Chapter 259 – On The Christmas Eve
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───Beep! Beep Beep Beep!
“…Wow, what time is it now?”
“You’re awake? We should have dinner.”
“Ugh.”
Seven o’clock, in the evening, not the morning.
When Dice woke up, dead asleep in bed, what he saw outside the window was complete darkness and large snowflakes gently falling. His head felt foggy, and he was dizzy. It took quite a while for his senses, which were struggling to distinguish reality from virtuality, to become clear.
Hell Week. A non-stop, sleepless training from Thursday noon to Friday noon. Of course, this was based on real-world time, but the location of the curriculum was within virtual reality – thus, everyone except Harmony had to go through numerous battles without sleeping for three days.
The result was clear.
Under Yoo Jin’s successful command, Hell Week left all participants physically and mentally exhausted to the extreme, and the moment it ended at noon on Friday, they had some snacks and then crashed to catch up on the sleep they had missed.
And now, back to the present.
“Cold water? Or warm cocoa? Either one will wake you up.”
“…Give me cold water first.”
The cold sensation of the PET bottle touching his fingertips felt strange. Half of the 500ml bottle’s contents went down Dice’s throat, and finally, his dry breath became somewhat moist.
Seeing that, Yoo Jin added quietly.
“You must still be tired, so if you eat dinner and sleep again, you’ll likely return to a normal rhythm by tomorrow.”
“…I really thought I was going to die, seriously.”
“More than half of the users in this year’s Final Championship have already gone through this gate.”
Yoo Jin added without much intonation, and Dice’s head nodded automatically. It was as she said. Most foreign pro gamers had at least some military service experience, which meant they had inevitably gone through such endurance training.
Of course, all the processes the participants went through were completely different from the Hell Week commonly experienced in special forces or selection weeks, but the nature was ultimately similar.
They tested whether the players or special forces members could make rational and correct decisions even in extreme situations and if they could navigate through such situations.
In other words, this implied many things.
“Yoo Jin, you have no intention of letting us go, do you?”
“I’ve said it many times, but I’m not someone cold-hearted enough to leave students who still have a long way to go behind.”
As she said.
Yoo Jin had no intention of dropping the curriculum until she fully functioned as an operator.
Instead of the previous method of alternating between enough rest and intensive, compressed training to efficiently inject data into students, Yoo Jin had taken a significant gamble by imposing extreme situations and observing their responses.
The reason for implementing such a curriculum was simple. Yoo Jin planned to step down from her position someday, and the participants of this curriculum had to fill that spot.
However, rather than mulling over that fact, Dice added with a small smile.
“You’re still going to keep streaming anyway.”
“By then, I probably won’t teach with such responsibility.”
“With your career built up this much, won’t people come to Yoo Jin with bags of money begging for help?”
“…Thinking about it, that might be true.”
And Dice realized that he had hit Yoo Jin with a blow.
It was a rather absurd reason.
Anyway, though the mood was heavy, it wasn’t too burdensome.
Even if Yoo Jin retired completely as a coach, she wouldn’t entirely leave the Dark Zone, and she had already built a personal friendship to the point of sleeping over at some participants’ houses. In other words, Yoo Jin’s retirement wasn’t something to worry about.
The only problem would be if the Final Championship concluded successfully, Yoo Jin would likely start withdrawing from Apex Predator – having to adapt new talents, continuously discovered every year, to the elevated skill standards would become the biggest headache.
But before Dice could finish such trivial thoughts, his body was lifted gently.
Yoo Jin had picked him up by his tail and was carrying him to the bathroom.
“Huh? Whoa! What are you doing!?”
“Go wash up. Should I take you to the bathroom?”
“…I can walk.”
The sensation of wearing slippers felt strange. Just a while ago, he had been running through maps in combat boots, making it feel even more so.
Having been lying down for so long, his blood flow shifted suddenly, making his head spin. Along with the sudden return of his senses came an overwhelming hunger – but Yoo Jin, as if anticipating this, added.
“Room service will arrive within an hour. Take your time washing up. It’s all on my tab, so don’t worry about the cost.”
“Wow.”
Though the training had been tough, he didn’t expect her to cover the expensive New York room service meals, complete with tips, exchange rates, and taxes. The room service menu he had seen a while back flashed through Dice’s mind.
The only thing he remembered was the steep three-figure dollar prices.
But Yoo Jin added in her usual flat tone.
“I ordered for the next room too, so don’t worry.”
“The next room, where Michael is…?”
“Everyone who participated in this Hell Week training.”
Of course.
Dice finally let out the words he had been holding back.
“Yoo Jin, you’re really a strange person.”
“Pardon?”
“Like a rich, eccentric millionaire with a unique taste.”
“Ha.”
Yoo Jin.
She was hit by two serious blows from Dice and finally sank. Because it wasn’t really wrong.
However, unfortunately for her, Dice’s pro-gamer instincts had already surpassed normal levels. By the time Yoo Jin recovered from the impact, Dice had already made it into the bathroom.
The sound of water from the shower and the ensuing silence followed.
How much time had passed?
Dice emerged from the shower amidst a cloud of steam.
“By the way, where’s Min Ah?”
“She went to a Dark Zone partner streamer group meeting. We’ll see her at Madison Square Garden tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
Oh, right. That was happening.
Extreme fatigue and a packed schedule often made one forget the flow of time and even the schedules they were supposed to follow. But as soon as the keyword was given, the forgotten memory resurfaced.
The Final Championship solo matches were scheduled to start next week, and this Saturday and Sunday, Christmas Eve and Christmas, all participants were required to attend a sort of orientation.
In other words, tomorrow.
“Even though I’ve been to New York more times, I end up forgetting everything.”
“What did you wear last time? They said just to wear something decent, but I can’t get a feel for it.”
“If you just wear the semi-formal suit you wore last time, people will go wild.”
Then she added another sentence.
“Sometimes, Yoo Jin, you seem completely lifeless except when it comes to battles.”
“…It’s sad because it’s true.”
“Right?”
With those words, Dice glanced at the other side.
Though her expression was blank, her tail slowly drooped. Having observed Yoo Jin for months, Dice could somewhat guess her mood, which wasn’t easily visible on the surface.
No explanation was needed. The tail reflected her mood to some extent, and Dice knew that Yoo Jin’s slightly lowered tail meant she was feeling a tiny bit down.
What should I say? Always, but still. She was an interesting person just to watch. Dice thought so and smiled slightly.
“Yoo Jin, can’t you just not retire?”
“Stop saying strange things.”
“Hehe.”
With a small scolding, the night deepened.
Christmas Eve was approaching.
“…I didn’t think you’d be this tired.”
The next morning at nine.
Yoo Jin’s first task was to carry Dice to the team car in the underground parking lot.
The aftermath of Hell Week was devastating.
“Everyone seems quite tired.”
“Of course. Even if it was in virtual reality, running for about three days without proper sleep would cause significant mental fatigue. Let them sleep for now. They’ll wake up in an hour.”
“Understood. By the way, Coach, you don’t seem that tired despite having the same schedule.”
“I have unlimited stamina.”
Scribble, scribble.
Writing down a note on A4 paper saying she had someone to meet and would go up first, she placed it gently on Dice’s lap, who was still sound asleep, and carefully closed the door.
The orientation itself was scheduled around 4 PM, but the prior explanation recommended arriving early to explore the facilities and get familiar with the layout, which Dice had mentioned to her yesterday.
That’s why she made her way to Madison Square Garden at this slightly early hour of 9:30 AM.
Though she came by car.
“I’ll contact you if anything comes up.”
“Yes. Have a good time.”
The sensation of wearing a semi-formal suit after not wearing one for almost a week felt still a bit strange. She didn’t wear such formal attire often.
The temperature in the underground parking lot was cool but not cold. The path leading to the elevator was clearly identifiable. Though there were eight elevators, they seemed to be in constant use with many passengers.
Without hesitation, she opened the side door, walked a bit through the staff-only back path, and found an empty elevator.
-[Notification: Authentication successful.]
A green light illuminated the elevator panel as she tapped her key card on the wall.
With a clear sound, the door opened. The elevator had no buttons and asc
ended silently. After going up several dozen floors, it finally stopped, and the door opened to a plain white hallway.
But after opening a couple of push doors-
“Oh.”
A modern-designed hallway appeared.
At its end was an artificial sculpture depicting the intersection, entanglement, scattering, and reassembly of light through LEDs, curves, mirrors, and other elements. After walking closer for a few seconds, multiple holograms floated in the air.
All the screens pointed at her. The sculpture subtly integrated identification tools, she thought.
How many seconds passed?
-[Welcome, Yoo Jin.]
Simultaneously, a delta mark appeared on the floor, indicating where she should go.
Though there was plenty of time until the deadline, being instructed to come this early meant she should wait here. Thinking that, she headed toward her destination about a hundred meters away.
After turning several corners, lightly passing through gates blocking unauthorized access, she reached the staff-only lounge.
The delta mark ended at a door.
Taking a small breath, she knocked lightly and opened the door.
“Keith?”
A person with rough hair tied back into a small ponytail stood against the snowy New York backdrop.
Upon hearing her voice, he slowly turned his head, and the ponytail disappeared, revealing a sharp-looking individual. Though his appearance was sharper than that of a special forces soldier, the look in his eyes was firm. An average person might feel overwhelmed.
But not her. Even a slight frown would easily overshadow that look with her presence.
Finally, he smiled and added.
“Meeting in person for the first time. Apologies for the inconvenience. I’m Keith from the Japanese national team.”
“I’m Yoo Jin from the Korean national team. Nice to meet you.”
With a simple gesture, he guided her to a seat, and she sat down just as he cautiously sat in the opposite chair.
As the serving machine silently approached, placing two steaming cups of green tea and some light snacks on the table before disappearing, he spoke first.
“It’s early, but I’d like to know why you wanted to meet me.”
“Of course, I’ll tell you.”
While the distinctive bitter aroma of green tea filled the room, he took a sip and swallowed it carefully.
She didn’t mind the silence.
But when the silence ended, he dropped a bombshell.
“This year, you’re almost certain to win or be the runner-up, so I wanted to meet you out of curiosity.”
What should I say?
It was fortunate that I wasn’t holding the teacup at that moment.