Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 265

The application for the VR Game Club’s tournament has been successfully completed.

However, contrary to Sohee’s words, we weren’t exempt from all classes.

The preparation period for the tournament is one month from now.

During that time, our VR Game Club is only exempt from lessons in the afternoon.

Tuesday at 1 PM.

After lunch ended and all the students began attending class.

Our VR Game Club also gathered in the classroom to hold a meeting.

Since we’ve applied to participate in the tournament, we should at least pretend to practice.

While Ellie and I had no issues, Seongsin and Sohee were the real problems.

Neither of them had ever played the game VRS even once.

I glanced at Seongsin, contemplating.

Sohee has some gaming sense, so if she played a few rounds, she could somewhat keep up.

I was worried about Seongsin’s gaming skills.

“Senpai.”

“Yeah?”

Sluuurp. Slurp.

The VR Game Club, now well-supported by the school, had access to numerous resources beyond basic facilities.

Those being the snacks and drinks we were currently enjoying.

In Seongsin’s hands were picnic juices, and she was sucking the straw with a slurp.

“Do you play games?”

“G-gaming…? I play a bit…”

I frowned at her response.

Typically, students at this age have a tendency to overestimate their gaming abilities.

Seongsin might be no different.

“What’s the name of the game you play?”

“Hyper Rising…”

Hyper Rising.

A game I’d never heard of before.

I pulled out my phone to search for basic information about it.

Hyper Rising was like Deron, a game that only a few knew about.

It was a sci-fi concept FPS, but the tempo of each round was slow, making it quite unpopular.

That was all I needed for basic information.

Next, I had to check about competitive rankings and skill levels.

Luckily, Hyper Rising had ranked games as well.

“Senpai, what’s your rating score?”

“Hmm… I had 1,300 points last season.”

“And this season?”

“I’m still in placement…”

A rating of 1300 points.

From my research, professional players had scores in the 1700s.

At that level, it was hard to gauge how skilled she was, and while I was pondering, Seongsin spoke up.

“Um… can we even participate in that tournament?”

“Ah?”

“You said it was the VRS tournament… But I believe it requires a team of five members.”

I nodded at Seongsin’s words.

That’s fine. Who am I? I am the Guild Leader Yeo, leading 40, even 300 members in the guild.

“We won’t be entering the Conquest category. We applied for Deathmatch.”

“D-Deathmatch…?”

“Yes, we’ll go in for One-on-One battles.”

“Oh, I see…”

So no need to worry.

I gave a confident smile.

“First, I’d like to see Sohee and Senpai play the game, is that alright?”

“I-I’m new at this, so… sure…”

“I’m okay.”

After a bit of hesitation, Seongsin nodded, and Sohee stood up with confidence.

Regardless, it meant I could watch the two play.

From behind the capsules, Sohee and Seongsin pulled out a connection jack and plugged it into the large screen nearby.

This way, their gameplay would be broadcasted on the screen.

Ellie and I moved a desk in front to set up our basic viewing area.

“O Blood Demon King… what do you think of this snack?”

“Potato chips. Good choice.”

“For drinks, I’ll go with Zero Cola.”

“You sure can eat.”

“Heh…”

With the setup complete, Ellie and I sat side by side, swinging our legs back and forth.

The freedom of not having to attend classes.

The happiness from eating delicious snacks.

All those sensations made me giddy.

“Um…”

While I was lost in thought, Sohee shook her head and stepped inside the capsule.

Seongsin had already gotten in and closed the lid.

“Hayun… how good is Sohee at gaming?”

“Pretty decent.”

“Pretty…?”

I nodded at Ellie’s question.

I tend to have a keen eye for judging skill. I can be very objective when evaluating someone’s abilities.

I wouldn’t say this just because she’s my friend.

“Oh… I’m looking forward to this…”

“She’ll probably do well?”

“Oh, they’re starting!”

With that, the big screen lit up.

What appeared was the basic game screen of VRS.

While Seongsin seemed to be watching the intro video, Sohee was different.

She skipped the intro video right away.

Moving into the game waiting room, Sohee promptly began the tutorial.

Such a commendable attitude.

I chewed on some potato chips, nodding.

Sohee chose the Samurai class.

A royal chest.

A high school girl.

A Samurai.

Sohee had that one extra characteristic.

I held my heart, feeling a rush as I focused intensely on Sohee’s screen.

Sohee, with her exceptional gaming sense, was able to clear the tutorial very quickly.

Thus began the regular game.

The selected mode was Deathmatch, battling in One-on-One.

“Um…”

As time passed within the game, the expressions on Ellie and my faces grew increasingly skeptical.

Since we both used swords, we could tell.

What Sohee’s problem was.

Her sense is great.

She knows when to dodge and when to go in.

But the issue was with the attack.

Sohee didn’t know how to wield the sword properly.

“Typical of mages…”

As expected, the outcome of the match was Sohee’s defeat.

Ellie shook her head, murmuring at the sight.

After finishing her first game, Sohee quickly exited the capsule.

“How was it?”

“You did well!”

Sohee’s VR gaming experience only consists of Deron.

And she had never played any class other than Wizard, so considering that, she did quite well for a beginner.

Sohee approached me with a bright smile in response to my praise.

She naturally wrapped her arms around me and settled down in my previous spot.

Instead of sitting on a hard chair, I ended up on the soft and fluffy thighs of Sohee.

“What about Senpai?”

“Um…”

I looked over at Seongsin, who was still watching the intro video.

It seemed it would take quite a while for her to start a game.

I slipped out from Sohee’s embrace and said, “The video is being recorded, so I’ll go play Deron.”

“Aren’t you going to play?”

Sohee, who had reached out in disappointment, suddenly looked surprised and asked me again.

Not play? What do you mean?

Surely not VRS?

I shook my head with my arms crossed.

I’ve defeated even professional VRS players before.

So I didn’t need practice.

“I don’t need any practice.”

“Ah…”

Well, that’s a tough one.

I awkwardly smiled, dodging the question.

Sohee is precious to me.

If I really had to choose between Sohee and Deron, what would my choice be?

Let’s take an extreme measure.

If I had to choose one, what isn’t selected would disappear.

If I chose Deron, I could enjoy playing the game just as usual.

But if the character Helena, a.k.a. Sohee, were to disappear during that time?

For some reason, my heart ached.

Imagining such tremendous loss and emptiness.

I felt that even if I played the game, I wouldn’t enjoy it like before.

Then what if I chose Sohee?

I’d no longer be able to play Deron.

But this is just a hypothetical situation.

I would feel tremendous loss and emptiness as well.

Having something that took such a major part of my life disappear would leave me adrift.

Why was Sohee forcing such a choice?

I sighed and spoke up.

“If you ask me which is more precious between Sohee and Deron, I’d say Sohee. But if you tell me to stop playing Deron, I don’t think I could agree to that.”

That was the best response I could give at the moment.

Fortunately, Sohee seemed satisfied with this answer.

A bright smile appeared on her face.

A smile so bright it was almost radiating.

One that made anyone feel good.

“Was the answer satisfying?”

“For now.”

“For now?…”

I avoided Sohee’s piercing gaze, slipping into the capsule.

Even though we were close friends, sometimes her nearly obsessive affection felt a bit heavy.

I thought I might need to post a question in the community later.

Maybe something like “My friend has become a bit scary lately?” would be appropriate?

Having thought that far, I shook my head and chuckled.

It’s truly time to connect to Deron now.

Playing Deron at school.

An unexpected way to play.

My heart raced for some reason.

As I pressed the button inside the capsule, I made the attempt to log into Deron.

Whaaaam!

Just as I was about to log in, a vague shape swept past over the lid of the capsule.