The following day, in front of a rank D rift in the city park, a girl with short curly brown hair was seen waiting for someone.
She looked at her device with a puzzled expression.
"Did she end up not registering after all?"
Hirogaru yami no naka kawashiatta kakumei no chigiri / Darenimo jama saseru wake ni wa ikanai kara~ (Death Note opening song lyrics)
The alarm on Balance's device went off at full volume.
"Just a moment~... It's Sunday~ hmmm."
Balance mumbled in her sleep, but a moment later she began to come to her senses.
"Wait, I'm supposed to be on the run."
Balance frantically searched for her new device and realized she was already 20 minutes late, with a flood of messages from the recruiter.
Balance immediately called her in a panic.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Nicolle, I fell asleep."
Nicolle answered.
"It's alright, besides, you're the only one who applied to our little party."
Balance quickly made her way to the meeting place in a tremendous hurry.
Nicolle ended the call and then laughed.
"Thank goodness she only overslept, haha."
Nicolle, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, sat down in the nearest chair and ate the sandwich she had brought while waiting for Balance.
A short while later, Balance arrived, panting and out of breath.
"I'm sorry, sis, earlier I..."
Before Balance could finish her sentence, Nicolle quickly covered her mouth.
"SSSHHH."
"You're already accepted."
"Really?!" Balance was surprised.
Nicolle pointed behind Balance.
"You can see for yourself — there are no other applicants besides you."
Balance then looked around.
"You're right."
Nicolle then introduced herself.
"Let me introduce myself once again. My name is Nicolle, my class is healer, the god who has made a contract with me is Apollo (Apollo is the god of music, light, healing, and prophecy in Greek and Roman mythology), and I am the founder of this party. Our party's name is Sunflower, and we even have our own headquarters — modest as it may be for a party."
Nicolle walked ahead to show the way to their party headquarters.
"At the headquarters we'll be training for a few weeks before we actually head into the rifts, so just think of it as an internship."
Nicolle then glanced back at Balance with a smile.
"How does that sound?"
The shy Balance began nodding her head as a sign of agreement.
"By the way, your class is a Murderer (one who brings death), isn't it?" Nicolle asked.
Balance nodded again in response.
"So can you finish off your opponents with your scythe, just like whoosh whoosh?" Nicolle demonstrated with great enthusiasm.
Though Balance only responded with a look of bewilderment.
"I guess you're not quite like that, huh." Nicolle was slightly disappointed.
I feel like my weeb image of it isn't quite that dramatic.
After some time, they arrived at the party headquarters. The base was on the outskirts of the city — a fairly old wooden building with a forest behind it.
It's quite refreshing, but... isn't it a bit too far from the city?
Nicolle began calling out to a friend of hers who was large, tall, and incredibly muscular.
He was very tall. The difference in height between us was 155 cm compared to 210 cm — I felt like a mouse standing in front of a utility pole.
"Um, hello. Are you a trespasser?" The man began to greet her with what I could only describe as a very intimidating face.
"Rock! Stop scaring the new member!" Nicolle firmly addressed her friend, then turned her gaze toward Balance.
"Allow me to introduce my friend here. His name is Rock. He is the shielder in our party, and this is Nox, the DPS who just joined." Nicolle introduced them.
"Nice to meet you, Nox. I'm sorry, I thought you were a trespasser trying to force us to sell this land. My name is Rock, and my system is the Aegis Shield (the shield carried by the god Zeus)." Rock tried to explain.
"It's perfectly fine, that's a reasonable assumption. My name is Nox, and my god is Anubis (the god of death in ancient Egyptian legend)." Balance eased the tension.
Nicolle then invited me to follow her inside the headquarters.
Inside were two girls — one with blonde hair fading into sky blue at the ends, and a tomboyish girl with brown hair wearing a spider-patterned outfit.
"Oh wow, is that a new member?"
They seemed very happy about my arrival.
Nicolle then calmed them down as they were getting a little too excited.
"Ahem, ahem. Those who want to introduce themselves, please line up. The new member is a bit shy, so don't frighten her, okay."
Both girls quickly obeyed Nicolle like soldiers saluting their general.
"My name is Riel, class buffer, my god is Zelos (Zelos in Greek mythology is the god who embodies enthusiasm, competition, and envy)." Said the girl with blonde hair fading into blue at the tips.
"My name is Areta, class debuffer, my goddess is Arachne (Arachne was a woman exceptionally skilled in weaving)." Said the tomboyish girl with the spider pattern.
I smiled and introduced myself.
"Hello, I'm Nox, class Murderer, my god is Anubis."
They immediately became a little aggressive again — I felt as though I was being pushed from all sides.
"A MURDERER?! CAN YOU STRIKE A POSE ON TOP OF A CLOCK TOWER IN FRONT OF A GLOWING MOON LIKE IN THE MOVIES?! DO YOU GUIDE LOST SOULS DRIFTING ALONG THE RIVER NYX?! HOW BIG IS YOUR SCYTHE?! CAN YOU DISAPPEAR LIKE AN ASSASSIN?!"
They asked a barrage of unnecessary questions, until Nicolle calmed them down while simultaneously explaining my situation.
"RIEL! ARETA! Good grief — she only registered as a contractor yesterday, so she doesn't have any of that yet."
Nicolle pulled me along to follow her after scolding Riel and Areta.
"Let me show you where you'll be sleeping if you want to stay here overnight. This used to be the room of our old DPS, but she ended up dropping us, and so this place became a rundown old house. So anyway... since your training to build your stamina starts tomorrow, I can already see that your muscles are far too weak for a DPS."
"Then who will be training me?" Balance asked.
"Rock will be training you. He's the fittest among all of us. So, will you be going home or sleeping in this room tonight?"
My answer was only one.
"I'll stay here — better than being late again, isn't it?"
"A wise choice, Nox. You can rest now. Getting to know people can be exhausting for an introvert, can't it?"
Nicolle then went down to the first floor of the headquarters to cook and prepare the target report for what was ahead.
Meanwhile, in the room that once belonged to their former member, I looked around for clues. I noticed a photo where Nicolle and The Mystic Hunter — also known as Hero — were still dating at a playground. Judging by how worn the photo was, it had been taken somewhere between 7 and 9 years ago. I never would have imagined they were connected in the past.
"Could it be that the DPS they once had was Hero?"
Ah, that's incredibly rude of me. For now, it's better not to think about it.
Balance then lay down on the bed in the room to rest.
In the living room on the first floor, the members of party Sunflower were chatting and debating Balance's place among them.
Rock looked at Nicolle.
"Nicolle, can she really be trusted?"
"She does seem very trustworthy, but aren't young people nowadays very good at lying, Nicolle?" Areta pressed.
"Nicolle, I just don't want you to be taken advantage of again like before. Our party isn't as strong or as famous as it was in its heyday. At worst, she could destroy us from within." Said Riel with deep concern.
"I apologize to all of you for making you worry. But I am quite certain and I trust her — even though I know there are many things she is keeping secret. I also believe she is not a bad person." Nicolle reassured her friends.
Rock let out a sigh.
"Alright, if that is your decision, leader."
Nicolle then clapped her hands together to ease the atmosphere.
"Now, how about we think about what to have for dinner this evening."
Riel then raised her hand with an idea.
"How about meat — as a celebration for our sweet new member."
"That's a great idea, Riel!!" Said Areta with enthusiasm.
Nicolle then glanced over at Rock as if to say, "What do you think?"
"Well, whatever you all decide." Rock answered in a mildly annoyed tone.
They pooled their money to buy meat and divided up the tasks among themselves.
Rock prepared the training equipment that had been collecting dust in the backyard of the headquarters for a long time.
Riel prepared the ingredients in the kitchen along with buff potions.
Areta prepared several poisons and went along with Nicolle to buy the best cuts of meat.
At 3 in the afternoon, Balance woke up. She then came down the stairs, and at the bottom of the staircase, Rock was already waiting for her.
"So you're up, it seems. Nicolle and Areta are out buying ingredients. Go wash your face and we'll do a quick initial training session in the backyard while we wait for them to prepare the food." Said Rock as he pointed toward the back door.
Balance nodded and went straight to the sink.
Standing in front of the sink, Balance stared at her own reflection with a serious expression.
Should I be honest about my body? Even though I am a damage dealer who is supposed to be strong, I have very low stats in HP, ATK, and DEF. On the other hand, my mana is enormous. This has been the case since I was born. According to the imperial doctor, the fact that I am alive to this day is a miracle in itself. The doctor didn't even know what was truly happening. But Father was too afraid to tell Mother, so when Mother brought me to the headquarters she immediately put me through heavy training — because in her mind, I should have inherited her strength.
I am so sorry, Mother. I have disappointed you.
"Whatever happens — I have to become stronger!"
Balance opened the door and announced that she was ready to begin training.
Rock told her to follow him to the backyard.
There were many wooden weapons, shields, and old straw dummies laid out.
"These weapons and dummies have been here for a long time, but they're more than sufficient for a beginner to train with." Rock said, driving one of the wooden swords into the dry ground.
Rock then began to take a stance in an attempt to provoke Balance.
He stomped one foot forward and thrust one hand out toward Balance.
"Come on, attack me! Young one."
Balance was slightly taken aback. She stood still in front of the door, holding a spear she had picked up from the weapon basket.
The scene was dramatized by a gust of wind that swept through sharply.
To Be Continued
Please note that this story is purely fictional. The setting takes place on a planet other than Earth, governed by gods and goddesses. The era resembles the modern day with tall buildings, but wrapped in a mythological fantasy with something entirely new. This is an original story with illustrations also hand-drawn by the author. To see more of the author's artwork, you can visit the author's Instagram.
Instagram = @Najwapw2007 (Nexus Venus)
Webtoon name = Nexus Venus