Glorious Vanity (SI LitRPG)

The man, Lucifer, looked out at us all with a bright smile on his face. He also seemed to emit a divine aura around him, making him seem angelic. But there was no mistaking the condescension in his gaze.

I forced myself to relax, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Of course, if he was part of the 'Administrator's team, it was a lost cause.

Thankfully, the fact that there were four MC type characters around meant that guy had other things to take care of.

Lucifer turned to look at the four factions and smirked. "I see that you have already begun to form your groups. How convenient... But unfortunately, useless in this next scenario."

I frowned and glanced to check the reaction of the others.

Most of them were unfazed. Well, to begin with the Chosen that weren't the MCs were just happy to be alive. But those four... Among them, the one with a big reaction was just Freyr.

The silver-haired maiden stepped forward and then glared at Lucifer. "What do you mean that it will be useless? The scenario is a dungeon raid, is it not?"

Lucifer smiled. "It is indeed, Miss Valhalla. However... As you people so magnificently destroyed the dungeon core in the previous stage, we have had to... shall we say, improvise?"

Freyr bristled and said, "And that was a result of you administrators interfering! A divine being should not be able to descend in the tutorial, let alone twice!"

Lucifer's smile widened and his eyes flashed red. "Indeed. And an Aesir should not be able to climb Babel. But it appears that all sorts of exceptions are being made in this group of Chosen."

Freyr froze and then stepped back, lowering her head.

Lucifer shrugged and then looked around. "Regardless of what you all might have heard or believe, the next scenario will be different. After all, an unprecedented phenomenon has occurred in this tutorial."

[The Inviolable Morning Star gazes upon the world!]

[Divine Anathema activates!]

[No One's Story activates!]

[You have successfully evaded the Inviolable Morning Star's gaze!]

[Divine Anathema fails to seize a fragment of Lucifer's Authority.]

I carefully kept my face calm. But on the inside, my heart pounded.

The fact that he was searching... did that guy not know? I thought that it was obvious... but maybe they didn't have a clear idea that it was me who cleared the last stage?

No, more than that... Don't go trying to steal divinity from everyone, stupid skill! Won't that guy obviously know it was me if you did?!

Lucifer's eyes sparkled as he gazed around the crowd. "Hoh? It seems that a dragon is swimming among these fish. Fine, fine." He chuckled and said, "I'll leave you be. But you should be careful. Surtr is quite upset with you stealing his flames and will be keeping quite a close eye on the events going forth."

Freyr's eyes widened. "Surtr's flames- No, hold! A mortal managed to seize a portion of Muspell?"

Lucifer sighed and said, "This is why I dislike people who know too much. Honestly, Odin must be desperate to send you of all people... But whatever." He clapped his hands, causing light to bloom.

At the same time, a system message appeared in front of my eyes.

[Message from the Guide]

[Mission objective: Reach the Dungeon Depths and slay the Guardian]

[Mission failure: Death]

[Mission success: Item Box (minor), 20 bonus stat points, Class awakening]

[Requirements: Random party member assigned]

I blinked. Random party member...?

At that time, the Japanese isekai protag... What was his name. Kadashi? Kadashi. Right, that's what it was.

Kadashi narrowed his eyes and said, "What's with this random party member?"

The dangerous guy with the axe... Doe? John Doe? That guy looked upset too and said, "The fuck's with this requirement? I already got a party I want. I don't need to hang out with some scrubs."

Lucifer laughed. "How unfortunate. Sadly, in this world there will be times where you have to work with other people... even so-called 'scrubs.' Think of it as a test of your 'soft skills'. After all..." He grinned. "It would be a pity if you were to die just because you were a few numbers too short." He paused. "Well, though I suppose if you were skilled enough, it wouldn't matter. But the choice is yours."

The light started to intensify, blinding everything.

Freyr's eyes widened and she looked to Lucifer. "Wait! You cannot mean to divide us up into pairs, do you? Some of the Chosen here can barely fight!"

Lucifer shrugged. "Tough luck. Now..." He grinned. "See you on the other side... Well, what's left of you."

Cries of dismay. Fear. Shouts of anger...

And then silence.

The light vanished, revealing a dark corridor lined with obsidian torches, leading into shadowy depths.

In short, a typical dungeon crawl.

I was also alone.

Frowning, I looked around and said, "Did I get left out?"

Was it because [No One's Story] cancelled out my status or something? Or maybe those guys in charge wanted to test my skills out personally.

...If that was the case, then I was sure to be under heavy scrutiny... and my life would probably be a living hell.

I sighed and then pulled Avalon off my back, hefting it on my left arm. "Well... I guess here we go again." I glanced at my shield.

Was it because I leveled up? The simple shield had changed, becoming sleeker. The metal had turned a rosy gold hue, as if it was tinged by twilight.

...Did it get stronger? Dammit, I wished that I had an analysis skill. Why did everyone else get one of those in this-

Suddenly, another flash of light.

I blinked and turned around to see a circle of runes floating in the air.

"Well, it looks like I'm not going at it alone after all."

I was curious.

If this game was fair, then obviously it would be random. But considering everything in context, it definitely wouldn't be.

The question then was who my partner would be.

Going by the rule of maximum entertainment, at least to the sadistic gods, the pairings should either be a pair who had no chance working together, a pair who were doomed to die, a pair where one person was extremely strong and the other weak, or a pair of people whose skills complemented each other... mostly because they had some people pulling strings in the last case.

I was sure that I didn't have any helpers, so I definitely wouldn't get someone useful. They also didn't know much about my personality, so it wouldn't be the first choice. Then... it depended on how they evaluated me.

If I was thought to be strong, I would get someone absolutely helpless as a partner... Actually, the same would be true even if I was weak. After all, a shield user couldn't really fight.

Whatever the case, it seemed like I would be finding out soon enough.

The light died down, and my party member was revealed. When they were...

A beautiful silver-haired woman in matching armor. Clear blue eyes and a sword sheathed at her left side. She blinked and glanced at the surroundings before looking at me. When she did, her expression fell.

...It just had to be the most troublesome MC, huh?