The Regressor's Guide to Raising Constellations

Chapter 4. The Promising Candidates

It was the second day of the training camp.

Since the first day was spent on the intake process, the real training began today. And it started with a morning run.

“One! Two! Three! Four!”

The trainees, still rubbing sleep from their eyes, shouted in rhythm as they jogged around the training field. The cool morning air quickly chased away their drowsiness.

“How many laps do we have to run, anyway?”

“I heard it’s until we collapse from exhaustion.”

“Damn it, I hate running.”

Some trainees, having bonded overnight, chatted as they ran.

The first week of training, before spirit synchronization, focused heavily on physical conditioning. Even without synchronization, contractors were naturally exposed to the faint starlight of their spirits right after contracting, helping their bodies adapt. This adaptation process was akin to muscle supercompensation, making physical training more effective when paired with it.

As someone had mentioned, the morning run was set to continue until the trainees’ stamina gave out. Their endurance would determine their scores.

“Huff… huff…”

“How… how is that guy still so fine?”

As time passed, even those who had been chatting casually began to pant heavily. Amid the struggling trainees, I stood out, running with ease.

I had already completed over ten laps around the field, yet I barely broke a sweat, my breathing steady and my posture unshaken.

‘The effect of Bone-Shedding Rebirth is incredible. Should I just keep going?’

Jin Yu-seong, watching me closely, was inwardly impressed by the effects of my rebirth but shook his head, dismissing the temptation. Even if he wasn’t thrilled about being a five-star contractor, he wasn’t reckless enough to gamble with his life.

“Urgh!”

“I can’t do this anymore…”

A few lagging trainees collapsed onto the ground. As the grueling run continued, dropouts began to emerge.

“Seventeen laps.”

The instructor approached the fallen trainees, recording their counts and dragging them off the track to avoid obstructing those still running.

‘They lasted longer than I expected,’ Jin Yu-seong thought, glancing at the dropouts.

One of them, clearly overweight and unfit, had managed seventeen laps—nearly seven kilometers, assuming the track was 400 meters. It was likely the influence of their spirit’s starlight.

‘Well, I’m still feeling fine, too.’

Though he was breathing heavily, Jin Yu-seong didn’t feel he had reached his limit. Each time he thought he was done, a surge of energy from within gave him the strength to keep going. His body, adapting rapidly to the starlight, was surpassing its previous limits.

This process had already repeated several times.

As the laps increased, more trainees dropped out. No matter how much they adapted to the starlight and pushed past their limits, everyone eventually hit a true breaking point.

‘The ones dropping out first likely contracted with lower-grade spirits.’

Even faint starlight, when multiplied, couldn’t be ignored. Those still running had to have contracted with at least five-star spirits or higher.

Of course, there could be others like me who underwent Bone-Shedding Rebirth, but Jin Yu-seong was willing to account for such variables.

Only four trainees remained.

Excluding me, who was in the lead, Jin Yu-seong eyed the other two—a man and a woman.

He didn’t know them personally, but their faces were familiar.

‘Park Seong-cheol with a six-star vessel, and Yoo Se-hee with a five-star vessel.’

Promising candidates who had contracted with spirits matching their talents. Jin Yu-seong, anticipating they’d be his rivals in the training camp, felt a spark of competitive spirit. He didn’t care about me, but he was determined to outlast those two. As someone born with a seven-star vessel, he had pride in his superior talent, even if he had only contracted with a five-star spirit.

‘I’ve got the edge in talent.’

Plus, besides his five-star spirit, he had contracted with two one-star spirits, giving him more starlight than the others.

All three were at their limits, drenched in sweat, steam practically rising from their bodies. The deciding factor would be the intensity of their starlight.

‘I’ll win.’

Soon after, as expected, Yoo Se-hee was the first of the four to drop out. Despite adapting to starlight and pushing past her limits, the inherent physical differences between men and women put her at a disadvantage.

“Fifty-three laps.”

Surprisingly, Park Seong-cheol held on much longer after Yoo Se-hee fell. Even as Jin Yu-seong reached his true limit, his legs cramping and his body collapsing—

“Fifty-nine laps. Third place.”

The instructor’s words didn’t register. All Jin Yu-seong could see was Park Seong-cheol’s back, pulling further away.

‘No way. He’s just a six-star contractor at best!’

He couldn’t fathom how someone with seven stars’ worth of starlight could outlast him. But looking inward, he quickly realized the truth.

It wasn’t about the total number of stars.

‘Five plus one plus one is just less than six.’

The starlight from his one-star spirits, which he thought would help, was negligible compared to his five-star spirit’s.

‘I’m… inferior to Park Seong-cheol?’

It was hard to accept that someone he had looked down on before the spirit contract had surpassed him. His pride was wounded.

After synchronization, this gap would only widen. His pride wouldn’t allow him to fall behind so easily.

Then, his eyes caught me, running ahead of Park Seong-cheol.

‘If I undergo Bone-Shedding Rebirth…!’

A way to surpass Park Seong-cheol again came to mind. A choice he wouldn’t have considered before now took root in his heart.

‘If Lee Han-seong did it, why can’t I?’

At sixty-one laps, Park Seong-cheol collapsed. A two-lap gap was close enough to overcome.

“Of course, Lee Han-seong takes first.”

All eyes turned to me, the last one standing. Though I looked slightly tired, I still had plenty of energy.

“How long is that guy gonna keep running?”

“He’s a one-star contractor, right? Was that a lie?”

Even though first place was decided, I didn’t stop. The morning run, which started at dawn, had gone on for over two hours.

Seventy laps… eighty laps… ninety laps…

Even past a hundred laps, my pace didn’t slow, causing a stir among the trainees, instructors, and coaches.

“Could it be… he succeeded in Bone-Shedding Rebirth?” a coach muttered, noting my abnormal stamina.

If I had truly undergone rebirth, a simple run wouldn’t reveal my limits.

“Enough! We’re moving on to strength tests.”

The coach stopped my run. While I was running alone, the other trainees who had dropped out had already rested enough.

An instructor handed me water and a calorie bar, urging me to rest.

“I could’ve kept going for a while…”

With stamina to spare and the ability to keep running using the Courier’s , I felt reluctant to stop. Unaware of my desire to show off my transformed self to my constellation, the instructor gave me a wary look at my muttering.

***

In the subsequent strength tests, I stood out even more.

“Lee Han-seong’s first again?”

“Man, is he an awakener or what? What kind of stamina is that?”

Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups—I dominated all three events with overwhelming records, earning high praise.

The more I excelled, the stronger Jin Yu-seong’s desire for Bone-Shedding Rebirth grew. And he wasn’t alone.

‘Second place again…’

Park Seong-cheol, who would’ve taken first if not for me, watched me with a complex expression.

‘The coach mentioned Bone-Shedding Rebirth…’

Unlike Jin Yu-seong, he didn’t know much about rebirth, only guessing it was a special method given my, a one-star contractor’s, exceptional stamina.

It didn’t matter if the coach’s guess was wrong.

‘The truth lies with him.’

He could just ask me directly. Never one to hesitate, Park Seong-cheol approached me during a break after his turn.

“How’d you do it? I heard you’re a one-star contractor.”

“Do what?”

“That Bone-Shedding Rebirth thing, whatever made you so strong. Can you tell me?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll pay a fair price—wait, you’ll tell me?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell you.”

Most would guard such information, but I answered so readily that Park Seong-cheol was taken aback. I had been waiting for the promising candidates to approach me.

‘As expected, shining brightly draws them in.’

I had deliberately showcased the changes from my rebirth to pique their interest, specifically to push them toward attempting their first synchronization before the sudden rift. That way, they wouldn’t die needlessly in the crisis.

I had no intention of informing the instructors or coaches about the rift. They likely wouldn’t believe me, and even if they did, I wouldn’t be allowed to join the hunt.

‘I can’t just let a chance to hunt monsters without a license slip by.’

To prevent the disasters that weakened Earth before the great war, I needed to grow as quickly as possible. The only concern was the casualties from the rift.

Even using my destiny awakening skill, I couldn’t prevent all losses alone. I wasn’t strong enough to control everything.

So, I planned to involve the promising candidates as key players in resolving the rift.

Whisper whisper.

I explained to Park Seong-cheol in a hushed voice about the common knowledge of Bone-Shedding Rebirth, including the conditions—having a five-star or higher vessel and consistent physical training before contracting—and the risks of excruciating pain or death.

“How about it? Wanna try?”

“I’m in.”

Having heard everything, Park Seong-cheol nodded without a hint of fear, exuding confidence that he could endure the pain.

It wasn’t baseless confidence. Promising candidates, trained under the association’s guidance, were prepared enough to withstand an early starlight baptism, even if they didn’t know about true rebirth.

“Tonight, then?”

“Absolutely.”

Noticing Jin Yu-seong’s uneasy glance at Park Seong-cheol, I smiled with satisfaction.

‘With Jin Yu-seong’s competitive nature, he won’t let Park Seong-cheol outdo him.’

I had deliberately spoken where Jin Yu-seong could see to provoke him, and it paid off. It was almost certain both would accelerate their first synchronization.

The next day, I confirmed my calculations were correct. Both Park Seong-cheol and Jin Yu-seong had safely completed their starlight baptism overnight, showing significantly improved records in the same strength tests as the previous day.

They hadn’t achieved true Bone-Shedding Rebirth, so they didn’t surpass my records.

‘The remaining challenge is convincing Yoo Se-hee.’

I needed to push her to complete her starlight baptism soon, as she was the promising candidate fated to die in the rift.

Unlike the other two, changing her mind wasn’t easy. She had a strong aversion to me.

‘Ugh, why did I act like that back then?’

In my immature days, I had flirted with her thoughtlessly. It was embarrassing now, but those actions had become karma, hindering me.

‘If I approach her directly, she’ll just get defensive.’

I needed a different approach. She wasn’t without competitive spirit, clearly unhappy about falling behind the other candidates, so I could subtly stoke that.

…Or so I thought.

Four days passed, and until the day before the sudden rift—when spirit synchronization was scheduled—Yoo Se-hee still hadn’t undergone her starlight baptism.

I had no choice but to act.

“I need to talk.”

“Ugh, I told you I’m not interested.”

Her tone was icy from the start, but I pressed on.

“…I’m sorry. I was rude back then.”

“Rude? That’s putting it lightly.”

“Very rude.”

Arms crossed, she scoffed, “Hmph, at least you know.”

“I’m not here to flirt today, so just hear me out.”

I spoke earnestly, and though she still looked displeased, she gestured for me to go on.

“You know Seong-cheol and Yu-seong already did their first synchronization, right?”

“Of course. Their records scream it. How could I not know?”

“Ever thought about doing yours early?”

“Tomorrow’s the scheduled day. Why bother? I’m not like those guys, obsessed with competition and breaking rules.”

“That’s a lie.”

[ detects the opponent’s falsehood.]

Pointing out the system message from the Doctor’s , she flinched but doubled down brazenly.

“Lie Detection?! …Fine, I lied. I did consider trying Bone-Shedding Rebirth.”

“Then why…?”

“Someone kept subtly pushing me, and it made me not want to. Turns out it was you.”

My efforts had backfired. I hadn’t realized she had a rebellious streak.

“What, hoping I’d fail and die?”

“No! The opposite. I’m trying to save you…”

“Save me? That’s rich. Did you see some future where I die?”

“…What if I did?”

When I didn’t deny it, her pupils trembled slightly.

“You’re saying you have a future-seeing skill? From a measly one-star spirit? You think I’d believe that nonsense?”

“Don’t believe me if you don’t want to. I’ve said my piece, and whatever you choose, I’ll make sure you survive.”

“Hah, you, saving me? Whatever, just get lost.”

Snorting dismissively, Yoo Se-hee walked away, but her expression was deeply troubled.

I could tell she was half-convinced, but I wasn’t going to wait for her to act on her own.

‘Fine. If you’re in danger, I’ll protect you.’

Tomorrow at dawn, when the sudden rift opens, I planned to sneak to her room and keep her safe.

But I was completely unaware of the misunderstanding my actions might cause. My cat-like tendency to focus on one thing at a time had simplified my thinking.