Stars Align: Chef, Maid, and Hacker

A new power unfolded like a galaxy. Fading starlight. And then, ten stars that brilliantly held their form approached me, each soon beginning to shine in their unique colors. Seven gray stars. Two red stars. And finally, one golden star. One ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠3-star and two 2-stars. Considering the odds, I'd done pretty damn well.

The 1-star consciousnesses introduced themselves in the blink of an eye. Unlike last time, no non-human creatures showed up. I'd secretly hoped for something like a tiger or dinosaur consciousness. A bit disappointing.

Soon, the 2-star consciousness introductions began.

A voice brimming with fury rang out, and a man's figure appeared. A pure white hat. A thick cotton black top with a red necktie. An apron with a small rabbit drawing. His hands were etched with scars like badges of honor. His name was.

The 2-star consciousness introductions continued.

A refined voice spoke, and a beautiful woman's figure appeared. A white headpiece on her head. A pristine white apron with frills and lace over a black top, a short skirt above knee-high garter belts and long stockings. Her name was.

Why me...? Traumatic memories of the magical girl consciousness bubbled up. At least this one's speech didn't give off that repulsive vibe. If the abilities are useful, I might sync with it occasionally. At home only, of course. If I had to stand in front of someone like that, I'd seriously consider suicide.

Next up, the long-awaited 3-star consciousness.

A somewhat boyish voice spoke, and a young boy's figure appeared. Messy hair, headphones around his neck. A blue hoodie with a skull pattern hiding his small frame. One hand in the pocket of easy-moving black tracksuit pants, the other tapping a shimmering rainbow holographic keyboard. His name was.

My second 3-star consciousness was a hacker. A hacker. Something I never could have imagined. The name alone makes it seem more like a 2-star. But a hacker consciousness being 3-star means it must have uniquely powerful abilities. I'm really looking forward to this.

Once all the consciousnesses had been introduced, I soon returned to my cozy bedroom.

"Let's take a look at them one by one."

Calming my excited heart, I quickly checked the 1-stars first. I'd already seen the office worker one, so skip. The exam student was just your typical studious high schooler from anywhere on Earth. It boosted study efficiency, so syncing with it while studying would be perfect.

Next, the webnovel newbie. This one had a special ability too. Syncing with it installed a webnovel app called Nouvelpia on my smartphone. It had tons of webnovels. Not a bad way to kill time quietly in the future. Maybe because I logged in as ParkJeonghyeon_193 from the start, I didn't need to pay for anything. Super account or something? Either way, it was a win for me.

'Alright, now then.'

Done with the 1-stars, time for the 2-stars. I synced with the chef consciousness without hesitation—

"Ah."

Of all the timings. I'd forgotten about the Forced Promotion cooldown. Now I couldn't check the rest.

"Tch."

Ruined the mood. Guess I'd grind daily quests in the meantime.

"Nice."

I cut my squats short at the welcome message and plopped onto the sofa with my shaky legs. First up, the chef consciousness.

As I synced, my outfit instantly changed to the chef's. Along with it, a flood of knowledge and expertise poured into my head.

"As expected, a consciousness that knows how to cook."

Good thing it wasn't some freak that terrorized taste buds. The speech pattern wasn't too out there either. Pretty solid.

Let's dig deeper.

"Hm..."

Recipes for pretty much every dish I could think of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were etched in my mind, along with tiny tips for nuanced flavors. And above all, the ability that made this chef consciousness special.

"Mana-infused food, huh. Interesting."

The chef consciousness could infuse mana while cooking. Mana-laced food had enhanced aroma and taste, and eating it granted a random positive temporary buff. A perfect chef consciousness with zero downsides.

'Physical stats and mana are lower than other consciousnesses, but...'

No need to use it in combat anyway. I'd handle fights with 3-stars from now on. Can't wait to taste mana-infused food. I wanted to rush to the mart for ingredients, but with two more to check, I held back. I unsynced and turned to the next.

"Maid..."

Muttering the word made my excitement crash instantly. Ah, hate it. Not actually turning into a woman, but still... weird vibe.

But could I discard a hard-earned 2-star just because of bad vibes? No way. I'd invested 100 Fate and beaten 20% odds for this.

'Right. No time to be picky.'

Think positive. Cute looks aside, at least ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the speech wasn't trash like the magical girl. Yeah, I can handle this. Convincing myself, I synced the maid consciousness.

My body slimmed into a delicate frame, clad in an adorable maid outfit. Imagining myself like that made my eyes twitch, but the influx of maid knowledge and experience quickly quelled the disgust.

"The fit isn't as uncomfortable as I thought."

Maybe because it wasn't a stuffy traditional maid dress with a long skirt. Not too restrictive.

"Hm."

Placing my dainty hands on my knees, I closed my eyes and examined the maid consciousness more closely. Like the chef excelled at cooking, the maid handled housework perfectly. Super fast and efficient.

"Might as well test it."

I eyed the pile of laundry shoved in the corner. Would've taken normal me at least 20 minutes to fold. I got to it. Two minutes later, no chores left.

"Impressive."

Staring at the neatly folded stack, I was genuinely amazed. Way more useful than expected? This efficiency applied to cleaning, dishes, all housework. And it had a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠special ability too.

"Need to stock up on tea leaves."

Tea brewed by the maid consciousness banished fatigue, anxiety, depression—all negative mental states. In other words, healing tea for the mind. Whoa! Infinite side-effect-free antidepressants! I'd brew some whenever worn out. Vowing that, I unsynced.

Now, just one left. The star: hacker consciousness.

'The kind I know, right?'

You know, the type that hacks enemy computers in seconds for key data. If that's the ability, my growth potential is endless.

'Hack illegal groups, rake in cash, buy potions and skill stones galore.'

Get caught and it's jail, but with hacker consciousness, no one's tailing me. Jackpot city?

Brimming with anticipation, I synced the hacker.

Outfit and body shifted, vast hacker knowledge and know-how injected into my head. And I realized right away: this wasn't the hacking I imagined. No evil org heists and moonshots.

But I wasn't disappointed at all.

"..."

Trembling hands swept the air, summoning a shimmering rainbow translucent keyboard. Entranced, I typed commands.

I hit enter.

-Bzzzt!

A mechanical hum sounded, and the laundry before me transformed into gleaming gold.