Sora, who had been observing Laura for a long time, suddenly realized something.
Laura's gaze had changed—just slightly, but unmistakably.
‘What was this song again…? A song from a game cinematic, maybe?’
Son Narin was singing. The title of the song was… was it Still Here?
My past was empty.
But not anymore.
There is nothing you can take from me.
She couldn’t fully understand the English lyrics, but she got the general meaning.
Laura, who had been listening to Son Narin’s song, seemed to be deep in thought. Then, as if struck by inspiration, she entered a number.
The title was… Rest, Phantoms, at the End of Your Ambition…?
‘…I’ve never heard of this song before.’
Sora glanced at Son Narin, but she also seemed unfamiliar with it.
“Oh, phantoms who wander, embracing each other, calling each other's names, until one side meets destruction.”
“If you are safe, tell me. A voice beyond reach resounded.”
“Rather than love tinged with emptiness, rest upon the words of betrayal.”
“The weak resolve that suffers from sorrowful lies shall not be forgiven.”
That was how the lyrics went.
‘Sounds like an anime ending theme.’
After looking it up, she found out it was from an anime adaptation of a novel about searching for twelve swords.
And apparently, the song Laura was singing was the 11th ending theme from that series. The anime had come out in 2010. …That was really old.
It was impressive that she even found a song like this.
“What do you think?”
Having sung the song to the end, Laura asked.
“Huh…? About what?”
“This song. Do you think it would work for a 3D broadcast? Since it’s an ending song, I thought it might be good as an outro.”
“Hmm… It’s not really good for an outro.”
Sora answered honestly.
It wasn’t that the song was bad. In fact, it was quite good.
All humans possess multiple facets.
Even the most wicked person could be a kind father to their child, and even the most virtuous person could be a devil to someone else.
Just like that, Aurora was a woman who embodied the essence of a noble lady.
But at the same time, she was a gamer who loved games, a survival expert accustomed to the wild, and oddly enough, someone with the spirit of a warrior.
Had she been born in a different era, she would have wielded a sword; had she been born in a different country, she might have held a gun.
A woman like that suited this song perfectly.
However…
“An outro song is meant to wrap things up, right? It needs to leave an impression.”
That’s why some people ended their broadcasts with a high-energy song.
Or they chose something melancholic, like Secret Base, to leave a lingering sadness.
Or they used a signature song that represented themselves or their group to make a grand finale.
“In that sense, this song just isn’t well-known enough. Viewers would probably feel more confused than emotionally impacted.”
“I see. That can’t be helped, then.”
Laura seemed slightly disappointed. It was clear she really liked this song.
Even after singing a few more songs, Laura didn’t seem to find the inspiration she was looking for.
“I guess I’ll have to take my time choosing an outro song.”
***
Son Narin
[Hello, Sora. This is Son Narin. Did you get home safely?]
[I think the gathering was much more fun because you were there today. Thanks to you, I had a great time.]
[Since there aren’t many Korean VTubers in Fantasy League, I thought it would be nice if we could get closer.]
[Would you be interested in doing a game collab? Laura and I have been playing Dungeon Seeker, and I think it would be even more fun if you joined us.]
[I think it would be great to collaborate on various games or projects beyond just Dungeon Seeker!]
Ever since karaoke, Son Narin had been reaching out to her from time to time.
…Why?
Son Narin
[Would you be interested in using a Labyrinthos coupon?]
[I went to a Labyrinthos event at the end of the year and got a bunch of coupons.]
[You can only use one per account, so I have some left. Feel free to use them if you’d like.]
[(Photo)]
Son Narin
[I saw your casual stream and heard you were looking for a binaural mic.]
[I have a secondhand one. Would you be interested in using it?]
“……Hmm.”
Can a person like someone for no reason? She wasn’t sure.
Of course, she wasn’t saying it was impossible. She understood that it could happen.
There was such a thing as love at first sight. People could feel an inexplicable attraction to someone upon first meeting. If someone left a good first impression, that feeling could carry forward.
‘But… I don’t think I’m that kind of person.’
Sora felt uneasy.
She wasn’t someone universally hated, but she wasn’t exactly the type to be adored, either.
She might be more approachable than someone like Inagika, who harbored a darkness as deep as an abyss while remaining perpetually reserved, or Chel, who was as rigid as a rock yet obsessed with bizarre wordplay.
But that was only because those two were a bit off in their own ways… Sora considered herself to have an average level of social skills.
She had never thought of herself as particularly charming.
And with good reason—she had a woman beside her who was practically the embodiment of charisma.
“By the way, I think I got a sponsorship offer.”
“Huh? Miss, you got a sponsorship? What kind?”
“Mealworms.”
“Meal… what?”
Laura was having that conversation with Mero.
At some point, she had grown close to Mero.
She had become friends with Rui as well. And Son Narin, too.
Before that, she had also gotten close to Rinco. And Ainatsu.
…Laura had never been the type to approach others first.
She was just doing what she always did, yet somehow, people naturally gravitated toward her.
If someone could be described as truly charismatic, it would be someone like her.
‘…But is this person really messaging me because they like me?’
All they did was meet briefly at karaoke. Other than that, her only interaction with Son Narin was… the escape room?
Unless Son Narin was the type to fall for people at lightning speed, she didn’t seem to be that kind of person based on their escape room experience.
Yet she was a senior VTuber with years of experience, only a few months behind Rinco.
She wasn’t overly persistent either, so it wasn’t like Sora felt the need to ask her to stop texting.
And it wasn’t as if this situation was entirely uncomfortable.
As for Son Narin herself… Sora neither liked nor disliked her yet. She hadn’t spent enough time with her to form an opinion.
But since Son Narin was a well-established senior, building a good relationship with her could be beneficial for future activities.
Hmm…
……So, why exactly is she sending me such friendly messages?
“Sora, is something on your mind?”
“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing!”
When Rui spoke to her, Sora instinctively responded.
Lately, she had been dropping formal speech with a lot of people.
Recently, she had even stopped using honorifics with Rion, who had become her manager.
Rion no longer called her “Sora unnie,” and she, in turn, had decided to stop calling Rion “Rion-senior.”
She had also dropped formalities with Rui.
Rui didn’t particularly enjoy being treated as a senior. She preferred a more equal relationship.
Knowing that, it felt odd to keep using polite speech, so she had adjusted her way of speaking.
“The stream is about to start. Are you good to go?”
"U-uh…! Y-yeah, I'm fine."
Of course, she still got nervous when talking to Rui. …After all, Rui was an even more experienced veteran than Son Narin.
But being too tense wouldn't help.
Today's stream was a Fantasy League watch-along broadcast.
A match between Behemoth and Cerberus was scheduled.
***
Carefully stepping to avoid making any noise, Anna moved cautiously.
‘…I need to find the enemy quickly.’
But she couldn't afford to be too careful.
In this duel mode, movement speed was more important than anything.
The character Anna was playing was a Technomancer.
And Technomancer was… notorious for being terrible in duel mode.
‘Ugh… I really didn’t want to play Technomancer….’
The strengths of a Technomancer were its overwhelming damage output and the ability to secure the first strike with <Optical Camouflage>.
But in Labyrinthos, no character was without flaws. Technomancer had its weaknesses too.
It had no real crowd control or survival skills. If caught, there was no way to shake off the enemy.
It didn’t have mobility skills or even a movement speed buff. That meant its kiting ability was also weak.
In other words, Technomancer was excellent at holding a position and fighting, but if it had to engage in direct combat, it became significantly weaker.
To put it simply:
1. If she ran into an enemy head-on → Technomancer was at a disadvantage by default.
2. If the enemy spotted her first → She was practically as good as dead.
3. If she spotted the enemy first → This was her only chance to win.
‘The problem is, I have no way of spotting the enemy first….’
Technomancer could locate enemies using its ultimate, <Unboxing>, but to do that, she needed to charge her ultimate gauge.
And to charge the ultimate gauge, she had to hunt neutral mobs—which made noise when attacked. That meant the enemy would hear her and find her first.
In other words, hunting neutral mobs was basically a death sentence!
But Technomancer had no other detection skills besides its ultimate! Yet, trying to charge the ultimate gauge meant she would definitely lose! It was an absurd paradox!
So what was the solution?
She had to treat the ultimate as if it didn’t exist!
She had to run around and locate the enemy first… with her own two feet…!
Of course, manually scouting for the enemy was purely a matter of luck.
In other words, Anna was relying entirely on chance to get through this duel.
…If only the owner hadn’t forced her to pick Technomancer, she would’ve chosen something else.
‘Ah, found them…!’
Anna almost shouted.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, she finally spotted a Dual Swordsman up ahead.
The goddess of fortune was on her side…!
Of course.
She, Shiroki Anna, had made it into Fantasy League, she was living with Laura, and she even went on a blind date with Rui.
She was the Hero of This Era!
The times were calling for her!
But excitement existed only in her mind.
The cold sensation of the gun in her palm sharpened her focus.
She silently took her position, aimed her gun at the enemy—
And carefully pulled the trigger.
—Bang!
The bullet struck the target, and blood splattered.
But the enemy… did not fall.
It should’ve been an instant kill, but instead, a strange effect activated, leaving them standing.
She couldn't recall the exact trait name, but it seemed to be the one that allowed a player to survive with 1 HP just once.
"…Tch."
She thought she had won, but she hadn’t.
Anna immediately switched from single fire to burst fire.
—Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!
Her gun roared.
The Dual Swordsman moved diagonally at high speed, trying to close the gap before taking another hit.
Anna adjusted her aim accordingly.
The Dual Swordsman twisted their body to dodge the bullets, but they couldn't keep doing that forever.
Eventually, they activated a skill.
<Offensive Breakthrough>.
A mobility, survival, and damage-dealing skill all in one.
It slashed through everything in front of it while charging forward—one of those famously frustrating "kid skills."
They cut through every bullet Anna fired, rapidly closing the distance.
‘They’re using their survival skill already?’
Anna tilted her head.
The gap between them had narrowed significantly, but that didn’t mean this was a bad situation for her.
She had forced the Dual Swordsman to burn their only mobility and survival skill. That meant they had no escape left.
But if they were going to waste their survival skill like that, wouldn’t it have been better to just turn and run instead of charging forward?
‘Well, how many people actually play rationally in a game?’
They probably thought escaping with 1 HP was pointless, so they chose to engage. But now that they were in, it wasn’t going as planned, so they had to burn their skill early.
That was the most reasonable explanation.
Still, Anna remained cautious.
She aimed precisely, switching from burst fire to scatter shot.
The enemy would die from even a grazing shot, so she planned to use a wide spread to secure the kill.
Anna pulled the trigger—
Ting-ting-ting-ting!
The Dual Swordsman deflected all the bullets.
…Huh?
"Parry trait…!"
By the time she realized it, it was too late.
The Dual Swordsman tore her apart.
"Kyaaah…!"
Anna collapsed, covered in blood.
She desperately reached for her fallen gun—
But a sword was already pressed against her throat.
"H-how…?"
"How?"
Hearing that, Mashina chuckled in disbelief.
Sure, she had been crushed by Aurora in the last match. And before that, Aurora had blocked her promotion match five times in a row.
But at the end of the day, Mashina was a Diamond-ranked player and a Tier 2 member of Behemoth.
"You’re not Aurora, are you?"
Mashina said.
Behemoth vs. Cerberus – Set 1
Mashina vs. Shiroki Anna – Duel Mode
Mashina wins.
Behemoth +1pt.