Wandering Souls in the Maze
The lost specter wandering aimlessly in the maze is surely talking about me.
Is it because of my username? Right from the start, I kept getting whispered to, not just from my teammates but even from the opposing team.
“Oh dear, Friede! Let’s ride the bus this game. ^o^.”
“I’ll leave one side of the maze for you, Friede. Feel free to play around.”
“No, you guys. What can we who aren’t Friede do?”
“There’s nothing we can do. Just go watch Friede’s stream and hit that sub and like button.”
“…….”
[Haha, if Friede’s here, this game is a free win.]
[I would probably just do the Hula dance in the middle and fall off.]
[Thump thump thump.]
[If Friede starts dancing sexy on the middle bridge, both teams would just stop fighting and sing We Are the World like idiots, lol.]
Am I less important than the game? Isn’t winning the priority right now?
It seems they thought my reputation in this placement exam guaranteed a victory.
Thinking about it, one of my teammates was ranked number one in Challenger last season.
Plus, looking at the stats of the opposing team, they all seemed to be of similar skill level.
On average, they felt a step higher compared to my teammates, but on the flip side, I was even higher.
So, I didn’t think this game would be too difficult.
Maybe my teammates also considered this and decided against deep strategizing.
Anyway, since we grudgingly reached a team consensus, we should be able to enter the maze as usual.
But still, a slightly sad feeling crept in. I thought they might at least ask me to fight on the central bridge instead of in the maze.
Has the image of Friede just being a wild card in both mazes been firmly established?
Shaking off my gloomy thoughts, I chose the right maze and moved ahead. I hoped that smashing some pottery with my Broken Greatsword would help me feel better.
It might seem like a rather violent solution, but… what can you do?
After all, the game is all about catching the opponent while having fun and relieving stress.
As I walked, entering the maze, a flood of memories washed over me.
Anyone passing by would find it odd to see me in such a dark and mysterious castle maze, looking like a tourist.
For someone who was weak-hearted and not used to horror vibes, this castle map would be quite unsettling.
Not to mention, the objects appearing, the so-called mobs, also had eerie and grotesque appearances, making it even more so.
‘It should be coming soon.’
My movement speed isn’t lacking, and since it felt like the opposing team knew about me,
I thought it was about time we would run into each other. Sure enough.
As a presence was felt up ahead, I gradually tightened my grip on my sword.
‘Are you not planning to hide?’
Even so, the maze does have good spots to ambush, and in any case, you’d try to suppress your presence as much as possible.
Yet here they were, the approaching opposing team sounded like they were on a picnic.
Although I couldn’t catch the exact content, the tension of pointing swords at each other in the dark maze was definitely missing.
[Huh? I can hear them from this far away.]
[They’re just marching, I guess?]
[Did more than three come?]
[It’s too brazen, I’ve got nothing to say, lol.]
[Looks like they’re here for a picnic.]
The chat was full of quirky commentary on the unusual situation.
Well, regardless of how they turn up, I know what I need to do.
The feeling of tension I hadn’t felt in a while surged back.
‘I’ve really gotten weaker.’
Now I had to fight with only the human body created by virtual reality technology, without any buffs.
My skills weren’t rusty. Maybe it was just the aftereffects of indulging in the sweet perks of Friede’s exclusive Supernova skill.
Honestly, it had been too easy.
Just then, the source of the voices was really close now.
The whispers of countless men. And when they finally revealed themselves…
“Ah?”
“What the!”
Four guys crowded in front of me.
It looked like they had gathered here, practically abandoning the minimum personnel in each lane as our gazes intertwined.
“Oh, you came here.”
“See? I told you to go to the other side.”
“Why is Friede scarier than the rest of us?”
“Who wants to go in first?”
[WTF, they all came here together, lol.]
[This is why you should diversify your investments, everyone.]
[How did you all group up on one side and get wiped out? At least scout and send reinforcements, smh.]
[But then again, if Friede’s going to monopolize the objectives, it’s going to be tough for us.]
[Monopolizing in the maze, OMG!]
It seems… they drew the short straw.
The opposing team consisted of heavy knights with Greatswords, leather spears, and dual axes.
It was undeniably a powerful combination suitable for fighting in the maze.
But….
“Now’s the time.”
Towards the bustling group, I moved my feet first, gripping my sword tightly.
Bending down and gathering all the momentum I had, I shot forward like an arrow.
Suddenly, a spear tip rushed toward me, quickly and serpentine-like.
In their urgent reaction, it was an instinctive struggle; merely tilting my head was sufficient.
Dodging the jabbed spear, I swung down my Greatsword aiming for a Claymore.
In the brief moment where the blade of the Greatsword seemed ready to split my head, I rolled my eyes around to gather information.
The dual axes and the sword were set to charge in from behind the Greatsword.
Delayed reaction, but that was good news. I felt a thrill as my tongue instinctively licked my lower lip.
The spearman was a bit too far left, making it difficult for the three others to charge in.
Seeing how they were yapping earlier, I wondered if they were acquaintances, but their positions being a mess worked to my advantage.
I ignored the spearman and, just as the blade of the Claymore approached the top of my head, the tip of my Broken Greatsword collided.
“Ugh!”
In that brief opening, it seemed like there was a moment for a generic scream.
With a thunderous noise, I executed a parry and dashed through the gap created to pierce the Greatsword’s neck.
Though dubbed the Broken Greatsword, ironically, that broken piece of steel was sharper than anything else.
The smooth, fractured blade sliced through tender skin and flesh, striking down the Greatsword in one blow.
It was a clean hit, a critical one.
There was no time to admire the collapsing foe. I pushed the massive figure of the Greatsword aside and rushed straight through the encirclement ahead.
Just like a child hitting a bell and running away,
the spearman, who had just been ready to regain his weapon,
and the two who had momentarily missed their chance to push me back because they were clearing the fallen Greatsword,
I could feel the rush of energy from the despair and bewilderment in the air when they realized they couldn’t catch the fleeing child.
In this reversed position, where the previous raucousness vanished like a mirage into quiet standoffs, I smiled softly.
“Now then….”
That makes three.
Pointing the tip of my Broken Greatsword at them, I said,
“Come here.”
Gently… I’d treat them well.
* * *
I try my best not to overlap with Friede’s streaming hours, but it seems sometimes days like this sneak in.
The bigger reason behind straying from the official streaming schedule was something else.
Oh, just thinking about it made Da-young feel her cheeks heat up for some reason.
Ten minutes ago, she had tried to calm herself down by watching Friede’s stream.
She had gotten so immersed that her previously embarrassing feelings had mostly vanished.
As she watched Friede play like a voyeur, Da-young left a straightforward comment.
“What’s up with the maze? Without any skills? So classic.”
Or did she have some sentimental reason to deliberately go classic?
The real charm of Soul Warfare lies in dueling with pure physical prowess and cold weapons in hand, perhaps that’s what her sister thought.
To be honest, Da-young felt the opposite was more her style.
The past gameplay was fun, sure, but coming up with various strategies through skill builds like now felt more fitting.
Besides, if you’re going to play a game, wouldn’t something more flashy be more pleasing to the eyes?
[Forming is surprised by the classic stream.]
[Skills have arrived, and all this time the game has become flashy, yet you’re regressing like a little devil.]
[Holy Sword used on the 69th try!]
[Dude, save that for Friede’s stream. This is Forming’s stream.]
[I got kicked. Hehe.]
[Unbelievable… you’re really something, haha.]
She didn’t really want to resonate with her sister, but this time she realized she was on the same page as her viewers.
The game was going quite smoothly.
Having put in all this effort just for her sister to sweep through, the game was rapidly tipping towards a one-sided situation.
It was 4 to 1, but her sister was the one with the name Friede.
Moreover, the four-man team she faced wasn’t high ranked from last season, so worrying was just a waste of emotions.
Well, the viewing ended there for her sister.
Da-young, as the streamer Forming, felt this moment was a turning point.
Ah, why did it have to be me to make this declaration?
She felt her heart rate quicken again, having calmed down the frantic pounding.
To avoid any awkwardness, she lifted her lips and cautiously opened her mouth.
“Oh right, everyone. I have a collaboration content planned with my sister coming up.”
[Oh! Forming is collaborating with Friede again?]
[What type of content this time? A game? Or maybe a naughty stream?]
[Streamers seriously obsessed with bobs, wow.]
[Yep, it’s happening.]
[Since it’s bobs, gotta escape from Hako. Haha.]
[Forming has been a big deal for ages, guys.]
[Something big is coming.]
[Poop?]
As expected, people reacted hotly to her sister’s mention.
Funny enough, if you asked for the hottest content of streamer Forming, it would definitely be collabing with Friede.
It was easy to collaborate as they lived in the same building, but viewers who didn’t know that likely thought Forming and Friede were really close friends.
However, what Da-young mentioned now—that she was participating as Forming—was very different from before.
“Oh, it’s not your typical collab. It’s a bit embarrassing to say.”
[What is it? Are you really doing it for your bobs?]
[Oh man, that’s exciting!]
[You guys… I’d like that too, heh.]
In the meantime, as chat went wild with overstepping, Da-young scratched her face subtly to hide her embarrassment and forced herself to say.
“We… are going to sing.”
[?!]
[???]
[“Singing?”]
[“Out of the blue?”]
[Are you saying you’re going to do a sexy dance singing?]
[If that’s the case, I’m all for it.]
“Not like that. It’s singing, singing. More precisely, it’s a band. So the theme is….”
As Da-young paused slightly, the chat was bombarded with countless hooks.
It was a blend of primal questions like what band and song, paired with a silent pressure to hurry and reveal the rest of the story.
‘Why do I have to….’
The very reason to do such a thing felt so embarrassing. But it was a favor from her sister.
In the end, she closed her eyes tightly, summoning a spirit of resignation and shouted out.
“It’s a cheer song for the pro gamer Eunha from the Hero Live Class 1!”
With this single sentence, she imbued her heart with resolute determination, only for the chat to freeze like time itself.
It seemed no one could process that sudden declaration.
Oh, is that why my sister entrusted this to me?
[Um, broadcast?]
[Where did that come from?]
[Is it really for Lotus?]
[She’s getting dangerously genuine about her bobs.]
[Yep, it’s happening.]
「A donation of 5,000 won from Turtle Mine!
―What’s that, you creep?」
“…….”
Right? What’s that indeed?
Ignoring the electronic voice from the donations, she stared out at the sky beyond.
