’
I glanced over and saw the handsome face of a man looking dazed as a golden light repaired his body.
His hair had turned snow-white due to the contract’s influence, with silky straight locks, and his golden eyes peeked out from under slightly long bangs.
In the midst of it all, a random thought came to my mind, ‘That face is quite something!’
My ridiculously handsome contractor muttered something as he clumsily held his dagger.
“Stardust.”
Stardust?
What’s that?
As soon as the question arose, he charged forward.
KAAAAAAANG!
The Alligator King’s claw and the dagger clashed with a loud sound.
Seen up close, the dagger scattered light like a diamond.
But the truly surprising thing was something else.
The dagger was slowly pushing back the claw!
KAANG! Another clash occurred.
CHAENG! Another attack was parried by the dagger.
SWOOSH! The alligator’s arm was severed clean.
The contractor’s, Han Sion’s, face was filled with joy.
‘I can do it!’
“I can do it!”
‘Well done, my contractor!’
“I can do it!!”
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!”
The celebrations didn’t last long as the Alligator King swung its bleeding arm and rushed to kill Han Sion.
He calmly gathered a brilliant light in his diamond-like sword, then lifted his star-like sparkling eyes to look at the monster.
With a face full of exhilaration, he smiled and said.
“Thank you for giving me this chance, Silent Calamity.”
And a line of light was unleashed.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA——!
The monster as well as the building were sliced down by a single swing of the dagger.
Thud… Every single thing in the vicinity, neatly split in two as if measured with a ruler, slowly began to collapse.
Thud, clang! A not-so-tall building completely collapsed, and between the rubble, the two halves of the Alligator King’s corpse were revealed.
A sky with a moderate amount of clouds greeted us.
Looking around, I saw that the emergency-dispatched hunters from the association had finished dealing with the monsters and were staring blankly at us.
I wasn’t exactly sure since when they had been observing the scenario, but they must have at least seen the line of light bisecting the building and the Alligator King.
Alligator King, the boss of a B-rank Gate.
A monster that would take at least six B-rank Awakeners to defeat.
The sky was clear, and beneath it stood the new Awakener, unscathed and proud.
The image of a person who would become a legend was captured in everyone’s eyes.
For a moment, I thought.
‘Am I… actually a really awesome Constellation?’
Anyone would think so after seeing their first contractor, holding a light-clad dagger, cleave through a monster and a building.
Even though my sweet home was destroyed and the clear sky was visible, it didn’t matter.
The goofy-looking teddy bear in the corner of the house was fine, and it wasn’t my house in the first place.
Technically, it was the house of this body I was possessed into?
Created into?
I’m not disappointed.
Absolutely not.
Definitely not.
I looked at Han Sion with a petty resentment, and he started walking towards me with his sword in hand.
Huh?
He was even carrying the sword with its sparkling light still on.
Huh??
The system urgently notified me.

[Contractor Han Sion seems to think the Silent Calamity’s minimal mode is a monster!]
What the hell?
A monster?
Come to think of it, what do I look like right now?
‘You said mi-minimal mode! Wasn’t it just a smaller version of my human form? You said minimal!’

[It is minimal mode!]
To me, who had naturally assumed it was a smaller version of my human form, the system window displayed its own mirror system.
I couldn’t help but be shocked.
Round hands, a flower-like shape on my head, a jelly-like texture…
It was a jellyfish.
Specifically, a moon jellyfish.
‘Wasn’t it easier to just get smaller?!’

[To hide your identity, you must first change your species! This system just changed you into the form that best suits the Silent Calamity!]
‘Are you crazy?! But why a jellyfish!’

[Isn’t it cute?]
Yeah, it’s cuter than I thought.
It’s a cute, character-like jellyfish with a deformed style, not a normal one.
…No, that’s not the point!
Just as I was about to argue further, the system window turned red and shouted.

[Danger!]
SWOOSH—!
A white trajectory grazed past the spot where I had been just now.
I clutched my pounding (though jellyfish don’t have hearts) chest and desperately asked.
‘Is there no way to make him believe I’m an ally?!’

[If you undo the minimal mode, there is a high probability that you will be considered a new type of alien species and confined by the association. For now, we recommend minimal mode.]
‘Other than that, a way to be recognized as an ally!’

[How about conveying your will?]
Will?
Like conveying the will to contract?
It was a do-or-die situation.
I focused my energy to the point where the flower shape on my jellyfish head glowed, and conveyed my will.
‘Stop!’

At that moment, the window that appeared to Han Sion showed a surprising message.

[The Constellation, Silent Calamity, orders you not to kill it.]
Han Sion’s sword paused.
‘Don’t kill it?’
What is that jellyfish that our Constellation is ordering me not to kill?
It looked harmless, but it was a monster.
Even if it was a Constellation’s word, from a human’s perspective, as long as it was a monster, it was something to be killed, nothing more, nothing less.
That’s what he had learned.
As he was wondering, the system window rang again.

[The Constellation, Silent Calamity, says to stay by it’s side.]
His eyes widened.
‘Stay?’
Is he telling me to tame it?
A monster?
If he told me to, I would do it, but to be with an unknown monster…
Anyone else would have been reluctant.
‘No, wait a minute.’
However, that did not apply to Han Sion.
‘A Constellation who gave me such immense power right after the contract might know something about this jellyfish. Maybe this jellyfish is extremely rare, or has amazing abilities, so he’s telling me to take it. No, that must be it.’
The reality was different, but he came to his own conclusion and said.
“I understand, Constellation-nim.”
His trust in the Constellation, Silent Calamity, who not only fully restored his body but also granted him a powerful unique skill, had already reached the level of faith.
It’s good for a contractor to follow their Constellation well, but it was a bit burdensome…
He had never heard of this Constellation, but the Constellation had already proven its power through the contract and skill.
The Constellation could unilaterally terminate the contract.
He would hate to be abandoned by a Constellation who was not only this powerful but also extended a hand at his most critical moment.
‘Let’s believe.’
This is the realm of faith.
Han Sion snatched the jellyfish.
“Heok!”
“You’re coming with me. Got it?”
Looking at the somehow bewildered face of the jellyfish, the handsome man with a gentle face smiled.
For the record, what Lee Seonbaek had said was
‘Stop! Don’t kill it!’
‘Th-this jellyfish is harmless. It’s harmless enough to live with.’
‘You’re not going to kill me, right? Right?’