【SNS】
Shiroki Anna @Shiroki_Anna
[What have you thought of me all this time?
Say it.
Say iiiiiit!!!]
│
│
Hanabane Rui♧Ink Palette @Hanabane_Rui
[@Shiroki_Anna All this time, I thought of you as—]
Shiroki Anna @Shiroki_Anna
[@Hanabane_Rui Say it!!!!]
Chel Sumeragi♡Voice Drama Out Now @Chel_Sumeragi
[@Shiroki_Anna Heehee~]
Ayanokouji Sora @Ayanokouji_Sora
[@Shiroki_Anna I thought... I'd kill you. Haha.]
Shiroki Anna @Shiroki_Anna
[@Ayanokouji_Sora Screw you.]
Chel Sumeragi♡Voice Drama Out Now @Chel_Sumeragi
[@Shiroki_Anna @Ayanokouji_Sora Come and kill me already, Hiro.]
Aurora @Aurora_EYEAI
[The dead don’t speak.]
Kaga Mero☆ @Kaga_Mero
[@Aurora_EYEAI Thought you were talking about me.]
***
While Anna writhed in anguish, Mashina treaded carefully.
“Hoo…”
She exhaled slowly.
It was a tense moment. This was entirely different from her usual solo queue.
In solo queue, losing only meant a drop in rank points. If it was a promotion match, she’d lose her chance to rank up. In a demotion match, her rank could drop.
Not that she enjoyed any of that. Especially since Mashina had failed her promotion matches five times because of some Villainous Noblewoman, which had left her so mentally shattered that she was demoted to Platinum once.
It was fortunate she managed to claw her way back to Diamond. If not, the thought of not qualifying for the Fantasy League was nerve-wracking.
And Mashina had learned a lesson: sometimes, it was better to just stay still.
But in this world, there were fights you couldn’t avoid.
Whether it was lost rank points, failed promotions, or demotions, all the risks of failure had been solely her burden. But this time, the fight would affect the entire Behemoth team.
The pressure was immense.
At the end of her careful movement, Mashina spotted her opponent in the distance.
‘...I’ll end this in one strike.’
Mashina gripped her dagger tightly.
The character she chose was Assassin.
In Labyrinthos, it was a character known for its mobility and devastating single-target damage.
But it wasn’t without weaknesses. Since the weapon was a dagger, its range was extremely short, and its lack of AoE skills made it tough to handle multiple enemies.
However, her opponent was just one person.
This was the best situation an Assassin could hope for.
Mashina moved carefully.
One of the Rogue class’s skills, <Stealth>, allowed her to hide her presence. She had also allocated extra points to increase movement speed and reduce footsteps while hidden.
There was no way her opponent would notice her.
Sure enough, Mashina perfectly positioned herself behind the enemy.
This was it.
Confident in her victory, Mashina plunged her dagger toward the enemy’s nape.
“The timing is so obvious.”
-Thud!
Suddenly, Mashina’s vision shook.
“Kyaaa?!”
Her opponent had spun around and countered with a swift roundhouse kick.
Mashina was flung back.
The unexpected counterattack caught her off guard. Left vulnerable, she rolled across the ground several times.
She tried to stand, but—
-Thud!
Her head was struck before she could rise.
“Sometimes, when you play games, you start to notice patterns. Like, oh, the enemy is probably over here. Or, they’re probably circling around. Maybe they’re preparing an ult from the bush. They’re targeting our ADC, so I’ll save my ult for now. You know, stuff like that.”
Squish.
Laura pressed down on Mashina’s stomach with her foot and spoke casually.
“It’s been a while. I’m so happy we get to meet like this again.”
“I’m not happy to see you at all!”
“Oh my, so shy. Is this what they call a tsundere?”
“No, I’m not—mmph?!”
Before Mashina could finish her retort, Laura thrust her sword into her mouth.
A brief reunion.
A fleeting moment of joy.
“I hope we meet again.”
As her vision darkened, the last thing Mashina saw was Laura’s gentle smile.
Leviathan vs. Behemoth, Round 1: Duel Mode.
With Mashina’s death, Aurora claimed victory.
Leviathan +1pt
***
The Fantasy League consisted of three game modes.
First was Duel Mode (1v1).
Three matches were played, with a best-of-three format. Each win earned 1pt.
Next was Arcade Mode (3v3).
One match was played, with a best-of-five format. A win earned 3pts.
Lastly, there was Gate Assault Mode (6v6).
One match was played, with a best-of-five format. A win earned 5pts.
“There are five matches in a day, and each team faces every other team twice. So, we’ll play 30 matches in total,” explained our team owner, Choi Gaho.
Of everyone here, he was the most familiar with Labyrinthos tournaments, so he outlined the rules.
“And here’s the catch: each player has a ‘participation limit.’ For instance, Aurora can only participate in a maximum of 10 out of 30 matches.”
Such limits were in place.
Each team’s Tier 1 players could only play up to 10 matches.
Tier 2 players could participate in up to 11 matches.
Tier 3 players could participate in up to 12 matches.
On the other hand, lower-tier players had a minimum participation requirement.
Tier 4 through Tier 6 players had to participate in at least 10 matches.
“Lastly, each team owner can only play three matches across the entire league. Because of these ‘participation limits,’ the tournament isn’t just about winning—it’s also about forcing the opponent’s ace players to use up their appearances strategically.”
In Gate Assault Mode, unless the owner participated, all six team members had to play.
Since there were six Gate Assault matches in total, if I participated in every single one, that would leave me with just four matches in Duel or Arcade Mode across the entire league.
This applied to other teams’ Tier 1 players as well.
For example, if Son Narin, the Tier 1 player from Gryphon, played in Duel Mode against Sora, our Tier 6 player, Gryphon wouldn’t gain much even if she won.
Sora was required to play 10 matches anyway, but forcing Son Narin to use up one of her limited appearances would be advantageous for us.
“My guess is that Behemoth will field a Tier 2 or 3 player in their first match. So let’s start with Aurora,” Choi Gaho suggested.
“Oh? How do you figure that?”
“That’s just the kind of strategy their owner uses. I’ve faced them a few times in international tournaments.”
Choi Gaho’s analysis led to the following results:
Set 1: Aurora (Tier 1) vs. Mashina (Tier 2) – Leviathan wins.
Set 2: Inui Kirin (Tier 4) vs. Elenoa (Tier 5) – Leviathan wins.
Set 3: Hanabane Rui (Tier 2) vs. Asahina Hikari (Tier 1) – Behemoth wins.
Set 4: Inui Kirin, Kaga Melo, Ayanokouji Sora (Tiers 4-5-6) vs. Asahina Hikari, Orga Hansen, Muraya Rei (Tiers 1-3-4) – Behemoth wins.
“For the final set, I’ll play,” Choi Gaho announced after the fourth set ended.
Rui was startled.
“You’re going to play, Owner?”
“Yes. With 5pts at stake, I want to secure a solid win. So, I’ll step in for Aurora this time.”
“Hmph? I could win if I played.”
I couldn’t help but question his decision.
The owner could only participate in three matches across the entire league.
Wouldn’t it be better to preserve Choi Gaho’s appearances for later?
“Aurora playing doesn’t mean we’ll lose. But I doubt their owner will participate now. This is the right time for me to step in.”
“Why is that?”
"There are several reasons, but no matter who participates, our team will win. Since we're going to win anyway, let's make the other team feel terrible. Make them regret not fielding their owner too, saying, 'If we knew we'd lose like this, we should have sent out our owner.'"
"Hmm."
I didn’t fully understand why Choi Gaho made that decision. Perhaps there’s an angle that only pro gamers can see.
One thing was certain.
“You’re more ruthless than I thought, Owner.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
I accepted Choi Gaho's reasoning without protest since I quite liked his strategic intent. Regardless of how much I wanted to play, I was limited to just 10 matches in the Fantasy League, so it didn’t make much difference whether I participated here or not.
With that, Choi Gaho entered the fifth set, and our team smoothly defeated Behemoth.
“Good work, everyone. The next match is in three weeks, right? Let’s enjoy it just as much.”
Despite his stiff tone, which didn’t sound enjoyable at all, Choi Gaho wrapped up the broadcast with a calm remark.
As soon as the stream ended, Choi Gaho left.
“…What a whirlwind of a person,” Sora muttered from beside me.
***
Fantasy League Results After Match 2
1st - Cerberus: 10pts
2nd - Leviathan: 7pts
3rd - Behemoth: 4pts
4th - Gryphon: 1pt
Match 3: Cerberus vs. Behemoth
Match 4: Gryphon vs. Behemoth
Match 5: Leviathan vs. Gryphon
Match 6: Leviathan vs. Cerberus
“Behemoth has matches for nearly three consecutive weeks,” I murmured as I looked at the schedule. I’d heard that the arrangement was made due to Behemoth’s owner’s scheduling issues.
Thus, our next match was about three weeks away.
That was quite a long gap, but nothing significant changed.
When everyone could gather, we practiced together. On days we couldn’t, each of us focused on individual streams.
We were also preparing for collaborations.
Apparently, Kirin was planning a group stream with the Leviathan members. The idea had come from Rui, and Kirin was fine-tuning the layout and other details.
Rui’s “Aurora Scramble” project was also shaping up.
Currently, Rui was collaborating with Anna.
On Inagika’s channel, no less.
[Where… is this? Who… are you?]
[Where do you think?]
[...A hospital?]
[Correct. Now, who do you think I am?]
[A doctor… perhaps?]
[That’s right. You were struck by lightning and brought here. Do you remember?]
[Lightning…? I was struck by lightning? I don’t remember…]
That was the kind of broadcast they were doing.
After their matchmaking broadcast, Anna and Rui seemed to have grown closer.
Anna, who used to come off as a total recluse, still seemed that way—just a bit less so. The matchmaking broadcast seemed to have loosened her up a bit. She frequently messaged Rui now, and Rui, for her part, didn’t seem to mind too much. They occasionally collaborated.
Meanwhile, Anna also got along well with Inagika.
Inagika, however, seemed quite distressed about losing her newfound friend Anna to Rui.
In response, Inagika played her trump card: a TRPG broadcast.
TRPGs, particularly the "Cthulhu TRPG Katashiro," were popular among VTubers. Inagika acted as the GM and introduced Anna to the world of TRPGs.
Anna enjoyed it immensely and recommended it to Rui.
As a result, Rui ended up participating in a TRPG broadcast on Inagika’s channel.
‘Though I had a hand in that.’
To be precise, Rui didn’t join the broadcast solely because of Anna’s recommendation.
A few days ago, I officially approved Rui’s “Aurora Scramble” project.
I did, however, attach one condition:
Inagika had to be included.
-“Inagika? Ah, you mean Laura and Sora’s cohort?”
-“If Laura wants it, I can do it. But hmm… I wonder.”
-“If nothing else, consider having her join as a judge.”
Rui agreed for now.
However, whether Inagika would join as a competitor to Sora or appear as a judge evaluating Sora was something Rui said she’d consider further.
Most likely, Rui was using the TRPG broadcast to gauge what kind of person Inagika was.
Rui had been quietly preparing behind the scenes, so I figured the “Aurora Scramble” broadcast would likely happen after Match 6.
Wait, does that mean…
“Am I the only one with free time right now?”
Rui was busy with project planning, Sora was tied up with her MV production, and even Anna was occupied with collaborations.
It felt like I was the only one without work.
Of course, I also had announcements scheduled during the Fantasy League period.
A voice drama with Chel had just launched, and a silhouette MV would be uploaded in a few weeks.
Next month, there would likely be a new costume reveal, and the month after that, a 3D debut might happen.
But for now, I didn’t have much to prepare for.
For example, the costume reveal mainly depended on the illustrator creating beautiful outfits. My role would mostly involve ensuring viewers could take nice screenshots during the reveal.
‘So, I guess I’ll have a relatively quiet time until the next match.’
That seemed to be the case.
Matches 5 and 6 would take place over two consecutive weeks, and there’d likely be several announcements and events around the same time.
Since I had some free time now, I figured things would get quite hectic later on.
Not that I minded—I was confident in my stamina. I was just pondering how to spend this quiet period.
What should I do?
***
[Please love me.]
[I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.]
[Miss Chel, please forget about today as well.]
8:00 a.m.
Son Narin woke up.
“The new alarm is confusing,” she muttered to herself.