Although currency in Surviving My First Run was technically based on coins, there was something far more valuable: stories. Nothing in this world was immortal, not even the constellations, and once someone died, they could only live through the stories people passed down or shared. Every experience or life event was a story, and the more well-known you were, the more powerful these stories became.
And that story always included sacrifices. Everything needed to be perfectly balanced—yin and yang—but I wanted to change that now that I'd become a part of this very story.
Constellations were mythical creatures, gods, creators, all of which became powerful because they were passed down as stories. So, more powerful constellations belonged to more well-known myths or stories, and in turn, they had more spiritual power avaliable to them.
The same applied for everyone swept into this world. The more arcs you survived, the more stories you'd gain, and the constellations were starving to live off the mere entertainment that could be garnered off of these stories.
Which was why choosing a good sponsor was critical.
Arc #3 - Constellation Sponsor Selection
Difficulty: F
Task: Select a sponsorship from any of the constellations that have made offers. Once you have picked a sponsorship, declined constellations may offer to other members in your party.
Time: 15 minutes
Reward: Sponsor
As expected, my list of constellation sponsors was pretty impressive. None of them used their true names, but I could determine who they were based on their pseudo titles.
Great Sage Equaling Heaven
Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven
The One Who Fights in Front
Abyssal Kraken of Black Seas
Eternal Wish
I let out a nervous laugh, itching the side of my head. This might have been a bad list, actually. I was doing pretty good in terms of sponsors count, considering that this was a pretty small channel, but this list was… contradictory to say the least.
There was no failure scenario for this arc, which meant that if I didn't pick a sponsor, nothing would really happen; however, I'd miss out on a lot of buffs. Feiyu never picked a sponsor to rebel against the constellations, but I didn't have the luck of the protagonist.
The first was Sun Wukong from the iconic Journey to the West, and he was arguably the strongest Chinese God who I'd been dead set on selecting at first. He was arrogant and snobby, but the only one who'd ever been able to beat him was Buddha.
The second was Sun Wukong's main enemy, the Bull Demon King. Although, I never really considered him much of an enemy more so as an antagonist. He was defeated by Sun Wukong, but he virtually matched his level, and his true goal was vengeance. Picking Sun Wukong would turn him directly against me unless I found a way to keep them both.
"Great Sage Equaling Heaven" says to not make stupid considerations.
"Your third is Athena, right?" Yang chimed in, peeking over at my screen. "That's one of her epiphets."
I shifted away, awkwardly leaning over to try and block my screen.
"Stop being nosey."
Yang sarcastically placed a hand to his chest, moving his hands around for dramatic affect. "Sorry CEO Wu, but this requires teamwork and talking. Yue also got a Greek goddess sponsor."
"Who the hell would sponsor Yue?" I grumbled, turning to the back of the car. Yue was slumped in the back seat, her arms crossed and her lips forming a slight pout shape. She looked far smaller and less… unhinged than earlier. The scrapes and cuts on her arms were already healing thanks to the mucus.
I gawked when I read her screen. She had only gotten two offers, a far cry from the original novel, but I hadn't expected such a good constellation.
King of Resourceful Goblins
Far Shooting Queen of Beasts
I looked back and forth between the blue screen and Yue. "You got Artemis? You didn't even do anything in the Prerequisite!" I exclaimed, slightly jealous as I fully ignored the Goblin King's offer. "Beast class constellations usually don't making offerings un—" I awkwardly paused, realizing I let too much slip. "Until they see something more impressive."
Yue snorted at my response. "You jealous?"
"Me? Jealous?!" I grabbed the back of Yang's seat and leaned over to the back of the car. "Hey, I didn't spend the last two rounds blacked out in a ca—" Yang let out an awkward laugh and clasped his hand over my mouth. My fingertips gripped the front of the blue screen and shifted it in front of Yue's view, showing her my list of offers.
"Oh."
I shot a judgemental look, my brown eyes narrowing to form an exaggerated expression, before I looked back at my own offers. The third was Athena, who was undeniably one of the most well known mythological figures. If I had her, I'd receive the best war advice and immediate connections to the Greek constellations.
But…
My eyes wandered to the fourth offer. The kraken, by far the most powerful water beast known and in Surviving My First Round. And, of course, he had indirect anger toward Athena, since the sea serpent, a fellow water beast, was slain with Medusa's head and Perseus. No one else in my party though had any monster or beast offerings or any water skills, so lacking there could put us at an early disadvantage—a disadvantage that Artemis could bridge.
As for "Eternal Wish," I had no idea who that was. I'd never even thought about a character or constellation with that name when writing Surviving My First Run. Given the rather weak epithet, I assumed he must have been a pathetic constellation.
"Wei, Yang, and Amelia, what offers did you get?"
Amelia looked at nervous before speaking, brushing her hair behind her ear and looking down at the ground. "I didn't get any," she whispered, barely audible.
In the short time I had known Amelia, I had grown strangely attached to her—her nervousness and simultaneously determined nature. It reminded me of someone or something I couldn't remember.
"It's alright, that's why we're in a party," I gave her a toothy grin before rubbing the top of her head, her blond hair immediately frizzing.
"Peijin is so understanding," Wei chimed in from the backseat, turning over to Yue.
Yue rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. All of you are delusional," she muttered, kicking her feet against the back of my seat to throw me forward into the steering wheel.
I looked up at Yang, who seemed to also be looking at Amelia with a mixture of fondness and protection. "Yang, who do you have?"
"I have Chang'e. She must be good for healing then, right? I can pick her if you think that'll help the rest of the group."
Chang'e was an incredibly popular and beloved constellation among Chinese culture, and she was frequently celebrated at the moon festival, but if Yang picked her, he'd be limited to being a healer. Even though that was a crucial rule to every group, couldn't Yang do more? I looked up at him and inspected his features once more. In the mere time that the world had turned into this devastated apocalypse, he quickly adapted into a supporting role.
"Let me think about it. What about you, Wei?"
"Ah," he said, seemingly startled, "I got the "Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts."
My face lit up into a stupid grin as I gave him a massive double thumbs up. Some things remained the same as the web novel. "Pick him, that's perfect."
Without any hesitation, Wei selected his sponsor. Despite his almost intimidating appearance, he was an incredibly trusting and kind man, and that nature stuck with him even later into Surviving My First Run.
"I'm sorry Peijin, but I'm not as good at recognizing myths as you or Yang. Who exactly is my sponsor?"
Constellation "Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts" lets out a booming laugh.
Constellation "Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts" sponsors you 250 coins.
I didn't get what was so funny, but that donation was a bit frugal for such a rich constellation.
"Archangel Michael. He's one of the strongest constellations from the Abrahamic religions. Don't worry about it, he's perfect for you," I reassured Wei, "He's a symbol of justice and strength against evil."
Wei teared up, bringing both of his hands in front of his face. "Do you really think so highly of me, Peijin?"
I let out an awkward laugh, patting his broad shoulder. I could see why Feiyu liked him— he was kind of like a golden retriever. "Yeah, yeah, but don't start crying or you'll change my mind."
Time left: 6 minutes 29 seconds
"Amelia, Yang, and Yue. Don't pick a sponsor yet. The arc instructions show that there's no failure, so there must be another time for us to pick a constellation in the future. I'll close my window first, and we'll see if any of my constellations move to one of you."
I move to click on the glowing white "X" on the top corner of the blue box, but an invisible force suddenly slammed my hand into one of the constellation options.
Congratulations! You have selected "Eternal Wish" as your constellation sponsor!
…Eh?