The date for the Event Battle between VRS and Deron has been announced.
Naturally, the list of users participating in the event was also revealed.
Jupiter and Yeo.
Two users known as the Sparrow and the Blood Demon King appeared on the participant list.
In Jupiter’s case, there were no issues since she had personally raised her ranking in the Arena, but things were different for Yeo.
How could a user who hadn’t played a single match in the Arena this season get her nickname on the tournament list?
As people pondered this, Deron, late in the evening, finally adjusted the Announcement.
He removed Yeo’s nickname from the top of the participant list and embedded a golden star next to it.
With a nickname highlighted more than anyone else’s, he added a little note below.
[Season 1 Collaboration Tournament Champion!]
There were no detailed explanations.
It was a very Deron manner of handling things.
People nodded in understanding upon seeing that note.
A considerable amount of time had passed after the announcement of the collaboration tournament’s participant list.
One by one, those whose nicknames were listed started moving over to VRS to practice.
Some users turned on their personal streams to boast about their achievements, while others quietly played the game.
Jupiter too was diligently playing VRS, mixing in with those players.
However, one person.
The small girl using the nickname Yeo was nowhere to be seen until the tournament day.
*
On the day of the collaboration event tournament.
I was finally able to return home that day.
In my hand was a box of soft & chewy raccoon that Sohee had given me.
I hadn’t even finished what she had given me before, and now she gives me more.
I tossed the new batch into Harang’s room.
In the meantime, I had unintentionally gone offline.
Checking the messages in the group chat, I found my guild members worried about me.
“Ugh…”
I sighed as I checked the messages sent by the Guide of Light.
Despite warnings, she wrote that all the usernames I had been using had been flagged, and many had blocked me.
What on earth had I posted to get caught?
In the short span of three days, being cooped up in the Capsule and only conducting reaction speed tests, I had no idea what topics had been discussed in Deron’s community.
I promptly accessed the Deron gallery.
The topics in the concept posts and threads were ordinary; people were asking about class trees and posts looking for raid party members.
And there were posts asking about the person who had suddenly vanished.
[Where did our Blood Demon King go?] [5]
Did he really run away to VRS?
[Comments]
[They say he hasn’t even logged into VRS?]
[Must be some personal issue?]
[He’s going into high school now, isn’t he? Maybe he just naturally quit gaming?]
ㄴ[Wait, he’s really a high schooler?]
ㄴ[Ugh…]
I smiled faintly as I read through the posts and comments.
Sure enough, everyone was looking for me since I had suddenly disappeared.
Jupiter’s words were all nonsense.
There was no way the users in the Deron gallery would abandon me for the Sparrow.
That guy was a really bad dude who didn’t even show his armpits.
On a whim, I decided to search for my nickname and alias.
It was a routine I used to check daily, but after three days spent with Sohee without using my phone, many posts had piled up.
[Two hours before the event… Blood Demon King not logged in…] [6]
[LOL she must have dodged again, huh?] [2]
[Blood Demon King, why aren’t you coming? Hurry up and kill that wicked Sparrow.] [2]
[Who posted in the VRS gallery?] [7]
[Jupiter is that crazy girl again, LOL she got banned from the VRS gallery, LOL] [15]
[Is it true that Blood Demon King lost in that post from before?] [6]
Scanning the recent posts felt a bit weird.
My nickname and Jupiter’s nickname were mentioned together.
What could be the reason?
And VRS? Did someone post a video of Jupiter and me fighting?
I quickly moved my fingers and speedily scanned through several posts.
[Jupiter is that crazy girl again, LOL she got banned from the VRS gallery, LOL] [15]
(An image of Jupiter’s multiple account usernames was posted)
LOL she got permanently banned from the gallery while trying to pull off some tricks on the gaming gallery, LOL
Because of that girl, Blood Demon King and Jupiter got flagged in the VRS gallery, LOL
[Comments]
[So all those praise posts for Jupiter were self-made?]
ㄴ[Looks like it, LOL the account creation dates are all similar.]
ㄴ[LOL that crazy girl.]
[Not the Sparrow but a total setup, huh?]
[That crazy girl…]
[I just reincarnated into the Demon Clan again today…]
[How many accounts does she have?]
ㄴ[Seems like over 20.]
[Is this the representation of the Human Clan…?]
[Isn’t this post written by Jupiter too?]
ㄴ[For real, LOL.]
Creating concept posts? Jupiter? How?
I stared blankly, my mouth agape as I skimmed through the post’s content.
The usernames in the attached image felt oddly familiar.
It was undoubtedly true. The owner of those usernames was my secret friend, the Guide of Light.
I distinctly remembered having a hand in getting the concept posts written by that username to gain traction.
But that username owner was Jupiter?
I was confused. All the advanced skills I had diligently shared with the Guide of Light came back to me.
How to use multiple accounts to change a gallery’s topic.
How to get concept posts to rise easily.
Even how to eliminate any fixed usernames that didn’t sit well.
I had shared all those detailed tips because she seemed eager to learn.
But the opponent was the Sparrow.
I hurried to check the contents that had piled up in the group chat.
Guide of Light – [Soft & Chewy Raccoon…]
Guide of Light – [Got banned from the VRS gallery…]
Guide of Light – [Every username is out of control…]
As I read those messages, a throbbing pain radiated from the back of my head.
Though it was a truth I didn’t want to believe, all the circumstances and evidence pointed to the fact that the Guide of Light was Jupiter.
What had I been doing all this time?
Beep-!
Just then, a message from Deron arrived.
There was one hour left until the event tournament began, and if I wasn’t logged in by the time the tournament started, I would be disqualified.
It seemed they specially sent a text just for me since I hadn’t been logged in.
I let out a deep sigh.
As for the Guide of Light and Jupiter, questioning them could wait for later.
For now, I needed to focus on the tournament.
I shrugged off my coat and tossed it onto the bed.
Perhaps because I had been living with Sohee, my coat was heavily scented with her fragrance.
Three days.
That may have been a short time for others, but not for me.
I slowly exhaled as I crawled into the Large Capsule.
*
Hastily logging into VRS, I found a considerable amount of mail stacked in my mailbox.
Mail from pro players who would join the event battle and event items sent by the VRS side.
After going through each mail, I immediately used the special code that had been sent from Deron.
It was a code provided for participants who had just started playing the game.
Thanks to the code, all characters’ levels and locks were released.
Under normal circumstances, I should have used it much sooner, but after not being able to log in for three days, I didn’t have the chance.
My starting stats were Strength 6, Agility 15, Stamina 9.
The stats for the Samurai I had originally set.
I began adjusting those stats.
The adjusted stats were as follows:
Strength 6
Agility 18
Stamina 6
It was a very deformed stat, with strength and stamina set to a minimum.
I selected the Samurai character and moved my body.
My small hands and feet moved slowly, just like in reality.
There was no way to change the character now. I had to play with the Samurai that I was at least familiar with.
I sat in the Waiting Room, reviewing the sequence of the upcoming Event Battle.
The first match would be Conquest.
Participants from Deron and pro players would be mixed into one team.
No one could predict who would be on whose team. Everyone was an enemy, and everyone was a team.
I slowly exhaled as I waited for the time to pass.
How long had it been?
A message appeared in front of me.
The tournament was officially starting.
[This is a message sent to all participants in the event tournament.]
[Please press the matching button for the Event Battle.]
[The game will start once all players are ready.]
Following the message’s instructions, I pressed the game matching button and began waiting.
About a minute later, brilliant light enveloped me as my body was transported.
Before me lay a vast Battlefield.
Around me stood many soldier NPCs filling my line of sight.
With serious expressions and heavy breaths, they looked excessively excited.
Finally shedding my initial focus, I recognized those around me.
Among them were two knights, one Butcher, and a Viking.
There were no Assassin Users on the team.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Are there any Deron users here?”
A cautious question slipped out.
The one who asked was a Viking user wielding dual axes.
His chainmail and horned helmet were impressive.
I cautiously raised my hand in response to his question.
The only other to raise a hand was the Butcher user.
Two Deron users on the team.
That meant the rest were pro players from VRS.
“Nice to meet everyone!”
The greeting was bright.
I worried about whether they would show any unnecessary hostility, but that fear was in vain.
Perhaps it was because of the broadcast currently being streamed.
“The composition isn’t bad… But, Yeo?”
“Yes?”
“What about your Armor?”
“It feels uncomfortable to wear.”
“Ah…”
The Viking user’s eyebrows twitched at my answer.
Apparently, he didn’t like my response.
But what could I do? Putting on armor with this strength stat was nearly suicide.
“I think that must be her…”
“As Wild said, that…”
The other two knights aside from the Viking seemed to recognize me.
Both were knights. Their set nicknames felt vaguely familiar.
The prefix of their nicknames.
Both knights bore the name W.S-.
It was a team name I remembered.
White Snake. A pro team known for its serpent-like swordsmanship.
The opponent I had dueled in the finals of the last tournament was also part of the W.S team.
As the knights recognized me, the Viking user cautiously approached and spoke up.
“Ah, do you guys happen to know each other?”
“No… Just, I’m remembering because Wild mentioned you a few times.”
“Wild mentioned?!”
The knights from the W.S team and the Viking user began speaking.
I waved at the hefty Butcher user standing awkwardly.
“Hello?”
“H-Hey, Blood Demon King…!”
The voice filtering through the thick armor sounded familiar.
I looked at him with a puzzled expression.
The Butcher user raised trembling hands to take off his helmet.
Then a very familiar face appeared.
“Snow…?”
“Yeeees!!!”
The Butcher user turned out to be the Snow Mage.