Volume 2 - CH 11

Posted on May 3, 2022by Soafp

Translator: Soafp

After the first half of the tournament, the competition went on a brief break.

With that, the streaming stopped.

We were not in good shape. If we only look at the ranking, it is not so bad, but we know we are not getting through it.

[“I’m sorry. I couldn’t concentrate.”]

She knew the cause of the problem better than anyone else.

Aoyama — no, Aomi was in too bad a shape. The problem was not so much the play but the lack of command. Normally, she takes the initiative and pulls it together. She usually takes the lead, decides where to go, and has the leadership skills to give precise instructions.

But that is not there now.

“Is there a reason for your poor performance?”

Mahiro asked.

That’s right, if I were Mahiro, I would be concerned about it. He had been working so hard for the tournament, and now suddenly this. Mahiro was looking forward to the tournament as much or more than I was. He must be dissatisfied with the current situation. I’m impressed that he hasn’t said anything or expressed his dissatisfaction.

After a long period of silence in response to the question.

[I had a little trouble in the past. I met a familiar face at a family restaurant. I thought about it a lot. I wondered if it was okay for me to keep playing the game.]

“……”

It was somehow awkward.

It was me, by all accounts, but my mind was focused on the tournament. To be honest, I’d rather tell them to focus on the game than on anything else.

But I wonder if I should be allowed to say that.

Aoyama probably doesn’t know who I am, but it’s a topic I don’t feel comfortable mentioning.

[I don’t know what’s going on, but you should focus on this for now.]

[…… I know that, though.]

[I don’t know the person, so I can’t say anything appropriate, but still, it would be disrespectful to the other participants and organizers if we don’t focus on this side now. It may be a tournament for fun, but there are people who are serious about playing.]

Good point.

I’d prefer it that way too.

[…… What do you think, Nijitani?]

“I think Mahiro’s right. We should put everything else in the back of our minds and enjoy this tournament for now.”

“I see. ……You’re right”

After talking about these things, the break time came to an end.

She started the stream again.

We fought a disappointing first half, but words of support for us flowed through the comments section. They were words from people whose faces I couldn’t see, but they were very encouraging.

–Come on, let’s get back on track from here.

–I’m looking forward to the battle.

–Turn the tables and become legends.

[Thanks for your support, everyone. We’ll turn things around from here!]

The fourth round began.

Things were going well. We encountered the enemy team early on, but we were able to catch them by surprise because they were in the middle of a battle. Thanks to this, we were able to enrich ourselves with loot.

With the loot in place, we were steadily moving up in the rankings. We wanted to kill more enemies in terms of points, but we didn’t feel like we could win if we got into a battle in our current state.

However, just as we were approaching the end of the battle, we came into contact with a strong opponent.

“Run!”

[Aomi, you take care of the rest.]

Me and Mahiro fell.

When you are defeated, GPEX switches to the viewpoint of the surviving members of the same team. The screen showed Aomi, who was now solo.

Aomi hid behind a rock. Soloing is a disadvantageous battle in terms of numbers, so the basic rule is to avoid fighting as much as possible.

“Are you going?”

[Well, I’ll take care of it. I’ll do my best to improve our ranking as much as possible.]

“Your ambition is low. Let’s go for the win.”

[……]

At this rate, it’s no good.

If we want to win the overall championship in terms of points, we need to win this match. Still, it’s a thin string.

[Let’s keep calm, shall we?]

[…… yeah]

I want to win.

I don’t want all the practice I’ve done so far to go to waste. I’m sure Mahiro, who is cheering for her, wants to win, too. The video stream was delayed, so it was taken five minutes before the game, but the comments section was filled with words of support.

On the screen, Aomi is moving at the edge of the area. Watching the enemy team engaged in a battle in front of her, she was still and breathless.

“Sorry, I’m going to the restroom.”

[Eh, at this point in time?]

“My apologies. Aomi, please survive.”

Ignoring the startled Mahiro’s voice, I hang up the voice chat.

I didn’t go to the bathroom, but switched my discordo account.

Then I log in with the account I used to use.

As usual, the comments directed at Shota Mukawa were still written.

–It’s almost summer vacation. Are you having fun over there?

–It’s been hot this summer, too. I feel like I’m going to melt.

The night before last when we went to that family restaurant, it said.

–I’m having a hard time today, and I’m having a mental breakdown. I wonder how Shota is doing there. I wonder if you are doing well. I’m feeling self-loathing because I had an incident that reminded me of that day. I wonder if it’s okay for someone like me to keep playing the game. I’m losing the energy to do my best.

It’s been a while since I’ve responded to this account.

The reason it took me so long to type just one word was probably because there was something inside me that I couldn’t digest. Still, I typed and sent it.

[–Good luck.]

I sent it nervously.

I immediately switched accounts.

Was it because I was embarrassed or because I was nervous? I had a sudden urge to pee, so I headed for the restroom. I grabbed a drink from the fridge and came back.

“I’m back now.”

[Welcome back. Wait, Aomi-san is awesome.]

At the screen, the Warriors had begun.

[Hey, N-kun. Welcome back.]

“O-ou I’m back”

Aomi was in a totally different tension than before. Her voice was brighter and she was moving dynamically on the screen.

Then I heard the story and it seemed that the professionals had crushed each other and even the Vtuber group had fallen in the middle.

“How are you feeling?”

[I’m coming back to my senses. Sorry for worrying about me.]

“….Then, it’s all good”

Aomi suddenly sounded happy, apparently. She then suddenly began to move better, destroying the enemy team in front of her and continuing to the present. Finally, it was the end of the game. The other team was missing one player and there were two players left.

Although Aomi was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, she overwhelmed them with her sharp moves. Apparently, the last remaining team was not so good.

[All right, first things first!]

Our team won the fourth round.

“Nice. Now we still have the overall championship.”

[Nice. Big points.]

The momentum carried over into the final round.

Entering the final round, Aomi was completely normal. No, it was more than usual.

[S-kun, you are in charge of searching that way, and N-kun, you are in charge of searching this way.]

[There’s fighting to the north, let’s go there]

[Fight back. We’re in the better position.]

[It seems safer to go to the center of the area.]

Under precise instructions, we survived until the last minute again.

However, Mahiro fell and we were the only two left.

There was only one enemy team left. I checked the log and found that they were also missing a man. There was no advantage or disadvantage in numbers.

[It’s a tie-breaker.]

“We’re going to win.”

[Of course. So, what are you going to do at the end?]

You know the answer, but you bothered to ask.

“Of course I’m going to rush in!”

“I knew it!”

I rush in as a matter of course. Normally, Aoyama comes around from the opposite side, but this time, she is right behind me and sticks to me.

The sight of Aoyama was just like when we were in junior high school, and it made my heart flutter a little.

And then…

[Hahahahahaha, the pro are too strong]

“It’s a man-powered cheat.”

The pros fought back without a second thought.

We all laughed at how strong they were.

We came back in the last two rounds and our team finished in third place overall. The organizers thanked us for giving them a boost at the end.

–Thanks for all your hard work. You were great at the end.

–It was close.

–Agree. I don’t mind reckless suicide attacks.

After receiving warm comments from the viewers, this is how my first competition ended.