Morning Stream, Part 2

"I've been thinking," Na Sujeong said. "What if we used Silvia's account and played with the viewers in a Free Room?"

"What's that?"

"Free Rooms don't touch your rank score, so it's fine to use someone else's account."

"Then Liria can play too?"

"Yes. She can."

"Thank you. Though in my case I'm in a red ocean, so I think Liria is a blue ocean in the truest sense."

"Red ocean? Blue ocean? What's that?"

"A red ocean is when you've got a lot of competitors. A blue ocean is the opposite. Liria is one of a kind in the world, so she's a blue ocean."

"I see."

Silvia logged into Kart Racing on her own account and entered a Free Room, just as Na Sujeong had instructed. The moment she tapped Create Room, Na Sujeong stopped her.

"Hold on. You need to set a password."

"What's that for?"

"If you create a room, it'll fill up in a heartbeat, and those people might not even be viewers. Set a password ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and only people who know it can join — meaning only the viewers watching the stream right now."

"I see."

"Director? What's that?"

"Think of them as the person in overall charge of the game."

"I see."

Silvia was curious what a Director was, but she didn't particularly care. Chat had been full of Director-bashing last time too, and it was no different now. Liria had gotten bored making a nickname and given up on it, and Silvia herself had no intention of playing for long.

Na Sujeong set a numeric password in Silvia's place and created the room. Even with the password locked in, a few viewers had already slipped inside.

"Didn't we set a password? Can they just break in?"

"Yes. They probably guessed it was four digits and brute-forced their way in."

Nobody had been told the password, and before anyone knew it all eight slots were full. Only then did the viewers share it.

"Salion. You're playing too, right?"

"Me? Obviously."

"Then watch this and learn the techniques."

"Got it."

Silvia opened WeTube on another laptop and played the technique videos she had already watched. Liria had gone through every technique with Silvia before, so she figured that if she used mana to raise her physical ability, she would be able to pull them off well.

"Liria. You can do this, right?"

"Yes, Sister Silvia."

At first Liria had thought using mana would be cheating. Then she thought it over — mana was a part of her. Earth's games had no rule that said you could not use it. This time, she wanted to show the viewers that she could play just as well as Silvia.

Liria could see it in the chat — they doubted her skill. The viewers could not even imagine that Liria, with her 0.4-second reaction time, would play well. From their side of the screen, even if she was terrible, she was cute, so it was fine.

Liria resolved to smash those doubts to pieces.

"The viewers seem to think Liria won't be any good."

"Liria is the real deal. She's incredibly good at magic."

Liria selected the hardest map and hit start at once. The instant the countdown began, she called on her mana. The viewers watched her first race as if they were holding their breath. Short comments flickered up now and then, but nothing long.

When Liria used magic, her body surpassed even a dragon that was not drawing on mana. It was an extremely powerful enhancement, and the mana drain never stopped.

The countdown ended, and Liria launched off the line. The viewers could not hide their shock as she pulled into the lead first. Only last week she had shown below-average reaction speed. This time it was the opposite — overwhelming, absolute speed. She took even the winding, brutal courses along the optimal line in a blink, and the gap to everyone else kept growing. She threaded the notoriously tight cornering section on a perfect line; the racers chasing her late overcommitted and made mistakes trying to catch up. Just like that, Liria's car vanished from their view.

Pulling away from the pack, she crossed the finish with a flawless run. All seven other racers had been retired.

The viewers could not hide their astonishment.

Having taken first with overwhelming skill, Liria wore a proud little look. The viewers saw that satisfied face and were captured by it completely.

"Well done, Liria."

"Yes, Sister Silvia."

"Liria's really good at this."

"Yes, Brother Salion."

Silvia looked thoroughly pleased to see Liria showing such outstanding skill. Give her the physical ability and the difference was obvious, as expected. She did not usually bother with body enhancement — but this time, to show the viewers something, she had done it properly.

The viewers expected that even if Liria was good at Kart Racing, she would not show reaction speed like Silvia's. That was only natural. Silvia's 10ms was a truly absurd record.

Seeing the chat, Liria decided to try the reaction speed test. The moment she opened the site, the viewers exploded.

Liria used mana to enhance her body and began the test. Last time she had gotten around 380ms and been disappointed. This time, she intended to show her maximum.

She poured in even more mana than she had during the race, and it felt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as though time itself were flowing slowly. The continuous drain was enormous.

Liria pressed the reaction test button — then hit it again in a flash.