Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 53

“You… What are you doing not logging into the game?”

Right after school ended, I would usually have logged in as Harang suggested.

I frowned at Harang’s silly question and replied.

“Studying.”

“St- studying? Suddenly? At this time? Why?”

“Because I need to.”

“No way, do you have a test?”

“No, not that kind of studying.”

I answered Harang while tapping on my phone.

What I was watching wasn’t a regular online lecture for studying. Through the phone screen started the videos of players who had gained some fame in VRS.

“What’s that? Are you switching to that?”

“No, I’m not planning to. It just came up.”

Had he gone out to get a drink? Harang made a sour face at my answer and headed to the fridge.

“You said there was going to be an arena tournament soon.”

“Uh, yeah… I expected that… Are you going to fight those guys?”

“I’m going to crush them completely.”

I muttered, spitting it out like a humiliating memory.

I bit down hard on the pen I was holding, and Harang, holding a cold cup of water, sat down across from me.

“Are you mad?”

“Yeah, very.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

Seeing Harang ask with genuine curiosity, I decided to share the story of what happened at the health room today.

How I got interested and searched for a broadcast, and that I kindly offered help because their play style was all wrong.

The arena is a battle of wits. It’s like extreme rock-paper-scissors. The gameplay in VRS isn’t too different either, so famous broadcasters often adapt to the arena quickly.

But it’s different. Even if it seems similar, Deron’s arena has techniques that don’t exist in VRS.

“So you offered advice?”

“At first, no one listened to me. So I even started sponsoring them…”

“They refunded the sponsorship too?”

“Yeah. Since they didn’t listen, I sent a one-line message for a ten-thousand-won donation, and suddenly they refunded it and kicked me out. So now I can’t get back in.”

“No way…”

“I was so frustrated, I almost died! Those players aren’t as good as me, you know? When a skilled player gives advice, shouldn’t they accept it with a ‘yes, understood’?”

“Did you really do that with VRS pro players too?”

“Did they seem any different to me? To my eyes, they all looked the same—sure, there were a few who were a bit better… but I’m an arena silver rank.”

“No, Hayun…”

“I’m an arena silver rank. I even have a shiny costume with sparkly decorations! They couldn’t understand even when I told them. Why is that?”

Even now, I couldn’t understand.

Why wouldn’t they believe? If they could calmly listen to what I said and integrate it into their movements, their arena ranking would rise tremendously.

“So, why are you suddenly studying…?”

“To show them. The overwhelming difference in skill. To prove I’m not just some kid.”

I answered with my resolve, as if shaking off the frustrations I’d bottled up.

Harang, upon hearing my answer, wore a sour expression. Could it be that the person closest to me doesn’t believe in me?

Staring him down with my eyes wide open made him flinch and run away.

“Okay, do your best~”

I sighed as I watched Harang leave his last words behind.

There was no belief in his voice.

I must show them. During the upcoming arena tournament, I’ll overwhelm them and showcase my skills.

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in every battle.

I knew myself well, so I needed to know about my enemies.

Of course, even in my current state, I was confident I could win, but I needed to demonstrate an overwhelming difference in ability for them to feel it.

I checked the movements of the players through the videos.

It was a task to observe the habits and subtle shifts contained in their delicate movements.

As my mind ran blank thinking about how to respond when faced with them, the simulation began to play out in my head.

My hand, holding the pen, moved continuously. I sketched out my opponents on the white notebook and drew myself in front of them.

Swords clashed and sometimes I swung my sword at the shield.

It felt like I had become a grandmaster creating a secret martial art.

“Haha…”

This was the secret technique to counter professional players’ movements.

Once this technique is revealed, it would undoubtedly send shockwaves across the scene.

I could see many YouTubers making videos about my technique.

[Do VRS pros fear Hayun?]

[Shocking! A counter technique emerges in the VRS pro scene!]

[The game has flipped the tables. A tremendous newcomer appears!]

Imagining that moment, the corners of my mouth started twitching.

As I continued to relish the exciting thoughts, I scribbled diligently in my notebook.

How much time passed, I wondered.

It was at the moment when the number of videos I was looping exceeded ten.

“Hayun, are you studying?”

“Ah, Mom.”

I stopped the pen I had been moving vigorously and looked up.

There stood my mom, dressed sharply in a suit, smiling.

“Not playing the game today?”

“I’ll do it later. Right now, I’m studying.”

“Studying… Are you studying art perhaps?”

It seemed like Mom had seen my secret technique notebook.

I nodded. This wasn’t too different from art. This technique had already entered the realm of art.

As expected of my parents. They seemed to recognize the value of this technique at a glance.

“I guess cartoons are included in school tests these days?”

“This isn’t a cartoon. This is art.”

Of course, depending on one’s perspective, it might look like I was just drawing cartoons.

I checked the time and closed the notebook.

Study time was over. Now it was time to go into the field and move my body.

Of course, I wouldn’t be meeting the players currently touring the arena.

Since last season’s arena ranking concluded in silver, I wouldn’t be matched up with them.

To officially match up, I either had to create a new character or wait until they leveled up.

Of course, I had no intention of going to meet them.

Showing my strategy to the enemy? What a foolish thought.

I would remain hidden until the end and then overpower them dramatically.

*

As the weekend passed and Monday morning came, over a week had gone by since the broadcasters started playing Deron, and the announcement appeared on Deron’s website.

[Notice for the World’s Best Arena Tournament]

Hello. This is Deron Online.

Ahead of the global service, an arena tournament to determine Deron’s strongest player will be held.

The tournament will take place over a total of five days and comprises three stages: qualifiers, semifinals, and finals. From the finals onward, all matchups will be revealed and broadcasted over the internet.

A betting event to predict the results of the arena tournament will also take place, so we ask all adventurers for your interest and participation.

The 1st World’s Best Arena Tournament

1. Tournament Schedule: October 12th – October 16th

2. Detailed Schedule:

Qualifiers: October 12th (Wed) 19:00 – 21:00 [2 hours]

During this period, a total of 10 tournament matches can be conducted, and those who achieve five wins or more will advance to the semifinals.

Semifinals: October 13th (Thu) 19:00 – 21:00 [2 hours]

During the semifinals, a total of 15 tournament matches can be conducted, and the top 128 players with the highest wins will advance to the finals.

Finals Day 1: October 14th (Fri) 19:00 – 21:00 [2 hours]

Day 1 of the finals (128 to 64 knockout rounds) will take place in a best-of-three format.

– 128 Round: 19:00 – 19:50 [50 minutes]

– 64 Round: 20:00 – 20:50 [50 minutes]

Finals Day 2: October 15th (Sat) 19:00 – 21:00 [2 hours]

Day 2 of the finals (32 to 16 knockout rounds) will also take place in a best-of-three format.

– 32 Round: 19:00 – 19:50 [50 minutes]

– 16 Round: 20:00 – 20:50 [50 minutes]

Finals Day 3: October 16th (Sun) 19:00 – 21:30 [2 hours 30 minutes]

Day 3 of the finals (8 knockout to the final round) will be conducted in a best-of-five format.

– 8 Round: 19:00 – 19:50 [50 minutes]

– 4 Round: 20:00 – 20:50 [50 minutes]

– Finals: 21:00 – 21:30 [30 minutes]

*During the period the arena tournament is conducted, arena rank matches will not be available.

Reward Notice.

1. Finals Ranking Rewards.

The winners of the tournament / Top 4 / Top 16 will receive special titles and the Hell Demon Wings costume based on their rank.

(Amazing and enormous Demon Wings image)

Champion: Wings of the Demon Sword Master Phronos, Title: Unmatched

(Demon Wings image)

Top 4: Advanced Demon Clan Wings.

(Small Demon Wings image)

Top 16: Intermediate Demon Clan Wings.

It was exactly as Harang predicted.

The arena tournament had begun.

The stage was set for me to showcase the skills I had prepared over the past week to everyone.

When the news spread that users from VRS would be participating in the arena tournament, some users expressed their opposition, but Deron’s game company didn’t flinch.

They simply continued pushing forward with the event.

It seemed they intended to keep conducting collaborative events like this, infusing new blood into Deron’s world.

To participate in the tournament, a minimum rank of silver in the arena was required.

It was a necessary measure to filter out the mediocre.

The broadcasters who transitioned over from VRS had streamed nothing but arena broadcasts, so they had all reached the rank of sword.

I focused on the reward for winning found at the bottom of the announcement.

Demon wings costume? This was something I absolutely couldn’t give up.

The Wings of the Demon Sword Master Phronos? This costume was definitely prepared just for me.

I stood in front of the large mirror in the game, checking my appearance.

The small girl was holding her demon sword, striking a cool pose.

Sure, the cloak I wore was stylish, but finishing off the outfit required wings.

Demon wings on top of that? I couldn’t contain myself.

It would be incredibly cool.

Not only the demon wings, but also the video I uploaded as part of the global launch promotional event was expected to be a target as well.

The owner of the video ranked high in that event would receive the Angel Wings costume.

Deciding which suited me better was no small task.

As I gazed into the mirror, imagining my wonderful future, that moment arrived.

[The World’s Best Arena Tournament Qualifiers have begun!]

The arena tournament had commenced. Although it was only the qualifiers, I couldn’t afford to be careless.

I took a deep breath and applied for a matching.

It was the qualifiers. That meant there would be an overwhelming number of participants.

Although the match I had hoped for with those players didn’t happen, I still achieved a satisfactory result.

10 matches, 10 wins.

That was the result of my qualifiers.