Time flowed swiftly, as if spurred on, and before I knew it, it was December 24th—Christmas Eve.
With less than a week left until the disaster struck.
The world was preparing for war, but on this day, everyone decorated their cities beautifully for the festival.
From the capital city of Deoen to the small villages deep in the mountains.
The residents of Deoen didn’t particularly believe in the god born on Christmas (to be precise, they believed in polytheism), but users were scattered all around the world.
They worked hard to color the world in green and red, and by tomorrow, trees would spring up across various places, courtesy of the system.
A giant tree was also being prepared in Elbrite Plaza.
“Lady Lily, did you hear about it?”
“What is it?”
Reality was no different.
Yena, who hadn’t spoken in a normal tone for a while, was now invading my home right as Christmas Eve began.
She set up a tree the size of me.
A Christmas gift, or whatever she called it.
She struggled a bit to set it up, but it made my home more vibrant and created a cozy atmosphere.
“I heard that this year’s tree will have an enormous reward. The buff might even be on par with a world boss…”
“Christmas tree, you say?”
“Yes. Apparently, it’s incredible.”
Isn’t the Christmas event just a passing event?
It’s just some small gift boxes that appear under the tree and a bit of a buff.
Of course, last year I set up the tree myself and handed out decent rewards and buffs, but the official rewards were quite minimal.
‘But a world boss-level buff…’
“Maybe it will be tied to the disaster next year.”
“That could be the case? Or it might just be that the power level has risen…”
Hmm. Yena nodded as she munched on the skewers I had grilled for her.
It was true that the overall user level had risen compared to last year.
It wasn’t just a simple ‘rise’; the overall skills had significantly improved.
In terms of class, weapon, power, and magic, every aspect had seen a boost.
If you brought in any ranker from the top 100 right now, they could likely defeat Leo the Sword Saint from 1-2 years ago.
Even if they might be a bit lacking in skills, the overwhelming physicality couldn’t be ignored.
“Isn’t it?”
If Leo pushes the Spirit King to its limits or if the Sword Saint uses the demon-possessed sword, it might be a bit tough.
Given they were called the Celestial Upper-Upper, they surely had their own trump cards.
“Then I should give ample buffs as well.”
“Are you going to provide them again this time?”
“Of course.”
Last year, the users who gathered in front of Elbrite’s tree received a buff called “Blessing of Faith.”
It was quite a handy buff that raised all stats by 30% for an entire month.
So many users flocked to get the buff that the number of visitors skyrocketed.
I’d say that day had the highest number of visitors throughout the year.
Yena stuffed meat into her mouth and mumbled.
“How good is it?”
“Hmm. I was thinking of raising it to about 1.5 times. 45%.”
An increase of 45% in all stats would be an incredible buff.
That means half of one’s power goes up.
Of course, the stronger you are, the lesser the increase, so perhaps for someone as strong as Yena, a 20% increase would be the limit.
But most users would definitely see an increase of around 40%.
“I think I should raise it to 50% and give some additional buffs. How about buffs that can counter the Celestial and Demon races?”
Even though Lasty is asleep and won’t be able to give significant magic-related buffs, I should be able to offer some solid Holy buffs.
‘For the magic side, I can just boost the abilities a bit more densely.’
I’m hoping the Celestials are taken down before the demons.
Suddenly, I glanced out the window.
The night sky of December 24th was blanketed in white snow.
Cars with soft lights were busily moving around the city beyond the glass.
The towering buildings were still exuding bright lights even at night.
And among those buildings, the one boasting the highest size—
Deoen’s main body, Nutri Company.
“…Miss Yena.”
“Meow. Yes.”
“I remember last year’s Christmas. I went looking for you back then.”
“Oh, right. Ugh… that was really tough.”
It was the day Yena was getting beaten by Myeosin in her quest to obtain the hidden race and profession.
Even on Christmas, she was struggling because she hadn’t completed her job transfer yet, and Leo and I showed up dressed as Santa and Rudolph.
That was fun in its own way.
As I brought up that story a few times, Yena opened a new beer can and gulped it down, shaking her head.
“Ha… Looking back now, if Lady Lily and Lord Leo hadn’t come then, it would have been really tough. It was Christmas, yet I had to keep getting beaten up…!”
“You had a hard time, didn’t you? Even now, you’re still struggling.”
“Ugh… I totally hated it!!”
Miaaaaang!!
Yena shot up suddenly.
She wasn’t even that tipsy, but I calmed her down and got her to sit back down.
“Calm down, calm down.”
“It was just the worst… Huh… Do they think people are something to play with?!”
“There probably wasn’t any malice intended. You’re super strong now, after all.”
“That’s true… right. Right?”
Other users have grown a lot compared to the past, but Yena’s growth has been especially noticeable.
In the past, Yena often got comments like, ‘She’s skilled, but her weapons and abilities are weak.’
Back when she was ranked 3rd, when I first met her, she had dropped to around 30th or 40th for that reason.
“Seems like she’s almost regained that position now.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“I was wondering what we should do for this Christmas.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yeah. Wouldn’t a special event or broadcast make the viewers happy?”
“A Christmas broadcast is a must. Especially for streamers like us.”
A female streamer not broadcasting on Christmas?
Without a good reason?
There’s probably nothing more serious for viewers than that.
The next day’s broadcast would likely be filled with chat messages crazier than any ‘hell’ chat I’ve seen.
Back when I first started streaming, I didn’t quite get it, but now I understand the streaming ecosystem to some extent.
“What are you planning? I was thinking of doing some content with the guild members after a long time.”
“-Guild? That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”
“I need to take care of it since I’ve neglected it too much.”
Even though Yena loves to play solo, she does have a guild.
Her participation in siege wars has been steady, even if her activity is low.
But for some reason, due to her past experiences, she hasn’t grown her guild like the other large ones and currently just shares the guild buffs. It’s more like neglect…
“That’s not entirely true!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“It’s been almost two years since I last saw Lily. Do you think I wouldn’t know?”
Hmph! Yena laughed as she took another sip of beer.
“I didn’t abandon them. It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that everyone thinks this is the way to play. Saying I didn’t care just means I’ve been training and haven’t been in touch.”
“I didn’t write back because I’ve been busy training, nya.”
“Ah ha.”
“I saw some bad stuff back then, so why would I want to join in, nya? Everyone agreed to just keep the guild since enemies are piling up.”
“I see?”
Looks like leaving it alone wasn’t Yena’s personal decision.
“Anyway, what are you going to do?”
“Since I heard about Miss Yena, I just thought of a good idea.”
“What?”
Because I also have people to take care of.
■
[Lily’s Broadcast Isn’t On?]
Author: LilyLily
(User taking a gift box in front of Elbrite Tree meme)
I received a gift from Lily.
It’s great getting a Christmas present, and it’s nice that the buff boosts my stats by nearly 50%, and it’s fantastic that it’s really from Dae Lily, but…
(Meme of a frog looking dazed)
Why isn’t the broadcast on?
I mean, no matter how bad you are, shouldn’t you start up by around 9 PM?
Yena, who had a collab last Christmas, is already streaming and making content, so why?
(Meme of a frog crying and shooting a gun into the air)
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
Upvote 8001 / Downvote 231
(550 Comments)
─ Hahahahaha
─ Big Lily
─ You know
└ What do you know, you bastard
└ Hahahahaha
└ Look at the rage!
└ Oh, lol. She’s saying she won’t stream today.
└ Hmm. No notice, not even a stream on Christmas…
└ No, she said she’ll stream soon.
─ Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll send her back soon.
└ What are you saying? She’s right next to me.
└ All that talk is a lie, she’s right next to me. She says she doesn’t want to go, but I’ll send her soon.
└ Is this a forum for Lily fans?
─ There’s no way Lily isn’t streaming. Just wait, hahahaha.
└ For real, lol. She wouldn’t not stream.
└ Info) Rumor has it that Lily’s face is almost identical to Deoen’s. That means…
└ Oh my!
└ No way!!!!!!!
─ Why are there so many Lily fans here? Is this a forum for Degel?
└ Originally, Degel was Lily’s forum, so what are you saying?
└ For real, lol.
└ It’s been Lily’s forum since two years ago.
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