Chapter 2
My stomach twisted.
The reason constellations are called “stars” is simple.
They actually look like stars.
And their heads are just as empty.
I glanced at the three-dimensional, floating star-shaped character beside me. It had eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
“Can you be quiet? What can a piece of data even do?”
【I told you, I’m not AI. I’m a real constellation! Damn it. If I could, I’d replace you right now, you arrogant human.】
It says that kind of thing pretty often.
Something about how it’s so superior that even if it searched the whole world, it couldn’t find another player with a matching rate as high as mine.
Just then, my message box lit up.
When I checked, it was a reward notification along with a congratulatory message—my ranking must have gone up again.
[
Congratulations! Player “ChickenFireSlap” has risen in the 1v1 world rankings! We look forward to your continued amazing battles!
—Reward 1: 100,000 Stardust
—Reward 2: 10 Outfit Coupons]
“Ohhh.”
My world ranking in GOF 1v1 was now… 12th.
I checked the rankings and smiled in satisfaction, but then my expression quickly hardened.
“Damn it.”
【What now?】
“What’s the point of a high ranking? It doesn’t help in real life. They should just give cash rewards.”
【And earlier you said this was your real life. 】
“You need money to live in real life, and you need real life to keep playing the game. I’ll just use this stardust to pull new constellations.”
【Ha.】
The star let out a scoff.
The GOF waiting room was a beautiful, transparent dome floating in the middle of space.
As I walked deeper inside, lights turned on in response to my movement.
【How many times do I have to tell you? It’s a waste of resources. Even if you summon a trillion times, you’ll never get a constellation stronger than me.】
That might actually be true.
No matter how many times I’ve summoned, I’ve never gotten anything higher than this one.
From the very beginning, it had strange traits that didn’t even seem to follow the system rules.
“At least there should be others at your level.”
Constellations have ranks.
From the lowest: Dirt Star (Iron), Bronze Star, Silver Star, Gold Star, and White Star (Diamond).
They also get bigger as the rank increases.
There’s one common trait—
The higher the rank, the more talkative and rude they tend to be.
This one, especially, looked completely different from the others when it first appeared.
Its body was transparent like a diamond, with flowing blue energy.
It had wings—something normal diamond constellations don’t have—and strange medals on its chest that sometimes even changed like costumes.
It almost felt like a real player acting as a constellation, not AI.
Maybe that’s the concept of a hidden class.
【There are others at my level. But none of them can surpass me in combat.】
I pressed the button.
[Proceed with constellation summon?]
[Yes]
【Are you even listening? 】
Nope.
[Summoning constellations.]
The space surrounding the summoning room sparkled beautifully, and stars from across the universe fell like a meteor shower.
Whoosh—whoosh—
“This never gets old.”
No matter how many times I watched it, GOF’s summoning animation was amazing.
The colorful nebula waves and endless stars made it feel like I was really in space.
Flash!
Light burst out in the display hall, and various star-shaped characters poured in.
‘The only time constellation voices are muted.’
The glowing stars filled the hall in silent chaos.
[Summoning complete.]
[You may summon up to 21 constellations at once.]
[Resummoning costs 1 Star Fragment (21,000 Stardust).]
[Select a constellation to gain skills and buffs for league battles.]
Constellations.
AI personalities that claim to be famous “gods of battle” from different universes.
They are officially called “constellations,” but players just call them “stars.”
Because of this concept, the game is called God of Fighters.
The idea is that gods from space lend their power to humans.
Players then fight using those powers in modes like 1v1, conquest, and raids.
The summoning ended.
The constellations blinked and looked up at me.
And I widened my eyes.
“Finally!”
Two hidden-class stars appeared—
Both shining like diamonds, one glowing green and the other red.
I had gotten not just one… but two hidden-class constellations.
【…Why are you two here?】
The voice beside me sounded shocked.
As if responding, the green and red stars shone even brighter.
Looks like hidden-class constellations recognize each other.
I smiled in satisfaction, then gently patted the head of the one floating beside me.
“You’ve worked hard. Go take a break for a while.”
【?】
What was this one’s name again?
I opened its info window.
[<Nickname: ��#@!???>
—Rank: Unknown
—Combat Experience: Unknown
—Total Power: Unknown
—Match Rate: 91%
(View Skills)]
Ah, right.
I used to call it something ridiculous based on that name, but it got mad—so I just call it “that damn constellation.”
Most constellation names are over-the-top, like the following:
“The Shadow that Devours Light,”
“The Ash Dragon of Purgatory,”
“The 44th Rusted Compass of Death,”
“The Thorn Throne of the Bloodied King.”
But hidden-class names look like bugged text.
The constellation looked stunned.
【… Don’t tell me you’re planning not to use me just because they showed up? Are you insane? Do you even know who I am?!】
“Oh, nice. One has an 88% match rate, the other 78%.”
The red diamond, dressed like an emperor, had 88%.
The green one with a golden laurel had 78%.
Considering higher-rank constellations usually have lower compatibility, these were incredible numbers.
Of course, still lower than this one’s 91%.
【……】
It circled me in silence, clearly flustered.
【… Think carefully. Above 90% is destiny.】
Yeah, right.
From the start, I’ve had high compatibility with most constellations.
Only later did I realize how rare that was—most players struggle to get above 50%.
Also, many constellations are notoriously difficult and aggressive.
Some players even study strategies online just to deal with them.
They call it “Constellation Dating Sim.”
When compatibility is high, though, constellations become very friendly.
But—
“Why are you acting like this when you’ve never been nice to me? You looked down on me from the start.”
【Th-that’s…!】
This guy showed up with 89% compatibility and still treated me like trash.
I almost discarded it early on, but our combat synergy was too good.
So I just beat it into submission and kept using it.
“I’m not saying I’ll never use you again. Just go on vacation while I try these two.”
【…….】
It looked uneasy, glancing at the red and green stars.
Obviously nervous.
Especially since one had 88% compatibility with me.
Still, these two seemed much calmer compared to it.
At least for now.
I sent friend requests to both.
They accepted.
Then I turned back.
“Alright, go get some rest.”
[Send constellation <��#@!???> out of the waiting room?]
[Yes]
【W-wait—】
Right then, a notification popped up.
[You received 100 coins from ]
“…Huh?”
I froze.
The notification looked completely different from GOF’s usual system.
It resembled the kind of system hunters talk about.
“Coins?”
There’s no such thing in GOF.
I checked my inventory—nothing new except the stardust and coupons.
“What is this?”
Did that idiot constellation mess with something?
Losing interest, I closed the strange notification…
and immediately started a new match.
