Chapter 65: Chapter 64

“Ooh… Sora picked the Dark Knight…”

Arima muttered under his breath.

His real name was Ahn Hyun-ho.

A professional LabyrinthosVR gamer.

He played for the South Korean pro team, Hwangseong Phantom Slayers (HPS), under the nickname Arima.

"Are you watching VTubers again, you damn otaku?"

"What's so fun about watching VTubers, anyway?" Arima’s teammate scoffed.

His teammates shot him a look of disdain.

But Arima didn’t care.

He had been a pro gamer for over 10 years (and had played other games professionally before Labyrinthos).

No one else in the Labyrinthos pro scene had as much experience as he did, and at this point, he didn’t need to worry about others’ opinions.

By now, Arima was considered one of the representatives of the Korean professional gaming scene. He’d even appeared on variety shows from time to time.

There were few pro gamers who had made it as far as he had, but even with that success, he couldn’t give up his love for otaku culture.

In fact, having money only fueled his passion even more.

'Ah… It’s such a shame I can’t participate in the Fantasy League...'

Watching the EYEAI-hosted tournament, Arima clicked his tongue in frustration.

Hwangseong Phantom Slayers, the team he was part of, had been the inaugural champions of Labyrinthos. Though they’d since lost the championship to other teams, they still carried the legacy of that first win.

As the captain of the first champion team, Arima had global popularity—and he was a die-hard otaku.

In fact, his nickname, Arima, was taken from an anime character. Yes, that one—the one who could lick sodium bicarbonate in under ten seconds.

What happens when an otaku gains influence?

They can even host their own league.

That’s why he had teamed up with Kaiser to co-host the Streamer League (now known as the Fantasy League).

Thanks to various aligned interests, the Streamer League was successfully launched, but the truth was, Arima had just wanted an excuse to indulge in his love for VTubers.

The Streamer League had been a yearly success, and with its recent rebranding as the Fantasy League, it promised to continue for a long time.

'If my body was fine, I’d be out there as an owner... Damn.'

Arima glanced down at his leg.

It was in a cast.

He’d been in a bad car accident recently, which had delayed the announcement of the Streamer League.

Because of this, he’d had to take a break from a few professional matches and step back from participating in the Streamer League, leaving the responsibility to another pro gamer.

Even though he was missing out on professional matches, the real heartbreak was not being able to cheer on his favorite VTubers in the Fantasy League.

Ugh…! The frailty of the human body is such a curse!

Uggghhh!!

"What's with that team composition? A Martial Artist, a Hunter, and a Dark Knight?"

One of Arima’s teammates peeked over at his screen, clearly bored.

Even though they teased him for being an otaku obsessed with VTubers, Arima’s endless enthusiasm for the Fantasy League was gradually influencing the Hwangseong Phantom Slayers. Slowly but surely, they were getting drawn into the world of VTubers.

This was the power of influence. When the team captain hosts a league for otakus, the other members couldn’t help but show at least a little interest.

"The Martial Artist will block the front, the Dark Knight will hold the line, and the Hunter will move in and out, cutting them down. What other strategy do they have?"

Above all, they were still pro gamers.

They had played thousands upon thousands of matches in LabyrinthosVR, and yet they never grew tired of it—that’s the life of a pro gamer.

Even though this was a tournament of mostly mid-level players, it was still a tournament, and tournaments always attracted attention.

As the team’s interest grew, they began to gather around and comment.

“Why did they pick a Martial Artist? Aren’t there better tank choices?”

“Well, they already have the Dark Knight, so it’s probably because they wanted some extra damage from the Martial Artist.”

“Then wouldn’t it have been better to drop the Martial Artist and pick a ranged or AoE DPS instead?”

“I don’t think they stand a chance unless they win the aerial battle. Look—they just picked Pathfinder.”

Spring Team’s final pick was Pathfinder.

With that, Spring Team completed their composition: Beast Tamer, Gunner, and Pathfinder.

“The tankiness and survivability on Winter Team are pretty strong, though. But don’t they lack initiation?”

“The Dark Knight should be able to set up walls properly.”

“Yeah, but it’s still tricky. The Hunter’s countered by both the Gunner and Pathfinder.”

“Honestly, Winter Team already lost in picks.”

“Sure, Winter Team’s hard to kill, but what does it matter if they just get poked down from a distance?”

“Their bans were a bit questionable.”

The pro gamers continued chatting like that.

That was, until the game began.

“…What is the Dark Knight doing?”

Sora threw off her armor.

She didn’t question the decision too much. After all, Laura walked around like that almost all the time.

“Get on.”

Though, getting a piggyback ride from someone was a different matter.

Even if it was just a game, being carried on someone’s back felt a bit embarrassing.

Maybe if she were feeling mentally weak, but Sora was in perfect condition.

And on top of that, it wasn’t like she was getting on a close friend’s back—it was a classmate she barely knew.

“…Ugh…”

With a sigh, Sora climbed onto Chel’s back.

She wondered what the chat was saying about this.

Since this was an official tournament, she couldn’t see the chat due to stream-sniping prevention. But she could easily imagine they were probably having a good laugh.

Oh well. It’s all for the win, after all.

“Let’s go.”

Chel spoke in her usual calm voice, completely unfazed. That only made Sora more embarrassed.

Anyway, the two of them headed out of the base where the Guardian was sleeping.

As soon as they left the building, Chel took a running start.

Whoosh!

Wind rushed past Sora’s ears.

As she collected her thoughts, she realized the ground was far below them.

They were flying.

Well, not literally, but it sure felt like it.

Chel’s chosen character for this match was the Hunter.

The Hunter had the highest jump height among all the characters in Labyrinthos.

The Hunter had a skill called Leap of the Hunt, allowing them to jump several meters in a single bound. With the right upgrades, they could even perform double jumps.

So Chel leaped from building to building, carrying Sora on her back.

“…What are they doing?”

Someone had noticed Chel’s movements.

It was Ichika Mano, a first-generation EYEAI member.

[“Ichika, did you spot something?”]

“The Hunter’s jumping around with the Dark Knight on their back…”

[“What? Why would they do that…?”]

Ichika glanced over at the tallest building on the map—the student council building.

She reached for the grappling gun on her belt.

Bang! The shot rang out as the hook shot toward the rooftop of the student council building, quickly catching onto the railing.

Ichika was playing the Pathfinder

character.

Pathfinder was an explorer-type character equipped with various tools. One of the character’s notable features was its simple skill names.

Skill 1: Grappling Gun

Skill 2: Hammer Strike

Ultimate: Drill!

Ichika had just used the Grappling Gun skill.

By attaching the grappling hook to walls, ceilings, or structures, she could quickly move toward them. If the hook hit an enemy or ally, it would pull them toward her. In other words, the Grappling Gun was both a mobility and grappling skill for Pathfinder.

Ichika reached the rooftop of the student council building and took another look at where Chel and Sora were.

"Yeah. Looks like I wasn’t mistaken. The Hunter really is carrying the Dark Knight."

[Is that even possible? Isn’t the Dark Knight super heavy?]

"The Dark Knight has taken off all their armor."

[Then I guess it’s barely possible. But the Hunter would need to dump all their stats into agility.]

[Is there a Martial Artist nearby?]

"I don’t see any Martial Artist for now."

No matter how hard she looked, Sora and Chel were the only ones in sight.

Even if Inagika was hiding nearby, it wouldn’t matter much. Chel, the Hunter, was moving several meters with each leap, and the Martial Artist didn’t have the mobility to keep up with that kind of speed.

[Got it. Were they trying to pull a backdoor maneuver?]

It seemed like Tanaka Mikael, a second-generation EYEAI member, had realized something and clapped his hands. His fellow second-generation member, Yamaoka Gabriel, asked curiously.

[Backdoor?]

[Martial Artists can tank hits for a long time even if they get ganged up on. So I’m guessing they planned for Inagika to defend the Guardian alone while those two secretly went for the boss.]

"That makes sense."

Ichika nodded in agreement.

The Dark Knight removing their armor meant they wanted to maximize their mobility. Aurora had shown this tactic a few times before.

By having the Dark Knight ride on the Hunter’s back, they were leaping across buildings, clearly aiming to reach the Guardian as quickly as possible by using the Hunter’s speed to the fullest.

With just two people, they could definitely take on the Guardian.

'Even if they had another strategy, it wouldn’t really matter.'

They had three members, while the other side only had two.

If they engaged in a team fight, Spring Team would almost certainly win. And if they took out Sora and Chel, that would leave only Inagika.

What could Inagika do alone?

So, the best course of action for Spring Team seemed to be eliminating Sora and Chel quickly.

“Let’s chase them.”

Ichika made her decision, and Spring Team began pursuing Chel and Sora.

Until that moment, Ichika hadn’t sensed anything strange. She hadn’t realized that Chel and Sora’s movements were too exaggerated for a typical backdoor strategy.

And that’s understandable.

Sora’s rank was Bronze, while Chel and Inagika were Silver.

It was easy to dismiss them as beginners making awkward plays.

"They’re coming."

"I know."

The chase had begun. Sora quickly used Wailing Wall.

It was a rather clumsy use of the skill.

In a PC game, you could set the range of the skill using your mouse. But since this was a VR game, you had to rely purely on instinct to place the skill.

On top of that, Sora was still on Chel’s back, making it even harder to aim the wall placement. …How did Laura manage to use this skill so flawlessly?

Still, Sora had practiced over the last few days.

She managed to throw up walls here and there.

That alone was annoying enough for Spring Team.

As they ran, walls kept popping up in front of them, forcing them to slow down.

Even though the area was relatively open, they had to detour around the walls, which only wasted time. Meanwhile, Chel was gaining more distance with Sora on her back.

Ichika had no choice but to pull out her hammer.

“Hup!”

Standing atop the giant wolf, Ichika swung her hammer toward the Wailing Wall in front of her.

Crash! A large hole appeared in the wall.

Pathfinder's second skill, Hammer Strike, had the ability to smash through thin walls.

The name Pathfinder wasn’t just for show.

Spring Team’s giant wolf, carrying all three members, slipped through the hole.

While Mikael grabbed Ichika before she could fall off the wolf, Gabriel, who was playing the Gunner, aimed his two pistols.

The muzzle of his right pistol was pointed directly at Chel.

Bang!

The sound of gunfire rang out, accompanied by the smell of gunpowder, and a bullet flew toward Chel.@@novelbin@@

As soon as she heard the gunshot, Chel activated Leap of the Hunt, launching herself several meters into the air in an instant.

The Hunter’s strength was its overwhelming jumping ability.

It was a powerful skill for both offense and defense. On offense, the Hunter could leap over tanks and assassinate healers and ranged damage dealers in the backline. On defense, it allowed the Hunter to retreat quickly, making it hard for enemies to catch them.

However, the Hunter’s jump also had a downside.

Once you’ve jumped, you can’t change direction.

In other words, Chel was now just a target flying through the air in a predictable arc.

Gabriel aimed his left pistol.

Bang!

The second shot was fired.

Chel, well aware of the Hunter’s vulnerability during a jump, had no choice but to use the second jump from the double-jump trait. Without it, she would have been shot down in midair.

But this was exactly what Spring Team had been aiming for.

Click.

The moment Chel used her double jump, Ichika fired her grappling gun.

Bang!

The grappling hook shot out, aimed precisely at Chel.

But then—

Clang!

Sora swung her arm.

A chain shot out from her wrist. It was the Dark Knight’s first skill, Soul-Binding Chains.

The grappling hook clashed with the chain and was deflected, while Chel safely landed on a nearby building’s windowsill.

“Not bad.”

Mikael commented in a voice filled with admiration.

“So that’s why she was staying on Chel’s back—they must’ve practiced that.”

“They must’ve trained a lot for this.”

Though Sora’s use of the Dark Knight and Chel’s handling of the Hunter were a bit rough around the edges, their coordination was impressive. While they might have seemed like beginners with awkward movements, their teamwork was solid.

They must have put in a lot of practice preparing for the tournament.

The senior VTubers from EYEAI didn’t have much free time. Some were working on ad deals, while others were preparing for events.

But the 6th-gen members, like Chel and Sora, were newcomers. Outside of streaming, the only thing they were preparing for was recording sessions. Compared to the senior VTubers, they had more free time to practice together.

This was getting interesting.

The three members of Spring Team shared the same thought.

Chel and Sora looked down at them from above.

Spring Team’s trio stared back at them.

After a brief moment of tension as they scouted each other out—

Finally,

【The enemy Martial Artist has slain your Guardian.】

【Defeat.】

Spring Team had lost.

“…What?”

"We… we did it…!"

The Guardian lay defeated and sprawled out on the ground.

Inagika looked down at it, grinning from ear to ear.

“I… I’m the hero of Winter Team…!"

As she looked at the word Victory on the screen, Inagika began to imagine her future.

-"As expected of my dear friend, Inagika. I’m always so proud of you."

-"Inagika is amazing! No, from now on, I’ll address you as Inagika-sama!"

-"I always thought Aurora was the only impressive 6th-gen member, but I had no idea there was such a talent… It seems we seniors will have to arrange a collab with her."

-"Inagika! Inagika! Inagika! Inagika!"

“Hehe…”

Inagika giggled to herself.