-Camilla, the Dancer of the Battlefield
1. Character Setting and Miscellanea
A dancer who draws attention on the battlefield with her unique beauty and graceful movements.
Camilla enjoys dancing for the sake of dancing itself and loves it. The reason she fights while dancing even in the fierce battleground of life and death is precisely that.
Her demi-god physique, blessed by the God of Play, never tires while she dances.
The spot where Camilla dances is left with a subtle rose fragrance, which has the effect of making those who smell it want to dance (but it seems this is not reflected in the game; she doesn’t possess any crowd control skills like charm).
She is one of the Abyss’s ten teenage maniacs, officially recognized by the users. The reason she entered the battlefield was to show more people her dance and find those who would dance with her.
Originally, the idea of fighting while dancing is completely insane. According to official settings, if Camilla truly wielded a weapon properly, there would be no hero capable of matching her.
Supported by exceptional dynamic vision and physical abilities, she tends to excel at most physical tasks. She can usually replicate any movement she has seen once, regardless of the quality of the outcome.
As the developer poured love into creating her, there are quite a few quirky settings. Many of the details regarded as somewhat pointless and otaku-like fantasies by users are part of the official lore.
Out of the numerous official settings so many that even the developer can’t remember them, some actually influence the game as Easter eggs. For example, Camilla fears spirits >>> Camilla has a fear duration that is 0.1 seconds longer than other heroes.
…(omitted)
“Everything begins with the first step, and that’s the hardest part. Don’t be afraid, take a step forward. I’ll catch you.”
-Camilla, teaching Theodora to dance at the campsite – Excerpt from the cinematic trailer Abyss: The New World
*
It was a somewhat sudden proposal.
Dancing.
When I thought about it rationally, it was the right thing to decline. After all, I was an outsider, and I was currently broadcasting for the fans.
[Dance Learning Broadcast!!]
[I’ll join and dance along!]
[Kayak danced last time too, and she’s doing it again this time haha!]
[I wonder what dance it will be this time? My heart is racing…]
Hearts racing…
“This live is really something, isn’t it?”
Of course, the reactions from the viewers weren’t bad or anything… but still, there’s a limit to what one can handle. I’ve got enough common sense not to throw myself into this situation.
“Sis, if this is because of the live, you really don’t have to worry about it.”
“But the fans want to see you, you know?”
“Just stop worrying and do what you want, sis!”
Yet, I couldn’t help but notice that all the members, including Sebi, were saying the same thing.
“Do what you want.” Is there a more frustrating and straightforward statement than that?
The fact that I’m even stressing over this means I already have an answer: I guess I want to learn to dance, even if I don’t want to admit it.
It’s a truth I’ve kept secret from the viewers and everyone else around me, but even before the audience asked me to dance the moves I learned from Midnight Talk, I had already practiced those moves countless times.
Just yesterday, feeling a bit bored, I found myself moving in front of the mirror repeatedly. Sure, my home is tiny, making it tough to execute Sebi’s perfect choreography, but with some creative space management, it wasn’t impossible.
It wasn’t just about dancing the moves Sebi taught me. I’d also looked up choreography videos on Vtube, not just for Midkiss songs, but for plenty of others too. With not much else to do, I followed along to those videos step by step.
If I’m being honest, I had no real reason to practice dancing. I wasn’t a streamer who danced for donations, nor was I in a profession like Sebi’s that relied on dancing.
Yet, I couldn’t shake off the idea that moving around whenever I had spare time meant I was genuinely enjoying it.
Naturally, the original me wasn’t a fan of dancing. I wasn’t particularly skilled in using my body.
But now, that was different. Sebi had said I showed talent on stream, and whether that was true or not, I could easily follow the moves at home just by watching videos.
…Is this change something that came with becoming Camilla? Have all my traits and preferences fused into Camilla altogether?
It was a mystery, and thinking about it wouldn’t yield answers. In fact, I wasn’t even new to this kind of dilemma. I had wrestled with similar thoughts countless times, yet none of them had resulted in any answers.
But in the end, no answer came at all.
The conclusion was simple: let’s just live as we feel like it at the moment.
What was there to think so hard about? After all, the water had already been spilled.
The Abyss became the amazing game I wished for, and I became Camilla.
I became a cute girl who could live my life effortlessly. The broadcasts succeeded and would continue to thrive.
With financial freedom and good health, I could do anything I wanted from now on.
It wasn’t something to think too hard about. Let’s keep it simple and easy.
I decided not to deceive my heart any longer. After sorting through countless thoughts in a brief moment, I answered with a clarity that was better than before.
“Yes, I want to learn.”
*
And so, a bizarre scene unfolded in the Midkiss dance practice room.
“How about this?”
A girl, drenched in sweat all over her upper body including her forehead, waved her arms wide while looking at someone.
Her determined face seemed to reflect a thought of “I can’t do this,” but her hopes were immediately shattered by someone’s response.
“Is this how it’s done?”
A silver-haired girl, with long arms and legs, tried to mimic the move the first girl had just shown, swinging her arms energetically.
She clearly lagged behind the girl who demonstrated it first. Her movements weren’t smooth, nor were there any emotions in them.
But it was still something that could be called dancing. In fact, it was infused with a unique charm that you could only find in a beginner, something the first girl didn’t possess.
This kind of scene had been recurring since a while ago. The leader, Hae-yoon, who was known to be a bit of a dancer, would demonstrate a move, and Kayak would follow suit.
The members of Midkiss, including Sebi, couldn’t hide their astonishment.
“Wow, are you really able to follow that just by watching once?”
“I took three days just to get the choreography down…”
“Three days is fast; it took me a week.”
It was akin to expertly playing a difficult sheet of music at first sight. It was indeed something for the members to be in a tizzy about.
It was the kind of thing that would make you tremble with excitement.
[Crazy talented person ㄷㄷㄷ]
[Kayak is debuting as an idol…?]
[Looks great with stamina, doesn’t seem out of breath at all]
[Isn’t this their first time learning to dance? Really lol]
[I saw them boxing last time; they seem to have great athletic instincts!]
[With such a great ratio, their dance lines are pretty too ㅎㅎ]
[I came to find my kid because I heard they’re here]
[But when asked to dance on the broadcast, they acted all shy, yet now they’re dancing with excitement]
[If the gallery master is happy, then that’s all that matters….]
“Hehe….”
Add in some fan cheers, and it’s no wonder Kayak’s lips were curling up with all the praise from both groups.
Initially, Kayak started with group choreography, learning dances they could all do together. However, the Midkiss side ran out of stamina first, leaving only Kayak and Hye-yoon.
Sebi, who had transformed into an audience member and was clapping nonstop, suddenly shot up, as if struck by inspiration.
“You see, unnie should be a celebrity. What are you going to do with this talent, this skill? Come join our company!”
“Is it okay to say that while we’re live…?”
Idols are the idols of the masses. Therefore, they shouldn’t show too much of their true selves. A bit of pretentiousness is necessary.
But contrary to Kayak’s worries, the members next to her started to chime in.
“Exactly! Wasting such talent is a national loss.”
“It doesn’t have to be our company; any agency is fine.”
“If you go on an audition show, you’ll get picked right away, seriously. Like Produce or something.”
“We have to let the world know your charm! Let’s debut you as an idol.”
Kayak had a mix of embarrassment and discomfort on her face. What the others said was sincere praise, but to her, it felt like nothing but cheesy flattery.
On the other hand, those watching the live broadcast took it seriously.
[They really could debut tho]
[I was a trainee, and someone at Kayak’s level could easily make the debut group]
[Can’t deny they’d have universal fan appeal]
[Please don’t do that….]
[Hey, I was quietly watching, so what’s this talent leak?]
[Kayak has to be on air, what are you saying?]
[Don’t provoke a million Kayak fans]
Thus, an unexpected debate broke out in the live chat.
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