Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

After briefly passing out, I woke up to find everything taken from me—even my clothes had been changed. As soon as I understood the situation, I hastily rolled up my pant leg to check my ankle. The once faintly glowing symbol of Hamael had faded, leaving only a faint mark.

 

“Cloud… Cloud…” 

 

I tapped my ankle, calling out softly, but there was no sign of Cloud pressing his soft, fluffy head into my hand, nor the comforting sound of his little cries. The reality that Cloud was truly gone finally sank in.

 

More than losing my S-rank gear or even my phone, it was losing Cloud that filled me with despair.

 

“You bastard… dirty, rotten bastard!”

 

How could Tae Jae-heon possibly know about the constellations? Is Cloudy safe? He didn’t get hurt, did he? How am I supposed to get him back… 

 

My mind was filled with endless questions. Frustrated by the fact that I couldn’t do anything at the moment, I roughly ruffled my hair and approached the door. 

 

As expected, it was locked and wouldn’t budge. Annoyed, I kicked it and went over to open the window wide. True to Tae Jae-heon’s style, at least the window wasn’t locked.

 

“Looks like it’s about the third floor. Plenty to use for footing.”

 

The distance was manageable enough to climb down, but unfortunately, there was a CCTV camera positioned right next to the window.

 

Putting the escape plan on hold for the moment, I took a deep breath. The fresh air eased my constricted chest. But that was short-lived; when I looked up at the sky, I was left open-mouthed in shock.

 

“What the… is that…?”

 

Behind the planet that had first appeared before, a second massive orb had emerged. I remembered the flood of warning alerts, ominous and urgent, that appeared before I lost consciousness, saying something about destruction. Was the apocalypse really starting this soon?

 

I tried to pull up the quest log, but the main quest was completely blacked out and inactive. Instead, there was a single new quest I’d never seen before:

 {Emergency Quest} Win the Constellation Clash to prevent the destruction of the Zodiac System.   Conditions: Protect two or more constellations   *Remaining constellations: 12   *Protected constellations: 0   Time limit: 18 days   Reward: Main Quest #5.5, Constellation Map Activation   

The task of recovering the lost constellations was expected, but the reward was questionable. They’re offering me a redo of the already failed fifth main quest? And what’s with the added “.5” at the end?

 

Even though there are twelve constellations left, I only had access to two of them at best.

 

“Just 18 days!”

 

The time was far too short to deal with someone like Tae Jae-heon. Still, the fact that the quest appeared at all meant there had to be some chance……………

 

“Cloud, just wait a little longer. I swear, I’ll get you back.”

 

But despite my resolve, I didn’t have any clear strategy. The real problem was that Tae Jae-heon wasn’t someone you could negotiate with. No matter how much I cursed or yelled, he’d ignore me, his face like stone. 

 

He could be erratic, too, constantly pulling the rug out from under me. This time wouldn’t be any different. He’d string me along, squeeze every last drop out of me, then toss Cloud’s corpse to me as some sort of twisted “favor.”

 

If there’s no other way… I’ll just have to steal him back. 

 

But unlike before, I no longer had any allies or power left in Nox. And I couldn’t be sure Cloud was still here. If he’d been moved to the main Nox headquarters or somewhere else, there’d be no way to get him back.

 

I was glaring up at the hazy planets when I heard the door open behind me. Turning, I saw Tae Jae-heon’s assistant entering the room, flanked by his towering guards. The assistant met my gaze and nodded slightly in greeting.

 

“You’re awake. I’m the Guildmaster’s assistant. These men are assigned as your guards—”

 

“Guards? Bullshit, they’re just here to keep an eye on me.”

 

“Think of it however you prefer.”

 

“Fine. I’ll think of it as you getting lost. So why don’t you all just get out of my sight?”

 

I waved my hand dismissively, watching as the assistant’s face briefly twisted with irritation. For someone working under Tae Jae-heon, he wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions. He must have been new.

 

‘Why would Tae Jae-heon bring in some rookie like him? What happened to the others he used to have around?’

 

Once he managed to regain his composure, the assistant jerked his chin toward one of the guards, who approached me carrying an open black case. 

 

I glanced at it skeptically, and the assistant pushed his glasses up, explaining, “Since you’re without any equipment items, you must have three empty inventory slots. Put everything remaining into the case, please.”

 

“Not happening.”

 

“If you refuse, the Guildmaster has ordered us to ‘put you to sleep’ for a while so he can come retrieve everything himself.”

 

In one compartment of the case, I spotted several syringes filled with an unknown liquid.

 

“Hurry it up. I don’t have all day,” the assistant pressed.

 

Reluctantly, I opened my inventory and let my remaining items—a dagger and several high-grade healing potions—tumble into the case. 

 

As the case filled with the pristine, high-quality potions, I noticed the guards’ eyes flash with interest, while the assistant inspected the contents with narrowed eyes.

 

“A dagger and potions. Now, empty the last slot as well.”

 

“That’s it. I’ve always had one empty slot.”

 

“If you’re hiding something…”

 

“What would be the point in hiding anything now? You probably already searched me for high-grade items while I was out.”

 

With a look of dissatisfaction, he finally closed the case and stepped back. “The Guildmaster will be with you shortly. In the meantime, feel free to rest. If you need anything—”

 

“Take those guys with you and get lost.”

 

I interrupted, jerking my chin toward the guards now stationed in a corner of the room.

 

The assistant shook his head. “That won’t be possible. It’s the Guildmaster’s order.”

 

“Yahh!!”

 

Ignoring my outburst, he turned with a smirk and left the room, leaving me behind with three guards. Two of them, sensing my hostility, slipped outside, but the bulky one with the shaved head stubbornly stayed, looming silently by the wall.

 

“You too. Out.”

 

“It’s protocol to remain within five meters of you, Eui-jin nim.”

 

That mechanical tone, that unyielding look—guys like this were impossible to reason with. I rubbed my neck, already feeling the strain of this pointless exchange, then stood up with a sigh.

 

“Fine. Then I’ll leave.”

 

As I moved past him, the bulky guard scrambled to block the door, looking flustered. Crossing my arms, I shot him a lopsided glare.

 

“What’s wrong? Didn’t get specific orders about this part? Didn’t Tae Jae-heon tell you what to do if Kang Eui-jin decides to walk out?”

 

“That, uh… that is…”

 

“So, are

you

going out, or am

I

going out?” 

 

I pushed on, watching the confusion flash across his eyes. Seizing the moment, I spun a story about how if I walked out, it’d mean he failed his job—and that if anything went wrong outside, it would all be his responsibility when Tae Jae-heon found out. As my rant went on, he finally looked completely frazzled.

 

“Then… just for now, since it’s not an emergency, I’ll allow a 15-meter perimeter for security. But you must stay inside the room.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“If you need anything, please call us instead of leaving.”

 

The guard took a hesitant step back, eyes still wary, and closed the door behind him.

 

“Phew, finally got rid of him.” 

 

I took out the syringe I’d hidden in my sleeve, which I’d swiped while pretending to pour potions into the case. From a quick scan, I could tell it contained a potent sedative—a useful item with much stronger effects than I’d anticipated, and since it was an item, I could keep it stored in my inventory.

 

“Where there’s an empty space, there’s always something to fill it with. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

 

I walked over to the corner of the room and retrieved Laelaps’s collar from its hiding spot beneath the floorboards. Since they’d already searched the room thoroughly while I was asleep, it’d be a while before they’d try rifling through my inventory again. 

 

With the collar and the syringe stowed away, my previously empty inventory was starting to fill up again.

 

I glanced out the window. There weren’t even any guard dogs prowling the garden, and they hadn’t bothered to put any restraints on me to restrict my skills or movement. It was clear they had some reason to think I wouldn’t be able to escape. In situations like this, sneaking out and coming back on my own rarely led to serious punishment.

 

‘It’s only the first day; they probably won’t be watching the security cameras too closely yet… If I want to snoop around without a tail, now’s the time.’

 

To figure out where they might be holding Cloud, I first needed to understand where exactly I was. I aimed a kick at the camera nearby, tilting it toward the sky, then slipped out the window.

 

I was about to step down carefully when the window beside mine opened, and I had to jump. 

 

“Ugh!” 

 

My landing was far from graceful, and a sharp pain shot through my ankle. I grabbed at it, gritting my teeth as I steadied myself. 

 

Above me, cigarette smoke drifted down from the terrace, accompanied by the sound of the assistant’s voice.

 

“Yeah, he’s out. You can talk.” 

 

Damn it, of all times… Pressing my back against the wall, I held my breath. He was on the phone, and judging by the tone of his voice, he was venting a litany of complaints about me.

 

“What do I think? Pfft… driving me crazy. Sure, I’d heard he was rude and arrogant, but I figured he’d at least be worth it. Turns out he’s just a brat. He’s insufferable, vulgar. Why the Guild Leader’s wasting time on this little traitor is beyond me…”

 

“Assistant Yang, the files you requested have arrived.”

 

“Oh, right. I’ll be right there.”

 

A cigarette butt landed near me, still smoldering. The sound of a door closing brought silence to the terrace. Swatting away the lingering smoke, I stomped out the last of the embers.

 

“Damn it. Doesn’t he care if the whole place catches fire?”

 

As expected, all of Tae Jae-heon’s lackeys couldn’t stand me. If they hated me so much, why didn’t they go whine to him and tell him to let me go? But no, every single one of them seemed to prefer taking it out on me. Typical.

 

‘I’m a boss too, you know.’

 

I grumbled to myself, then turned around with a sigh.

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