[Kariri Ch. / NoName]
[World of Arseria – Precious and Tiny]
[Broadcasting Time – 1:10:38]
[Number of Viewers – 37057]
Humans learn from failure.
Looking back at why I had to lose in both the placement exam and the showcase, there were always valid reasons.
The growth disparity of NPCs.
I thought it was too simplistic to just consider an NPC as just one more ally.
Every time the game progressed, the events tied to NPCs’ stories weren’t just about winning or losing.
There’s a saying in League of Legends that if you skip the enemy jungle monsters, it’s a double loss.
Here too, failing to meet the requirements for each of those events often led to absurd comebacks in games I was winning or further widening the gap in games I was losing.
My intuition that I should earn more when there are no NPCs turned out to be a wrong proposition in the end.
[You have entered the Coliseum.]
[Blue Team (4/6) vs Red Team (3/6)]
“Whew! Just made it! Ow!”
A girl barely squeezed through the closing steel bars.
In the midst of it, she was making a fool of herself by getting poked by her own weapon.
“What the heck! How did you guys get here…?”
The enemy wizard had a look of astonishment.
“Haha, you probably thought you guys had the numbers this time in the Coliseum!”
Clang!
Kariri rubbed her sharp claws together, giving a smirk.
I could understand why they were panicking.
Just a minute ago, Kariri and I were on the opposite side of the map.
“Are you saying you won’t buy any health or defense items before joining?!”
“I don’t like being slow, so I’m going all-in on spell power, haha!”
“Is this strategy correct? If we win the Coliseum, it’s just breaks even, but if we lose, it’ll be a disaster!”
In Wagal, players are constantly forced to make choices.
Events that provide beneficial buffs to our soldiers or debuffs to the enemy soldiers through NPCs.
[That person is my father’s nemesis! Not only did they disgrace the honor of my father, a gladiator, but they also framed him! I can never forgive Nahibitan!]
However, participating in these events meant our front lines would be pushed back temporarily.
So the choice was all about whether to endure a bit of disadvantage for greater benefits or to delay the events as much as possible while taking geographic advantages.
“Isn’t it a total 4-drone strategy? Just all-in, right?”
I added to the dazed-looking wizard.
“If the tank doesn’t build up health defense, they’re out of their mind. That’s what a typical tank would do.”
“Right…! Kariri gets stronger the less health she has! I’m an assassin!”
“Lmao!”
“True, true, lol!”
“Wait… is that actually right?”
“Lol, that’s just nonsense, isn’t it?”
Kariri’s character could hardly be described as good-looking.
She had a weapon with an extremely short range.
If she could just get into range, she could boast about her devastating lethality and high mobility, but that only mattered if she was actually able to stick to it.
So before the game started, I had asked Kariri about her build, which was completely centered around health with a mess of tank-specific traits.
“Why did you decide to build an assassin as a tank from the start?”
“Well, I thought tanks would hold on and fight longer than assassins?”
She had a one-dimensional view that being powerful while sticking together meant she’d make a good tank.
Weapons with higher attack power than others ultimately turned into nothing more than cumbersome trash if built with health in-game.
So, to somehow transform her into a proper player of her own, I devised a plan.
“AP Tank? Are you kidding me right now?”
“You’ll find out when you stick around, right?”
[The battle begins.]
[60s]
[59s]
Eight doors closed in succession, and a trumpet signaling the start of the battle rang out.
A stout knight led the charge, marching forward with a heavy shield.
In opposition, Kariri’s body quickly darted out, clawing the shield with her massive fingernails.
Shing!
The clash of metal rang out as the two warriors put forth their strength.
Contrary to expectations of a tedious exchange, Kariri had the upper hand.
“What’s this power…!”
“Hihi, you’re still far from it! Come on, NoName!”
“Just hold on tight.”
As her health and defense stats increased, her movement speed decreased.
In contrast, aside from the stats increasing automatically with level-ups, Kariri was wielding all spell-power items.
This was to maximize the effect of ‘Chimera’s Hunt,’ one of Kariri’s character traits.
This trait gave lifesteal to her melee attacks, but it coincided with a spell power coefficient.
Given that most melee attacks were based on “attack power,” one could argue it was almost useless.
However, thanks to her claws ensuring a certain level of attack power and her HP rivaling a tank, if she could trigger Chimera’s Hunt?
Even if she was trash on her own, with a healer’s HP regeneration boost, it could create a multiplicative synergy.
The reason I was so confident was that I had already run through all the complex formulas for every level and verified it in practice mode beforehand.
Wearing a golden necklace, she was a Wolverine, no, a Honey Badger.
Wearing a golden ring, she was a Wolverine, no, a Honey Badger girl.
It was somewhat awkward to see a young girl wearing fashion typical of a Harlem neighborhood, yet Kariri was successfully trapping the enemy commander.
But,
“AAH! I feel like I’m going to die! My health is draining too fast! When are you coming, NoName? AAHHH!”
That upper hand faded quickly.
The quickened strikes led the enemies, who had mistaken her original strength, to start assessing the situation objectively again.
Where had the initial momentum gone? Her feet were gradually being pushed back.
If there were no factors to turn the situation around, all that awaited her was a future where her clawed fists would be reduced to scraps.
Yet, our squad was one member more than theirs, with 4 members.
That meant, where it should have been a tense 3v3 standoff, I was still free to move.
I quickly drew my sidearm.
The cool silver streak from the scabbard sliced through the air.
Thanks to Kariri pulling back at just the right moment, the knight who had been straining forward leaned too far ahead.
Realizing too late, he tried to raise his guard.
Responding to the shield knight’s last lament of disbelief, I drew the sword from the scabbard lodged deep into his shoulder.
At the same time, healing magic flowed into Kariri.
[Intermediate Heal]
[Chimera’s Hunt stacks are accumulating.]
Even amidst this healing process, the assassin that had once been in a near-death state entered a ‘Berserk’ state like a warrior.
A red aura whipped around Kariri, radiating heat.
“You bastard! You startled me by stabbing my side with your shield! Take this, take this, take this!”
Kariri finished up with wild slashes, and the brief Coliseum match came to an end.
[‘Luna’ donated 10,000 won!]
“Hey! Didn’t you hear that, Name?”
Kariri cupped her hands around her mouth and looked at me with trembling eyes.
“Hey, I’ve been playing League for a few years now.”
“Oh really? You’re a veteran! Why are you all so worked up? NoName said not to treat her like a child!”
“Such things are…”
– Veteran League players are props haha!
– What kind of hellish place is League anyway?
– There are tons of guys like Kim Young-gwang at the top.
– Kariri, hurry up and break free from your shackles!
– It’s more surprising that the Nightmare in Wagal is rated 15, while League is only rated 7 haha!
[‘HoneyChyupa’ donated 50,000 won!]
“Is Kariri’s early adopter mode ON?”
“AAAAH! I told you not to use that kind of language! Why do you keep doing this?!”
“Early adopter?”
“Uh… Never mind! Don’t worry about it!”
“I know what it means. It’s a term from Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory.”
It refers to people who adopt new products earlier than others, depending on consumer tendencies.
Kariri was pleasantly surprised when she remembered a term from a past conversation with viewers.
Kids these days create all sorts of bizarre neologisms, so it’s hard to understand just from a syllable or two.
“Ahaha… Is that how it is…?”
Is it not?
[‘Vegeta’ donated 5,000 won!]
– Hate Stack: currently at 4 stacks
[‘Kaonashi (Manager)’ donated 20,000 won!]
– The Kariri fandom sincerely apologizes to NoName.
It was a bit of a shocking metaphor, but I could brush it off lightly as part of kids’ antics.
– Keep your donations within limits.
– Isn’t Kariri the one having fun though?
– Is this guy really insane? LOL!
– Early adopter nonsense haha.
“I don’t intend to judge other people’s sexual preferences, but I hope everyone keeps within legal boundaries.”
“That’s wrong! No! I’m not a lolicon!”
Loving children and having a sexual interest in them are entirely separate topics, the latter being nearly an indefensible act.
[Video Share – ‘Asantia’ shared for 20,000!]
(Kariri’s terror during the whisper.mp4)
[I want to make NoName my knight. Ah, I want to trap him in a dakimakura and hug him to sleep every night. Guys, please don’t call me a lolicon, just call me early adopter!]
– How could anyone think lolicon = early adopter?
– How the heck does she know such depths of humor haha!
– Just think of it as someone who’s dedicated their life to online forums haha. Kariri knows everything.
– What does that even mean?
– Don’t worry about it, kid.
– This is so dizzying haha.
– So this is really self-control, huh? Wow… wow…
– Isn’t it dizzying?
– There’s no shame in her role as Room Leaderㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
“Waaaaah… It’s all ruined… My hard-prepared collaboration went down the drain!”
Kariri flopped onto the floor, sobbing loudly.
The atmosphere grew quite uncomfortable.
It was only the first match, but even after the game, it was genuinely awkward to figure out what to say to each other.
“Hey, you know! I stayed up all night preparing for this collaboration with NoName! I watched all the V-tube videos! I even joined the NoName fan cafe! And promoted it in the NoName gallery with my nickname! Waaaah!”
– Why did you choose a nickname…?
– Oh, such a fake cry.
– She’s crying for the sake of content; don’t worry about it, NoName.
– She looks like she’s trying to load in another joke lol.
– Let’s not overdo it and just settle it quickly.
– I thought we would play at least four games, but it seems it’ll end with just two.
“Kariri?”
“Wuuuuu…”
I couldn’t let it go on like this.
I thought Kariri was joking, but there seemed to be a part of her that was truly sincere.
Glancing at the chat window, I whispered to the viewers secretly.
“Why don’t you show everyone how cool you were, Kariri unni?”
– Wow!
– So kind-heartedㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– NoName! NoName! NoName!
– Our Kariri, even looking like this, is really kind and pure.
– Just wait, I’ve loaded a donation haha!
– Kariri is a master at collecting funds!
– The mad movie has certainly overflowed.
“Aah, no, NoName…! It was just a joke! I’m really okay, huh?”
Kariri suddenly stood up and grabbed my shoulder.
My gaze turned back.
And at that moment, a large rectangular donation window popped up beside us.
[Video Share – ‘HoneyChyupa’ shared for 300,000 won!]
(Kariri 2049 year-end concert.mp4) – ‘Wildflower / LK’
“Hey, why go and do something like this?”
A flicker of emotion crossed her eyes.
And what was reflected in her round pupils was her past self.
I turned my head to the right.
In the video, she could be seen gripping the microphone nervously, and after hesitating, letting out a cute little cough to prepare her voice.
As she began to sing, countless people’s supportive cheer emojis rolled in the chat, creating an endless wave.
But the waves weren’t rough; they swayed gently like ripples.
What emotions were contained in her gently glowing sunset-colored eyes, larger than before?
As her soft tone elongated,
It felt like this moment could last forever.
“…The painful memories, the delicate heart.”
At the peak of emotion in her song, Kariri softly whispered the lyrics to the melody.
“I wait for you alone, under the stone wall that you passed by.”
From her quivering vocal cords flowed a soothing tone, adding sound to the air.
“As much as I can shake it off, as long as I can endure.”
Her restless gaze turned towards me once. When I nodded gently, her jittery eyes settled down.
“Tears soaked in the tremors shed, a green leaf shall bloom.”
Breathing a deep sigh, Kariri concluded her duet with her past self. But the video still kept rolling.
“Your singing is really good.”
“Oh? Uh…”
Kariri flinched slightly at my casual compliment.
– Kariri is a goddess! Kariri is a goddess!
– Fainting with admiration haha!
– The veteran truly is different.
– She’s amazing!
– Wowowowowow…
– Truly incredible!
– If you played this to a flower, it would bloom into a wildflower and run away.
– 10 points… 10 points…
– I just went to search for Kariri’s V-tube right now.
– So true, I’ll binge-watch.
– People seem different now haha!
– The best florist of our era.
– Kariri is truly a legend…
“Will you sing for me again later?”
“Hey… Are you falling for me, NoName friend? It’s totally natural to love a Honey Badger!”
She lightly patted my back a couple of times, smiles flashing with white fangs until she was beaming with joy.
Returning to her mischievous tone, for some reason, I felt relieved.
What a charming friend she was.
I could understand why the viewers loved her.
