Chapter 6

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[User OO has donated 1000 won]

You suck so bad, lol

[I Love You Bro has donated 1000 won]

Is that aim for real…

[The Complete Twitch Viewer has donated 1000 won]

Bro, let’s just play a survival game. I think I’m gonna start hating you at this rate ㅜㅜ

“These guys don’t know what they’re talking about. I make survival games intense, too.”

A gaming stream was in full swing on the laptop. Another donation popped up in response to the streamer’s words.

Just listening was enough to picture the situation.

The streamer, playing a first-person shooter, must have died pathetically without even getting a proper shot off.

It would have been more entertaining to watch directly, but that was impossible for me.

Still, the fun of imagining it was quite enjoyable.

“Let me help you up. It’s time for dinner.”

The caregiver helped me sit up in bed.

She put a bib on me, then placed something thick and mushy in my mouth.

“Is it too hot?”

“No.”

The caregiver only asked about the temperature, never about the taste.

Of course. I couldn’t taste anything anyway.

My sense of taste was one of the first of the five senses I lost.

Then came my sense of smell, and three months ago, my sight.

How much longer would my hearing last?

“Hunter.”

“Please don’t call me that. It’s been ages since the apocalypse ended.”

“…Saan, your bath is ready. Would you like to take it now?”

“Yes.”

I was carried into the bathroom by the caregiver.

After setting me down in the tub, she began to slowly pour water over my shoulders.

“I saw on the news that not all Hunters suffer from the syndrome.”

Not long ago, the world had been freed from the apocalypse known as the ‘Trial of the Constellations.’

People cheered for the return of peace, but not everyone was happy.

The Hunters, who had awakened at the start of the apocalypse.

The moment the cataclysm ended, they began to suffer from a disease called ‘Hunter Syndrome.’ It was a bizarre ailment where the five senses and other bodily functions died off for no reason.

People speculated that Hunter Syndrome was a kind of side effect.

A price for humans using the power of the Constellations.

It made sense, as lower-level Hunters had milder symptoms or none at all.

On the other hand, the higher a Hunter’s level, the more severe the symptoms.

If Hunter Syndrome truly was the price for borrowing the Constellations’ power, then it was only natural that I was now dying a more miserable and horrific death than anyone else.

After all, I was the Hunter who had never lost the number one rank until the very end.

‘To think that the one who helped save the world the most would suffer the greatest pain.’

If I had known this beforehand, would I still have saved the world?

“So, Hunter—I mean, Saan, there’s a chance you might get better…”

The caregiver’s voice grew distorted. It echoed, as if I were hearing it from underwater.

It was a similar phenomenon to when I lost my sight.

I fumbled for the caregiver’s arm.

“Put my hand to your mouth and speak.”

The caregiver took my hand and brought it to her lips.

Soon, I could feel her lips moving, feel her breath.

“———, ————.”

She was speaking.

But I couldn’t hear a single sound.

* * *

The next morning.

I shot up in bed, my whole body covered in goosebumps.

I frantically rubbed my arms, shivering.

“Ugh, fuck! Is that how I died? Good thing I saw that, or I’d be in deep shit!”

In my past life, I was deaf and blind, and I couldn’t smell. No matter what I ate, it had no taste.

My muscles had stiffened to the point where I couldn’t move on my own.

I was no different from a living vegetable.

Until the moment I died, I begged desperately.

‘Please, just once, let me walk on my own two feet! I want to see with my own eyes, talk to someone, smell things, and taste things! Please, just once!’

But no miracle occurred.

I died of suffocation while lying in bed.

I could have survived if I had just lifted my head slightly, but my body was so rigid that I had to die just like that.

It was an empty end, completely unfitting for a hero who had saved the world.

‘No wonder the food tasted so damn good.’

In my past life, having lost my senses of taste and smell, all food felt like an eraser.

Even so, I had to force myself to eat. Solely to survive.

So, to taste proper food after possessing Astell’s body was nothing short of moving.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.

It was still pounding. The moment of death had felt far too real.

‘I really thought I was going to die a second time.’

The scent of dry wood, fabric, and a faint hint of dust stimulated my nostrils.

Overnight, everything felt new.

To be able to see, to smell, to taste, and to move my limbs as I pleased was a blessing.

‘I feel like I’ve been born again.’

I was tearfully grateful for the fact that I had been reincarnated into a healthy body.

So much so that if the Administrator were here, I would want to kiss his cheek.

And at the same time, it was so horrifying that I wanted to stomp on his face.

‘You knew how I died, so how could you put me in another Hunter’s body! Administrator, you son of a bitch, are you a psychopath?’

Now that I had confirmed the end of my past life, a major revision of my goals was necessary.

‘My leisurely, unemployed life… farewell.’

This was no time for leisure. It was time to actively intervene in the apocalypse.

‘To make sure it never ends.’

Hunter Syndrome begins the moment the world is freed from the apocalypse.

Therefore, as long as the apocalypse continues in this world, I won’t have to suffer from Hunter Syndrome.

‘Right. This life, I’ll be the villain.’

A hero who saves the world? To hell with that.

A life where I lose my senses and can’t even walk on my own.

Do you think I’d ever go through that horrendous experience of feeling like an insect again?

For a world like this, where there isn’t a single person I want to save?

‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

I snorted.

‘They said people call Astell the Mad Princess, right? Fine, I’ll show them what being mad really means.’

And in my mind, I revised my goals.

1. The apocalypse must continue, by any means necessary.

2. Quietly crush any Hunter who gets cocky and tries to save the world.

3. Grow stronger. I must complete the second awakening.

4. Always remember that someone stronger than me could appear at any time.

After setting my goals, a sigh escaped me.

As for my lost ultimate skill… well, I guess I’ll just have to grind for points and restore it.

The reactions are embarrassing, but I just have to endure it for a little while.

But not knowing the hero’s identity was a huge problem.

‘How am I supposed to know which of the many Hunters will save the world? It’s not like they’re going to consult me.’

Just as I was scratching my head, unable to think of a good solution…

“Ah…”

Dark red blood dripped from my nose.

It seemed the shock from the first memory fragment settling into place was hitting me late.

I waited for the nosebleed to stop, then went to the bathroom to wash my face. Come to think of it, the chat window was unusually quiet.

“Constellations, why are you all so quiet?”

—Anonymous Constellation: Astell… are you okay?

—Anonymous Constellation: You died after Channel 32 had already ended.

—Anonymous Constellation: For real, I only found out you died yesterday. When you said you were reincarnated.

—Anonymous Constellation: Tbh, I didn’t even know Hunter Syndrome was a thing…

—Anonymous Constellation: Me neither!!!

‘You didn’t know? No, you just didn’t need to know. After all, Hunters are just disposable chess pieces.’

The reason they were being so cautiously awkward was simple. They needed to butter me up to make me easier to use.

‘For their own entertainment.’

I shrugged.

“It’s all in the past. I’m trying not to dwell on my previous life.”

What I see, the Constellations see too. Which means the Administrator can see it as well.

That’s why I have to think of my goals in my head instead of writing them down somewhere.

Until I figure out the Administrator’s true intentions for bringing me here, I have to keep my real objective a secret.

I changed the subject to the viewer count, which had increased to twenty-seven.

It would be a pain if the Constellations started nagging me about what I was going to do from now on.

“Anyway, it looks like we have a lot of new people here.”

—Anonymous Constellation: Yeah, the community is going crazy because of you!

—Anonymous Constellation: Your clips are circulating, and everyone’s losing their minds.

—Anonymous Constellation: The one where you destroyed the monster, the one where you resolutely smashed the dinner table, and the one where you had a verbal battle with your dad are all up.

—Anonymous Constellation: A lot of people probably came over after seeing the clips.

—Anonymous Constellation: Honestly, it was pretty cool.

—Anonymous Constellation: Ikr ikr