Chapter 80: Chapter 79

Recently, the number of people playing Alchemist has significantly increased.

Last time when there was a patch for Arcade Mode, a balance patch was implemented. Puppeteer, Magitech Engineer, and Alchemist all received buffs.

In the case of the Alchemist, the buffs included improvements to item crafting, damage, and ultimates.

Compared to typical supporters like Saint, the Alchemist is far from being straightforward. In other words, the Alchemist is a character that is complex and difficult to master, but also diverse.

It's said that high-ranking players prefer it much more than lower-ranking ones. A little difficulty can be handled with skill, and the versatility to handle various situations, along with its high offensive capabilities for a supporter, makes it appealing.

What I’m trying to say is that for someone like me who plays Phantom Thief, it’s a good environment.

“.”

I crept up behind the Alchemist and activated my skill right away.

The bombs and reagents the Alchemist creates with their skills are considered items. Therefore, they can be distributed to other teammates or stolen by enemies.

And yes, they can be stolen with .

'Fire attribute bomb.'

What I realized while fighting Alchemists is that most players don’t really know how to deal with Phantom Thief.

Phantom Thief has always been an unpopular character, and it hasn't received balance patches for quite some time. It’s what people call a 'specialist character.' As such, most people haven't faced it much, nor do they know how to counter it.

‘They could easily counter with something like water attribute reagents.’

However, what I stole was a bomb, not reagents.

Once I confirmed what kind of bomb it was, I immediately threw it toward the enemy’s base.

Boom!

A loud explosion followed, and the sharp smell of gunpowder filled my nose.

The enemies caught in the explosion were flung around, and I swiftly grabbed the neck of the Alchemist in front of me.

Phantom Thief has a strong advantage where skill cooldowns reset upon making a kill, but the actual dilemma of the character is that its skills, and , are both support skills.

In other words, it needs kills, but its lack of damage-dealing skills makes it hard to secure them.

So, I had no choice but to break the Alchemist’s neck.

Crack!

Ding.

Skill cooldown reset.

How did you break their neck with bare hands?

Is the host a special forces veteran?

That’s not how a noble lady moves.

Who’s calling her a lady..?

Was the Marine rumor actually true?

The chat reactions that I glimpsed were absurd. A Marine rumor? Was that a thing? Sorry, but not at all.

Anyway, with my cooldown reset, I reactivated and stole the spear from the approaching Spearman with .

Phantom Thief has a slight snowballing tendency due to the cooldown reset feature when involved in kills. Although, it’s not entirely optimized for snowballing.

As I continued fighting, stealing weapons from the enemy, the word 'Victory' suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Your team has defeated the gate boss.]

[Your team is victorious.]

“Oh my.”

It seemed my teammates had been attacking the boss while I was buying time. This time, I got lucky with my team.

A pleasant victory. A pleasant gain in rank points.

But there was still a long way to go.

Back in the waiting room, I happily prepared for the next queue.

[You have a guest.]

Actually, I was about to queue up for the next match, but then Chel’s voice rang out.

Is Chel still staying at Laura’s house?

Are they really living together? LOL

Why is she always there?

[“Chel Sumeragi has donated 1,000 won: Ask the duchess when the stream is going live, please.”]

“They’re complaining about you not streaming.”

[“Can I stream from your house?”]

“You really have no intention of going back, do you? So, who’s this guest?”

[“Yes.”]

Chel replied briefly.

She didn’t bother to explain who the guest was or why she wasn’t dealing with them herself. That’s just how Chel was.

While being diligent about her own tasks was a good trait, her complete lack of communication was a clear downside.

'If I were to have a housekeeper, I’d prefer someone like Rion or Sora.'

Both of them tend to nag, but at least it’s better than Chel, who barely speaks.

“I’ll go check, so wait a moment.”

Might as well take a nap while you’re at it.

We want to see you longer.

Please end the stream before you go.

Ignoring what the viewers said, I switched the stream to the standby screen and got out of the VR capsule.

As soon as I stepped out, Sora was waiting for me.

“Oh, Sora, it’s you.”

“Why is Chel here?”

Sora’s first words were that.

“Chel’s been sticking around here for a while now.”

“I’ve been busy and couldn’t check your stream.”

“Have you been busy?”

“Something like that.”

Sora replied, sounding strangely bashful. What’s going on?

“…Anyway, speaking of which, aren’t you streaming for way too long? You know it’s been over 100 consecutive hours, right?”

“Has it already been that long?”

The Gate Assault Mode has a time acceleration system, so it’s easy to lose track of time.

“Yes, it has been. You’ll wear yourself out.”

Sora said with a worried tone.

I glanced at her left hand and saw a plastic bag. Judging by the label on the bag, she must’ve bought porridge on her way here.

‘Come to think of it, no one knows about my body’s capabilities.’

People know me as a short sleeper, which isn’t entirely inaccurate, but it’s not completely correct either.

After all, my homeland (if you can call it that) was an RPG world. I gained a massive amount of experience from leaking dungeon and gate mana, and from hunting countless monsters.

When I took down the hidden boss, I probably reached an absurdly high level.

I likely exceeded level 300 easily.

Although I’m still classified as a human, this level 300 body has already surpassed humanity.

It wouldn’t be wrong to call me a monster.

“Thank you for worrying, but I’m really fine.”

What I’m trying to say is, my body can’t be understood by human standards. It’s closer to something that just takes a human form.

That’s why I feel refreshed with just 4 hours of sleep a day, and even that is more a matter of preference. I could go for 5 days without any sleep at all, and with just 10 minutes of rest a day, I could probably last a month.

“Fine? What do you mean fine? Ugh…”

Of course, explaining my physical condition to others is difficult.

“Let’s do this. Since you’re here, why don’t you take over the stream for a while? I’ll take a quick nap.”

That’s what we agreed on.

There was no real need for me to sleep, but I was about to hit my login limit soon anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to reset the timer and ease Sora’s worries at the same time.

More than anything, convincing Sora was just too much trouble.

“Alright, fine. You really are a handful…”

Ten minutes later,

I had set up the tracking phones for myself, Sora, and Chel on the PC.

Sora's here?

The guest was Sora?

The main girl just showed up.

You've been caught cheating with Chel…

“What are they even saying…”

Sora glanced at the chaotic chat and sighed in disbelief.

I adjusted the microphone and spoke.

“As you can see, Sora has come to visit my house.”

After saying that, I immediately picked up a spoon.

Although I was planning to leave the stream to Sora and go take a nap, since she had brought porridge with her, I figured I might as well eat it first.

I wasn’t particularly hungry, but food is best when it’s hot, right?

So, while eating, I decided to briefly explain the situation to the viewers. I planned to leave right after finishing the porridge.

What are you eating?

Show us what you're having.

Eating delicious food alone is a violation of the Geneva Convention.

Turn on the cam before we report you as a war criminal.

There were such requests, so for fun, I turned on the webcam.

Of course, the camera was only pointed at the porridge.

If my face were to be captured, it would mean a joint retirement for all of us. So, the webcam was firmly secured. There was absolutely no chance of our faces being shown.

I was equally careful about my hands. Although I wore gloves, I still avoided showing them to the camera. Some people get really upset about breaking immersion.

Carefully, I moved the spoon without letting my hands appear on camera.

“Sora came by because she was worried about how long I’ve been streaming. …But as you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

“So there’s nothing to worry about.”

“But after you finish that, you really should go get some sleep. Who streams for 100 hours straight?”

“There’s one right here.”

I smiled lightly, but Sora just sighed.

“Why are you streaming so much?”

“Of course, it’s to enter the Illusion League.”

“Can’t you just sign up for it? From what I saw, they pick one person from each tier.”

Sora tilted her head. It seemed she had skimmed through the Illusion League entry requirements.

“You’re only scratching the surface. It’s much more complicated than that.”

I navigated the screen to show a particular website.

Illusion League 2024 Rules

Tiers

Applicants are classified into tiers based on their ranks in LabyrinthosVR, from Tier 1 to Tier 6.

Tiers are determined using the following formula:

Gate Assault Mode Rank Score (Triple Multiplier Applied)

Duel Mode Rank Score

Arcade Mode Game Count and Win Rate Bonus

Based on these factors, applicants are classified as follows:

Tier 1 = Average score at or above Master Rank

Tier 2 = Average score at or above Diamond Rank

Tier 3 = Average score at or above Platinum Rank

Tier 4 = Average score at or above Gold Rank

Tier 5 = Average score at or above Silver Rank

Tier 6 = Average score below Bronze Rank (Unranked players can also participate)

“Right now, I’m in Diamond rank for both Gate Assault and Duel Modes. So, I’d likely be placed in Tier 2.”

My Arcade Mode game count and win rate are also quite high, so there’s a chance I might get bumped up to Tier 1.

But I didn’t want to rely on uncertainties. I wanted to secure a spot in Tier 1.

“Why are you so hung up on being in Tier 1? Wouldn’t it be fine if you got picked from Tier 2?”

“The higher the tier, the better your chances of being selected.”

“Huh? Why’s that? Isn’t the selection the same for each tier?”

“Because there’s a difference in the number of applicants.”

Naturally, there are far fewer Master-ranked players than Diamond-ranked ones.

And among Master-ranked streamers, there are very few women.

And among those few, there are even fewer female VTubers.

“…So the higher the tier, the less competition. That’s pretty tough…”

Sora murmured.

‘Though I won’t say this out loud on the stream…’

To get drafted, it’s not just about skill or rank. There’s something else that’s equally important.

Subscriber count plays a bigger role than most think. Or more precisely, popularity is the key.

"Why does the subscriber count matter?"

“It’s important for a few reasons. In the Illusion League, the top-tier players are expected to carry the team, while the lower-tier players are supposed to handle the team’s atmosphere and appeal to the audience."

"It’s not just about winning. It’s about entertaining the fans and boosting the team’s popularity. The league generates revenue through merchandise sales, after all."

That’s something Rinko explained to me.

Each team will have a Master and Diamond-ranked player. They’ll serve as the team’s aces and lead the team.

On the other hand, every team will also have players from the lower ranks, like Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

These players are unlikely to become the team’s aces. They may not even contribute much to the team’s victory.

So, if they aren’t going to help the team win, it’s better to bring in someone who’s a popular streamer.

“Popularity isn’t everything, of course. There was even a case where a streamer with only 1,000 subscribers got drafted."

“But to pull that off, you need to have a strong character and be able to create a good atmosphere with the team."

“Something that makes people think, ‘Wow, this team is so fun! I want to be their fan!’ That’s the role of lower-tier players."

“And in that sense, subscriber count serves as a kind of ‘guarantee.' It shows that you're popular, fun, and you won’t disappear suddenly in the middle of the tournament."

"After all, who would draft an indie VTuber with only 100 subscribers? What if they vanish halfway through the competition? Who would take responsibility for that?”

From what I’ve heard, the Illusion League is a very complex tournament with a lot of interests at stake.

It’s only natural. The game company, the pro-gamer industry, and the streaming world all have their own agendas when it comes to this tournament.

So, the tournament’s success is crucial for everyone involved.

And subscriber count is a direct indicator of a streamer’s reliability and popularity, both of which are essential for making the tournament a hit.

“And my current subscriber count has surpassed 200,000. It’s not a small number, but it’s still lower compared to major corporate VTubers like ‘23 o’clock Serenade’ or ‘Horizon Air.’ After all, I’ve only been streaming for less than three months, and EYEAI is a mid-sized agency.”

“That’s why I plan to keep playing Labyrinthos non-stop for a while. I’m determined to get into Tier 1.”

“Alright, fine. But once you finish eating, you really need to get some rest. I’ll be watching to make sure you do.”

Sora crossed her arms and said firmly.

It’s not going to be easy.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Apparently, a guest came by while I was sleeping.@@novelbin@@

The guest’s name was Jeon So-jin, and it seemed they were worried about me streaming for over 100 consecutive hours.

Their VTuber name was Shiroki Anna, but there was no way Sora could have known that.

After all, it was their first time meeting in real life.

“…I could ask you the same thing, who are you?”

It seemed that an awkward tension filled the air between Sora and Anna, but I had no way of knowing that either.

Because I was asleep.