Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 264

After the rollback patch, the rank reset item provided led many wizards to adopt the Soft & Chewy Cow and Glass Cannon builds.

Although there were overall damage adjustments for both builds, their effectiveness remained overwhelming.

Maybe that’s why, on this Friday night, two weeks since the raid started, the Raid Puckle party was finally born.

Of course, it wasn’t my Soft & Chewy raid party.

Some raid groups upload every detail of their progress to log sites to boast about their clear records.

This newly formed Puckle party had also registered their progress on the log site to showcase their clear time.

I checked the Puckle party’s log and looked at the distribution of dealer roles.

A total of 40 members.

Among them, 34 were wizard dealers, using the Glass Cannon and Soft & Chewy builds.

It was a situation I had anticipated when the build created by the Snow Mage was revived by the rollback patch, but seeing it become a reality was slightly disconcerting.

The Raid Puckle achievement.

Is it okay to go about it this way?

Our party, Soft & Chewy Cow, wasn’t a hardcore party aiming for Puckle, so I simply felt regret, but the frustration for the players playing hard just for one raid must be significant.

While I was investigating various community opinions on the matter, I sensed a presence approaching from afar—it was right in front of me in an instant.

A long shadow.

I looked up, and there stood a wizard draped in a red robe.

Helena.

“Yeo-na.”

“Oh, Helena.”

Did I handle everything properly in reality? I tilted my head and waved at Helena.

She followed my gesture and sat down beside me.

Being near an extreme fire mage tends to radiate a warm aura.

Helena was no exception.

I leaned my head on Helena’s shoulder, feeling that warmth and coziness.

“Did something happen today? You didn’t look too happy in the music room.”

“That’s…”

It was a question I had already asked several times at school.

But Helena didn’t reply.

Was it too difficult a question for her to answer?

I closed my eyes and said, “It was difficult to answer, huh? I won’t ask anymore.”

The current time was 6 PM.

There was a little leisure left before the raid started, but it felt awkward to leave for farming somewhere.

This is the problem with high school life.

I sighed deeply.

“Ugh…”

Should I just drop out and prepare for the GED?

Thinking about my exam scores, that seemed like a pretty good choice.

So I should ask.

My best friend.

“Helena. No, Sohee.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Should I drop out?”

“What… what? Why?”

Helena replied with surprise at my question.

Was this question that shocking?

I calmly explained my thoughts.

“Well… it feels like time is being wasted.”

“Wasting time…?”

“Yeah, look. I come home after school and turn on Deron, and it’s already 5 or 6 PM. The raid starts at 7, so when am I supposed to farm?”

“Well…”

“Time is too precious. If I didn’t go to school, I could be earning gold or leveling up my character during that time.”

“Hayun…”

“Of course, I’m not saying I want to drop out without thinking. I’m good at studying. So I can just pass high school with the GED and go straight to college…”

Helena wiped her face as she listened to me.

It seemed like there was something frustrating her, but she didn’t speak up.

I looked up at Helena and continued, “What do you think? Isn’t this a way to save time?”

“If you don’t rack up good scores in high school, it’ll be hard to get into a good university…”

That’s something to think about when the time comes.

I’m cute and pretty.

On top of that, I excel in gaming and study, so I could handle anything.

Right now, I just needed more time to play Deron.

“Hey, Yeo-na… do you want to play Deron more?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it really just for that reason?”

“Yep.”

“Then…”

Helena sighed deeply and slowly opened her mouth.

“Our club… I mean, we are the VR Game Club, right?”

“Yep.”

“Well then, how about we enter a big tournament in VR gaming? They say you can skip classes during the tournament prep period at other places.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

I nodded at Helena’s words.

That was a pretty good suggestion.

I had a talent different from others.

As long as I practiced the game we’d compete in for an hour and spent the rest on Deron, I could achieve decent results.

“Sounds good…! You’re sure about that, right?”

“I heard it personally from the teacher. It’s confirmed. So please don’t say you’re dropping out… I want to go to school with Yeo too.”

After that, I continued light chitchat with Helena.

Time flowed, and the raid assembly time approached.

“Shall we get going?”

“Yeah.”

Helena and I stood up, each holding onto each other’s hands without caring who went first.

The height difference was significant, so if others saw us, we probably looked like siblings.

Sometimes I think about it.

What if I had an older sister like Helena instead of my brother, Hwarang?

*

Monday morning, 7 AM.

Dragging my sluggish body, I headed out.

I had raided with the party until 2 AM but couldn’t defeat the final boss, Lunaris.

The raid’s progress took longer than usual because all party members wanted it.

Deron’s weekly content resets at 6 AM on Mondays.

So today was the last day for the raid.

As it was the last, everyone was putting in their best effort, but that guy, Lunaris, cruelly wouldn’t grant us a clear angle.

What a bummer.

I recalled the memories of the dawn and let out a long yawn.

Entering the school building in a daze, I made my way to the classroom.

As I passed through the long corridor and entered the classroom, a warm scent wrapped around me with a gentle breeze.

I was already tired, and with that warm breeze, drowsiness began to creep in.

I hurried to my seat and slumped over the desk.

“Hey, Sohee…”

“You’re not late…”

“Yeah…”

I looked up at Sohee from my slumped position.

Despite having raided with me until dawn, there was no sign of fatigue on her face.

Sohee looked like a frail beauty on the outside, but her hidden stamina was impressive.

“Have you thought about it?”

“That…?”

Oh…

I blankly nodded at Sohee’s words.

That referred to the game tournament our VR Game Club would participate in.

I had some tournaments in mind, but I wondered if the school would allow it.

“What’s it about?”

“First, VRS and…”

The first candidate on the list was VRS.

As the game with the most players in Korea, there were considerable tournaments being held.

Of course, it was still an amateur tournament.

“Next is this one…”

Next on the list were FPS games and AOS-style games.

All of them had more players than Deron and were holding various tournaments in different regions.

“Looks good.”

“Can we really participate in this? Is it okay not to study?”

“If the school gives permission…”

I rested my head on Sohee’s arm on the desk.

Studying VR gaming instead of school would be amazing if it happens like Sohee said.

After the tedious morning classes ended, lunchtime arrived.

I led Sohee and Ellie to the VR Game Club.

We needed the agreement of all members to enter the tournament.

I had gotten Sohee and Ellie’s consent, but still needed one more person’s agreement.

As we entered the classroom of the VR Game Club, I noticed the different, tidy interior compared to before.

The faint smell of a new house stimulated my sense of smell, as if the floors and wallpaper were freshly done.

The biggest change was the latest capsules.

Unlike before, when there was only one old model, the new capsules lined up gleamed like brand-new products.

“There they are.”

I looked toward a capsule in a corner.

Different from the one up front, this capsule was glowing by itself.

That meant someone was inside.

By lunchtime, there could only be one person wedged in a VR capsule.

It was the second-year Seongsin senior.

“Um, um…”

I cleared my throat and approached the operating capsule, carefully tapping on the lid.

Tap—

The voice that came through was indeed Seongsin’s voice.

[Ah… Who is it…?]

“Seongsin-senpai. Could you come out for a moment?”

[Oh, it’s you guys. Just a second…!]

After the response, about a minute passed.

When the capsule door opened, Seongsin-senpai appeared with an awkward smile.

“You three came to play the game too…”

Instead of replying, I handed her a piece of paper.

It was the consent form for all members to participate in a specific game tournament.

“What’s this…?”

“Will you agree?”

Without the agreement of all members, we couldn’t enter the tournament.

That would naturally mean we wouldn’t be able to skip classes.

I looked up at Seongsin-senpai with a nervous heart.

“Oh…”

Seongsin-senpai skimmed the document, not hesitating at all as she wrote her name.

It was a shockingly easy outcome compared to my worries.

But a good result was still a good result.

I smiled at the piece of paper containing all members’ agreements.

As I smiled, Seongsin-senpai cautiously spoke up while glancing around.

“But… what tournament are we trying to enter…?”

“VRS!”

Where else would it be?

We had to stick to a game we were familiar with.

Seongsin-senpai looked back with a worried expression at my answer.

“V-VRS…? That sword-fighting game…?”

“Yep.”

“I might struggle with that…”

“Why?”

“I-I only play FPS games.”

What now?

I didn’t care.

Winning the tournament wasn’t the goal.

I was just using this system to skip classes.

“It’s okay. The importance is in participating.”

“B-but is that really okay? It could be embarrassing…”

I didn’t mind being embarrassed.

I folded the consent form with all members’ agreements and tucked it into my pocket.

I’d keep it warm and plan to submit it to the teacher after school.