As time passed, the outline of the Prelude became clear.
The group stage ended, and the fierce Round of 16 was over.
Just a few days ago, the Round of 8, where only the strongest contenders survived, began.
Most teams that could be considered strong championship candidates remained.
Kelberos’s AT, Ripper and Traveler’s Acid Gaming, and Phantom’s Veiled Nightmare.
From objective power, the strong teams delivered results as expected.
Of course, there were teams that performed even better than expected.
One of them was the Japanese team Falcon, centered around ‘Insane’.
It wasn’t for nothing that Phantom mentioned him as a player to be wary of—he clearly proved himself as a rising powerhouse.
He even marked Hashashin face-to-face, showcasing the prowess of a top-class swordsman.
Considering the roles of the two classes, it would still be fair to say that in terms of objective power, they were beneath Hashashin.
That’s true, the combat power of the assassin class tends to be somewhat lower than that of swordsmen.
But it seemed that they expected to stand in the same ranks soon.
Their growth was so extraordinary that it was hard to comprehend.
Perhaps something good had happened.
“Well, I couldn’t keep track of every match,” I thought.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t watch every game.
Especially since Sigma was eliminated in the Round of 16, there was even less motivation to do so.
The opponent was LB from North America. The overall weight class difference was overwhelming.
And they were a swordsman, which made me a bit hesitant.
After all, I still couldn’t wield a sword freely.
If only I hadn’t started practicing Kendo.
If I hadn’t whined to my parents like a little brat.
If I were someone who could express my feelings honestly.
If I had just studied quietly like the other kids and lived a life of going to college.
If I had told my parents I loved them just once before they passed away.
Or if I had never been born at all.
If I had died as a child when I had a fever.
If I hadn’t cried and fallen off the roof out of fear.
“No, wait. That last one was after the accident, so it doesn’t matter, right?”
Anyway, holding a longsword brings up all sorts of sticky thoughts.
I’m just a swordsman who can’t handle them properly. There’s no need to feel jealous watching others compete.
Yet, I still can’t remove swordsman from my subclass, so my regrets are truly tiresome.
It’s a problem I have to overcome someday.
But for now, I had no solid plans.
Since I wanted to tell my parents something soon, I thought about visiting their grave.
And um…
“Da-eun? Da-eun?”
“Ah… Huh? Yes?”
“We’ve arrived. Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard lately? Are you really that tired?”
“I’m fine. I just dozed off while thinking about something else.”
When did I fall asleep exactly?
When I snapped back to attention, Elderin’s car had parked underground.
It was another building, different from the studio I visited often.
Unlike the sleek and tidy place, this one had a strong impression of being old and abandoned.
Whether somewhere the pipes were leaking or not, the air was damp and smelled of mold.
Somehow, it smelled similar to the house I currently lived in.
Technically, I was living at Sigma’s lodging, but I hadn’t emptied my room yet.
That would happen soon, though.
I was now receiving treatment funds from Sigma.
And with broadcast revenue being decent, there was no reason to rot away in that cramped room anymore.
“I heard you broadcasted for over ten hours yesterday.”
“I was just gaming like usual, so I wasn’t really pushing myself.”
“Hmm. Still, be careful. Are you sleeping well?”
“Do you not trust me at all, sis?”
“It’s not that… I just can’t leave you be. I worry for no reason.”
Isn’t that usually a sign of distrust?
I almost felt hurt, but… it meant she cared about me.
Changing my thoughts slightly improved my mood.
But if I kept talking about this topic, I’d end up receiving a lecture.
I felt the need to change the subject.
“The parking lot is really hot. It really feels like summer now, doesn’t it?”
“Hee hee. It does. Speaking of summer, do you have a swimsuit, Da-eun?”
“Of course not. Why would I need something like that?”
The range of motion in my left leg was limited to just around my knee.
If I were in water or lying down, I could manage to move a little bit.
My ankles and toes, though? They felt like they belonged to someone else entirely.
Yet, I was utterly sensitive to shocks or pain.
If I accidentally bumped into something, the pain was intense.
So, swimming wasn’t really a feasible option.
Elderin must know that by now.
So why was she asking?
“You could at least take a photo, right? Your audience would love it!”
“…No way. I won’t do anything suggestive.”
“Humph.”
Elderin’s gaze lingered on me.
For some reason, whenever I rejected something suggestive, she looked at me with an expression that said, “Oh, really?”
She never said it outright, but it felt like she thought it was incredibly funny.
Suddenly, Elderin’s lips curled into a smirk.
“You say that, yet you seem to be managing quite well. Were you secretly looking forward to it?”
“Managing?”
My brain momentarily froze.
What was she trying to say just now?
I followed Elderin’s gaze and tilted my head down.
Due to my chest, I couldn’t see down to my stomach well.
But it felt like her gaze was just a bit below my belly.
It was strange, but I almost had no body hair below my neck.
Especially around the groin area, which both Elderin and San-sae had mentioned at least once.
Heat rose to my face.
“That’s! Just my body type! It’s just my body type! I was bare-skinned from the start! I’ve never touched it!”
“Oh dear. You shouldn’t say such things so loudly, Da-eun.”
“Yikes…!”
*
Since I was able to broadcast from the game, I hadn’t really turned on a camera broadcast.
After all, my only charm point for broadcasting was my skill.
If I had to name another, maybe the refreshing speed provided by being an assassin class?
Some people often pointed out different things, but I didn’t dwell on it too much.
The constant barrage of sexual harassment was mostly just meant to tease me.
After all, I had plenty of karma to deal with.
It was a problem I had to accept no matter what.
Sometimes, very rarely, I did wonder if these folks were serious.
In any case, I didn’t dislike camera broadcasts.
Though it was a memory that held a bit of shame, it was still a new start for me.
Even if I couldn’t do it often, it would be okay to show my face occasionally.
“How is it? I think this is the biggest place in the country.”
“It’s huge, yes. Honestly, the parking lot was in pretty bad shape.”
“It’s an old shopping mall building. There are recording studios and filming studios on the upper floors.”
I had decided to borrow Elderin’s studio for a while.
But I didn’t plan to cling to her forever—I had to set up my own equipment eventually.
That’s why I was at a store today that sells broadcasting equipment.
I felt a rush of excitement.
Buying equipment always carried a unique resonance.
The equipment filling the store seemed to shine brightly.
I was thinking of definitely buying at least a microphone today.
But there were so many types that I didn’t know what to choose.
“If you’re uncertain, you can test them out. Want to give it a try?”
“Is that really okay?”
“That’s the whole point of visiting an offline store. Prices are steep enough to hesitate when buying online. You need to try them out and test the sound properly.”
“Then yes, I’d like to try!”
“Got it. Let’s go check them out together later.”
Now that I think about it, I had casually uploaded recordings on my phone before.
Compared to professionals, the sound quality must have been abysmal.
Yet thinking about how people liked it warmed me in some way.
Elderin and I wandered around the store and decided to check out the recording studio area.
Especially since I might end up relying on the filming studio later.
Elderin seemed to want to take a photo with me at least once.
It wouldn’t be today, but there might come a time when I’d agree to it.
When the elevator reached the fourth floor, as soon as the door opened, Elderin waved her hand in surprise.
It seemed she had run into someone she knew.
“Long time no see, sis! Who’s this? She’s really pretty!”
“This is a close junior. She recently started broadcasting. Were you recording?”
“Yeah. I just stepped out for a quick break.”
“Then can I take her for a quick tour?”
“Of course! Want to come along?”
*
At first, I thought it was okay.
How often in life do you get the chance to take a tour of a recording studio?
Especially since I heard that the microphones used here were of a much better quality than those I would be getting for broadcasting.
So I eagerly followed along.
But somehow, it seemed the situation was turning out a bit differently than I had imagined.
“Is this really how it’s done…?”
I inserted the silicone ear into my mouth.
Moving my tongue to lick it as I had been taught.
As I sucked on the outer ear, I heard ASMR VTuber ‘Ryeo-hee’ give a thumbs up from outside.
Somehow, this situation was… really, really strange.
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