Chapter 16: Lucky Star 1
I couldn't tell if it was because I didn't have a game system or if they were NPCs that appeared in the city as soon as Han Se-ah connected, but the two women fighting with flushed faces over there were characters with their own stars.
Hastily checking the forum, it seemed that characters with even one star were definitely in a better position than those without any stars.
It felt like if a 1 'Country Bumpkin' Smith fought with the country bumpkin Hans(0), Smith would always win.
As a result, one of the women arguing, a 2 'swordsman' named Kora, could seriously aim for the mid-levels of the tower.
If the two men without stars were just ordinary adventurers who take on odd jobs outside the lower floors of the tower, Kora could become a promising female swordsman by honing her swordsmanship and breaking through the middle floors.
This conclusion came from secretly peeking at the forum while pretending to look at the beginner party from afar.
Other streamers had fought their first party battles alongside 2 party members, but they were all carried by the NPCs.
"What do you know, if you just joined the party?"
From what I could gather, it seemed that the 2 female swordsman, who was the party's leader, and the 3 'Apprentice Ranger', who had just joined the party, were fighting over a difference of opinion.
The 2 female swordsman had fewer stars but had experience in the lower levels, while the 3 apprentice ranger had just entered the lower levels.
In short, it was an evenly matched fight between a 2 high-level and a 3 low-level character.
That's why the viewers were saying it was probably a petty fight.
Of course, this was just an assumption based on their stat windows.
I'd have to hear their stories to know why they were actually fighting.
The experienced female swordsman could have been rude to the novice female ranger, or conversely, the novice female ranger might have done something unreasonable, relying solely on her talent.
"We have some good teaching materials here. Let's go and listen to their story."
"Can we do that?"
"It'll be good to know why such fights happen before we form our party."
Han Se-ah, who couldn't take her eyes off the scene, gave me a bright smile as I sneakily suggested the idea.
The viewers also enthusiastically praised me, calling me 'big brother' and 'sensei.'
No matter how well Han Se-ah fought, her opponents were merely goblins.
The viewers must have been getting tired of her fighting goblin after goblin.
As we slowly approached, the two vanguards who had been uncomfortably watching the verbal fight raised their swords in our direction.
It was a natural defensive posture since, in a world without CCTV, many adventurers doubled as thieves.
In such cases, it was easier and faster to reveal one's identity rather than talking.
"Hey, don't be so defensive. I'm not poor enough to steal a few coins from you."
"Senior adventurer...!"
The two men immediately lowered their swords when I, who had been casually strolling through the plains without proper armor, pulled out a senior adventurer's badge from my pocket.
It was only natural for them to think that someone who could earn a lot of gold by going to the mid-levels and living a homeless life wouldn't resort to thievery just for some secondhand armor.
In fact, a senior adventurer could easily subdue all four of them, armed or not.
"May I ask what's going on?"
"Ah, I'm training a junior, and I wanted to show her how other adventurer parties operate. But as I came closer, I found you guys arguing instead of hunting."
"I'm sorry we showed such a shameful scene to the rookie."
The middle-aged adventurer nodded at my explanation.
If this was Han Se-ah's luck, her title should be something like the Goddess of Fortune.
Great Paladin Roland and the Goddess of Fortune, Hanna, that kind of thing.
Anyway, setting aside the evaluation of their appearances, Ranger Grace seemed to be right based on what each of them said.
It wasn't because of higher star ratings, a more appealing beauty, or that our party needed an ranger instead of a swordswoman.
"Hanna, what do you think?"
"Uh, me? ...Well, I think Grace is right."
"What?!"
Swordswoman Kora finally looked our way.
Ignoring the gazes of the two women, I asked Han Se-ah another question.
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
Swordswoman Kora glared as if demanding her to answer my question properly, while Grace curiously examined us.
The two male adventurers, who hadn't even introduced themselves, quietly closed their mouths, seemingly relieved that this boring argument might finally end.
Despite the stares of the five people, she confidently opened her mouth to speak.
After all, she had nearly ten thousand viewers; five people wouldn't matter.
She was famous for her looks, gaming skills, and athletic abilities.
She reached an average of 10,000 viewers due to the appearance of a 6 NPC.
"Kora, aren't you the party leader?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"I think that if the leader made a suggestion and the party members followed it, the leader should also be responsible for the outcome. If we had encountered many goblins and earned lots of magic stones, it would have been thanks to you, Kora. On the other hand, if we ended up empty-handed like now, it's also Kora's fault. That's what a party leader is... in my opinion."
Han Se-ah's clear-cut, logical explanation made Kora's face turn red and then pale.
She probably wanted to argue that a novice adventurer like Han Se-ah had no idea what she was talking about, but I was standing right beside her.
Unlike the novice adventurers clad in leather armor reinforced with metal plates, I was dressed casually, as if going for a walk, with a small iron hammer dangling from my waist.
In a world without mana, I would have just been an insane person unable to grasp the situation.
However, in a world where mana exists and superhumans are real, such a shabby appearance ironically served as proof of one's abilities.
"Fine! We've met the minimum requirements for the request, so let's just call it quits!"
Everyone nodded at the sight of the swordswoman, who screamed in a last-ditch effort to save her pride.
Perhaps due to her personality, she was not well-liked by many, despite appearing to have been a party leader for some time.
***
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And you probably noticed but I changed archer to ranger. Just made more sense if her abilities include pathfinding, not just pure archery.
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