It was the seventh day since being stranded.
Lee Dongwoo wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead and said,
“That was close!”
“Seriously. I’m glad everyone managed to get a transfer ticket.”
Everyone staying at this base had obtained their transfer ticket.
Even so, Chae Saebyeok seemed to be thinking deeply about something.
“What about the people we met while hunting… do you think they’ll be okay?”
“We can’t take responsibility for them. All we can do is hope for the best.”
“I know. Sending them to another nearby base was the only thing we could do… but I kind of hope we can meet them again someday.”
Because we’d been traveling long distances using Dongwoo’s teleportation ability over the past few days, we’d had contact with other groups.
But since taking care of our own people was already difficult, all we could do was guide the others toward different bases.
Some of us would probably carry that as a burden on our conscience.
“Let’s just get ready. You packed everything?”
“Yeah.”
On the final day, the number on the tree changed to [24:00:00], signaling that there was only one day left on the countdown.
Just like before, the numbers decreased neither too fast nor too slow.
As the forest darkened, the time steadily ticked down—until only 60 seconds remained.
I put on my backpack and opened my Analysis Window one last time
.
[Joo Yeonwoo – 0 Points]
[11 Constellations are watching.]
[Favor: 0]
#??-genre #??-genre #survival #towerclimbing #streamer #constellation
#??class #overpowered #swordsman
[Chae Saebyeok – 0 Points]
[5 Constellations are watching.]
[Favor: 0]
#survival #towerclimbing #streamer #constellation
#trouble-magnet #archer
They had scraped up every last point and used them.
Nothing remained.
I looked at the mysterious tags attached to Joo Yeonwoo’s profile, then focused on the word Constellation.
Constellations…
I didn’t know exactly what they were, but judging by the messages, they sure liked watching people.
“Noeul.”
“Yes.”
While I absentmindedly tightened and loosened the straps of my backpack, Yeonwoo took my hand.
“You don’t have to be so nervous.”
“…Yes.”
He held my hand tightly, as if trying to reassure me.
Rationally speaking, there was no way he would hurt me in front of everyone.
That would put him at a disadvantage.
But I still felt chills.
A deep, instinctual aversion—something primal—crawled under my skin.
I desperately wanted to shake his hand off, but too many eyes were watching.
So I forced a smile and looked up at him.
In that moment, my vision turned blue.
[Tutorial Clear!]
[You have proven your qualification.]
[System update in progress.]
[Unlocking Constellation System…]
[Unlock complete.]
[Unlocking Favor System…]
[Unlock complete.]
[Loading complete]
[Unlocking Tier: “Consequences of Choice.”]
For a moment—or maybe for what felt like a very long time—time drifted by.
Staring blankly into the deep blue darkness before me, I eventually realized my eyes were closed.
When I opened them again, a night sky full of stars stretched out before me.
“Wow…”
The sky was black, and the ground was black.
Like white paint splattered on navy paper, bright stars were densely scattered everywhere.
Looking more closely, I saw water pooled beneath my feet.
When I stepped forward, the water rippled like jelly.
Fascinating.
Was this what space looked like—the way it was depicted in illustrations?
As I took another step—
“Noeul.”
A soft voice came from behind me.
Gentle, warm… but that didn’t mean the man who owned it was safe.
I turned, already expecting those pitch-black eyes.
“I’ve been waiting.”
“You arrived first, I see.”
His eyes curved gently, like a beast hiding its claws.
He walked straight toward me and stood at my side.
No one else was here.
Had they not arrived yet?
I opened my mouth to ask—but transparent windows I hadn’t called for suddenly appeared.
[Constellation Broadcast is now open.]
[Currently 3 Constellations are watching your broadcast.]
[You may receive Favor through broadcasts.]
“…Constellation? Favor?”
As I read the messages in confusion, Yeonwoo spoke calmly, as if he’d expected this.
“Ah, so you saw it too, Noeul.”
Before I could ask him what he meant, new messages appeared.
[The Forgotten Princess shows interest in you.]
[The Sister Who Brought Ruin shows interest in you.]
[The Keeper of the Planetarium shows interest in you.]
“It seems these Constellations take the role of spectators.”
[You have received 100 Favor!]
[Favor Shop unlocked.]
[You may purchase items using Favor!]
“And apparently, they donate some currency called Favor. Just like the Point Shop before, it seems you can buy things using Favor as well.”
“W–wow…”
I stared blankly as transparent windows popped up one after another.
Opening the shop window, I saw that it offered even more items than the first-floor point shop.
There were all sorts of items—and just as Yeonwoo said, everything required Favor.
As I browsed through the shop, a voice echoed through the space—one I remembered from our first day.
<Oh, you’ve all transferred. Since the first floor is wrapped up, shall we get started?>
“…!”
It was the same voice that had told us to clear the trial and climb the tower.
Again? What now?
Startled, I tried to find the source of the voice, but it echoed from everywhere and nowhere.
<Floor 2 is… well, as you all know, picking your Incarnation! Basically choosing who you’ll sponsor, and who will sponsor you. Sure, you’ll have chances later, but it’ll cost more, so it’s better to choose now, okay?>
“Sponsor…?”
<Alright then, get ready… and—fire!>
At that moment, a selection window appeared.
[Choose your Constellation.]
[1. The Sister Who Brought Ruin]
[2. The Forgotten Princess]
[3. The Keeper of the Planetarium]
…Wait, how am I supposed to choose if I don’t know anything?
“Uh… could someone explain…?”
Thankfully, these Constellations seemed surprisingly friendly.
[The Forgotten Princess explains that receiving a Constellation’s sponsorship will make climbing the tower easier.]
[The Sister Who Brought Ruin says that a Constellation and their Incarnation help each other.]
“In other words, it’s similar to the relationship between an athlete and their sponsor.”
“So… uh… if the sponsored person does well, the Constellation also benefits?”
[The Sister Who Brought Ruin agrees with your interpretation.]
So it was like investing in a promising talent early, then fostering them.
Only then could I accept it.
This wasn’t unconditional goodwill—it was a mutually beneficial transaction.
Which meant I didn’t have to fear it disappearing suddenly.
In short: as long as I’m useful, it’s fine.
“Then… who should I choose…”
Being mutually useful.
Simple and clear.
And right now, I had a choice.
I could choose a sponsor who would benefit me the most.
Based on what happened on the first floor, survival was directly tied to what came next.
Anything that helped was welcome.
Especially goodwill from beings who could influence my survival.
“So… who would be best?”
Pretending to ask Yeonwoo, I indirectly asked the three Constellations.
What can you give me?
But Yeonwoo seemed to think I was genuinely asking him.
“It would be best not to choose anyone.”
“…Sorry?”
What was this lunatic even saying?
He didn’t want me becoming more capable?
“But… it looks like I have to choose.”
“If you refuse to choose, they will simply give you instructions for clearing this floor in another way.”
His tone was firm, as if he knew something.
What was he thinking?
Was he afraid that making a contract with these Constellations would pull me out of his control?
Did he want me to remain under his influence?
While I hid my tangled thoughts and stared at him—
“Ah, seems the time is up.”
He spoke calmly.
“What?”
At his words, I looked back at the selection window—
And the screen asking me to choose a Constellation had changed.
The window was… wrong.
As if it had bugged out, the text dissolved into scattered letters and black squares, flickering erratically.
Like a glitched video, like a broken smartphone screen bleeding bizarre colors—
And then it shattered and scattered apart.
[vmf■■s admini■ator ■■ tls■ you ■rh■s]
[The Sister Who Brought Ruin panics.]
After that, another Constellation’s message also became infected—
A grotesque, corrupted window.
“What is this…?”
“Quite unfriendly, aren’t they.”
[The For■otten Pr■ncess glances at you with a pecul■ar expr■ssion.]
And then, the last one.
The selection window flickered once—
And vanished into darkness, as if its power had been cut.
The moment the selection window disappeared, Yeonwoo spoke, as if he had been waiting.
“Well, nothing we can do. Shall we look for another way out?”
I stared at the only remaining message.
[The Sister Who Brought Ruin says this shouldn’t be happening.]
[The Sister Who Brought Ruin is afraid.]
“…Um… this doesn’t look normal…”
“In that case, we should leave even more quickly. Quite troublesome.”
Was it coincidence?
His eyes turned toward my system windows.
“……”
Other people can’t see your system notifications.
They shouldn’t. They can’t.
So he absolutely should not have been able to see these translucent floating messages.
[sc■ esls■■]
But the way his black eyes looked—
As if he could see everything—
Sent a cold shiver crawling up my spine.
[■■■■■■]
When even the last remaining Constellation’s message crumpled into unreadable symbols and disappeared,
I couldn’t stop the words from slipping out.
“Yeonwoo.”
“Yes?”
“…What did you do?”
A question born from fear, almost instinctive.
A question thrown out desperately, hoping he would deny it.
And the man smiled.
Almost… delighted.
“What do you think I’ve done?”
As if he had been waiting for me to ask.
He laughed out loud—
“Ha ha—”
A bright, cheerful laugh that was nothing like a normal reaction.
Unmistakably, undeniably wrong.
Enough for anyone to feel that something was terribly off.
