If you were to pick a member who excels at games within Star’s Flow, typically three members come to mind.
First, Rinze Yuzuki from the first generation.
Second, Aki Nekoto from the second generation.
Third, Izumi Kainoh from the second generation.
In the case of Rinze, she boasts exceptional skill in FPS games, while Nekoto and Izumi are generally well-regarded for their overall gaming abilities.
Sometimes, there are mentions of Tsukasa Tsurusaki from the third generation, but it’s hard to accurately assess her as she deviates from the usual perception of being good at games.
When it comes down to naming just one member who plays the best, the implicit rule in the community tends to favor Izumi from the second generation.
Rinze indeed shows amazing talent in FPS, but often she’s just average in other genres.
Nekoto is good overall but doesn’t possess the skill level to challenge professionals.
However, Izumi has been evaluated several times as the only one capable of reaching a “professional level” in various games.
Of course, Izumi, who is typically shy, would never challenge her own limitations by becoming a professional gamer, especially since she prefers dabbling in multiple hobbies rather than focusing deeply on one.
That doesn’t mean Izumi lacks competitive spirit, though.
In fact, she is one of the more competitive members within Star’s Flow.
Thus, it was almost inevitable that she would end up in the current situation where she challenges herself in Arcana Shooter and insists on clearing it using only specific weapons, easily succumbing to provocations from viewers during games.
[I’d like to just go as a host, though….]
“Ahhh…. Is Izumi, perhaps, scared of Nekoto?”
[Huh…?]
Snicker, Ayaka’s giggles infiltrated Izumi’s ears.
“Well, given Izumi’s personality, facing off against a great player like her would likely be too much. Got it. I’ll tell Shoko that Izumi wants to go as a host because she’s afraid of losing to Nekoto….”
That was a blatant provocation.
Pause for a moment, and it becomes clear that Ayaka’s words don’t align with how she displays her affection for Izumi.
[…I’ll participate.]
Nope. Even while being aware of the provocation, Izumi made the decision to join in.
“Eh? Really? You were scared of Nekoto?”
Izumi’s competitive nature, along with her confidence in being the best player within Star’s Flow, lost its cool.
Although she knew Ayaka was teasing her, she bent her opinion and said she wanted to go as a host.
[Uuuuuu…. No way…! I-I’m going to participate and win everything! Utsumi, I hate you! Stupid…!]
“Ah.”
Ding, the sound effect of a missed call echoed in Ayaka’s ear.
Was it too harsh…? Ayaka thought as she reflected.
But surely, when she told the truth later, Izumi would forgive her.
If she keeps sulking, a tasty treat would make things right, and with that thought, Ayaka dialed up “her” through the missed call.
After a few sound effects, a languid voice joined the call.
[Yeaaawn….]
A relaxed and sleepy tone.
She was none other than Nekoto, Izumi and Ayaka’s fellow classmate from the second generation of Star’s Flow.
[Did it go well…?]
Half-asleep, Nekoto yawned while asking Ayaka.
“Yeah. It went well. Izumi is also going to participate. But she called me mean and stupid, boo hoo…. What should I do…? If Izumi is angry later, Nekoto has to take responsibility…?”
[Got it….]
Nekoto readily responded to Ayaka’s voice, which was clearly a performance.
“By the way, it’s surprising to hear you ask for such a favor, Nekoto~.”
Two days ago.
The third-year student, Shoko, had made an announcement on the Star’s Flow group server on MissCode about holding a gaming tournament.
She naturally mentioned that participation was not mandatory but that they needed another host.
Surprisingly, up until now, everyone except for first-year Tsubaki and second-year Izumi had volunteered to participate.
Tsubaki had expressed a desire to take part as a host, which meant practically everyone except Izumi had signed up.
If it progresses like this, Izumi would be the only member from Star’s Flow missing out, guaranteeing obvious trolling.
So, when Nekoto asked Izumi yesterday if she would participate, she had said yes.
But Nekoto wanted Izumi to participate.
As a true gamer, Nekoto wanted to battle at full strength against Izumi.
Of course, she was aware that it would be an uphill battle.
Though Nekoto generally enjoyed subcultures like Izumi, she clearly favored gaming above all.
So, while she could claim to have played more games than Izumi, she readily accepted that Izumi was just more talented.
But knowing her opponent was stronger prompted the gamer spirit to challenge her.
Thus, Nekoto wished for Izumi to join the tournament and asked Ayaka to provoke her into participating.
And as you can see, she succeeded.
[Hehe…. I wanted to fight Izumi at full strength once….]
“Umm… Good luck?”
Though Ayaka couldn’t relate to that gamer sentiment, she still offered Nekoto some encouragement.
[Thanks, Ayaka.]
With her mission accomplished, Nekoto then said.
[Alright, I’m heading off to sleep….]
Ending the call to rest like usual.
★
“Sigh….”
Utsumi clearly seemed to have taunted me on purpose.
Given her mention of Aki, it couldn’t be a coincidence that she did so at the behest of Aki.
Considering Ayaka usually oversaw a show of affection for me, she wouldn’t have made such a comment.
But by the time I realized that, it was too late.
I had already told Utsumi I would join the tournament.
“I guess I have no choice….”
I should have thought it through more clearly….
I mean, I wasn’t incapable of winning.
On the contrary, I’m confident.
After all, I’m good at games.
While I can’t guarantee a victory in that game that Mizuki is hosting, I’m pretty sure my odds of winning are higher than anyone else’s.
Knowing that, I tried to refuse participation in the tournament.
But it’s not that I felt overly confident because I could win.
It’s quite the opposite.
Knowing I’m good at games and have the highest odds of winning makes it stressful…!
If I participate and don’t win?
What if I end up getting eliminated first?
Such thoughts naturally arise.
That’s why I was reluctant!
“Uuuuuu….”
But I’ve already said I would participate.
There’s no way to turn back time….
[Izumi Kainoh: I’ll also join the tournament this time.]
In the end, I had no choice but to DM Mizuki to apply for the tournament.
★
Phantasm Chronicle.
That’s the name of the game Mizuki is hosting for the tournament.
It’s a quarter-view battle royale genre.
Teams can be formed in 2v2 matches or up to a maximum of ten teams, and this tournament would proceed as a 2v2 format.
The game premise is straightforward to an absurd degree.
As a battle royale, the team that survives to the end wins.
Characters move with a right-click of the mouse, and players can access a total of seven skill types.
Six of those are basic skills, and the final one can only be used by purchasing a “special item” when currency is gathered.
Additionally, players can use various consumable items in-game, and it’s not limited to one character per player; they can swap characters using currency.
The game is ridiculously simple in concept, yet the difficulty level in play is extraordinarily high – that’s the essence of Phantasm Chronicle.
[【StarFlow Phantasm Chronicle Tournament】The 1st! The Star’s Flow Phantasm Chronicle team selection starts now!!! #Star’s Flow]
And now, with just one day left of the holidays, today happened to be the day for team selection in Phantasm Chronicle.
[Hehe…. Starting with this tournament, I’ll expand Atlas‘s presence in Star’s Flow. So the winning team will get a chance to join Atlas…!]
[No, I don’t need that opportunity at all, right? And if there’s already an Atlas member in the team, it’s pointless.]
[Sharp observation, Tsubaki…. As expected of someone holding the name King.]
Before kicking off the selection, Senior Namikawa and Mizuki split the remaining fourteen members into two groups.
Group A contained me, Rinze Yuzuki, Ichika Minazuki, Yukari Akabane, Aki Nekoto, Kaguya Aoba, and Tsukasa Tsurusaki.
Group B included Natsune Nanase, Hikari Kurokami, Hina Amatsuka, Suzuha Koga, Ayaka Utsumi, Sakuya Suzumichi, and Kaede Hatakawa.
It was clearly engineered for balance.
The gaming abilities of the members had been assessed during previous collaborations, so forming teams from those in Group A would surely lead to instant contenders for winning.
[So, if we make it to the finals, which teams do you think will be there, Tsubaki?]
[I’d expect teams with good synergy to appear. Individual skills are significant, but Phantasm Chronicle is fundamentally a team game.]
[That does make sense.]
[Given that, I think Rinze and Tsukasa’s team has an advantage.]
[Hmm? The team that won the most in the last collaboration was Izumi-chan and Aoba, right?]
[Yeah. But Izumi sometimes pushes herself too far, and Aoba tends to be all about solo play.]
[Oh, I see…. That’s an interesting perspective.]
Just as Senior Namikawa said.
Since Phantasm Chronicle is fundamentally a team game.
But I learned during the last collaboration that there’s something even more crucial in this tournament.
[Alright, then let’s start selecting teams!]
[As the organizer, I know I shouldn’t be biased… but I really want to see an Atlas victory.]
[No favoritism, please!]
In this game, it’s not about how well the better team plays.
It’s how well the weaker side performs that matters.
And then.
Team 1: Kaguya Aoba | Hina Amatsuka
Team 2: Aki Nekoto | Hikari Kurokami
Team 3: Rinze Yuzuki | Suzuha Koga
Team 4: Ichika Minazuki | Sakuya Suzumichi
Team 5: Tsukasa Tsurusaki | Ayaka Utsumi
Team 6: Izumi Kainoh | Natsune Nanase
Team 7: Yukari Akabane | Kaede Hatakawa
Even though I’m the eighth star, I have to acknowledge that I’m the weakest link in Star’s Flow.
I ended up teamed with Natsune.
…Should I just give up?
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