LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 64 - I'm Always Proud of You
“Oh… Sora picked the Dark Knight….”
Arima muttered.
His real name was Ahn Hyun-ho.
He was a pro gamer of Labyrinthos VR, the captain of the Korean pro gaming team Hwangseong Phantom Slayers (HPS), and he went by the nickname Arima.
“Are you watching VTubers again, you weeb?”
“What’s so fun about these VTubers anyway, hyung?”
His teammates looked at him with a mix of disdain and pity.
But Arima didn’t care.
He had been a professional gamer for over 10 years. (Before Labyrinthos, he was a pro in other games too.)
There wasn’t a single Labyrinthos pro with more experience than him, so by now, he had no reason to be self-conscious.
At this point, he was one of the few people representing Korean pro gamers. He even appeared on variety shows from time to time.
There were very few pro gamers who had achieved this level of success, but even so, he couldn’t give up on his fandom obsessions.
If anything, having money just made his fandom life easier.
‘Ah… It sucks that I can’t participate in Fantasy League.’
Watching the *EYEAI* tournament, Arima smacked his lips.
Hwangseong Phantom Slayers, the team Ahn Hyun-ho was part of, was the inaugural champion of Labyrinthos.
Although they had lost the championship to other teams several times since, well, they were still the first.
As the captain of the first champion team, Arima was very popular worldwide—and also a massive otaku.
The nickname “Arima” itself was taken from an anime. Yes, the one where the guy licks sodium bicarbonate within ten seconds, that one.
So, what happens when an otaku gains power?
He can host an entire league.
That’s why he teamed up with Kaiser and co-hosted the Streamer League (now Fantasy League).
While many stakeholders were involved, allowing the league to be successfully held, in truth, his main motive was to indulge in his VTuber fandom.
In any case, the Streamer League was thriving every year, and this year, with its name changed to Fantasy League, it even hinted at the ambition to continue long-term.
‘If only my body were in better shape, I’d be the one going out as the owner… Sigh.’
Arima looked down at his leg.
It was wrapped in a cast.
He had recently been in a major car accident. The delay in announcing the Streamer League tournament was due to that.
As a result, he had to skip a few pro matches and leave the Streamer League in the hands of other pro gamers.
Even if it meant missing out on pro matches, he should’ve at least been able to pick his favorite VTubers for Fantasy League…!
Damn…! He cursed his frail human body!
Gah!!
“But what’s with that team comp? Martial Artist, Hunter, and Dark Knight?”
Arima’s teammates, with nothing else to do, hovered around his desk.
Even though they called him a weeb or mocked VTubers, Hwangseong Phantom Slayers was slowly getting absorbed into the VTuber fandom, thanks to Arima’s relentless efforts.
Such was the power of persuasion. With their captain hosting the otaku league, his teammates couldn’t help but take an interest, even if only once.
“The Martial Artist blocks the front, the Dark Knight builds a wall, and the Hunter slips over it and cuts everything down. What other choice is there?”
But more importantly, they were all pro gamers.
They’d played Labyrinthos VR hundreds or even thousands of times, yet as pro gamers, they couldn’t afford to get tired of it.
Even if it was a noob-level competition, it still followed the structure of a tournament.
With their interest piqued, Arima’s teammates began to gather and comment on the match one by one.
“Why did they pick the Martial Artist? There are sturdier choices, aren’t there?”
“But with the Dark Knight already there, they’re super tanky, so they probably went for a Martial Artist with some damage output.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to drop the Martial Artist and pick a ranged or AoE dealer?”
“Their only real option seems to be strong aerial combat. Look, they’re picking Pathfinder.”
The last pick for the Spring Team was Pathfinder.
Thus, the Spring Team completed their comp4 of Beast Tamer, Gunner, and Pathfinder.
“The Winter Team is definitely tougher in terms of tanking and survivability. But don’t they have issues with initiation?”
“If the Dark Knight sets up good walls, it might be fine?”
“This is really tricky. The Hunter is already countered by the Gunner and Pathfinder.”
“Honestly, didn’t the Winter Team lose at the pick-ban phase?”
“Winter Team might not melt easily. The Martial Artist and Dark Knight are tanky, and the Hunter has insane escape potential.”
“So what? They’ll just get poked to death from range.”
“Winter Team’s bans are kind of strange.”
The pro gamers chatted like that.
That is, until the game started.
“? What’s the Dark Knight doing?”
***
Sora removed her armor.
Sora didn’t think much of taking off her armor. After all, Laura did this all the time.
“Hop on.”
However, being carried by someone else was another matter entirely.
Even though it was a game, being carried on someone’s back felt emotionally embarrassing.
Unless she were mentally weakened, of course. Sora was perfectly healthy.
And on top of that, it was the back of someone she wasn’t even that close with—a colleague at best.
“Ugh….”
With a sigh, Sora climbed onto Chel’s back.
What must the chat be saying right now?
Since this was a tournament, they had to block stream sniping, so Sora couldn’t see the chat, but it wasn’t hard to imagine they were having a laugh.
But what could she do? It was all for the sake of victory.
“I’m going.”
Chel, who had started speaking a bit more, said in a calm voice. …The fact that Chel was so unbothered made Sora feel even more embarrassed.
In any case, the two of them left the base where the Guardian Spirit slept.
As soon as Chel stepped outside, she took a huge running start.
-Whoosh!
The sound of wind whipped past Sora’s ears.
When she came to her senses, she realized they were far above the ground, with a strong feeling of weightlessness.
They were flying.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that.
Chel’s character in this game was a Hunter.
The Hunter had the highest jump among all the characters in Labyrinthos.
The Hunter’s skill, Leap of the Hunt, allowed them to jump several meters in a single bound. If you invested in the right talent, it could even become a double jump.
Thus, Chel leaped over buildings, making large strides with each jump.
All while carrying Sora on her back.
“…What are they doing?”
Someone was observing Chel’s movements.
It was Mano Ichika, a first-generation VTuber from EYEAI.
[Ichika, did you find something?]
“The Hunter is jumping around while carrying a Dark Knight on their back…?”
[What? Why would they do that…?]
Ichika doubted her eyes and looked to her side. There stood the Student Council building, said to be the tallest on the Academy map.
Ichika pulled out her grappling hook from her waist.
Bang!
With the sound of the shot, the hook flew toward the roof of the Student Council building and latched onto the railing.
Ichika was currently playing a character called Pathfinder.
Pathfinder was a character set as an explorer equipped with various tools, and their skills had extremely simple names.
Skill 1: Grappling Hook / Skill 2: Hammer Strike / Ultimate: Drill!—each skill corresponded to a tool.
The skill Ichika used was Grappling Hook.
When aimed at walls, ceilings, or structures, it could be used to pull the player to that location.
If aimed at an enemy or ally, it would pull them toward the user. In other words, Grappling Hook was both a mobility and grab skill for Pathfinder.
Ichika climbed up to the roof of the Student Council building and once again observed where Chel was.
“Yeah. I didn’t see it wrong. The Hunter is jumping around with the Dark Knight on their back.”
[Is that even possible? Isn’t the Dark Knight super heavy?]
“The Dark Knight took off their armor.”
[Then I guess it’s barely possible. They’d have to dump all their talent points into agility, though.]
[Is the Martial Artist nearby?]
“I don’t see the Martial Artist anywhere.”
No matter how much she scanned, there was no one in sight except Sora and Chel.
Even if Inagika was hiding somewhere nearby, it wouldn’t mean much.
With Chel leaping several meters with each jump, there was no way a Martial Artist could keep up with that speed.
[Got it. Were those two trying to backdoor?]
It seemed like Tanaka Michael, a second-generation VTuber, realized something and clapped her hands together.
Hearing that, Yamaoka Gabriel, also a second-gen, asked in confusion.
[Backdoor?]
[Martial Artists can tank a long time even if they’re ganged up on, right? So, they probably left Inagika alone to defend the Guardian Spirit while the two of them snuck off to try the boss.]
“That makes sense.”
Ichika was convinced.
The Dark Knight removing their armor meant they were boosting their mobility. Aurora had shown it a few times before.
On top of that, by being carried on the Hunter’s back, they were leaping over all the buildings. They were clearly using mobility to rush toward the Guardian Spirit as fast as possible.
The two of them could probably handle the Guardian Spirit by themselves.
‘Even if they have another strategy in mind, it doesn’t matter.’
There were three of them and only two of the enemy.
In a team fight, the Spring Team was almost guaranteed to win, and if they eliminated those two… then only Inagika would be left.
What could one person like Inagika possibly accomplish?
So it seemed like the best course of action was to swiftly take down Sora and Chel.
“Let’s chase them.”
With Ichika’s decision, the Spring Team started pursuing Chel and Sora.
Ichika didn’t feel anything strange about this conclusion. She didn’t notice that for a backdoor, Chel and Sora’s movements were far too conspicuous.
She had no reason to notice.
After all, Sora was a Bronze tier. Chel and Inagika were Silver.
They were beginners, so it was only natural for their movements to seem clumsy.
“They’re here.”
“I know.”
The chase began. Sora quickly used the Wall of Lamentation.
It was a pretty clumsy use of the skill.
In a PC game, you would aim the skill’s range with your mouse. But in VR, you had to place it using only your sense of direction.
On top of that, being carried on Chel’s back made it even harder to judge the placement of the walls. …How did Laura manage to use such a difficult skill so well?
Still, Sora had practiced over the past few days.
Somehow, she managed to set up walls here and there.
That alone was a nuisance to the Spring Team.
They were running, and then, suddenly, walls would appear ahead of them—of course, it was annoying.
While they could circle around the walls in this wide-open space, it was still a waste. While they took the time to bypass the walls, Chel was pulling ahead, carrying Sora on her back.
Ichika had no choice but to pull out her hammer.
“Hmph!”
Standing on the head of the Giant Wolf, Ichika swung her hammer at the Wall of Lamentation in front of her.
Crash!
That alone created a huge hole in the wall.
Pathfinder’s second skill, Hammer Strike, had the effect of breaking through thin walls.
There was a reason they called him Pathfinder.
The Giant Wolf carrying the three members of the Spring Team slipped through the hole.
While Michael grabbed Ichika, who was about to fall off the wolf, Gabriel, who was playing the Gunner, pointed his twin pistols forward.
At the end of the right gun’s barrel was Chel.
-Bang!
With the smell of gunpowder, the gun fired, and the bullet flew.
As soon as Chel heard the gunshot, she used Leap of the Hunt. In an instant, she leaped several meters into the air.
The strength of the Hunter lay in its overwhelming jumping ability.
It was a powerful skill both offensively and defensively. In offense, you could leap over the tank and take out the healers and ranged dealers in the backline. In defense, you could quickly fall back, making it hard to catch up.
At the same time, however, the Hunter’s jump was also a weakness.
Once you used the jump, you couldn’t change direction mid-air.
In other words, right now, Chel was nothing but a target flying in an arc.
Gabriel aimed the left gun.
-Bang!
The second shot.
Chel knew well that you couldn’t change direction mid-jump.
That’s why the double-jump talent was a must. If you didn’t have it, you’d get shot down mid-jump by ranged attacks and fall out of the sky.
That’s why Chel had no choice but to use her double-jump, and the Spring Team’s plan was banking on this moment.
Click.
As soon as Chel used the double-jump, Ichika aimed her grappling hook.
-Bang!
The hook was shot.
It flew straight toward Chel.
And then,
-Ting!
Sora swung her arm.
From her wrist, chains shot out. It was the Dark Knight’s first skill, Chains that Bind the Soul.
The grappling hook collided with the chains and bounced off, allowing Chel to land safely on a windowsill.
“Those kids are pretty good.”
Michael spoke in an impressed voice.
“So that’s why she’s been getting carried the whole time. They were preparing for this.”
“Looks like they practiced a lot.”
Both Sora’s use of the Dark Knight and Chel’s use of the Hunter were a bit lacking. They were controlling their characters decently, but there was a distinct amateurish feel to it.
But their teamwork was surprisingly good. Covering the Hunter’s weakness right after a jump with Sora’s assistance was a smart move.
They must have practiced this combo thoroughly during the preparation period for the tournament.
The senior VTubers from EYEAI didn’t have much free time. Some were working on ad campaigns, others preparing for events.
In contrast, the sixth generation VTubers were still rookies who had only debuted recently.
Outside of their streams, the only thing they were preparing was the Aristogenesis recording. Compared to their seniors, the fact that they all had more collective free time must have been their advantage.
Things were starting to get interesting.
The three members of the Spring Team were thinking the same thing.
Chel and Sora looked down at them, and the three members of the Spring Team looked back up at them.
After a brief moment of tense exploration and confrontation,
finally
【Enemy Martial Artist has slain your Guardian Spirit.】
【Enemy Victory.】
The Spring Team had lost.
“…Huh?”
***
“We… We did it….”
Looking down at the fallen corpse of the Guardian Spirit, Inagika smirked.
“I… I’m the hero of the Winter Team…!”
Seeing the word “Victory,” Inagika began to imagine her future.
-“As expected of my friend, Inagika. I’m always proud of you.”
-“Inagika is amazing! No, from now on, I’ll address you as Lord Inagika!”
-“I thought only Aurora was impressive among the sixth generation, but to think there was such talent… It seems we seniors must collaborate with her!”
-“Inagika! Inagika! Inagika! Inagika!”
“Hehehe…”
Inagika chuckled to herself.