I Have Contracted Too Many Constellations

Chapter 3 Trial (1)

Not a glamorous feeling, but a neat one—blonde hair.

A gentle-looking atmosphere.

A neighbor who lived next door.

It was Sung Harim, one of the main characters in this world.

“You’re going to the academy exam today, right?”

“Yeah. I’m about to leave now.”

“Then let’s go together!”

It hadn’t been long since he met Sung Harim.

Back when he was frantically searching the Seoraksan area for the Ilcheongeom.

He finally found the location and planned a safe route to get there when he met her.

He had been quite taken aback at first.

He hadn’t expected her to live here.

‘Never thought the precious gem of the Great Constellation would be here.’

Constellations.

A gathering of contractors, a sort of cooperative group.

When they grow beyond a certain size, their power can sometimes rival that of a nation.

And when mentioning the four largest constellations in the country, the constellation always comes up.

Sung Harim was the daughter of the leader of that constellation and the precious gem of .

He never dreamed she would be living alone here.

– Are you applying to the academy by any chance?

After their initial greeting, they quickly became close.

Sung Harim had a personality that approached anyone easily.

Plus, they had the common goal of applying to the academy.

After becoming friends, they met quite often.

“Do you need help with that? It looks hard to carry alone.”

“Sorry? There’s no need. It may look like a lot, but it’s not heavy.”

“It’s fine, give it to me.”

“It’s really okay…”

He took one of the garbage bags from her hands.

He felt guilty making her carry the garbage bags alone.

One’s impression of her was genuinely kind-hearted.

She was almost like a saint.

Well, considering her constellation, she indeed was a saint.

‘Her constellation is the archangel Gabriel, after all.’

The lily that embraces the moonlight.

Gabriel, one of the four archangels, was her constellation.

There’s a reason why main characters are main characters.

In the original work, she showed tremendous support abilities as a top-tier healer.

[Constellation, ‘The Lily That Embraces the Moonlight,’ looks at you.]

Moreover, Gabriel was quite interested in her contractor.

Thanks to that, the original Sung Harim received all sorts of support growing up.

By the time of the final chapter, she could save someone as long as they were still breathing.

After the ending…

Maybe she could even revive the dead.

“Oh! Did you find what you were looking for? You said you needed to find it before the academy exam.”

“Yeah, I found it. This.”

He showed her the Ilcheongeom hanging from his waist.

Even now, it wasn’t flashy, but it was a neatly and elegantly made sword.

Since it was a sacred relic, it wouldn’t break easily.

Even if its abilities weren’t great, he planned to use it in actual combat for a while.

“Is it a sacred relic?”

“Yeah, but its performance isn’t that good.”

“Still, if it’s an undiscovered sacred relic… that’s amazing.”

Sung Harim looked at the Ilcheongeom with genuine admiration in her eyes.

[Constellation, ‘Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl,’ says its performance isn’t bad at all.]

…You’re watching?

He felt a chill down his spine.

He hadn’t expected the constellation to be watching him.

What if he had made a mistake and said something weird…

It would have been straight to contract termination and doom.

Such constant close surveillance.

He would have to be careful about what he said regarding the constellation from now on.

“Just throw that over there.”

“I’ll wait here after throwing it away.”

“Okay, thank you so much!”

Since the two garbage bags were different types, he waited for Sung Harim to come back.

In the meantime, he held a long stick in his hand.

It was the smoking pipe the Mysterious Girl had given him last time.

It was said to calm the mind and body.

He felt like trying it out at least once.

[Constellation, ‘Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl,’ advises you to try smoking it once.]

Following the constellation’s advice, he put the pipe in his mouth and inhaled the smoke.

A colorless smoke that wasn’t bitter or sweet.

[Using the handmade smoking pipe slightly calms your mind and body.]

There were no additional effects yet since there were no medicinal ingredients inside.

But this alone was enough.

He had been quite nervous about the academy entrance exam.

Smoking this seemed to calm that nervousness a bit.

White smoke flowed from the end of the pipe.

Even though it was an herb, it seemed difficult to use in an enclosed space.

“You shouldn’t be smoking!”

At that moment, Sung Harim, who had returned after throwing away the garbage, said with a flustered expression.

She seemed quite shocked, her trembling eyes visible even here.

“Smoking is… bad for your health, bad for those around you… there’s nothing good about it…”

She was so flustered that she stammered out her words.

Since she was naturally pretty, even that wasn’t particularly bad.

She had a face you wanted to tease.

Sung Harim was exactly that kind of face. It was the same in the original work.

“It’s okay, this isn’t a cigarette.”

“…It’s not a cigarette?”

“It’s for smoking herbs, look.”

He briefly took the pipe from his mouth and handed it to her.

When she saw it was an item, Sung Harim’s expression turned to surprise again.

She was someone whose expressions were fun to watch.

How could a person’s expressions be so varied and straightforward?

“Ah… Then shall we go?”

Blushing, perhaps embarrassed by her earlier fuss, Sung Harim moved ahead first.

Since it was amusing to tease her, he considered bringing it up again but decided not to, as it was time to head to the academy entrance exam.

“Jinwoo, you’re applying for Class C, right?”

“Yeah. You’re applying for Class A, right?”

The academy was divided into four classes.

From the highest, Class A, to the lowest, Class D.

He applied for Class C.

He wasn’t skilled enough for Class A or B yet.

Moreover, the protagonist, Lee Shinwoo, also started in Class C.

‘He’s weak at the beginning.’

It wasn’t exactly a late bloomer situation.

It was just that the contract was made late.

The protagonist, Lee Shinwoo, awakened and contracted only a month before the academy entrance exam.

It was just a case of an exceptionally late contract.

With innate combat sense and a good constellation.

A desire for growth and tremendous effort to match.

With those two qualities, his skills weren’t just Class C.

‘It’s better to make connections early.’

It gets harder to get close as time goes by, so it’s better to get close early.

Even though the constellation might be a hurdle…

What could possibly happen?

That constellation wouldn’t be able to show up directly, so it should be fine.

“Did you have breakfast?”

“I had some bread.”

“That’s not enough! Today is the exam, you need to eat well.”

What is this, a mother?

He hadn’t heard nagging about food even in his past life, and now he was hearing it here.

“Uh… Shall we have lunch together, then?”

“Lunch? Will we finish before then?”

“The entrance exam doesn’t take long.”

“I’m good with it. It would be great to have lunch with you.”

“Let’s eat at my place. I did some shopping yesterday, so I have plenty of ingredients!”

Wait, at her place?

At Sung Harim’s place?

He was momentarily taken aback by that fact, but then remembered it had happened before.

They had eaten at her place when they first met.

He had been so famished after not eating for days that it made sense at the time.

Thinking about it now, it was quite a bold move.

‘It’s fine… right.’

Neither he nor Sung Harim had any weird thoughts.

Having a meal together should be fine.

What could possibly happen?

#

At the academy entrance exam site.

Jinwoo and Sung Harim parted ways for a while.

The exam locations for Class A and Class C were completely different.

“Let’s meet here again after the exam.”

“Good luck on your exam.”

“You too, Jinwoo.”

After that conversation, Jinwoo headed to the Class C exam site, where there weren’t many people.

Even for Class C, they were contractors.

Considering that the academy’s entrance criterion was being a contractor, it made sense.

Contractors were both numerous and rare in this world.

And half of them were expected to fail.

The academy’s exam content.

To be more precise, the exam content for the ‘combat department’ was a duel.

A one-on-one duel, where those who lost were eliminated.

Winning meant admission.

It was a fitting exam for the combat department, as nothing else was considered.

“Examinees number 32 and 33, please prepare for the duel.”

Examinee number 33. That was his number.

As he stepped forward, the judge looked at him and asked.

“Name Yoo Jinwoo. Constellation is Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl, correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then please step onto the dueling stage and prepare for the duel.”

After confirming his identity, he stepped onto the dueling stage.

In his hand was the Ilcheongeom. It was a real sword.

This duel allowed the use of real swords.

Magic would protect against attacks that could lead to severe injury.

So, using real swords was fine.

In the original work, the protagonist exceeded that limit and got hurt, though.

Surely, that wouldn’t happen to him? Even if he got hurt, it wouldn’t be his responsibility.

“Examinee number

32, Ha Jungho.”

“Examinee number 33, Yoo Jinwoo.”

His duel opponent, examinee number 32, had a fox-like face.

Not metaphorically, but his eyes were abnormally slanted.

He really looked like a fox.

Examinee number 32, Ha Jungho.

At first, he was unsure, but seeing his face confirmed it.

‘He’s an extra from the original work.’

Just a few lines of appearance, an extra.

His constellation was none other than ‘The Fox of Aquarius.’

The fox from Aesop’s fable .

The grade was… Fairy Tale.

Not particularly strong, just an extra.

‘But I can’t underestimate him.’

He himself was also weak.

His stats were naturally low.

The Nine Heavens Sword was only in its first verse.

He was a half-baked contractor, to say the least.

Still, he didn’t think he couldn’t do it.

Three weeks of hellish training and hours of practice weren’t in vain.

By the end of this duel, his Nine Heavens Sword would be perfected.

And he would enter the academy.

Thus began his first trial.