Trash Skill
Quite a few Constellations were volunteering to pass down their skills.
"……."
They even opened an auction on their own. I'd taken an auction for the name of my cultivation method before, and this was shaping up the same way.
I never said we were holding an auction.
It threw me for a second, but then my streamer instincts kicked in hard.
"Alright, Constellations! We're not doing an auction this time! Instead, tell me why I should pick you through donations, and I'll choose the Constellation that wins me over the most!"
An auction in this situation was the worst possible move. The second some Constellation lost their mind and dropped a fortune, the competition would be over. Sure, I'd rake in the Coins — but the stream would get boring. Better to make them sell themselves.
"Minimum a hundred Coins, please. Viewer Participation rights are pretty expensive."
Hey, I still need to make Coins. There were so many features and items I still had to buy.
"Keep it short, please."
Why had that guy always talked so damn long?
Beyond them, love calls from countless other Constellations poured in. There was ScrapDealerMillionaire, who claimed to be confident in speed, and NotCharcoalNotWitch, who offered a skill only women could learn. GoParalympicsMaster made a decent pitch too, though he got thoroughly overshadowed by Primate GOAT and I Pulled Out a Mountain.
"FeelGoodPotion, what exactly can you do for me?"
"I already have a pretty good idea who you are, though?"
In an instant, the donations stopped and chat exploded.
Is it really that big a deal?
Thinking about it, of course it was. What Constellation in the world would walk around with a drug reference in their username? Was he Pablo Escobar? So it had to be alcohol — and if it was an alcohol-related Constellation, it was obviously Dionysus.
"Alright! I've decided whose skill I'm going to receive. Once I've got the skill transfer done, I'll check FeelGoodPotion's true name too."
I'd already made up my mind who to pick.
Obviously Xiang Yu.
The Hegemon-King. Historically, the descriptions of how absurdly strong he was were endless.
"Alright then — first, the purchase."
Description: Transfers a Constellation's skill to the streamer. (Consumed upon single use.)
They weren't exactly my blood, but they were still precious Coins. I spent them and bought it. Something like a ticket appeared — write the name of the Constellation you want to participate, pour in mana, and you're done.
I wrote I Pulled Out a Mountain with the pen.
My Mom Looks Like a Woman has been banned.
WhyHometown has been banned.
NoneOfMyBusiness has been banned.
"Get out, you absolute morons."
What the hell kind of insane nonsense was that.
"Just feels like the correct pick. I don't know the other people's true names, so it's too risky."
Exactly as Primate GOAT said — if I picked someone else and got a mediocre skill out of it, that was a loss in its own right. What if some foreign historical figure I'd never even heard of showed up?
And in the middle of all this, Not an Octopus was openly refusing to participate.
"Why?"
Pretty much everyone else in chat was pitching themselves to get picked, so one person flat-out rejecting it made me curious.
"……?"
Mind? What about my mind?
"Well, alright. Thank you so much for the donation. I'll do a separate reaction for it later."
Well, the fact that I was still weak was just that — a fact. Me one-shotting a giant mole was only impressive because a beginner had done it. If it had been Han Nami instead of me, a single attack probably would have swept several of them away. Last time she fought orcs, she'd been ridiculous.
"I Pulled Out a Mountain. You ready?"
I confirmed Xiang Yu's chat and activated my cultivation method. Brilliant light erupted from the paper — even brighter than when I'd opened a random box. The entire room was swallowed by the glow, and before I knew it, I was somewhere else entirely.
"Wh-what the hell."
Spatial transfer? Had I bought the wrong item?
"Guys, something's weird about this——"
I turned my head toward where the chat window should have been. Nothing. No stream screen, no chat, no shop — not a single interface in sight.
"Shit."
I looked around. The entire world was white, as if this place didn't belong to any world at all.
"A pleasure to meet you, Park Sohee."
A voice came from behind me.
"This is my Sanctuary. No one else can interfere here, so set your mind at ease."
I turned around. A middle-aged man in Chinese-style armor was approaching with a kindly smile. He looked ordinary enough — but I could feel it through my skin. This man was strong. Nowhere near ordinary. Just looking at that build was absurd. And if my gut was right, he was holding back his power.
Who is this?
"Judging by your face, you don't know who I am. I Pulled Out a Mountain. Or you may simply call me Xiang Yu."
Xiang Yu introduced himself and held out his hand.
Rumble—!
The surroundings suddenly shook.
"Ah, it's nothing. Stay calm. Seems we have guests outside."
Snap—!
He flicked his fingers, and the shaking stopped at once.
"That should do it."
"…Hahaha."
I laughed from sheer disbelief. So this was the power of a Constellation? It was my first time seeing one in person. Until now I'd only ever known them through a chat window, so I supposed that made sense.
Greetings first.
"Hello. Thank you for always watching my stream."
"Grateful? You're the one who gave me such delightful entertainment."
Xiang Yu laughed with open-hearted gusto.
Even his laugh is on another level.
His presence was no joke. This really was Xiang Yu of the World-Shaking Aura.
"That aside, young lady."
Xiang Yu stepped closer and studied my face.
"…As I thought. Not plastic surgery, was it? I figured as much."
Rumble—!
"Good grief. Those friends outside are being a real nuisance. If they were so jealous, they should've just revealed their true names and joined in themselves."
Xiang Yu laughed heartily. The vibrations seemed to intensify for a moment, then gradually subsided.
"So then — what kind of skill do you want?"
Outside Xiang Yu's Sanctuary, it was pandemonium.
Park Sohee's body was still on Earth, but her consciousness had been transferred here. Time flowed differently inside than it did outside — which meant the Constellations had more than enough time to sense that Park Sohee was in Xiang Yu's Sanctuary and come running.
"Move aside, would you! I can't see!"
"Your small stature is hardly my fault."
"No — your bulk is enormous! Could you not simply reduce your size?"
"Quiet, all of you! I can't hear a thing!"
The moment Park Sohee used the Viewer Participation Right on stream and brilliant light erupted, the Constellations had scrambled straight to Xiang Yu's Sanctuary. Most of them had already shown their faces in Not a Wolf's — that is, Romulus's — Sanctuary. They never met privately, but they all knew where each other's Sanctuaries were.
"Still, waiting this long to show us is pretty annoying. Could've let us see sooner."
When they'd first arrived, the interior's sights and sounds had been completely blocked. One furious Constellation had pounded on the Sanctuary a few times before Xiang Yu finally let them watch.
"And why are you all talking so politely? You don't talk like that on stream."
"…Ahem. You are the only Constellation who speaks the same way on stream as off it."
"Oh, is that so? I didn't know."
A Constellation covered head to toe in fur dug at his ear as he replied.
"I still don't get why you'd bother speaking so uncomfortably."
"A Constellation ought to be sacred. Most of us use this manner of speech on other streams as well, you know?"
A Constellation radiating a soft halo smiled as he said it. The translation of that line was roughly: Could you please use speech befitting a Constellation, you monkey bastard.
"But you don't talk like that in her room. Always dancing around everything."
The furry Constellation answered flatly.
"Hey, let's just watch quietly!"
One Constellation finally snapped, and everyone shut their mouths and turned to the Sanctuary.
"Heh heh. The way his speech changes just because he's in front of Park Sohee is rather amusing."
"Yours changed too, you crazy bald bastard."
"Heh heh. Looking to die, are you?"
"Ah, just shut up already!"
A brief commotion, then silence again.
"Uh, uh-oh?"
"Why is that bastard getting so close?"
"Hold it! You cannot smash this right now!"
One Constellation, watching Xiang Yu examine Park Sohee's face, tried to break the Sanctuary — and the others stopped him. Of course they did. Park Sohee was inside that Sanctuary right now.
"If she saw us as we are, her mind would not endure it."
Even Xiang Yu had suppressed his rank as much as possible. Had he greeted Park Sohee in his true form, her mind would have simply ceased to exist, and she would have died.
"Just watch for now. If he gives her some weird skill, we can thrash him then."
The fur-covered Constellation said.
"Agreed."
"Heh heh. Well said."
"Seconded."
And so the Constellations outside Xiang Yu's Sanctuary banded together and watched.
A short while later.
"Are you kidding me — she wants to learn that garbage skill?!"
"This is hardly the time to be learning something like that."
"Heh heh. We're screwed."
"Maybe we should crack the Sanctuary open just a little, even now——"
"Absolutely not!"
"Hey, grab that bastard!"
Xiang Yu inside the Sanctuary and the Constellations outside it were all going out of their minds with frustration.