Chapter 6
“Do we really have to find that person, Sister?”
The “person” she referred to was the sharpshooter who threw the rock and knocked out that guy in an instant.
“Of course, with skills like that, they must be quite impressive.”
I didn’t know their gender or age.
But skill speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
And the fact that someone would protect a frail(?) woman like me….
Who knew that in this wretched world, apart from Lyria, there would still be such a kind-hearted person?
Seeing the sneaky smile spreading across my face, Lyria shook her head.
“There are plenty of other good people besides that one.”
She was right.
Even if it’s not that person, there were many decent candidates here with powerful constellations.
The Final Companion, the Son of the Lion, the Long-exiled Traveler, the Mountain Dragon of Sangsan… all of them had solid stats and competent constellations.
But, like the rotten apple theory, if one member is good, the others tend to be flawed.
And if everything seems balanced, the skills often turn out to be absolutely useless.
A skill like “Broom’s Blessing”—what are you going to do with that? Sweep the bloody dungeon floors during battle?
Naturally, they were all rejected.
As I’ve said before, team selection must be done with utmost caution.
Once you form a team, you can’t disband it unless every team member dies, and the abilities of the team members determine the team’s overall rank.
The ranks range from S-tier to F-tier.
The stronger the members, the higher the chances of getting an S-rank.
‘Wasn’t the S-rank benefit something like double recovery during rest and potions every twelve hours?’
There were other trivial perks too, I think….
But it wasn’t something that mattered much, since these benefits were only crucial at the very beginning.
Later on, no one would even need those perks when we’d all be chewing through monsters for breakfast.
With a calm expression, I scanned my surroundings.
In some areas, heated arguments and shouting matches broke out over skill deception and lies about constellations.
And over there… well, it was obvious even without looking.
One strong constellation and four weak ones that barely qualified as constellations at all.
And there were more than twenty such teams of misfits.
People who hadn’t even bothered to understand the basic rules.
These were the ones who, terrified at the thought of dying alone, hastily formed teams with anyone they could grab, no matter how unsuitable.
Anyway, I’m not rejecting people blindly!
This team composition will have to last all the way through the third trial.
I know from the original story that team members do not change until after the third trial.
Life is full of unexpected twists, and in an apocalyptic world like this, where one’s survival is uncertain, I can’t afford to have an unreliable team.
I let out a small sigh and checked my stigmata again.
‘Ding!’
<Magic Cart> <Big Data>
“…I seriously hate this.”
Honestly, mine was probably the worst out of everyone’s.
Fortunately, others can only see the skill names.
They won’t know what these skills do or how they work unless I reveal it myself.
‘I still don’t know the exact abilities of anything except the Window of Subspace.’
Who knows?
These might turn out to be some incredible cheat abilities!
And I already have the infinite trust of the original story’s protagonist.
I’ve long since avoided becoming monster fodder.
As long as I can find Lyria’s original teammates and survive the upcoming trials, I’ll be fine.
‘As long as we survive….’
Hah.
I sighed and turned my head at the light tapping behind me.
It was Lyria.
“Sister, shouldn’t we find a team to join soon?”
Her face, which had been flushed just a moment ago, was now turning pale.
The eyes that usually sparkled like crystal marbles were losing some of their brightness.
The hourglass floating in midair had already lost more than half of its sand.
For Lyria, who would usually feign death at a single word from me, to say this… things must be getting really dire.
‘I need to hurry.’
There was no clear indication of how much time was left, but the team selection mission would be ending soon.
If I can’t find that person, then forming a team with one of the candidates I’ve marked earlier should be fine.
There were some reservations, but it’s better than dying without trying.
I had to form a team no matter what.
Even so, it would be best not to deviate from the original storyline.
There’s no need to go off the rails when I know where the paved road leads.
After checking the remaining time in the hourglass, we continued searching for the original team members until about one-third of the sand was left.
“Found him!”
Finally, I spotted him.
The stubbornly set mouth, the rugged and imposing appearance.
Crimson hair and a muscular build exuding an intimidating, beastly aura.
Eyes glowing with an ominous, mystical purple hue.
[Caltain Illion]
[Constellation: The Warrior Who Punishes Gods]
There was no doubt. This was the original male protagonist, Caltain.
[Stigmata: Demon Strength]
[Stigmata: Battle Maniac]
[Stigmata: Lust for Carnage]
I nodded as I examined Caltain’s stigmata.
‘He’s just selected a constellation, and he’s already a broken character.’
As expected of the male protagonist from the original novel, this guy is loaded with brutal skills and traits. His constellation is none other than Asura, the demigod madman obsessed with combat.
Once he enters a fight, he completely loses control, attacking both friend and foe indiscriminately.
However, his violent nature pairs well with Lyria’s ability to nullify violence.
Even though he’s like a ticking time bomb that can destroy everything around him, with Lyria’s skills, only the enemies would face the brunt of his attacks, while allies would remain safe.
Furthermore, his two companions were also perfectly suited to the main party’s setup, each possessing top-tier specs.
[Javier Clui]
[Constellation: Cow of Salvation (Lion of Wrath)]
This constellation represents Sekhmet, a deity from Egyptian mythology who embodies healing and regeneration, as well as wrath and vengeance—a being with two opposing natures.
And Javier, as Sekhmet’s avatar, is renowned as a hybrid dealer and healer, capable of both powerful attacks and robust healing.
[Eltein Cartego]
[Constellation: Slayer of the Sun]
Eltein, the incarnation of Yi, the archer who shot down the suns in Chinese mythology, is considered one of the strongest long-range dealers in the world.
“Excuse me!”
With Lyria as the tank….
Anyway, with me joining the original story’s protagonist party, it would create a perfectly balanced team.
“It seems like you haven’t found a team yet either. How about it?”
I flashed a confident smile as they turned to look at me.
“Finding teammates like us wouldn’t be easy, right?”
With these guys and Lyria, clearing future trials would be a breeze.
We’d be the most balanced and powerful party in the entire world.
Adding my knowledge of the original plot on top of that, we might even be able to reach the final showdown without any setbacks.
“Let’s cooperate, shall we?”
I reached out my hand on behalf of Lyria, who had hidden awkwardly behind me upon seeing the rugged-looking Caltain.
Accept this offer you can’t refuse….
“What?”
But just as I was dreaming of a smooth run through the trials by riding the main party’s coattails, my plan was shattered by his cold response.
“You want us to team up with you?”
What the hell is up with this attitude?
That expression of disbelief.
The look that seemed to say, “Why are you even talking to us?”
Even the annoyed frown on Caltain’s face made me realize that something was seriously wrong.
“Trashy stats, trashy constellation—how dare someone like you act so conceited.”
Something was definitely off.
In the original story, these guys accepted the team-up proposal from Wendy and Lyria right away….
Oh, damn it….
That’s right. In the original, Wendy was chosen by a fairly strong constellation, while my current constellation is….
—PinkFlareGong (fjkklxxx): What’s up with Wendy? Acting up for no reason when her constellation seems totally useless.
—PossessionTruckDriver (hdssaxxx): Exactly, it’s so cringeworthy.
The useless constellation they’re referring to is you guys, dear readers….
I clenched my teeth as I glared at the comments popping up in front of me.
I began to contemplate how I should persuade these people who were looking at me with disdain.
“Wait, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. My constellation is….”
Should I bluff and claim that it’s some incredible constellation?
Or should I go full crazy and cling to their pants?
But I really don’t feel like grabbing the pants of someone who would abandon Wendy in the Monster Forest in the original story….
“Don’t you dare look down on my sister!”
Before I could decide, Lyria suddenly burst out from behind me, shouting at them.
“What makes you think you can look down on someone else? How great do you think you are?”
Her eyes were red as she shouted in anger, and I was stunned, trying to calm her down, but it seemed Lyria was already at her boiling point.
Stop it, Lyria….
They really are very skilled people.
Even if they’re incredibly annoying.
“She seems decent.”
“‘Hearth of the Cosmos’… That’s that goddess, isn’t it?”
“So, she’s pushing her luck, relying on her sister’s constellation.”
The guys whispered among themselves, looking Lyria up and down.
Indeed, Lyria, with Hestia as her constellation, was a great asset.
Maybe this could change their minds?
“Even if her sister is useless, recruiting someone like her is worth putting up with one baggage carrier.”
“If she becomes a burden, we can just drop her.”
…Baggage carrier, huh.
Well, either way, joining this party would definitely be beneficial.
If I can get in and grow a bit, it might still be a decent opportunity.
Okay, I’ll swallow my pride and join as their baggage carrier if that’s what it takes….
“We don’t want to team up with people as awful as you!”
But before I could decide, Lyria blurted out those words.
Then, holding onto my sleeve, she continued.
“I’m sorry, Sister. I don’t want to be with people who look down on you like that.”
Looking at Lyria’s large, teary eyes staring up at me, how could I possibly tell her to swallow her pride?
“Yeah, Lyria. Sticking with jerks like that would just get us stabbed in the back and turned into monster chow.”
Yeah, Wendy gets abandoned by that team in the original story.
I might be able to change it now, but….
‘There’s no helping it, then.’
I can’t hurt the feelings of the protagonist who cares about me this much.
“In that case, Plan B it is.”
If things are going to diverge from the original, I’ll make sure it’s shattered completely.
—
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