Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 186

“Is Yeo going out there too?”

While I was continuing our party hunt with Helena, the sudden question flew in.

Out there? Where are you talking about?

As I turned to look, as if I needed a detailed explanation, Helena smiled softly and added, “VRS Event Battle.”

“Oh. I want to go, but…”

I wanted to experience the world outside Deron and see how my skills measured up in a different setting.

But, I couldn’t do that now.

The top-tier users were just about to finish up their spec development.

What do top-tier users do once they reach the completion stage of their specs?

They head straight for a raid.

They stack up their maximum specs even higher, reaching levels that ordinary users cannot even approach.

Before starting the raid, the Party Leader had a lot to do.

He had to check out the strategies that were being shared here and there, as well as resolve any internal issues within the party.

“It’s time to get ready for the raid.”

“Ah…”

Helena nodded at my words. She must have understood.

No matter how interesting the VRS collaboration event seemed, it couldn’t compare to a raid.

It wasn’t just my business. If the Party Leader, whom we trusted and followed, suddenly neglected party management because of the event battle, how would the party members feel about it?

Swish!

I swung my Demon Sword, severing the head of a monster.

At that moment, Helena, who was standing behind me, used Blink to appear beside me.

“But, Yeo. Can’t we just prepare for the VRS event with the time we spend farming?”

“Then who’s going to take care of my potions and doping items?”

“I’ll handle it.”

I frowned at her words. The potions and doping items used in raids are usually made to excel at the highest performance of that season.

It’s a raid, and especially the first try. I didn’t know how many potions I would use, and I couldn’t just shift all the burden onto my friend Helena.

“It’s fine.”

“Really…? I thought you were interested?”

“I’m interested, but this is more fun for me.”

Deron meant everything to me.

I shook my head as I answered.

“Plus, I want to handle the preparations for the raid myself. I enjoy this process.”

To prepare for the raid, I farm.

I gather various herbs, refine them, and create potions and doping items.

I found joy in that process too.

“Mm…”

Helena nodded, looking a bit disappointed.

It seemed she wanted to see me participate in the VRS event battle.

After all, with such extraordinary talent, it was no wonder she couldn’t let it go.

I adjusted my smile and rushed ahead.

Regrettable, but what could I do? Being a Party Leader is like this.

*

“Hmm… the VRS collaboration event…”

Jupiter stroked his chin as he read the announcement from Deron.

He still had that habit of stroking his beard from his days as a big human male character.

Jupiter’s gaze skimmed over the event participation conditions.

Eligibility for event participation: rankings 1 to 50 in the current season’s Arena can apply.

Application period: Just one day on January 24th.

The conditions were strict. For a regular user who had no interest in the Arena, it would be impossible to participate.

Jupiter’s eyes turned to the calendar.

One week left.

With that much time…

Jupiter immediately jumped up from his seat.

One story flashed through his mind.

His rival and only friend, the Blood Demon King, had wrecked the Arena rankings from unranked to first place in just one week during season 1 of Deron.

Of course, the balance of the Arena back then couldn’t possibly be the same as it was now, but if the Blood Demon King could do it, so could he.

Jupiter nodded, stroking his Holy Sword.

He peeked down at the bottom of the announcement.

He glanced at the large image of Angel Wings costumes attached below.

Jupiter’s goal wasn’t to win the tournament. He simply wanted to participate in the event and obtain those large Angel Wings costumes.

How much he had envied his rival and friend, the Blood Demon King, when he saw him donning those magnificent wings.

He had already sent regretful glances for over a year, watching the giant Angel Wings unfold behind him.

“Hmm…”

Jupiter nodded. He imagined himself wearing the large Angel Wings, facing off against the Blood Demon King, who wore massive Demon Wings, swords drawn.

It was a grand scene to behold. It would be so cool. Just the thought of it made a smile spread across his face.

Jupiter immediately initiated the Arena matchmaking.

*

It had been a while since the guild members gathered for dungeon farming.

The party composition was as follows:

Wizard Helena.

Warrior dealer, me.

Also a warrior dealer, Yerin.

Tank, Dogrik.

Lastly, Healer, Chloe.

Since I had gathered the most skilled individuals from the guild, progressing through the dungeon went very smoothly.

This season, instead of farming for equipment, we had a system to farm Transcendence Stones that enhance the performance of the equipment, which led to many players of the same job class running through dungeons together.

There were no issues with the dungeon progression. Everyone was close, so light conversations started up as we ventured through the dungeon.

Chloe was healing Dogrik, who was being pounded in front, while she talked to Yerin.

“By the way, didn’t you mention that Yerin used to be a pro player in VRS?”

“Ah, I did it for a bit back then.”

Yerin nodded as she swung her sword. Every time her sword was swung, the Fallen Lunaris Paladins fell one by one.

I too swung my sword, not wanting to fall behind.

“So, what do you think? For this event battle, do you think our side can win?”

Chloe asked, genuinely curious.

Since I was interested in the topic, I paused my movements and focused on the conversation.

“Umm… I don’t know. It might be hard.”

It was a matter involving a former VRS pro, so it was worth listening to.

“Basically, VRS is a game without a concept of growth… so I think the people used to Deron’s system will struggle with adapting.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. In Deron, you run up walls or fly in the sky, fitting for a fantasy game.”

“That’s true.”

“But VRS is different. Skills are very limited and realistic. You might speed up briefly or land a powerful hit. That’s about it. It’s very simple. All the movements you can show in VRS are things you could replicate in reality, around that level.”

“I heard there’s a stamina system too, how does that work?”

“If you run for too long in real life, you get out of breath and your body feels heavy, right? It’s similar to that. If you move your body too vigorously beyond the allotted stamina, the character’s heart rate increases, and their body slows down.”

“Looks like there’s a lot to manage in that game…”

“Exactly. If the ranked players from Deron don’t quickly get used to the VRS system when participating in that event battle, it will be tough to even secure one win.”

“Mm…”

Chloe nodded, letting out a little sound of contemplation as she listened to Yerin’s story.

She didn’t forget to heal Dogrik, the tank.

I tilted my head as I observed Chloe.

From what I knew, Chloe wasn’t the type of user who utilized Arena contents.

The evidence lay in the fact that there was no Arena rank symbol above her head.

This meant she hadn’t participated in the Arena even once this season.

Why would someone who had no interest in the Arena suddenly become interested in the event battle?

“Chloe, are you interested in VRS?”

“Ah, no. My friend is participating in that event battle and has been running through the Arena. I was just wondering how I’d explain it to them after hearing a pro’s opinion.”

“Oh, your friend must be pretty good at the game?”

“Not to the point where they’d be mocked for being bad at it.”

Once she finished that sentence, the conversation came to a stop.

I cleared my throat and lingered in front of Chloe.

I wondered how long it would be until she picked up on what I was waiting to ask.

Eventually, she mentioned it.

“Speaking of which, our Guild Leader won the VRS event battle, right?”

“Uh, ahem…”

“Yerin, do you think our Guild Leader would manage in VRS?”

As expected, Chloe was truly perceptive for our party’s priest.

She had asked the question I wanted to pose.

“Umm…”

Yerin stroked her chin thoughtfully at Chloe’s question.

Then, she gazed down at me with a strange look.

“Guild Leader.”

“Yes?”

“In reality, does he look the same?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Umm… that might be a bit hard.”

I trembled at those words.

It seemed I needed a more detailed explanation.

“VRS has limitations on the power stat that can be set if a character’s body is small.”

“Yes…?”

“The game mechanics work like that. If there aren’t restrictions based on the character size, everyone would create the smallest character possible to minimize their hitbox.”

“Oh no…”

“Hmm… if you’re that small, your strength stat could only be set to a maximum of about 6 or 7.”

“How much is that really?”

“When created with an average adult male physique, the strength stat set is 10.”

Having never played the game myself, I didn’t know how those stats would affect me, but simply in terms of numbers, that was a 30-40% difference.

It meant that having a strength match, like clashing swords, would be next to impossible.

“However, you could set Agility and Stamina a bit higher. So it’s not entirely impossible. But strength is the most important stat in VRS. Hence, I cannot assure you of a victory.”

“What if the Guild Leader created a character model of an adult male?”

Just as Chloe lightly posed her question, a huge fireball came flying towards him and exploded.

Kaboom-!

“Whoa…!”

Chloe gasped in surprise at the unexpected attack and fell to her knees.

Looking in the direction the fireball had come from, I saw Helena making a grimace and waving her hand.

It seemed she had misaligned her aim while casting a spell.

“I’m sorry… I miscalibrated my direction…”

Is that really the expression of someone apologizing?

Helena, who had been glaring coldly at Chloe, suddenly turned her head away.

It seemed she must have had a bad day.

I sighed as I watched the scene unfold.

She often looked mature, but sometimes the way she acted showed her youthful side.

“I’m sorry, it appears Helena is a bit sensitive today.”

“Ah, it’s fine… Everyone makes mistakes.”

Chloe waved off my apology and stood up.

Luckily, she showed no signs of being upset.

I let out a sigh of relief.