Chapter 18
After finishing packing, I addressed the party, who were all bustling about in confusion.
“Everyone, just look at the quest window that appeared and accept it.”
Lyria nodded and looked at the air with a sense of wonder.
“Wow, look at this!”
It seemed like everyone, like Lyria, was focused on their quest window, their eyes wide with curiosity.
I also took another careful look at the quest details.
Even though I already knew what to expect, it was better to double-check.
Since the original story had already changed, there was no guarantee that the existing quests would remain the same.
I read through the text with a sense of unease.
[First Trial: Forest of Spirits]
**[The quest begins once you reach the location marked on the map.
—This quest is a first-come, first-served role assignment quest. The sooner you arrive, the better the advantage.]**
Fortunately, aside from the presence of a map, the quest’s content was the same as in the original.
As Lyria looked at the quest window, she suddenly spoke up.
“Sis, it looks like this is the location marked on the map.”
She pointed to a spot in the air where a large map was floating.
Just as she said, there was a blue check mark in the middle of the map.
“So, does that mean these little dots represent our team members?”
Yeriel pointed to the edges of the map.
There, at the spot where we were standing, were four small red dots clustered together.
“That seems to be the case. All five of our team membe…”
I stopped mid-sentence.
“Wait, did you say four?”
Where’s the fifth one?
Now that I think about it, I’ve had this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something ever since we woke up… could it be…?
[Constellation, The Hearth of the Cosmos thinks your party is hopelessly clueless.]
[Constellation, The Hearth of the Cosmos declares that there is no team as relaxed as yours here.]
The constellations’ indirect messages appeared immediately.
I had completely forgotten.
It seemed that with the main quest starting, the constellations’ indirect messages were now allowed.
Lyria looked at the air with an indignant expression.
“Sis, someone thinks we’re hopeless!”
She clearly hadn’t realized it was her own constellation and looked quite upset.
But regardless of how Lyria scowled, the constellations continued to send messages.
[Constellation, The Master of Healing says you’re the first to break a finger to demonstrate healing skills.]
[Constellation, The Abandoned Child is proud of their avatar.]
“Haha, hello! I’ve never gotten this much attention before,” Yeriel said, feeling awkward but pleased.
[Constellation, The Light Loved by All Things is enchanted by the girl’s lovely pink hair.]
[Constellation, The Mother Who Watches the World is urging you to renew your contract with her.]
[Constellation, The Hearth of the Cosmos claims Lyria as her child.]
“This is weird, Sis… Strangers keep talking to me.”
Lyria, overwhelmed by the flood of messages befitting a protagonist, looked disoriented.
[Constellation, The Sage of Death says your move back then was impressive.]
[Constellation, The Slayer of the Sun desires your leather bracers.]
“…They’re mine.”
And Eden was just standing there, looking extremely tense.
Everyone seemed flustered by the indirect messages from the constellations they were encountering for the first time.
But my attention was fixed on the one solitary red dot far off on the map.
[Constellation, The Hearth of the Cosmos mutters that the guy with black hair has no sense of camaraderie.]
The Hearth of the Cosmos had spoken.
The guy with black hair has no sense of teamwork.
And there was only one person in our team with black hair.
Oh, that guy went ahead of us!
“Seriously, that antisocial jerk!”
He could’ve at least woken us up if he saw us sleeping.
Did he think it was okay to just run off without a word?
Does he think he’s living in this world alone?
“Oh, for goodness’ sake…”
If he had just woken up and roused us, I wouldn’t be worrying like this.
“Let’s get going too.”
As I pondered how I’d deal with Xenon when we met up again, I felt a hand on my back.
Turning around, I saw Yeriel smiling warmly and gesturing for me to follow.
“If we don’t hurry, there won’t be any positions left except for Ruler.”
“What…?”
I asked, wondering if I’d misheard, but Yeriel shook his head with a serious expression.
“A role where you have to kill others… I’d rather die than take it.”
To think he believed that the Ruler role would be the first to run out.
Yeriel, being so kind-hearted, must see the best in everyone’s intentions.
“This isn’t exactly the time to worry about that… Sigh, alright. Let’s hurry.”
But staying here wouldn’t solve anything.
Whether things go well or poorly, we had to go forward.
A plan… I’d have to come up with one on the way.
***
We hurried and arrived at the quest area.
The moment we arrived, a dense tropical forest greeted us.
The entrance to the dark woods, where not even a sliver of light could pass through, loomed before us.
Standing there, I let out a sigh.
[Remaining Available Roles]
Spirits: 4
Rulers: 0
What I had feared had come true.
It seemed we were definitely the last to arrive.
Of course, who would oversleep on the morning of the first trial?
I had expected this outcome, but seeing it confirmed in reality made me resent Xenon even more.
What now?
“Well, it’s a relief, at least. The Spirit role is still available, though the name does sound a bit ominous….”
Yeriel, on the other hand, seemed glad that he wouldn’t have to harm others.
[Constellation, The Abandoned Child shakes their head.]
[Constellation, The Hearth of the Cosmos is irritated.]
[Constellation, The Sage of Death is displeased with the lack of combat.]
[Constellation, The Last Companion murmurs that they will meet soon.]
The constellations’ indirect messages appeared before my eyes.
Just from these, it was clear that our situation was utterly hopeless.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, no matter what.”
Eden murmured softly from behind me, his voice trembling slightly.
“I’ll give up my heart if I have to.”
This kid, who hasn’t even fully grown up, wasn’t scared?
“Hey, why would you give up your heart?”
“Ow…”
Eden rubbed his forehead where I’d flicked him.
“…But I’m serious.”
Still, hearing those words brought me back to my senses.
Right, what’s done is done, and we can’t just sit around moping.
I can’t hide behind someone younger than me either.
“I’ll protect you, sis!”
“No, I’ll do it.”
I watched the two of them begin to bicker again and couldn’t help but chuckle before slapping my cheeks a few times to snap myself out of it.
“Alright, everyone. Stay sharp. This is only the first trial, so let’s survive together!”
We have to stay focused and keep moving forward.
We couldn’t give up now.
Slowly, I stepped into the forest, where an ominous mist swirled.
‘Ding!’
[You have entered the quest area: Forest of Spirits.]
As soon as we reached the forest, a notification appeared.
[You are a Spirit.]
[Hide and escape from the Rulers, and survive for the allotted time. The time allotted depends on your stats.]
Okay, this was as expected.
But then…
[You have been allotted a total of 121 minutes.]
“What?”
I couldn’t help but exclaim when I saw the message that popped up.
121 minutes?
In the original story, most characters received between one hour to an hour and a half.
Is the system discriminating against me just because I used to be a villainess?
[Allotted survival time is determined based on physical stats. The higher the stats, the more advantage in time allocation.]
A follow-up message appeared, as if responding to my question.
So, this means…
My survival time is this low because…
‘Just because I’m weak…?’
Oh, Wendy.
You should’ve at least worked out a little.
Looking at myself now, my wrists are indeed pretty thin.
My scrawny legs too, and my body feels like it’s all bones.
But still, this is just unfair!
“I got exactly 1 hour.”
“I have 52 minutes.”
“I’m around the same. 1 hour and 10 minutes? How about you, sis?”
‘Why am I the only one like this!’
As if proving my own frailty, Yeriel, Eden, and Lyria each shared their allotted times.
Yeriel and Lyria probably had an advantage due to their intelligence and magic stats.
And given Eden’s impressive attack skills from yesterday, it made sense he wasn’t far behind them.
“I have…”
I knew my stats were far below theirs.
But being confronted with my own weakness like this stirred both a sense of shame and a newfound determination to grow stronger.
“2 hours.”
—
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