Question Mark (1)
"...Fuck."
The night she suffered an utterly unexpected defeat at the hands of Gale Dancer. Lying in bed, Alicia in Wonderland spat curse after curse, unable to fall asleep no matter what.
It had been so long since she'd tasted a loss this humiliating and pride-shattering.
It felt like the first time since her early days as a ranker, when she'd been utterly crushed by the then-top jungler—now a pro gamer—Mac Bass.
But back then, she was just a rookie ranker, relatively low on the ladder. This time, she'd lost to someone far below her, the one everyone dismissed as weak.
And she couldn't even blame it on bad team luck. That only amplified the rage and sighs crashing over her.
"Haa..."
But what made Alicia feel even more wretched was that her emotions this time weren't just simple defeat. They were laced with awe and curiosity toward her opponent.
Speed Swordsman...
The Speed Swordsman build that Gale Dancer wielded.
The image of it piercing her throat like an arrow at arrow-like speed lingered in Alicia's vision, no matter how much time passed.
Like watching a genius prodigy from a low-tier soccer team pull off a fantastical play?
The movements that ravaged the jungle, the plains, and even the coastline at inexplicable speeds, wielding massive influence. The super play of casually tower-diving for a kill...
"...Why does it look so fun?"
She didn't want to admit it at all, but in Alicia's eyes, that Speed Swordsman build kept looking more and more intriguing.
"......"
Alicia herself had never shown much interest in any build besides her stealth berserker—not once in all her time.
Why? Because she and her stealth berserker were the strongest.
Hide with stealth, sever the neck in one strike, and whether it was a tanking spearman, a suicide bomber, or any OP class, they were all equal before her massive scythe.
Of course, she'd practiced a few times against Mac Bass's overwhelming "Paralysis Swordsman" build that first beat her, or other OP classes, but that was just minimal research to find weaknesses.
...Nothing like the fascination with Speed Swordsman blooming inside her now.
"Hmm..."
Clutching her fluffy, oversized pink pillow tight, Alicia wrestled with her tangled thoughts.
"Faster than Shadow Vanish pre-delay... what the hell?"
Gale Dancer's attack speed had outpaced even the pre-delay on her stealth berserker's core skill, Shadow Vanish.
Even if she'd dumped everything into agility, was that kind of speed possible?
What kind of speed was Gale Dancer living at?
Ah, she wanted to try playing it herself, just once.
Where could she find item setups or playstyle guides?
Should she watch Gale Dancer's streams?
"Haa... fucking humiliating..."
After agonizing over Speed Swordsman for dozens of minutes like that, Alicia finally scowled with a shit-eating expression.
It felt like suddenly seeing some overlooked boy as romantically appealing after some random event—like a massive hit to her pride.
The audacity of her, Ranking 1 Alicia, losing sleep over a trash third-party build like Speed Swordsman!
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
But her ironclad pride couldn't contain the curiosity and intrigue bubbling up uncontrollably. In the end, Alicia let out a primal scream.
"Ughhh..."
She bolted upright from bed.
Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and started a self-hypnosis session.
"No, this is normal..."
This was just natural curiosity and interest.
Nothing weird about it.
You have to know your enemy inside out to win, right?
So, even if it was a first for her, this fascination, pull, and interest in Speed Swordsman was definitely... not weird.
Definitely.
"......Time to sleep."
Only after endless self-hypnosis did Alicia finally drift off.
But deep down, she vaguely knew the hypnosis wouldn't last long.
...Of course, she'd never admit it.
- SION 7 -
"Huh...?"
The next day, as Alicia prepped her own stream, she spotted that Gale Dancer—Ranking 7 SION—streaming a Speed Swordsman tutorial.
"Hmm..."
Hovering her mouse over SION's stream thumbnail, Alicia pondered with a profound expression.
Gale Dancer, SION, was the creator of Speed Swordsman.
With no guides or videos on it yet, the only way to learn about Speed Swordsman was through SION's streams.
In other words, the only path to sate her curiosity was to click this cursor and watch the tutorial.
"Haa... never thought I'd watch Gale Dancer's stream..."
...After brief hesitation, she cautiously started watching.
A build she'd mocked and ignored so much, and now she was watching its creator's stream. Just days ago, it would've been unthinkable.
Just watch a bit and close it... just a bit...
Alicia steeled herself.
Figure out the basics of how it worked, its weaknesses, then bail.
《First, let me review the skillset and item tree from last time...》
"......"
A languid voice from SION drifted from the monitor. Hearing it, Alicia clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Voice is annoyingly good..."
A soothing, relaxing tone that drew listeners in. Rare among screamers these days.
Maybe even better than hers.
"Hmph, bet her face is busted though."
Alicia snorted, cheeks flushing as she tried to dismiss it.
...Goddess voices were a dime a dozen in the game world. No need to worry.
She was called princess by everyone around her anyway—her face was definitely prettier.
Yeah, looks were what mattered.
"Ahem..."
Clearing her throat, Alicia refocused on the Speed Swordsman tutorial.
《For Speed Swordsman, the Golden Monkey is alpha and omega. Without its buff, jungling is nearly impossible...》
"Just listen a little. Just the playstyle..."
《In 1v1s, Speed Swordsman doesn't suit prolonged fights. Memorize this: always go for neck or heart for instant kills. Avoid tank engagements if possible.》
"Just a little..."
《Once low tide hits, intervene on the coast right away. Maximize mobility...》
"A little..."
《Tower dives only if enemy comp lacks CC...》
"......"
《Weaknesses? Hmm... early invades are the big one, I guess?》
"...Oh ho."
《Anyway, avoid plain ganks as much as possible...》
"......"
...How much time had passed since she started watching?
"Pfft!!"
Realizing she'd become a fervent viewer, Alicia slapped her own cheeks to snap out of it.
"Wh-when did time fly like this..."
Dozens of minutes gone in a flash. She'd achieved the "focus" from school days, all on Gale Dancer's stream.
"Ughhh...!!"
Her resolve to watch just a bit shattered; embarrassed by how intently she'd binged, her face burned hot.
"G-gotta close it..."
This wasn't right.
Pride aside... she had her stealth berserker.
Watching another class's stream this obsessively was like... infidelity she couldn't allow.
Plus, she hated to admit it—would never—but her feelings for Speed Swordsman went beyond mere curiosity.
No good would come from watching this intently for so long.
"Okay, just how they overcome early weakness..."
So, for when she faced Gale Dancer again, she'd listen only to weakness counters, then quit.
《...Leviathan hunts are key too, but better with support help.》
"......"
《Initiating? Hmm, Speed Swordsman isn't great for opening teamfights...》
"...Aish."
But no matter how long, SION never touched on countering Speed Swordsman's early jungle invade weakness.
"Why won't she say the most important part..."
Finally, swallowing her pride, Alicia hammered out a chat message.
"Haa..."
Ranking 1 in Legend Frontier, Alicia with the most viewers among rankers—posting a pathetic question in someone else's stream.
A total scratch to her pride.
《...Is it that hard?》
"......?"
Did she miss it? SION suddenly switched topics.
"What the hell suddenly..."
Dare ignore her chat?
Alicia scowled and spammed chat again.
《...Okay, everyone, notebooks out. Explaining from the start. No going home till you memorize it all.》
"What the fuck!!"
Was she doing it on purpose?
Or too noob a streamer to see her chat?
Either way, at SION stonewalling her question, Alicia slammed her desk with curses.
"Ranking 7... no, 6 now? Dare ignore me?"
...Her pride ignited.
Amid the madly scrolling chat, she'd force an answer somehow.
Vowed, Alicia—almost possessed—sent a donation with voice message. Her first support ever, probably.
"...Sent."
【Wtf aren't you reading chat? How do you prep for early invades with Speed Swordsman!!】
"Heh..."
Was it the emotion? Or because it was from the Queen of the Plains? The TTS read it louder than usual.
《Ah, great question.》
"Yes!"
SION finally reacting, Alicia grinned ear-to-ear, pumping her fist.
Now, snag this key info and close the stream. Pure profit.
The true winner would be her.
《...Yeah, Speed Swordsman is weak to invades, so first off, right at start, check enemy comp... huh...?》
"...What, why stop mid-sentence."
SION pausing, glancing at chat. Alicia tilted her head, eyeing the exploding chat.
"Ah, fuck."
Only then did Alicia realize she'd used her main account—not her alt for watching streams—for chat and donation.
"Log out, I forgot... f-fuck..."
Her face turned beet red, like a volcano about to erupt.
Now she'd broadcast to the world that Alicia was intently watching Gale Dancer's stream, even asking questions about Speed Swordsman.
"U, uwaaaaaah!!"
Bam! Bam!
Overwhelmed by shame and embarrassment, Alicia slammed her forehead on the desk.
This was sure to go viral on communities... no, even Btube. The thought of getting roasted everywhere made her dizzy already.
And what would Gale Dancer think of her!
Definitely a loser who came to her tutorial after losing in-game. Loser of losers.
"Ugh..."
Alicia cracked her eyes open, peeking at SION's reaction—she must've seen chat too.
Please just gloss over it... fat chance. This was prime ammo.
《Ah...》
SION made a weird face, as if confirming who sent the donation.
《That...》
Then the silver-haired beauty carefully opened her mouth to her thousands of viewers—and to Alicia.