Chapter 79: Chapter 78

“I'm screwed...”@@novelbin@@

Kim Garam, a second-year math major at K University, sighed deeply.

This semester, she was taking a total of seven courses:

Missed three classes for three subjects.

Submitted blank papers for midterms in two courses.

Failed to submit assignments in one course.

Academic probation was now inevitable.

“Ugh...”

Garam rolled off the bed and lay down on the floor.

She had been good at math as a child, but ever since entering university, everything felt like an alien language.

She was falling behind, unable to adjust to college life—a pretty typical situation for a student.

The expensive tuition fees had long lost their value, she couldn’t face her parents, and at this rate, she wondered if she’d even graduate.

“Should I transfer to a different major...?”

She muttered the thought out loud, but it didn’t feel right. If changing majors were the solution, she wouldn’t have ended up in this mess in the first place.

Thinking about the future made her feel even more depressed, so Garam stood up and entered her VR capsule.

“I’ll play a ranked match and think about it after.”

She concluded that a change in mood might help her make a decision.

Of course, she already knew that playing a game wouldn’t lead to any real solution. But Garam just wanted to escape for a while.

This tendency to avoid reality was the reason her grades were sinking in real-time, but knowing that didn’t change anything.

“I just want to play games for the rest of my life.”

With that, Garam launched a ranked match in Labyrinthos.

As the pick-and-ban phase started, the opposing team’s usernames appeared on the loading screen.

“Huh? ‘Glory of the Duchy’...? Why does that sound familiar?”

Garam tilted her head, puzzled.

This was about five minutes before she’d get destroyed by Aurora.

[Virtual ITuber Gallery]

[Live Update] Aichōjo’s 50-hour stream is still going strong lol

[Labyrinthos] Defeating the Gate and Duels Won’t Stop Until We Reach Master Rank [Aurora / EYEAI]

She’s lost it.

[Comments]

What?

Is she really at 50 hours? ㄴ (OP) Yep.

Why is the stream still not over?

Is she really grinding until she hits Master rank?

Sis, I’m dying... ㄴ For real, this is killer...

[Live Update] Someone stop her already.

I’m the one who’s dying, seriously...

[Comments]

When your oshi is streaming but even the fans are begging for it to stop lol

Didn’t Rion scold her about long streams before? Why is she doing this again all of a sudden? ㄴ (OP) She said she’s signing up for the Illusion League...

Is Aichōjo okay though? ㄴ (OP) She’s ridiculously healthy... ㄴ Why is she so healthy? ㄴ (OP) I don’t know either, man...

Is it even possible to stream for 50 hours straight? Isn’t there a time limit for logging in? ㄴ (OP) She’s been using a PC and playing Minecraft. ㄴ She’s nuts lol

[Blackjack donated 1,000 won.] [Isn’t she going to die at this rate?]

[OjousamaGoToBet donated 1,000 won.] [If you don’t sleep soon, we’ll start dancing.]

“If you want to dance, feel free.”

I adjusted my microphone settings and responded to the donation chat.

Depending on how the system was set, my voice could either be heard only by viewers or also by those playing the game with me. It might seem like a minor detail, but it was a crucial setting. It meant that even the sound of my breathing wouldn’t be picked up by the enemy.

In other words, it made stealth movements much easier.

“I’ve found you.”

I spotted the enemy and hid behind cover.

I already had their composition memorized. A heavy warrior, a magic swordsman, a battle mage, an archer, and an alchemist.

The terrain’s bad.

No way you’re breaking through that lol

Their composition wasn’t great for initiating fights, but they had long-range capabilities.

Both the magic swordsman and battle mage had mid-range control skills, while the archer had the longest range in Labyrinthos. In terms of kiting, this was one of the best setups possible.

And they’d already taken control of the high ground.

Flanking them was impossible.

“There’s no choice. We’ll have to go head-on.”

?

??

Is she crazy?

She’s about to pull some weird stunt again...

The chat exploded in reaction, but I moved forward.

Using the second skill of my character, the Rogue: Ghostly Steps.

A skill that allows for silent movement without leaving footprints while greatly increasing speed.

‘The lack of footprints doesn’t matter much in this situation, though.’

The character I was playing was a Rogue.

Rinko had recommended it to me, and since I’d decided to enter the Illusion League, I thought I’d better get serious about practicing it.

The defining feature of the Rogue was undoubtedly Steal.

A powerful ability that lets you steal the opponent’s weapon, neutralizing their strengths.

However, it came with a significant risk—the range was extremely short.

That’s why the Rogue’s second skill, Ghostly Steps, was essential for closing the gap with enemies.

The increased speed was helpful, though I wished it were a dash or teleportation skill, or even an invisibility one. Of course, if it had been, it would’ve made approaching enemies far too easy.

Anyway, as long as I could close the distance, the Rogue had plenty of advantages.

In short, the key to playing Rogue well was how effectively you could close the gap with the enemy.

I charged forward.

Swoosh!

As I closed in, an arrow flew toward me.

I had been caught by the archer’s detection skill. Still, thanks to my silenced footsteps, I had managed to get fairly close.

However, since they were on higher ground, it would still take some time to fully close the gap, even though it appeared near.

Just after dodging the arrow, the magic swordsman and battle mage launched their projectile skills, and the alchemist threw a bomb.

“Quite the intense greeting.”

Dodging the projectiles from the magic swordsman and battle mage, I ran forward.

The archer had anticipated my escape route and fired an arrow, which I deflected with a swing of my arm.

Then came the alchemist’s bomb, landing with a slight delay.

The alchemist’s skill level was slightly off, and I knew there was still time before it would explode.

I grabbed the bomb midair and hurled it back at their formation.

BOOM!

The explosion erupted, sending up a cloud of dust.

With their vision obscured, I closed the gap even further.

Whoa, what the heck?

That bomb catch was insane lol

Better than our infielders lmao

With that throwing arm, she should ditch this game and become our team’s pitcher

I dove into the enemy ranks.

The first one I encountered was the magic swordsman.

His eyes met mine, and he immediately thrust his sword forward.

The panic was evident in his strike. He hadn’t expected me to throw the bomb back at them.

As a result, his strike lacked precision.

It wasn’t difficult to grab the blade.

“Steal.”

Slash!

I took his sword and immediately plunged it into his neck.

Ding.

Bright red blood sprayed, and the magic swordsman collapsed. The sound in my ears confirmed it.

One of the Rogue’s traits is that every time you or an ally kills an enemy, your skill cooldowns reset. That sound was proof that my cooldowns had been refreshed.

I activated Ghostly Steps again.

From the left, the heavy warrior charged at me, and from the right, the battle mage rushed in.

I aimed for the heavy warrior’s mace first.

“Steal.”

Thud!

I took the mace from the heavy warrior and slammed it into his chest.

His stance faltered, and I drove the sword between the cracks in his armor.

Ding.

Cooldown reset.

Without retrieving the sword, I immediately reached out and snatched the battle mage’s staff.

“What the...”

The battle mage let out a gasp.

He was about to cast a spell, but I had already activated Ghostly Steps again, thanks to the reset cooldown.

With my increased movement speed, I dodged his projectile and struck his legs with the stolen staff.

Then, as the battle mage stumbled, I swung the heavy warrior’s mace into his head.

Thud!

Ding.

Cooldown reset.

After finishing the voice recording, I decided to apply for the Illusion League.

-“I’m surprised. I didn’t think you’d actually join, sis.”

Most viewers didn’t find my decision strange at all. After all, I was a VTuber who specialized in Labyrinthos

, so signing up for the Illusion League seemed like the next logical step.

The only one who seemed puzzled was Rion.

Having watched me the longest, Rion knew me better than anyone.

-“I realized something while doing the voice recording.”

I had discovered that I, too, had something resembling camaraderie.

It was a surprising revelation for me as well. Who knew that even a “villainess” could feel a sense of camaraderie?

‘I used to think things like camaraderie were meaningless.’

When I first met Sora, Inagika, and Chel on Discord, I didn’t think they’d mean anything to me.

But when Sora or Inagika couldn’t step in for the voice recording, I thought it would be better if I did it instead.

And when Chel expressed her passion for releasing a voice drama, I found myself joining her.

It had only been a couple of months, but the time we spent together must have fostered some attachment.

Camaraderie is a funny word sometimes.

Even in the military, people who were complete strangers end up bonding together.

For me, the 6th generation was no longer just a group of strangers.

That’s why I decided to sign up for the Illusion League.

“When’s the next San-Labyrinthos?”

And the reason I decided to join the Illusion League—was still half-living in my house.

“Chel, how long has it been since the voice recording ended?”

“Three days.”

“So that means you’ve been staying at my place for three days straight.”

“I was here before that too.”

“Right, I forgot.”

Living with Chel had made me realize something—Chel might not even be human.

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be a cat disguised as a person.

‘Well, better than a cat, I guess.’

At least she knew how to do household chores.

A cat that could clean the house. Thinking about it that way, it didn’t seem like such a bad deal.

Even if she was shameless about it.

“Are you planning to stay here until I do San-Labyrinthos?”

“Yes.”

“You’re like one of those obsessive heroines from a possessive romance novel. You’re more clingy than you look.”

“I just prefer to get all my tasks done in one go when I’m out.”

“If you leave the house a few more times, you’ll probably end up president.”

At this rate, the next time I met Chel, she’d probably be ruling the universe. For now, though, she was still just the house cleaner.

“Like I said before, I’m going to keep playing Labyrinthos until I hit Master rank. I won’t be doing San-Labyrinthos for a while.”

“I’ll wait.”

“You’re stubborn. Do whatever you want.”

Chel, despite appearances, was incredibly driven, determined, and unbothered by what others thought.

It felt like most VTubers I knew had some kind of social issue, but maybe that was just my imagination.

Well, in any case, it didn’t bother me.

In fact, it was kind of convenient.

Rion had left for an overseas trip today.

‘She said she’s heading to Japan.’

Since VTubing originated in Japan, it made sense that EYEAI would be engaging with Japanese companies as well.

Rion wouldn’t be back for a while.

If Chel handled the cleaning and house chores while Rion was away, I’d have no complaints.

With that thought, I climbed back into the VR capsule.

“...What are you doing here?”

Sora, upon hearing the news of Rion’s departure, returned home.

As she entered the house, punching in the passcode, she found Chel vacuuming the floor.

“Since you’re here, can you cook us something?”

Chel, apparently, was hungry.

It was still October, so Sora hadn’t heard the news about the voice drama yet.

But she instinctively narrowed her eyes.